The Fed Succession

[Razgovory]

That would be a bit too late wouldn't it?

I can see how this plays well into your psychoses.

Yes, far more rational to not show concern about someone doing something extremely dangerous until he actually causes a catastrophe. 

[fhdz]

That would be a bit too late wouldn't it?

I can see how this plays well into your psychoses.

Yes, far more rational to not show concern about someone doing something extremely dangerous until he actually causes a catastrophe.

Good idea. Let's hear it for the Thought Police!

[Razgovory]

I've met many people who have been locked up for the way they think.

[Ideologue]

GOP is seriously looking at the issue.  I know the Gold standard is a plank in the platform for the Republican party in at least one state (Iowa).  The idea is getting serious traction.

Okay Raz. Let me know when we've done away with the Federal Reserve and moved to an asset-based currency, will you? I'll be waiting patiently.

You're on the wrong side of this one, old buddy.  Goldbugs--well, the entire anti-Keynesian crowd--are a serious threat to this country.  Source: THE LAST FIVE FUCKING YEARS.

[Jacob]

Yeah... I'm not sure that the argument that goldbugs, Austrian school followers, and ignoramuses won't harm the American economy because "common sense says they won't have any influence" (that's a rephrasing) is that convincing.

[fhdz]

*shrug* I very much doubt we're switching currencies any time soon.

[Ideologue]

If you think goldbugs and inflationistas aren't highly aligned groups, if not often the same people, you're wrong.

[Neil]

I don't think it really matters, does it?  The modern economy is built on sand and will eventually collapse, but there's no real backing for the goldbug nonsense.  Just because it has to fall apart someday doesn't mean that it has to be today, and nobody has much appetite for the enormous amount of poverty and human suffering in the civilized world that would be the result of blowing up modern economics.

[Admiral Yi]

You're on the wrong side of this one, old buddy.  Goldbugs--well, the entire anti-Keynesian crowd--are a serious threat to this country.  Source: THE LAST FIVE FUCKING YEARS.

Neo-Keynesians have lost sight of the purpose of Keynesian stimulus, and think of deficit spending in terms of borrowed consumption, rather than pump priming.

And of course in the last five years we have had monumental amounts of Keynesian deficit spending.

[Ideologue]

Have we?  Where are all the Obamajobs?

And no, it's very much pump priming so that aggregate demand can get back to its proper level.

That said, there's a serious question whether Keynesian (or neo-Keynesian) economics is taking into account the structural changes; I'll cop that I mostly know the modern science of economics thru Krugman, and that guy is just in the past few months starting to grapple with some issues that seem pretty obvious to me.

[Neil]

And no, it's very much pump priming so that aggregate demand can get back to its proper level.

You can't really believe that, that one day things are just going to pop back to normal.  It's not going to happen.  Everything is going to be shitty until the stars burn out.

[Admiral Yi]

Have we?

Of course.  Deficits starting out at 14% of GDP.  Still running a deficit of 4.5%.

[CountDeMoney]

Have we?  Where are all the Obamajobs?

And no, it's very much pump priming so that aggregate demand can get back to its proper level.

That said, there's a serious question whether Keynesian (or neo-Keynesian) economics is taking into account the structural changes; I'll cop that I mostly know the modern science of economics thru Krugman, and that guy is just in the past few months starting to grapple with some issues that seem pretty obvious to me.

Only so much a government stimulus can accomplish on its own, though.  Zombie Keynes himself can't force the private sector to spend the money they're hoarding;  they've waited 5 years, they can wait 3 more.  Or 4 after that, and another 4 after that and so on until Tag Romney finally wins the White House.

[Ideologue]

Have we?

Of course.  Deficits starting out at 14% of GDP.  Still running a deficit of 4.5%.

How does that compare to contraction at the state level?

[Admiral Yi]

How does that compare to contraction at the state level?

Pretty sure no state is running a surplus.