Keynes on politicians

The following is a quote of John Maynard Keynes, the economist who provided the theory that our politicians artfully follow to this day.

 "We have involved ourselves in a colossal muddle, having blundered in the control of a delicate machine, the working of which we do not understand."

Comments are welcome!

Notre Dame Post Mortem

Post-Mortem

Laura Hollis, Nov 08, 2012

Laura Hollis is:
Current: Associate Professional Specialist and Concurrent Associate
Professor of Law at University of Notre Dame.
Past: Director at Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Associate
Director and Clinical Professor at University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
Education: University of Notre Dame Law School, University of Notre Dame.
Summary: She has 20+ years' experience in curriculum and other program
development and delivery.

I am already reading so many pundits and other talking heads analyzing the disaster that was this year's elections. I am adding my own ten cents. Here goes:

1. We are outnumbered. We accurately foresaw the enthusiasm, the passion, the commitment, the determination, and the turnout. Married women, men, independents, Catholics, evangelicals - they all went for Romney in percentages as high or higher than the groups which voted for McCain in 2008. It wasn't enough. What we saw in the election on Tuesday was a tipping point: we are now at a place where there are legitimately fewer Americans who desire a free republic with a free
people than there are those who think the government should give them stuff. There are fewer of us who believe in the value of free exchange and free enterprise. There are fewer of us who do not wish to demonize successful people in order to justify taking from them. We are outnumbered. For the moment. It's just that simple.

2. It wasn't the candidate(s). Some are already saying, "Romney was the wrong guy"; "He should have picked Marco Rubio to get Florida/Rob Portman to get Ohio/Chris Christie to get [someplace else]." With all due respect, these assessments are incorrect. Romney ran a strategic and well-organized campaign. Yes, he could have hit harder on Benghazi. But for those who would have loved that, there are those who would have found it distasteful. No matter what tactic you could point to that Romney could have done better, it would have been spun in a way that was detrimental to his chances. Romney would have been an excellent president, and Ryan was an inspired choice. No matter who we ran this year, they would have lost. See #1, above.

3. It's the culture, stupid. We have been trying to fight this battle every four years at the voting booth. It is long past time we admit that is not where the battle really is. We abdicated control of the culture - starting back in the 1960s. And now our largest primary social institutions - education, the media, Hollywood (entertainment) have become really nothing more than an assembly line for cranking out reliable little Leftists. Furthermore, we have allowed the government to undermine the
institutions that instill good character - marriage, the family, communities, schools, our churches. So, here we are, at least two full generations later - we are reaping what we have sown. It took nearly fifty years to get here; it will take another fifty years to get back. But it starts with the determination to reclaim education, the media, and the entertainment business. If we fail to do that, we can kiss every election goodbye from here on out. And much more.

4. America has become a nation of adolescents The real loser in this election was adulthood: Maturity. Responsibility. The understanding that liberty must be accompanied by self-restraint. Obama is a spoiled child, and the behavior and language of his followers and their advertisements throughout the campaign makes it clear how many of them are, as well. Romney is a grown-up. Romney should have won. Those of us who expected him to win assumed that voters would act like grownups. Because if we were a nation of grownups, he would have won.

But what did win? Sex. Drugs. Bad language. Bad manners. Vulgarity. Lies. Cheating. Name-calling. Finger-pointing. Blaming. And irresponsible spending. This does not bode well. People grow up one of two ways: either they choose to, or circumstances force them to. The warnings are all there, whether it is the looming economic disaster, or the inability of the government to respond to crises like Hurricane Sandy, or the growing strength and brazenness of our enemies. American
voters stick their fingers in their ears and say, "Lalalalalala, I can't hear you." It is unpleasant to think about the circumstances it will take to force Americans to grow up. It is even more unpleasant to think about Obama at the helm when those circumstances arrive.

5. Yes, there is apparently a Vagina Vote. It's the subject matter of another column in its entirety to point out, one by one, all of the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of the Democrats this year. Suffice it to say that the only "war on women" was the one waged by the Obama campaign, which sexualized and objectified women, featuring them dressed up like vulvas at the Democrat National Convention, appealing to their "lady parts," comparing voting to losing your virginity with Obama, trumpeting the thrills of destroying our children in the womb (and using our daughters in commercials to do so), and making Catholics pay for their birth control. For a significant number of women, this was appealing. It might call into question the wisdom of the Nineteenth Amendment, but for the fact that large numbers of women (largely married) used their "lady smarts" instead. Either way, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are rolling over in their graves.

6. It's not about giving up on "social issues" No Republican candidate should participate in a debate or go out on the stump without thorough debate prep and a complete set of talking points that they stick to. This should start with a good grounding in biology and a reluctance to purport to know the will of God. (Thank you, Todd and Richard.)

That said, we do not hold the values we do because they garner votes. We hold the values we do because we believe that they are time-tested principles without which a civilized, free and prosperous society is not possible.

We defend the unborn because we understand that a society which views some lives as expendable is capable of viewing all lives as expendable.

We defend family - mothers, fathers, marriage, children - because history makes it quite clear that societies without intact families quickly descend into anarchy and barbarism, and we have plenty of proof of that in our inner cities where marriage is infrequent and unwed motherhood approaches 80 percent. When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, many thought that the abortion cause was lost. Forty years later, ultrasound technology has demonstrated the inevitable connection between science and morality. More Americans than ever define themselves as "pro-life." What is tragic is that tens of millions of children have lost their lives while Americans figure out what should have been obvious before. There is no "giving up" on social issues. There is only the realization that we have to fight the battle on other fronts. The truth will win out in the end.

7. Obama does not have a mandate. And he does not need one. I have to laugh - bitterly - when I read conservative pundits trying to assure us that Obama "has to know" that he does not have a mandate, and so he will have to govern from the middle. I don't know what they're smoking. Obama does not care that he does not have a mandate. He does not view himself as being elected (much less re-elected) to represent individuals. He views himself as having been re-elected to complete the "fundamental transformation" of America, the basic structure of which he despises. Expect much more of the same - largely the complete disregard of the will of half the American public, his willingness to rule by executive order, and the utter inability of another divided Congress to rein him in. Stanley Kurtz has it all laid out here.

8. The Corrupt Media - is the enemy too strong? I don't think so. I have been watching the media try to throw elections since at least the early 1990s. In 2008 and again this year, we saw the media cravenly cover up for the incompetence and deceit of this President, while demonizing a good, honorable and decent man with lies and smears. This is on top of the daily barrage of insults that conservatives (and by that I mean the electorate, not the politicians) must endure at the hands of this arrogant bunch of elitist snobs. Bias is one thing. What we observed with Benghazi was professional malpractice and fraud. They need to go. Republicans, Libertarians and other conservatives need to be prepared to play hardball with the Pravda press from here on out. And while we are at it, to defend those journalists of whatever political stripe (Jake Tapper, Sharyl Atkisson, Eli Lake) who actually do their jobs. As well as Fox News and talk radio. Because you can fully expect a re-elected Obama to try to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in term 2.

9. Small business and entrepreneurs will be hurt the worst For all the blather about "Wall Street versus Main Street," Obama's statist agenda will unquestionably benefit the biggest corporations which - as with the public sector unions - are in the best position to make campaign donations, hire lobbyists, and get special exemptions carved out from Obama's health care laws, his environmental regulations, his labor laws. It will be the small business, the entrepreneur, and the first-time innovators who will be crushed by their inability to compete on a level playing field.

10. America is more polarized than ever; and this time it's personal. I've been following politics for a long time, and it feels different this time. Not just for me. I've received messages from other conservatives who are saying the same thing: there is little to no tolerance left out there for those who are bringing this country to its knees - even when they have been our friends. It isn't just about "my guy" versus "your guy." It is my view of America versus your view of America - a crippled, hemorrhaging, debt-laden, weakened and dependent America that I want no part of and resent being foisted on me. I no longer have any patience for stupidity, blindness, or vulgarity, so with each dumb "tweet" or FB post by one of my happily lefty comrades, another one bites the dust, for me. Delete. What does this portend for a divided Congress? I expect that Republicans will be demoralized and chastened for a short time. But I see them in a bad position. Americans in general want Congress to work together. But many do not want Obama's policies, and so Republicans who support them will be toast. Good luck, guys.

11. It's possible that America just has to hit rock bottom. I truly believe that most Americans who voted for Obama have no idea what they are in for. Most simply believe him when he says that all he really wants is for the rich to pay "a little bit more." So reasonable! Who could argue with that except a greedy racist? America is on a horrific bender. Has been for some time now. The warning signs of our fiscal profligacy and culture of lack of personal responsibility are everywhere - too many to mention. We need only look at other countries which have gone the route we are walking now to see what is in store.

For the past four years - but certainly within the past campaign season - we have tried to warn Americans. Too many refuse to listen, even when all of the events that have transpired during Obama's presidency - unemployment, economic stagnation, skyrocketing prices, the depression of the dollar, the collapse of foreign policy, Benghazi, hopelessly inept responses to natural disasters - can be tied directly to Obama's statist philosophies, and his decisions.

What that means, I fear, is that they will not see what is coming until the whole thing collapses. That is what makes me so sad today. I see the country I love headed toward its own "rock bottom," and I cannot seem to reach those who are taking it there.

Laura Hollis

Comments on this letter are welcome!

Obama's Sandwich

Alinsky quotes

the following are several quotes.  Feel free to comment. 

"those who are most moral are farthest from the problem."

"Last guys don't finish nice."

"he who fears corruption fears life."

"the first radical known to man..rebelled so effectively that he won his own kingdom: Lucifer."

Jefferson on democracy

"Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give it to those who will not."  Quote by Thomas Jefferson

On constraints

Quote from Burnt Offerings..."a lack of constraints is the reason power corrupts."

Deficit Spending and WWII

In my most recent blog, I briefly described our four year recession as a copy of FDR’s twelve year New Deal that was misdesigned to fix the great depression.  After twelve years it resulted in World War II: a development associated with the void and chaos of a depressed Europe and America.  This blog is an extension of that article.  It attempts to further explain those developments in the mid-twentieth century from a social-psychological perspective rather than an economic one.  It is my belief that if Americans have not learned from history we are destined to repeat it. 

The point is this; it was not deficit spending and the new deal that got us out of the great depression.  It was the forced implementation of the war years that provided the structure and the obsessive qualities that were necessary to end that cultural depression.  These economic bubbles that you hear so much about from economists are the symptoms of an underlying manic quality that allows people to think risk taking under questionable conditions is acceptable.  The economic bubble is part of an underlying cultural manic state.  The problem is psychological stupid: not economic.  

If I am right, then the economic path we are pursuing is likely to result in a real and on-going fiscal crisis or a war.  The reason is that we have not learned our lesson yet from the past.  This cultural problem is much bigger than just the field of economics.  This topic, Obama’s New Deal, is a major topic of the new book that I am writing. 

Obama's New Deal

The last year and the recent presidential election scare the hell out of me.  I am a clinical psychologist/author who thinks something really crazy is occurring in America.  It is something akin to a cultural delusion.  It appears that a majority of Americans are attempting to escape the unpleasantness of reality by ignoring the obvious problem at hand.  That problem is the steadily growing lack of fiscal and moral responsibility that is exemplified by our current president and those who are on his side. 

Many people I know are avoiding the obvious by arguing that the current president and his administration have done a partially good job and will complete what has been started in his next administration.  Some Americans accept this point of view without question.  Most refuse to look at all.  

In order to understand what has happened, people need to understand that in the first two years of President Obama’s presidency, he and his congress tried to copy FDR’s New Deal that was supposed to fix the great depression.  Obama and his cohorts did a very poor job of it with their greedy stimulus package and lack of transparency.  They were obviously dishonest. 

Obama took the same course as the New Deal of the 1930’s that lasted for about twelve years.  The reasons it lasted so long are clearly described in two books: one called The Forgotten Man and another called FDR’s Folly. History has been kind to Roosevelt in the thirties and only now, many years later, has it become known that the great depression was extended for many years because of FDR’s policies of bigger government, political favoritism coupled with a patronage system and outright dishonesty.  There was even another depression of almost the same intensity in the late thirties that was not covered by the media.

The Obama administration has pursued those same new deal policies and the result has been a recession that has lasted 4 years to date.  Most recessions/depressions end much quicker than that. Only FDR’s New Deal lasted longer and it resulted in war.  If Obama is re-elected he will pursue those same failed policies. The result clearly will be an extended recession/depression with the real possibility of another crash.  Obama and his cohorts have not learned from history.  Remember it was John Maynard Keynes who said, “madmen in authority distil their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.”

The Valley of the Blind

"In the valley of the Blind the sighted are cripples"  From Burnt Offerings

America in Crisis

It has finally happened!  Our dedication to the average person has finally failed us.  In my book, Burnt Offerings (2008), it was clear that our country was headed into chaos and would be vulnerable to authoritarianism.  I have thought for years that all this permissiveness and tearing apart of anything traditional must come to an end.  Western civilization itself is in crisis as dependency takes precedence over more anxiousness.  The idea of independence, and hence freedom, have been given up as we chose dependence in the form of corrupt government.  Statistical data bear this out when we see that about 59 % of our population is now mentally ill.

According to my book, Burnt Offerings, the National Institute of Mental Health (2007) estimates that there are about 95 million untreated users of mental health services annually.  This figure combined with the ninety million annually who do receive treatment suggests that a large segment of our population is in need of treatment.  That is about 59% of our population.  It is my thought that mentally ill people would be much more likely to vote for dependence than for the independence that comes with earning what you have.

government decline

"Life is on the decline because government has become incapable of dealing with modern social problems."  From the book Burnt Offerings.

On Liberty

"Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither."  Ben Franklin

Eric Hoffer..The True Believer

"The True Believer is a guilt ridden fanatic who is the mortal enemy of things as they are."   Eric Hoffer

Be Careful What You Wish For...

It is quite clear to me that most Americans are attempting to escape the
unpleasantness of reality by ignoring the obvious problem at hand. That
problem is the steadily growing lack of fiscal and moral responsibility that is
exemplified by our current president and those who are on his side. Many
people I know are avoiding the obvious by arguing that the current president
and his administration have done a partially good job and will complete what
has been started in his next administration. That argument also includes snide
swipes at Mitt Romney, saying he is a rich uncaring rich guy. Some Americans
accept this point of view without question. Most refuse to look at the real
problem. That kind of escapist thinking could bring our republic down.

In order to understand what has happened people need to understand that in
the first two years of President Obama’s presidency, he and the congress tried to
copy FDR’s New Deal that was supposed to fix the great depression. Obama and
his cohorts did a very poor job of it with their greedy stimulus package and lack
of transparency. Obama took the same course as the New Deal of the 1930’s
that lasted for about twelve years. The reasons it lasted so long are clearly
described in two books: one called The Forgotten Man and another called FDR’s
Folly. History has been kind to Roosevelt in the thirties and only now, many years
later, has it become known that the great depression was extended for many
years because of FDR’s policies of bigger government and political favoritism.
There was even another depression of almost the same intensity in the late
thirties that was not covered by the media.

The Obama administration has pursued those same new deal policies and the
result has been a recession that has lasted 4 years to date. Most recessions/
depressions end much quicker than that. Only FDR’s New Deal lasted longer
and it resulted in war. If Obama is re-elected he will pursue those same failed
policies. The result clearly will be an extended recession/depression with the
real possibility of another crash. Obama and his cohorts have not learned from
history. Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

_________________

Floyd Sours is a clinical psychologist who was a small business owner in the
Columbus area for many years. He is now partially retired and lives in Zanesville,
Ohio with his wife. He can be contacted through his Burnt Offerings website or at
facebook or twitter.

Welcome to the Burnt Offerings Book Blog

Welcome to the Burnt Offerings blog!  Burnt Offerings:  The Art of Politics and the Consequences of Freedom is written by Floyd Sours.  The central theme of the book lies in the relationship between inequality and equality.  Aside from the obvious benefits of freedom and equality, what are the consequences?  Speculation about where America may be headed politically is also included.

You can learn more about the book and the author here.