At last, a new title. For those of you still wondering, I have not been in DC since December 08, thus, there isn't much "DC Time" to speak of first hand anymore.
The new title came to me in class. If I remember correctly, there are as many people living today as have ever inhabited the earth. Roughly speaking I am sure. Each one of us little humans has opinions we think vastly important. For instance, most think that if we were the close advisor to whatever leader of countryX, countryX would no longer be in the dumps. Every time I fly over a city or suburban area or watch hundreds of cars go by on the freeway, it baffles me to think that each person who is represented by the buildings and cars possesses their own set of qualities, flaws, and opinions. By inference, I think this makes our opinions worthless. In the vastness of the cosmos, who cares what I think? Especially if I am an accident of some pre-historic (before time) physical law. But wait! Christ came to earth, demonstrating His love for all humanity, including myself. He gives value to what each of us has to say because we are dignified creations in God's image. We are not an accident but carefully crafted, able to reason and interact. So here's one being's voice (me) out of 13 billion (or so), insignificant, yet valuable for some mysterious reason in all its shortcomings.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Bribing the Public
Let's not be bribed. This article on Tocqueville and his insights:
"Is America on the road to comfortable servility? “The American Republic,” Tocqueville wrote, “will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” Since Roosevelt’s New Deal, America has slowly drifted towards a political economy of soft despotism. Despite the Reagan Revolution, the trend-lines of government-spending and intervention have been in the anti-liberty direction. Entire constituencies of people now exist who regularly support politicians who promise that, in return for their votes, their entitlements (corporate-welfare, bails-outs for the “too big-to-fail,” the old-fashioned welfare state etc) will be maintained and increased."
Despotism-The Soft Way.
Also, this is an interesting article on the collapse of the Icelandic economy. In elections coming up it looks like the conservative party is about to be outed and replaced by a the more left leaning party. The collapse is of the economy is blamed on the conservative party's ruling. I found this sentence to be most interesting: "After racking up massive debts during years of laissez-faire economic regulation and rapid expansion, the country's three main banks collapsed within the space of a week in October." I don't know details, but if I were a socialist, I'd eat this up.
"Is America on the road to comfortable servility? “The American Republic,” Tocqueville wrote, “will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” Since Roosevelt’s New Deal, America has slowly drifted towards a political economy of soft despotism. Despite the Reagan Revolution, the trend-lines of government-spending and intervention have been in the anti-liberty direction. Entire constituencies of people now exist who regularly support politicians who promise that, in return for their votes, their entitlements (corporate-welfare, bails-outs for the “too big-to-fail,” the old-fashioned welfare state etc) will be maintained and increased."
Despotism-The Soft Way.
Also, this is an interesting article on the collapse of the Icelandic economy. In elections coming up it looks like the conservative party is about to be outed and replaced by a the more left leaning party. The collapse is of the economy is blamed on the conservative party's ruling. I found this sentence to be most interesting: "After racking up massive debts during years of laissez-faire economic regulation and rapid expansion, the country's three main banks collapsed within the space of a week in October." I don't know details, but if I were a socialist, I'd eat this up.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Surprise!
Unexpected results. Usually everything the government gets involved in runs so smoothly.
Bank bailout may hurt taxpayers, be open to fraud.
GM spent $2.8 million on lobbying while on borrowed gov money. Duh.
Bank bailout may hurt taxpayers, be open to fraud.
GM spent $2.8 million on lobbying while on borrowed gov money. Duh.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Wealth
Allow me to clarify on this word and its meaning, since it was thoughtfully brought up by my friend from DC.
Wealth brings with it a connotation of rich businessmen living beyond their means. Or anyone living beyond their means for that matter. This is distasteful to most, for obvious reasons, especially in Christian theology where Christ has exhorted His followers to be mindful and help the poor.
The free market type of wealth refers more broadly to a type of value creation. Wealth means any measure of resources that are expendable in exchange for goods or services.
Why is it a factor? Calvin Coolidge said it well in a speech he gave to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on January 17, 1925. This excerpt took place towards the end of the speech about the relationship between the free, capitalistic press in America to a popular government. He used the poem as a preface to the following paragraph:
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. (Goldsmith)
Excellent poetry, but not a good working philosophy. Goldsmith would have been right, if, in fact, the accumulation of wealth meant the decay of men. It is rare indeed that the men who are accumulating wealth decay. It is only when they cease production, when accumulation stops, that an irreparable decay begins. Wealth is the product of industry, ambition, character and untiring effort. In all experience, the accumulation of wealth means the multiplication of schools, the increase of knowledge, the dissemination of intelligence, the encouragement of science, the broadening of outlook, the expansion of liberties, the widening of culture. Of course, the accumulation of wealth can not be justified as the chief end of existence. But we are compelled to recognize it as a means to well nigh every desirable achievement. So long as wealth is made the means and not the end, we need not greatly fear it. And there never was a time when wealth was so generally regarded as a means, or so little regarded as an end, as today. Just a little time ago we read in your newspapers that two leaders of American business, whose efforts at accumulation had been most astonishingly successful, had given fifty or sixty million dollars as endowments to educational works. That was real news. It was characteristic of our American experience with men of large resources. They use their power to serve, not themselves and their own families, but the public. I feel sure that the coming generations, which will benefit by those endowments, will not be easily convinced that they have suffered greatly because of these particular accumulations of wealth.
Hopefully that provides some clarification on an important aspect of economic development. Thanks, DM!
Wealth brings with it a connotation of rich businessmen living beyond their means. Or anyone living beyond their means for that matter. This is distasteful to most, for obvious reasons, especially in Christian theology where Christ has exhorted His followers to be mindful and help the poor.
The free market type of wealth refers more broadly to a type of value creation. Wealth means any measure of resources that are expendable in exchange for goods or services.
Why is it a factor? Calvin Coolidge said it well in a speech he gave to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on January 17, 1925. This excerpt took place towards the end of the speech about the relationship between the free, capitalistic press in America to a popular government. He used the poem as a preface to the following paragraph:
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. (Goldsmith)
Excellent poetry, but not a good working philosophy. Goldsmith would have been right, if, in fact, the accumulation of wealth meant the decay of men. It is rare indeed that the men who are accumulating wealth decay. It is only when they cease production, when accumulation stops, that an irreparable decay begins. Wealth is the product of industry, ambition, character and untiring effort. In all experience, the accumulation of wealth means the multiplication of schools, the increase of knowledge, the dissemination of intelligence, the encouragement of science, the broadening of outlook, the expansion of liberties, the widening of culture. Of course, the accumulation of wealth can not be justified as the chief end of existence. But we are compelled to recognize it as a means to well nigh every desirable achievement. So long as wealth is made the means and not the end, we need not greatly fear it. And there never was a time when wealth was so generally regarded as a means, or so little regarded as an end, as today. Just a little time ago we read in your newspapers that two leaders of American business, whose efforts at accumulation had been most astonishingly successful, had given fifty or sixty million dollars as endowments to educational works. That was real news. It was characteristic of our American experience with men of large resources. They use their power to serve, not themselves and their own families, but the public. I feel sure that the coming generations, which will benefit by those endowments, will not be easily convinced that they have suffered greatly because of these particular accumulations of wealth.
Hopefully that provides some clarification on an important aspect of economic development. Thanks, DM!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Some good, some bad
A friend of mine on the way out of chapel came up to me and said, "Hey, did you hear that the leaders at the G20 conference agreed to spend $1 trillion to stimulate the global economy. Aren't we in debt already?" Excellent observation.
Speaking of this global stimulus, the Financial Times article on the subject had a handy chart. I don't hold a high regard for what leaders discuss at summits. There are a lot of lofty words thrown around and mostly about more government control.
Good things first: "A repeat of November’s pledge to refrain from protectionism and minimize trade-distorting-fiscal stimulus measures" Sweet. Free trade, do it.
Bad things: "Support for fiscal, monetary and banking packages already announced." Mistake, as we've covered before. "Curbs on bankers’ pay and establish a new Financial Stability Board." Aha! Obviously because the lesson we have learned from this whole crisis is that bankers are SINFUL and government regulators are most likely, by some eyewitness accounts, angels. Whatever a banker does, regulate it! It's probably bad. This brings up the assumption that only capitalistic entrepreneurs are capable of harming other human beings. But wait, they are human just as all other occupations involve humans, including government. There is vice everywhere. Granted, bankers made mistakes, but they have also contributed to global wealth. Whereas it is much, much harder to find a government official who has created wealth. By principle, government entities do not create wealth, only redistribute it. Top down government regulations inhibit liberty and the opportunity to create wealth. I fear more harm than good from this lofty talk.
Speaking of this global stimulus, the Financial Times article on the subject had a handy chart. I don't hold a high regard for what leaders discuss at summits. There are a lot of lofty words thrown around and mostly about more government control.
Good things first: "A repeat of November’s pledge to refrain from protectionism and minimize trade-distorting-fiscal stimulus measures" Sweet. Free trade, do it.
Bad things: "Support for fiscal, monetary and banking packages already announced." Mistake, as we've covered before. "Curbs on bankers’ pay and establish a new Financial Stability Board." Aha! Obviously because the lesson we have learned from this whole crisis is that bankers are SINFUL and government regulators are most likely, by some eyewitness accounts, angels. Whatever a banker does, regulate it! It's probably bad. This brings up the assumption that only capitalistic entrepreneurs are capable of harming other human beings. But wait, they are human just as all other occupations involve humans, including government. There is vice everywhere. Granted, bankers made mistakes, but they have also contributed to global wealth. Whereas it is much, much harder to find a government official who has created wealth. By principle, government entities do not create wealth, only redistribute it. Top down government regulations inhibit liberty and the opportunity to create wealth. I fear more harm than good from this lofty talk.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Where have I been?
Spring Break man.
Hit up Atlanta, New Orleans, Cozumel. Took a cruise ship from New Orleans to Cozumel. Beautiful sun, beautiful beach, food and rest. Pics on Facebook soon. Checked Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana off the state list too.
Read Slash, Slash's (the lead guitarist from Guns N Roses) autobiography. It's full of his crazy exploits throughout his life. Although full of many unrepeatable things (I don't recommend it for everyone), it gave me a new appreciation for music and the intense struggles that many people have with substance abuse. I also started reading Mark Twain's Roughing It. It is very funny and I recommend it. It's all about his travels out west or as he puts it, "variegated vagabondizing" when he was about my age. I need to read more from this guy.
Was out of the news loop, but I'm climbing back into it. I'll save the commentary until a late date.
Hit up Atlanta, New Orleans, Cozumel. Took a cruise ship from New Orleans to Cozumel. Beautiful sun, beautiful beach, food and rest. Pics on Facebook soon. Checked Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana off the state list too.
Read Slash, Slash's (the lead guitarist from Guns N Roses) autobiography. It's full of his crazy exploits throughout his life. Although full of many unrepeatable things (I don't recommend it for everyone), it gave me a new appreciation for music and the intense struggles that many people have with substance abuse. I also started reading Mark Twain's Roughing It. It is very funny and I recommend it. It's all about his travels out west or as he puts it, "variegated vagabondizing" when he was about my age. I need to read more from this guy.
Was out of the news loop, but I'm climbing back into it. I'll save the commentary until a late date.
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