Comments on: Economic Stimulus

By: Global Warming

Global Warming — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:38:01 +0000

Coyote,

Thanks for succinctly stating what I felt as a vague objection to the President’s proposals, and had not previously been able to express. Excellent, if alarming.

By: Terry Noel

Terry Noel — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:19:22 +0000

Outstanding! Yes, this is precisely the problem. As much as I advocate starting a business in my book, I find myself fretting over just how badly government can screw up most any business model. I think the real problems are going to come in 3-10 years as old businesses decline and entrepreneurs find it impossible to start new ones for exactly the reasons you cite.

Add to that government’s weapon of choice: printing money. In order to make everyone feel better, they will inevitably start spending even more money they don’t have on programs we don’t need. My biggest concern, one that puts everything else in distant second, is that we are going to enter a period of hyperinflation. If we do, all bets are off for everyone, and it won’t be pretty.

Empty Nest Egg: Why You Must Start Your Own Business NOW
http://tinyurl.com/y9lg6l7

By: Will Sawin

Will Sawin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:41:33 +0000

Now you’re buying into stupid liberal trade theories? Bill Clinton-esque international competitiveness? I wouldn’t have expected that. If other countries out-compete us overall than our overall wages need to fall a little bit – acceptable. If they out-compete us in a specific sector like manufacturing, then that’s comparative advantage – excellent.

More individually:

Chazz: AFAIK the bill does very little to directly impact pharmaceutical companies, so you can’t be talking about production. There will still be a demand for pharmaceuticals in the US, a demand which companies will compete to meet. This is Economics 101 stuff.

Craig: The people selling the insurance can hire lobbyists and make campaign contributions.

Generally:

If businesses are so vulnerable to small changes in government policy, why are they so resilient to small changes in things that aren’t government policy?

By: jma

jma — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:32:54 +0000

Will Sawin: Listen to Ex-Banker, Chazz and Craig! Every time the pols try to micro-manage business, they set off a whole new series of consequences. Unintended? Perhaps not, as the more they keep us off balance, the more bickering amongst the voters…and the more voters give up their rights to let government solve the problems. An Emanuel trick learned at his daddy’s knee.

By: Nate

Nate — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:03:35 +0000

Chazz: My thinking exactly. The system described by Will is only feasible under severe restrictions on boundary conditions, etc.

By: Craig

Craig — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:46:24 +0000

“Furthermore if this was such a huge risk to businesses shouldnâ€™t they be able to buy insurance on it.”

No one in his right mind would issue insurance against possibly economically harmful actions by government. It would be a license for politicians to do as they pleased without having to consider their effects on the economy — after all, business is insured!

By: Chazz

Chazz — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:33:25 +0000

Will Sawin, your economic model presumes a closed system. But that is not the real world case. The problem of declining profit margins has been, most notably since about 1980, resolved by going offshore and/or outsourcing. What do you think Home Depot would look like if they only carried goods made in the USA? If the communists do pass some version of the health care catastrophe, there will be a stampede of pharmaceutical companies moving most of their operations to Asia.

By: clay barham

clay barham — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:25:49 +0000

The union of individuals in the herd, as promoted by Obama and his Rousseau-Marx Party, is stated as community interests being more important than are individual interests, completely opposite Ayn Randâ€™s belief, as illustrated by Howard Roarkâ€™s jury summation. America is different than all other nations because it was founded on much the same beliefs as Randâ€™s, although starting almost 400 years ago based on Christian individualism. It became the most prosperous because of this. The formation of local government no further than a dayâ€™s horseback ride, where people voted, held town hall meetings, even formed vigilante committees when needed, and Tea Parties as well, shows how well the tradition of individual freedom worked, and still does to some extent. Claysamerica.com

By: Sam L.

Sam L. — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:39:51 +0000

I’m sure you’ll be certain to avoid any business opportunities in Oregon after the new tax bills passed. My local rag amazed me by saying this pitted state employee unions against business interests. And one of the provisions was retroactive (can you say ex post facto, boys and girls?) to 2009. Buncha looney leftists and unreconstructed hippies.

By: Bob Smith

Bob Smith — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:33:18 +0000

Given how Obama and Congress screwed over businesses who took TARP money (essentially rewriting the contract at will), would you take small business financing from them? Who knows what kind of onerous regulation they’ll make you subject to after the fact.