milkchaser

The Next Leg of the Crisis: Unavoidable Catastrophe

Where can I read about the problem of long-term decay in TBT?

Double Your Profits When Treasuries Tumble

What makes FXA better (besides the dividend)?


On Aug 07 07:20 AM prairiedog555 wrote:

> When I look at charts, certainly not an expert, it would seem that
> a better foil to the dollar/us tres would be FXA, plus it pays a
> dividend.

Obama Says We're Out of Money

I think we can agree with Obama's analysis since it is the conventional wisdom and, as far as long-term entitlements, has been the conventional wisdom for decades (G.W.Bush ran on the issue of SS reform in the late 70s in a failed bid for Congress, and he unsuccessfully championed the idea of reform four years ago). Obama's analysis is not exactly at the intellectual vanguard.

So Obama's analysis is correct, but not necessarily astute. Where he is astute is in exploiting the anxieties created by these issues. What is troublesome is that, when faced with a gargantuan debt problem, he quadrupled down. It is the most fiscally irresponsible act since FDR made gold ownership illegal.

If Americans are suffering such a dearth of health care, then why are typical Americans so healthy? Why are death rates from cancer and heart disease, and other killers of Americans, declining? Even if these good health outcomes are due to something other than sufficient access to health care, then access to health care is not as important as claimed. OTOH, if access is essential, then the good outcomes demonstrate that people are typically getting enough of it.

Besides which, the problem for most people is not that they cannot get health care. That is a problem for very few people. The problem (if it is one) is that health care is more expensive than people would like. Guess what? Gasoline is more expensive than people like. Food is more expensive. Health care is not prohibitively expensive for most people (although it is for an unfortunate few, and some of those are not covered by Medicaid, which is awful). Americans like to moan about the high cost of medical care, but typically they are getting a very good product for that cost.

Regardless of one's perspective on the cost, this should not be distorted into an untruth that people cannot get health care, since most can. They can even usually get health care insurance (not the same thing as health care itself) if they are willing to forgo other things and bear the financial pain. Bad health can cause financial ruin. That is sad, but so are fatal car accidents. Stuff happens.

It is unfortunate that some politicians are using the anxiety over this issue to seize control of the health care industry.

I also challenge the notion that Americans are getting "less (sic) educational opportunities". The number of children in school has increased monotonically. The number of people in higher education has increased monotonically. The cost is higher, but that simply determines which school one gets into and perhaps the quality of the education. It might also force people to forgo expensive liberal arts education, but is such an education necessary and worthwhile? Also, not everybody who is qualified to be a doctor gets to be a doctor. It has ever been thus. It ever shall be. Life is not fair.

Again, it is unfortunate that some politicians have exploited anxiety over this issue in order to solidify their power and secure the devotion of teacher unions. The result is more tax money sent to schools -- it's a shame if all that extra money is not getting the job done. Makes me wonder if the money is well spent, or if the problems with education are not only or even primarily a lack of funding.

We do agree however that the American standard of living will decline if the currency is debased. That, however, is not an inevitability. There are elections in 2010. There are protest rallies in the streets. There will be hundreds of thousands of people in DC on September 12 protesting the current expansion of Federal power and debt. This is as unprecedented as Obama's deficits.

On May 28 11:05 AM Larrysyr wrote:

> Obama has analyzed the situation correctly in that there is an immediate
> fiancial/economic crisis to deal with AND a long-term structural
> mess with Medicare, Social Security, and infrastructure deterioration,
> among other forces.
>
> He's chosen the path of trying to jump-start the economy, which should
> provide some of the resources to address the longer-term problems.
>
>
> This strategy may not work, though I'm not sure there are any more
> appealing choices. In fact, our political and economic systems have
> demonstrated precious little appetite for long-term, productive investments.
> I expect the likeliest outcome will be for the USA to inflate its
> way out of its debt obligations and for the real average standard
> of living to decline. Less access to quality health care, more stress
> on families trying to keep their homes, less educational opportunities
> for people of moderate means, more expensive staples like food and
> clothing. Sounds like what we've been experiencing for decades.

Pres. Obama: Counterfeiter-in-Chief?

The cost of the war in Iraq and the cost of the "stimulus package" are comparable. But the stimulus package will be spent in less time. The war in Iraq arguably enhanced national security. The stimulus package was predominately a payoff to various Democratic constituencies. I doubt that either the war or excessive Federal gov't spending will result in economic growth, but at least the war accomplished something: it's hard to argue that the world would be safer if Saddam were still above ground and breathing.

Besides which, Bush is gone. It's all on Obama now.


On Mar 26 10:59 AM Chris B wrote:

> And not a word about Bush? He increased the national debt by several
> trillion dollars during his term, but when BO increases it by maybe
> 1-2 trillion (by buying distressed assets that will probably be sold
> for a profit later vs. throwing money down the hole in Iraq/Afghanistan)
> it's the end of the world. Sounds like a twinge of political bias
> to me.

Obama Rally: The Game Plan, Not a Question

Obama rally? What are you smoking and where can I get some?