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CPA2
Guest
There was no "social (government) welfare in 1776. Is this something that you just made up?
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CPA2
Guest
In the 1960s Paul Samuelson and many other economists believed that the government could “fine-tune” the economy. Hogwash! The economy is not an engine. Consumers are not robots.
The Federal Reserve controls both the supply and the price of money. I visualize the Fed Chairman driving down the Interstate with one foot on the gas pedal and one foot on the brake. He is not concerned about staying in his lane, he just wants to avoid running into the ditch!
The beauty of the free market is that no one has to know how to run the economy. Unfortunately, the Democrats and the Republicans do not get it. Every time they open their mouths about bailouts, the value of the dollar falls.
Friends ask me how do we “cure” this financial crisis? I answer with a question, “How do you cure an alcoholic or drug addict?” The government’s drug of choice is debt. The first step towards today’s financial crisis occurred with the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
This financial crisis will end when other countries no longer accept the dollar as the reserve currency of the world. When that day comes, and it will come, we will become a third world country overnight. Additionally, there is a good possibility that we will also loose our sovereignty.
The Federal Reserve controls both the supply and the price of money. I visualize the Fed Chairman driving down the Interstate with one foot on the gas pedal and one foot on the brake. He is not concerned about staying in his lane, he just wants to avoid running into the ditch!
The beauty of the free market is that no one has to know how to run the economy. Unfortunately, the Democrats and the Republicans do not get it. Every time they open their mouths about bailouts, the value of the dollar falls.
Friends ask me how do we “cure” this financial crisis? I answer with a question, “How do you cure an alcoholic or drug addict?” The government’s drug of choice is debt. The first step towards today’s financial crisis occurred with the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
This financial crisis will end when other countries no longer accept the dollar as the reserve currency of the world. When that day comes, and it will come, we will become a third world country overnight. Additionally, there is a good possibility that we will also loose our sovereignty.
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GodLovesTheSpek
Guest
Promote does not mean “own”.
Welfare does not mean “own”.
No one is advocating that anyone abandon the sick, poor, tortured, homeless, starving, oppressed, etc. Instead, some believe that by leveraging certain social ills and perceptions (those with an agenda to destroy the Constitution) government can ram through total government ownership in the name of “general welfare”, “help”, etc. Governmental suicide. Own the money, own the health, own the charity, own the banks, own the automobile manufacturers, what’s next? Own the religion? Own the race? Own life and death? All false and evil. A certain socialist party in mid-Europe had that idea during the 30’s and 40’s.
It wasn’t charity that was desired.
The government as stated in the constitution should promote the general welfare. How?
Welfare does not mean “own”.
No one is advocating that anyone abandon the sick, poor, tortured, homeless, starving, oppressed, etc. Instead, some believe that by leveraging certain social ills and perceptions (those with an agenda to destroy the Constitution) government can ram through total government ownership in the name of “general welfare”, “help”, etc. Governmental suicide. Own the money, own the health, own the charity, own the banks, own the automobile manufacturers, what’s next? Own the religion? Own the race? Own life and death? All false and evil. A certain socialist party in mid-Europe had that idea during the 30’s and 40’s.
It wasn’t charity that was desired.
The government as stated in the constitution should promote the general welfare. How?
- Encourage people to give freely of their time or charity of choice.
- Tax breaks for those who give freely beyond a certain percentage of their total wealth or income. (tax breaks are already available for personal donations)
- By not overtaxing the people to the point where they can no longer afford to feed themselves let alone others. When that happens, the private charitable sector will be decimated.
- By not creating and using inefficient bureaucracy to trap the money within the government which then decides when and what, if any, can be given to the unfortunate.
- By encouraging people to do their own research and find those efficient charities which have a very high “direct to the people” cents per dollar. This action will introduce people to taking an active (charity), rather than a passive (taxes) role in charity. People will be giving to Jesus rather than a socialist government.
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CPA2
Guest
Who causes inflation? “Government and the government alone is responsible for any rapid increase in the quantity of money…Businessmen do not cause inflation (Friedman).”
Why is inflation called a monetary phenomenon? “Inflation occurs when the quantity of money rises appreciably more rapidly than output, and the more rapid the rise in the quantity of money per unit of output, the greater the rate of inflation (Friedman).”
How does the government increase the quantity of money? “The U.S. Treasury, one branch of government, sells bonds to the Federal Reserve, another branch of government. The Federal Reserve pays for the bonds with freshly printed Federal Reserve Notes or by entering a deposit on its books to the credit of the U.S. Treasury. The Treasury can then pay its bills with either the cash or a check drawn on its account at the Fed. When the additional high-powered money is deposited in commercial banks by its initial recipients, it serves as reserves for them and as the basis for a much larger addition to the quantity of money (Friedman).”
Who pays for inflation? All holders of money pay for inflation.
Explain how inflation is paid. “The extra money printed is equivalent to a tax on money balances. If the extra money raises prices by 1 percent, then every holder of money has in effect paid a tax equal to 1 percent of his money holdings (Friedman).”
Is inflation serious? Inflation is a serious disease that can destroy a society. “There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose (Keynes).”
What is the cure for inflation? The cure for inflation is a slower rate of increase in the quantity of money.
How long does it take to cure inflation? It takes time. It takes years for inflation to develop and it takes years to cure inflation.
What are the unpleasant side effects of the cure? There will be a long period of slow economic growth and higher than usual unemployment. There is no way to avoid these side effects.
Why is inflation called a monetary phenomenon? “Inflation occurs when the quantity of money rises appreciably more rapidly than output, and the more rapid the rise in the quantity of money per unit of output, the greater the rate of inflation (Friedman).”
How does the government increase the quantity of money? “The U.S. Treasury, one branch of government, sells bonds to the Federal Reserve, another branch of government. The Federal Reserve pays for the bonds with freshly printed Federal Reserve Notes or by entering a deposit on its books to the credit of the U.S. Treasury. The Treasury can then pay its bills with either the cash or a check drawn on its account at the Fed. When the additional high-powered money is deposited in commercial banks by its initial recipients, it serves as reserves for them and as the basis for a much larger addition to the quantity of money (Friedman).”
Who pays for inflation? All holders of money pay for inflation.
Explain how inflation is paid. “The extra money printed is equivalent to a tax on money balances. If the extra money raises prices by 1 percent, then every holder of money has in effect paid a tax equal to 1 percent of his money holdings (Friedman).”
Is inflation serious? Inflation is a serious disease that can destroy a society. “There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose (Keynes).”
What is the cure for inflation? The cure for inflation is a slower rate of increase in the quantity of money.
How long does it take to cure inflation? It takes time. It takes years for inflation to develop and it takes years to cure inflation.
What are the unpleasant side effects of the cure? There will be a long period of slow economic growth and higher than usual unemployment. There is no way to avoid these side effects.
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Seeker100
Guest
The Lord has a will and a path for you in your life. Whether you sin is between He and you.
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ComputerGeek25
Guest
How do you reconcile this with the Church teaching of Subsidiarity?
And taxation is forced charity. Which is theft.
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sidbrown
Guest
No. I did not make up the Constitution of the United States. It specifically states that a purpose of government is to promote the general welfare. You can easily check this by asking anyone who has had a course in American history in grammar school.
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sidbrown
Guest
This is not true, because the national economy is affected by increasing or decreasing the money supply.
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sidbrown
Guest
Laws of the state are separate from laws of the Church according to Our Divine Savior who taught us to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
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sidbrown
Guest
the fact is that according to the Holy Word of God, man must subject himself to the power of government or he will suffer eternal damnation. Romans, 13: 1 Let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God: and those that are, are ordained of God. 2 Therefore he that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation. 3 For princes are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil.
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sidbrown
Guest
I don;t see the Church teaching on Subsidiarity as either a philosophical or theological principle, but more as a wise historical observation.
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sidbrown
Guest
this may be your opinion, but it is not the teaching of the Catholic Church. The teaching of the Catholic Church is that it is morally obligatory to pay your taxes:
CCC
2240 Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country:
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bksumm
Guest
Many Communist (form of socialism) regimes murdered millions of innocent people in the name of the proletariat. The same group tried to eliminate Christianity and replace God with the state. People were denied their freedom in the name of a socialist experiment.
Even today, in socialist Europe, religious freedom for orthodox Christians is under attack. In my opinion, socialists attempt to replace God with the state. Don’t rely on God, the state will give you what you need.
These are are a couple of reasons why I don’t embrace socialism.
Peace
Even today, in socialist Europe, religious freedom for orthodox Christians is under attack. In my opinion, socialists attempt to replace God with the state. Don’t rely on God, the state will give you what you need.
These are are a couple of reasons why I don’t embrace socialism.
Peace
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tjm190
Guest
You failed to address the point in the slightest- we can not accept credit for the good our government does with our money if we do not take credit for the bad.
Doing charitable work is a good thing. Asking the government to support your efforts through blatant theft is not.
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tjm190
Guest
"Welfare’ referring to to free stuff is a relatively new meaning.
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tjm190
Guest
Did the founding fathers establish any such programs? No?
Then clearly that is not what they meant when they said ‘welfare.’
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tjm190
Guest
No… you denied the government the ability to take from others to give to some other groups.
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tjm190
Guest
Well since we’re currently in a health care shortage, we need more for everyone to get some. Does nationalizing health care create more health care?
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sidbrown
Guest
The fallacy here is that taxation is theft. This is contrary to what I read in the CCC, that it is morally obligatory to pay taxes. Further, I read that Our Divine Savior said to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.thereby implying that taxation is not theft.
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sasha7
Guest
You seem open to learning more: please look at these news reports from Sweden.The USSR, China, and North Korea are the examples usually trotted out by anti-Socialists. It is what I expected.
Socialism and communism are not the same, sorry. Communism belongs in the same category as Libertarianism and Anarchy: nice idea, but wouldn’t actually work outside of theory.
Anyway, I usually counter with Sweden. Sweden is happier, healthier, freer, and wealthier than the United States. They’re also socialist.
thelocal.se/24692/20100130/
thelocal.se/24678/20100129/
I like Sweden, what I’ve read of it, would like to go there someday to visit, but Sweden is not a heavenly socialist paradise.
I also like France and I have been there. But hey, look where they are: they under report the riots they have because of their ghettoization of Muslims and now they have to debate in their courts whether they’ll allow head scarves. They are heavily taxed to provide healthcare for so many. On the other hand we already have socialized medicine in the form of Medicare and Medicaid. These were founded to give health care to the elderly, poor and disabled. These systems should work and they do for many. I don’t understand why these systems cannot be repaired and the 84% of people who have health insurance keep theirs? A more conservative way to handle this would be that people without health insurance for whatever reason be able to pay out of pocket for their own insurance through a group insurance preferably handled by a private company that reports to the federal government. We certainly don’t have a perfect system, but do we have to stand everything on its head in order to get something done, which should basically be restructuring and repairing Medicaid and Medicare. I think it comes back to the question of right or privilege. Is health care a right? Is education? As our constitution stands neither would exist. Forming Medicaid and Medicare was the right thing to do though – we must take care of “widows and orphans” and those who cannot take care of themselves. If we want every one to have health care, put it back on the companies and give those small companies that need it better options for health care for their employees. Sorry to go on about it; I just don’t understand why we have to be like Sweden or France or any other country, but who we are – America.
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