John Polomny

At Least 43,000 New Obamaconomy Workers Freed Up

I did look it up Bob and not the propoganda on the TVA website. I have read about the million of tons fly ash spills, the higher electric rates then nearby investor owned utilities, the $27 billion in outstanding debt from the TVA nuke plants, etc... The one thing that cannot be verified is the oppurtunity cost that the 98% of the people who did not benefit, as you allege, from the TVA had to give up to fund this boondoggle for the 2% who supposedly benefited. This is the old broken window argument that Henry Hazlitt debunked in his book "Economics in one Lesson". You make quite a few claims about the TVA but do not offer any facts. I do not have time to argue with you forever so I will offer this one fact. The government in the Soviet Union controlled all industry. If government run industrial schemes are superior to private ones then how come the Soviet economy collapsed? The Soviets also improved peoples lives relative to what they had under the czar yet I do not think anyone would argue for that economic system.


On Jan 26 07:36 PM Bob Lunn wrote:

> I could answer sarcasm with sarcasm, but instead I recommend looking
> up three little letters on the web… TVA.
>
> The TVA was a highly successful government project created by the
> Roosevelt administration in 1933 that provided tens of thousands
> of jobs while building highly useful business related infrastructure.
> The TVA built a large number of hydropower construction projects
> which of course were built by public construction companies. That
> equals earnings where their were none, and jobs to carry people through
> so they could feed their families until the economy recovered.<br/>
>
> The TVA project controlled the flood waters of the Tennessee River
> and improved navigation (business stimulus). It provided cheep access
> to clean water at an affordable price which allowed the region to
> become an agricultural power house… Lots of business stimulus and
> jobs… The TVA became a major recreation provider (business stimulus)
> To this date, TVA electricity is cheaper, and as a consequence, businesses
> that get their power from the TVA pay less (yet more business stimulus).
> The presence of cheep and reliable electric power resulted in the
> creation of a lot of electric power intensive businesses being created
> in that region. A region that prior to the TVA was mostly a wasteland.
> The TVA brought electricity to millions of people at an affordable
> price. It currently serves 8.5 million residents of the Tennessee
> Valley.
>
> So in answer to the question "Where in the history of the world did
> government create prosperity?" I offer the Tennessee Valley. In answer
> to the statement that "government cannot create jobs or wealth",
> I offer the TVA.

At Least 43,000 New Obamaconomy Workers Freed Up

"Not all of the new jobs are in construction, many will be in IT and other areas. At least the government is trying to do something as opposed to just throwing money at the banks so they can get fatter or buy some more 1.2 million dollar office redesigns. There is going to be a lot of pain ahead."

This statement is the problem. Just for the record I am against all bailouts. The government cannot create jobs or wealth. The government has no resources. It has to steal them from us via taxes, borrow them which we pay interest, or create inflation. Where in the history of the world did government create prosperity?

8 Key Investment Themes for 2008

Another China play that looks good China Natural Gas and on the fertilizer side try Hanfeng Evergreen.