Thomas Sowell Tribute thread

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Economies are inherently variable and cyclic. Bust periods adversely effect those that can least likely survive them. Those at the bottom are the first to lose their jobs and have little assets to get through long recessionary periods unemployed. The Feds open market operations such as interest rate cuts and expansion of the money supply combined with fiscal tax cuts for the lower classes are designed to get people back to work expeditiously. Without them we are left with the economy righting itself by itself. Most economists will agree that EVENTUALLY the economy would reach equilibrium without outside interference....the question is WHEN? The answer is “in the long run” but in the long run we are all dead. Thus the govt and Fed should do all in their power to pull the economy back to equilibrium during economic downturns using all appropriate resources.

I haven't seen any data that clearly demonstrates what you're proposing. People survive on their own. In the end, they have to make due for themselves. The number of starving people in this country is at an all time low. It's highly imporobable. On top of that, have you been saved by the system? The system from I've seen is often well-meaning, but it fails most of the time. If I'm stranded with nothing, I definitely don't want the feds coming in to "save" me. They generally do more harm than good. I mean, how governmental programs end up hurting more than helping? Intentions are fine, but they don't guarantee results. Sowell has made a career of observing this and proving it with real data, not just his opinion. He started out his career as a marxist. After working one summer for the government, he changed and has not gone back since. This was what fifty years ago? I respect your opinion, sir, but I have seen no evidence to support what you're saying.

[Rip Chudd]

Sowell on gun control....

https://www.creators.com/read/thomas...ol-farce-3638b

Brilliant, Sowell is the man

[HOUDINI563]

Not a question of opinion. It’s the manner in which we have run our economy for many many decades. Although we did have a Depression the Feds actions has ensured we have not had another and at the same time avoid hyperinflation. The Feds open market operations prime the pump to get a stalled economy moving again. No economist worth their salt would deny that these actions do nothing to help the economy and in turn put people back to work. The idea of survival of the fittest as you propose is seen in other countries without a well developed safety net. I’ve visited extensively these countries and the level of poverty is so extreme...sickening. You want to see how we would look without govt action? It’s apparent all over the world.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Not a question of opinion. It’s the manner in which we have run our economy for many many decades. Although we did have a Depression the Feds actions has ensured we have not had another and at the same time avoid hyperinflation. The Feds open market operations prime the pump to get a stalled economy moving again. No economist worth their salt would deny that these actions do nothing to help the economy and in turn put people back to work. The idea of survival of the fittest as you propose is seen in other countries without a well developed safety net. I’ve visited extensively these countries and the level of poverty is so extreme...sickening. You want to see how we would look without govt action? It’s apparent all over the world.

Well, the federal government's intervention fueled the Great Depression. The US had a similar crash in the market or maybe even worse in 1987. Reagan did nothing about it. The economy recovered very quickly. The federal government's involvement in the economy is more often detrimental than not, my friend.

[HOUDINI563]

What is done fiscally is very different than the Feds open market operations. The Feds measure of success in great part is how it navigates our economy to avoid hyperinflation and depression understanding that inflation and recessions are par for the course. Fiscal policy depends greatly upon the depth of a recessionary period.

Social safety nets is the means by which those towards the bottom are lifted in great part during economic strife. Again look at those many countries that do not have a strong social safety net and observe all the abstract poverty that is a constant. A strong social safety net is for the betterment of everyone not just those who receive it.

Timing of the Feds actions can be tricky...move too quickly in raising rates and cutting M1 and it can lead to a recession. This is not indicative that the process does not work quite obviously as it has worked...it’s how we control our economy for LONG before any of us were born.