Quote:
ADias said:
You certainly are. This the classical Milton Friedman / John Keynes argument. Milton was right.


I also agree Mr Friedman was right on the deficit issue. Oddly enough, the most Keynesian presidents in recent history were Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Noone else has mastered the treacherous art of deficit spending as they did.

Unfortunately, the party isn't over until the last Treasury Bill has been paid off.

Quote:
ADias said:
The EU is making the state the big daddy and burying itself in taxes to pay for that. I go to Europe once a year, and everywhere I go I see the gap between the US and the EU bigger all the time (make sure you understand that means the EU's standard of living and economy vibrance is lower than the US and going lower).


I agree on the vibrance part, but not the standard of living part. Every time I go back to the US, I feel like I'm going to a Thirld World country. Everything feels so cheap because of the exchange rate.

Don't underestimate the importance of the dollar crash. In dollar terms, the average yearly growth rate in Western Europe must be in the 13% range. We're "growing" even faster than China collecting our unemployment checks.

Of course, it does not mean that Europe is doing gangbusters, it just means purchasing power of the dollar has gone way down the tubes.