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ironhead (Libertarian) - 7 months ago
Reply to wayway2tall
Hmmm.... inflation over 50 years, or using a valuable resource for currency, so that every time some … Show full comment
Hmmm.... inflation over 50 years, or using a valuable resource for currency, so that every time some … Show full comment
Your spouting off of Keynesian distortions doesn't make up for your lack of understanding of economics. The gold standard was abandoned during WWII because the government didn't have enough money to pay for war spending - so, if you consider state-sponsored mass killing to be a good reason for justifying inflation, I guess you are comfortable with your moral bankruptcy. The Versailles treaty did pile on reparations, but Germany's currency would have been protected if it was backed by a commodity. The problem is that when governments can't pay for all they want to pay for, they print money to make up for it. This is precisely what the Federal Reserve does and helps contribute to our massive debt.
If you think that more inflationary monetary policies will continue to work by creating bubbles which burst and then doling out billions to wealthy corporations but expect different results, you might want to reconsider. Oh, and I love that little ad hominem attack at the end - it reveals the weakness of your argument.
wayway2tall 7 months ago
Reply to ironhead
You are completely mistaken. You think that fiat currency "locks in a price"???!??!? What … Show full comment
You are completely mistaken. You think that fiat currency "locks in a price"???!??!? What … Show full comment
Hmmm.... inflation over 50 years, or using a valuable resource for currency, so that every time someone wants to melt gold for circuit boards, you have deflation. Great idea.
Germany's economic collapse after WWI had nothing to do with paper currency. It had to do with them trying to find a way to pay back all the debt that was shoveled on them by the allies. Don't print money, and the minimal inflation that naturally happens every year is healthy. The goal is to have your currency inflate at a rate similar, but slightly less than, the increases in cost of living. Inflation is not a big deal as long as it's not above 5% per year.
Trust me, when our currency was taken off the gold standard in 1933, it was done by people much smarter than you.
ironhead (Libertarian) - 7 months ago
Reply to wayway2tall
Are you kidding me? Gold can change as much as $200 per ounce in a single financial quarter. You thi … Show full comment
Are you kidding me? Gold can change as much as $200 per ounce in a single financial quarter. You thi … Show full comment
You are completely mistaken. You think that fiat currency "locks in a price"???!??!? What about inflation over the last fifty years? Ever read about the Wiemar Republic? Fiat currency.
Yes, the value of gold can fluctuate, but usually it does not fluctuate sharply. The only time that gold usually spikes is when people flock to it because they are worried about....INFLATION!
wayway2tall 7 months ago
Reply to ironhead
You really should read more about economics. Fiat dollars are the most fragile, inflation-prone cur … Show full comment
You really should read more about economics. Fiat dollars are the most fragile, inflation-prone cur … Show full comment
Are you kidding me? Gold can change as much as $200 per ounce in a single financial quarter. You think it's a good idea to base your currency on a commodity? One day a candy bar is half a gram of gold, the next it's 2 grams. How the hell is a consumer supposed to keep up with that? That's why civilized societies use currency, it locks in a price that may change over long periods of times. Currency does have the potential to lose all value if things really get screwed up, but if things get so screwy that the dollar loses it's value, I'd worry more about being paid in food than gold.
The department of education doesn't spend a whole lot of time on the theory of teaching. Everyone knows that education needs to be evaluated on a classroom to classroom (preferably student to student) basis. The Departmenat of Education exists so that it can track the sucess of schools and compare it to other schools. With strong logistics, failures can be isolated, and sucess can be broadened.
Your right, economic liberty made our country strong. But economic liberty also allowed the steel industry, the auto industry, and virtually every sort minining, farming, and manufacturing job except for corn to go overseas where the labor is cheaper. Economic liberty allowed corporations to surgically remove the backbone of our economy. Now what do we do? We can't work anymore, just invest and manage. We're not as good at that as we are at working.
countryplowboy 7 months ago
Reply to ironhead
You really should read more about economics. Fiat dollars are the most fragile, inflation-prone cur … Show full comment
You really should read more about economics. Fiat dollars are the most fragile, inflation-prone cur … Show full comment
Yes they are, thank you FDR. Although I might favor Platinum instead of Gold.
Holy hell, we agree on something!:) Vouchers are the better choice so that a parent can choose which type of school their children go to. And the government can't yank the funding of said school if it disaprooves of what it's teaching.
I have found an archaic mathmatical formula that sums this up. Marxism = No incentive to work = Failure, Capitalism = Work or fail = Success.
ironhead (Libertarian) - 7 months ago
Reply to wayway2tall
Perhaps, but a strong centralized government is what makes a country powerful. We never would have d … Show full comment
Perhaps, but a strong centralized government is what makes a country powerful. We never would have d … Show full comment
You really should read more about economics. Fiat dollars are the most fragile, inflation-prone currency around. Commodity-backed money is protected against inflation - that is what hurts the poorest the most. Those who have the least cannot afford to have their spending power diminished. Gold is not valuable to the average person because they want to turn it into jewelry - for f**k's sake. Gold is valuable because other people are always willing to pay a set price for gold - it is highly valued for its inherent properties. A currency could be based off of other commodities - silver, sugar, any commodity which has inherent value. Gold and silver have been the more stable, reliable commodities of the past.
Federalized education is making education worse! I am not necessarily arguing for abolition of public schools (I favor vouchers), but you seem to imply a false dichotomy of having only two choices here, between a federalized system or no public schools at all.
Lastly, your understanding is absolutely skewed about why our nation has been prosperous. It has absolutely nothing to do with government - and has everything to do with economic liberty. Governments cannot create wealth - wealth is created by savings turned into investment to make a profit.
SixtySeven (Republican) - 7 months ago
Reply to wayway2tall
Perhaps, but a strong centralized government is what makes a country powerful. We never would have d … Show full comment
Perhaps, but a strong centralized government is what makes a country powerful. We never would have d … Show full comment
WOW...I actually agree with you on this wayway. Very well written and I commend you.
wayway2tall 7 months ago
Reply to ironhead
What an elitist. First, you slag off on the people of China for no apparent reason, and then regurg … Show full comment
What an elitist. First, you slag off on the people of China for no apparent reason, and then regurg … Show full comment
Perhaps, but a strong centralized government is what makes a country powerful. We never would have developed as a super power without doing some of those things. And we're all better off because of it.
I agree that the government has made some poor decisions in the past (troops all around the world, drug war, prison systems, patriot act, Japanese internments, and Native American genocide) but some of the stuff you seem to be mad about is a little over the top, no? Paper currency has as much value to the average man as a brick of gold. Because the average man trusts that a dollar is worth a dollar, and has no means of turning gold into wiring or jewlery. What's wrong with a federalized education system? I would much rather live in a country where everyone gets to go to school rather than only the people who can afford private. And while I think 40% is high on the amount of tax you pay (Although I can see it as possible with income, sales, and propert taxes)
The articles of confederation basically allowed each state to operate as a seperate entity. They allowed for the US government to conduct foreign policy and have an army, but the federal governmant basically operated on donations from the state, because it had no right to tax. Our country is much more powerful when you pair the production of Ohio, with the mining of West Virginia, with the farmin of North Carolina. We work better as one entity.
I think our best strategy going forward is to continue to allow our wealth and success to benefit everyone in the country. And barring a declaration of martial law over health care reform (not going to happen) We're still the most free country in the civilized world. After all, we're not china.
ironhead (Libertarian) - 7 months ago
Reply to wayway2tall
HAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god! This is what you guys think is going to happen? Holy crap! This is so far- … Show full comment
HAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god! This is what you guys think is going to happen? Holy crap! This is so far- … Show full comment
What an elitist. First, you slag off on the people of China for no apparent reason, and then regurgitate something that you heard in high school History class about the Articles of Confederation, but offer no substantive criticism.
The Constitution has not set out what it was intended to do - it has not restricted government to its enumerated powers nor has it protected individual rights. Worse, the U.S. government has waged so many unjust wars during the 20th century (and today), it is getting ridiculous.
We live under a hyper-centralized, warfare/welfare state that extracts via force about 40% of our income each year and has troops stationed in 120 countries across the globe. It federalizes education, manufactures a fraudulent, worthless currency that is backed by nothing, doles out trillions in corporate welfare, endorses eminent domain abuse, pursues a drug war that destroys families and locks up African-Americans and other minorities disproportionately for victimless crimes, spies on its own citizens, interned millions of Japanese Americans, nearly committed genocide against Native Americans, and countless other crimes.
Many of these actions are explicitly unconstitutional, all are certainly violations of anything anyone with half a brain would consider a "free" country. In other words, as brilliant as the Constitution is written and eloquent some of its writers, it hasn't done its job of stopping government from going too far and violating our liberties. I'm not saying I know for a fact that the Articles of Confederation would have stopped these violations, but more and more it seems to me that in order to stop the state from going too far, you have to really, really, curb its powers and decentralize its authority as much as possible.
Patriot Watch (Independent) - 7 months ago
Reply to Teikiatsu
I'm reserving judgement until the day after Election Day 2010. I think we'll see the pulse of the n … Show full comment
I'm reserving judgement until the day after Election Day 2010. I think we'll see the pulse of the n … Show full comment
I hope so. Until recently I was giving up hope.
wayway2tall 7 months ago
HAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god! This is what you guys think is going to happen? Holy crap!
This is so far-fetched that I can only assume it's satire. What does the writer think we're living in? An Orwellian Novel? This is ridiculous.
If Obama, or any other leader, ever declares martial law at an inappropriate time there will be a revolt. Liberals don't think that the president should have the power to think for us. There's a differance between agreeing with the president, and being brainwashed by him.
Our days as a great nation are certainly numbered if we don't get our a*s in gear. But we don't live in china people, come on.
Ironhead- your head must be made of iron if you'll give any credit to people to people who favored the articles of confederation over the constitution.
The united states is the freest civilized nation in the world. If you want true freedom, move to East Africa, see how that works out for you.
Teikiatsu (Independent) - 7 months ago
I'm reserving judgement until the day after Election Day 2010. I think we'll see the pulse of the nation after that.
ironhead (Libertarian) - 7 months ago
Reply to Patriot Watch
Jan 2009
Jan 2009
Many would say 1913 (creation of the Federal Reserve). The more radical folks will say September 17th, 1787, when the Articles of Confederation were officially replaced. I'm on the fence, but going back before slavery was abolished makes it difficult to call a nation "free" (among other issues).
Patriot Watch (Independent) - 7 months ago
Reply to ironhead
This is a foolish question to ask. We should ask ourselves: "when did the United States cease … Show full comment
This is a foolish question to ask. We should ask ourselves: "when did the United States cease … Show full comment
Jan 2009
ironhead (Libertarian) - 7 months ago
This is a foolish question to ask. We should ask ourselves: "when did the United States cease to be a free nation?" or, "what would it take to make our nation free again?" Nationalism, ie "making a nation great" via the use of state power, is precisely what has made our country decidedly un-free.
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