Saturday, June 06, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Philosophy: Greed and the nature of politics
Wait, Naomi starts this talk by commenting on the value of a book store. A place where, in many authoritarian socialist and/or communist worlds, some books would be banned. Corporatism is NOT free market-ism, it is fascism. If she calls a spade a spade I agree with her. The proper role for government and the free market is clear. Can we just agree to get rid of corporations, and stop accusing 'the market' for the sins of corporate and government collusion?
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Article in "Kirkland Reporter"
Kirkland Reporter
Capitalism didn't cause crisis
Mar 18 2009, 2:57 PM · UPDATED
Many think unfettered capitalism caused this economic crisis. Au contraire, it was over-regulation and subsidy that caused the housing bubble and bad loans.
The following three causes of this recession resulted from fettered capitalism, not unfettered:
1. The Federal Reserve Bank held interest rates artificially low, incentivizing riskier loans that the market - if left alone with interest rates fluctuating freely - would not have allowed.
2. The Community Reinvestment Act (under Clinton) subsidized banks making home loans to risky buyers - ones who in the free market, wouldn't have gotten loans.
3. Fannie May & Freddie Mac got government favors and affiliation that said to the private sector, "make risky loans because we'll guarantee them if they go bad." This only encouraged risky loans.
Government, not the free market, was the cause of this crisis. The free market has natural shock absorbers built into it (to reduce boom and bust), but government regulations, subsidies and meddling disable them.
Jeff E. Jared, Kirkland