Quote of the Day
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
~Margaret Thatcher
CARPE DIEM
Professor Mark J. Perry's Blog for Economics and Finance
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
~Margaret Thatcher
About Me
- Name: Mark J. Perry
- Location: Washington, D.C., United States
Dr. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan. Perry holds two graduate degrees in economics (M.A. and Ph.D.) from George Mason University near Washington, D.C. In addition, he holds an MBA degree in finance from the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In addition to a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan-Flint, Perry is also a visiting scholar at The American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
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22 Comments:
That's very funny.
The earth belongs to each of these generations, during its course, fully, and in their own right. The 2d. generation receives it clear of the debts and encumbrances of the 1st. The 3d of the 2d. and so on. For if the 1st. could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not the living generation. Then no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence.
- 1789 letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
- Winston Churchill
@ anon. 12:11 pm
Thomas Jefferson was chronically in debt and this was a way to releive the burden he felt. He tried to overcome the residue of his financial overspending in many ways including the manufacture of nails on his estate. I am not sure but the threat of debtor's prison may have been overhanging until bankruptcy was accepted a few years before he became president.
Thomas Jefferson was chronically in debt...
And a large part of that debt, he inherited.
Professor Sloan's story begins in 1788 while Jefferson was the American minister to France. Although one of the wealthiest men in Virginia (on paper), Jefferson had accumulated enormous debts, including a significant debt stemming from his late wife Martha's inheritance. Martha's father, John Wayles, died in 1773 with a considerable estate that was encumbered by considerable debt.
The Wayles heirs decided to divide up the estate's land and slaves among themselves, and sell off some property to reduce the debt. [T]heir decision, Sloan writes, which seemed appropriate given the circumstances in 1773 and 1774, was to have significant consequences for Jefferson…. Had the Wayles estate been kept together, only the estate's assets could be looked to for repayment. But since the estate was divided between Jefferson and his two brothers-in-law, the estate's liability extended to their own estates. With the Virginia economy depressed, the cash flow from tobacco sales fell far short of that needed to retire the Wayles debt.
Mises Daily
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
A butcher said:
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
The problem with Thatcherism is that you run out of Britons to attack.
First it was the IRA, followed by the unions, then it was ordinary British citizens that have been attacked. Now you have a nation largely removed of British influence. It's as if she opened up the opportunity to have the colonies claim parts of Britain(China and India being the major offenders).
No wonder the BNP is seeing a small but noticeable resurgence.
sethstorm,
That is probably the largest load of ahistorical crap I've ever encountered.
Anonymous 12:50 said:
That is probably the largest load of ahistorical crap I've ever encountered.
Well, I'm glad to see that the opposition has arrived.
Explain how the environment created by Thatcher's government didn't lead to any of those situations that exist today.
Despite her attempts to rip socialism out of that nation, those efforts have largely failed to endure.
Jefferson a debtor and making love to his slave-girl.
Still, a role model: I want to die a million dollars in debt surrounded by party girls of various hues....
"Explain how the environment created by Thatcher's government didn't lead to any of those situations that exist today"...
Well I think Thatcher should be applauded for the following: The Thatcher government set about privatising most of the industries run by the government, including water, electricity and the trains, selling them off relatively cheaply to new private companies. She also clamped down heavily on trade unions, passing laws designed to curb strikes, closed shops and sympathy strikes.
One of the pivotal events of her government occurred in 1984: the Miners Strike. Britain’s miners protested the government closure of “uneconomic” pits. Thatcher organised Britain around the striking miners and forced them back into work with no concessions. Other aspects of Thatcherism included selling council houses to tenants, reducing social service expenses, limits on print money and a dislike of growing European federalism. She also lowered taxes. A fierce, combative approach, a strong individualism and other aspects of her personal style became closely identified with her politics...
"Despite her attempts to rip socialism out of that nation, those efforts have largely failed to endure'...
Well you're right sethstorm, there really is no cure for stupidity...
I don't understand how attacking Thatcher or Jefferson changes the validity of their statements. If I say that the Earth travels around the sun, but you then find out that I have the book the World is Flat on my bookshelf, is my statement about the Earth invalidated by you attacking me for hypocrisy?
Maggie was right, even though Great Britain has trended toward socialistic policies along with most of Europe. We are currently seeing one of the biggest attempts at socialistic "redistribution of wealth" in the history of the United States. Today capitalists are being villified even though their free market thinking and entrepreneurial spirit is what has made our country great. Don't agree? If you make over $20,000 yearly you are among the top 9% richest in the WORLD. The average worldwide income is $5000.(Source: World Bank)
The reasons behind this headline can't be good...
From Bizzy Blog: June Federal Receipts: The Dive Continues, As Does Media Near Silence
'As you can see, as we approach the end of the month, June 2009 receipts from economic activity are down 25% from last year'...
1:
Interesting. It looks like our most productive people ARE purposefully producing less. And just like in the book, they are coming after all of us with more and more taxes (cap and trade, 12% marginal tax rate on the rich in NY, universal health care, more stimulus, etc.).
The good news is that they are moving a whole lot faster than they reasonably should be to put all of this crap in place. It won't take too long for it to all come crashing painfully down all of us and we can rebuild.
"The good news is that they are moving a whole lot faster than they reasonably should be to put all of this crap in place"...
Well the movement to kill American economy and wealth just got an accelerant anon...
Anonymous 6/30/2009 7:26 PM
So they want to be part of the problem, not part of the solution.
That is, if there's any proof to your statement.
Seth:
I don't think they want to be part of the problem. I just don't think they understand what they are doing and how bad it will make things.
Denmark has followed redistribution and high government spending policies for decades and is actually richer than America.
It also has lower unemployment, lower infant mortality, higher participation rate, minimum government debt and is running a current account surplus.
Some fellas at this blog must realise the difference between causation and correlation.
It's easier to get 5.5 million people who are of the same ethnic background to do this than 300 million. Denmark is remarkable although they have next to no choices on what they get to buy since they have very little money leftover after paying huge sales and income taxes.
Effectively, if you were average in Denmark, you would get to take home about half of your equivalent $3,000 US. So you now have $1,500. With that you get to pay 25% sales tax on stuff you buy, so it is effectively $1,125.
After a house payment, what do you have left to buy essentials, like food, utilities, clothes?
I think I will stay in the US.
Anon@12:15 -- good quote.
> then it was ordinary British citizens that have been attacked.
What, you mean the ones who've been totally disarmed and are now the helpless victims of every two-bit thug around?
I don't think that was Thatcher's doing, LOL.
> I don't understand how attacking Thatcher or Jefferson changes the validity of their statements.
It doesn't but you can't be a lefty without failing to grasp all manner of logical fallacies. It's how you get your Official Libtard Union card -- you have to fail a test of logic.
seth is our local poster child for the OLU.
anon@11:30
> I just don't think they understand what they are doing and how bad it will make things.
Some of them do, and it is entirely intentional:
Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis
Postmodern liberalism is a culturally suicidal meme.
> Denmark has followed redistribution and high government spending policies for decades and is actually richer than America.
Crap. Crap. and more crap.
Once you adjust for purchasing power parity their GDP per capita is about 15% less. You can't just compare numbers -- Making $50k a year in California, for example, isn't the same as making $50k a year in Alabama. The former is minimal living conditions, the latter is living the high life.
> I think I will stay in the US.
Me too. It's amazing when you look at the immigration numbers (which, BTW, have a huge effect on the US's income numbers). If all these socialist paradises are so wonderful, why is the net flow of people always towards the USA and away from "paradise"?
> seth is our local poster child for the OLU.
The caption on his picture:
A mind is a terrible thing.
Perhaps the only really good comparison we could make between Denmark and the United States is each country's present form of government: constitutional monarchy. Denmark operates under a formal constitutional monarchy. Right now, the United States borders more on being an absolute monarchy, less constrained by rules, of course-- actually, they are more like guidelines.
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