‘MONEY. IT’S A HIT. DON’T GIVE ME THAT DO-GOODY GOOD BULLSHIT’
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 28, 2019) — One subject that needs to be added to the public school curriculum is money. THE PLANET first learned about money and how it works in grammar school. We had our first bank book in first grade.
Today, it’s not just kids who have an appalling lack of knowledge of money, finance, and economics.
THE PLANET shares 25 economic principles as food for thought. They form the basis of a rational approach to that greatest abstraction: coin of the realm.
1. The federal government is ignorant of the nation’s economy.
2. To present capitalism and communism as white versus black is a false dichotomy. There is a third way that takes advantage of capitalism’s free markets and the theoretical security blanket offered by communism. That being said, capitalism stands undefeated against all challengers as the most viable economic system, since it is the only one that takes into account human greed.
3. Money is not a commodity. It is an abstract unit of value that measures work. Nothing more.
4. Incentive is the engine of social and personal progress.
5. Data and information can take the emotion and “hunch managing” out of economics, particularly investment.
6. Usury is exploitive and non-productive.
7. Every war in history has had economic causes.
8. Money should be distributive in character.
9. Good economic policy is the basis of good government.
10. Economics should be separate from politics.
11. When politics infect economic policy, monopoly often results. Monopoly as a force quickly overtakes democratic imperatives. This may be good. This may be bad.
12. The production and regulation of money is the central issue for any society.
13. Crashes occur in only four areas: stock markets, banking, commodity markets, or foreign exchanges.
14. Currencies at the bedrock of reality are essentially worthless. Lacking insufficient hard backing (i.e., precious metals), currencies operate solely on trust.
15. War as an economic stimulus is invariably a losing proposition except when war can be made continuous. That’s why the Cold War (1945-1990, including Korea and Vietnam) gave way to the current adventurism in the Middle East. That has gone unstopped since 1991, Sept. 11, 2001 giving it momentum for a lifetime.
16. America should return to a right-sized, peacetime economy.
17. Sound money (low taxes, high interest rates) encourage growth.
18. “Progressive” taxes punish the wealthy and middle class, stifling growth and development.
19. Excessive taxation removes productive money from the market.
20. Tax cuts are the best way to stimulate an economy.
21. Debt only increases the pressures to produce more “worthless” paper.
22. Easy credit encourages reckless spending.
23. Unsustainable borrowing leads to speculative bubbles that ultimately damage economies.
24. As a curb on easy credit, an economy does best to return to the backing of currency with precious metals.
25. We must drop the prevailing illusions that the federal government is the answer to every social problem. It’s not.
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THE PLANET realizes we are treading into the realm where the knowers don’t know. That’s when the guessers guess (Dr. Charles Trzcinka, excepted, of course).
Kick a buck.
Meanwhile, in a peak ahead, THE PLANET has heard from multiple sources both within and without the D.A.’s office. There are rumblings. We have contacted the D.A. herself, shared a summary of what we’re hearing, and asked for her comments, if she has any. Stay tuned.
Au Revoir.
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“Est deus nobis agitante callesimus illo (A god is within us, and with his stirring we take fire)” — Ovid.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Law enforcement will sour on the practice of prosecution this unit has on the horizon. Guaranteed A S. And what is it with all this hugging and kissing at these events. Who does she think she is,Joe Biden?
Why Cicero no have much say about Nips lady?
Are you related to Long Wang?
Agent Smith hit nerve. Nobody rebut . cicero valley quiet.
You sum kine crew ball wang. You know roarin Spahn.
Roarin’ Spahn and play for lain.
Nod to the Deacon!
48 B B rarryring cry.
I’ve figured it out. Retired and on a School Committee or City Council control spending and giveaways,not natural when you have a budget and the people who vote for it make pretty good size pensions as former city,school employees, and current administrators kowtow as well,or they don’t get elected or hired. Then you have the outside influence,never ends. These O P E Bs have to become a concern at some point.
Not a bad list at all but “money” is simply a tool that makes transactions easier. If I have a chicken and you have a cow, you and I can exchange eggs for milk if the chicken lays the egg at the same time as the cow gives milk. If not, I can sell the egg for money and use it to pay for your milk. All currencies including Bitcoin work this way. The control of the currencies by government means they can produce too little or too much. Making currency dependent on the supply of gold is simply a way of keeping the government from supplying too much of the stuff. Bitcoin is tied to the “mining” which is getting ever more difficult (by design) and there will never be more than 26 million bitcoins. This is far too small for all the eggs and milk in the world so we need government to create more. Taxation means that when I sell my egg I won’t be able to buy as much milk but maybe the government will use the taxes to build a road between my chickens and your cow. (Jeesh, I may have spent too long in Indiana with all this cow and chicken s***)
I hope Bill Clinton runs for Govenor of Puerto Rico so they can fix that national tragedy