Whatever We're Doing, It's Not Working

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Long before there was Reganomics the entire ethics of the United States was changing from responsibility and hard work to the 60's slogan "If it feels good do it". The work ethic became "old fashioned" and drugs became fashionable.
Voters found that it felt good to support congressmen that spent all their Social Security taxes instead of saving it. They found it felt good to support congressmen that spent even more than all the taxes it took in. They found it felt good to support causes without honestly raising the taxes to fund them.
Finally in spite of the warnings from the Republicans congress found it felt good to sell houses to people that could not sustain the payments. Of couse those houses created a glut in local markets when they became abandoned. The entire housing market collapsed. The banks collapsed. The stock market collapsed. Now the economy is so weak that even the old medicine of budget deficits cannot jump start it.
We have endlessly heard how "tax cuts are not sustainable". How long do the Democrats think they can run the nation on money borrowed from China and Japan?
Only a rebuilding of the economy from the ground up with hard work, less materialism and education that can compete on the global scale will bring back the Nation's former prosperity. But I am afraid the "If it feels good do it" phylosophy is too strong.

Rodney Smith of ID 11:55PM March 08, 2010

I haven't read Kotlikoff's book, but I'm hoping HE read Capitalism vs. Capitalism by the French economist Michel Albert. Written in 1993, Albert's book, subtitled "How America's Obsession with Individual Achievement and Short-Term Profit Has Led it to the Brink of Collapse," is a cross-examination of two kinds of capitalism. The kind we've practiced in America, Albert said 15 years ago, is destined for exactly the kind of collapse we've recently experienced. Its focus on short-term gain at the expense of long-term planning has had failure written all over it from its inception during Ronald Reagan's presidency in the 1980's. Hostile takeovers, "trickle down" benefits that for most have not materialized, shareholders' rights versus those of labor, and a general disregard of cooperative management within organizations have been a formula for disaster over the long haul.
The other kind of capitalism, practiced in Europe, Germany in particular, is the better, more stable, of the two as time has now shown. Germany's "Rhine" capitalism has weathered every storm, has produced higher wages, better work hours and benefits for workers, and has managed avoidance of the boom and bust "bubbles" we've come to regret here in the United States.
The book remains, after 15 years, a must read, especially for those into Reaganomics who persist in thinking the short-term successes of his conservative "revolution" sustainable in spite of the evidence (now mounting depressingly) to the contrary.

Ron W. Smith of UT 10:07PM March 08, 2010

they and other types of business entities collect the money from their customers and forward it to the government.
As for taxing capital gains, a great idea if the gains are indexed for inflation-example-I have a car which I purchased 40+ years age that is now worth about three times what it sold for new-and if I sold it I would owe long term capital gain tax on the "profit"-only problem is that the proceeds of the sale would only pay half of the purchase price for a comparable new car even before paying the tax. If the "gain" were indexed for inflation I would show a loss on the sale-why should I have to pay tax because of governmental mismanagement that caused the value of the dollar to nosedive over the period of my ownership?

Frank of NC 10:07PM March 08, 2010

Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world in 1900, rivaling the United States. However, under the leadership of the Perons and the Peronistas they borrowed and spent, borrowed and spent. The result was hyper inflation and a fall from the economic leadership of the world.
Now we are following their failed example down the road to ruin. And the folks in Washington just don't get it. The Republicans spent way to much when they were in control, and now the Democrats spend like Republicans on steroids. We can only hope the Repubs regain control and this time act responsibly.

Hannah Katz of CA 9:17PM March 08, 2010

President Obama (the King) is nearly dead in the water trying to accomplish anything with a disfunctional Congress. And the current members of Congress are PROUD of being disfunctional, because that means the President has to scramble to get anything done! Their disfunction makes the President look bad; and they love it.
Well, we the voters have had enough. For any incumbent running for re-election in the mid-terms, it's off with your heads! Time to be replaced. We'll do the same with the next general election. Time for us to elect representatives who care about the voters instead of big business and special interest groups.

Barry W. Shook of IN 4:40PM March 08, 2010

Kotlikoff's limited purpose banking strikes me as a good idea, but it's difficult to take a position without analyzing the ramifications. But I won't invest more time with him, as he fails a sieve test I have found to be reliable in past. With few exceptions you can judge whether a person is a careful thinker by the use of language. Saying "could care less" when "couldn't care less" is meant is the tipoff of a sloppy thinker. Sounds thin I know, but try it; it's an impressively effective criterion.

jimc of DE 11:10AM March 08, 2010

not enough doing what is right.
Would you lead a company with fear? Would you spend lots of money you don't have? Would you set up the systems to encourage those with big money to rip off the poor? Would you allow gambling with the investments and retirement funds of millions who no longer have pensions? Would you look past and whistle while lies and deceptions and insider deals go uncontrolled?
All these things were done, and are still done with no consequences. As Muser mentions, even the courts are empowering the corporate rulers of our society. Religious leaders build huge mega-buildings with the money of poor parishioners, financial firms lobby with millions to avoid financial regulations, international investors don't trust Americans to police their own business morality any more. Politicians spend millions on elections every two years and say ony what polls tell them will be popular, and corporations have no sense of social responsibility to those employed in this country - sending jobs off-shore while no one complains.
The media is controlled by political interests, corporations' stocks improve with more layoffs, taxes are skewed to favor the wealthy who had a huge transfer of wealth to them during the past 10 years. A major factor now is the ease now of controlling information, media, and thus the voters' sense of who is doing what - often falsely.
It's OK to be cynical and angry - but unless Americans wake up and really inform themselves - not TV style, but books and non-entertaining sources - they will not realize that the information they are using is slanted to control them. Those who use fear and anger to gain power are the least American of us all - they do no value truth, hard work or sincerity. They worship power and money. They are using the less-informed to distract the public from real issues and the need to get back our m

of 10:34AM March 08, 2010

Remember when Donald Trump darn near went bust during the 1990's? As in when it became known that he was so highly leveraged that it was just not sustainable? The bankers gave him some breaks in the form of patience (and debt restructuring) knowing it was their best hope at getting their money back eventually, and so Donald never totally went under completely.
Now, you cannot miss hearing that there's a new season for "The Apprentice."
The guy is like a cat with nine lives.
So, too, goes the US economy. It'll just take time and patience from the rest of the world.
If the biggest egomaniac IN the USA survived, then so too will the US OF A.
Just be patient.

Angie Koutrotsios of IL 12:22AM March 08, 2010

about Jimmy Stewart being dead, but the characters that Jimmy Stewart played had bettter not be dead----or America is dead. If you think your country is too cynical, that's because it is being run by corporations instead of people. If you want that fixed, all you have to do is re-institute very high taxation on very high incomes (including those of corporations and both short and long term capital gains from all this "trading"). In other words, you must make the scamming of citizens from boardrooms a less profitable endeavor, so you get less of it.
This will be a tough slog if not impossible, of course, since the five Catholic men of the Supreme Court recently granted soulless corporations the right to buy more repetition of media message at elections than citizens can ever match. They think it's freedom of speech. They erroneously think corporations are people, just as they erroneously think their own church corporation's dogma is a ticket to heaven. A Court decision more foolish and actually evil is hard to imagine. Blame their church for this and blame it loudly. Every Catholic in America should be ashamed at what "their guys" have done.

Muser of NM 11:06PM March 07, 2010