Re: the future long term financial apocalypse of the USA

On Mon, 20 May 2024, Scott Lurndal wrote:

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> writes:

On 5/19/2024 1:38 PM, D wrote:

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On Sun, 19 May 2024, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
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On 5/19/2024 4:03 AM, D wrote:

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On Sat, 18 May 2024, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
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On 5/18/2024 5:56 PM, Titus G wrote:

On 19/05/24 01:34, Michael F. Stemper wrote:

On 17/05/2024 15.31, D wrote:
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I was unaware

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Ignorance is bliss.
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?? we have anything resembling capitalism. What we have

today is a plan economy with government calling the shots, which is
far from capitalism. Many billionaires are the ones who are the most
cosy with politicians.
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As for who the wealth belongs to and the benefits for the population
at large, note that we are living at a high peak of civilization
compared with 100 years ago on all scales, infant mortality, wealth,
quality of life etc.

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The implication of what you're saying is that living at the peak of
civilization is strongly correlated with having a planned economy
rather than capitalism.
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Be careful. You might smear his rose tinted spectacles.

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One suspects that D is of the opinion that any kind of regulation or
legal restraint immediately makes a given economy "non-capitalist"
and a "planned economy".

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Yep, or if not, at least reduces the efficiency and produces worse
results. On the other hand, I live in europe, so I get the "benefit"
of studying socialism up close every day. I imagine living in the US
or a more free country, that it is easier to come to the belief that
government "fixes" all the problems of the market when you have not
seen the horrors of socialism up close as in europe.
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On that theme, I recommend this article in FT where B??rje Ekholm, CEO
of Ericsson says that overregulation is driving the EU to irrelevance
(https://archive.is/XAISI).
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I agree completely with him.

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The problem with your "definition" of a capitalist economy is that it
doesn't exist.?? Never has.?? There has ALWAYS been some kind of
regulation and laws about how commerce is transacted.?? When you start
stripping away all the propaganda and unfounded beliefs you find that
you can't _HAVE_ capitalism without rules and regulations.?? Can't have
a marketplace if there is nothing preventing someone from whacking
someone else over the head and taking their things.

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The only regulation that is necessary for two people to transact is what
they agree upon. If you read what I say carefully you will find me
criticizing government and political regulation. Nothing could be
further from my mind and my position than banning two people who
voluntarily transact to come up with their contracts.
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So people cannot ban together to negotiate and trade?  (What exactly do
you think a government is?)
So the sale of any kind of drug or chemical should not be regulated by
the government?
The sale of weaponry, explosives and the like should not be regulated by
the government?
The kidnapping, purchase and sale of other humans to be used as slave
labor should not be regulated by the government?
The destruction of the local environment and making the area around a
manufacturing facility uninhabitable and lethal should not be regulated?

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D is quoting from mises.org.  From wikipedia:
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  The Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics,
  or Mises Institute, is a nonprofit think tank headquartered
  in Auburn, Alabama, that is a center for Austrian economics,
  radical right-wing libertarian thought and the paleolibertarian
  and anarcho-capitalist movements in the United States.
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  It was founded in 1982 by Lew Rockwell, chief of staff to Texas
  Republican Congressman Ron Paul.
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  "It favors a "Darwinian view of society in which elites are seen
   as natural and any intervention by the government on behalf of
   social justice is destructive".

That's a joke and it teaches us the political bias of wikipedia and why it should never be used as a serious reference. Let me contrast that with this text from mises.org:
"The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian school of economics, and individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard".
Now you can go there yourself and form your own opinion.