By Simon Grey, on August 14th, 2012
In which Krugman relies on his faulty memory:
So: I’m old enough (you kids get off my lawn) to remember the rise of self-service gas stations, which coincided with the oil shocks of the 1970s. Suddenly gas was much more expensive — and drivers, eager to limit the blow, were willing to pump their own to save a few pennies.
At the time, being either in or fresh out of grad school, I thought, wait, this makes no sense: the decision to pump your own gas is about making a tradeoff between money and your own effort, and should have nothing special to do with the price of gasoline per se. Yet people acted as if they had a limited budget for fuel, as opposed to an overall budget constraint, and responded to a rise in gas prices with a seemingly irrational effort to hold down the size of that sub-budget.
Given that the only purpose for Krugman’s brain is, at this point, to rationalize stupid leftist economic policies, it should come as no surprise that his memory has subverted actual reality in order to make a stupid point about how Keynesian policies are still useful.
The reality of the 1970 oil shock is twofold. First, Nixon took the US off the gold standard while the OPEC tied the price of oil to gold. Unsurprisingly, the US inflated its currency and the cost of oil shot up. Incidentally, this is how it works even today. The rise in the cost of gas is due primarily to inflation and not stagnation in supply or increases in demand. To verify, simply look at the historical price of gas in, say, 1950 dollars. The price has remained pretty stable over time. The reason why it has spiked considerably in recent years is the same reason it spiked after 1970: inflation.*
Second, the solution to the problem in the 1970s was price controls. It was not consumers deciding to save money through self-service. It was suppliers deciding to increase margins by eliminating unnecessary labor. In fact, the reason why my maternal grandfather lost the gas station he owned was because he didn’t switch to self-service, and the price ceilings made staying in business unprofitable in lieu of labor costs. Thus, the choice between full-service and self-service gas stations was a choice that was heavily influenced by government interference in the form of inflation and price controls.
Therefore, Krugman’s inability to understand why people switched to self-service gas stations is the result of his own ideological blinders which preclude him from ever considering that government interference might lead to inefficient market outcomes. Or, to state it another way, Krugman is such an ideologue that he cannot even begin to consider that the Keynesian methodology might be wrong. Hence his confusion.
* On a side note, the call for increased drilling is pure nonsense perpetrated by neo-con shills. In the first place, increased supply will never completely mitigate the consequences of inflation, generally speaking. In the second place, increasing drilling is pointless unless there is also an increase in refining capacity, which is even more difficult in lieu of the current regulatory regime.
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By Ajay Shah, on November 10th, 2011
We know a lot about price controls from the field of exchange rates. Here’s an argument from way back, in 1998:
When change comes to a stabilised currency, as it must, that change is painful. Change in the long term is inevitable. The random walk doles out a little change every day, which is less painful than sudden large changes.
…
Currencies which are random walks yield a deeper sort of stability. The steady pace of small changes every day generates realistic expectations about currency risk and continual realignment in production processes in the economy. It avoids sudden changes, and keeps the currency out of the domain of politics. The random walk regime is sustainable without incurring serious distortions in the economy.
In the field of exchange rates, India understood these arguments, and moved to a floating exchange rate. In March 2007, the INR/USD volatility moved up to roughly 9% and from early 2009 onwards, RBI stopped trading in the currency market. This was the biggest achievement of the UPA in economic reforms: In the 2007-2009 period, we got to a market determined rate on the most important price of the economy.
These same ideas are useful in thinking about the price of petrol. A large jump of Rs.1.8 per litre attracts attention. It is far better to let the price fluctuate every day. Ultimately, the price has to adjust. We suffer a lower political cost by letting it adjust every day (through the depoliticised market process). If we bottle up the small changes, then we have to make large changes. These are a bad use of political capital.
By Trace Mayer, on March 24th, 2011
[Disclaimer: The follow article is a fictional account of a persuasive argument and should not be construed as an assertion of facts although written in the first person.]
My nuke pills, commonly known as potassium iodide, have been languishing unloved in my emergency supplies for years since I bought them for about $5.99 each. They expire next month. I would like to have donated them to a charity that would get them to people in Japan who so badly need them.
But potassium iodide is only available by prescription in Japan and I am not interested in engaging in the international smuggling of controlled substances. So I did the next best thing: I just sold them for $99.99 apiece representing a net realized gain of approximately 1,500%. One of my best investments yet. But with the nuke pill market’s backwardation more severe than the silver backwardation why would I sell them?
The price, where a producer and consumer meet in negotiations, is an extremely valuable, even vital, tool.
PRICE GOUGING DEFINITION
Price gouging has a nasty connotation. This is mostly due to the true cause of shortages, governments, attempting to spread disinformation about how markets work. For example, the Florida Division of Consumer Services asserts:
In the wake of natural disaster, essentials — such as food, ice generators, lanterns, lumber, etc. — may be in short supply. Charging exorbitant or excessive prices for these and other necessities following a disaster is not only unethical, it’s illegal.
Under Sections 501.160 and 501.205 Florida Statutes, it is illegal to charge unconscionable prices for goods or services following a declared state of emergency.
Individuals or businesses found guilty of price-gouging could face fines up to $1,000 per violation.
HOW AND WHY VOLUNTARY TRADE WORKS
If I own potassium iodide pills there are two mutually exclusive ways for you to acquire them. One option is for me to voluntarily sell or gift you the pills. The other option is for you to steal or rob the pills from me.
Trade works because everyone has different preferences, talents, abilities, competitive advantages, knowledge and desires. For example, Mozart had different talents than Einstein. The baker and the painter are each able to perform work the other values and when they engage in a voluntary trade then it implies that the baker derives more value from what the painter offers than from his bread. Because the baker is better at baking than the painter and because the painter is better at painting than the baker therefore when a trade is voluntarily concluded then both the painter and baker are better off which raises the standard of living for both. Even nations have comparative advantages.
However, when property is either stolen or robbed then only one party benefits to the detriment of another party. This type of parasitic behavior does not encourage additional productive activities. In fact, it decreases wealth by requiring the aggrieved party to expend additional resources on protection which ultimately gets passed on to legitimate moral consumers in the form of higher prices.
It should be noted that since governments are force and force is violence they are by nature parasitic in this stealing and robbing way. And they have the nerve to call a party to a purely voluntary transaction unethical. Thus, the Florida division should probably be named something a little more accurate like the Florida Division of Victimizer Services.
THE VALUABLE NATURE OF THE PRICE
The price, where a producer and consumer meet in negotiations, is an extremely valuable, even vital, tool. It helps the baker know whether he should produce 5 loaves or 500. Because the baker is also a consumer therefore a price is communicated by the baker to the farmer about whether he should plant one acre or 100 acres of wheat.
And so on through the increasingly complex economy with people being able to build up considerable comparative advantages by learning such disciplines as xenotransplantation, mechanical engineering, robotics, proctology, hematology or biomedical gerontology. It is through the price that individuals, all acting according to their own dictates, decide how to allocate their time, talents and capital to meet the needs and desires of each other.
When the pricing mechanism is immorally interfered with by the use of aggression then individuals are hindered in their ability to know how much demand exists for a particular good or service. Misallocation of wealth happens which results in its destruction and a lowering of living standards for society. When a price control is implemented through the use of force then it leads to shortages which are often used as an excuse to implement rationing. In the modern world with such technological advances there is a sole cause for all the starvation and shortages: governments.
For example, there always seems to be a shortage of blood, particularly the rarer kinds, for transfusions. But there are billions of able-bodied adults who could voluntarily agree to sell their blood. Theoretically there should never be a shortage of blood as it should merely be a function of price. But instead many governments have implemented price controls. In exchange for about an hour of one’s time and getting stuck with a needle, sometimes multiple times, the most you can receive is a cookie. Sometimes a T-shirt and some warm fuzzies are thrown in.
The reasoning is that if people were able to legally sell their own blood, oh the irony to think one is free, then there would be a higher probability of contamination in the blood supply. But that does not make any sense because the medical companies already perform extensive screenings of the blood supply. The real issue is that a pint of blood goes for a couple hundred dollars. The government imposed price control serves at least two functions for those who make a profit selling blood: (1) reduction of raw material costs to zero and (2) decrease in supply.
But these types of violent interferences are not limited to necessities like food, water, potassium iodide or blood but are extended through licenses for hair cuts to medical services, are found in regulations limiting the type of light bulb or toilet you can buy and of particular interest to the bureaucrats is healthy food and why raw food recipes are going underground.
With potassium iodide pills available in Japan by prescription only; thus, even though many may have rationally prepared for this emergency the costumed criminal gangs made it illegal and threatened to violate offenders with fines or jail. As Rand Paul teased out during his Senatorial questioning; these bureaucrats found throughout the world are not pro-choice or pro-consumer but violent aggressors against freedom of choice and a primary cause for lower standards of living.
PRICE GOUGING ECONOMICS
How are producers supposed to know what consumers demand? Without the ability to charge what the market will bear it is impossible to find out. When that knowledge is buried or price discovery prevented then entreprnuers are unable to make calculated risks in hopes of profit. When entreprenuers fail to perform thier vital service of bringing goods and services to market then price gouging is not an issue. As the old saying from communist Russia goes, “Sausage is one ruble per link. But there is no sausage.” Pretty soon the only noble profession left will be that of a smuggler.
As David Brown observed in Price Gouging Saves Lives:
“Price gouging” is nothing more than charging what the market will bear. If that’s immoral, then all market adjustment to changing circumstances is “immoral,” and markets per se are immoral. But that is not the case. And I don’t think a store owner who makes money by satisfying the urgent needs of his customers is immoral either. It is called making a living. And, in the wake of Hurricane Charley, surviving.
Be prepared.
NUCLEAR FALLOUT ON THE WEST COAST
The jet streams show it is possible that the Japanese nuclear meltdowns could deliver nuclear fallout to California, Oregon, Washington and other states. At the end of the day, governments and bureaucrats do not care about your personal safety. They will lie, deceive, cover-up and exacerbate problems if they find it politically expedient. No one cares as much about your health and well-being as you do. Therefore, you must take whatever precautions and actions you deem necessary and prudent.
CONCLUSION
So why did I sell my nuke pills? Sure, the 1500% gain was nice. But the real reason was because I wanted to make sure that particular good went to its highest and best use at this particular moment in time. How else would I know what that use was without a price signal? In my opinion the probability of someone in California or Oregon needing the nuke pills within a month for a life saving purpose is extremely low; less than 1%.
Thus, I derive more value with the FRN$s than the counter-party to the trade. Plus, if needed I will just get on a plane and head down to La Estancia de Cafayate, which has a very favorable geographic location for nuclear fallout concerns, for their two events this month. I sure hope the counter-party to my nuke pill trade derives sufficient value from being prepared and I hope even more they never have to actually use the potassium iodide.
But even if they never do use them I bet having them in the hand relieves a lot of anxiety that comes from being unprepared! And if you are ever in a situation where there is a shortage of something know who to blame: governments.
By Doug Gentry, on December 31st, 2010
I can’t believe that my local state representative, whom I’ve met several times and who came and talked with one of my University Seminar classes, will be introducing a rent control law for mobile home parks in the next state legislative session. Technically, the law requires justification of rent increases, instead of an absolute price ceiling, but the impact is the same.
OK, econ students, read this article and predict the impact of a rent control law on the mobile home market if it passes. Understanding that mobile home residents are lower income and probably hard hit by the recession, and certainly deserving of our sympathy, is this the best way to help them?
Extra credit – what will be the impact on other markets (forms) of lower cost housing?
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By Emmanuel Tabones, on August 12th, 2010
“The Aquino administration has pledged to make our country self-sufficient in rice in three years. Agricultural Secretary Processo Alcala stresses the seriousness of that goal. But experts are pessimistic.” Recalling those statements from a Manila Times article (entitled “SC’s Farm Conversion Ruling will Boost Rice Self-Sufficiency” [July 14, 2010]), I remember expressing my own skepticism to someone, recently: Who in the world are they (meaning the Philippine government) trying to fool? Again, the article rehashes the same old tired moaning and groaning about how the country went from being a major, self-sufficient rice producer to becoming the world’s largest importer (2008). In an effort, to better understand the matter at hand, I focused my attention at a particular and crucial region:
Source: Nagacadan Rice Terraces (Kiangan, Ifugao), Philippines
(Photo courtesy of Schubert Ciencia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)
Central Luzon is the principal source of rice production for the entire country. Comprised of six provinces (Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Bataan, and Zambales) and designated as Region Three, it boosts a total geographical area of about 18, 230 sq. kilometers (approximately 7,039 sq. miles) of which a little over two-fifths is arable land (source: Eastern Visayas Information Sharing Network).
Given its topography and climate, Central Luzon appears ideally suited for large-scale, mechanized agriculture, but historically, politics and cultural attitudes have played a significant role in shaping policies that have discouraged any substantial investment in rice production. Agrarian reform,-aimed at improving the lot of landless peasants and imposing severe limits on land ownership in a number of categories, remains highly popular among influential sectors of the population, despite the fact that it deters any major investment in the industry. With severe restrictions on the ownership of grain-producing lands (five hectares-or about 12.56 acres per individual), direct corporate involvement in production is virtually non-existent. To make matters worse, such an issue appears to be completely ignored or seldom addressed by the media. It is in fact, a touchy and sensitive subject, given the popularity and support of agrarian reform programs.
The institution of government price controls on the sale of rice and related necessities creates further distortions in their respective markets, imposing additional income restrictions on small farmers, thus forcing them to rely on subsidies from an already financially-strapped government. In an August 1, 2010 Manila Times article by Rene Q. Bass, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, he noted that the recently-appointed National Food Authority (NFA) chairman Angelito Banayo insisted that his agency was needed to “protect” farmers from “pseudo free market forces,” despite charges of organizational corruption and mismanagement during previous administrations. There is also this accumulation of massive debt by the agency, which now stands at Php 171.6 billion (about USD 3.8 billion). Clearly, the government (and thus the nation’s taxpayers) has paid a high price for providing this “protection” and for managing and implementing seemingly disastrous guidelines related to the importation and sale of rice. After all, as the article clearly indicated, NFA policy also involves reselling the product to the economically disadvantaged at below cost, only to find out later that quantities had fallen into the hands of profiteers who would go on to resell at higher prices. Even so, official retail pricing is also subject to price controls, in accordance with current regulations. That is why the government is now trying to shift away from this aspect of its own policies.
Meanwhile, the newly-appointed Alcala continued to embellish what I consider his seemingly shaky reputation by making further questionable statements such as his vow to smash the “rice cartel” allegedly responsible for maintaining the already high prices of imported rice (as reported in the Philippine Star, August 10, 2010), while conveniently ignoring the fact that the real fault lies with the government, which bought substantial quantities of rice abroad, thus contributing to the spike in world prices. Someone should have reminded these domestic politicians and bureaucrats that there are limits to their manipulation schemes. After all, they do not possess the capacity to orchestrate international market pricing to fit their agenda, whatever that may be.
How journalist Edna Regalado (author of the news article) or anyone for that matter could qualify these statements at face value without providing any thoughtful analysis, is beyond me. In my view, Alcala’s pronouncements have as much credibility as O.J. Simpson vowing to “seek out” the murderer of his ex-wife.
As mentioned previously, the Philippines has had to import massive amounts from abroad-Vietnam, in particular, in order to continue feeding its burgeoning population (currently over 90 million), thanks in part to these policies that discourage increased investment leading to greater productivity in the industry. I think it is not unreasonable to suggest that total rice production in that region could increase significantly with the introduction of extensive, state-of-the-art methods and equipment, but that will never happen unless existing restrictions on land ownership as well as related provisions (such as the entire agrarian reform program) are scrapped completely and replaced with policies that encourage and guarantee the protection of property rights (without interference from so-called social justice advocates) as well as promoting the maximum, efficient use of land.
In comparision,I took a brief look at typical, large-scale rice farming operations in the United States and found a greater, widespread use of machinery (and greater investment per hectare) with far less dependence on human labor. Ah, but there lies one of the major factors as to why efforts at change would be almost impossible to achieve in the Philippines. A large percentage of the population continues to rely on rice farming for their livelihood, even as it remains one of the less productive sectors of the economy, as seen by value of output relative to number of persons, employed. Evidence is clear based on the absence of large, efficiently run farms. In contrast, their counterparts in the United States are often huge, with each utilizing hundreds, if not thousands of hectares. American farmers employ expensive tractors, harvesters, and other equipment (some costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each) which is far beyond the reach of the average Filipino rice farmer, who is limited to five hectares (12.56 acres) of ownership, and is further constrained by price controls. As a result, he or she cannot hope to match the level of quality, the productivity, and output enjoyed by their large, international competitors. Also, the difficulty and inflexibility of being able to transfer land ownership (one cannot sell it to another whose farm holdings would then exceed five hectares) and further restrictions on converting such property for residential use, depresses land prices and effectively discourages the kind of mobility necessary for people to improve their economic and financial status. In other words, government regulations discourage farmers from being able to properly dispose their properties so they could move on to something more productive, using the money from the sale of their land.
Unless the people and the government realize and insist on changes aimed at increased efficiency and productivity, there is and is highly unlikely that the Philippines will ever achieve its stated goal of rice self-sufficiency, again despite the recent, seemingly rosy forecasts by the likes of Secretary Alcala. As I mentioned earlier, the experts referred to in the original Manila Times article I quote from, have expressed less optimism. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that the total 2010 harvest will fall ten percentage points below last year’s results. Meanwhile, Sergio Francisco at the International Rice Research Institute, said that the 2013 goal is simply unrealistic, unless there are noticeable improvements in output (by at least five percentage points per year) and it appears unlikely that such targets will be achieved any time soon.
Imagine what world agricultural productivity would be like if all other countries adopted the Philippine approach across-the-board, promoting the kind of attitudes and policies that have kept the country’s rice production and perhaps other aspects of agriculture, in a seemingly permanent state of economic stagnation.
By Trace Mayer, on April 20th, 2010
“Black Swan flight 10 is arriving at gate B5.” One of my friends works for United Arab Emirates Airlines and has been stranded in a European airport for the weekend because of the volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajokull. According to Eurocontrol about 80% of normal flights have been cancelled. This is a visual representation of the dark clouds looming over the global economy. 
GROUNDED FLIGHTS
With the vast majority flights in Europe grounded there should be a noticeable effect on economic activity. The effects on tourism, collaboration and business will likely be long-lasting. This is an example of why individuals and businesses should work to minimize their risk to geographic location and discrimination.
Despite the obvious that you have to be somewhere; in my own situation I have largely completely eliminated the effect of geography on my own lifestyle and, to a large extent, my businesses and investments. Volcanos, hurricanes and earthquakes are not the main risk I desire to minimize but instead geographic discrimination like what recently happened in Colorado.
GEOGRAPHY AND YOUR HEALTH
Since you have to be somewhere, why not choose a physical location that is good for your health? As opposed to coloured coupons like Icelandic kronars or FRN$s, physical commodities such as wheat, corn, oil, soybeans, water, etc. must also be somewhere. Many highly populated areas, like Linfen, China; Sukinda, India; La Oroya, Peru; Norilsk, Russia; Chernobyl, Ukraine; Tokyo; Mexico City; Los Angeles; Sao Paolo; and etc., are extremely polluted and prolonged exposure to the pollutants can be hazardous to your health. Additionally, some of the inhabitants may actively be your liability.
 Can you image breathing that ash? Can it possibly be good for your health?
EYJAFJALLAJOKULL, KATLA AND FAMINE
Oftentimes when Eyjafjallajokull erupts the other much more volatile and powerful volcano Katla also flares up. Oftentimes it seems that natural phenomenon seem to coincide with social, political and economic factors and the overall effects are exacerbated. When it rains it pours. For example, as The Guardian observed:
The Laki volcanic fissure in southern Iceland erupted over an eight-month period from 8 June 1783 to February 1784, spewing lava and poisonous gases that devastated the island’s agriculture, killing much of the livestock. It is estimated that perhaps a quarter of Iceland’s population died through the ensuing famine. … Across the Atlantic, Benjamin Franklin wrote of “a constant fog over all Europe, and a great part of North America”.
What was happening during this time frame? Well, France was engaged in wars and running large government deficits. What do government deficits lead to? Taxation through inflation.
It was no different in France. For example, as Olwen Hufton observed in Women And The Limits Of Citizenship on page 25, the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women was particularly interested in “combating hoarding [of grain and other staples] and inflation.”
And what does inflation lead to? Price controls.
It was no different in France. For example, as Robert Scheuttinger observed in Forty Centuries Of Wage And Price Controls on page 45, The Committee of Public Safety first attempted to set the price for only a limited number of grain products but, by September of 1793, it expanded the “maximum” to cover all foodstuffs and a long list of other goods.
And what do price controls lead to? Shortages and rationing.
It was no different in France. We all know, or should know, the story. Louis XVI, Marie Antionette and others of the distant central government were insensitive to the plight of the middle class and poor who were suffering from disease, pestilence and starvation which were largely an effect of the governmental interference by the ruling class.
And what do shortages lead to? If severe enough then starvation and death.
It was no different in France. Marie even callously said, “Let them eat cake.” When someone loses everything and has nothing else to lose then they often lose it. In this case, the French People lost it, heads rolled, leadership changed and the French Republic was born. The black swan of the French Revolution was completely predictable.
WHY HOARD
So it begs the question: Why did people hoard grains and other staples? Because they were safer and more liquid. They also hoarded gold and silver; taking their capital to geographical locations with less political risk. This series of events; government deficits, inflation, price controls, shortages, starvation and death, have played out, at some point in time, in every populated geographic location on earth. Since you have to be somewhere; why be in these geographical locations during those times?
CONCLUSION
In the next few months I was planning on taking a trip to Europe. This trip may have to be canceled if Eyjafjallajokull or Katla keep burping. I am fortunate enough to choose where to be at what times.
Iceland has already experienced the collapse of their banking system and currency. There has been civil unrest in Iceland. I bet many Icelanders wish they had a life hedge.
I do wonder what effects these volcanic eruptions might have on Europe’s food production over the next few years? With floods in the Midwest, droughts in South America and Australia, desertification in China and tremendous inflation taking place through quantitative easing to fund government deficits for bailing out failed financial institutions; I wonder what effect there will be on the worldwide food production and distribution system. So beware Goldman Sachs; you never know when those black swans will fly in and the current flight 10 landing at gate B5 is just a minor distraction from the real issue.
DISCLOSURES: Long physical gold, silver and platinum with no interest in GS, the problematic SLV, gold ETF or the platinum ETFs.
By Richard Daughty, on March 1st, 2010
The proverbial boogeyman, the phrase “end of the world as we know it”, is not particularly significant to me because it is, literally, always true, because any progress at all, anywhere, means that tomorrow will never be like today, and so “the end of the world as we know it” can be extended to mean “and it will be better and better!”
So, it is not very significant, especially when I get argumentative by being literal and obtuse about it, like now, which is my mood lately.
But when you use the phrase “end of the world as we know it” in the metaphorical sense, meaning “some terrifying catastrophe, to the maximum, in spades”, then it means something much uglier and catastrophic, which you already knew since I use the word “catastrophic” earlier in the sentence, teeming, as it does, with evil portents of ravenous beasts eating you and your family alive, your agonizing screams mixing with squawking vultures pecking hungrily at your liver, and the dead rising from their graves to pursue us endlessly so that they can eat our brains.
Anyway, that’s the way I have it figured, having distilled an entire lifetime of watching TV down into these kinds of little philosophical nuggets.
And since I am by nature dyspeptic and paranoid about the inevitable, horrible result of a growing government, a growing class of people dependent on government, and a Federal Reserve constantly creating more and more money and credit to accommodate them both, I think that I understand the use of the “end of the world as we know it” in its most disturbing sense, because ruinous inflation in prices – the Grim Reaper of economics! – is thus inevitable.
What to do? Well, the sad truth, that you learn as part of attaining True Mogambo Enlightenment (TME), is that nothing can be done, as proved by the One Freaking Fact (OFF) that if debts could be made to just disappear – poof! – by printing money, then everyone, and every country, would do it! And would always have done it!
But nobody, and no country, has ever succeeded in printing money to pay their debts without causing hyperinflation in consumer prices, as the people rose up in revolt, the whole country disintegrated, it was a big mess and everything was ruined.
This – this! – means that you should look deep, deep into my eyes so that you can see the Utter Mogambo Sincerity (UMS) in my eyes when I say that this means to everybody with one functioning brain cell that it Can’t Be Done (CBD) simple by virtue of the fact that nobody in history has ever done it, although many, many, many people have tried everything they could think of to do it, including putting merchants to death for daring to raise their prices high enough to cover their inflating costs!
This is one of the tried-and-true ways that governments (“desperate morons in charge!”) seem to think will actually work, despite the obvious stupidity of it, and that is why I was shocked when I saw that Obama is endorsing legislation to prevent health insurance companies from raising prices! Unbelievable! Gaaaaahhhhh!
As indicated by the sound effect in the “Gaaaaaahhhhh!”, one can only manage a scream of Loud Mogambo Outrage (LMO) at the sheer, staggering, socialist stupidity of declaring prices, a sound not unlike the Freaking Sound Of Doom (FSOD) already ringing in your ears or you wouldn’t be reading this, which is a clarion call, if ever there was one, to hie thyself, to make ready, the Mogambo Bunker Of I-Told-You-So (MBOITYS), because, brother, one of these days very soon you are going to be glad you did.
And if you bought gold, silver and oil with a gasping, grasping, gluttony of greed, then, likewise, one of these days very soon you are going to be glad you did!
Persistent Debts Despite the Printing Press originally appeared in the Daily Reckoning.
By Ajay Shah, on February 8th, 2010
I have an article in Financial Express on this today.
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