Monday, September 15, 2008

Breaking News: DOW CLOSES DOWN 504.48 POINTS

WORST DAY ON WALL STREET SINCE JULY, 2002
(According to the ABC News Alert that just hit my email inbox.)

Q. Given the state of the American Economy, is this the guy you want setting economic policy for the next four years?



A. I. DON'T. THINK. SO!

6 comments:

Elizabeth Kaeton said...

Ah, and from one of their own. The real reason, I am convinced, that Palin was selected VEEP was because no one else wanted to run with him.

RonF said...

I don't expect anything better from Sen. Obama, though.

A loss of 500 points in the Dow is a total loss of less than 0.5%. It looks bad, but it's not particularly significant. Overall the United States has just about the most productive work force in the world. Individuals will be affected by current events, and in a country of around 300 million people it's not going to be hard to find sad stories to put in the newspaper. But overall the U.S. has a very resilient and diversified economy. After we shake out the effects of some corporations making loans to people that they should have damn well known couldn't pay them, things will come back.

They always have before, and they always will regardless of who's in the White House.

What is going to happen in the White House is that a decision is going to have to be made; cut services, or raise taxes. Government has set itself up as all things to all people. There seems to be a pervasive concept that if we just tax "the rich" enough, we can pay for things like universal healthcare, housing for all the poor, a minimum income, etc., etc. But the U.S. wasn't built on people looking for handouts, it was built on people looking to be as productive as possible.

The purpose of government is to preserve the rights of people guaranteed by the Constitution so that they can, by their own efforts, engage in the "pursuit of happiness". What it is not in the business of is guaranteeing the attainment of such. Everytime we incrementally disconnect the attainment of things like healthcare, housing, etc. from the amount of effort that is otherwise necessary, we reduce the imperative to be productive and thereby reduce the productivity that creates the wealth that these programs need to tax to be successful.

We are put here to serve each other. Compassion compels us to help each other. Note, though, that when Jesus held up an example of someone who gave much to help others he selected a poor woman who was giving to the church, not a rich man who was being taxed. Jesus didn't seem to think much of governments. He told us to give to the poor and help our brothers, but he didn't seem too keen on using governments to do it.

Brian R said...

The purpose of government is to preserve the rights of people guaranteed by the Constitution so that they can, by their own efforts, engage in the "pursuit of happiness". What it is not in the business of is guaranteeing the attainment of such.
What a load of rubbish ronf. Many countries in the world including my own provide a base so that people are not reduced to absolute poverty. I can at least know that even if my retirement savings are decimated due to the greed of American bankers (not through lack of effort on my part), my government provides me with basic healthcare and other services. If the very worst occurs, I know I will not have to go begging. It is about time Americans looked outside their country and see how much better life can be in Western Europe as well as in the South Pacific.

RonF said...

O.K. So my math was bad - that is 5%, not 0.5%. But overall I still stand by my comments. One day's change in the Dow does not a disaster make. The long term trend of the stock market and our economy as a whole is up. And I expect it to stay that way.

RonF said...

Many countries in the world including my own provide a base so that people are not reduced to absolute poverty.

As does the United States of America. Indeed, even before the United States was created, the Colonial governments provided some basic aid to the poor. But that is not a right. That is not the purpose of government. The central purpose of government as expressed by the people who formed the one here in the U.S., is to make sure that people are not prevented by other people to exercise their God-given rights and take care of themselves.

Taking care of other people in our society is a moral obligation - but it is not a central purpose of government to make it a legal one.

RonF said...

Any evidence for that, Elizabeth? Or is your opinion uninformed by fact?