Topic: Economic Policy
Put the Economy Back Where It Belongs A little bit of perspective on the economy, beginning with the origins of the word.by Ben, Sr.
(libertarian)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Everybody is talking about the economy nowadays, and in these uncertain times, there are a lot of opinions as to what to do about it, and who should be doing it. In order to get some perspective, it might be a good idea to look at the definition (and especially origins) of the word "economy" courtesy of Merriam Webster.
Despite the origins of the word, most people tend not to answer according to the first definition when asked, "How's the economy these days?" They may even be inclined to tell the person asking the question to check GDP, unemployment statistics, inflation and other factors at the national or even international level. Most people wouldn't discuss their own household or private affairs in that case, with the exception of perhaps saying they're cutting back on certain expenditures "because the economy's bad."
This could in fact lead to the "thrifty and efficient use of material sources" in order to save more for a rainy day or plan for the future. Little do most people realize, by adjusting their own spending, saving or investing habits, they are in fact taking control over the economy, THEIR economy. According to an April 2009 Rasmussen poll, increasing numbers believe that socialism is better than capitalism, with a slim majority of 53% opting for capitalism.
Even in everyday water cooler talk among employees of private sector companies,it's not unusual to hear the question,"what is the government going to do about (insert issue here)?" Health care is one of those issues these days, but certainly not the only one. That this can occur in a country whose success was built on private sector innovation is disturbing.
Before we as a nation add health care to the list of industries we allow our government to nationalize, making another unelected bureaucracy responsible for the "arrangement or mode of operation" of medicine, we need to ask ourselves a very important question, perhaps two.
First, how thrifty and efficient has our federal government been in the use of material sources, namely our taxes? With the national debtat over $11 trillion and unfunded obligations at over $57 trillion, I would think even the least informed citizen would agree with my answer - not very! State and local governments haven't done much better, but that's worthy of a separate article entirely.
Second, given those figures, how much do we trust government to handle our household and private affairs? This would be the same government that recently released the locations of all its nuclear sites and lost a number of laptops containing information on its citizens.
Are these the people we want handling our health care? Are these the people we want handling our retirement? It's time to get the management of the economy out of the hands of government and back in the hands of households, families and individuals.
Does capitalism have its imperfections. Yes, every economic system does. Yet people can make decisions that steer the ship of capitalism in the direction they want from the grassroots by changing their spending, saving and investing habits. Individuals and families can take control of their own personal economies that way.
No such choice exists in government run economies, whether they are called socialist, communist or fascist. Under those systems, towards which we are rapidly headed, one's personal economy is what government says it is, like it or not. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take care of MY economy, while I still have one to call my own.
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The views expressed in this
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Hi! You haven't addressed the REAL problem. Economies themselves. As long as the masses believe "There's nothing wrong with making a good profit"... nothing will be solved.
Think about the inequal rationing of these wellbeing coupons (USA money) that have the pyramid scheme symbol on the back. Think about the massive and easily-seen servitude-infestation within capitalism. Think about capitalism-invented pricetags, blockading the survival supplies... making it so ONLY free marketeers can get survival supplies and luxuries/toys. Think about the parental policy reversal from share, to fight, when children turn 18 and are sharktanked into "out there". "Out there" is where we're (do as we're-) told to COMPETE... but while "in here"... we shall cooperate. What IS "out there" and what IS "in here" and why does this border, or ANY border... exist?? See how out there/in here phenomenon... sets-up the US/THEM civil wars? Folks on the very same planet as each other, fighting with folks on the very same planet... over wellbeing... and empowerments (entitles of ownership of property/money).
Money, entitles of ownership, pricetags, all products of the felony church-o-competers... called capitalism. Where is the church of cooperators (Christianity)? Why don't THEY have a currency that's legal tender TOO, and handed-out lovingly like leafs falling from trees? Where are potluck dinners and barnraisings and communes? Do we all need to read the story of Stone Soup and learn its lesson again?? Do we all need to go back to view the repeated failings of childhood pyramids? Remember how, when we stacked the children in the playground into servitude-infested pyramids... how the upper 1/3 was momentarily "heads in the clouds" while the kids on the bottom got crushed by having the weight of the world's knees in their backs??
Its all caused by... inequality... ie. pyramid schemes... such as capitalism is. Why isn't EVERYONE in EVERY COUNTRY given the same wellbeing as each other? Why not equal pay and equal ownership of ALL land, supplies, and luxuries? Why do capitalists and former Christians operate in a COMPETING environment instead-of in a "we're all on the same team" cooperating environment? Until these questions and problems are pondered and addressed, you can spew theories about inflation until you vomit, and you have solved NOTHING.
Until one understands spirography (what goes around... comes around... once handed-on a thousand times) and until one understands the capitalism BS of "pull your weight, earn your keep, stand on your own two feet, make a living" etc etc (bandwagoning/railroadings/traditions)... you can't address the problem. The "yay America, yay capitalism" self-BSing is too ingrained, the con/sham is too bought-into. Until one scrutinizes the immorality and illegality of servitude/inequality systems such as the felony pyramid scheme called capitalism, nothing will advance. Profiting causes inflation, its as simple as that. Every profit, leaves a hole. For every winner, there's a loser... in capitalism. And until the toybox tug-o-warring, cookieplate-chasing capitalists... are willing to examine the reason for the huge pile of dead bodies at the exhaust pipe of their "everyone climb aboard the bandwagon" Earth-mowing/harvesting machine... nothing will be accomplished. As long as servitude and competing is the theme of the century (forcing 18 year olds to work FOR others instead of WITH others in equality)... we're all doomed. The ONLY way to fix the problem... is to outlaw economies (and thus outlaw pyramid schemes).
Prepare for the collapse of a pyramid! Its a GOOD thing. It allows loving Christian socialism supply/survival systems... another chance to happen. Look to the USA military supply system, as well as the USA public library system... for proper monetary-discriminationless wisdom and morals. And while we're at it, we need to quit doing the unlevel architecture in USA courtrooms. They are currently church simulators and fear chambers... and look NOTHING like a level military tribunal. Sick. Fix inequality on ALL fronts, and clean-up the statistics page at the World Health Organization. Do that, and we're on our way. Right now, capitalism has caused a massive forsaking and negligent homicide festival... via NOT paying attention to the far-reaching ramifications of pyramid schemes-o-servitude. There's more criteria than just monetary worth... to measure the value of things-with. There's nobody to lynch for the FreeMason/Illuminati pyramid scheme... they've all died of old age. We just need to escape the thing now... by outlawing and abolishing economies.
Take care, everyone! Larry "Wingnut" Wendlandt MaStars - Mothers Against Stuff That Ain't Right (anti-capitalism-ists) Bessemer MI USA
I think you grossly misunderstand me when I refer to capitalism. I'm not talking about the incestuous intermarrying of government and huge corporations into a fascist style crony capitalism. That's just as much an example of a command economy as socialism.
Speaking of socialism, you bring up an oxymoron when you mention "Christian Socialism" in your reply. Marx believed socialism was a logical step towards communism. He also believed religion was the "opiate of the masses" and believed it needed to be eliminated in order for communism to be successful. If socialism is a logical step towards communism, one of the duties of socialism must logically be to snuff out religion.
We haven't had capitalism since before the Federal Reserve Act and 16th Amendment were passed, giving an independent bank control of our economy and giving government control over the fruits of our labor and the ability to redistribute wealth forcefully - both planks of the Communist Manifesto. Have we as a nation become more or less generous since the welfare state took over in the past century? From what I see on a day to day basis, I'd venture to say less. You want more equitable distribution of capital? Bring it about by your own spending habits and charitable donations.
The problem with the attempted manifestations of capitalism in this country is not that there are too many capitalists, but too few. The rest of us are slaves of big business in order to have a steady paycheck, while making the other guy richer. Would I rather have government in charge of changing that, or myself? I'm no genius with business sense, but I still trust myself a hundred times more than I trust any government agency to do it for me.
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