Just now, practically, Don Surber has published a post which presents a big picture theory of what’s going on with this recession. I’m not sure I buy it in the form that Don presents it, but a modified version might be plausible. Here’s the key part, which summarizes the basic idea:
Keynesian economics is you can print money forever, and as long as nobody punctures the balloon “with the emperor is wearing no clothes”, you are fine.
Our federal government system, congress and executive, rewards more spending which buys votes and donations, and the deficit is ignored. And a revolving door between top government workers and private industry. Legalized corruption. So everyone is a winner!
The problem is the Russian Sanctions are forcing huge economic changes, where the money printing can’t continue.
The build back better and climate change stuff, reducing nitrogen use to fight global warming. Seems insane to me. Climate change is a fanatical religion for some. And pandering to them has had a minor cost. It’s been easier to buy them off, then fight them.
Thanks for the KD link, which I am still in the process of deciphering. First sentence blaming the election of Trump for all our woes ...
Trump is not Keynes, and the Democrats are not Keynsian. Investing in an expansion of the economy, as well as a catastrophically depleted military , were both necessary after the Obama years. It would pay off big time if our oil and gas industries were flourishing nowadays, and enabled us to gain total control over Aphghanistan . We threw this all away. Pork and roadblocks was all Trump got from the Democrats and RINOs. Not only were Trump's promises thwarted, but no President was ever subject to the treatment he was. My biggest complaint to KD is his taking Trump to task for "lack of the "Rule of Law." His Presidency was the prime victim of the lack of the Rule of Law.
Bash says stupid, Tamsin says calculated and Lawrence doesn't know. How about a combination, together with lots of unintended consequences. In revolutions there are factions, and everyone thinks he is using the other one. After the revolution things sort themselves out, and the strongest or most ruthless generally win out. Everybody wants to lord it over the proles, but the proles don't have to cooperate anything beyond giving the appearance of cooperating. They also don't have billions to lose. They survive not only recessions but also depressions. I think some of the big shots are having second thoughts about the NWO, and Crony Capitalism is finding that a veneer of 'wokeness' is not enough for the progressive crowd. The politicians whose ego prompts them to think they are running things really are incompetent. Maybe wishful thinking, but I see this 'revolution' will have people bailing out before it comes to a conclusion.
I'm with Don, insofar as they seem to be using Covid to work on collapsing the existing, creaking, monstrous healthcare system, and rolling it all into a nationalized healthcare ball. Which Democrats have always held out as the key to their kingdom of heaven on earth.
As we got to see up close and personal during the "pandemic", the majority of Americans are willing to do ANYTHING to individually save themselves from the inconvenience of a cold as long as it comes wrapped in the myth that "we are all in this together."
There would have to have been a general strike as KD recommends, on more than one occasion when the vaccine mandates came down, but ... nothing. Only save your own skin.
I come down firmly on the side of it doesn't matter whether the economic pain administered is intentional and malicious--or incompetent malice. Either way, the pacing and stridency of their policy roll-out indicates premeditation in the extreme. The pretense that a narrow, stolen victory represented some kind of mandate to shove the most radical agenda ever down America's throat indicates a turn away from politics as usual. Their unwillingness to course correct is reminiscent of the sacrifice of congressional seats that they made to jam in Obamacare (the fact that the lost seats were Blue Dog Dems was actually a bonus).
No. The Cloward-Piven approach of the last six years tells me that they are convinced that the ends justify the pain and chaos. I think they are convinced that they are better at taking advantage of crisis and chaos than are the Republicans. They are, of course, correct in that. The GOP may well re-take Congress in November, but they have no plan to do battle at the actual point of attack--the Dem's use of the federal government resources to destroy anybody who challenges their primacy. They will tilt at CRT and gender identity windmills. They will not impeach Biden. They will hold stupid show investigations rather than starting grand jury proceedings. Ted Cruz will specialize in asking 10 minute long questions for the nightly news cameras. And while all these stupid games proceed, the USD will wilt, the border invasion will continue, we will dedicate ourselves to wasting a trillion to <strike> rebuild Ukraine</strike>line defense contractor's and congress critter pockets.
I'll never accuse Trump of being a fiscal conservative, but does KD not remember that he requested a reduced budget in year one and Congress flipped him the bird, actually increasing the budget? But when COVID hit they couldn't print the money faster than they were burning it.
Also, I have long acknowledged the conventional wisdom that presidential economic policies lag one or two administrations, but with Trump it seemed different: with energy independence, repatriating manufacturing, tax cuts that helped common folk...all measures that seemed to justify giving Trump credit for a real economic boom after Obama's policies of economic suppression and rather than the smoke and mirrors that KD claims.
I suppose the question of whether it was planned or not requires an answer re: their ability to control elections to the extent some say they can. Long sentence I know but...
I think the ideologues and swampers play long ball. The ideologues see the long game and know that elections come and go but the long roll of history is toward some form of statist control. Swamp creatures like Pelosi and Schumer know they have their seats wrapped tighter than a drum. No one will unseat them so they just swing for the leftist fences. BTW , does Schumer looks more like an evil troll every day or what?? God help me but I despise that guy.
Keynesian economics is you can print money forever, and as long as nobody punctures the balloon “with the emperor is wearing no clothes”, you are fine.
Our federal government system, congress and executive, rewards more spending which buys votes and donations, and the deficit is ignored. And a revolving door between top government workers and private industry. Legalized corruption. So everyone is a winner!
The problem is the Russian Sanctions are forcing huge economic changes, where the money printing can’t continue.
The build back better and climate change stuff, reducing nitrogen use to fight global warming. Seems insane to me. Climate change is a fanatical religion for some. And pandering to them has had a minor cost. It’s been easier to buy them off, then fight them.
Thanks for the KD link, which I am still in the process of deciphering. First sentence blaming the election of Trump for all our woes ...
Trump is not Keynes, and the Democrats are not Keynsian. Investing in an expansion of the economy, as well as a catastrophically depleted military , were both necessary after the Obama years. It would pay off big time if our oil and gas industries were flourishing nowadays, and enabled us to gain total control over Aphghanistan . We threw this all away. Pork and roadblocks was all Trump got from the Democrats and RINOs. Not only were Trump's promises thwarted, but no President was ever subject to the treatment he was. My biggest complaint to KD is his taking Trump to task for "lack of the "Rule of Law." His Presidency was the prime victim of the lack of the Rule of Law.
Bash says stupid, Tamsin says calculated and Lawrence doesn't know. How about a combination, together with lots of unintended consequences. In revolutions there are factions, and everyone thinks he is using the other one. After the revolution things sort themselves out, and the strongest or most ruthless generally win out. Everybody wants to lord it over the proles, but the proles don't have to cooperate anything beyond giving the appearance of cooperating. They also don't have billions to lose. They survive not only recessions but also depressions. I think some of the big shots are having second thoughts about the NWO, and Crony Capitalism is finding that a veneer of 'wokeness' is not enough for the progressive crowd. The politicians whose ego prompts them to think they are running things really are incompetent. Maybe wishful thinking, but I see this 'revolution' will have people bailing out before it comes to a conclusion.
I'm with Don, insofar as they seem to be using Covid to work on collapsing the existing, creaking, monstrous healthcare system, and rolling it all into a nationalized healthcare ball. Which Democrats have always held out as the key to their kingdom of heaven on earth.
As we got to see up close and personal during the "pandemic", the majority of Americans are willing to do ANYTHING to individually save themselves from the inconvenience of a cold as long as it comes wrapped in the myth that "we are all in this together."
There would have to have been a general strike as KD recommends, on more than one occasion when the vaccine mandates came down, but ... nothing. Only save your own skin.
This really is Obama's third term.
Sometimes stupid is what stupid does
They are likely True Believers
I come down firmly on the side of it doesn't matter whether the economic pain administered is intentional and malicious--or incompetent malice. Either way, the pacing and stridency of their policy roll-out indicates premeditation in the extreme. The pretense that a narrow, stolen victory represented some kind of mandate to shove the most radical agenda ever down America's throat indicates a turn away from politics as usual. Their unwillingness to course correct is reminiscent of the sacrifice of congressional seats that they made to jam in Obamacare (the fact that the lost seats were Blue Dog Dems was actually a bonus).
No. The Cloward-Piven approach of the last six years tells me that they are convinced that the ends justify the pain and chaos. I think they are convinced that they are better at taking advantage of crisis and chaos than are the Republicans. They are, of course, correct in that. The GOP may well re-take Congress in November, but they have no plan to do battle at the actual point of attack--the Dem's use of the federal government resources to destroy anybody who challenges their primacy. They will tilt at CRT and gender identity windmills. They will not impeach Biden. They will hold stupid show investigations rather than starting grand jury proceedings. Ted Cruz will specialize in asking 10 minute long questions for the nightly news cameras. And while all these stupid games proceed, the USD will wilt, the border invasion will continue, we will dedicate ourselves to wasting a trillion to <strike> rebuild Ukraine</strike>line defense contractor's and congress critter pockets.
KD's statement about DeSantis' failure to enforce his own vax passport law is concerning...
I'll never accuse Trump of being a fiscal conservative, but does KD not remember that he requested a reduced budget in year one and Congress flipped him the bird, actually increasing the budget? But when COVID hit they couldn't print the money faster than they were burning it.
Also, I have long acknowledged the conventional wisdom that presidential economic policies lag one or two administrations, but with Trump it seemed different: with energy independence, repatriating manufacturing, tax cuts that helped common folk...all measures that seemed to justify giving Trump credit for a real economic boom after Obama's policies of economic suppression and rather than the smoke and mirrors that KD claims.
I suppose the question of whether it was planned or not requires an answer re: their ability to control elections to the extent some say they can. Long sentence I know but...
I think the ideologues and swampers play long ball. The ideologues see the long game and know that elections come and go but the long roll of history is toward some form of statist control. Swamp creatures like Pelosi and Schumer know they have their seats wrapped tighter than a drum. No one will unseat them so they just swing for the leftist fences. BTW , does Schumer looks more like an evil troll every day or what?? God help me but I despise that guy.