By Monty Pelerin, on February 28th, 2010 We know there is virtually no business experience amongst the President’s advisors. That has been documented in various places. Yet that could have been inferred from the number of wrongful policies that have been proposed or implemented.
There are so-called economists in the Administration. Larry Summers, for example, is a legend amongst the economic community, or at least in his own mind. Where is this man? Since the election, he has done his best imitation of the invisible man. Is he advising the President or is he just there for the salary? Has he gone into hiding to save his reputation? Is he unable or unwilling to resign? It would be nice to know if he is designing these policies or just watching them being hatched by political hacks.
Based upon what keeps coming forth from Washington, one has to wonder whether there is anyone qualified advising this President. Or is all of this being driven by the political and ideological objectives of the President and the political cronies that surround him?
The latest proposal as reported by the New York Times is just another example of misguided (at least for the country) policy:
“The Obama administration is planning to use the government’s enormous buying power to prod private companies to improve wages and benefits for millions of workers, according to White House officials and several interest groups briefed on the plan…. Because nearly one in four workers is employed by companies that have contracts with the federal government,
Continue reading No End to Economic Stupidity
By Monty Pelerin, on February 19th, 2010 Economic conditions are bad. No one except a political lackey would attempt to argue otherwise. A post in American Thinker by Randall Hoven dealing with unemployment is reproduced below. The numbers are shocking and tragic.
Most accounts believe that the current employment situation is long-term or “structural.” That is, high unemployment rates are expected to continue well into the future. Some estimates indicate that the problem will not correct until 2013 or 2014. Few attempt to explain why or how this can be “structural.”
The chart below is the Average Duration of Unemployment. It is at a post WWII high. It is likely that the current record number was exceeded during the Great Depression, but the data series does not go back that far.
There are several interesting visual observations that can be made from this chart. First, the peaks of the curves occur almost immediately after the recession has ended. This indicator might be a better marker for an economic recovery than a collection of economists declaring “the recession has ended.”
Second, the general shape of the curve rises from the lower left to the upper right. That is, if one were to apply regression analysis, the line would slope upward. The period from the 1970s forward is especially pronounced. When coupled with other, unrelated data like wages, median incomes, rates of growth, etc. it is just another datum that suggests that something happened to our economy in the 1970s. To the extent that something “structural” happened, I would
Continue reading Unemployment Duration
By Monty Pelerin, on January 5th, 2010 “My long view for the US is high inflation which will not show up in the government’s fraudulent statistics, along with a declining standard of living, increasing decay and ultimately leading to chaos, societal and government collapse in the US within a decade or two, maybe sooner.” Craig Harris
The following article will seem extreme to some. The above quote especially will shock many. My view is that this quote is a reasonable estimate of where we are heading. No one can predict the future with precise accuracy. Even if a prediction is correct, estimating the timing is even tougher.
Many, including myself, will argue that the future is not deterministic. Actions and policies can change and alter outcomes. Clearly, that is true. Yet, it is likely that the tipping point for changing policies necessary to avoid Harris’ prediction was past years ago. In that sense, his forecast may be deterministic, i.e., independent of any actions that are subsequently taken.
Future actions can certainly influence the timing, but I believe Harris has covered that possibility with his “within a decade or two, maybe sooner.” My personal guess would be within a decade.
BANKRUPT FASCIST OLIGARCHY WITH A MILITARY MACHINE
Dec 27, 2009
Craig Harris
For a contact email address go to Craig’s website:
http://earthblognews.blogspot.com/
“I would buy every three months some gold and not worry so much about the price because the weight stays
Continue reading Free Markets Don’t End Like This
By Monty Pelerin, on January 3rd, 2010 Is The Government Misrepresenting Unemployment By 32%? (Zerohedge)
“Yet what struck us is the when this chart is presented from 2007 until today. Something unusual emerges. An absolute chart of the money spent by the government superimposed with the total insured unemployed is presented below:
What becomes obvious is that a correlation which used to be almost 1.000 has diverged massively, and now the relative outlays surpass what the government highlights are the number of people actually collecting benefits by 32%! This implies two things: either the average unemployment monthly paycheck has surged, which is not the case, or there is some gray unemployment area which is not disclosed by the government, and which accounts for a shadow unemployed insurance economy.”
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By Monty Pelerin, on January 1st, 2010 Welcome the future. If you have any questions regarding how current economic and social policies will work, look at the following video. While this one focuses on Detroit, other cities could have been the setting. Perhaps none quite as dramatic, but wait a few years!
swfobject.embedSWF(“http://www.youtube.com/v/1hhJ_49leBw&rel=0&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=0″, “vvq-8245-youtube-1″, “425″, “344″, “9″, vvqexpressinstall, vvqflashvars, vvqparams, vvqattributes);
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Friedrich von Hayek
Friedrich von Hayek founded the Mont Pelerin Society.
“Monty Pelerin” is a pseudonym chosen by this blogger to convey general agreement with the philosophy, goals and spirit of the Mont Pelerin Society. No other connection exists between the blogger and the Society.
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