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

See post #175. Personal responsibility is only one of the determinants of outcome for individuals.

And there is plenty of food in the entire world, no need for the increasing level of starvation during this pandemic.

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au...ols-still-missing-out-funding/159438960010107

Public schools still missing out on funding

Public schools still missing out on funding

When Daniel Hogan first returned to the classroom eight years ago, not as a student but as a working teacher, the first lesson was how little in schools had changed.

“It was almost nostalgic,” Hogan says. “The carpet was the same. Same paint on the walls. Same furniture. They hadn’t updated those things in 30 years. There were even old computers sitting in the corner.”

The textbooks were the same, too.

It would be the same story in every public school Hogan worked, whether in Melbourne, London or Western Sydney. Everywhere they went, class time was chewed up fixing tech issues on shared laptops or being audited for performance instead of actually teaching".

So not all dandy in Oz, because our penny-pinching government thinks it can only fund public education by taxing the private sector (ie you and me), or by expanding private sector education to reduce the public sector education.

Same for public hospitals...the penny-pinching government is forcing people into profit seeking private providers, to force defunding of the public sector.

And as for the US, it's the largest economy in the world. Not a good look re education and health.

 

I covered that in this thread:
If we run deficits now, it means cuts in the future

 

Those are maximums; overnight temps fall to zero in many inland towns in winter.

But since you replied: today I learnt one of the difficulties in explaining to the public the widely held view that "the government doesn't have its own money", "government money is our money" etc etc is in fact wrong, is because people still think currency-issuing governments have to tax or borrow from the private sector in order to spend.

The truth is sovereign currency-issuing government can (with minor change of rules to treasury and reserve bank, spend its own currency into the private sector (constrained only by availability of resources on which to spend the money), when it is desirable to do so. eg during this pandemic.

IOW, using the government's own money to support the economy, NOT "our money".

See how neoliberal orthodoxy has led you astray?

 

But you well know that is BS....right?

Provided the sovereign currency-issuing government fully takes account of the economy's productive capacity now ---and potential productive capacity in the future (a field ripe for research)---then deficits current or future don't matter.

http://www.politicalforum.com/index.php?threads/mmt-overcoming-the-political-divide.569365/

Btw, Stephanie Kelton's new book "The Debt and Deficit Myth" is now on sale.

 

Well if you spend money now that you don't have, prepare for drastic cuts.
Because there will be people who do not agree with you, and they may just get their way.

What I mean is, even if you are right, it probably still could be a very bad idea to borrow lots more money.

borrow money = other people besides yourself who will be very concerned about the debt = very drastic & painful budget cuts

 

What we need is more government!

More Cowbell!

 

Homes don't get as cold as they do in northern states here.

So-called "printing money" has a bad rep from governments in countries that go too far and create hyper-inflation. Venezuela comes to mind. When that happens, everyone holding an IOU or paper money instead of physical assets is wiped out.

Apparently, you can't keep straight what I've said, so maybe you could stop misrepresenting my position?

 

So... it's capitalism's fault that government shut down all business activity.

Really?

 

Another one that believes in class warfare as the downfall of society.

Absolute hogwash.

It has nothing to do with the masses, it has to do with you wanting free **** you didn't earn. Nothing more. Nothing less. It's always the same old story. Now, using an international pandemic to support your cause.

"The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants".

 

No, it's the fault of lying orthodox neoliberal economists who have convinced the general population that government budgets must be subject to the same money (debt) constraints as household budgets.

In fact, currency-issuing governments COULD (with minor change of rules in treasury and reserve bank) support the private sector during a prolonged, enforced, shut-down of the non-essential economy.

That's what Krystal has recognised in the video. It's the neoliberal economy which is the SHAM, not capitalism per se.

See above. You are just spouting more evil, neoliberal crap. Neoliberalism requires a certain number of unemployed to act as a price anchor, se the NAIRU.

Btw. some of the product of profit-driven, invisible hand free markets is **** not worth buying.

 

So those Canadians must be really tough customers....

True. And your point is.........? (btw, the popular socialist policies in Venezuela could no longer be funded, after the price of oil collapsed on the world market. Venezuela also held a large proportion of its government debt denominated in another nation's currency (US dollars), an absolute catastrophe in the making for the government of any nation).

No, apparently you have to resort to deceptive diversions as above, to maintain the neoliberal myth that sovereign currency-issuing governments cannot spend their own money into the economy, without taxing or borrowing from the private sector.

The constraint for government IS the nation's available resources and productive capacity, NOT money or debt.

[See Stephanie Kelton's new book "The Debt and Deficit Myth"].

 

Oh please. As if there is any actual anti-brown discrimination. Asians and Indians stomp all over white people when it comes to gainful employment, financial security, AND education. Have been for years.

PS: If you think resources are so infinite that you can carry lazy people (just cause it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside), then you are very definitely thinking like an aristocrat. A genuine person would never even dream of wasting resources on those who've deliberately lived irresponsibly. They would recognise that such an action is grotesque and unjust.

 

You realize fiat currency is directly tied to real wealth, right?

I just want to make sure I understand your point. Are you claiming the government can just print money and hand it out?

 

Australian public schools do an awesome job. Any kid determined to do well, gets plenty of support from teachers. In fact that's exactly what drove most teachers to study education .. fostering those who want to learn. It doesn't matter how ugly the building - if the kid is determined, he/she will make the most of our excellent public school teachers.

 

Asians and Indians had advanced cultures with written languages, when Europeans were still illiterate barbarians. Civilisation spread from East to West on the vast, single Eurasian continent.

Australian aboriginals were STILL illiterate in 1788, having been isolated from Eurasia since the last ice age.

With disastrous consequences for aboriginal culture, when Captain Cook showed up......

So, urge your government to implement a Job Guarantee for aboriginal people. As we all know, "sit down" money has proved to be a catastrophic failure.

btw, the latest goal set for the current "closing the gap" campaign is ....wait for it.... 2093!!

Such are the wonderful capabilities of neoliberalism.

At least you are attempting to deal here with the resource issue (eg food, of which there is plenty in the world) . Now you just have to progress beyond the evil neoliberal mythology that has clouded your thinking ability, and led you to put all your eggs into the 'personal responsibility' basket.

But to do that, you will have to learn about the difference between micro- (household level) and macro- (nation-wide) economics...

 

Real wealth ie real resources, NOT money...whether gold-backed or fiat paper.... neither of which will house. clothe or feed you...

No. Government IS constrained by the nation's available resources and productive capacity, NOT its own currency which it issues.

http://www.politicalforum.com/index.php?threads/mmt-overcoming-the-political-divide.569365/

Note: government budgets are NOT subject to the same money (debt) constraints as household budgets; householders are USERS of the currency.

So my point is ... to repeat... it's not capitalism per se that is the problem , but the evil neoliberal economic sham that is the problem, as recognised by Krystal.

 

The Chinese make ANY economy work for them (except Communism). They always do well, wherever they go. Proof that micro-economics is absolutely the key.

As for your Indians & Chinese having advanced cultures and written languages .. you're talking about peoples who, until at least midway through last century, were almost all dirt poor peasants. Many probably couldn't read or write. You're going to have do MUCH better.

PS: I'll refrain from discussing Indigenous issues with you, thanks all the same.

 

Speaking of government financing the enforced pandemic shutdown of the non-essential economy:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabel...h-to-pay-for-coronavirus-impact/#7280d7da6cc8

‘Please Tax Us’: Dozens Of Millionaires Urge Governments To Tax The Rich To Pay For Coronavirus Impact.


Now that the **** is really beginning to hit the fan around the globe, as starvation is looming for those jobless people who live from pay check to paycheck, the wealthy are beginning to notice there is something terribly wrong with our current system.

There is no shortage of food in the world. There is a growing number of people who cannot afford to buy food.

But these millionaires think governments need their money (via taxation); in fact sovereign currency-issuing governments don't need the money of rich people and can issue their (ie the government's) own currency, without taxing or borrowing from the private sector, as long as the resources (in this case, food) are available for purchase.

 

They always do well....except in their OWN country? Proof that micro-economics has nothing to do with macro (national ) economics.

Civilisation began in the East, but by the 18th century China had sunk into poverty-level subsistence agriculture, courtesy of your "personal responsibility" ideology alone, with its false "let the rich alone possess what they earn" ideology.

So the French, followed later by Russian, and Chinese revolutions swept away their aristocrats.

In our time Communism followed by publicly-funded capitalism (Chinese style) has transformed China into the 2nd largest economy in the world.

Addressed above. The East missed the industrial revolution in the 18th century, in China because of inward looking micro "personal responsibility" Confucian principles, while outward looking Europe became the leading technological civilization during and after the middle ages.

Meanwhile YOU claimed Chinese and Indians - racially - are especially clever.

Sure you will, because you cannot refute ONE POINT I made about aboriginal disadvantage in Australia.

 

You are taking this way off-topic.
There are multiple things that need to be addressed in that claim you made. In fact it is really fodder for a whole new long thread.

I'll say two things.
First, the average standard of living in China is substantially lower than in the US. Even today. Even though unemployment in China is relatively low.
Second, the Chinese Communist Party basically seized all the country's assets during the revolution, and by manipulating their currency exchange rates, they were basically forcing their people to work for that capital, which is how they promoted exports.
An analogy could be drawn to slavery (economically speaking).

Yes, a Chinese-style system in the US would likely give Chinese-like results, but I don't think you really want to go there, or fully realize what things in China are actually like. (Especially for the parts of China that have less money that tourists do not see)

Also, maybe 40% of the reason Chinese do not have a standard of living lower than they do is because they work so hard. I don't think Americans would have that work ethic, or be able to be as prudent or thrifty with their personal finances.

 

Not off topic. Crank claims the chinese can succeed in the US, so why not blacks....as part of her inadequate "personal responsibility" mantra as the SOLE determinant of success. I showed there are massive historical and geopolitical forces behind the success of races AND individuals.

Yes, but never in history have so many people been raised out of absolute poverty as has occurred in china, in such a short time (1980 to 2020).

Your point about relatively low unemployment in China is the significant one; China subsidizes transport, housing and education expenses for its citizens, so living costs are MUCH lower than the US.

https://ellenbrown.com/2019/06/14/the-american-dream-is-alive-and-well-in-china/

Yes that's what happens in communist revolutions: the subsistence poverty-stricken masses overthrow their aristocratic rulers.

But see what happens when an entirely state-planned communist system fails (unlike the present system in China), as in Russia:

ie, wannabe oligarchs basically seize all the country's assets, forcing the mass of the population into poverty so debilitating that life expectancy rates fell by a decade....

China is still a developing nation. Its system is probably the best system for that country, for the time being.

Meanwhile our own neoliberal system is becoming increasingly dysfunctional as inequality soars and government debt (in the neoliberal system) becomes unsustainable:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabel...h-to-pay-for-coronavirus-impact/#7280d7da6cc8

‘Please Tax Us’: Dozens Of Millionaires Urge Governments To Tax The Rich To Pay For Coronavirus Impact

Doubtful proposition, but anyway beside the point. See Ellen Brown's article above.

 

Currency in and of itself is debt. I think that we mainly agree, but a country's currency is representative of debt against real property.

Where I disagree is that the role of currency is not subject to the same concept as a household budget.

Its all about balance. In either case, if the balance is thrown out if wack its a problem in both situations.

 

Smaller countries have their debt tied to larger currencies because they have a hard time getting takers on their bonds if they pay back in their own currency.

I never denied governments can print money, but what I said is they must take care to match the money in circulation with the goods and services available unless they want inflation.

How are you going to get investors to put capital in your country if you don't pay attention to the value of your currency?

 

Economists, "neoliberal" (whatever that means) or other, have never equated government and household budgets.

I keep telling you Milton Friedman established clearly that inflation is strictly a monetary phenomenon.

 

Here in Texas,the County Judges in the most populous counties have been able to hold off foreclosure sales and Sheriff/Constale's judicial sales with a combination of venue closings and invoking the no gatherings larger than 10 rule. They may even be able to hold them off in August again. From April-July, May is the only month any foreclosure sales were allowed here in Harris County,Texas and those were only private lender owner/finance transactions. When all the restrictions get lifted,it's gonna be bad for homeowners who are behind on their mortgages.