Monday, April 23, 2012

COLLAPSE-o-NOMICS

Now presenting, The Idiocracy's guide to collapsing your own economy.  Now on display anywhere near you: 


1) Monetary policy: The policy of reducing the cost of money (interest rates) to subsidize debt accumulation by the Middle Class so their jobs can be painlessly outsourced while they watch American Idol.

aka. 'economic euthanasia'


2) Fiscal policy: The policy of allowing governments to borrow massive amounts of money to maintain the illusion of a sound economy all the while believing that the next generation will pick up the tab

aka. 'eating your own dog food' - attempting to foist your debts on your children and grandchildren, only to realize they are still living at home


3) Monetary/fiscal eight ball: The endgame version of (1) and (2) in which monetary policy is used to finance fiscal policy when traditional borrowing sources are totally exhausted.  This is the state we are in now, with 'Quantitative Easing'.

aka. 'Printing Money'


4) Outsourcing: The concept of handing foreigners all of the manufacturing and intellectual property that took prior generations hundreds of years to create, because the current generation is too stupid and lazy to make anything.  Also used to inflate short-term profits and hence stock prices for the ultra-wealthy who stash resulting profits in offshore bank accounts

aka. 'going out of business sale'


5) Industrial arbitrage: The concept of buying cheap crap from low wage countries and selling it to the Middle Class who borrow at ultra-low interest rates (thanks to Monetary policy) until they are leveraged to oblivion.  

aka. 'Walmart'


6) Rent seeking: The concept of exploiting the many, to the benefit of the few, by allowing special interest groups (SIGs) to directly finance politicians.  Further facilitated by allowing politicians to create an endless series of new laws and expenditure programs at the behest of the SIGs

aka. 'zero sum game'


7) Unfunded Liabilities - allowing government to create schemes such as Social Security and Medicare, which have no assets but consist of intragenerational transfers, having an ever-dwindling base of new payers.

aka. 'Ponzi Scheme'


8) Subsidizing Terrorism: The policy of squandering hundreds of billions by buying oil from terrorist sponsoring countries and then mortgaging one's own grandchildren to invade countries for their resources.

All so that Hillbillies can drive gas guzzling over-sized pickup trucks, and Yuppies can drive over-sized SUVs (despite being 100 miles from the nearest dirt road).

aka. 'Selling your soul'