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I just want to stop by this thread to post this picture:
Ugh...the type of sh*t moron conservatives, or just the gun nuts, post on FB. So much is silly about this I don't know where to start. Yeah, it's a joke I get it but it's a really bad one
Joined: August 11 2005
Location: Philly
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Points: 15784
Posted: August 26 2013 at 07:44
Dean wrote:
Has President Obama ever said "Guns don't keep us safe" ... or words to that effect?
Not to my knowledge. It's claimed that he did in his gun control speech, but the transcript clearly shows that he didn't. That's one of the inferences you'll walk away from the speech having, but he never says it.
"One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. "
Another good post from the progressive economists at NEP, glad some people out there do put realism before ideology. Mainstream economics supported "maestros" and the Fed trying to be the Superman of the economy, finally some people (and lefties not those Austrians everyone hates) that say yeah, the Fed shouldn't, and even can't, do all this stuff we want them to and these maestros just "guide" the economy to a crash, the party cant last forever and we cant keep drinking to keep the hangover away. Make the new Fed a boring regulator who just regulates...
The Fed may have the actual power to get any hold on the banks, the gov cant really be trusted, the massive Obama "wall street reform" bill was a lot of bunk, gutted/challenged by lobbyists...surprise
Excellent article. The function of the central bank is to regulate the financial system of the country. Most central banks in large countries fail at this. In India, access to banking channels is unavailable to large parts of the country, i.e., the interiors and also to certain classes of people. In China, shadow banking is given the tacit blessings of the govt. Why? Because this creates a black hole where all these junk notes can submerge and pinning down the proximate cause of the bubble would become extremely difficult. The usual tactic of central banks is to claim they are understaffed and their budget is too low for such a massive regulatory operation. At the same time, they resist govt efforts to create another financial regulator (so that the responsibility of the central bank is monetary policy alone). The reasons are not hard to find. Big banks in most countries are very profitable and boast powerful balance sheets so it suits them to keep the central bank 'liberal' and 'friendly'. Note that Raghuram Rajan sounded out central bankers on the risks at least a year and a half before the crash but both Summers and Paulson rode roughshod over his words. I am still not convinced that say Dubya or Clinton would have wanted to regulate had they really grasped the risks involved to the economy. It may have been even more insidious and treacherous but we will never know for sure.
I would say you are correct about Clinton, because early in his Presidency there was an attempt to make mild reforms to the Fed, like an audit and making meetings open etc and Clinton shot it down, claiming any gov involvement with the Fed will hurt its independence. Also, despite the crash he hasn't backed off from the de-reg bills he signed so you appear correct. Wubya...he was truly the silent president during it all and given his erratic track record who knows?
Sadly, while I know a bit about CBs and all I can't say I'm the most informed (and it's tough to get good info with so much hostile debate on either side). What do you mean by regulate? The article seems to say they'd like the CB to be an actual regulator of banks, I thought the intent was price stability, and possibly keeping unemployment down though I don't like that idea.
Joined: September 03 2006
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Points: 9869
Posted: August 26 2013 at 09:33
When I say regulate, I mean that the responsibility of seeing to access of requisite funds for all parts of the nation (not an issue in developed nations, but a serious one in the third world), nipping fradulent practices in the bud, fixing reserve requirements for banks and maintaining disclosure norms all lie with the central bank, where there is no other independent financial regulator. Usually there isn't, except something like SEC for stock markets. Other than that, yes, price stability is the main mandate of the central bank. Employment generation is not in their control but they can try to improve liquidity to ease cost of operations for business, indirectly spurring job creation. So, again, I pray that QE ends well because it's unorthodox and hasn't really been done before. However, it is important to note that interest rates are very low in USA and so is inflation, hence the Fed has considerable elbow room to attempt to spur the economy into action.
Gotcha, though of course the SEC has been a monumental failure in preventing fraud/abuse...and being so directly involved with banks the Fed could potentially do a better job (if they want too, apparently they had/have the power but just never used it).
I do agree with that article and you it could be a positive role for a CB to play. If it can keep the bad practices under check to start with it could prevent such crazy booms, I cant see another way...gov regulation seems ineffective.
Yes, it seems to me CB attempts to spur employment is not terribly effective, and if it is managed could have some pretty bad long term impacts. Really wondering if that government job guarantee idea is a better way to go than leaving it to the Fed, which can just focus on regulating and stability.
Yeah when I was taking econ classes in 09/10 when the recession was really hitting the fan there was all the worry about QE, how it was largely untested (just in Japan where it was pretty ineffective for what, 10 years?) and what it could do to the dollar. Didnt say anything like the bloggers did: end of the US dollar, end of fiat entirely, end of society Seems after 5 full years of zero interest rate and 3 rounds of QE it hasn't had the drastically horrible imapct predicted (our libertarian friends often claim just keep waiting...) but it doesn't seem to have done much either. I mean just recently the economy is maybe starting to recover a bit?
I forget who, I think it was head of the St Louis Fed? said it's been a boom for Wall Street and not much else...IDK maybe we just need to get past our debts/wait for confidence to come back? Because all this easy $ may not be ruining the economy, but it seems to just get sat on. For everyone, I think anyone that can get $ will just hoard it for now. So maybe we're just in for 10 more years of doom and gloom
Joined: January 26 2008
Location: PA, USA
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Points: 4335
Posted: August 27 2013 at 23:35
Trivia time. I'm going to give you a quote and you tell me who said it.
“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
Joined: April 21 2005
Location: Boston, MA
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Points: 16829
Posted: August 27 2013 at 23:42
manofmystery wrote:
Trivia time. I'm going to give you a quote and you tell me who said it.
“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
Joined: June 04 2012
Location: Virginia
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Points: 1413
Posted: August 28 2013 at 04:19
manofmystery wrote:
Trivia time. I'm going to give you a quote and you tell me who said it.
“The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
Trivia time. I'm going to give you a quote and you tell me who said it. “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
Just gunna take a wild guess and say Bama...
Hey whadya know
Tis true, THIS is what people dont get. They see Iraq is over and etc so people go crazy when I say Dems and Reps are basically the same on foreign policy, they cant grasp/ignore stuff like this. Its the mentality...
Obama (like all politicians) say the right thing, like that quote but in reality...well neo conservatism is a drug, and both parties are addicted All the mentality, Dems have proven to be just as supportive as "swift" and "decisive" moves at the top (Ill be polite in case we're being tracked) unilateral action and just not getting: the more we meddle the more the cycle continues.
Sure, we dont use full armies and invasions anymore (well see how long Obama/dems keep that up) but I thought it was obvious, more the big bad imperialist pig dog US messes with these other countries, the more that image is kept up. To be fair, its of course easier for other countries to not bother and let us deal with it...
What can ya do? The US does not exist in a vacuum.
I always said, if I was President all other countries that gripe the US meddles too much would get their wish..and if they then later came to me asking why I wont "help" they can politely shove off
But like it or not as hegemon, the US really cant do that realistically. I honestly look forward to when we're no longer "#1" and can just focus on the the homefront and not be policemen of the world.
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Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout
Joined: May 13 2007
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Points: 37575
Posted: August 28 2013 at 09:17
I understand why "your lot" gets involved with all this world-police crap, I don't understand why "my lot" feels the need to join in. We're a pissy little island in the North Atlantic filled with 60 million work-shy emotionally repressed chinless wonders with bad teeth and even worse cuisine peering through a pea-soup fog at the persistent rain as it falls between the disused chimney stacks of a dead industrial past suffocating under the weight of an economic collapse made worse by maintaining a standing army we can no longer afford so we can pretend to be the world-power we never were while trying very hard not to look like the obedient lap-dog of regime that we have no say in.
I am quite sincere though. I mean, in those Cold War days...well fine enough I guess, but those days are long over now. The US government is doing it solely for self interest now. OK it was always, at least in a good part, for self interest but we can't even pretend otherwise anymore.
If Im wrong here please let me know, Id love some more insight, but were other countries at least begrudingly accepting of US policing when those bad commies were around? If so, I'm sure it's been a tough pill to swallow now that they are gone and the US has remained
I like to be bombastic with the topic but really: We just cant afford to maintain this much longer, nor should we morally, and the meddling just creates even more anti US sentiment, especially in the places where all those terrorists we hate come from. I guess I'm an idealist b*****d I dont want the UK, or any country, to be a lap dog to us. I dont want to have to take care of other countries issues, in all seriousness the US can help, we do need a global effort to tackle world problems, but yall are big boys and we have our own problems to deal with.
Look at the Bin Laden capture anyway (if anyone in this thread even believes it)
After years of info gathering and etc he was killed by a small special force, in a town in Pakistan.
Turns out the massive army invasions and warfare in Iraq, and Afghanistan, really were pointless.
Any damage done to terrorist networks has been through global cooperation, disrupting them, gathering info, working together for arrests etc So that's all, I wish Americans would wake up and see traditional warfare is at the very least, useless now.
Joined: February 16 2006
Location: Pennsylvania
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Points: 31169
Posted: August 28 2013 at 10:05
JJLehto wrote:
Look at the Bin Laden capture anyway (if anyone in this thread even believes it)
After years of info gathering and etc he was killed by a small special force, in a town in Pakistan.
Turns out the massive army invasions and warfare in Iraq, and Afghanistan, really were pointless.
Any damage done to terrorist networks has been through global cooperation, disrupting them, gathering info, working together for arrests etc So that's all, I wish Americans would wake up and see traditional warfare is at the very least, useless now.
So you're in favor of a massive intelligence infrastructure then.
Look at the Bin Laden capture anyway (if anyone in this thread even believes it)
After years of info gathering and etc he was killed by a small special force, in a town in Pakistan.
Turns out the massive army invasions and warfare in Iraq, and Afghanistan, really were pointless.
Any damage done to terrorist networks has been through global cooperation, disrupting them, gathering info, working together for arrests etc So that's all, I wish Americans would wake up and see traditional warfare is at the very least, useless now.
So you're in favor of a massive intelligence infrastructure then.
Oh it's a sticky wicket my friend, dare I say...even a wicked googly?
Naturally I dont like the results of what you say (hello Panopticon!) BUT the alternative is perhaps worse.
I always supported less military, more global coop with info gathering and etc but yes, that has its own set of issues as we've seen.
Besides, the foreign policy still doesn't work regardless. There may be no "good" answer to this one, maybe not even an "ok" answer
If anyone is bored and has 30 minutes Some of the nitty gritty stuff about money itself and etc
Also very likely to ruffle feathers here (shame Geoff is suddenly not around to see!) though it's simply a description of how fiat money works.
Interesting stuff and does make a great point about QE and how it can't work. Stick it through to the end to see his conclusions that really aren't so threatening after all.
Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
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Points: 65550
Posted: August 29 2013 at 03:36
JJLehto wrote:
Look at the Bin Laden capture anyway (if anyone in this thread even believes it)
After years of info gathering and etc he was killed by a small special force, in a town in Pakistan.
Turns out the massive army invasions and warfare in Iraq, and Afghanistan, really were pointless.
Any damage done to terrorist networks has been through global cooperation, disrupting them, gathering info, working together for arrests etc So that's all, I wish Americans would wake up and see traditional warfare is at the very least, useless now.
I think many if not most Americans see that, but small special forces can be just as tenuous - Cuba, Munich, Iran - history is unpredictable and WWII not that far behind us. The issue is not whether small quiet warfare is preferable to big loud warfare because in either case good information is equally useful. The issue is how and why information is collected and what's more important, privacy and rights or a perceived safety. For awhile it's been largely safety, now things are swinging a bit back to privacy.
But don't get me wrong, if we could just send in a few James Bonds or Jason Bournes and wrap everything up in a nice little package, I'd take it. But I think that's a fantasy. Even if someday we can zap people from one place to another, rescue the hostages and dispatch the baddies, it will still present serious and unforeseen problems.
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