In an effort to pare down my library of books and make room for new volumes I have been listing duplicates, previously read, and books I no longer want for sale on Amazon. Interestingly enough I came across this passage from a 1st edition 1947 printing of Kenneth Roberts book "Lydia Bailey." Needless to say, it is no longer on the Amazon sell list.
"I'm not over-enthusiastic about books that teach or preach, but I may as well admit in the beginning that my primary reason for writing this book was to teach as many as possible of those who come after me how much hell and ruin are inevitably brought on innocent people and innocent countries by men who make a virtue of consistency.
All the great villains and small villains whom I met so frequently in the events I'm about to set down were consistent men-unimaginative men who consistently believed in war as a means of settling disputes between nations; equally misguided men who consistently believed that war must be avoided at all hazards, no matter what the provocation: narrow men who consistently upheld the beliefs and acts of one political party and saw no good in any other; shortsighted men who consistently refused to see that the welfare of their own nation was dependent up on the welfare of every other nation: ignorant men who consistently thought that the policies of their own government should be supported and followed, whether those policies were right or wrong; dangerous men who consistently thought that all people with black skins are inferior to those with white skins; intolerant men who consistently believed that all people with white skins should be forced to accept all people with black skins as equals. And I know that any nation that cannot or will not avoid the dreadful pitfalls of consistency will be on e with the dead empires whose crumbling monuments studded our battlegrounds in Haiti and in Africa."
It's not often that I read fiction, however I'll be making an exception in this case.
-Joseph Graves
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
the other side of the coin...
what could be wrong with a government stimulus designed to employ people, build infrastructure, and get the economy out of a recession? well just as there are two sides to a coin, there is also a flip side to any money a government proposes to spend, that's what. clearly for those in a direct line to receive the stimulus money there's an immediate benefit. with the income they're able to make purchases and support themselves, which in turn will benefit those businesses and people they patronize. so far so good, more jobs and people consuming again, where's the trade off?
in order to understand the ill effects of government stimulation we need to recall the source of the government's ability to stimulate: taxes. taxes imposed on other citizens and businesses who's income and purchasing power are proportionally reduced. in the best of cases the net effect would be zero, what is taken from one in the form of taxes, is given to another as a "stimulus". no net increase takes place, we are simply removing it from Peter in order to pay Paul. of course we aren't in the best of cases, and 100% of the levied taxes do not pass directly to the "stimulants", rather the government itself takes a piece in order to provide for it's own expenses. real money actually leaves the economic system!
worse yet is what is presently being done: taxes are not being increased to pay for the stimulus. the money is coming from the printing press and ultimately debt issued by the government. those saddled with the burden of paying our debt will be our children and our children's, children. it's like giving money to Paul and expecting Peter's kids and grand kids to pay it back! we are making it a little easier on ourselves and sticking our posterity with the bill.
so why do it? the simple answer is it's easier to ignore the ramifications of our present actions than to suck it up and deal with the problem now. politicians aren't elected when they talk about difficult decisions, as a nation we elect legislators who promise to give us something for nothing!
like most things that sound too good to be true, the governments ability to "fix" an economic recession is dubious. even if it worked (which it doesn't) the citizenry payed the bill not the suits in washington.
i'll finish with a quote from Thomas Jefferson, "If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy"
-joe
in order to understand the ill effects of government stimulation we need to recall the source of the government's ability to stimulate: taxes. taxes imposed on other citizens and businesses who's income and purchasing power are proportionally reduced. in the best of cases the net effect would be zero, what is taken from one in the form of taxes, is given to another as a "stimulus". no net increase takes place, we are simply removing it from Peter in order to pay Paul. of course we aren't in the best of cases, and 100% of the levied taxes do not pass directly to the "stimulants", rather the government itself takes a piece in order to provide for it's own expenses. real money actually leaves the economic system!
worse yet is what is presently being done: taxes are not being increased to pay for the stimulus. the money is coming from the printing press and ultimately debt issued by the government. those saddled with the burden of paying our debt will be our children and our children's, children. it's like giving money to Paul and expecting Peter's kids and grand kids to pay it back! we are making it a little easier on ourselves and sticking our posterity with the bill.
so why do it? the simple answer is it's easier to ignore the ramifications of our present actions than to suck it up and deal with the problem now. politicians aren't elected when they talk about difficult decisions, as a nation we elect legislators who promise to give us something for nothing!
like most things that sound too good to be true, the governments ability to "fix" an economic recession is dubious. even if it worked (which it doesn't) the citizenry payed the bill not the suits in washington.
i'll finish with a quote from Thomas Jefferson, "If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy"
-joe
Friday, February 27, 2009
fire up the printing press...
thanks to dan for passing this along...
it is possible to actually make money from the collapse of the dollar. more on this later.
-joe
it is possible to actually make money from the collapse of the dollar. more on this later.
-joe
Thursday, February 26, 2009
obviously you don't understand...
i found this on bencasnocha.com apparently there are others having difficulty understanding how re-inflating the credit bubble is a solution to our economic woes.
this is how Ben introduced the video to his readers:
"Congressman Peter Stark (D - California) represents all that is great about American politicians: humility, wide-ranging and mature vocabulary, and a genuine warm-heartedness towards those interested in political issues.
Take his must-watch interview with libertarian Socratic Dialogue devotee Jan Helfeld discussing the national debt. Congressman Stark, tripped up after saying that a country's wealth increases as its national debt increases, tells the interviewer to "shut up." He then tries to end the interview by telling Helfeld to "get the fuck out of here or I'll throw you out the window."
-joe
"
this is how Ben introduced the video to his readers:
"Congressman Peter Stark (D - California) represents all that is great about American politicians: humility, wide-ranging and mature vocabulary, and a genuine warm-heartedness towards those interested in political issues.
Take his must-watch interview with libertarian Socratic Dialogue devotee Jan Helfeld discussing the national debt. Congressman Stark, tripped up after saying that a country's wealth increases as its national debt increases, tells the interviewer to "shut up." He then tries to end the interview by telling Helfeld to "get the fuck out of here or I'll throw you out the window."
-joe
"
Sunday, February 22, 2009
so that's the problem...
While listening to a podcast some time ago I heard the following comment: "the economy is suffering from a global savings glut", what struck me as odd was the use of the terms suffering and savings in the same sentence. I can think of many things I (we) suffer from, but a savings glut is not one of them. As I began to ponder that statement a few thoughts stuck in my mind:
I came to the conclusion that saving is only bad if your entire economic system is based on the expansion (artificial inflation) of money and credit (which ours is), but this is only partially true as someone will eventually benefit from all the spending and end up accruing some savings. In fact this does happen and it has a name: The Cantillon effect after economist Richard Cantillon. It turns out that the people who get the newly minted money and credit first are disproportionately benefited over those at the bottom of the barrel, in other words inflation hasn't set in for the first few recipients of the money (typically the politicallly well connected), however by the time the average citizen receives the money prices have already increased and at best any raise that may come from inflation will be to break even with the already inflated costs. Either the leadership of our country has been incredibly stupid the last 80 years or it was known that through the artificial expansion of credit and money supply, an increasing number of people would become dependent on the government. As it stands right now the primary political parties have no incentive to make the necessary long term corrections, especially if the citizenry remains largely ignorant.
The time for action is at hand, being a passive citizen will no longer suffice. We need to:
-Joe
- America doesn't save so our suffering must be limited to the effects of other nations saving.
- if we are in fact suffering because other nations saving their money, why?
- aren't we supposed to "save for a rainy day"?
I came to the conclusion that saving is only bad if your entire economic system is based on the expansion (artificial inflation) of money and credit (which ours is), but this is only partially true as someone will eventually benefit from all the spending and end up accruing some savings. In fact this does happen and it has a name: The Cantillon effect after economist Richard Cantillon. It turns out that the people who get the newly minted money and credit first are disproportionately benefited over those at the bottom of the barrel, in other words inflation hasn't set in for the first few recipients of the money (typically the politicallly well connected), however by the time the average citizen receives the money prices have already increased and at best any raise that may come from inflation will be to break even with the already inflated costs. Either the leadership of our country has been incredibly stupid the last 80 years or it was known that through the artificial expansion of credit and money supply, an increasing number of people would become dependent on the government. As it stands right now the primary political parties have no incentive to make the necessary long term corrections, especially if the citizenry remains largely ignorant.
The time for action is at hand, being a passive citizen will no longer suffice. We need to:
- Learn. Education leads to awareness.
- Share. Contribute to the knowledge of others.
- Unite. Together we can stimulate change.
- Act. 1-3 are irrelevant unless something happens.
-Joe
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Life's lottery
Warren Buffet once remarked that we (Americans) won life's lottery by being born in the United States, and while it is true we are experiencing significant economic turmoil there are very few places in the world where life is as easy as we have it. I'm willing to criticize the .gov as much as the next guy (or gal) but let us not forget how we got in this situation; we took out the mortgages and saddled ourselves with crippling debt under the delusion that real estate prices would appreciate in perpetuity. We voted for the laws and politicians that made promises of something for nothing. Our elected officials are adept at giving the citizenry what they want (i.e. home ownership for everyone facilitated by easy credit and artificially low interest rates) if not what they need. The truth is the majority of Americans are ignorant and apathetic towards government unless there is "something in it for them", a sad reality that has gradually allowed the founding principles of America to erode beneath our feet weakening the very fabric of our society. Like it or not our government was not designed to provide bailouts, ease the pain of recession, provide you with a comfortable retirement, or to spread "democracy throughout the world", yet all of these are considered by most people as it's responsibilities. We trifled away unconcerned with the goings on in Washington D.C., outraged only when it had an observable undesirable impact on our daily lives. It is our native responsibility to be aware or our governments actions, notions, and plans at all times. It's too easy to blame the government for our current predicament but it's also un-American.
WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT.
We elected them to office, and we are getting what we deserve. Sometimes the truth hurts, and it makes me angry to think how long I wallowed in my own ignorance, followed the madness of crowds, and that I was not instructed from childhood on my responsibilities as a citizen in a republic. What will I, we, you do now?
Changes to our lifestyle will unavoidably need to be made, what we don't yet know is whether they be voluntarily and gradually applied or violently cast upon us? In the midst of these changes it is essential that we allow our rights to be trampled upon to relieve discomfort. We (and our parents, and their parents, and our parents, parents, parents) allowed this to happen; but today, right now we must also decide to make the necessary changes, to plot a new course and to support others interested in doing the same. Our task will not be easy nor our burden light, but then again neither was the revolutionary war that painfully birthed the freedoms we now take for granted.
I'll finish with a quote from Benjamin Franklin: "they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety".
Enjoy the weekend.
-Joe
WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT.
We elected them to office, and we are getting what we deserve. Sometimes the truth hurts, and it makes me angry to think how long I wallowed in my own ignorance, followed the madness of crowds, and that I was not instructed from childhood on my responsibilities as a citizen in a republic. What will I, we, you do now?
Changes to our lifestyle will unavoidably need to be made, what we don't yet know is whether they be voluntarily and gradually applied or violently cast upon us? In the midst of these changes it is essential that we allow our rights to be trampled upon to relieve discomfort. We (and our parents, and their parents, and our parents, parents, parents) allowed this to happen; but today, right now we must also decide to make the necessary changes, to plot a new course and to support others interested in doing the same. Our task will not be easy nor our burden light, but then again neither was the revolutionary war that painfully birthed the freedoms we now take for granted.
I'll finish with a quote from Benjamin Franklin: "they that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety".
Enjoy the weekend.
-Joe
Friday, December 12, 2008
Natural cycles???
Spring turns to Summer,
Summer turns to Fall,
Fall turns to Winter.
Cycles are a natural part of life, for everything there is a season. For most cycles we accept this as fact and act accordingly (think shorts in the summer, coats in winter)except when they apply to economic cycles. Since the great depression we the people have determined that natural economic cycles cannot be tolerated, that the government of our country must be charged with stopping a natural phenomenon. Actually nobody seems to mind when we are in the "economic expansion" phase, it's the downturn they want eliminated. There is of course a reason for cycles: they are essential to life. Summer is great, but if it were 85 and sunny all year long we'd all starve to death and have no water to drink. In reality the problem isn't economic, it's human nature. We like to feel good, not bad. Instead of preparing for the inevitable change in cycle, we would rather charge the government with protecting us from our own folly. (after we have profited from it of course) The boom and bust cycles are essential for capitalism to function properly. Remove the consequences of unwise behavior and humans will act foolishly. The beauty of a naturally occurring economic cycle is that the bust that follows the boom clears out the rotten behavior and makes way for the prepared (survival of the fittest at it's finest). Those that made prudent decisions will be in a position to benefit from the bust, those that were foolish will be decimated.
Human nature is an interesting thing, if you want to know why people do what they do simply look at how they are rewarded. In America we get almost unlimited tax breaks for borrowing money against our house, but we get only limited deductions for savings. It should be no wonder we have a negative savings rate as a nation! We are simply doing what the government is rewarding us to do. By taking away the cleansing effects of the economic downturn we are removing the very mechanism that protects us in the long term. Companies, people, and governments need to be accountable for their actions, meaning that bankruptcies, defaults, and foreclosures are necessary. People need to lose jobs and businesses need to close because ultimately it will prepare us for the next cycle. Think about the typical elderly person who lived through the depression, what characteristics do they embody? Are they thrifty? Do they save their money? Of course they do! They live like that because they remember how much their lives sucked when they didn't have anything so they are going to be damned sure not to let it ever happen again.
We are in the middle of our economic winter, don't let the politicians fool you into thinking they can pass laws to make it summer all the time. Cinch up your belt, learn from your mistakes, and be prepared for the next cycle.
-joe
Summer turns to Fall,
Fall turns to Winter.
Cycles are a natural part of life, for everything there is a season. For most cycles we accept this as fact and act accordingly (think shorts in the summer, coats in winter)except when they apply to economic cycles. Since the great depression we the people have determined that natural economic cycles cannot be tolerated, that the government of our country must be charged with stopping a natural phenomenon. Actually nobody seems to mind when we are in the "economic expansion" phase, it's the downturn they want eliminated. There is of course a reason for cycles: they are essential to life. Summer is great, but if it were 85 and sunny all year long we'd all starve to death and have no water to drink. In reality the problem isn't economic, it's human nature. We like to feel good, not bad. Instead of preparing for the inevitable change in cycle, we would rather charge the government with protecting us from our own folly. (after we have profited from it of course) The boom and bust cycles are essential for capitalism to function properly. Remove the consequences of unwise behavior and humans will act foolishly. The beauty of a naturally occurring economic cycle is that the bust that follows the boom clears out the rotten behavior and makes way for the prepared (survival of the fittest at it's finest). Those that made prudent decisions will be in a position to benefit from the bust, those that were foolish will be decimated.
Human nature is an interesting thing, if you want to know why people do what they do simply look at how they are rewarded. In America we get almost unlimited tax breaks for borrowing money against our house, but we get only limited deductions for savings. It should be no wonder we have a negative savings rate as a nation! We are simply doing what the government is rewarding us to do. By taking away the cleansing effects of the economic downturn we are removing the very mechanism that protects us in the long term. Companies, people, and governments need to be accountable for their actions, meaning that bankruptcies, defaults, and foreclosures are necessary. People need to lose jobs and businesses need to close because ultimately it will prepare us for the next cycle. Think about the typical elderly person who lived through the depression, what characteristics do they embody? Are they thrifty? Do they save their money? Of course they do! They live like that because they remember how much their lives sucked when they didn't have anything so they are going to be damned sure not to let it ever happen again.
We are in the middle of our economic winter, don't let the politicians fool you into thinking they can pass laws to make it summer all the time. Cinch up your belt, learn from your mistakes, and be prepared for the next cycle.
-joe
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Special election coverage!
what does it say about our country when NBC's "special coverage" of the presidential election is done as a parody by comedians? (the Saturday Night Live cast) i have to admit that the show will likely be humorous, however it's no laughing matter that this airtime will likely garner a higher rating than the presidential debates. we may not get what we expect from our elected officials, but we will get what we deserve.
-joe
-joe
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