CBO: Stimulus Plan Working As Advertised

[kalm]

But nations have spent their way out of bad economies before so it can be a temporary thing.

Government has to be responsible for the economy - if nothing else than to enforce contracts, resolve disputes, and prevent monopolies. Theoretically government is the people and the market only exists at their pleasure.

There is a HUGE gulf between being responsible for "the economy" and "enforcing contracts, resolving disputes and preventing monoplies".

HUGE.

Yes.

And the degree to which government is involved is certainly debatable.

But the concept that free markets should be self-regulatory is utopic and any comments similar will be firmly rebuked.

The U.S. economy should belong to its people.

[AZGrizFan]

There is a HUGE gulf between being responsible for "the economy" and "enforcing contracts, resolving disputes and preventing monoplies".

HUGE.

Yes.

And the degree to which government is involved is certainly debatable.

But the concept that free markets should be self-regulatory is utopic and any comments similar will be firmly rebuked.

The U.S. economy should belong to its people.

For Christ's sake, which is it? Should the US economy "belong to it's people" or is it the "Government has to be responsible for the economy"?

Those two are, for the most part, mutually exclusive.

But I agree with you regarding the free markets idea....There is a balance that must be struck between self-regulatory and government intervention.

[kalm]

Yes.

And the degree to which government is involved is certainly debatable.

But the concept that free markets should be self-regulatory is utopic and any comments similar will be firmly rebuked.

The U.S. economy should belong to its people.

For Christ's sake, which is it? Should the US economy "belong to it's people" or is it the "Government has to be responsible for the economy"?

Those two are, for the most part, mutually exclusive.

But I agree with you regarding the free markets idea....There is a balance that must be struck between self-regulatory and government intervention.

Both - if you believe that the government and the people should be the same. The problem of course is that the government and the economy currently belong to special interests.

As you say, balance is the key.

[AZGrizFan]

For Christ's sake, which is it? Should the US economy "belong to it's people" or is it the "Government has to be responsible for the economy"?

Those two are, for the most part, mutually exclusive.

But I agree with you regarding the free markets idea....There is a balance that must be struck between self-regulatory and government intervention.

Both - if you believe that the government and the people should be the same. The problem of course is that the government and the economy currently belong to special interests.

As you say, balance is the key.

If by "currently" you mean the last 150 years or so, then I'd agree with you.

[JohnStOnge]

But the concept that free markets should be self-regulatory is utopic and any comments similar will be firmly rebuked.

The U.S. economy should belong to its people.

The idea that free markets should be self-regulatory is not utopic at all. It's recognized that some bad things can happen at times. But they still should be self-regulatory (except for regulation to attempt to minimize the extent to which outright intentional fraud occurs).

And what the heck does "The U.S. economy should belong to its people" mean? The U.S. economy isn't a monolith. It is a summation of the actions and interactions of hundreds of millions of individuals...billions really I guess since it is intergrated into the world enconomy. It already "belongs to its people."

I think that an attitude has developed in which people think that other people should be obligated by government to act in a way that ensures them a job, ensures their investments, etc. That is the entitlement mentality, and it is causing this country as well as the entire western world to die a slow death.

[kalm]

But the concept that free markets should be self-regulatory is utopic and any comments similar will be firmly rebuked.

The U.S. economy should belong to its people.

The idea that free markets should be self-regulatory is not utopic at all. It's recognized that some bad things can happen at times. But they still should be self-regulatory (except for regulation to attempt to minimize the extent to which outright intentional fraud occurs).

And what the heck does "The U.S. economy should belong to its people" mean? The U.S. economy isn't a monolith. It is a summation of the actions and interactions of hundreds of millions of individuals...billions really I guess since it is intergrated into the world enconomy. It already "belongs to its people."

I think that an attitude has developed in which people think that other people should be obligated by government to act in a way that ensures them a job, ensures their investments, etc. That is the entitlement mentality, and it is causing this country as well as the entire western world to die a slow death.

I can't think of a greater sense of entitlement than Wall Street over the past couple of years. If you don't bail us out, the economy will collapse. You have to pay us bonuses because we are the only people smart enough to fuck up the strongest economy on earth, jeopardizing the entire world's financial system and we are the only one's capable of fixing it. If you don't pay us our bonuses we will move on to companies that will.


The U.S. economy should be monolithic. We have the natural resources and market to make it so, but we lack the political power because our economy is controlled by mulit-national corporations and not the people.

The end result of monopoly is one person ends up owning all of the property.