Trump will appoint Authur Burns to head the Fed and has an innovative plan to pay off the national debt
Here’s MarketWatch:
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday positioned himself on the far left of the political spectrum on fiscal issues, coming out for low interest rates, against a strong dollar and a more aggressive managing of U.S. debt.
In a wide-ranging phone conversation with CNBC, Trump said he would replace Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen when her term expired, though he didn’t really offer up any criticism of her.
“I have nothing against Janet Yellen whatsoever, she’s very capable person. But she’s not a Republican,” Trump said. “When her time is up I would most likely replace because of the fact it would be appropriate.
“She is a low interest rate person, she’s always been a low-interest-rate person, and let’s be honest, I’m a low-interest-rate person,” Trump added.
Translation: Yellen’s fine, but she wouldn’t kowtow to Trump in quite the same way that Burns was Nixon’s lapdog. Let’s give Trump credit for being honest. The only time I believe what Trump says is when he acknowledges his own corruption. Ever since 1980, Presidents have been willing to reappoint Fed chairs that were first picked by the opposing party. Now Trump wants to end that. Of course the other amusing aspect of this is Trump’s assumption that the sort of “Republicans” who are distinguished enough to be approved by the Senate are also economists who favor keeping rates low, as a way of holding down the cost of Treasury debt. I’d love to see the list. Hasn’t Mr. Burns passed away?
Trump also fretted about the impact on the U.S. debt if rates were to climb.
“I am the king of debt, I love playing with it, but now we’re talking about something very, very fragile,” he said.
One thing Trump advocated that the U.S. Treasury has resisted is a more active management of the debt. The U.S. Treasury hasn’t taken advantage of current low interest rates to issue more longer-term debt.
“I think there are times for us to refinance debt with longer term, we owe so much money,” Trump said.
While at times Trump seemed to link a conversation of refinancing with a situation where “the bubble popped” — at one point even suggesting a buyback of U.S. debt — he also made clear that he wanted to refinance now, to rebuild infrastructure.
When pointed out that the current Republican-led Congress has resisted calls to spend more on infrastructure, Trump said his expertise in that area could change minds.
Yes, when people discover Trump’s “expertise” some minds will change.
I don’t think any of this necessarily means anything, we won’t know what Trump plans to do until he becomes President. I merely report the news for entertainment value. Some commenters pointed out that Trump favors easy money right now. That’s fine, but Presidents don’t determine monetary policy, they determine whether monetary policy will be politicized. Nixon/Burns might be a good comparison for Trump, except that Nixon was far smarter, and also had a more pleasant personality.
PS. No, if Trump came out favoring NGDPLT tomorrow I would not change my view of him. It’s not about his views on this or that issue, it’s about what he is. He’s ignorant, he’s a bully, a demagogue, a nationalist, a bigot, a xenophobe, a sexist, a buffoon. He’s trying to remake the GOP in his image. NGDPLT would not change any of that.
You say Hitler was a vegetarian? That’s nice, but I’m not changing my opinion of him.
(Of course I’m not equating Trump and Hitler, which would be ridiculous.)
PS. It’s on, the race brought to you by Rush, Fox and Drudge. The candidate who really likes Nancy Pelosi vs. the candidate who really likes Pelosi, except for the fact that she didn’t impeach Bush.
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5. May 2016 at 13:03
The only time I believe what Trump says is when he acknowledges his own corruption.
Isn’t that the definition of confirmation bias?
5. May 2016 at 13:07
He’s ignorant, he’s a bully, a demagogue, a nationalist, a bigot, a xenophobe, a sexist, a buffoon.
Nearly all of us are ignorant of most important topics. Ordinary people are ‘nationalists’ of one sort or another. It’s only the haut bourgeois who fancy they’re above all that (but who are, in truth, merely loyal to their own). The most bigoted people I’ve ever known were all on faculties or employed in the mental health trade. ‘Xenophobe’ is a nonsense term. ‘Sexist’ is another nonsense term. Both are tokens in rhetorical games played by malicious people. As for ‘bullies’, academic institutions have their share. I’ve seen not one itty bitty bit of evidence that they bother the Mercatus crew at all.
5. May 2016 at 13:19
I’ve said before that the Krugman/DeLong/Summers crowd should like Trump on macro policy (if nothing else).
He did say in that interview that of course you need to raise rates if inflation starts appearing, but that there’s no sign of it now.
Hate to say it, but he actually is talking sense on monetary policy! Certainly more sense than the hard money raise rates right, not even mentioning the gold bugs among Congressional Repuglicans.
(Don’t worry, I plan to vote against him. He’s still complete ignorant and incoherent on policy, and completely dishonest, and if he’s stumbled upon a good view of macro policy for the present moment, he did so in the manner of the proverbial blind squirrel.)
5. May 2016 at 13:26
not even mentioning the gold bugs among Congressional Repuglicans.
You took a childish insult which was current among partisan Democrats a decade ago and managed to mangle it. Lame-squared.
I don’t think Ron Paul is an influential advocate in the Republican Party. Ted Cruz has an odd affection for this monetary nostrum. Sen. Cruz, while he has many virtues, is not an influential figure, either.
5. May 2016 at 13:38
Trump is a monster, but he supports good policies. I would rather take a monster with good policies than an angel– and this is not Clinton– with bad ones (after all, Hitler was Hitler thanks to his specific policies– take them from him and he was not different from my uncle who keeps railing against Jews, Communists and Modern Art). Trump may not be the president America deserves, but he is the president America needs right now.
5. May 2016 at 13:46
If Trump came out in favor of NGDPLT, would you support him? Would the sum of the utility of that policy and the disutility of his other potential policies be positive?
5. May 2016 at 13:58
This is too much fun to observe!
5. May 2016 at 14:03
I guess being an academic and under enormous social pressure to virtue signal Correct Thoughts, Mankiw might not be willing to be Mr.Trump’s Fed boss. But then Chairman is basically the top job in macro economics, if he’d take it, Mankiw would be my choice.
5. May 2016 at 14:32
Jonathan, No, I’m not at all impressed with Trump’s views on monetary policy. Low rates are not a good monetary policy, because low rates are not a monetary policy at all.
Thiago, Trump’s policy views are horrible, like everything else about him. If implemented (and fortunately they won’t be, even if he wins) they would cause a global recession.
Garrett, Did you read the post to the end?
Justin, You said:
“This is too much fun to observe!”
Only from a safe distance, say New Zealand.
Justin, You said:
“I guess being an academic and under enormous social pressure to virtue signal Correct Thoughts”
Has it ever occurred to you that academics like Mankiw are intelligent people, and might not be conned by an obvious buffoon like Trump? I know the Trump voters can’t see through his act, but the vast majority of intelligent people are easily able to do so. Have you been conned by Trump?
5. May 2016 at 14:39
Scott, when did you first come out as NGDPLT? Was it difficult? How did your family respond? Any comment on the the new laws on bathroom usage and so-called “religious liberties?”
5. May 2016 at 14:39
“He’s ignorant,”
-So’s everyone.
“he’s a bully, a demagogue, a nationalist, a bigot, a xenophobe,”
-So what?
“a sexist,”
-[citation needed]
“a buffoon. He’s trying to remake the GOP in his image. NGDPLT would not change any of that.”
-So what?
“If implemented (and fortunately they won’t be, even if he wins) they would cause a global recession.”
-Why? Which ones?
Sumner, you should have realized long ago that the “he’s a con man!” exclamation is not persuasive. Indeed, it’s anti-persuasive, as it’s so clearly laughable.
“Has it ever occurred to you that academics like Mankiw are intelligent people, and might not be conned by an obvious buffoon like Trump?”
-No. Because not being conned by him hardly means not backing him.
5. May 2016 at 14:45
Trump obviously has no idea what he’s talking about, as usual. Recalling Friedman, low interest rates are a sign that money has been tight, then Trump saying he favors low interest rates does not equal being in favor of loose MP in practice. His proposal is a terrible idea that would only increase the burden of debt, not reduce it.
However, I do agree that Janet Yellen should be replaced, only on substantive grounds rather than on politics. That horrendous reverse repo and IoR need to be canned, or the official target needs to be reconsidered. We don’t need more tight money.
5. May 2016 at 14:50
Scott,
What’s funny is that just months ago Trump was accusing Yellen of printing money to help Hillary get elected. That’s the despite the rate hike in December. Now he reveals that he wan’t loose money if he’s President.
I can’t tell how much of many things Trump says is buffoonery versus bold dishonesty.
5. May 2016 at 14:50
“He’s ignorant, he’s a bully, a demagogue, a nationalist, a bigot, a xenophobe, a sexist, a buffoon.”
Obama and Sumner are Confederatephobes and nationalistphobes and xenophiles.
Most politicians are kind on stage, and mean off stage. Trump seems the reverse. He’s a bully to people who deserve it, but very kind to regular people, particularly Americans.
+1 to Thiago and Art Deco.
5. May 2016 at 15:07
Scott,
amusing that Trump now talks about extending the debt instead of wiping it out, huh? Not that it means anything of course, but maybe we’ll see him make America great again by creatively bankrupting it four times.
Thiago,
Hitler wasn’t just Hitler because of his “bad policies”, ahem. It’s because he was a revolutionary that trampled over established values that ordinary people used to share regardless of party affiliation, in a ruthless and callous way. He advocated, and finally did, the obscenely indecent. And this is where Trump is just the same. Proud of his indecency. That is what Scott keeps on pointing out. It’s not about what Trump says, it’s about his core: his denial of the values of decent people. Don’t even go about his politics. Ask yourself: what decent person would be proud about making a fortune by screwing his investors and lenders four times? (except Deco and Harding etc who think that it’s all ok because all people are the same, except foreigners of course).
5. May 2016 at 15:18
Hitler didn’t get his bad reputation due to indecency, mbka. You’re massively missing the point or just deliberately stretching the truth.
Being bankrupt is no reason not to run for President. Jefferson went bankrupt a bunch of times.
5. May 2016 at 15:19
“I know the Trump voters can’t see through his act, but the vast majority of intelligent people are easily able to do so. Have you been conned by Trump?”
Bill Maher says his impression is that Trump is a typical character in Queens and New Jersey (where he’s from). The douche-bag who tells you “I know a guy who can get you the **BEST** deal. Let me take care of it, you won’t be disappointed!” … and inevitably you’ll be very very disappointed if you fall for his shtick.
I’ll guess we’ll find out.
5. May 2016 at 15:24
Heitor,
ordinary politicians promise decent things and often fail to deliver. Trump starts by promising indecent things. There is a key difference here, obviously.
The “being kind to ordinary people” thing comes from a desire to be adulated, loved, by people he thinks he’s towering over as some kind of benevolent overlord. I’d expect a Trump character to hand out banknotes to supporters at rallies, to be loved. Politicians of his kind often do that sort of thing.
5. May 2016 at 15:38
Oh please. Trump=Hitler again?
Much closer: Trump=Reagan.
Trump is a protectionist, Reagan was a big protectionist. Trump will run deficits, Reagan ran deficits. Trump will largely avoid foreign entanglements, ditto Reagan. Both fanned the flames of nationalism and talked about a strong military, though these are GOP standards.
Trump the xenophobe who married a foreigner.
Trump is actually talking sense on low interest rates. At least more sense than the GOP has been for the last 30 years, when the only position was that money should always and everywhere be tighter.
Trump’s hints about buying back debt are fascinating and bring up the issue of using quantitative easing to reduce the national debt. This also makes a lot of sense to me.
I dislike any sentiments which are racist or sexist in any candidate.
But I will say it again. In America you have cupcake politics. If Don Trump is the worst you can throw at the world, it’s pretty much Patty Cake Time.
5. May 2016 at 15:40
PS if you were running a small business or hunting for a job, who is worse Arthur Burns or Janet Yellen?
5. May 2016 at 15:51
And this is where Trump is just the same.
Bar the fanaticism and the eight digit population of dead bodies.
Proud of his indecency. That is what Scott keeps on pointing out. It’s not about what Trump says, it’s about his core: his denial of the values of decent people.
Some of us recall that during the Clinton years it was the mark of the trivial provincial to be at all concerned with such things (see the commentaries of Molly Ivins and Jonathan Alter, to name two). Where were you, chum?
Don’t even go about his politics. Ask yourself: what decent person would be proud about making a fortune by screwing his investors and lenders four times? (except Deco and Harding etc who think that it’s all ok because all people are the same, except foreigners of course).
I think some business ventures do not work out. Equity capital is equity capital and limited liability corporations are familiar features of the landscape.
5. May 2016 at 16:04
“Let’s give Trump credit for being honest. The only time I believe what Trump says is when he acknowledges his own corruption. Ever since 1980, Presidents have been willing to reappoint Fed chairs that were first picked by the opposing party. Now Trump wants to end that.”
If that is corruption, then so are you for wanting a Fed chair to be appointed based on their kowtowing to market monetarist ideology.
Every political ideologue believes his partiality is impartial.
5. May 2016 at 16:06
“You say Hitler was a vegetarian? That’s nice, but I’m not changing my opinion of him.
(Of course I’m not equating Trump and Hitler, which would be ridiculous.)”
This is the kind of nudge nudge wink wink immaturity that plagues demagogic left-wing blogs like crooks and liars and Moveon.org.
Not equating Trump with Hitler, no. Just juxtaposing the two names and pretending there is no suggestion of a relation.
Sickening.
5. May 2016 at 16:43
I’m developing a theory that Trump purposely says things he doesn’t believe, even on policy, even when he says he really, really, bigly, very much believes them, for the purpose of getting votes. I think the reason why Limbaugh (and possibly Fox News) got in the tank for Trump early is because he knows Trump personally and knows that his campaign rhetoric is entirely different than his policy goals.
5. May 2016 at 16:46
Let me shed a tear for my man Ted Cruz, a guy who proved he was always doing the right thing since the corrupt GOP establishment demonstrated that they would prefer a Clinton presidency to a Cruz nomination. Defiance of their corruption and gravy train could not be tolerated.
5. May 2016 at 17:37
“Let me shed a tear for my man Ted Cruz, a guy who proved he was always doing the right thing”
I’d like to see a mash up of Cruz last Summer, given ample opportunity to say even the tiniest negative thing about Trump alongside his rant against the “pathological liar” on Tuesday. Where were Cruz’s so called principles last Summer?
Now video of Tuesday’s anti-Trump rant is featured in a Democratic ad. Big surprise? Hardly.
Then you have people like #NeverTrump Erick Erickson and his RedState and TheResurgent writers…. who’ve been calling Trump a Godless fascist for months, and who’ve made a to-shun-forever enemies list of anybody on the right who’s decided to support Trump. They were in the tank for Cruz 100%. It’ll be fun to watch them add Cruzifer’s name to their Freedom, Jesus, and America haters enemies list once Cruz comes out to support Trump.
5. May 2016 at 17:49
I predict that once Cruzifer stabs America in the face by deciding to support Trump, Erickson and the #NeverTrumpers will demand he be deported to Canada or Cuba. Because that’s really going to hurt! Lol.
… and I hope Erickson & friends get tagged as RINOs and Cuckservatives in return. Erickson is convinced the fascist Trump will go after his enemies if he’s ever in power. It’d be nice to hear Trump confirm that by threatening to have Erickson and his family sent to Guantanamo for waterboarding because they’re traitors.
This year is shaping up to be more fun than I could have ever imagined! =)
5. May 2016 at 18:00
I’d like to see a mash up of Cruz last Summer, given ample opportunity to say even the tiniest negative thing about Trump alongside his rant against the “pathological liar” on Tuesday. Where were Cruz’s so called principles last Summer?
You think the attacks on his marriage might have influenced Sen. Cruz on this point?
5. May 2016 at 18:00
“Let me shed a tear for my man Ted Cruz, a guy who proved he was always doing the right thing since the corrupt GOP establishment demonstrated that they would prefer a Clinton presidency to a Cruz nomination.”
-Jeb Bush and the National Review endorsed Cruz and are still #NeverTrump. Your comment is the opposite of reality.
Also, you predicted a Cruz Indiana win while I predicted a close Trump win there. We were both wrong.
5. May 2016 at 18:04
“You think the attacks on his marriage might have influenced Sen. Cruz on this point?”
It didn’t seem to bother Cruz one bit when those attacks were directed at people he didn’t know. Principles. Lol.
5. May 2016 at 18:29
From a few posts ago by ssumner:
The fact that you think he is somehow on your side is quite amusing. When he says that he’s going to pay off the national debt in 8 years via “trade”, he’s pulling your leg, just like all the times I make a comment obviously intended as a joke, and you two (or Art) think I’m serious. BTW, I was just kidding about moving to Antarctica.
I’m certainly not thinking you are serious. But I think you might have some very mild form of impaired social interaction that actually makes you think that we think that you are serious. A very mild form of autism for example. The same goes for Greg Mankiw.
This also explains somehow why you focus so much on the superficial and obvious things about Trump. (“He’s ignorant, he’s a bully, a demagogue, a nationalist, a bigot, a xenophobe, a sexist, a buffoon.”)
This also explains why you still think that saying “He is a con man!” is a deep insight and that you still think that bringing it up is such a good point that you bring it up again and again. It’s even more telling that you actually think that people like Harding, Art and me got conned by Trump. (“I get great amusement out of imaging the look on your faces when you realize that Trump conned you.”)
Aside from my very mild form of autism theory Art came up with an even better theory few posts ago: “High school never ends”.
I bet something like this is happening in every election. To me Hillary is just a careerist, an eager beaver that would do anything for power. To you Trump is just a very ugly bully.
Normally I’m in the nerd/geek camp, too. A camp that totally hates bullies. But to me Trump is a special kind of bully. He is hardly bullying people that don’t deserve it and he does not cross certain lines. He’s that type of bully that likes to talk a lot of bull but most of the time he doesn’t actually mean it. It’s so obvious that (nearly) everybody can see that. And deep down you see some kind of heart and deep down you know that he can be a nice guy.
With Hillary it’s different. Hillary is might be a nerd-geek-careerist-eager beaver but not one of the pleasant kind. And when I look at the place where her heart is supposed to be I’m actually not sure if there’s anything at all.
So my choice is pretty clear: Trump over Hillary. The brain-impaired wildling over the heartless careerist.
5. May 2016 at 18:37
Deco,
“I think some business ventures do not work out. Equity capital is equity capital and limited liability corporations are familiar features of the landscape.”
No, Trump himself specifically pointed out that he chose bankruptcy as a valid business option and that the we shouldn’t feel sorry for the victims because they were all adults. Pretty much verbatim. So, while this is not illegal, I would start seeing an unethical pattern here after four occurrences thereof.
The amazing thing is that he kept on finding new suckers for his business ventures. And now he has moved on to the entire American people.
5. May 2016 at 18:54
The fun continues!
Erickson/RedState/TheResurgent/#NeverTrump have been saying for months:
Draft Perry!!
It heated up after Cruz dropped out. Perry was exonerated from his legal troubles, and even though he supported Cruz, he failed to vote for him in the primary.
Now he’s just endorsed Trump!! Oh man, the gift that keeps on giving. I wonder if Perry’s name is already on the to-shun-forever and never-ever-ever-forgive enemies list? Clearly he must hate Jesus and America. A fake (Satanic?) Christian, who’s supporting a liberal immoral fascist and tossing America under the bus for his own cynical gain? I expect Erickson to flood TheResurgent with Bible verses from the Book of Revelation.
Erickson’s (and Beck’s and Levin’s) pain is my pleasure. Holier-than-thou God’s-on-are-side blowhards getting exactly what they deserve. Decrying Trump’s BS and hyperbole while ramping it up themselves.
“No Tolerance for Former Candidates Who Support Nominee Trump!”
They shriek. Now we’ll see if they stick to their own “principles” as one after the other of their heroes succumbs… the only ones left with them will be the establishment RINOs (like the Bush’s, Jennifer Rubin, Bill Kristol, NR, WSJ, etc) they claim to detest.
5. May 2016 at 19:06
“He’s ignorant, he’s a bully, a demagogue, a nationalist, a bigot, a xenophobe, a sexist, a buffoon.”
Oh come on Scott, everybody knows Trump’s not a bigot.
Now enjoy a cerveza, and eat a taco bowl from Strong Hands Trump Cafeteria. Only Strong Hands Trump can make authentic taco bowls! Cinco de Mayo! Cinco de Mayo!
5. May 2016 at 19:15
TheResurgent can’t believe the news about Perry:
http://theresurgent.com/every-man-for-himself-in-gop-rout-perry-endorses-trump/
… but continue to gush over Ted:
http://theresurgent.com/ted-cruz-iron-man/
…it’ll be fun when Ted “betrays” them too, like Perry just did. It’s all about them I guess. HRC is getting more and more material for her ads all the time!
“Shame on you, Governor Perry.”
Wow, open to be his VP too! Lol. I can hardly wait for what Erickson will have to say about that. I hope he’s puking his guts out right now. Maybe it’s them that Jesus hates? Perhaps Beck didn’t fast long enough… probably God didn’t get word on planet Kolob. And I really DO wish their #NeverTrump movement some modest success. Just enough to get an angry mob of Trump supporters after them with pitchforks (literal pitchforks) blaming them for Trump’s loss this November.
5. May 2016 at 19:24
“Hitler wasn’t just Hitler because of his ‘bad policies’, ahem.”
What do you call WW II and the Holocaust? Good policies?
“Ask yourself: what decent person would be proud about making a fortune by screwing his investors and lenders four times? (except Deco and Harding etc who think that it’s all ok because all people are the same, except foreigners of course).”
Exactly what I had in mind when I said he is a monster (or according to him, he knows how to use the law– to be fair, he did not create those laws, he doesn’t run the Justice system and he is not the only to be blamed here, the system itself is deeply corrupt). But the point is, he is America’s monster. Will Americans really be sorry if he screws Mexicans and the Chinese? It’s all fun and good talking about “established values that ordinary people used to share”, but did they? Did the Englishmen feel sorry because the British Empire crushed the Chinese just to keep selling opium? Did the Germans feel sorry about the Jews? Did the Japanese feel sorry they terrorized the Chinese and the Koreans? There is a jungle out there, and Americans need to be protected. Some people just have no conscience, the only language they understand is force. Because the American government and its allies were strong enough to defeat the Fascist threat, the Nazist nightmare of world conquest was over. It took firebombing Japanese and German civilians, though. The world is going throught an economic war, and America has the right to defend itself, the same way the Jews had the right (and hopefully Amrica will have better outcomes). I would love to see a decent guy running with Trump’s policies (Mr. Sanders semed to be OK), but never gonna happen. The same way only Nixon (an obvious Trump precursor) could go to China, only Trump can go to Washington and do what must be done.
5. May 2016 at 19:35
Sumner, from a few posts ago:
“Massimo, I’ve got news for you. Trump supports amnesty for illegals. He said so in 2013. You may think you know when Trump really means it, and when he doesn’t, but he’s just playing you guys for suckers. He’ll drop his supporters the day he is elected, and start working on an amnesty.”
Today, Trump is a xenophobe and a nationalist. Not a fake xenophobe that will drop his supporters the day he is elected and work on amnesty, but a real xenophobe.
5. May 2016 at 19:36
And for all my contempt for the sad sacks over there, I still find myself agreeing with some of their belly aching:
“No, the reason it hurts this much is simpler: he is a morally repugnant buffoon and a very, very bad man.”
True, true, all true, but it’s still a dream come true that it “hurts” you “this much.” Well quit your bellyaching pity-party and put up a 3rd, 4th, or 5th candidate then. I hear Libertarian Party rolls are on the upswing. Do everything possible to prolong the civil war on the right, and make sure the bitter resentments you engender last a lifetime!
5. May 2016 at 19:40
Harding,
“Jeb Bush and the National Review endorsed Cruz and are still #NeverTrump. Your comment is the opposite of reality.”
Neither of whom are the GOP establishment. They’re supporters of the establishment for the most part, but the establishment is the hierarchy of elected Republican officials in Washington. Think: McConnell, Boehner, etc..
The evidence is clear that their agenda gradually morphed to stopping Cruz. Kasich dropping out immediately after Cruz did demonstrates this. It is not a secret in the ranks of the GOP national politicians that they care deeply about not incentivizing the Cruz model: defiance and disruption of the party.
5. May 2016 at 19:40
Trump has restored my confidence in American democracy:
https://goo.gl/qsnEDv
BTW, I totally support Trump both for POTUS and for Nobel Peace Prize.
5. May 2016 at 19:50
Christian List: you raise some interesting points about who Trump chooses to offend. Trump took on Fox News and Megyn Kelly— no GOP candidate has ever done anything but grovel to Fox News and vice versa. Offending Fox was not a wise move politically but Trump did it.
And flatly telling the GOP audience at a GOP debate that Iraq was a $5 trillion waste of money is something no other candidate has had the heart or guts to do. They are all bleating that “George Bush jr. kept us safe.”
Now Trump says he likes low interest rates, again against the GOP Orthodoxy that money everywhere and always should be tighter.
There is a lot to be less than euphoric about in Don Trump, but the guy can throw a punch and he’s not afraid of the size of his opponents.
He slaughtered an entire generation of GOP experts, prrty leaders, elders, PACs, you name it, all with a skeleton crew and hardly a budget.
The guy is amazing.
5. May 2016 at 19:51
OK, the Congressional establishment was, at best, divided regarding Cruz. Boehner didn’t like him, Graham didn’t like him, but preferred him over Trump. Cruz got way more endorsements from politicians than Kasich or Trump by the end of it all.
Yes, Boehner really hates anybody scoring above .9 on DW-Nominate’s joint scaling first dimension.
I’m not sure why Kasich was in the race. He didn’t suspend his campaign the moment he was informed Cruz withdrew, but over half a day later. He even released an ad on the day he decided to suspend. After Indiana, Trump needed less than half the remaining delegates to clinch the nomination, so Kasich decided that his project was worthless.
5. May 2016 at 19:54
“Now Trump says he likes low interest rates, again against the GOP Orthodoxy that money everywhere and always should be tighter.”
-He also said he liked some aspects of the Gold Standard and fears the low rates are causing a bubble:
https://mises.org/blog/trump-bigger-threat-wall-street-sanders
5. May 2016 at 22:01
Thiago,
“The world is going through an economic war, and America has the right to defend itself”
What rubbish. You don’t want to buy Chinese products? Don’t buy them. War is compulsory robbery, subjugation, and murder, organized by and between states. Trade is voluntary exchange practiced by and between individuals and businesses. States don’t conduct trade, they only prevent it, to a smaller or larger degree.
And about that protection thing, to come back to Hitler, he and his kind always fantasized that Germany had to be “protected” from powerful foreign interests, undesirable elements of society etc. The worst policies of this world came about not from self interest of individuals, but of their selfless sacrifice in order to “protect” higher ideals. Give me self interest anytime.
Oh, and to address some comment higher up – give me the power savvy technocrat over the unhinged “independently minded” self styled savior of America any time too. Government needs managers, not messiahs. And Trump is clearly a self styled secular messiah, and seen so by the people. Just this: http://imgur.com/gallery/PBuVT0h .
6. May 2016 at 01:13
On Tuesday, Ed Rollins, once Ronald Reagan’s campaign manager, joined Great America PAC, a “super PAC” supporting Mr. Trump, as a chairman.–NYT
Trump=Reagan
6. May 2016 at 03:52
“What rubbish. You don’t want to buy Chinese products? Don’t buy them. War is compulsory robbery, subjugation, and murder, organized by and between states. Trade is voluntary exchange practiced by and between individuals and businesses. States don’t conduct trade, they only prevent it, to a smaller or larger degree.”
Really? Red China’s regime seems incredibly interested in promoting trade with America (meaning China sells, America buys). Do you know what it doesn’t seem nearly as interested in promote? Free elections, free press, real freedom of religion. We are talking about a regime that, not unlike Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, dedicates itself to world conquest and sees trade only as a way to fund it– in fact, by playing the long game and casting aside outdated Marxist dogma, the Chinese regime probably became much more dangerous than Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union ever were. The line must be drawn here, no matter what it takes, the Chinese regime must be contained,encircled, rolled back and crushed.
“The worst policies of this world came about not from self interest of individuals, but of their selfless sacrifice in order to “protect” higher ideals. Give me self interest anytime.”
I would rather take “high ideals”. It was not “self interest” that emancipated the slaves or closed the Nazi extermination camps or beat Japanese aggression back.
6. May 2016 at 04:00
Thiago,
“Really? Red China […] a regime that, not unlike Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, dedicates itself to world conquest and sees trade only as a way to fund it […] The line must be drawn here, no matter what it takes, the Chinese regime must be contained, encircled, rolled back and crushed.”
Just when I thought I’d seen it all on this comments section… This is getting hilarious here.
6. May 2016 at 04:46
Video of Trump discussing monetary policy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhVc5tnzdRU
6. May 2016 at 04:52
I don’t have any idea about who will win the White house (prediction market)
6. May 2016 at 05:02
Professor, I did read your post at the end. You said if he supported NGDPLT it wouldn’t change your view of him. I’m asking if the value of NGDPLT is greater than the sum of other things he would potentially do as president, despite your view of him (unless by view of him you mean a cost-benefit analysis of his potential presidency).
6. May 2016 at 05:18
For once, I actually agreed with MF:
“Not equating Trump with Hitler, no. Just juxtaposing the two names and pretending there is no suggestion of a relation.”
Either make the connection and own up to it or do not. It takes away from the credibility of what you’re saying by playing these games.
On actual policy, he and Sanders/Clinton aren’t as different as everyone would like to think. In fact, I would argue that a Clinton or Trump Presidency would look more similar than a Sanders Presidency.
1) All protectionists when it comes to trade
2) Clinton/Trump more Hawkish on FP
3) All for expanding government (Clinton/Trump likely to increase Defense Spending)
4) All are anti-banking
The only difference I see is Trump wanting to build an actual wall to keep out immigrants from Central and South America. Other than that, I think they are all pretty similar.
6. May 2016 at 05:37
Tom, As I’ve told you before, you are not as funny as you think you are. Don’t give up the day job if you are going into stand up comedy.
Harding, Even his campaign advisors admit it’s all an act. How much evidence do you need?
Tom, You said:
Bill Maher says his impression is that Trump is a typical character in Queens and New Jersey (where he’s from). The douche-bag who tells you “I know a guy who can get you the **BEST** deal. Let me take care of it, you won’t be disappointed!” … and inevitably you’ll be very very disappointed if you fall for his shtick.”
I think it’s kind of amusing that people like Harding cannot see the obvious. It’s going to be really funny when they fund out the truth. And your rants about the GOP caving in are correct, and were predicted in my “Napoleon” post back around January.
Ben, You said:
“Oh please. Trump=Hitler again?”
I think you need to work on your reading comprehension, I said that sort of equation is absurd. Read the post again 5 times, or until you understand.
You said:
“PS if you were running a small business or hunting for a job, who is worse Arthur Burns or Janet Yellen?”
Burns is worse, and it’s not even close.
Steve, You said:
“I think the reason why Limbaugh (and possibly Fox News) got in the tank for Trump early is because he knows Trump personally and knows that his campaign rhetoric is entirely different than his policy goals.”
Much more likely Trump’s views are far more liberal than he’s letting on—he had much more liberal views when he was not running for president.
Christian, It’s possible that almost the entire intelligentsia of the US is autistic, yes, that’s true.
But there are also other possible hypotheses about you and Harding.
Try using Occam’s Razor.
Thaigo, Well after that fascist rant I can see why you like Trump. If those are your values then he’s your man.
And then in your next post you call China (which is the least imperialistic great power in all of world history) a country bent on world domination. MBKA is right, it’s getting funny to read the rants of Trumpistas.
Massimo, You said:
“Today, Trump is a xenophobe and a nationalist. Not a fake xenophobe that will drop his supporters the day he is elected and work on amnesty, but a real xenophobe.”
I’ve always thought he was a fake. You guys just don’t get it. Trump is trying to turn the GOP into the National Front. If he wins there’ll be 100 mini-Trumps running for Congress. The US will no longer have 2 respectable parties. Indeed perhaps it’s already too late. But I have a slim hope that if he loses badly the GOP will walk back from the edge of the cliff.
Garrett, Not even close, as he could potentially do anything, including nuclear war. Yes, that’s unlikely, but even if you take the things he says he’d do (such as a trade war), that issue is 10 times more important than NGDPLT.
6. May 2016 at 06:24
No, Trump himself specifically pointed out that he chose bankruptcy as a valid business option and that the we shouldn’t feel sorry for the victims because they were all adults. Pretty much verbatim. So, while this is not illegal, I would start seeing an unethical pattern here after four occurrences thereof.
They invested equity capital. That’s how equity capital works. It’s not Trump’s fault that this escapes you.
6. May 2016 at 06:30
I’ve always thought he was a fake. You guys just don’t get it. Trump is trying to turn the GOP into the National Front. If he wins there’ll be 100 mini-Trumps running for Congress. The US will no longer have 2 respectable parties.
That a party is ‘respectable’ in the eyes of some editorial writer at The Economist might interest your circle of friends. Normal people don’t give a damn.
6. May 2016 at 07:28
Deco,
boorish, misanthropic, unable of proper reading comprehension, and a philistine in the arts. Yet you seem to think you’re normal. Well at least now I understand where Trump gets his votes from.
See I normally don’t run into your type, ever. Not in academia. Not in my family. Not in business. Not in the professions. The closest thing to you, Harding, Thiago, and a few assorted others in the comments section is an old Nazi I met in the 90s when the fellow was in his 70s. You remind me of his type. Highly intelligent, yet unable to parse how life works, or ought to work. Resentful of anything that wasn’t around when he was young. Hateful of any lifestyle that’s not his own. Unaware that his personal preferences are not universal values. Caring, but only for his in-group. Truly believes that some types of humans are generically of higher value than others. Able to see the finest detail, and highly knowledgeable in some areas, but completely blind to the whole. Kind to people around him but without understanding them. Suspicious of everyone else. Anti politician, anti business, anti trade, anti banks, anti finance. Believes that the only work that counts as “work” is physical goods production. Considers “cosmopolitan” an insult. Unaware that he is what he is mainly through lucky birth in the right country at the right time. Stopped his development of economic thought before Adam Smith appeared. That’s the kind.
6. May 2016 at 07:57
Deco,
You need to quit while you’re ahead. That would have been the place.
6. May 2016 at 08:40
Trump is a threat to the establishment, which has screwed up governing the past 20 years. Nobody really know what policies he will implement, but whatever he does it will rattle some cages. Personally I hope he does ‘politicize’ monetary policy, which is to say, take it away from the people who currently use it to advance their positions.
6. May 2016 at 08:47
I would guess that if Trump is elected, we will see massive government borrowing.
He will have a compliant Fed chairman who will buy bonds, he will have a Democratic congress eager to spend and he faces a landscape of rising entitlement costs that need to be funded.
Also, borrowing is in his DNA. He knows that to get money to finance your projects, you get it from the banks. And now he has the most powerful bank in the world working for him.
He’s going to test the Cullen Roche theory that the U.S. can’t go broke.
It just might work, too.
6. May 2016 at 09:54
“Harding, Even his campaign advisors admit it’s all an act.”
-What does that mean? All politics is acting. Especially Obama’s performance in 2008.
“Unaware that his personal preferences are not universal values.”
-That reminds me of some whom I will not name.
6. May 2016 at 09:57
So, did I miss the memo that declared that ‘crowding out’ just isn’t a real thing?
6. May 2016 at 10:14
He wants to pay pennies on the national debt. That will destroy the US credit rating. He is Ted Cruz. Trump is Cruz.
Weird Republicans.
Why not expand the monetary base responsibly? http://www.talkmarkets.com/content/economics–politics-education/responsibly-expand-the-monetary-base-before-it-is-too-late?post=93323&uid=4798
6. May 2016 at 10:56
“Right now, nationalistic leaders like Putin are basically rooting for anything that creates economic turmoil in the West, hoping it will lead to nationalistic regimes that are sympathetic to his.”
-LOL. Sumner, do you realize how ridiculous you sound? It wasn’t Putin who backed the ECB’s tight money policy in 2012 or the recent Fed rate hike. It was the ECB. And the Fed. If anything, Russia prefers a good economy in Europe to a bad one, as a good economy in Europe means a good economy in Russia. Obviously, Russians support politicians who are favorable to them. Who’da thunk it?
Stop reading the Economist. It’s notoriously wrong and unreliable, especially on Russia.
“Britain can do much more good within the EU, fighting against a federal Europe, than it can on the outside.”
-That would be a good argument if Britain had a lot of influence in Europe. So far, it doesn’t seem to have much.
Obviously, I’m in favor of Brexit, as it’s one more barrier to Eurabia.
6. May 2016 at 11:16
“Trump…has an innovative plan to pay of the national debt”
OK, so you want to tell us what it is?
6. May 2016 at 11:47
I have to kind of agree with Harding that Russia isn’t trying to sabotage the EU nor would it want to.
Nationalists do not generally get along with nationalists from other countries, as history has shown. Russia has no reason to want a rise in German or Polish nationalism. In fact the toothless ambivalence if the EU seems to suit Putin well enough as far as his expansionist agenda is concerned.
6. May 2016 at 11:53
UNRELATED,
Scott, can you please do a post on why you think the sticky part of the nominal “block” in the economy, namely aggregate weekly payrolls (hours x employees x pay per hour), will turn over once the labor supply part (hours and employees) stops growing as rapidly as it has been?
From what I understand of your argument, its that nominal pay will not go up by enough to compensate for having exhausted the unused labor margin. Is that understanding correct? And if so, how does it relate to the fact that the Fed usually prevents this hand-off from getting too one-sided (that is: the Fed cuts off a nominal wage spiral at full employment by hiking rates and signalling to employers that they should be wary of increasing wages lest they get caught out in a recession). Thank you.
FYI, as of April, this number was growing 4.7% YoY, right in the middle of the range for the recovery.
6. May 2016 at 12:45
mbka,
“ordinary politicians promise decent things and often fail to deliver. Trump starts by promising indecent things. There is a key difference here, obviously.”
People vote for Trump precisely _because_ he’s promising them the “indecent things” that they want that no other political actor will offer.
Bryan Caplan wisely said that Trump is “the only candidate whose anti-foreign bias matches the median Republican’s. I’ve long thought this was important to Republicans, but it now looks like anti-foreign bias matters more to them than all other issues combined”.
I tweeted Caplan: When is your new book, “The Myth of the Non-Racist, Non-Xenophobic, Religiously-Unbiased Voter” coming out?
6. May 2016 at 13:21
“Britain can do much more good within the EU, fighting against a federal Europe, than it can on the outside.”
Rubbish. Britain can strike a blow against Brussels by leaving. If a critical mass of states leave and set up an alternative, the rancid Franco-German project can be replaced with a co-operative structure which respect the integrity of self-government. You need to make the monster bleed, not gab at it.
6. May 2016 at 13:24
Who else should a xenophobic christian racist vote for if “anti-foreign” bias is the most important issue, as Caplan suggests.
Trumps fans/foes generally don’t care about these technocrat finance details. Trump will probably drop this idea when it polls poorly and flip flop to something else.
6. May 2016 at 13:25
(wrong thread, please delete my last post and this)
6. May 2016 at 17:22
“Ben, You said:
“Oh please. Trump=Hitler again?”
I think you need to work on your reading comprehension, I said that sort of equation is absurd. Read the post again 5 times, or until you understand.”
Hey Ben, Sumner is just taking a page right out of Donald Trump’s own playbook.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/279068-trump-on-jeb-i-will-not-say-hes-low-energy
Trump said: ‘I will not say he’s low energy’.
Yes Ben, what is the matter with your reading comprehension? Obviously Trump said he won’t say Jeb Bush is low energy. Read what Trump said 5 times or until you understand.
I for one will not say Sumner wants his readers to associate Trump with Hitler. I will not say Sumner wants his readers to associate Trump with Hitler and therefore anyone who claims I am saying Sumner wants his readers to associate Trump with Hitler do not understand that there is a difference between wanting readers to associate Trump with Hitler and not wanting to associate Trump with Hitler. Maybe if I say Sumner does not want his readers to associate Trump with Hitler enough times that his readers will cease thinking of Hitler when they think of Sumner, which is clearly what Sumner wants his readers to think when he says he is not associating Trump with Hitler.
6. May 2016 at 19:00
“Nationalists do not generally get along with nationalists from other countries, as history has shown. Russia has no reason to want a rise in German or Polish nationalism.”
-Polish nationalism, no. Poles strongly dislike Russia, so a rise in Polish nationalism wouldn’t be good for Russia. German nationalism, to some extent. Merkel has hardly been Russia’s biggest enemy, but AfD and die Linke are more pro-Russian. French nationalism, definitely. The National Front is certainly more pro-Russian than the ruling Socialists.
6. May 2016 at 19:01
Harding,
“Obviously, I’m in favor of Brexit, as it’s one more barrier to Eurabia.”
Well London just elected Sadiq Khan all w/o the EU’s help. You can blame the Pakistanis for ‘invading’ the UK. But wait! Who made first contact? Who invaded the Indian subcontinent first?
Mark,
“I have to kind of agree with Harding that Russia isn’t trying to sabotage the EU nor would it want to.
Nationalists do not generally get along with nationalists from other countries, as history has shown. Russia has no reason to want a rise in German or Polish nationalism. ”
Actually there is evidence that Russia does just that. If you read German, try this: http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/fluechtlingskrise/putin-manipuliert-gezielte-medienkampagne-gegen-deutschland-14117555.html?printPagedArticle=true#pageIndex_2 . The gist is the Russia and its foreign language media target specific lines of desinformation targeted at local audiences. Say in Germany they stoke fear of Syrians and Muslims, while in Czech they stoke fear of resurging German nationalism. Also see this: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/02/putin-weaponizing-migrant-crisis-to-hurt-europe.html
To recycle a cold war phrase, the European nationalists are Russia’s useful idiots. Divide and rule.
Massimo,
“People vote for Trump precisely _because_ he’s promising them the “indecent things” that they want that no other political actor will offer.”
Agree, this is why Trump and these tendencies should be opposed. There are some things no candidate should offer. There are things forbidden by most Western constitutions. No major democracy is a “pure democracy”. They are _all_ republics that impose limits on what not just government can do. They impose limits on what “the people” can do. The people is not sovereign, the law is. Just because something comes about democratically doesn’t mean it’s right, nor constitutional. That’s the whole point of a constitution. Now, countries can change constitutional limits etc. And this is precisely how Hitler did his job: democratically elected, then destroying the republic by eliminating all limitations on government. This, with complicity and backing by the smartest legal minds of his generation. Carl Schmitt comes to mind (approvingly cited by Bush-Cheney when they justified their own little expansion of executive power).
6. May 2016 at 21:22
mbka,
“Agree, this is why Trump and these tendencies should be opposed. There are some things no candidate should offer.”
Please understand, what you think is indecent and should be opposed is in some ways the opposite of what I think is indecent and should be opposed.
I think it’s a great horrific injustice that the nations of Europe are expected to suppress their own nature and culture to help random foreigners, even among foreigners who want to maintain rival identity and tribal affiliation. This is absolutely a racist and xenophobic mindset that Germany should have the right to remain mostly ethnically German. I don’t support groups like the Germans hurting others, but I think they have the right to be themselves and exclude others, like a university excludes applicants that they don’t want.
sumner:
“Read the post again 5 times, or until you understand.”
You wrote in your recent “Banana republic” article that Trump is on the borderline of fascism, without any caveats. And the main linked interview compared Trump to Hugo Chavez. This really is extreme.
6. May 2016 at 21:48
Massimo,
“Please understand, what you think is indecent and should be opposed is in some ways the opposite of what I think is indecent and should be opposed.”
The really indecent thing in Europe in 2015-16 was the refusal of most EU nations to do their contractual duty in accepting refugees. So Germany, pop 100 Mio, was accepting 1 Mio in lieu of the decent alternative in getting them distributed in the bloc of 500 Mio. [Germany did this to save Greece from disaster, because it is in Greece that they would all have piled up in the absence of a follow-on Balkan route, or drowned, which many did anyway]. Of course all this could have been alleviated had the EU had an external border patrol or joint military. But this alternative is anathema too to the nationalists. Final alternative, had the EU not existed, likely by now we’d have a shooting war between Greece and Turkey. So you tell me which alternative you prefer. I say, EU and Merkel’s emergency muddling through, as messy as it was.
In the wider scheme of things, the EU does not stand for mass immigration of refugees. This is just a current affairs item that’s hot for a year or two. The EU stands for free movement of capital, business, and especially people, under laws both common and nationally created whenever feasible. This is called the principle of subsidiarity (solve everything at the most local level possible). Which of these propositions are indecent in your eyes? Because to me, this all makes eminent sense and this is what I aspire to: free exchange, free movement, locally regulated by local authorities I have a chance to have a say in. I’m not saying this is all perfectly implemented, but this is what the EU aspires to, and always did. Where do you disagree here? What is indecent to you?
6. May 2016 at 22:33
“Who invaded the Indian subcontinent first?”
-Britain, and no good on net was accomplished for either of the lands involved.
“The really indecent thing in Europe in 2015-16 was the refusal of most EU nations to do their contractual duty in accepting refugees.”
-I was not aware that the European Union was a suicide pact.
“Of course all this could have been alleviated had the EU had an external border patrol or joint military. But this alternative is anathema too to the nationalists.”
-This is why NATO is simultaneously useless and extremely dangerous and should be abolished lest it create more migrants.
“Final alternative, had the EU not existed, likely by now we’d have a shooting war between Greece and Turkey.”
-Good thing, too. I want to see some dead Turks.
“In the wider scheme of things, the EU does not stand for mass immigration of refugees.”
-Then why does it permit it?
I wonder how Norway and Schweiz manage to be so rich without joining the E.U.
7. May 2016 at 05:55
Charlie, You said:
“Trump is a threat to the establishment, which has screwed up governing the past 20 years. Nobody really know what policies he will implement, but whatever he does it will rattle some cages.”
When I read these sorts of arguments in favor of Trump, by spoiled idiots who have no idea how low a society can sink, I am reassured that I am correct.
If you are living in Cambodia in 1978 this is a good argument, if not, it’s not. One thing about the new right is that they have no knowledge of history, they think that in America in 2016, where the middle class enjoys the highest living standards achieved in all of human history, average Americans are “suffering” and we need to roll the dice with a demagogue. At least the German voters in 1932 had an excuse, the Great Depression.
Mark, Then how do you explain the fact that nationalists outside of Russia tend to be Putin fans?
Having said that, you do correctly point out a weakness in nationalism. Countries have to be global to be successful, and nationalism then tends to fade away. That’s why I said the current rise of nationalism will be temporary.
Tyler, Sorry, I don’t follow your question. What do you mean by “turn over?”
Mbka, I recall reading that immigrants to Britain who are poor score higher on standardized tests than the local whites who are poor. Maybe the nationalists there are afraid that the immigrants will make them look bad.
7. May 2016 at 07:24
The really indecent thing in Europe in 2015-16 was the refusal of most EU nations to do their contractual duty in accepting refugees.
No, the indecent thing was that the Hag-Chancellor of Germany offered an invitation to refugee camp denizens and anyone who could pass themselves off as refugee camp denizens to come settle in Europe and proposes to impose costs on any country which does not want such a policy and impose costs on her domestic working class (about which she doesn’t give a damn). Then her odious administration took to legal harassment of anyone who published information about what the rapefugees among them were up to.
The business of the government of Hungary is seeing to the welfare of its citizens. It’s not under any obligation to participate in a project wherein refugees resident in camps in Jordan and Turkey are resettled in Hungary.
7. May 2016 at 07:27
If you are living in Cambodia in 1978 this is a good argument, if not, it’s not. One thing about the new right is that they have no knowledge of history, they think that in America in 2016, where the middle class enjoys the highest living standards achieved in all of human history, average Americans are “suffering” and we need to roll the dice with a demagogue. At least the German voters in 1932 had an excuse, the Great Depression.
You fancy Trump is the equivalent of Heng Semrin and the VietNamese Communists? (Or is that another ‘joke’?)
There are quite a number of severe domestic problems (among them the refusal of the government to enforce the immigration laws) that you and the Mercatus crew elect not to notice (or pretend are not problems). Trump’s voters are not culpable because you’re being obtuse.
7. May 2016 at 07:45
Deco,
“Hag-Chancellor of Germany”
“rapefugees ”
etc
Obscenity after obscenity. How old are you? 14 1/2? You should definitely stay in your country, wherever that is. I can only hope it’s a tiny one with borders so tight you can’t escape.
7. May 2016 at 08:42
Obscenity after obscenity. How old are you? 14 1/2? You should definitely stay in your country, wherever that is. I can only hope it’s a tiny one with borders so tight you can’t escape.
Neither are obscenities nor are they juvenile, but I don’t expect much of someone who cannot tell the difference between disputants over immigration policy and old Nazis. Ha ha. My country runs on and on for 3.4 million square miles.
7. May 2016 at 10:11
Art –
“There are quite a number of severe domestic problems ”
Ok, but don’t all places and all times have problems? The central conservative insight is that things can always get worse. The corollary to that is that change is not inherently good or bad. And when things are mostly good, or at least better than most places and times in history, the risk of upsetting the apple cart is very high. You are falling for the utopian fantasy that things can ever be perfect.
The average person in the United States is as prosperous and as free as the average person in almost any time and place in history. Part of the reason for that is the rule of law, private property rights, the sanctity of the public debt, tolerance for religious minorities – all things Trump wants to change.
We should be making improvements – implementing NGDPLT, moving from budget deficits to surpluses, simplifying the tax code, reducing incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, etc. But we don’t need to bash immigrants, destroy relations with our friendly neighbor on the southern border, order our troops to commit war crimes, etc.
I remember a few years back Republicans said “Character Counts.” Now Republicans are nominating the most vulgar and immoral nominee in modern history.
7. May 2016 at 10:39
Now Republicans are nominating the most vulgar and immoral nominee in modern history.
Partisan Democrats fancy this because the offenses of John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Bilge Clinton have been defined in their minds, quite arbitrarily, as negligible. The moderator has, without owning up to it, done the same with regard to this year’s presumptive Democratic nominee.
7. May 2016 at 10:41
Sumner:
“When I read these sorts of arguments in favor of Trump, by spoiled idiots who have no idea how low a society can sink, I am reassured that I am correct.”
Look in the mirror. YOU clearly have no idea how low society can sink by government intervention in money. You obviously have neither the understanding nor critical thinking needed to understand history. History has empires crumbling over a period of centuries with many hundreds of years more of almost unbearable poverty among the masses. The statists then too had utopian visions of “perfect” tyranny, and they too knew nothing of the inherent fraud that was backed by the illusions preached by mystics and priests.
Your historical role, if there was such a thing, is to preach an illusion. You call this blog the money illusion in a way that would ostensibly refer to teaching people to overcome the money illusion, but ironically, and not surprisingly, you yourself are teaching people to believe in an illusion, the illusion that the violence and fraud that back the statist monetary monopoly are somehow good for society.
These illusions are eventually learned, exposed, and the fallout is always extremely painful for innocent people who were brainwashed by the illusions you and your ilk preach.
Whereas I want people to be free and have their property rights protected, and not be told like children what they ought to do with their lives, you don’t want people to be free, you don’t want their property rights respected, and you tell people what they ought to believe like they are children. In order for you to get what you want, people have to become brainwashed by the illusion you are preaching.
Civilized society is private property and division of labor, which “market” monetarism flouts with seeming total obliviousness on the part of its adherents.
You are in no position at all to even hint at telling anyone else they lack some understanding of how low society can get. To believe otherwise requires hypocrisy to be viewed as a virtue.
7. May 2016 at 10:46
We should be making improvements – implementing NGDPLT, moving from budget deficits to surpluses, simplifying the tax code, reducing incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, etc. But we don’t need to bash immigrants, destroy relations with our friendly neighbor on the southern border, order our troops to commit war crimes, etc.
The first of these is an unimportant nostrum flogged by the moderator, the second is unobjectionable, the third is good, the fourth is informed by foolishness. You will, of course, never get the 2d or the 3d out of a Democratic administration.
As for the remainder, neither George Bush nor Trump is culpable because blowhards redefine ‘war crime’ to mean just about anything. Mexico ought to be thinking about not ruining relations with us, and one way to ruin them is to grant Mexican suffrage to people resident in the United States and to insist that Mexicans have a franchise with which we may not interfere to settle in the United States at their discretion. And, of course, immigrants, like any other collection of human beings, carry with them virtues and vices. Traders in Ellis Island schmaltz and Bryan Caplan’s trillion-dollar-bills fiction tell us it is crimethink to recall that some immigrants are congenial and some are criminal, but living in truth demands we acknowledge they are.
7. May 2016 at 10:48
Ok, but don’t all places and all times have problems?
Yes, and their are variations in the character and severity of those problems over time.
8. May 2016 at 04:16
Question:
Are monetary figures from different countries globally standardized? Does M1 or M2 in the USA equate exactly to M1 and M2 in JPY, EUR, AUD, CHF…???
8. May 2016 at 09:18
Trump is simply changing his message/tune in an attepmt to win voters. Like so many other candidates did.
Remember one George W. Bush who wanted to have a conservative foreign policy ? Or one Mitt Romney ?
8. May 2016 at 17:22
“Mark, Then how do you explain the fact that nationalists outside of Russia tend to be Putin fans?”
The Alt-Right types like him; the traditional conservative nationalists hate him. Among the conventional Republicans, hasn’t it been a major talking point that Obama/Clinton isn’t/wouldn’t be ‘tough enough’ on Putin? And I do consider the standard conservative foreign policy attitude to be nationalist, even if it’s not exactly the same animal as neofascist nationalism. It’s also worth noting that far leftists (as oppose to conventional progressives) are among Putin’s biggest apologists, seeking to re-characterize his regime’s actions as purely defensive against the encroachment of neo-colonial/neoliberal forces of the West and Nato. Neo-fascists and socialists both share a tendency to cite RT as though it were a reliable news source.
What that says about anyone, I’m not sure. Mainly though I think it says that people who hate the status quo like the guy who threatens to upend it, whoever he may be.
9. May 2016 at 10:23
Trump represents the working class and the working middle class — by default the white working class, as blacks won’t vote for Republicans.
His core policies — reduce immigration and change free trade pacts — would help the working class.
He also wants to protect and expand the existing safety net of Social Security and Medicare.
He also doesn’t want to be the world’s policeman and doesn’t really give a shit about backstopping the rest of the world.
This is boilerplate Democratic policy from the 1960s and 1970s.
If an election was decided purely on these policies, Trump would win hands down. So to muddy the waters, his opponents are trying to put all kinds of inaccurate labels on him.
9. May 2016 at 14:12
@Benjamin Cole
http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=31678#comment-713677
Very good points. Thank you.
@Charlie Jamieson
I think you might be right.
10. May 2016 at 17:31
Mark, You said:
“The Alt-Right types like him; the traditional conservative nationalists hate him.”
Not in places like Hungary. The nationalists in Hungary like him.