Saturday, September 01, 2012

Quotation of the Day: Happy Capital Day?

"Capital without labor means machines with no operators, or financial resources without the manpower to invest in. Labor without capital looks like Haiti or North Korea: plenty of people working but doing it with sticks instead of bulldozers, or starting a small enterprise with pocket change instead of a bank loan."

"Like most Americans, I’ve traditionally celebrated labor on Labor Day weekend—not organized labor or compulsory labor unions, mind you, but the noble act of physical labor to produce the things we want and need. Nothing at all wrong about that!"

"But this year on Labor Day weekend, I’ll also be thinking about the remarkable achievements of inventors of labor-saving devices, the risk-taking venture capitalists who put their own money (not your tax money) on the line and the fact that nobody in America has to dig a ditch with a spoon or cut his lawn with a knife. Indeed, what could possibly be wrong about having a “Capital Day” in odd numbered years and a “Labor Day” in the even-numbered ones?"

"Labor Day and Capital Day. I know of no good reason why we should have just one and not the other."

~Larry Reed, President of the Foundation for Economic Education

11 Comments:

At 9/01/2012 8:27 AM, Blogger KPres said...

"I know of no good reason why we should have just one and not the other."

Because the entire Democrat party is full of closet communists who think private ownership of capital goods is teh evuuuulzzz!! That combined with the fact that they're personality type is the one that's attracted to empty symbolic gestures like holidays means there will never be a "Capital Day".

Oh yeah, and because they don't want to draw the attention of the public in general to the role that savings and capital goods play in a healthy economy. Those arguments about economic calculation are pretty darn convincing, so it's better that the stupid proles only think about them in terms of cars or refrigerators instead of oil fields and health insurance.

 
At 9/01/2012 9:19 AM, Blogger Methinks said...

We don't have a capital day because machines don't need a day off to barbecue and drink beer?

 
At 9/01/2012 9:33 AM, Blogger Buddy R Pacifico said...

Or...

Happy Investment Day.

 
At 9/01/2012 4:38 PM, Blogger Larry G said...

machines without people - the future!

we don't need no stinkin labor!

 
At 9/01/2012 7:27 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...

Dr. Perry:

Perhaps you forgot that there was a time when labor and capital weren't so much at odds with each other. It was the time between the end of World War II and the beginning of the adversarial use of offshoring in the manufacturing sector.

Such offshoring made it OK to consider labor as a problem to be solved with:

* Increasing the amount of middlemen between the business and the worker

* Playing geographic locations against each other to their own detriment, using sports terminology as a way to justify it

* Generally making the legal landscape worse off for workers with the repeated justification that "they already have tons of protections!"

 
At 9/01/2012 8:12 PM, Blogger Jon Murphy said...

Ironically, I shall be spending my Labor and Capital Day working. Someone's gotta make sure the world doesn't go to Hell while the rest of you are BBQ-ing and partying and drinking!

 
At 9/01/2012 8:25 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 9/01/2012 8:29 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"Ironically, I shall be spending my Labor and Capital Day working."

Here's to Jon! glug glug glug

Hmmmm. These ribs sure are delicious. I wonder how Jon is enjoying that baloney sandwich?

 
At 9/01/2012 9:05 PM, Blogger Jon Murphy said...

Thanks, Ron. When us capitalists unleash the next recession, I'll try not to let it affect you...too hard.

 
At 9/01/2012 9:08 PM, Blogger Jon Murphy said...

machines without people - the future!

Geez, Larry! Haven't you ever seen Terminator or The Matrix? We want them just smart enough to do our thankless tasks but not smart enough to think for themselves!

 
At 9/02/2012 5:29 AM, Blogger Larry G said...

re: "just smart enough"

nice work if you can get it, eh?

 

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