This is a Full Societal Breakdown

Posted on May 29, 2020 by MN Gordon

This week’s standard refrain was one of pessimism.  The quick return to economic health mantra that was popular not long ago has disappeared faster than you can say lickety-split.  But there was one notable outlier this week.  In fact, one leading economist stepped forward with assurances that renewed prosperity lays just ahead.

On Wednesday, Nobel prize economist Paul Krugman looked up from his liquidity trap graphs long enough to tell Noah Smith at Bloomberg that the 1979-82 economic slump “would suggest fast recovery once the virus is contained.  I don’t see the case for a multiyear depression.”

This sounds great and all.  A fast recovery would end a lot of financial pain and suffering.  Still, we seem to think the damage that’s been done by the government lockdown will have long-term consequences.

The glorious ascent of the concave parabola of government spending and debt won’t go away.  The budget deficit has grown by leaps and bounds – nearly $3 trillion – over the last four months.  The national debt – currently over $25.6 trillion – has overtaken the economy. Continue reading →

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Why Some Americans Love Government Lockdowns

Posted on May 22, 2020 by MN Gordon

Scientists are always whittling away at the unknown with new tools and technologies.  The honest ones recognize the limits of their work.  Yet they push onward; always chasing the elusive breakthrough.

The charlatans, however, don’t care about adding to human knowledge.  Frustrated by their lack of progress, they’ve long since given up on practicing real science.  What they care about is their university tenure…and how they can apply complex tools to bolster the profitability of their bamboozle.

The science of epidemiology has self-destructed.  Mathematical biologists of the doom orthodox have sullied the profession.  The Imperial College computer model led by Professor Neil Ferguson – a charlatan – to justify lockdown orders in England and the United States has been revealed to be utter trash.

If the consequences were a mere academic breakdown the failings could be corrected in the good name of science.  The models could be refined.  The inputs could be improved.  No harm no foul.  But the consequences are not an academic breakdown.  Rather, they’re much, much more. Continue reading →

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Tasting the Forbidden Fruit of Free Money

Posted on May 15, 2020 by MN Gordon

Has anyone given credit to the coronavirus for exposing the general folly of our time?  We’ve yet to find mention of it.  Not even on the web.  Here we shall do our part to give proper credit where credit is due.

Numerous stimulus proposals are currently being cooked up in Congress.  In an election year, with unemployment going vertical, now’s the time to cash in on populist sentiments.  The three leading bills, for example, are the Automatic Boost to Communities (ABC) Act, the Emergency Money for the People Act, and the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act.

With names like that, what’s not to like?  The main ingredient for each proposal is a $2,000 monthly stimulus check.  The variance between the three is in duration and eligibility.

The ABC Act, which was introduced by Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Pramila Jayapal, is the most ambitious.  This act is centered on $2,000 monthly payments to all taxpayers – and their dependents – for a payment period that extends one year after the termination of the declared coronavirus emergency…whenever that may be. Continue reading →

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Beware of Plans to Build Back Better

Posted on May 8, 2020 by MN Gordon

Central planners the world over disdain the free exchange of goods and services.  They believe they can better shape the world around them according to their wishes.  This fatal conceit compels them to intervene in destructive ways.

Some central planners, like Fed Chair Jay Powell, think they’re saving the world economy by cranking up the printing press.  Others, like AOC, could care less about the economy…so long as they can mediate the redistribution of wealth more to their liking.

The mess wrought by extreme government intervention has been magnified by coronavirus.  The central planners took a bad situation and made it dramatically worse.  They destroyed the economy so they could ‘build back better.’

First the shutdown was ordered to flatten the curve, resulting in over 33.5 million new claims for unemployment in just seven weeks.  Then the big bailouts of big business were rolled out to counteract the breakdown of financial markets.  Token checks were also sent out to the broad populace.  And that’s just the beginning. Continue reading →

Posted in MN Gordon, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments