David Ames Wells, a 19th century engineer and economist, was chairman of the national revenue commission under President Abraham Lincoln and special commissioner of the revenue under President Andrew Johnson. Wells became an advocate of reduced tariffs and hard money. He opposed free silver. He opposed income taxes. In 1871 he argued in Local Taxation that New York State was losing business to other states because of excessive taxation. His view of the late 19th century deflation was that depression was due to "overproduction". In his book Recent Economic Changes, published in 1889, he argues that unemployment is due to improvement in technology. This was true short term but not long because labor rotated into services. On page 64 he mentions that "fifty years ago the railroad and the locomotive were practically unknown". "The ocean steam marine dates from 1838." "Electricity had then hardly got beyond the stage of an elegant amusement." He adds:
"The following is a further partial list of the inventions, discoveries and applications whose initial point of 'being' is not only more recent than the half-century, but whose fuller or larger development in a majority of instances is also referable to a much more recent date:
The mechanical reapers, mowing and seeding machines
The steam plow and other labor-saving agricultural devices
The Bessemer process and steel rail (1857)
The submarine and trans-oceanic telegraph cables
Photography and all its adjuncts
Electrotype
The steam hammer, repeating and breech loading fire arms and rifled and steel cannon
gun-cotton and dynamite
the industrial use of India-rubber
The steam excavator
The sewing machine
The practical use of the electric light
The application of dynamic electricity as a motor for industry
The steam fire-engine
The telephone, microphone, spectroscope and the process of spectral analysis
The polariscope
The compound steam-engine
The centrifugal process of refining sugar
The rotary printing press
Hydraulic lifts, cranes and elevators
The regenerative furnace
Iron and steel ships
Pressed glass
Wire rope
Petroleum and its derivatives, and analine dyes
The industrial use of metal nickel
Cotton-seed oil
Artificial butter
Stearine candles
Natural Gas
Cheap postage
The postage stamp
How have we doing in the past hundred years? Keep in mind that television and radio were conceptualized by Nikola Tesla, a 19th century inventor who decided not to focus on them. Had he, they could have both been operational by 1910.
How does the 20th century, the century of "Progressivism" compare to the 19th, the century of laissez-faire in terms of real progress? Of course, the twentieth century invented the atom bomb, nuclear power, nuclear submarines, the analog and digital computer, the Internet, "buy and hold" strategy of mutual fund investment and Warren Buffett's stock investment strategy tips (yes, we have made major progress under Progressivism). But overall, it would seem that the age of Progressivism has been one of slow progress.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
John McCain's Political Suicide--First Step to a New Jacksonian Revolution?
By identifying with the Bush/Paulson bailout John McCain has effectively handed the election to Barack Obama. McCain's task in this election was to distance himself from the Bush administration, but instead he has chosen to embrace it.
The Constitution established the House as the more responsive of the two legislative bodies, and the two-year cycle was important for Monday's vote on the bailout. Congressmen feared public retribution. However, that does not mean that the public's will will be done.
In the past week, the Federal Reserve Bank increased the number of treasury bonds it is holding by 18%. That is a supernatural jump, and it means that it has injected a tremendous quantity of money into the banking system. Monetary reserves have increased by 6%, which is also huge. There is no reason for a Congressional bailout if the Fed increases the money supply dramatically. Moreover, there is still a good chance of the bail out bill's passage in the Senate and then in the House, with the House using the Senate as cover.
In the nineteenth century the public understood that its interests DID NOT COINCIDE with those of commercial and investment banking. As a result, the central bank, the Bank of the United States, was abolished in the 1830s. Today, the public is unwilling to learn a few simple facts about the relationships among money supply, inflation, real wages and real economic growth. Real economic growth is impeded by monetary inflation because, in a form of reverse rationing, less optimal projects receive funding because those with political connections (e.g., Wall Street) get the first dibs on capital instead of those who can produce the highest returns, for instance, creative but risky inventors.
I have seen quite a few blogs and spoken to several Ivy-League-trained Ph.D. economists in the past few weeks, and I can say with assurance that the widespread support for the bailout among academics, the media and the establishment is based on junk ideas, quack theory and opportunism. The public is smarter than the "experts", and if problems with the economy continue to escalate, and the bailout will perpetuate and enhance them, then perhaps we will see the beginnings of a new Jacksonian revolution.
The Constitution established the House as the more responsive of the two legislative bodies, and the two-year cycle was important for Monday's vote on the bailout. Congressmen feared public retribution. However, that does not mean that the public's will will be done.
In the past week, the Federal Reserve Bank increased the number of treasury bonds it is holding by 18%. That is a supernatural jump, and it means that it has injected a tremendous quantity of money into the banking system. Monetary reserves have increased by 6%, which is also huge. There is no reason for a Congressional bailout if the Fed increases the money supply dramatically. Moreover, there is still a good chance of the bail out bill's passage in the Senate and then in the House, with the House using the Senate as cover.
In the nineteenth century the public understood that its interests DID NOT COINCIDE with those of commercial and investment banking. As a result, the central bank, the Bank of the United States, was abolished in the 1830s. Today, the public is unwilling to learn a few simple facts about the relationships among money supply, inflation, real wages and real economic growth. Real economic growth is impeded by monetary inflation because, in a form of reverse rationing, less optimal projects receive funding because those with political connections (e.g., Wall Street) get the first dibs on capital instead of those who can produce the highest returns, for instance, creative but risky inventors.
I have seen quite a few blogs and spoken to several Ivy-League-trained Ph.D. economists in the past few weeks, and I can say with assurance that the widespread support for the bailout among academics, the media and the establishment is based on junk ideas, quack theory and opportunism. The public is smarter than the "experts", and if problems with the economy continue to escalate, and the bailout will perpetuate and enhance them, then perhaps we will see the beginnings of a new Jacksonian revolution.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Springtime for Barack in Chicago
This is the best spoof since Mel Brooks' Producers. Pamela Hall of "Silent Majority", links to this video by"People's Cube" to which Barack Obama's goose stepping followers object (also, h/t Larwyn). The Obama campaign doesn't object to law enforcement in St. Louis arresting people who criticize Obama. They just object to those who protest about it. Link to Youtube here.
Nancy Razik has forwarded a related video linked here:
Nancy Razik has forwarded a related video linked here:
Phil Berg Files Motion Re Obama Birth Certificate
Obamacrimes.com (h/t Bob Robbins) notes that Phil Berg has been hard at work, filing a response to the Obama campaign's and DNC's motion to dismiss on his case demanding that Obama show him his birth certificate. Would you go to court in order to stop someone from seeing your birth certificate, or would you take it out of your file cabinet and show it to whomever?
Obamacrimes.com writes
"Mr. Berg provides precedents which he argues establish his standing and petitions the Court to deny dismissal and order the defendants to produce the documents in the previously requested discovery.
"The conclusion of Mr. Berg's brief reads:
Plaintiff served discovery in way of Admissions and Request for Production of Documents, on Defendants on September 15, 2008 and has attempted to obtain verification of Obama’s eligibility through Subpoenas to the Government entities and the Hospital’s in Hawaii. To date, Plaintiff has not received the requested discovery from the Defendants and two (2) of the locations, which subpoenas were served upon, refused to honor the subpoena.
"or the above aforementioned reasons, Plaintiff respectfully request Defendants Barack Hussein Obama and the Democratic National Committee’s Motion to Dismiss pursuant to F.R.C.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) be denied and order immediate discovery, including but not limited to: 1) a certified copy of Obama’s “vault” (original long version) Birth Certificate; and (2) a certified copy of Obama’s Certificate of Citizenship; and (3) a certified copy of the Oath of Allegiance taken by Obama taken at the age of majority. If the Court is inclined to grant Defendants motion, Plaintiff respectfully requests the opportunity to amend his Complaint pursuant to the findings of this Honorable Court.
Obamacrimes links to Phil Berg's motion, which is here.
Obamacrimes.com writes
"Mr. Berg provides precedents which he argues establish his standing and petitions the Court to deny dismissal and order the defendants to produce the documents in the previously requested discovery.
"The conclusion of Mr. Berg's brief reads:
Plaintiff served discovery in way of Admissions and Request for Production of Documents, on Defendants on September 15, 2008 and has attempted to obtain verification of Obama’s eligibility through Subpoenas to the Government entities and the Hospital’s in Hawaii. To date, Plaintiff has not received the requested discovery from the Defendants and two (2) of the locations, which subpoenas were served upon, refused to honor the subpoena.
"or the above aforementioned reasons, Plaintiff respectfully request Defendants Barack Hussein Obama and the Democratic National Committee’s Motion to Dismiss pursuant to F.R.C.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) be denied and order immediate discovery, including but not limited to: 1) a certified copy of Obama’s “vault” (original long version) Birth Certificate; and (2) a certified copy of Obama’s Certificate of Citizenship; and (3) a certified copy of the Oath of Allegiance taken by Obama taken at the age of majority. If the Court is inclined to grant Defendants motion, Plaintiff respectfully requests the opportunity to amend his Complaint pursuant to the findings of this Honorable Court.
Obamacrimes links to Phil Berg's motion, which is here.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
