RoR: Forum

Jason,

Maybe it's a small one, but you have an error in post #10. Williams does not support making gold legal tender, he favors abolishing legal tender laws; (laws that require accepting the governments paper money in exchange for public and private debts. And presumably enforcing contracts that require payment in gold.

I see two major problems with the discussion of ending inflation. One, as you are well aware, we are hooked on inflation and failing to inflate will at some point result in economic colapse. Most prices don't adjust very fast and current debt levels make ending inflation a near impossibility. Two, we have devolved into a democracy and welfare state and failing to find some way to convince the public that they would be far better off relying on their own effort than depending on the government for transfer payments stands as a huge obstacle to any significant change. There are quite a number of people who I am not sure would be better off. In addition to that, it might be hard to tell an aging boomer that after paying social security taxes for 40 years, he has to forget about collecting his promised benefits.

Finally, even though the price of gold is approaching $500, I don't think there is much general concern for inflation. I think there is still wide spread confidence in the government's paper money. As long as we can push it off on foreigners, maybe it is a good deal for us.

Post 21

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 - 9:17pm

Stan -- a number of your points are good. I will not be around my computer much tommorrow but I will try to continue the discussion with you during the Thanksgiving weekend.

- Jason

Post 22

Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 2:13pm

Well Jason, it's like...y'know? It's all the same, only the names will change. That gets on my wick.

Why do people get excited by this same old stuff when we already know it? "Oh good! Yet another chapter of Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson has been reworded and re-released!" or "How intellectually stimulating! Someone else has paraphrased Ayn Rand's strongest and most obvious arguments into their own article!" I just get sick of it, unless there's a new spin or some new idea I fail to see the attraction of knuckle-headed efforts like this. Unless the author of the deed has four legs and a tail there'll be no kudos from me just because he's fetched the same old stick as has been fetched a hundred times before.

And in that spirit I wont retell to you what you already know about inflation. E1Lesson, Tiger by the Tail, Prosperity Denied (Kiwi book on the topic) and the orthodox tertiary academic spiel...that's about all I know about the matter. The heirs of our libertarian revolution are going to look back at our times and wonder at how stupid we all are to be duped in most every facit of life! That's supposing enough of us are revolutionaries to right such delusional wrongs as central banking.

Post 23

Saturday, November 26, 2005 - 11:36pm

Rick, the difficulty is that 99% of people haven't read or don't understand the arguments made by Rand, or Hazlitt or Mises. So rehashes are necessary. Most people haven't received the message even once and those who have can always use it in a more elaborated form. It would be wonderful if everyone in the world would read Economics in One Lesson and Atlas Shrugged but unfortunately this hasn't happened and isn't likely to happen any time soon. You made the point very well on another recent thread :

"Post capitalism to the cathedral door of our times- be on TV, on radio and in print. Respond to the statists, don't let them steal the airwaves when we have superior arguments that, in willing hands, can and will disburse anti-freedom doctrines like so many insubstantial vapours. Form clubs and societies, political parties that act. Get involved in a magazine, in blogs. Let's make a podcast. Live your life preaching Objectivism always and, when necesasary, use words."

If you find a new wrinkle by all means employ it but don't hesitate to utilize the intellectual ammo provided geniuses (or to recommend their books). This thread is about a very important issue that most people have not pondered (even in Objectivist circles). The expansion of the money supply by our various central banks is one of the greatest crimes that modern states are guilty of. Far from being a useless rehash, this is one of the most important topics I can think of. I want you to know that I am a fan of you -- I think you are extremely smart and damn funny but why is it that you scoff at any thread that touches upon topics like this?

- Jason

(Edited by Jason Quintana on 11/26, 11:38pm)

Post 24

Sunday, November 27, 2005 - 4:01pm