hamilcarr

Joined

• started 127 topics
• posted 1,857 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by hamilcarr

• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  Bookmarked for later read.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  Just compare developed free-market economies with high rates of taxation and social spending and countries with low rates of taxation and social expenditures. Here's an interesting article providing empirical evidence why van Hayek was wrong:

  http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-social-welfare-state

  The U.S. spends less than almost all rich countries on social services for the poor and disabled, and it gets what it pays for: the highest poverty rate among the rich countries and an exploding prison population. Actually, by shunning public spending on health, the U.S. gets much less than it pays for, because its dependence on private health care has led to a ramshackle system that yields mediocre results at very high costs.
• 
  48

  Ireland May Go Bankrupt

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5733723.ece.

  this is not a joke or some nutcase blog.

  it's serious business.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  the US still has a good birthrate

  You forget about our rapidly growing Muslim population. And European Millennials are going to engender a new baby boom.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  Actually, you only want me to discuss Austrian School theories on inflation and business cycles because that's your field of expertise and it turns away our attention from the issues at stake. The problem of course is that Austrian theories are unscientific by nature, they're undebatable because there's no empirical evidence to back them up. Austrian depression economics, for instance, fail the test of reality.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  Since we are discussing the US, lets stick to the environment in the US, which is far different than Sweden.

  Strange. In your first reply to my OP you yourself have pleaded for a comparative approach. Your assertion that there's a negative correlation between generous social spending and income equality just doesn't stand up to scrutiny. It's a wild idea. Of course, it's necessary to go outside the American perspective.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  What say you, Hamilcarr?

  Thanks for asking my advice. I was reconsidering to put forward the Swedish redistributive wellfare state model with its far reaching commitment to equality via institutional care.

  Welfare state supporters typically contend that social-welfare programs reduce poverty. Critics argue that, over time, such programs instead may increase poverty by inhibiting growth of economic output and/or employment. A number of recent cross-country empirical studies have found that welfare state generosity is strongly associated with low relative poverty, but there has been virtually no cross-national analysis of welfare state effects on absolute poverty, which is at the heart of the critics' argument. This paper uses Luxembourg Income Study data to examine the relationship between welfare states and absolute poverty for working-age households in Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. Consistent with the critics' charge, there is an association across these five countries between welfare state generosity and rising pretax-pretransfer absolute poverty. Yet the largest decline in posttax-posttransfer absolute poverty during this period, and the lowest level as of the mid-1990s, were found in Sweden, the country with by far the most generous welfare state. Canada's superior performance relative to the United States also suggests that social-welfare policies can help to reduce absolute poverty.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  It may be the case that this social spending itself is a contributor.

  Again, you're giving a false causality. Social spending has been much higher in other developed countries where inequality has stayed the same or even declined.

  Besides, empirical evidence shows that social taxes reduce poverty in wellfare states.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  That such a thing as a dismantling has occurred is a myth. You are repeating a myth you have heard many times (and doubtless believe because of this) that is baseless. I am now going to explode this myth. Even during the 1980s, regulation increased, albeit at a slightly smaller rate.

  There has been many waves of deregulation since the 1980s. One of the most notorious in light of the current crisis is the 1999 deregulation of US financial systemn which did away with the restrictions imposed by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. Ironically, this law was enacted to rescue a collapsed banking system. The warnings uttered by leftists have been proven to be prophetic:

  And there is a much more recent experience than 1929 to serve as a cautionary tale. A financial deregulation bill was passed in the early 1980s under the Reagan administration, lifting many restrictions on the activities of savings and loan associations, which had previously been limited primarily to the home-loan market. The result was an orgy of speculation, profiteering and outright plundering of assets, culminating in collapse and the biggest financial bailout in US history, costing the federal government more than $500 billion. The repetition of such events in the much larger banking and securities markets would be beyond the scope of any federal bailout.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  You are indoctrinated. You were born and raised in a cult, the cult of the state. You were educated in state schools, watch state run or state censored television, and buy products produced by corporations that are in bed with the state. Like an utterly broken Winston at the end of Orwell's 1984, you love Big Brother.

  I think this is an interesting post to analyze and store for later use. It shows that you're so heavily traumatized by your cult past that you're seeing cults all around you. You fail to see that a democratically elected government in a modern constitutional democracy like America's can't be a cult. This shows imo your contempt for democracy and its tools to change society. To me, you represent the past.
• 
  78

  Why is America such an unequal society?

  by hamilcarr in

  1. social
  2. current

  with the latest surge of anti-european comments and threads from us anti-progressives on this board, a little bit american self-criticism may be appropriate.. since the eighties, income inequality has been on the rise in american society.

  most economists, however, agree that redistributing wealth is a legitimate role for any modern enlightened government.

  and even alan greenspan labelled us income inequality a "disturbing tend" which could lead to societal instability.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hamilcarr

  Wake up and be enlightened, Hamilcarr. We are all being used.

  If I'm unhappy with my government, I can easily vote them away. I can't say the same about the private corporations that rob my money. History leads to only one conclusion, which is a rather inconvenient fact re your dogmatic ideology: the gradual dismantling of government, i.e. democratic, regulation, has created the massive rise in inequality that can be observed in America since the 1980s.

  I don't want my government to take care of me, I want myself taking care of government. That's a core issue of modern liberalism. Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. I don't need a Big Brother. I don't need being used. I know what I want and what I expect to happen. Equal opportunity is on top of my list.