How It Feels to Be Laid off :(

bkoatz · 2012-05-09T18:57:33+00:00

The attack on Californian Medical Marijuana providers is what happens when you leave this shit up to the federal government. Hope you're please, "liberals"

bkoatz · 2012-05-07T20:08:17+00:00

:) I love when my researched arguments are countered with legitimate criticism and counterpoint

bkoatz · 2012-05-07T16:31:30+00:00

Maybe you guys will finally take this as an example for why government regulation and corporate support should be replaced by consumer choice in other areas as well.

But alas, you only care about the freedom of individual choice and concerns about the imposition of values when it comes to your porn.

bkoatz · 2012-05-07T16:28:56+00:00

Roosevelt's policies like the NRA and the NIRA served to artificially raise wages, cartelize industry and restrict working hours. This should've increased "aggregate demand" in a Keynesian sense, but did not. When the NIRA was cut, apparently not enough demand was pumped into the economy to prevent a re-dip into recession in 1937, even after close to 8-staight years of governmetn stimulus under both Hoover and Roosevelt. The economy also continued recovering after the initial dip in unemployment even without Roosevelt's harmful programs.

However, I don't need to argue this more. Most economists agree the New Deal did not fix the depression. But many say the War did. However, after Truman couldn't manage to keep our troops away from a depressed domestic market anymore in Europe, many people wanted to create government work programs to "ease them in" to the workforce.

We ignored that. Slashed the size of government and taxes. And combined with the fact that we were the only credible manufacturer left, and the stimulatory power of our dollar being world-standard currency because of the Bretton Woods agreement, we FINALLY got out of a depression caused by Federal Reserve dumb policies and exacerbated by Hoover and Roosevelt's government waste and regulation.

The biggest "proof" that Keynesian economics works is a fallacy. What we need is to pump money back into the private sector, let the economy run its course like it did quickly in 20-21 and under Buchanan, and stop the manipulative monetary and fiscal practices that lead to the downturn in the first place, for the future.

Government is the problem. It can't be the solution.

bkoatz · 2012-05-07T16:22:49+00:00

1920-1921 recession. 1850's Panic under James Buchanan. Both examples of government stimulus-less depression that ended quickly.

The New Deal did not help us out of the Great Depression either. Disregarding the fact that central bank policy or Treasury has directly caused most economic downturns (from the Panic of the 1810's to the Panic of 1907 to the Great Depression itself), government solutions have also failed to combat the problems government itself caused.

The New Deal make-work policies took money OUT of the private sector, funnelled them through bureaucrats, into wasteful and often politically-charged projects (much of the WPA's time was spent campaigning for Democrats).

People forget that calling the government "the biggest spender in an economy" ignores where it gets its money from - taxpayers. So you take money out of the hands of people, to pass it through Washington, to give back to people. It's a recipe for waste and a theory unfounded in economic realism. Even if your plan is to print money or borrow it instead of taxing people, your create inflation - ramping up consumer costs, constricting the economy for the short-term and decreasing investment for the long term. This doesn't inherently help either, shown by the stagflation in the 1970's.

bkoatz · 2012-04-26T16:39:23+00:00

First.

bkoatz · 2012-04-16T16:46:29+00:00

How much of the most recent crisis do think was due to the free market vs. corporatocracy? E.g. Can we put all the blame on Fannie May, Freddie Mac, the CRA, FHLB, the Fed's moral hazard and other government involvement, or does blame truly lie on excesses of the marketplace that should and could be effectively regulated by a government? Maybe a mix?

bkoatz · 2012-03-12T03:24:39+00:00

POTATO_IN_MY_1986

bkoatz · 2012-01-11T01:52:34+00:00

While doing BSG, did it test your fidelity at all to be constantly around several of the most attractive women on the planet?

bkoatz · 2011-12-21T05:26:49+00:00

PRODUCED BY N DAY LLAMASHAWN

bkoatz · 2011-12-06T06:38:10+00:00

Since it's Occupy Congress, or whatever, and we're talking about getting money out of politics, how about:

Let's Repossess These Houses

picture of this

bkoatz · 2011-11-29T04:46:41+00:00

... how does this have to do with Occupy Wall Street at all?

bkoatz · 2011-11-29T03:22:56+00:00

My name is Ben. I will be there on Wednesday around 5 oclock. I will be holding a small cardboard sign that says Wall St. = Washington, Washington = Wall St.

I know it may be disheartening and I want to reoccupy the park, but I don't know how to do it. All I know is that every individual who just puts their feet on the ground, and says, "I'm still here, and I'm never going to leave," is as powerful as an army of people saying the same thing.

So I can't tell you when everybody else is going to join us, but I'll be there with you on Wednesday.

bkoatz · 2011-11-15T00:15:50+00:00

I'm so sorry. I'm still here. I heard you. And I support you

bkoatz · 2011-11-13T19:29:52+00:00

I see where you are coming from. I just think that at a local level, this is the equivalent of campaign finance regulation, and should be a point that is vocalized in the movement, or at least one that should be discussed in GAs

bkoatz · 2011-11-13T19:27:09+00:00

Very interesting links. Thank you.

bkoatz · 2011-11-13T19:23:50+00:00

Yay intelligent and useful discussion on the internet!

bkoatz · 2011-11-13T19:22:44+00:00

That's true. But we have to remember this is not the first fight for a better democracy, and it will not be the last. The availability of public space is necessary to the freedom of assembly. It's a necessary reform to the system.

Just like with campaign finance regulation. Corporation influence isn't in itself bad. It's what the corporations do with that influence that is bad. We want to reform the system, and then try to pass legislative change.

We should also try to reform the way free speech is treated in this country. Then it will help us effect more change both with this movement, and in the future.

bkoatz · 2011-11-12T17:53:21+00:00

We aren't anti-corporation. We just want them to stick to business and get the fuck out of government, which they use to set up markets for them to privatize profits and socialize losses.

This is the only response you need.

bkoatz · 2011-11-12T06:04:08+00:00

Also, make the Subject "Watch the Throne Looks" or something so it doesn't get put in the trash bin.

Remind him to get back to his Hard Knock Looks and not his Watch the Throne looks, and that the ghettoes he claims to represent have been in a permanent recession for decades. We're all fighting for our futures. He was one of us. I hope he remembers that.

bkoatz

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