unclej0

The Next Leg of the Crisis: Unavoidable Catastrophe

I am not an economist but I am scientist enough to know that quoting von Mises or Bastiat is not a good substitute for having a decent computer model of the economy.

It is clear that our economic system is not very stable and as it hangs in the balance between inflation and deflation very careful management is needed to avoid excess in either direction. If that is Keynesianism, then it is the only sensible game in town.

Yes, disaster is possible but crying wolf without any good quantitative data is just ambient noise.

2009 Commodity Fund Performance - Part III

If it is not true that inflation is whatever the government says it is, then how are we to define it for investment purposes?

One problem is that inflation is different for different individuals, depending upon how they spend their money. Relative inflation of the dollar can be quantified by comparing it with some basket of other currencies. There are also things like labor cost inflation and commodities inflation. All of these have an element of arbitrariness.

If we could Cheynify (ie, waterboard) some distinguished economists, would a good answer be obtained?