Job Losses Spike, 1/3 Can't Pay Rent, Depression Imminent

Greed and corruption are a big part of capitalism and thus these swings are inevitable in the Grand scheme of things.

The 2008 Crash was an extreme case of Greed and Corruption working its magic.

 

Of course, I know how to read graphs. What's your point?

Not now. We should be providing more support for businesses and individuals. If we don't, millions of small businesses will be lost, perhaps for good.

Look no further than WW2 to see what can be done if a large number of workers are removed from producing goods and services.

Life was pretty good in the 1950s. Maybe keeping the economy from falling apart while we look for a cure, effective treatments, and a vaccine will be worth it.

Haven't we had enough celebrity Presidents?

 

You're offering this as explaining why these empires went into decline?

We've held inflation steady over the past four decades.

Cause and effect? How did going off the Gold Standard lead the stagnant asset values?

 

No economy can go through extended govt. mandated shutdown and come out healthy.

 

I agree..But when you have a low wage servant economy instead of a big manufacturing base getting back what you lost won't happen. Wait and see...

This will concentrate business into fewer hands. Corporate hands that use welfare to subsidize wages. Even as safety nets will continue to be cut. And the end of the America FDR created along with history's largest middle class.. The death knell.

 

And when you deregulate it turns the greedy loose ...while Obama sent none to prison for what they did. First time in my life this happened.

But fear not! For the financial regulation post 08 crash got rid of bail outs for banks and they gave us bail in. That is where banks use your money to keep banks afloat! They will pay you back if they can. Lol My grandparents lost money from banks folding and started banking in mason jars...buried.

 

Is it capitalism or our political system?

We had a recession in 1937. It wasn't a depression, of course.

Capitalism created income disparities. Forget "Neoliberal" stuff.

No, I said capitalism doesn't have to ripoff average folks.

 

We did in WW2.

 

Capitalism has been entwined with our politics my entire life. It either allows the non elites to prosper by their work or it doesn't from the big view. I have lived under both.

Pro worker legislation went the way of the dodo bird. Replaced by pro banking and pro big business. Including so called trade deals. Written by corporate lawyers in secret. For corporations.

 

You get demand pull inflation when wages rise and people can afford to buy more consumer goods. The demand exceeds production and prices rise...or inflation. Right? Given in the last forty years we have turned into a low wage servant economy with a billion Chinese making cheap goods for us we should have little inflation. But it has impoverished our people. So some inflation is good. Right?

 

There has only been one period where we had pro-worker legislation--during FDR's first two terms.

 

Not really - going off Gold and the subsequent debt bubble was more of a symptom of the decline. The reasons for the decline are trotted out very well in a very good book that I highly recommend - Gave this book to my Son- (ordered on Amazon) along with a few other books - who is now just finishing a College degree at an international business school that 1 in 10 who apply get in

"Blood in the Streets" is the first book. 1987 - written by James Dale Davidson and "Sir" William Reec-Moog - Editor of the London Times - second most powerful newspaper at the time - chairman of the BBC. In the second book "The Great Reckoning" 1994 - its "Lord Moog" - having been lorded in the interim

I study this stuff - cycles in History. BOS - GR details the rise and fall of each of the three empires mentioned Spanish Dutch British - along with Rome and others. Does comparative analysis -and there are striking similarities - on which predictions are made. Such as the Housing Bubble - Predicted at least prior to 1994 - not through any crystal ball or wizardry - but because this is how things always play - out.

There were a number of predictions in both books that come to pass.

Technological innovation leads to military superiority which leads to economic hegemony. Over time - technology spreads - and the cost of projecting power increases - to the point the Return on Investment (ROI) becomes negative - and - along with other factors - helps to bankrupt the empire.

The example of the Brits and the gatling gun is given - with one gunship they could take over an entire African nation - fighting back with sticks and stones. Some time later - the enemy gets the gun - not one ship will not do it , you have to send an entire Armada and you will take heavy casualties ... storming that hill in WW2 defended by machine gun turrets. With Rome the Barbarians learned better tactics and technology.

The cost of projecting and maintaining power/hegemony increases as technology spreads.

At the same time - the Business cycle is running its course. In the beginning - everyone wants the widget. It is less expensive to manufacture closer to the demand - so over time you start building factories over seas

In the beginning - demand is huge - everything stamped "Made in the USA" - demand exceeds supply. Over time supply catches up with demand. Around this time - the nations in which we built factories have learned our technology and are now competing with us. So you get the double whammy of pricing pressure due to competition - and supply exceeding demand

In the beginning you control all the trade routes - profit from exchange - things are priced in your coinage and other nations recognize that coinage as having a certain value. later on you are fighting to control trade - way more competition - hegemony declining and your coinage is being debased.

In BOS - There is a letter that is from a Lawyer to a client - detailing highly complex market transactions - derivatives trading and stuff like that. When you turn the page you find that this was a letter from the 1600's during the Dutch Tulip Bubble.

Our slice of the Global Economy (GDP) has been declining at a precipitous rate. I get that the pie is bigger - but that's not the point. The point is that there is a huge amount of extra competition for market access.

At the same time - the Cost of Projecting Power is massive - and we have been getting negative return on investment - and having serious trouble maintaining economic hegemony.

Total Military Spend in 2000 was roughly 300 Billion - all in - VA -Pensions - homeland security - intelligence agencies - "dark projects" and so on.

After 8 years of Bush the spend surpassed 900 Billion - and eclipses 1 Trillion under Obama. Had we maintained that spend - increasing with inflation - we could have diverted 500 Billion/year x 16 years = 8 Trillion dollars -to infrastructure, technology, ramping up our economy to compete in the 3rd millennium

This is what other nations are doing - spending a fraction of what we do on military - ramping up their economies to compete with us - and good for them - is this not what we claim to want to inspire among nations - spreading democracy freedom and free markets.

Instead of doing the what our competitors are doing - we threw this money down the toilet fighting useless regime change wars.

Healthcare is a similar disaster - 3.5 Trillion was the total spent in 2017. Double per capita what other first world nations spend - and these provide universal healthcare - US being middle of the road in terms of quality of care.

That is 1.75 Trillion on the table - half of which (the Gov'ts portion) that could be spent on other things were we to adopt one of the better of these systems straight across the board. 800 Billion x 16 years is much money (not saying this could have been saved in the past - that figure is likely half though - but projecting into the future)

We used to just whisper our desires into the ear of some nation - and they would come running - because they wanted to play in our economy - and we were pretty much the only game in town.

Now Trump has to barge in with a big stick "com and they comply only kicking and screaming - if at all.

 

Friedman established inflation is a monetary phenomenon. We've gad forty years of proof.

A small amount of inflation is good because it prevents us from slipping into deflation which increases real interest rates.

We won't be richer if we bring back $20/hour factory jobs we sent overseas to be done for $2/hour.

 

It was corrupt before he got there.

 

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Why compete with 2 Buck an hour with wage ? We didn't have living wages by competing with such low wages.

But back then we were using what the founders set up. With our consumer market we don't have to rely on exports. It once was icing not essential.Make what we consume and let the world export their jobs to communist states.

Look out for Americans instead of profits made by exploiting the worlds poor. It worked until NAFTA and other exploitation of slave labor. Let China make their consumption and pay their workers enough to buy it. Like we did in our old system. It worked. If MNCs want to sell to China build a factory there and serve that market. But still employ our own to make what we consume. That means tariffs to keep out slave labor goods. We did this for most of our history. And it benefited our own people. So don't say it won't work!

Friedman also said the only responsibility a corporation has is to max out profits! No responsibility to their employees nor to this society nor this nation. Above morality. I couldn't stand that guy. Nor his economic philosophy. FDR told big business and elites they can't have it all. For they would end up with socialism . He also had the idea of reasonable profits instead of max profits. Knowing where max profits lead and what it does to workers who make up most of any society.

 

Those reasons are...?

How is the housing bubble related to the decline of the British Empire?

There's a fair amount of truth to your comment, but there are more reasons an empire falls.

Sure. We're competing with other countries for raw materials and markets. A lot of people around here think we can hide behind a tariff wall. They're wrong.

We were an accidental empire created by WW2. If Europe hadn't damaged itself badly, we would never have stood over the world like the Colossus of Rhodes. Maybe we weren't ready for empire.

A lot of it is a straight ripoff. Doctors, clinics, hospitals, drug companies--there are plenty of snouts in the trough.

 

As stated in previous post ?

 

That's why those jobs were shipped out when we took higher paying jobs here that couldn't be done overseas.

It's not a strategy we should pursue. We need to compete for raw materials by selling into foreign markets.

If you want a very much reduced standard-of-living, putting up a tariff wall and doing a lot of $2/hour work (paying $20/hour for it) instead of $20/hour service sector jobs will do the trick.

China doesn't need us. Their total exports to this country are less than 4% of their GDP.

He was right about inflation.

 

What post?

 

The one you were responding to ..

 

The smell of corruption excites and attracts Dopey Donald Trump.

 

We can do the high paying tech jobs and the labor intensive as well. It isn't either or.

 

Corporations do not pay taxes. They just collect them. From us.

 

I never said it did. And it's Dr. Watson.