Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by $ allosaur 9 years, 3 months ago
    I remember a time when (while old dino, hatching in 1947, was growing up) "manipulating data" was something only Communist countries did to mislead the "stupid" masses.
    Think of Comrade Gruber when you read any government Obamanation put out about how well off we are.
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    • Posted by $ jlc 9 years, 3 months ago
      No, dino. We were doing it even then - and before your era as well (WWII). This is nothing new. What is new is the Internet, which is doing a surprising job of catching people in the process of manipulation.

      jan
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      • Posted by $ allosaur 9 years, 3 months ago
        A point for you. You're right. I forgot about watching Glenn Beck talk about FDR and Truman when he had his TV show on Fox News in the afternoon.
        He also spoke of the stock market crash of 1920 that libs do not like anyone to know about.
        What did the federal government do about that crash? Absolutely nothing. What very quickly followed? The prosperity of the Roaring Twenties.
        FDR was all over the next stock market crash. What did the USA get? The Great Depression that dragged on and on and on.
        I also recall reading that the Nazi Party's use of propaganda was inspired by its previous use by the U.S. government.
        Do not recall the particulars and I have someplace I need to go. Bye.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 9 years, 3 months ago
    Hmmm. Maybe the last 'mercantile XMas' in a while...

    It will not break my heart to get more home made gifts - I have talented friends.

    Jan, back to stonecarving now
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  • Posted by $ Abaco 9 years, 3 months ago
    The Fed actually can drop interest rates below 0%.

    That is an interesting read. Thanks for sharing. I think this guy is hitting some important points here...
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  • Posted by $ CBJ 9 years, 3 months ago
    Mark this post, come back on December 25, 2015 and see if the article is right. I doubt it. The article gives no credible reasons why these problems should all come to a head in the next 365 days. The comment about gasoline is especially short-sighted: Savings in the cost of energy, created by fracking (another new and disruptive technology) will drive down the cost of most other necessities. Other disruptive and revolutionary technologies, such as 3D printing and personalized medicine, will lower costs still further as their effects ripple through the economy.
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  • Posted by wiggys 9 years, 3 months ago
    he may very well be right. all that we see if we look is a larger welfare state, less employed people because those who chose not to work get welfare. the country is in free fall and we are like a black hole pulling every other country down with us.
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  • Posted by fivedollargold 9 years, 3 months ago
    Agree in part, however, the article overlooks a big post-2000 "engine of wealth," which many of you are probably reading these comments on.
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    • Posted by freedomforall 9 years, 3 months ago
      That engine of wealth hasn't shown any positive results after 2000. To some extent the internet has replaced other methods, arguably more productively, but definitely disruptively. We need an estimate of what would have happened without the internet to see the contribution. That would support the article's point ... even the internet benefit hasn't been enough to counter the effects of corporatism and socialism.
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      • Posted by teri-amborn 9 years, 3 months ago
        What the advent of computers and the internet did for advanced societies is create and save time so that we might spend our time in more productive endeavors (like creating products with our excess time).

        What has ACTUALLY happened is that these little devices actually STEAL our time and keep us from being more productive because we can now talk to anyone anywhere at any time for any reason and unfortunately too many people have nothing productive to say.

        Thankfully we have the Gulch.
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  • Posted by LesEolides 9 years, 3 months ago
    The REAL purpose of "Christmas" is for the gullible little people to go out and Buy! Buy! Buy! themselves into serfdom to the bankers... hopefully by buying cheap, plastic Chinese-manufactured junk sold at, what; a hundred times its manufacturing and shipping price? Plastic Chinese Jesus' and plastic Chinese wise men! Oh well; that's why them call them sheeple...

    I think that the baby Jesus should be replaced with a baby (Chinese plastic) John Maynard Keynes... that would be SO much more appropriate! The wise men could be replaced with football team members in uniform... and then we would have a much more real portrayal of "the season" and a display with REAL emotional significance, for the Boobus Americanus! Ah, what the heck! Let's throw in a Chinese plastic "Dear Leader" (Obama) figure too, as he is the REAL messiah, no?

    Anyway, that's why, decades ago, when the world was sane, I insisted on calling the season "Costmas" and still do. Go out there, sheeple, and buy, buy, buy!

    Scepticus Americanus
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    • Posted by Robbie53024 9 years, 3 months ago
      Only for those who let themselves get sucked in as you portray. For many of us it is a time of thanksgiving - for family and friends, health and some modicum of happiness in this insane world. A time to get together and reconnect with those whom we haven't seen in far too long. It doesn't need to be as cynical as you portray, if you don't let it be. Just my humble opinion.
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