Capitalistic Inequality

This Wall Street Journal graph comparing world economies puts our prosperity into perspective.

Saving the Will of the People

As we witness a historic spending blowout on Capitol Hill a couple of questions we should ask are:

1) Is the gov't correct in assuming recessionary deficit spending is the optimal course?

When asked what we should do during these tough times, the results are in:

• 300,000,000 micro-economists of average intelligence answer: SAVE
• Handful of brilliant gov't economists answer: SPEND
  

Who is right? Given that recessionary deficit spending has never conclusively worked, I would favor the 300M on this one. Europe's ECB chief agrees.

2) Does the gov't have a right to engage in recessionary deficit spending?

Should not the government represent the will of the people? When the people have so clearly indicated that now is the time to save, does the gov't have a right to defy our collective will and force us to spend?

To put this in perspective, just imagine if we held an election and the results were in:

The People want: DEMOCRATS

But someone, let's say the military or other power stepped in and said, "No, that's the opposite of what you need during this crisis and instead appointed: REPUBLICANS

Wouldn't that be cause for revolution?

The Kindergarten Political Test

Having a hard time deciding where you lie on the political spectrum? Try the kindergarten test below and see which one you like best:

1) Fascist Kindergarten: You show up on Day 1 and all the kids wearing pink are stripped of their belongings and marched off to indefinite detention. You pick up a nice set of "Hello Kitty" earrings and some juice filled fruit snacks. You're nervous about what to wear tomorrow.

2) Socialist Kindergarten: In order to promote an equality of outcomes, the teacher confiscates half of the assignments and test scores of high achieving students and redistributes them to under performers. High achievers are labeled as "privileged" and "pretentious", childish forms of the mature vice "greed", and learn the joys of "sharing". Mysteriously, there have been fewer and fewer high test scores to redistribute and the teacher confiscates more and more in order to stay above her mandated minimum C- average. To avoid ruin, assignments and test scores must be forfeited by children at the end of the school year and are then redistributed among the next year's newcomers.

The free trade of lunch items with children from other classes is strictly prohibited to avoid competition with the school vending machine, where food costs 3X the market price and carries only zero trans fat and organic foodstuffs

3) Capitalist Kindergarten: If you brought a lunch to school, you get to eat it. You can consensually trade a lunch item with any other child from any other class. If you skipped out on Xbox for an hour last night to finish your homework assignment, you get to keep the grade you receive. All of your grades and assignments accumulate and stay with you as you progress from grade to grade. Children are taught to share items and help tutor each other. Some do and some don't. Children are encouraged to read well, behave themselves, and work hard. Some do and some don't. The class has a B- average.

4) Tyrannical Kindergarten: You show up hoping that you're on the bully's good side today. You aren't, and get ridiculed, spit on, and have to sit on the floor all day while one of the bully's cronies rests his feet on your chair.

5) Anarchic Kindergarten: You walk in the door and start screaming like everyone else. The teacher vacillates between a cowering wretch and a vicious, lash-delivering banshee.