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Guest Post: Why Things Will Get Worse - Much Worse
Originally posted at Monty Pelerin's World blog,
It is easy to be upset about what is happening all around. The economy is being destroyed, deliberately, by insane economic policies. Incentives to work are being eliminated by punishing work. At the same time rewards are increasing for not working. Not surprisingly we get less of what we penalize (work) and more of what we subsidize (non-work).
As an economist I get sick over what I see happening to what was once a great engine of productivity, capital creation and improvements in standards of living.
After two centuries of progress that amazed the world, the conditions necessary for growth and productivity are steadily being removed. Their presence allowed the miracle of America. Their absence guarantees the decline. Carried to extreme, the US could become a second or third-world nation within a few decades. Virtually all changes in the last five to ten years point in this direction and these changes are accelerating.
As pained as the economic retrogression is, the loss of freedom is even more disturbing. It was free markets and free men that made America the dominant economic power and the beacon of freedom. Without freedom, no economic policy can succeed. Yet, just as economic policies seem designed to destroy rather than create, so too does the role of government as steadily destroys freedom with its expanded oppression and power. The absence of freedom is tyranny. The absence of freedom is also poverty.
Economic decline is difficult to convey, although data are useful.
The decline of liberty, however, is not easily quantifiable and even more difficult to communicate. An email from Simon Black, expresses his concern regarding Leviathan government and its increasing oppression. It provides as good a qualitative measure of what is occurring to freedom in this country:
By now it should be clear to anyone paying attention that most of Western civilization is on a dangerous slide into tyranny.
They’re confiscating funds directly from people’s bank accounts. They’re seizing reporters’ personal records and phone logs. They’re digitally spying on everyone’s emails.
They’ve authorized military detention and drone assassination of their own citizens.
They’re using tax offices to harass political opposition groups.
They tell us what we are allowed to eat and drink, what foods we are allowed to put in our own body.
Think about it. These are Soviet tactics, plain and simple.
What’s more, they don’t even care. They think we’re all idiots who are too stupid to even notice what they’re doing.
In fact, just a few days ago, Barack Obama staunchly defended his policies, saying “you can complain about Big Brother. . . but when you actually look at the details, then I think we’ve struck the right balance.” This is textbook sociopathic behavior: destructive, antisocial conduct and a complete lack of conscience.
Unfortunately this is just the beginning.
Imagine what it will look like in a few more years: trillions of dollars of more debt… more printed currency. More police state tactics. More invasions of privacy. More ridiculous regulations.
Unless government oppression is beaten back, there is no hope for the future. For those who focus on the foolish economic policies, they miss the root cause of all of our problems — oversized, overactive, interventionist, overcontrolling and oppressive government. Unless government can be reduced in size and power dramatically and then put back into its Constitutional box, nothing will improve in the economy. Ultimately the economy will collapse and freedom will be lost.
History shows no examples reversing these kinds of trends. Civilizations die as a result and then they rebuild from the ashes. But history never knew the flowering of such a vibrant civilization before our break from King George. It seems as though a similar miracle is required today.
I fear the majority of the American people are too dumbed down to understand what is happening to them and their country. They appear too content collecting whatever benefits the government buys them off with. These benefits will cease when the economy can no longer be pillaged. By then, it will likely be too late.
America will continue to exist and it will eventually be free and prosperous again. But there will be a long period, call it the modern-day Dark Ages, before freedom and prosperity return. A century or so seems a reasonable guess. Evil will eventually be overcome, but not before generations suffer as a result of our allowing and enabling the growth in government power.
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We will all survive in the new economy: doing each other's laundry will be big business. And serving each other tacos.
But Mr. Obama the problem is that WE can't actually look at the details you refer to in order to determine as a society if the right balance has been struck or not. My definition of "the right balance" is perhaps far different than yours and the rest of the "minders"
I sure as hell didn't like reading that article. I sure picked the wrong day to quit drinking. We're so fucked.
Within a few decades. Lulz. You forgot about the Argentina example uh? They were first world, as rich as the US was in the 90s... then in a few months they became third world...
Yeah...thanks to the IMF....
With just a little bit of skill and the right connections you could get a govt job paying 150k a year and you wouldn't have to work hard at all. The not working get enough to pay for food and cable TV. They also get to sleep in. I like sleeping in.
Best article I have read on a very long time. A man speaking from his heart and looking decades ahead.
There is no future so don't worry about it.
No question it's going to get worse for a majority of Americans. The political and economic systems are coalescing to form a distributive egalitarianistic society. Democrats and republicans working opposite sides to achieve the same end. Sounds nice on paper, but the rub is that an expanding governmental structure ruled by a few determines the distribution.
The goals are to equalize the lower classes, keeping them content, while centralizing the support system. Raising the poorest up, stagnating the middle, and creating a majority of federally dependant citizens. There will be the elites, those with money; a step below the super elites, those with power; and then everyone else, who will be seperated only by geography. You still determine geography.
The military industrial complex is now being joined by the security industrial complex in priority spending and importance. Their growing tentacles will openly expand further into every part of society. If the government has to feed you, support you, and protect you, then they have the right to spy on you, follow you, and jail you if need be. They determine the need.
Life, Liberty, pursuit of happiness, freedom, right to privacy? You still get those inalienable rights, it's just that the central support structure has defined them differently.
Watching all this over time play itself out day after day, is similar to watching leaving Las Vegas, but somehow you can't look away.
Yeah... it's pretty depressing.
We're currently in a movie... Leaving the U.S. As in Leaving Los Vegas, the main characters are self destructive and "leaving" alright.
The politicians, bankers, lobbies, fed reserve play Nick Cage... they're drunks causing the downfall of themselves.... I guess the public is Ms. Shoe... ( the ass raping scene comes to mind )
Is it time for 'the pounding poo in Miss Shue' joke?
Get worse they may... but hey, there are millions of highly motivated, heavily armed, patriotic Americans available to help right the ship.
MODERN DAY MUSKETS
MODERN DAY MINUTEMEN
One can only hope, 22mag
p.s. 22mag ok, 308win much better.
Once DHS starts using their hollow-point ammunition we'll see how many patriots there are.
The company making this ammunition should be made to answer for it right now!
Nova (the pbs show) and MIT physics profs tell me that the reality of my existence is the perception of others (though Descartes has a different view). In any case, some 70 light years out some race is watching the enjoyable 50 and early 60s. Ah the good life.
Actually, all the broadcasts from the earth fade out after about a light year and just become background noise. No one is watching "Leave It To Beaver" 50 light years from us!
Nothing brings history alive like actually living it!
Yea whatever, just build another football stadium and all the dumbfuck sheeple will be fine with a ball and chain up their asses. Thanks for cheering me up again ZH. *sigh
Until the day comes when people i meet or know actually start talking about substance nothing,NOTHING,will change.PLAY BALL.
On this note here is an interesting post mortem on Greece, currently becoming front page again, given by Papandreou (now ex oligarch), talking freely about the Greek disaster and its consequences :
http://tedglobal.blog.lemonde.fr/2013/06/12/papandreou-nous-navons-ete-q...
Sorry, but its in french. I couldn't find an english version. It must exist as the conference he gave was in Scotland.
Anyways, his take is interesting as a lost politician unable to make his voice heard in EZ tower of Babel (his version of what transpired). "Germany, ECB and the financial speculation were too strong for us and we caved in."
His message is very clear : EZ needs more democracy across borders, more cohesion/solidarity to relance the economies of ailing south which are destroying democracy before our eyes and a strong common will to control financial mayhem of oligarchy markets that corrupt the political process thru hot money handouts. Any frilosity or euro skepticism at this time would spell continental disaster, according to him.
On the IMF's past role he says that DSK was the only sane person in town, but in 2010 nobody listened to his warnings about treating Greece with a fast action debt write off scheme, before the debt tsunami festered under market speculation.
Germany and ECB then did not want to use his advice which was later proven right by Lagarde's current post mortem and mea culpa.
The road ahead is in line with the tone of this article by this poster. More Blood, sweat n tears for all in first world, if we don't regroup fast in EZ.
Lol.
"Those irresponsible bastards offered us money...How could we refuse?
It wasn't our fault. Everybody likes money."
The basic problem for Greece, the Euro Zone or any other country is debt. DEBT!
While you have a corrupt government that is deficit budgeting you are going to have a slowly devolving economy.
I'm afraid the only thing that'll save the Western world now is a benign dictator. Not one of Hitler or Stalin's ilk, but someone like Oliver Cromwell. Someone who will put the "Elites" up against the wall.
Until the rest of the world throws away their dollars, they can keep printing them and pay for this protection racket.
The minute the dollar is no longer the world's reserve surrency, they have to balance the budget.
Until then, it is free money for everyone in Washington to look the other way.
Gold is a currency, keep praying the foreigners continue to buy up all the gold they can.
"America will continue to exist and it will eventually be free and prosperous again."
Yeah........just like the Roman Empire. Oh wait.....are they still in business? I am not sure since I have been productively watching American Idol while waiting for my disability check to arrive so I can buy the latest icrap 8934s phone to better access my Fadebook page so I can monitor my twittiot feed more frequently to stay up to date on what the kardashian wholes are wearing to their companies' broad behind meetings.
This is right out of the Psychopolitik manual.
Humans are finished.