The Keynesian Fallacy

I have coined a new term: "The Keynesian Fallacy."

The Keynesian Fallacy is the belief that the foundation of an economy is the circulation of money.

What makes the economy better is increasing the circulation of money, also known as the velocity of money. Put another way, what improves the economy is for money to change hands as frequently as possible in economic transactions.

This is why dumb ideas such as the idea that make-work jobs (digging holes and filling them back in) will help the economy (even if some jobs proposed by Keynesian stimulus packages are not "make-work," they are usually justified on a basis that would apply equally to useful or to make-work jobs, so the idea behind why the jobs might help the economy is faulty). Or the idea that increased spending is what an economy where people are drowning in debt need.

Ultimately, in reality, what matters is what is produced, how it is used, and what is consumed. Money is simply a medium of exchange (which makes it a "store of value" as well). Most economic transations and phenomena can be best understood by first taking money out of the equation and asking what is happening to the resources behind the money. Alternately, after deducing what the economic consequence of an action would be without reference to money, the best course to explaining how it would play out in real life is to figure out how the monetary situation would represent the action and its consequences.

More on this later.

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Eric Holder Must Resign

Nicholas Stix on why.

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Are We Cowards on Matters of Race?

Attorney General Holder's recent speech, in whcih he asserted that we are "essentially a nation of cowards" on issues of race.

Specifically, he said:

Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race.

You know what? He 's right. We are cowardly when it comes to discussions of race. But for some reason, I really, really doubt that he would like to have an actually uncowardly discussion. I have a feeling that a real discussion ofracial issues is the last thing that Mr. Holder would want.

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A Message to Obama

I recently used the White House contact form to send this message:

Dear President Obama:

I am deeply upset by the lack of an E-Verify provision in the economic stimulus bill. In times like these, when our unemployment rate is rising, we need to ensure that any jobs produced by the stimulus go to American workers.

I am also deeply upset by the way that Pelosi and Reid bypassed the conference committee and worked out the conerence bill in secret. You promised us a more transparent administration,than Bush's, and there was great talk of making the conference committee proceedings open to the public.

In the end, the Democratic Party leadership betrayed American workers in this bill by not passing the E-Verify provision, and the secrecy with which the Democratic Party leadership determined the final shape of the bill rivaled the deviousness of the Bush Administration.

Please, Obama, reconsider signing this bill, and demand that protections for American workers, including an E-Verify mandate, are added to the stimulus.

Failing that, please push to get E-Verify re-authorized and please push to expand its reach.

Thank you for your time.

Please, Glaivester readers, consider sending a similar message yourself.

That is all.

CRA Enforcement is Very Recent

Yes, the CRA appears to have pushed banks to make more loans to people who couldn't afford them. And it appears to have done so much more during the recent housing bubble (~2002 and after) than, say, before 1995.

Steve Sailer has the information.

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Rush Limbaugh, Fascist

He's not on our side. He's just against their side.

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Beware HR 4, Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009!

Update: Do not write just yet, though. I have severe doubts that this bill will go anywhere. But keep an eye out.

Apparently, Bobby Rush has introduced firearms registration legislation into the House.

Keep an eye on this in case it goes anywhere. If it looks like it is going to, start writing your Congressman.

Oh, and join GunOwners of America, or at least sign up for their alerts.

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As Long as You Are White, You're a Racist, so Shut Up Because You Are an Evil White Person!

Let's be honest about what Amp thinks.

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TRAITORS

Senators Baucus, Nelson, Menendez, and Reid opposed the E-Verify amendment (SA 239) to the stimulus package, indicating that they want to use government money to give work to illegal aliens.

If these are your Senators, please call them and tell them how they have betrayed the trust of their constituents.

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Support SA 239, the E-Verify Amendment

Please, any reader who is not a member of NumbersUSA, please visit the site, register, and immediately use the online fax system to send your Senators faxes that they need to make certain that any stimulus contains an E-Verify provision (requiring states and employers receiving stimulus money to use E-Verify, the electronic system for verifying employees' eligibility to work in the US).

You can customize the fax, so be sure to put in the title that they need to support Senate Amendment 239. In the body, make sure to tell them not to pass any bill that does not contain SA 239.

There is also contact information so that you can phone them, but phone lines are likely to be busy and answering service mailboxes are likely to be full.

That is all.