Charlie Rose

robdverity  07/23/2011 05:28 PM Report

Nice segue into your favorite topic.

JohnGelles  07/21/2011 02:32 AM Report

This Senator Rob Portman (R.) of Ohio is poison for labor -- for people who work for living -- and are not rich enough to live off private sector capital that they own.

REMant we may assume needs to earn more interest on his private savings. This is understandable. If true, it explains his objection to low interest rates that favor my grandchild on account of a $200,000 student loan, my children on account of their mortgages, but not me -- because my savings are earning next to nothing.

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Today Rob dverity (07/20/2011 03:58 PM) wrote the following in a neighboring discussion of our debt and our dilemmas:

..... John - your ingenuous innocence is profound, esp. for a man in mid-80s. You have the sensitivity of a poet. Ever tried it?

Rob ~

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I replied:

Rob~

Thank you for undeserved words.

My beliefs two months short of 86 are few, controversial, and stubbornly held. They involve the old saw:

..... There is nothing certain but DEATH and TAXES.

I do not buy the conventional way we look at death and taxes. Taxes first.

..... 1. Taxes are thought to be gov't theft of your money.

In fact my IOU's are not legal tender to discharge debt. Only govt't can create legal tender.

Today fed reserve notes, and US Treasury coins, and deposits of same, are money in America. The gov't creates it IF IT SPENDS IT.

..... Such money will lose its value relative to purchasing THINGS -- unless within its borders it can MATCH money so created by THINGS supplied by its producers -- private or government-owned.

..... 2. So tax revenues are not needed to pay for government spending, lending or investment.

..... 3. Taxes are only needed to cancel gov't-created money when there is too much of it trying to buy what producers sell.

..... 4. Since workers and producers can produce much more than they currently do, all new production can add to the money gov't wants to solve defense and civilian real shortages of supply that is needed to keep prosperity and peace going and pollution at the lowest possible level.

..... 5. The fact that the President and Congress do not subscribe to this opinion (about money and taxes) leaves us in the fix we claim to be in today.

They say WE (YOU AND I) have the money and they have to tax it way.

Obviously we do not have the money -- gov't has the money.

..... 6. Until my belief prevails, we are in danger of another great depression. The result may be fascism or communism. In my life time these systems proved to be one-way roads to tyranny and war.

..... 7. China, Russia or Europe will likely switch to my way of thinking soon enough. Then we will switch too.

Or some other nation will be first.

There are today tens of thousands of people who believe as I do -- but they tend to write books and hope to sell them.

..... 8. Richard C. Cook, American author on Amazon, is my favorite authority in this matter of urgently needed reform.

..... 9. If all of us on the Charley Rose forum got together with Richard C. Cook we would end this nonsense about unemployment and debt in America immediately.

It would be WW II financial tools all over again -- over night.

We would produce and have a billion steel collared workers in almost no time and leave all other nations in our dust.

We would NOT have to sell or export anything -- we would only have to produce and use all we need to bring Utopia to all of us -- and to all of them that deserved it.

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Second big belief: DEATH is not well handled by our culture.

1. We must die.

2. Death should be arranged by each individual according to his or her own beliefs.

3. I believe I should die before I ever get too sick or hurt to have a really enviable death.

4. I should be able to pay, not for a funeral, but for a last good time. It would be on a vacation that ended with me in heaven and others coming home to tell the story.

5. I would go on that vacation when I wanted to -- no questions asked, if I was old -- or if not old, I could prove I was not depressed.

6. How old is old? Three score and ten.

SharkswithfrikingLazers  07/20/2011 06:47 PM Report

If it is so dire Senator then propose BIG Defense spending cuts--not spending cuts on less fortunate Americans.

I hear the crisis call but when I look at the details I see too much politics.

Yes, debt dynamics are critical. Every point increase means I owe $450 more on my debt of $46,000. By the way, this is true for every American!

Also, Cisco shows about $4 billion in cash on its consolidated balance sheet YET it is laying off 6,500 employees. Yes Senator--REVENUE THROUGH ECONOMIC GROWTH!

tabs  07/20/2011 12:55 PM Report

Isn't it ironic that President Obama is now saying, "That time is short and there is no more time for symbolic gestures nor posturing." What planet has the President been on for the past 6 months? Now at the 11TH hour he wants to get on with it, chiding the Congressional leadership about time being short? This is not how one leads a great nation but more closely resembles how a Banana Republic is led.

Of further interest Steve Wynn let loose a tirade blaming President Obama for fostering uncertainty which acts like a "wet blanket" on the economy. Mr Wynn went on to say that President Obama was a Socialist in that he was redistributing the wealth. It is quite notable that Mr Wynn is a large supporter of Harry Reid and Democrat Party.

REMant  07/20/2011 10:47 AM Report

Wall St certainly seems to have liked the Gang of Six proposal. Whether it matches the president's ideas or not, it certainly sounds a lot like Bowles-Simpson and I can't argue with that. It is a good start, and there's not a lot of point at this time in trying to go beyond fiscal matters. To really solve this problem however it will be necessary to reconsider the Fed's mandate and adopt a balanced budget, but those seem at the moment bridges too far, tho the interest rate must be allowed to rise to a natural level to spur investment and get us out of this stagflationary spiral, and limit inflation when we do. Keynesians will argue deferring this, but classical economics disagrees. More budget cutting may also be required, but it would be wise to cut incrementally, not just to give the economy time to adjust, but also because less cutting may be needed than thought. Nevertheless, it would not hurt to lay the groundwork for future efforts in this agreement. As for the tax code, when my mother can do her taxes, it should be simple enough.