THE THINGS WE MAKE, MAKE US
Every once in a while advertisers get it right. They not only make a pitch for their product, but create a spot that moves you. A once great American car company is out with a new commercial for their 2011 model and it epitomizes what is going on in the U.S. economy today. It goes like this (full video is attached below):
“The things that make us Americans are the things we make. This has always been a nation of builders. Of craftsman. Men and women for whom straight stitches and clean welds were matters of personal pride. They made the skyscrapers and the cotton gins. The colt revolvers and the jeep 4X4′s. These things make us who we are.
As a people we do well when we make good things and not so well when we don’t. The good news is this can be put right. We just have to do it. And so we did. This, our newest son, was imagined, drawn, carved, stamped, hewn and forged here in America. It is well made and it is designed to work. This was once a country where people made things. Beautiful things. And so it is again.”
You don’t have to be an American to love this commercial (though any Johnny Cash fan is upset by its brevity). You don’t even have to like the car. But the message is one that should ring particularly true at this time in history. This country has become a place that consumes more than it produces. We have lost sight of what it means to make great things. We cherish the things we acquire more than the things we produce. And in this race to acquire the biggest McMansion or the newest Apple product we have taken on a gross amount of debt. Our complacency combined with a great deal of fiscal incompetence has resulted in a private sector that is grossly indebted and now suffering the consequences. These problems are exacerbated by a public sector which rewards the losers and punishes the prudent.
I firmly believe the current economic downturn is the market reminding us of what we once were. We were once a nation of builders. We were once a nation of producers. We have become a nation of consumers. And in doing so we have consumed ourselves. The “greatest generation” did not become great on their own. They became great because their parents raised them to be great. And their parents raised them to be great because they lived through one of the most trying periods in the history of man. They were a generation who fought in a world war only to be rewarded with a great depression followed by another world war. They were a generation of hardened men and women. With resolve of the likes that has not been seen since. And their offspring are a reflection of that.
They say pride cometh before the fall. Well the fall hath come, but we have not learned our lessons. While consumers continue to struggle and pay down debts we bailout a financial sector which makes (almost) nothing and takes much (our brightest minds and our pocketbooks). The government uses its fiscal and monetary tools to bailout the losers and punish the prudent. We provide homebuyers tax credits and “cash for clunkers” so the private sector can become further indebted. We promote loser capitalism and crony capitalism. Such things do not instill hardwork in our citizenry and certainly do not promote increased output.
It’s time that we get back to being a country of people that make things. And not one that shuffles money from one pocket to the next in the effort to make the next great financial innovation. We are not a nation by the banks and for the banks. We are not just a nation that just consumes things. We are a nation of builders. People that make things. Great things. Let’s hope this message does not fall on deaf ears as this crisis looks more and more like a wasted one….
Wow, this would be a great campaign speech! Are you secretly planning a run for public office?
For everyone’s sake – let’s hope not.
TPC,
Politics is probably not your cup of tea but it’s exactly people like you that should be running the country. When intelligent and responsible men/women like you don’t step up we end up with the incompetent candidates who run with their egos.
WOW!!! FROM NOW ON THAT’S THE KIND OF STUFF I WANT TO READ MORE OF HERE(NOT THAT I DON’T APPRECIATE THE OTHER POSTS’)!!! DAMN THIS IS A VERY GOOD POST!! OUR KIDS ARE GOING TO SUFFER SEVERLY DUE TO THE ATTITUDES OF THE GENERATION THAT LOVES TO BUY ON CREDIT!!! WE NEED TO GET THIS MESSAGE IN OUR HEADS!!!
I’D BET MONEY THAT THOSE AGAINST THIS MESSAGE ARE THE ONES WHO DON’T WANT TO ADMIT THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH LIVING BEYOND THEIR MEANS!!
I GAVE U 1 STAR BECAUSE I AGREE WITH THE 1st comment. (U SHOULD RUN FOR OFFICE)
Sincerely,
OUR PUBLIC LEADERSHIP NEEDS IMPROVEMENT!
THANKS FOR THE BLOG IT IS VERY HELPFUL TO ME, FRIENDS, AND FAMILY!!
U DESERVE TPC.COM
It will take a huge currency devaluation and decrease in quality of life before US workers can compete with asia/india. The pay for an MS degree engineer in China is something like 10k, and the government does everything it can to attract employers, whereas in the US the laws are setup to penalize companies.
When everyone was afraid that Japan was going to crush the US economically, they forgot that there’s only 130m people there, so their salaries caught up to the US rather than the other way around.
Now that with india/china there are 2.5billion! people entering the global workforce the US salaries will have a hard time staying 10x higher, to say the least.
Well we have lived beyond our means for too long. We have a government that spends money on projects with 0% ROI. The gap between USA and China will continue to thin.
Is it ironic that the song in the background is “God’s gonna cut you down”?
Thanks for simplifying what sometimes gets lost in all the detail. A message every reader can understand and relate to. In the end, it’s always simple.
your essay simply “it” in a nutshell, TPC…spot on the real deal…highlights the big problem with THIS recession-109 months of inventory in our biggest remaining manufacturing business-housing…..
girlfriend’s on her third jeep, the last one, i have mandated,…. quirky engine systems designs…….rides like a rock with alot of sway-rocking,uncomfortable seats……bulletproof trannies tho……
gimme my chevies…..i put 320k on a s-10 blazer in the 80′s…..some girl round the corner still driving it….with synthetic oil and a little 2-cycle oil put in w/gas (400:1) only abuse or wrecks can kill most modern vehicles.
that’s why i call them “(ab)used car lots”
Great post, great post.
Work harder and smarter you debt-slaves and mind your morals too! Do as we say and not as we do. While we loot you with counterfeit money (otherwise know as credit) we expect you to be honest and hardworking. After all, the system won’t work unless there are victims and that means you.
The US experienced its greatest economic growth between the end of Lincoln’s War and the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. If we want to get back to a sound economy then let’s abolish the government backed banking cartel first. But before that the debt slaves should be freed by the same means by which they was enslaved, legal tender fiat.
I wonder what’s next on the public morals front, a new Catholic Legion of Decency? Really folks, hypocrisy is not pretty. All the talk of austerity and work ethic is so the bankers can be repaid their credit-from-thin air which caused our problems in the first place.
Oh and how about debtor’s prisons to solve those problems?
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/06/jail-for-unpaid-debt-a-reality-in-six-states-strategic-default-pushback-watch.html
All this would be funny if the consequences were not so serious.
Also, over the last 20 years, continuously declining global ranking in math skills. Ironically, the very best, went on to Wall Street (as you said), who later exploited the very worst (subprime borrowers, with option ARM, neg amort, requiring PhD math skills to comprehend).
You cite a thoughtful well-produced ad here and the hyper-consumption/indebtedness that overhang the nation and economy. Curious as to your thoughts on how this impacts advertising as we knew it???
Great speech (post) but aren’t you overlooking something. Debt is itself a “creation” (product) of the financial industry. and all the derivatives that go with it. I think we are just moving further up the chain than the rest of the world but we are just at a for in the road, or the first real correction.
We shouldn’t define ourselves by the things we make anymore than we shoudl define ourselves by the things we own.
Really?
Yes, really.
Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I hope I will be remembered for the things I produce and not the things I have consumed.
Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I hope I will be remembered for the character of my person and not the things I have produced or consumed -which are two-sides of the same materialism coin. America’s legacy should be the leadership of its character, not a marginally better SUV.
In the words of the great Stephen Hawking: “Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.” The product of your work is a reflection of who you are.
I am not advocating a world of worker drones.
As one of the greatest minds ever known, his contribution is the betterment of society through scientific advancement –that is his reflection though work, he never made a marginally better product.
If we are what we make, let it be how Mr. Hawkins does it (or how we did it during the Space Race), not an SUV.
There is no indignity in making cars. Not everyone is born with a Hawking mind. Some people invent cars (Henry Ford). Others just weld them. I have equal respect for both.
My bigger point is that we should produce more than we consume. Ie, we should admire the things we produce more than we admire the things we consume. It’s a general point and certainly not applicable to everyone, but in general I think it’s a good message.
Some people clearly disagree
I never said (or alluded to saying) that there is any indignity in welding cars. Nor is there any indignity in making plastic trinkets and electronics in China.
My general point is that we should define ourselves by innovative products (not marginally better ones) or if we can’t do that, we should define ourselves by intangible qualities like strength of character.
And there is no need to produce more than we consume, there is only a need to produce better products, (i.e. quality versus quantity).
Unfortunately, the car makers seem to have done no better than the Financial Industry. GM has been hemorrhaging money for years (mainly due to massive pension benefits from decades ago) and Chrysler is not much better. Not to mention that the mantra of foreign cars lasting longer and being more reliable seems to have taken hold (this is no longer the case these days).
We need a new industry. Cars and homes are 20th century industries. We need to move on to power generation, battery technology, low power electronics, higher speed processors, etc etc. It seems obvious which way the world is going – so why isn’t the strongest superpower able to keep up??
“We need a new industry. Cars and homes are 20th century industries. We need to move on to power generation, battery technology, low power electronics, higher speed processors, etc etc. It seems obvious which way the world is going – so why isn’t the strongest superpower able to keep up??” IB
Because government backed fractional reserve banking is socially corrosive. Just compare the US before and after the Fed. Also, if you wish to attract real capital into the US (talent, skills, work ethic, etc) then allows genuine capitalism. It’s that simple.
TPC is right.All the world is applying a perverse monetary system that put the economic power in the goverment hands.The goverment (treasury+central bank) is not budget restricted and can expand its liabilities (money + debt) without any limit.Sadly,if we give the goverment the power to stole the present and future private wealth trough monetary expansion,be a politician and control it has more economic sense that to make things and create wealth.
We do make things. Alot of things. We just consume much more.
Lets list a couple of American Companies that have changed/are changing the World.
Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Goodyear, Boeing, Dupont, Dell, FedEx, Intel, Alcoa, Sears, Kodak, IBM, J&J, GE, McDonalds America Online, AT&T, Verizon, Nike, Google, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Whirlpool, Kraft, Tyson Foods, Whole Foods, Amgen, ExxonMobil, Costco, Target.
The list goes on.
The innovation of these companies, and their impact on the world, though partially fueled by debt, IS REAL. You might not want a 1/4 pounder with cheese, but they can get you one anywhere in the world for .99 cents. IT’S VERY REAL.
FedEx is a logistical work of art. Ship something anywhere in world overnight for a reasonable price? Are you kidding me?
You cannot destroy the Google search algorithm, or the design and ingenuity if the ipod. The speed and power of Intel microprocessors is here to stay. Nobody gets energy from point to point on time and on schedule like XOM. Amazon is a modern marvel. Walmart’s structure and culture of cost cutting keeps families afloat throughout the land. I’ll stop.
We are the worlds number one exporter. We just import more. Yes, it must be remedied. But the progress is not “fake” or “ponzi scheme”. It cannot be destroyed.
So, while the the credit bubble will have its costs, and we DID build 25 years with of homes that are gonna have a hard time getting paid for. But in spite of that, there are real economic drivers here – “Goods and services” in America.
Enough about China. They largely ASSEMBLE other countries things cheaply with slaves. The per Capita income there is 1/4 that of Mexico. Of course the Gap must close. But it is very wide. Lets see them identify, design, build, and sell a product here in the US. Go buy an laptop/tv from a chinese company and see if you ever do it again.
I’ll take my chances on the US economy. For all the Booms/bust and tomfoolery in the dollar/banks, we have still the best game running in my view. And for a Nation of 300 million, we do Ok.
And yes that is a great Jeep ad. It’s soft protectionism. I love it.
1860 America is dead
1907 America is dead
1932 America is dead
1941 America is dead
1981 America is dead
2008 America is dead
Keep fading the US.
I’m not saying the US is dead. But that we’ve gotten a bit off track. Of course we make great things still. We just happen to love consuming them a bit more. The private sector debt is really the crux of this whole downturn in the US.
I would never fade the USA over the long-term. But until we see a readjustment between private sector production and consumption it’s very hard to be long-term bullish.
“But until we see a readjustment between private sector production and consumption it’s very hard to be long-term bullish.”
True. True.
I just remember my father buying silver in 1981( didn’t work out), Hostages in Iran, no food on the table, nuclear war imminent, inflation on high, and out of work. The world actually was ending. And it didn’t
(channeling Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park) “Life finds a way.”
You run a great site, sorry for the rant.
One of my favorite movie lines of all time. It’s so true. And it’s one of the main reasons why being a permabear is a recipe for disaster.
“Life finds a way.”
It sure does. Bacteria, for instance, have evolved to breakdown PCBs and oil.
But humans are different. If we get conceited or complacent then we risk God’s wrath. There will be an End one day, you can count on it. In fact, when the world ceases to count on it will be when it occurs, IMO.
TPC-
It may strike some people as being too socialist, but there are many successful exporter nations (Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, China, Germany, etc) where the government is very involved in the private sector, funding and subsidizing key export technologies and companies through the whole product life cycle from basic research through commercialization and export. The US is too wedded to the idea of being a service economy and no such industrial policy exists here. Granted, the govt does fund a lot of critical basic research but it leaves the private sector alone to commercialize and monetize the basic technology. The problem is that US companies are competing unfairly against foreign firms that get this direct govt assistance and very often, our economic rivals overseas are beating us with the very technology that was created here (ie solar cell technology and advanced battery technology comes immediately to mind).
Having said that, Do you think the US needs to have industrial policy here where the govt is supporting and actively assisting critical export technologies and companies? Although industrial policy goes against the spirit of free market capitalism, I would much rather see US exporters get free money, subsidies, and assistance than the financial sector.
Jack, it’s an interesting thought. It ties into much of what I discuss in regards to how the monetary system works. When you learn how reserve accounting actually works you realize that some level of govt intervention is not only necessary, but can be quite good. I’m being broad here and cherry picking, but the interstate highway system, railroads and US military are huge projects that come to mind when I think of superb INVESTMENTS in the country. Of course, there is a fine line here. Someone above mentioned how the USA invests in a great deal of projects with 0% ROI. Cash for clunkers is a great example of such spending. It’s counterproductive from a social perspective.
So yes, I do think the US govt needs to do more to invest in sectors of the economy that can provide a real long-term benefit to the countries long-term output. That does not mean I want govt running the economy. Not even close.
China is a really interesting case study here. They essentially subsidize many of their most productive sectors. It’s an interesting combo of govt working with the private sector. There is this supposedly ENORMOUS divide between what the US govt does and what the Chinese govt does in terms of intervening in the economy. I am not so sure the divide is that great.
I don’t think govt should try to run the economy, but govt can and does provide funding for private sector projects that are enormously beneficial. Our history confirms this. All govt spending is not bad. That is a fact in my opinion. I am a free market guy, but I also recognize that some level of govt spending is not bad. Therefore, why would we not leverage this tool to help the private sector grow?
Nice thoughts, TPC. BTW, I haven’t posted in a while but read your site a lot while overseas in Iraq. After doing patrols all day, I really looked forward to coming back to base and reading TPC at the internet cafe. Thanks for helping me get through my year in Iraq.
No, thank you Jack.
“All govt spending is not bad. That is a fact in my opinion. I am a free market guy, but I also recognize that some level of govt spending is not bad. Therefore, why would we not leverage this tool to help the private sector grow?” TPC
First, if we did not have such an elastic money supply, government spending would not be so essential as it is now. But yes, since government spending is necessary it might as well do some good. Nuclear power would be good; upgrading Internet bandwidth would be good too. Oops! Once one gets the pork wagon rolling it is hard to stop it! I was about to suggest the government give me a few billion to run a proto-type alternative money scheme.
Agreed 100%, what a wonderful commercial.
How ironic that the ad emphasizes how American the new Jeep is when the engineering was done by Mercedes (the Jeep is based on the M class) and the company is owned by Fiat
” It seems obvious which way the world is going – so why isn’t the strongest superpower able to keep up?? ” . . . because it is only obvious to a small percentage of actual voters out of apx 150 million eligible voters . The majority of voters always seem to elect a fix ( ie. government / politicians ) for a past problem instead of present or future problems . The system does not and perhaps cannot guarantee that most voters will understand what must be done politically – because the political government has ultimate control and responsibility for the economy including the matter of excessive private debt .
For all those who are “down” on USA, try to move to those countries to see if you like it better. The grass is always greener on the other side. There are about 500 mil+ Chinese or Indians would want to move to the country overnight if they are allowed to.
@ TPC:
Great post as always desite its being somewhat uncharacteristic!
But, I have to wonder?
What impact have the great society socialisms had upon our population? Have they dumbed us down? Have we lost our moral compass? Why?
When a society stops “doing” for itself, it loses the skill to do so. Like any other skill that requires training.
I guess I beleive 2 things, relevant to this post (& apologize in advance for the political attributes of it):
1) I would rather judge a man by his actions, not his voice, vs. a dichotomy of what he makes vs. what he buys,and
2) To return from the Fall of the HRE, I think having Big Gov get out of the busniess of socialisms & entitlements is necessary for our people to return to the values that made us great. We don’t even know what our “rights” are anymore…
Here is a worthwhile spiel from WG Harding. Remember him? He took us out of the Deepest Depression ever in 1920-1922 (made land speed records this guy, 18 months flat!)
”
In his 1920 speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Harding declared:
We will attempt intelligent and courageous deflation, and strike at government borrowing which enlarges the evil, and we will attack high cost of government with every energy and facility which attend Republican capacity. We promise that relief which will attend the halting of waste and extravagance, and the renewal of the practice of public economy, not alone because it will relieve tax burdens but because it will be an example to stimulate thrift and economy in private life.
Let us call to all the people for thrift and economy, for denial and sacrifice if need be, for a nationwide drive against extravagance and luxury, to a recommittal to simplicity of living, to that prudent and normal plan of life which is the health of the republic. There hasn’t been a recovery from the waste and abnormalities of war since the story of mankind was first written, except through work and saving, through industry and denial, while needless spending and heedless extravagance have marked every decay in the history of nations.
”
Also, the sine qua non of adulthood is the delay of gratification.
We could use a dose of that methinks (grin).
I lot can be said for living the Spartan life!
“Also, the sine qua non of adulthood is the delay of gratification.
We could use a dose of that methinks (grin).
I lot can be said for living the Spartan life!” Iluvatar
Why? Just because the money supply has shrunk? The factories still stand (yes, in China but no matter), the crops have not been destroyed and no plague has swept the land. Yet we must endure austerity that the counterfeiting cartel be paid?! I say nay! What say ye?
If the Spartan life is so good then let the bankers endure it in real terms while a debtor and saver bailout fixes them in nominal terms.
The comment about a Spartan life is about returning to a lifestyle wherein we spend within our means rather than fueling purchases through debt. About placing value on saving.
I’m not in favor of bail outs. Sorry that wasn’t clearer.
But clearly, there has been a lot of bad behavior in getting America off track. And I was addressing the malinvestments of your normal Joe Citizen. If we want America on track, it is simply my belief that a sea change in the mentality of our society would not only be helpful; it would be necessary. And that is hard to do when the citizenry is awash in socialistic programs.
“And that is hard to do when the citizenry is awash in socialistic programs.” Iluvatar
Et tu, Iluvatar?
Fascism, the government backed banking cartel, led to socialism in the US. Check your history; the Great Depression preceded the New Deal in the US. Without the banking cartel, there would have been little need for socialism in the US. And now we’ll starve the poor so the rich can get richer?
Et tu Iluvatar? (after Et tu Brut?) from Caesar? Who did I murder?
Yes the Fed was formed in 1913 under Woodrow (Woodie-Woodpecker) Wilson at the insistence of the Morgan family who wanted to control the Rothschilds (spelling, accuracy???). It was a totally fabricated control scheme.
And that preceded the depression (which it caused at least once – the 1920 depression was driven more by our boys coming home from WWI and glutting the labor market). But I believe the Fed had a major part in the events leading to the so-called Great Depression.
But now, here is where we differ. FDR’s New Deal was not solely motivated by Big Bank. They were in reactionary mode but also FDR brought a lot of it with him. The 2 forces (Big Bank’s reactionary mechanisms) & FDR’s ideological positions came together in the toxicity of the New Deal. More is going on here. FDR was an expansionist of state power and bullied the Judicial Branch of the government to make it happen. It’s a matter of record. More is/was going on here. Big Bank is not the SOLE culprit.
And given that, what desperate times called for the “Great Society” of LBJ, et. al.? None. Big Bank only gets 1 of my fingers (the middle one) in the “blame game”. I believe it goes much deeper than that and involves so many factors one could publish a thesis on it (which they did – I am sure).
But by the same token, the answer for Big Bank does not appear to me to be a reversion to the gold standard form of currency system. I believe TPC, Bill Mitchell, Steve Keen, Warren Mosler, and Mish have made solid cases for why this is too inflexible in a world economy. What is STILL missing (I enjoyed George Soros’s post here I might add), are good STEWARDSHIP rules for currency/monetary policy in conjunction w/ integrated fiscal policies.
The point TPC continues to make is that it is not happening in conjunction w/ fear-mongering insolvency threats that are totally destructive.
Until we understand economics, monetary theory, and credit theory – we are truly pushing on a rope.
We all want a return to some level of prosperity – nothing wrong w/ that. But these durn bubbles are destructive to our social memory and lives.
My last try…
Bubbles are a part of capitalism and will ALWAYS exist. The problem was the amount of capital flowing through the system with the end of the cold war, was immense.
To add on, my grandfather told me the New Deal programs were like being freed from concentration camps. By 1929 this was a poor country. By 1946, a whole middle class had developed.
FDR took the plutocracy back snd shook them down even if he was a slime ridden scumbag himself, he knew this country was close to death. Your whine about “socialistic” program is a farce. The plutocracy is the real threat.
I call it “soft-bolshevism”. Destroy the national government and dissolve the United States slowly over time into corporate slave states. Flipside to Marxism’s top-down style.
Wow!!!
Dude, you are the rage!
Hot stuff. I just pulled plutocracy from wiki:
“Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy.
In a plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low. This can apply to a multitude of government systems, as the key elements of plutocracy transcend and often occur concurrently with the features of those systems.
”
To be absolutely honest, I know of no government on this planet that wasn’t a plutocracy on that basis. B/c, both Lenin and Mao took a whole lot of property and wealth in the deal – yuk!
It’s almost the way it is fellas; it doesn’t smell nice; I don’t agree w/ it, but it is what it is. Wish it were different.
Even here, it was not that much different. Hamilton was as statist as they come and HE was the one who wrote the Federalist papers! Go figure!
Now with said, I am not so sure FDR was fighting off – or – pushing back on the plutocrats. I have never viewed him as a true fighter for the common man and for the common man’s liberties. He was fighting for an expansion of the Federal Gov for the purpose of fighting for the “down trodden” (it’s written on his memorial down in D.C.). But that is what a good statesman does, they use an opening wherein it really sounds good; then they take that trip down the slippery slope and from there on out it is a moral hazard.
Even if FDR, in his heart of hearts, was enormously upset by the depression, that didn’t stop his expansionist agenda. He just kept on a’goin’! And now we have SS and other entitlements issues to blame for it.
He already had an agenda in place and the depression opened up a nice opening to play it. People were in major distress; Big Bank had screwed it up, yet again! So, he made his move and got a heck of a lot of constitutional resistance from the Judicial Branch until he got them in tow.
And yes, my grandparents who lived through the depression never spoke kindly of it (on my dad’s side they died quite some time ago (`70′s) – my mom’s side from France got to entertain WWII and fleeing from Vichy, I never saw my grandmother – she was killed by a German officer in WWII by gunshot).
Yes, those times were very tough. It is not pleasant to lose everything and then have to start over.
But I do remember my grandfather telling how GOOD the times were right before 1929! Folks were riding high! They were on a bubble.
And so yes! 1929 and on was severe. But it wasn’t always that way.
Now to say that bubbles WILL ALWAYS exist in a capitalism – I have 2 issues w/ that:
1) when, since 1900 have we had truly capitalistic societies (not Robber Baron or Big Bank cartels, or NOW Big Union)?,
2) And while these bubbles may continue EVEN IN a pure capitalism, who is to say it is b/c we don’t understand economic/monetary/credit theory in a global economy yet?
Dude! This stuff ain’t simple – check out Steve Keen’s DebtWatch #31. It’s a freaking killer! No joke.
Last point: I am not going to react to term “whine” re: socialism. I may or may not be a Libertarian (those are some really technical folks fellas!) – but I do know that I am a simple man – who wants to be free. And I am no friend of FDR regardless of how much you thought he did for the land (I thought he buried us imho – but that’s my opinion – you need not agree).
And I can tell you this: both from observing our apparent inability to understand what are our “true” rights and by visiting many countries in Europe (I still have family there): socialsims, letting the government do for you rather than you doing for yourself is a dead-ball in my court. Sorry, can’t diverge from that. We’re done there.
As to plutocracy? Amen, brother, I wish it were gone like a bad stain. That may be more problematic however. Hey, let’s get our economy fixed first, then let’s go get those turkeys!
“Bubbles are a part of capitalism and will ALWAYS exist” The Rage
No, you are just wrong, IMO. Bubbles require credit from thin-air. Get it? Bubbles are blown with thin air.
But maybe you’re right. Let’s have liberty in money creation, usage and acceptance and see, shall we?
I really hate to see true capitalism maligned. I think you mistake pseudo-capitalism for the real thing.
I agree about the gold standard but I think banking is the root cause of socialism. Most people just want to work, save and leave something to their kids. That’s it. Instead they get the boom-bust cycle that throws them out of work and inflation. Also automation, which is a most excellent thing, causes them to lose their jobs yet without compensation to them. The company owners benefit but not the workers.
It’s a very complicated problem yet with a simple solution; liberty in money creation, usage and acceptance. If we had that then corporations would have to share wealth rather than loot it via inflating a government enforced monopoly money supply.
Sorry about the “et tu”, Illuvatar. Socialism is bad, true, but one can easily argue that it is a necessary counter to the fascist money and banking system we have today. And remember, fascism exists to enable a few to get wealthy and powerful at the expense of the many while socialism is mostly about allowing many to survive the depredations of the fascists.
“My last try…” Iluvatar
No, keep trying bud. Hopefully I am not too stubborn to learn. I come here to learn as well as advocate.
Excellent opinion and spot on. With all the push for free trade and fund managers squeezing every dime of performance from corporate leaders too eager to redeploy assets around the globe in search of the least common denominator in wages we have lost our way. Investors and corporate leaders have lost sight on who purchases their products and services and that is the citizens in this country. In an insatiable appetite for returns and profits corporate leaders and investors have lost focus on building capital for future employment of goods and citizens. We may suffer a depression for it.
Smart Advt agency + Private Equity Firm + Fiat = Needs to generate some sales, to generate ROE = use the patriotic message. Always works.
But will not change the country’s prospects. We are in decline. Other countries are better managed, smarter and work harder.
“We are in decline. Other countries are better managed, smarter and work harder.” anon
I agree. But why? Does prosperity necessarily lead to decadence and decline? I say no. I say that if we will only do capitalism right then we will outcompete the world again.
TPC, well said!!!
Man! If it had not happened to me before, I would say you are stealing from my blog!
Check this out http://thecynicaleconomist.com/?p=14919
But in two occasions (at least I am aware of just two) I had posted blog post on my blog, that later I found were posted a day or two before mine post somewhere else and that have discussed same topics and reached similar conclusions. (once with the Big picture and second time with Rolfe Winkler blog)
LOL
Nah! TPC would not steal! He’s better than that!
But what it shows is a similarity in trapping on news that MATTERS!
Hence, you are both providing an important public service rather than 1 alone.
Why should that be an issue?
Celebrate getting the word out. Amen…
Cynical indeed!
I wish I had time to read all the good blogs out there and steal their content! Just kidding of course. If I were going to “steal” content I’d at least cite it.
Majority of American public too far gone. iPads and housewives reality shows still rule their field of vision.
But Michael,
You can watch real housewives on our iPad while paying your credit card bill as you drive your leased car back to the house you mortgaged your life with. How can you not love that product?
My standard joke goes something like this:
Dude, get a life will ya? Stop programming your favorite HBO show on your DVR over your iPhone! And find some better word/life balance too; knock of the texting for at least just a little while; take a break!
(lol)