Sir;... If you could only know how retarded you sound extolling the virtues of a managed economy while sitting amid the rubble of our failed anarchy of an economy you would hold your head between your knees and sob your life away... Think of how these politicians made hay on calling Mr. Obama Socialistic when everyone except your favorite Know nothings realized it is Socialist money keeping our whole government and economy from outright bankruptcy... What if the commies pulled the rug out from under us??? Do you think our government could get by without being reformed??? The fact is, that if our government has allowed this situation to come about because it relied upon the good will of strangers rather than the pure common sense of economy, then it needs to be reformed... There is no economy to our economy... Look at the word: Oikonomos= Manager, from Oikos, house plus nemein, distribute... Every household had to live upon its own produce, to distribute with some fairness what was produced. Just as ancient people could not fudge the numbers when the numbers actually represented the needs of life, we should understand that there is not the slightest sugar in our fudged numbers... If we are consuming more than we produce, and exporting our productive capacity, and living on borrowed money to buy from abroad what we once produced for ourselves; then there is no management. And questions of international relations having the answer of whether or not we survive as a nation should not be left only to self interest and greed to work out between them...We are getting a lesson here, and I will spell it out for the dim wits.... Every economy has to work just as every houshold once worked, within itself... If we give to the capitalist class, which is an international class holding no national allegiance before their class allegiance, -the sole control of our economy; we can expect no better than they have given to the whole world, which is a tyranny of economy and state, grinding the hopes of mankind into oblivion. We can have anything we want from our economy, but if we do not manage it we will not even get our needs met... Now, you look... What can we really produce for our own defense??? We can feed ourselves... Can we clothe ourselves??? Do we have a merchant marine??? Do we own our own oil tankers, and do they pay taxes in this land??? If business says something is good for them, it is because it is bad for us... We need to govern our affairs, and not on a lark, but because we cannot know that international capital has one part of our interest at heart, and we have every evidence that they would rather see this land of democracy humiliated and blind, with cup in hand, begging for change than standing tall for freedom...Thanks...Sweeney

Again, a great article. People like to throw around socialism and communism as if they actually understood what those words mean. I firmly believe in a free market, but that market has become one of "get it while you can and get out". China refused to place an accurate value on the yuan and the world let them when they were exporting more than anyone else.
When Radio flyer decided to manufacture in China that really brought home the simple fact that we cannot compete in the world market anymore. Protectionism is a better policy than a world depression because China refuses to values is money correctly.
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Re: Frank;... Jeez Frank, Just read English history... It does not matter if it is about Marx, or Henry number seven... There are some rules of economy that are dangerous, and ultimately disasterous to ignore.... You need to be a market for your own goods... You need to export, and at a minimum, export more than you import... You cannot export all your capital, and all of your productive capacity... And you cannot support wars for no gain all over the planet... To hell with glory... Wars ruin more economies than they rescue... If you want to beat a foreign power, undercut their markets... The thing Lenin said is true, about a capitalist selling the rope that will hang him... We will be ruined with exported capital, and exported production, which is the last thing you actually want to export because it ruins your market, and if every country is self sufficient you are going to end with world socialism anyway... Sure, the capitalist makes a quick profit on production from abroad until the wealth of the country is drained off, but once that happens, everyone goes broke... We cannot all live on the profits of the rich... We need the wealth produced by our own economy, or we can kiss world power good bye.... Not that I would mind that, but if we are not a power, then we become a prize...Thanks...Sweeney

Well, Byuke, you old bloodhound, you seem to have sniffed out a new trail. Hang on to it for a while. But don't forget to credit the Republican Party with the coups de grace. You know what I mean: The move from a budget surplus at the end of the Clinton presidency to the biggest rack of debt this country has ever seen came right at the hands of your very own. The Chinese own us and will surely be financing Chinese language studies as a required subject in all of our grammar schools as a condition for bailing us out. And all that thanks to the party of "conservatives" who spent us into the greatest catastrophe we have yet seen in our sweet, short history, heretofore undamaged as it is now by the most breathtaking incompetence in leadership we have ever seen. Cheers to you and watch out for skunks.

Re: Masako;... Ya! What you said: SKUNKS.... You watch some of those bums on tv and you feel like you need a bath... If they can slime up America so much on the outside, imagine what they must be like inside...Thanks...Sweeney

Re: James A, Sweeney: What's the latest formula? Throw a bunch of tomato juice on and scrub vigorously, I think it is. After about six months the unlucky creature who could not avoid the spray will be smelling like a rose...

Cheers. Masako

Pat is absolutely right, but I am confused as to why our politicians and many members of our society think that free trade is so righteous and good. It is strange. I guess everyone wants cheap goods until their job is eliminated and then they can no longer purchase even the cheap goods. At the same time, if America goes down, who is going to buy all the junk that is produced in China?

One more point. With all this turmoil, I want to mention an interesting idea by philosopher Alfred Glaser. He said that there were problems with both communism and capitalism, but that to combine both would be ideal. Namely, allow capitalism to go on as much as it wants as long as it is taxed to the extent that it can provide the basics to all the members of society. Ie. food, shelter, clothing, medical, education. He recommended two currencies. One a survival currency to provide the basics to everybody and another which he called a pleasure currency which would be for capitalism. He said to tax the pleasure currency to the extent that it provides enough survival currency to everybody. This way you get the best of both systems and you remove the fear and conflict from society. He didn't mention it, but dropping Free Trade might be a good start to getting the house in order.