I'm sure it would somehow be the fault of Republicans and the free market. Ya know, kind of like how NAFTA is the reason jobs move around. Not absurdly high taxation rates and absurd demands from unions.

I actually think their would be some warped sense of redemption. A new even playing field if you will. The greedy rich got what they deserved and now they can feel how horrible it is to be a middle class suburbanite...or something equally ridiculous.

I don't think the economy is going to crash, and if I did you'd probably throw me in with this doom and gloom crowd you're trying to make a political mold of. Fuck that. I will have no part in some stupid finger pointing here.

Trying to characterize my opinion on something like this is a folly, and I don't mind sitting back and watching. I will say that not a single one of you is a particularly credible source of info on the subject, because you're still just a group of immature pricks posing as economists. Actually, you have an interest in "business." Except kthodos, who's still just an academic worm. Anybody could read books on theory for a few months and reach a number of respectable conclusions about different approaches to marketing, policy, investing, labor, trends, etc. I'm definitely NOT degrading the subject and I'd like to appreciate it by learning a LOT more about it. But this Libertarian, right-wing, "free-market or death" faction on RM is such a joke sometimes. Carry on.

You know what type of people are hit first in a recession?

Artists.

That's flattering, but I'm actually receiving livable paychecks at the moment

We're not in a recession yet...

Not all artists are hit.

I'm just letting you know that products made by artists are typically the first on the chopping block when discretionary income becomes squeezed.

I have to commend you.

You not only avoided the question, but you did it in a really condescending and elitist fashion. You throw the word hypocritical around a lot. But you talking about "making political molds of" and "stupid finger pointing" really is rich.

And really, the right-wing "free market or death" faction is really no bigger of a joke than the left-wing "democratic socialist" faction.

But you are definitely on top of your game. Carry on.

Yeah. I'm thinking about investing in a new camera at the moment.

We try man. We try.

Well, you got that on us. We're pretty lazy.

Can one of you right types outline the handouts that Clinton and Obama are proffering? I'm not being snarky either, I'd like to know. I figure the people that don't like them probably know more about it.

I couldn't possibly list them all.

But go to Hillary's website. She's got all her plans neatly lined out by category...with no mention on where the money of any of it is coming from.

From the top 1% of wage earners who employ almost EVERYBODY IN THIS MOTHERFUCKING COUNTRY!

i don't know whether this is an insult or a compliment...

ben bernanke is my biggest concern about this economy. there are many, many things wrong with current economic policy. fortunately, our economy is robust enough to be able to withstand the thousands of paper cuts that DC seems willing to administer. monetary policy is not such an arena. bernanke is mistakenly convinced that we can inflate our way out of this mess. such policies only delay the inevitable market correction. in so doing, he's making sure that future corrections are that much more extreme and protracted.

part of the reason our economy is so robust is because the downsides of monopolies and market power are at least partially ameliorated by competition (or the threat thereof). the government's legal monopoly on currency has no such buffer. printing money out of thin air has consequences.

aside from bernanke's insidiousness, the rancor over trade concerns me. populism is always a popular card to play in an economic downturn, and the democrats are playing it quite well. opposition to free trade, when boiled to its logical conclusion, amounts to wanting to prevent the left hand from trading with the right. i don't want to address the boondoggle of health care, but both of the democrat's positions on the medical industry is less than optimal.

all in all, it's disappointing that none of the candidates are endorsing less government as the solution to the economy's problems.

*snarkiness off*

can i ask you a question? and please don't take this to be an attempt at provocation.

have you given thought to the possibility that, for whatever reason, you may be so hostile to free markets, and what you see as the cost they impose upon society, that you are forever unwilling to entertain any notion or argument contrary to that worldview?

and because curiosity killed the cat, what subjects about the economy interest you? what do you feel like you have a solid grasp upon?

*snarkiness on*

if you think that all it takes is a few months and some textbooks to capably grasp economics, think again. there are plenty of professional economists who have not a clue (see: bernanke, ben).

i have no clue what's going on and don't even try to admit i know.

CHEERS.

Though, although I'm going to play a partial devil's advocate coming up:



Well, the Keynesians will argue that deficit spending is exactly what the economy needs in a recession. Of course, I'm not confident in the effectiveness of that, but just wanted to let you know where the argument may come from.

Well, the economy was booming during most of the war thus far so....

Regardless of the overall economic impact, it was still a waste of money and resources, of course.

Dude, I don't know what spurned this comment.

I'll entertain pretty much anything. But the subject only interests me so far in as to how they work, which I have a basic grasp on. I can't imagine it's significantly less than anyone here, most of us are only in their 20s with an undergrad degree.

I've repeatedly stated that I'm:

a)not against competition
b)not against incentive
c)not against amassing wealth
d)not necessarily for various policies involving "wealth re-distribution."

Businesses employ people and invent useful things, but they frequently break democratic law and will not hesitate to hand any problem they can't deal with back to the public on a whim, usually through deceitful means. Most regulation when updated and revised with the times is perfectly sensible, and if we were living in a moral universe it wouldn't be necessary. Alas, we're not.

Nobody has to be a "specialist" to participate in our society and your membership is guaranteed solely on the fact that you're a human (the Bush administration thinks otherwise, but I'm speaking for most people here). Not everybody should or needs to be involved in these petty games of one-ups-manship which teeter on the brink of success or failure. It's not even possible to fully comprehend a market system; those specialists in one area are complete dumbasses in other areas which are the exact same problems people have with the government. And fuck the whole "speed culture" which this mindset/attitude has created. People will find any means necessary for self-preservation; I think we as a species are capable of consciously granting ourselves some ways, while denying other ways of doing so.



Well: I consider the value of my time posting here a lot.



Maybe so but...



...there are probably plenty of professional anybodys who have not a clue.