On Tue, Sep 07, 2004 at 03:18:37PM -0400, John Pedersen wrote:
> Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> >On Tue, 2004-09-07 at 15:38, Levi Bard wrote:
> >
> >>ROB> Personally this has to be the most useless converstation i have
> >>ROB> ever read.
> >>And an equally useless contribution. Way to keep it consistent.
> >>
> >>ROB> Maybe you all should get jobs on cspan.
> >>Ooo, are they hiring?
> >
> >
> >Excuse me if we make our politics "less sensational" than most.
> >I prefer, and I can tell others do as well, realistic, truthful stances.
> >
> >The current "eat the rich" (Democrat) and "family values" (Republicans)
> >are killing me. It's all the same old crap.
> >
> >The Democrat economic model is socialism (no business). The Republican
> >economic model is facism (government controlled business).
>
> In my opinion, you've got that backwards: it's business controlling
> government. Those with billions of dollars also control the media,
> and they pretty much decide who runs, and how successful they are.
I'll agree in part to the former, but not the latter. The press is all
in favor of any democrat who comes down the pike, and uses every
opportunity they can to push them. Conversely, the run down
conservatives every chance they get. There are exceptions, but that's
generally the case. And yet, in the last several elections (both federal
and state), republicans have done better. The media _tries_ to control
things, but can't fully. Especially not now.
> If
> you're in doubt about whether global mega-bankers, or politicians, are
> in control, take a look at the so-called free-trade issue that has
> been destroying USA for many years. Democrat or Republican, makes
> zero difference--the "trade" deficit grows and grows and grows.
> Bankers and corporate elites get richer, everybody else loses.
>
> (I put quotes on "trade" because it isn't trade--it's simply USA
> buying stuff with paper, and the Chinese a) hoarding the paper so they
> can destroy us with it at will, and b) with some of it, they are
> buying the USA.)
I think we've had this discussion before; your position (roughly) was
that the only thing of value in trade was manufactured goods, and that
"services" were only really of value on paper. Something like that. As
before, I disagree. And I'm not at all sure a trade deficit is entirely
a bad thing. Moreover, I'm certain that trade deficits stay unbalanced
ad infinitum. Like everything else, there are cycles.
Paul
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