My wife was watching one of the talking head gurus on the boob tube. He was telling us what we would need to do to stop the run away inflation that is forecast. He was using impressive demons like the Federal Reserve and relating all the things the government needs to do to solve the problem. It is sad that he does not have a clue.
The problem is not the Federal Reserve. It is not really the government. The problem is the millions of citizens who are willing to accept the freebies that those agencies are handing out. I believe it was the old cartoon figure Pogo who said, “We have met the enemy and it is us.”
I am on social security. I will take it. I claim I paid for it so I deserve it. I am on Medicare. The same reasoning is applied. I can accept the idea that Social Security would be solvent if Congress didn’t keep playing games, borrowing from the fund, adding people who never contributed and participate in a furious bait and switch Ponzi scheme. Medicare is a different story. We paid in peanuts and have incredibly low premiums and want Cadillac insurance. We figure we deserve it and someone else will pay for it.
I hear from people who are getting still another stimulus check from the government. I hear about all kinds of loans for businesses. President Biden promised to forgive student loans. The list of bribes is endless. It only works if we keep thinking that we are going to get something that someone else will be forced to pay for.
Have you ever heard that you can’t cheat an honest man? The reason for that is that the honest man will know that the deal is unacceptable because he has a moral code that says someone is going to get cheated. He will not participate if it is not on the up and up. So you don’t get to drain his bank account for seed money.
What we need are more honest men. Any volunteers?
homo unius libri
Saturday, June 12, 2021
Opus 2021-200: Where Is Diogenes When You Need Him
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
If one defines inflation as "an expansion of the currency supply", Why wouldn't we blame the US Treasury/Federal Reserve banks for the tripling of the M1 dollar supply over the past 3 years?
ReplyDeleteI am sure you have heard the nonsense about "What if they gave a war and nobody came." In the same way I ask, "What if they were passing out money and no one took it?" It is not the expansion of the currency. That is legitimate if it is matched by an increase in productivity. What raises prices is a limited supply of pencils with more people who can afford to write. They are willing to pay more. Would people pay twice as much for a steak at a fancy restaurant if they could only afford Denny's? Credit cards produce the same results.
DeleteGrace and peace
I believe what we have seen recently is the result of excessive currency expansion, which is too much money chasing too few goods. You nicely illustrated this with your pencil example. My concern is with excessive currency expansion, where currency creation far exceeds increased productivity. I think most would agree that we have not enjoyed a tripling of productivity by any measure over the past three years. As for passing out money and no one taking it, I have to wonder how many people returned their stimulus checks/deposits/debit cards?
DeleteNot me but I point out to people when I was a teacher I always voted against more money for education.
DeleteGrace and peace