The Soviet Union had strong consumption power, but they did not know how to manufacture. The final result was obvious.
The Demoralization is just Beginning
41–50 of 812 posts
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#42I prefer my economic takes from economists, or people who actually study these things. -there is more to an economy than manufacturing. Using manufacturing metrics to rate an economy is like scoring a soccer game based on how far your players run: in some contexts correlated with “winning” but in others it’s not. -gold is not a good currency or basis for monetary policy. -these ideas only sound self consistent withou…
> But solution point 1 — brain drain the rest of the world — is an absolutely first rate policy. The fact that the US requires newly-minted PhDs educated here to get a different visa or leave is absolutely self-defeating. We should be welcoming skilled immigration from everywhere. Even better, let them keep their visa and if they revoke their citizenship, we'll relocate their entire family if they come from a repress…
> Brain-draining the world is really the key to cementing American Hegemony in a post-Cold War world.
Why should we want that instead of an orderly, well-governed democracy? Do you think people in Sweden or Denmark are upset their countries aren't hegemons?
And what would that do to the country? Do you really think that, say, the top 5% of India and China (100 million people) would do better maintaining a democracy than median Iowans? That's a real bet that your assumptions about how society works actually reflect reality.
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#43His point with respect to the questionable nature of the modern economy is a good one. I’d guess that 20% of GDP is tax avoidance.
Everything with respect to real estate is a scheme to get government subsidy. If you go to a modern Courtyard or Hampton Inn, you’re sleeping in a tax shelter that rents beds
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "Gold standard" is an idea every sane economist rejected decades ago. I don't think any sane economists have ever "rejected" the gold standard, it is known to work. Pretty much any empire ever founded was built on a gold standard. The US jumped away from it because they were going to go bankrupt and picked a system that put the pain off until a later date. Now, 50 years later, they appear to have lost the title of…
What is the gold standard 'effective' at? In the 19th century, the US had a more or less continual stream of panics and recessions. In 1932, everyone had to get off the gold standard because there was no mechanism to stop the deflationary death spiral otherwise. 'Bretton-Woods' failed to control inflation, and it became possible to arbitrage gold across markets.
> In the 19th century, the US had a more or less continual stream of panics and recessions. In 1932, everyone had to get off the gold standard because there was no mechanism to stop the deflationary death spiral otherwise.
Disabling the feedback mechanisms isn't a win. When it had the feedback from continuous minor panics the US built an economy capable of taking on the entire word and winning by a massive margin in the 1940s. And I bet there were alternative mechanisms to deal with the "deflationary debt spiral".
Now the US keeps telling itself it is OK while it is increasingly marginalised. There isn't much evidence is it can win a major war or compete economically against more serious Asian efforts. The election of Trump suggests that US citizens don't even feel particularly fat and comfortable in their own economy. At least all the economic indicators say the US is OK though! The money printing is sure to lead to prosperity.
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#45> Back the dollar by gold [...] The second will prevent a lot of the scams. Oh boy... Bitcoin in many ways is idealized gold (unlike the real one, its supply is actually limited), yet there is no shortage of scams around it. On the contrary, a gold standard would remove one of the most essential tools modern governments have: That of monetary policy. That sounds like a good idea if and only if there's an extreme shor…
Well, bitcoin does have an upper limit, but rug pull coins don't. The exact number is ₿20,999,999.9769
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#46> I’m talking doubling the US population, bringing in all the factory workers, farmers, miners, engineers, literally anyone who produces value
Based??
> Back the dollar by gold
Oh haha lol
No bud, gold isn't money.
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#47Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#48I prefer my economic takes from economists, or people who actually study these things. -there is more to an economy than manufacturing. Using manufacturing metrics to rate an economy is like scoring a soccer game based on how far your players run: in some contexts correlated with “winning” but in others it’s not. -gold is not a good currency or basis for monetary policy. -these ideas only sound self consistent withou…
“there is more to an economy than manufacturing” Not really, no. If China cut off the US, for any reason, who gets hurt more? Who has a bigger house of cards to collapse? Who will have a harder time rebuilding? If the next leader is bolder than Xi, and is of the same kind that once killed tens of millions of people, losing an arm and a leg to behead an enemy might be a viable strategy.
> Not really, no. If China cut off the US, for any reason, who gets hurt more?
China gets hurt more. They are an export economy. US will face some temporary pain, sure, but other countries build stuff as well. Meanwhile what does China do with all the materials piling up, millions out of jobs and a half a trillion dollar hole in their economy?
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#49For his solutions: "Brain drain" is what we had been doing for the past 80 years or so. It worked great. We're specifically driving people away now. "Gold standard" is an idea every sane economist rejected decades ago.
I dont think Brin Drain is a win-win outcome in a globalized world. USA benefits but at expense of mostly poor nations sending their elite talent.
I have a feeling that any cost to other nations might not be a concern to TFA in any way, given that the stated goal seems to be to somehow "save the American empire".
Geopolitics from a less civilized time making their comeback, this time without mincing any words.
Re: The Demoralization is just Beginning
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I dont think Brin Drain is a win-win outcome in a globalized world. USA benefits but at expense of mostly poor nations sending their elite talent.
Since the host country rarely retains the majority of the students, it can be a win-win. Some go back home with a good education and fresh ideas.
I wouldn't call that brain drain then.