It's hard to keep producers and consumers apart.

Posted by CircuitGuy 11 years, 2 months ago to Economics
12 comments | Share | Best of... | Flag

Here's something for the people who I consider completely paranoid who think that the ACA or the fight over the ACA will end life as we know it.

With neither the ACA nor the budget battle is the gov't trying to stop willing people from trading. I think of the book "Reefer Madness", which explores three areas of the economy where the gov't does try to stop willing trading partners from trading: drugs, sex, and foreign labor. The gov't actions in these markets have been disastrous for those affected, BUT society goes on and the trade goes on. I'm not even sure if the gov't declaring out-and-out war on trading these things even puts a dent in it.

**A group of people with a need or want and something to trade and a group of people willing to provide that need or want are very difficult to keep separated. **

Even if the whole US gov't and banking/monetary system collapsed, within a few years something would take its place. People would be finding ways to meet one another's needs in trade-- first by barter, then by some foreign currencies, and then by a new gov't and monetary system. That would be horrible, but the economy would go on. The economy exists without regard to the gov't. So I find it absurd when people say something politicians are doing in Washington is going to stop them from serving their customers and buying the goods/services they want.


Add Comment

FORMATTING HELP

All Comments Hide marked as read Mark all as read

  • Posted by $ minniepuck 11 years, 2 months ago
    But many things politicians do in Washington make it more difficult to serve customers and prevents people from buying goods and services. For example, regulations and compliance costs force prices to go up, which a customer may not be able to afford. It is possible to bankrupt a business trying to work legitimately this way.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 11 years, 2 months ago
      Yes. This is definitely true. I'm just rejecting the hyperbolic claims and saying it will be okay. I'd like to think the time is ripe for radically re-evaluating the role of gov't.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
  • Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 2 months ago
    Forgetting for the moment that a collapse of the banking/monetary system will mean thousands if not millions of people starving before "...something takes its place"...

    Obamacare already HAS changed life as we know it. After Obamacare, America is no longer a land of individual liberty. It has been established that we are property of the government, and all of our liberties are subject to governmental approval.
    It has been established that, for irrational reasons, and, more accurately, for the profit and power of a would-be ruling elite, we can be required by our government to purchase a product or service whether we wish to or not.

    The government hasn't fought against the drug trade any more than its fought against the invasion by illegal aliens.

    The federal government does not regulate the sex trade industry, but I'd be willing to bet that a lot more of the sex trade takes place in Nevada, where it's legal, than elsewhere.

    There is a world of difference between putting a complete stop to an area of business and making it so dangerous to engage in that only the most unscrupulous will do so, and regulating business in general to the point that businessmen can no longer control their business.

    And I'm so glad, Mr Troll, that you think the only concern of people here about overbearing government is the ability to trade for monetary purposes.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
  • Posted by $ Maphesdus 11 years, 2 months ago
    Milton Friedman makes a good argument about public healthcare in this video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLR3zGopz...
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
    • Posted by 11 years, 2 months ago
      I listened to the part about healthcare being tied to employers, and I strongly agree with that part. There were these true stories of people who paid for their health insurance through work, got sick, and then felt like they had to stay at that job. If they left the job, they could only keep the insurance for 18 months. They could get on another group plan using a Certificate of Creditable coverage, but this was not a seamless transition. It was unnerving for someone who was already sick to go into the market and purchase "insurance".

      That was a lousy system. PPACA fixed that problem. They could have fixed it without PPACA, and I wish they had. I don't think PPACA is the best fix. It feels like (I'm not sure how true this is) a hodgepodge put together by lobbyists.

      I wish we could have had a more market-based solution. I talked to my Democrats rep about this. She is a smart well-meaning person, but she couldn't get her mind around the idea of the gov't not solving the problem. I think she felt like she wouldn't be doing her job if Congress didn't come up with something to take care of people's healthcare.

      Someone should be bringing up market reforms. Instead the critics are coming up with wild stories about the PPACA being the first step to total tyranny. This makes me sure PPACA, mostly in its current form, will be around for a long time.
      Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Comment hidden by post owner or admin, or due to low comment or member score. View Comment
  • Posted by $ Maphesdus 11 years, 2 months ago
    The U.K. has had a public healthcare system for 60 years now, and their economy hasn't collapsed. Though on the other hand, they also have a private healthcare system besides, which the government had to make allowances for just a few years after implementing the public system, which is so horribly inefficient and full of corruption that there are many in the U.K. who want to disband the public healthcare system entirely. And if they want to disband their system, that tells me that we should think twice before implementing something similar here in the U.S. So yes, those who claim that public healthcare will destroy the economy and cause the nation to collapse are greatly exaggerating (and hurting their argument by doing so). But at the same time, it would be foolish to overlook the problems that other nations have had with such systems...
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ johnrobert2 11 years, 2 months ago
    An interesting book about the dissolution of American civilization and culture by disaster (not politics) and the resulting climb upward is George Stewart's 1949 novel, "Earth Abides". It's available on NOOK, probably on Amazon, too. Give it a read, if you are so inclined.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  
  • Posted by 11 years, 2 months ago
    The ability to create value and trade is key to human prosperity. My point is I take comfort value creation/trading will continue no matter how much gov't screws things up.
    Reply | Mark as read | Best of... | Permalink  

FORMATTING HELP

  • Comment hidden. Undo