A Manufactured Crisis
This honestly has to be one of the dumbest ‘crises’ we have ever been in. After a series of arbitrary dates determined by short term, kick-the-can down the road fixes set by Congress, we have once again reached the debt ceiling. Once again the GOP is demanding considerable spending cuts in exchange for agreeing to raise the limit, and once again Barry doesn’t think he has to entertain the idea. Timmy G’s “extraordinary measures” are fast becoming the norm.
But the reality is that we aren’t in a crisis at all.
We aren’t facing a crisis in the way that Greece is. We don’t have people rioting in the streets. We don’t have 25% unemployment. Despite Congress’s all-time low approval ratings, most of its members were reelected last fall. Treasury yields are at all time lows. The dollar is strong.
While it’s true that there is definitely a long-term problem that needs to be fixed, is it really necessary to threaten default over the matter? What happened to passing an annual budget, and arguing about it then, like we used to?
I applaud the Republicans’ efforts to attempt to address the spending problem this country has before it can become a legitimate issue like it has in Europe. But where was the fiscal restraint a decade ago when they were planning a 9-year war of choice? It’s not like this problem has really just appeared overnight.
What truly concerns me though is not the fact that there exists an unsustainable tax/spending imbalance. It’s the fact that our elected leaders are doing such poor job of putting together a long-term solution, any kind of a long-term solution. That’s the real crisis. I’m sure that if Greece left the Euro, or whatever, three years ago, everybody would be well on their way to picking themselves up and moving on by now. Just like how things were terrible during the financial crisis, they have become better since then. It’s like eating a bad burrito. All you can do is power through it and poop it out. But this whole mess has been pointlessly dragged out for far too long.
Uncertainty is what is holding our country back. It’s not the actual effect of slightly higher taxes on a few rich people. It’s not the actual entitlement cuts themselves. It’s not the new regulations themselves. It’s the fact that we can’t make future plans or investment decisions because we don’t know what to plan for. That’s why companies are just sitting tight and hoarding cash. If the solution is higher taxes, so be it. We will all figure out a way to cope with that, as we always have. But if we don’t know what is coming, we have no way of planning for it.
So in that way, the biggest threat to the U.S. is that we are going to become Europe. Not in the sense that we will have pointlessly high taxes, huge government, and overburdening regulations. But more in the sense that our leaders will become even more spineless than they already are, becoming ever more dependent on late-night bargains that delay the day of reckoning.
I think that’s why Ron Paul has such a following. He might be an old coot with gold bars buried in his backyard, but at least he stands for something. No solution will make everybody happy, but something is better than nothing. What will it take to come up with a solution to the real crisis?
Comments
I love Ron Paul. He'd shut
I love Ron Paul. He'd shut down half the government and reduce spending like a mad man. Which is exactly what we need.
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this is the dark side of
this is the dark side of democracy. Everyone is out there to cover their ass, and nobody is brave enough to do what's right.
the real underlying problem is there is no growth. And no central bank is going to let you achieve growth the easy way by weakening monetary policy. There must be innovation and competitive advantage. Unfortunately the best and brightest work in finance...
People hate Congress and Reps
People hate Congress and Reps continue to get re-elected because of an insane amount of gerrymandering.
That said, I'm with TNA. We either need to give Ron Paul or Tom Coburn dictator powers for a year to clean things up.
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My opinion on spending is
My opinion on spending is simply this, we need to greatly reduce our foreign aid spending and spending we do to try and "help" other countries. we have good intentions in providing aid and money to other countries but we need to take care of NUMBER 1 first, that may sound selfish but if the U.S. falls into a Greece like depression, we won't be helping anyone with foreign aid and you can sure as hell bet the rest of the world's economy will follow ours down the drain if we dont take care of our spending
TheKing: People hate Congress
People hate Congress and Reps continue to get re-elected because of an insane amount of gerrymandering.
That said, I'm with TNA. We either need to give Ron Paul or Tom Coburn dictator powers for a year to clean things up.
I hope that was just a really bad joke..
Nobody gets dictator powers.
Because when you're in a room full of smart people, smart suddenly doesn't matter—interesting is what matters.
TheKing: People hate Congress
People hate Congress and Reps continue to get re-elected because of an insane amount of gerrymandering.
That said, I'm with TNA. We either need to give Ron Paul or Tom Coburn dictator powers for a year to clean things up.
I hope that was just a really bad joke..
Nobody gets dictator powers.
Because when you're in a room full of smart people, smart suddenly doesn't matter—interesting is what matters.
ricky212: TheKing: People
People hate Congress and Reps continue to get re-elected because of an insane amount of gerrymandering.
That said, I'm with TNA. We either need to give Ron Paul or Tom Coburn dictator powers for a year to clean things up.
I hope that was just a really bad joke..
Nobody gets dictator powers.
Oh, I thought we could just dissolve the government. We can't?
No, clearly in jest. Though, Coburn and Paul are two of the only guys who put forth real, credible plans to cut the debt.
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TheKing: ricky212: TheKin
People hate Congress and Reps continue to get re-elected because of an insane amount of gerrymandering.
That said, I'm with TNA. We either need to give Ron Paul or Tom Coburn dictator powers for a year to clean things up.
I hope that was just a really bad joke..
Nobody gets dictator powers.
Oh, I thought we could just dissolve the government. We can't?
No, clearly in jest. Though, Coburn and Paul are two of the only guys who put forth real, credible plans to cut the debt.
Lizzie Warren 2016
I actually like Elizabeth
I actually like Elizabeth Warren. Yes, she's liberal, but she actually knows what she's talking about when it comes to bank regulation.
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I've said it before -
I've said it before - benevolent dictatorship is the best way to run a country.
See my other WSO blog posts>
Asatar: I've said it before -
I've said it before - benevolent dictatorship is the best way to run a country.
Is there ever such a thing?
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
Just like how things were
Just like how things were terrible during the financial crisis, they have become better since then.
This is a strong statement and a conclusion that I think the OP is too quick to make. If I take a sharpened penicil, for instance, and drove it into your arm it would hurt for a while, but even without moving the it, the pain would soon subside. Am I no longer poking you in the arm in a way that once hurt? No, but does it hurt? Also no.
It seems to me that things are not better, they're just as bad, or slightly worse, and we've simply become used to the pain.
"My caddie's chauffeur informs me that a bank is a place where people put money that isn't properly invested."
streetwannabe: Asatar: I've
I've said it before - benevolent dictatorship is the best way to run a country.
Is there ever such a thing?
Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1961 to 1971. He's the only one that comes to mind.
"My caddie's chauffeur informs me that a bank is a place where people put money that isn't properly invested."
mikesswimn: Just like how
Just like how things were terrible during the financial crisis, they have become better since then.
This is a strong statement and a conclusion that I think the OP is too quick to make. If I take a sharpened penicil, for instance, and drove it into your arm it would hurt for a while, but even without moving the it, the pain would soon subside. Am I no longer poking you in the arm in a way that once hurt? No, but does it hurt? Also no.
It seems to me that things are not better, they're just as bad, or slightly worse, and we've simply become used to the pain.
I think they have become better. Of course they are not what they once were, but I think it's hard to deny that things are better, if only marginally, than they were in 08/09.
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
TheKing: I actually like
I actually like Elizabeth Warren. Yes, she's liberal, but she actually knows what she's talking about when it comes to bank regulation.
Lol, just stop trolling man. Saying we need to make ron paul dictator and have his way, then saying Liz Warren knows about bank regulation? They're so diametrically opposed that one can only conclude you are trolling, or ignorant, and I really don't think you are ignorant.
They may have ostensible overlap, perhaps an anti-elite sentiment and being somewhat pro-glass steagall, I believe. But if RP really had his way, he'd eliminate the fed and FDIC and SEC which, in his mind, would eliminate the need for glass steagall and create an environment where banks could and should be "regulated" by only the free market. I'm pretty sure he just voted against glass steagall repeal b/c it somewhat patches up the broken Fed system. I'm not necessarily advocating his position, I'm just explaining it, b/c when you hear it, you've got to realize Warren is nowhere near Paul on banking regulation...or regulation in general...or almost anything economic at all.
The Situation: TheKing: I
"Social cohesion and puritanical morality place roughly on my list of concerns between whether I'll pick up jock itch at the gym this week (not likely, since I don't go the gym) and whether it'll rain in Christchurch, New Zealand next Tuesday."
-Eddie
duffmt6: Noted. Thank you
The idea of Warren in
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streetwannabe: mikesswimn:
"My caddie's chauffeur informs me that a bank is a place where people put money that isn't properly invested."