Comments on: The Economic Crisis and What Must be Done http://www.thelibertyvoice.com/the-economic-crisis-and-what-must-be-done Independent News and Commentary for the Freedom Movement Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:30:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: KingofthePaupers http://www.thelibertyvoice.com/the-economic-crisis-and-what-must-be-done/comment-page-1#comment-9119 KingofthePaupers Sat, 26 Dec 2009 04:01:37 +0000 http://www.thelibertyvoice.com/?p=1124#comment-9119 Richard Cook: local currencies or “scrip” could be enhanced by legislation at the state and federal levels allowing these currencies to be used for payment of taxes and government fees as well as payment of mortgages and other forms of bank debt. Jct: The holy grail of community currency is when taxes can be paid because it becomes useful to everyone. Richard Cook: local currencies or “scrip” could be enhanced by legislation at the state and federal levels allowing these currencies to be used for payment of taxes and government fees as well as payment of mortgages and other forms of bank debt.

Jct: The holy grail of community currency is when taxes can be paid because it becomes useful to everyone.

]]> By: Glenn http://www.thelibertyvoice.com/the-economic-crisis-and-what-must-be-done/comment-page-1#comment-6681 Glenn Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:38:52 +0000 http://www.thelibertyvoice.com/?p=1124#comment-6681 Wow, as usual on this site, so many words, so little wisdom. About the only point the author got right is the government control of the money supply being the source of the problem, as well as the orgy of indebtedness we've engaged in being deadly to our national economic well being. The cure isn't a different government run currency, central bank or banking system - it's the withdrawal of government from all of these arenas. No matter what the 'policy' and underlying philosophy is, government will be a tool of those who wish to gain from its actions - it's axiomatic. And I don't fault them for it - private institutions and people will pursue their self-interest, I just don't want them receiving any special favor from the government. As for currency, lets move back to the gold standard as a starting point, peg the dollar to it and close the Fed and Treasury down. Then we can let alternative currencies emerge by legalizing them - we'll have sound money in no time. The 'dollar' will shrivel up and die, unless the government manages it well. Finally, as for his protectionist views - the one topic that all economists agree on is the law of comparative advantage. Trade improves wealth for all involved. The real problem is easy money and the franchise granted to corporations and Wall Street, along with the banks. If all protections and oversight were taken away from them and corporations as a legal entity were abolished, we wouldn't have all the 'principal-agent' problems we have where a privileged few get to gamble with other peoples money to their own advantage with no personal risk of their own. These structures encourage distorted, short term economic thinking, and if people were only able to risk their own capital - i.e.; - without securitization, then they would be much better guardians of it. Debt is fine, but when some Ivy league hack gets to run a company that he didn't build and does so to enrich himself and his ilk, with no thought to the long term consequences except to placate rapacious Wall Street analysts who never made anything real their whole lives, well it's pretty clear to see that you are encouraging people to strip the shelves bare and leave the smoking heaps behind them. Finally, as for our military adventurism, it would be impossible without the debt and inflation we engage in - so they would go away on their own once we got the government out of financial services entirely. Wow, as usual on this site, so many words, so little wisdom. About the only point the author got right is the government control of the money supply being the source of the problem, as well as the orgy of indebtedness we’ve engaged in being deadly to our national economic well being.
The cure isn’t a different government run currency, central bank or banking system – it’s the withdrawal of government from all of these arenas. No matter what the ‘policy’ and underlying philosophy is, government will be a tool of those who wish to gain from its actions – it’s axiomatic. And I don’t fault them for it – private institutions and people will pursue their self-interest, I just don’t want them receiving any special favor from the government. As for currency, lets move back to the gold standard as a starting point, peg the dollar to it and close the Fed and Treasury down. Then we can let alternative currencies emerge by legalizing them – we’ll have sound money in no time. The ‘dollar’ will shrivel up and die, unless the government manages it well.

Finally, as for his protectionist views – the one topic that all economists agree on is the law of comparative advantage. Trade improves wealth for all involved. The real problem is easy money and the franchise granted to corporations and Wall Street, along with the banks. If all protections and oversight were taken away from them and corporations as a legal entity were abolished, we wouldn’t have all the ‘principal-agent’ problems we have where a privileged few get to gamble with other peoples money to their own advantage with no personal risk of their own. These structures encourage distorted, short term economic thinking, and if people were only able to risk their own capital – i.e.; – without securitization, then they would be much better guardians of it. Debt is fine, but when some Ivy league hack gets to run a company that he didn’t build and does so to enrich himself and his ilk, with no thought to the long term consequences except to placate rapacious Wall Street analysts who never made anything real their whole lives, well it’s pretty clear to see that you are encouraging people to strip the shelves bare and leave the smoking heaps behind them.

Finally, as for our military adventurism, it would be impossible without the debt and inflation we engage in – so they would go away on their own once we got the government out of financial services entirely.

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