A note from an astute NLT reader: "Incidentally, the thought occurred to me recently that our current situation economically may be our Peronist moment. In other words, in the midst of an economic setback, the U.S. will now apply policies that will permanently shift the country leftward in a way that will ensure continued insolvency for as far as the eye can see. We are zigging at precisely the moment when we need to be zagging; piling on debt when we should be paying down. Of course, it’s never wise to bet against America; on the other hand, there’s nothing chiseled in stone which says America must always surge ever-upward economically."
All of this is proceeding according to theory. Libor drops to the lowest levels and Brutus tells us that we better be in gold. The Consumer Confidence Index surges in a record percentage increase and some call for a Peronist moment. Bulls and Bears. And I agree in many ways with prof Deenen in terms of
"rootedness" but has anyone ever thought of extending the idea into economics? I mean when you are dealing with abstract notions and metrics like Libor you aren't thinking like a motorcycle mechanic. Folks did a lot of talking about the information economy, but no one seems to consider that we are probably in it. No one ever said that the information economy would resolve contradictory signals, and no one said that anyone would understand those signals. So many feedback loops... Facebook is in the news with speculation on going public...supposedly worth $10Billion, which is more than GM common stock is worth.
I still find it hard to believe that the UAW is the real culprit in the demise of Chrystler...
I mean I find it hard to believe that giving wage increases on the basis of concrete productivity increases can ever be the cause of bankrupcy. Unless the increases in wages that came from increases in productivity in the auto-industry led to analytical duplication in the halls of governement, and growing gov./treasury spending then crowded out and increased yields on otherwise stable auto debt.
Man is born free but everywhere he is in the Bond market!
I heard this on a conservative talk show a few weeks ago. Not sure which one, but it was not a major one (Sirrius Patriot) I think.
John, in our lifetimes nothing has really ever been that bad or that radicly altered so we both tend to be skeptical about the doomsday sayers. I don't know that doomsday is coming but it is common sense to say that if the federal reserve is making tons of money out of thin air and collecting intrest and re loaning the money that they made out of nothing....and now they are doing at a way faster speed and greater quanity then inflation is going to happen and investing in hard resources with intrinsic value is common sense. The worthless cash situation has happended more often than not in fiat economies, government greed and lust for money gets to a point where the currency just collapses. that is the history of money by decree.
Creeping normalcy or merely self interest wrongly understood? Let's hope for the former fear the ladder.
Buying facebook stock for anything other than to sell it off shortly after to capitalize on the buzz should get you fitted for a straight jacket. It will go the way of myspace soon because it is getting watered down with corporate advertising....and that is not the reason people used it. Also, the allure of facebook used to be that only people with university emails could get it. It is not a unique site and the next thing probably already exists. None of this stuff will last, when I was in high school we all used icq ect and no one uses that now.