Kathianne
12-18-2010, 01:16 AM
Seems he writes a lot like myself, a bit too snarky at times.
http://www.businessinsider.com/go-short-treasuries-the-american-debt-default-will-happen-sooner-than-you-think-2010-12#ixzz18NVUN4yU
Short Treasuries: America's Debt Default Will Happen Sooner Than Anyone Thinks
Eric Falkenstein, Falkenblog | Dec. 17, 2010, 5:18 AM
...I'm sour on American democracy, and as the American Founders noted, every democracy has committed suicide, ergo, we need a democratic republic. The difference between a democracy (where we are going) and a democratic republic (where we started) is that the masses are kept one-step away from decision-making in a democratic republic. The masses are stupid, having an average IQ of only 100, a whole standard deviation below that of your average college grad of 115, and this is below that of George W. Bush, who most people think is the world's biggest idiot--they have no idea what average, let alone below-average, is. People basically think profits and social value are inversely related, so basically most successful innovators and entrepreneurs are parasites, much as the Nazis thought Jews were parasites because they were successful, as opposed to being a key component of pre-WW2 German excellence. The masses are morons. We are basically voting for everything real-time via the political equivalent of Nielson ratings.
The US has been living off Ponzi schemes (Social Security) and a growth in government too long. Our federal deficit is 10% of GDP, and as interest rates are historically low, there is no incentive to try to reduced this. The states have similar problems, making this much worse than it appears. Further, the debt is significantly underreported because of off-balance sheet items like social security and pensions. No one can turn away the simple redress of paying out huge amounts to people who's only claim is being pathetic. The problem is that while we have an appetite for a certain amount of GDP, the ability to get that out of GDP via taxes is not straightforward: there is a Laffer Curve. Sure, you can raise taxes to 90% and people will still work; they just won't tell the government about it at the same frequency, as the rampant tax avoidance in high-tax countries like Greece and Italy shows...
http://www.businessinsider.com/go-short-treasuries-the-american-debt-default-will-happen-sooner-than-you-think-2010-12#ixzz18NVUN4yU
Short Treasuries: America's Debt Default Will Happen Sooner Than Anyone Thinks
Eric Falkenstein, Falkenblog | Dec. 17, 2010, 5:18 AM
...I'm sour on American democracy, and as the American Founders noted, every democracy has committed suicide, ergo, we need a democratic republic. The difference between a democracy (where we are going) and a democratic republic (where we started) is that the masses are kept one-step away from decision-making in a democratic republic. The masses are stupid, having an average IQ of only 100, a whole standard deviation below that of your average college grad of 115, and this is below that of George W. Bush, who most people think is the world's biggest idiot--they have no idea what average, let alone below-average, is. People basically think profits and social value are inversely related, so basically most successful innovators and entrepreneurs are parasites, much as the Nazis thought Jews were parasites because they were successful, as opposed to being a key component of pre-WW2 German excellence. The masses are morons. We are basically voting for everything real-time via the political equivalent of Nielson ratings.
The US has been living off Ponzi schemes (Social Security) and a growth in government too long. Our federal deficit is 10% of GDP, and as interest rates are historically low, there is no incentive to try to reduced this. The states have similar problems, making this much worse than it appears. Further, the debt is significantly underreported because of off-balance sheet items like social security and pensions. No one can turn away the simple redress of paying out huge amounts to people who's only claim is being pathetic. The problem is that while we have an appetite for a certain amount of GDP, the ability to get that out of GDP via taxes is not straightforward: there is a Laffer Curve. Sure, you can raise taxes to 90% and people will still work; they just won't tell the government about it at the same frequency, as the rampant tax avoidance in high-tax countries like Greece and Italy shows...