Greenspan: No one could have predicted the crisis

[HalfLotus]

Yeah the picture of Marx, did he predict that Marx/Keynes systems would fail? Because that's what's happening.

The big scam going on now is that this is being painted a failure of free-markets - nothing could be further from the truth.

In short, we have a fiat currency, a central bank, and enormous government deficits. All of these are critical economic activities and are directly contrary to free-market practice. In fact they are the basis for Keynes/Marx systems.

As has happened throughout history, men in power create or exaggerate a crises, blame it on free men, and use it as an excuse to expand power. Call it Hegelian transformation, problem-reaction-solution, or whatever you want.

No doubt there are many who are content with trinkets and diversions provided us, but know that some men will never be contented slaves.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Darius871
Why is it that I keep hearing this line, even from someone as smart as Bill Clinton? Even supposing there was "no other place" to invest in the U.S. than in real estate, aren't there ample investment returns in myriad overseas investments? If you've got capital you can always find a good rate of return somewhere without feeling "forced" to gamble on subprime garbage...

Apparently not. In 2000, there was $36 trillion available for investment world wide. By 2006, there was $70 trillion available. Unless the number of possible good investments doubled in that period, no, there was no better place to put your money than in the subprime market.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by HalfLotus
Yeah the picture of Marx, did he predict that Marx/Keynes systems would fail? Because that's what's happening.

The big scam going on now is that this is being painted a failure of free-markets - nothing could be further from the truth.

In short, we have a fiat currency, a central bank, and enormous government deficits. All of these are critical economic activities and are directly contrary to free-market practice. In fact they are the basis for Keynes/Marx systems.

As has happened throughout history, men in power create or exaggerate a crises, blame it on free men, and use it as an excuse to expand power. Call it Hegelian transformation, problem-reaction-solution, or whatever you want.

No doubt there are many who are content with trinkets and diversions provided us, but know that some men will never be contented slaves.

I agree with you about men in power trying to get more power. It's not intentional or conscious though.

As far as free market ideology goes, they call themselves free-market ideologes. They believe that dispite the necessity for the government to regulate the money supply that economic agents will still make goods economic decisions. That's where they were wrong.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Vesayen


OPEC is having a meeting and the agenda is to decrease production to sure up oil prices.

For the love of..... right. I am throwing all of my liberal ideas out of the window, rednecks, pick the next sandy place to bomb.

Again demonstrating why you suck as a human being.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by HalfLotus
The Austrian School of economics predicted the crises. They are the classic free-market economists (in the Adam Smith tradtition.)

Oh look everyone, it's another one of those Austrian economics kooks. You know the ones - the nutters who spammed internet polls for Ron Paul and who vandalize Wikipedia to make sure that there is a reference to their kook theory on every page.

[HalfLotus]

Originally posted by Agathon


Oh look everyone, it's another one of those Austrian economics kooks. You know the ones - the nutters who spammed internet polls for Ron Paul and who vandalize Wikipedia to make sure that there is a reference to their kook theory on every page.

Undoubtedly your ad-hominem will have a significant psychological impact on the reader, as socially stigmatic arguments often do. However, it has no intellectual or reasoned value whatsoever.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by HalfLotus

Undoubtedly your ad-hominem will have a significant psychological impact on the reader, as socially stigmatic arguments often do. However, it has no intellectual or reasoned value whatsoever.

This was also predictable. You lot are always saying this because you are impervious to both reason and evidence, so people just give up and call you names.

Do you by any chance believe that 9/11 was an inside job?

[Arrian]

Originally posted by HalfLotus
The Austrian School of economics predicted the crises. They are the classic free-market economists (in the Adam Smith tradtition.)

They have been critical of Keynesian/Marxists economics for decades, but few listen. Perhaps because our university system and think tank 'experts' have all been raised on the fallacies of Keynesian Socialism. I mean this in the intellectual sense, not the 'omg commies are everywhere' sense.

And there are approximately 6000 years of monetary history which teach us that fiat currencies do not work in the long run. Central banking (a tenet of Marxism) has also been a historical failure.

These economic systems are, however, very good at one thing - transferring wealth into the hands of a few banking barons and their political stooges.

There is a long history of financial rape conducted by central banks and governments. You civ players ought to heed Jefferson's wisdom, "Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies." It's no joke.

My suggestion would be to turn off the boob tube and head on over to Mises.org.

How do you explain the various panics of the 19th century (pre-Keynes. Some pre-Marx), then?

-Arrian

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Arrian


How do you explain the various panics of the 19th century (pre-Keynes. Some pre-Marx), then?

-Arrian

Don't encourage it!!!!!!

[Arrian]

Why not? What else you wanna do?

-Arrian

[Arrian]

I'm curious.

19th century America was a libertarian's wet dream, yet we see multiple financial panics, "robber barons," the original snake oil salesmen, even. It had your precious gold standard. Regulation was a joke. Law of the jungle, baby. Result? FDR won for a reason, dude. That way ****s over the vast majority of people, and they weren't gonna take it anymore.

-Arrian

[Kidlicious]

I'm interested from hearing some intelligent Austrian School thinking, but not **** that sounds like a conspiracy theory, implying that Greenspan was some kind of secret commie.

[HalfLotus]

Originally posted by Arrian


How do you explain the various panics of the 19th century (pre-Keynes. Some pre-Marx), then?

-Arrian

As I said they are not the inventors of these types of dishonest banking/currency/credit systems, they have existed for a long time. I use the Keynes and Marx descriptions because they are the modern day institutions and theories from which our system is derived.

i.e. Kings in centuries past would shave off gold from their coinage and/or dilute it with other metals. This is the equivalent of a modern fiat currency (like the Dollar) whereby more wealth is kept in the hands of 'leaders' and a less valuable currency is distributed among the public. It is an economic theft, albeit not widely understood, or discussed.

In American history, the Central Bank of Jackson's era, the Continental Currency, and the Civil War currency were all enormous failures.

[Kidlicious]

Yep, he's a conspiracy theorist.

[Arrian]

dishonest banking/currency/credit systems

Can you provide an example of an "honest" one from history? If not, I would humbly suggest there will not ever be one. People are highly imperfect. Libertarianism and Communism share this problem.

-Arrian