Thursday, October 7, 2010

If You Want To Understand What Makes This Recession Continue

Ask the authors of Federalist 62.  First, the problem of the health care reform bill that came to 2700 pages:
It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?
The following paragraph explains why people like George Soros always back Democrats:
Another effect of public instability is the unreasonable advantage it gives to the sagacious, the enterprising, and the moneyed few over the industrious and uniformed mass of the people. Every new regulation concerning commerce or revenue, or in any way affecting the value of the different species of property, presents a new harvest to those who watch the change, and can trace its consequences; a harvest, reared not by themselves, but by the toils and cares of the great body of their fellow-citizens. This is a state of things in which it may be said with some truth that laws are made for the few, not for the many.
And why employers are reluctant to hire right now:
In another point of view, great injury results from an unstable government. The want of confidence in the public councils damps every useful undertaking, the success and profit of which may depend on a continuance of existing arrangements. What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch of commerce when he knows not but that his plans may be rendered unlawful before they can be executed? What farmer or manufacturer will lay himself out for the encouragement given to any particular cultivation or establishment, when he can have no assurance that his preparatory labors and advances will not render him a victim to an inconstant government? In a word, no great improvement or laudable enterprise can go forward which requires the auspices of a steady system of national policy.
The things you find, preparing for class!

UPDATE: Welcome, InstaReaders!  One of the discouraging aspects to teaching U.S. History is seeing where we were--and how rapidly we are accelerating into destruction.  The good news is that my students (many of whom I suspect voted for Obama) can see it as well.  They are concerned, they are upset--and I am hoping that they will become forces for good in the next few elections.

14 comments:

  1. Why does the phrase 'long chain of abuses' spring to mind?

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  2. Well said Clayton. Well said. I'm amazed at the specificity of comments made near our countries founding. They are spot on.

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  3. Isn't it amazing how truly precient our founders were?

    I linked to your post on my blog...and posted the entirety of the Federalist #62 there. I'm just not sure of how to do track backs.

    Rich Vail
    Pikesville, MD
    http://thevailspot.blogspot.com

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  4. Great points! I love to see historical examples of logical analysis and political wisdom, especially those that can be seen to fit modern situations. It proves that Hamilton, Madison, and Jay ... astute representatives of the Founding Fathers arguing for the ratification of the new Constitution were discerning and comprehensive in thought.

    This also shows that Reality is Reality is Reality. Gravity still applies. 2+2 still equals 4. Simple truths are still infinitely superior to demagoguery and lies.

    http://ben@word4ce.com/freemarkets

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  5. You have identified the problem, but the Republicans aren't any less onerous in this regard than the Democrats. So throwing out the Democrats won't solve anything. Our entire government, both major parties and even the up and coming T Partiers, have been bought and paid for by the money elite. Many of them don't even know that they are being manipulated. Why did Bush save the billionaire investment bankers? Why did Obama go along with it? The reason Obama is not getting the campaign contributions from wall street that he got the first time around is that, after the bailout, he pushed through banking reforms and demonized the greedy bankers, which was embarrassing and inconvenient to them (probably nothing more than that, though.) Now, they're going to make him pay, because he's not falling into line as instructed.

    If you want to understand what's really going on, here's a good book to read:

    "The Trillion Dollar Conspiracy" by Jim Marrs. Its very well documented. Way out there, but worth a look if you want to stick a pin in the ridiculous bi-partisan puppet show that has replaced the government envisioned by Jefferson, Washington, Adams, etc.

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  6. Clearly, James Madison is a racist. And any thinking person knows that it's all Bush's fault.

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  7. You have to wonder if The Won ever prepared for class?

    I'm doing a post over at CV and naturally you get a link. Thanks so much for this.

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  8. "Mister McGoo said...

    You have identified the problem, but the Republicans aren't any less onerous in this regard than the Democrats. So throwing out the Democrats won't solve anything."


    Yeah, remember all those un-read, multi-thousand page bills that the Republicans passed under Bush?

    Like that one....umm, you know, the one, right?

    Exactly like the Dems!!11!!!

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  9. A few reactions...
    1. The complication of the legal code doesn't really have anything to do with HCR; that was a problem before and after.
    2. Hedge fund billionaires back the Dems because those people make way more money when the economy is good. Whose policies do you think lead to that?
    3. Employers are unwilling to hire because of a lack of adequate demand. This point is valid, though, for why green tech companies are setting up in China instead of the US - in the US, they'll probably never get any kind of subsidy thanks to the political clout of our oil companies; whereas countries like China and Germany are strongly encouraging their formation.

    Long post, sorry. Thanks for doing the historical legwork!

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  10. We need more engineers in Congress.

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  11. True, they (the repubs) didn't pass thousand page unread bills in the dead of night, but they showed very little respect for either the Constitution or the people and too much respect for the religion of pieces.
    Every time I read the historical papers, I come away impressed with the wisdom of the Founders. Where oh where are such men and women today?

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  12. I presume Joseph is referring to the PATRIOT Act. There were aspects of it that concerned me a bit, but since it was limited to five years when passed, I was prepared to accept it. I would have much preferred that instead of making some provisions permanent when it was renewed in 2007, that Congress again given those provisions another five year renewal. But by then, Democrats were in control of Congress, so it is hard to blame Republicans for that.

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  13. "1. The complication of the legal code doesn't really have anything to do with HCR; that was a problem before and after."

    It is actually somewhat more of a problem after adding 2700 pages to the code. We are still figuring out what some of the results of it are. This does not preclude legitimate changes to the law if required, but I am skeptical that 2700 pages were required to make a proper fix.


    "2. Hedge fund billionaires back the Dems because those people make way more money when the economy is good. Whose policies do you think lead to that?"

    What makes the hedge fund billionaires rich is not necessarily a good economy. What's good for them isn't necessarily good for the rest of us. (It can be, but not necessarily.)

    "3. Employers are unwilling to hire because of a lack of adequate demand. This point is valid, though, for why green tech companies are setting up in China instead of the US - in the US, they'll probably never get any kind of subsidy thanks to the political clout of our oil companies; whereas countries like China and Germany are strongly encouraging their formation."

    Don't confuse companies that have a real product or solution with hothouse roses that only make sense as long as there's a big tax subsidy encouraging it. Spain, for example, has discovered that their "green jobs" were costing more than a million dollars per job created.

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  14. Clayton, we like your post.
    So many warnings, so little heed.
    We will list you at www.robbingamerica.com
    as one of our recommended blogs.
    Well done!

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