dagblog - Comments for "Economic Stimulus and the Parent Principle"

I'm sure those experts would

acanuck — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:45:06 +0000

I'm sure those experts would let loose with the insults pretty fast. Then we could tune in the moronic pundits to get their take on it all. Great fun.

Love it. I'd tune in for

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:43:06 +0000

In reply to I didn't find the Soros piece

Love it. I'd tune in for sure. But why watch the experts when we can see moronic pundits insulting each other instead?

Yup - dumb as I want to be!

Bluesplashy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:03:51 +0000

In reply to I inhale paint fumes all

Yup - dumb as I want to be!

I didn't find the Soros piece

acanuck — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:15:48 +0000

In reply to George Soros weighs in

I didn't find the Soros piece scary. Rather, I thought "At least there's one person who seems to grasp what's really going on." Soros was equally impressive in his brief appearance on the TV documentary The Ascent of Money.

Here's what I'd like to see: a sort of town-hall/panel/debate featuring the top economic minds: Soros, Stiglitz, Geithner, Summers, Krugman, even some voices from the past -- Bernanke, Volcker, Greenspan. If they can resurrect Keynes and Marx by cloning, let them have a say too. Obama would sit in the middle, posing his own questions, and Charlie Rose would moderate.

Hell, I'd watch that. Even if it ran three hours and pre-empted House. I suspect, given the straits we are in, millions around the world would tune in as well. We'd all learn something -- although maybe just how royally fucked we are.

George Soros weighs in

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:01:45 +0000

In reply to Economic Stimulus and the Parent Principle

George Soros weighs in scarily. Thanks to Tom Wright at TPM Cafe for the link.

I inhale paint fumes all

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:05:54 +0000

In reply to Geng - I was off on a little

I inhale paint fumes all day

That explains a lot

I just say, "Reagan proved

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 05:04:47 +0000

In reply to This is great. To

I just say, "Reagan proved deficits don't matter." If that doesn't shut them up, I shoot them in the face with a shotgun, which always works.

Geng - I was off on a little

Bluesplashy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:32:51 +0000

In reply to Blue's right. You have to

Geng - I was off on a little side thing and didn't comment on your post. I have tried to keep up with what is going on in the economy from causes to cures but it can be too much information. There is a lot of disagreement about how to solve this 'crisis' from the economists (in fact there are some that claim there isn't really a problem). Sometimes I think people in the different fields of study come up with new theroies just for s..s and giggles. Well, I shouldn't be flippent, just becasuse some really smart person in a field gets a idea circulating about and then does a book and speeches and such doesn't mean the idea is right. And I DO know that we can come up with endless examples that would disprove what I just said. What I now realize is if those who get paid the big bucks can't figure this out, how am I supposed to? I mean honestly, I inhale paint fumes all day and then you all expect me to come home and solve this crisis too?

But on your original post, I liked it, very clear and well reasoned refutation of the Parent principle.

I'm not beating my brains out

Bluesplashy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:18:46 +0000

In reply to This is great. To

I'm not beating my brains out thinking up a reply, just nuke 'em.

This is great. To

littleblackpropaganda — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:15:05 +0000

In reply to Economic Stimulus and the Parent Principle

This is great. To stereotype, I find the Parent Principle in full effect in the mind of just about every lower class (American translation-- middle class) white male in my circle of hell. The Parent Principle usually emits these words from the mouths of the possessed: "where's all this money s'posed to come from?"

It's all so stupid. Unfortunately the correct answer takes more than 1 second to explain, so all is lost. The way I used to answer this question was with a question: "where do you think money comes from?" This is usually met with blank stares. A very brave soul might say "I don't know." But generally things deteriorate into racial slurs (banking countries, regions, e.g. "the" Chinese), and that we should just nuke 'em.

Like, when you are making your family budget, do you have tax revenue to consider, a banking system to regulate, interest rates you can set, monetary policy to devise, printing presses to run, assets you can seize, thieves you can prosecute, etc. etc. etc.? It's such a stupid analogy, the Parent Principle.

But there's no readily accepted leftist enthymeme to readily knock down the Parent Principle. Can we please pretty please invent one? I mean, where's all this money s'posed to come from?