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wilbjammin · 12-04-2003, 12:56 PM

Shoutout to Neil Bush!

While we're attacking all facets of America's economic structure, lets not forget the S&L scandal that we're all still paying off and probably will continue to pay off for many decades.

Since the dollar is no longer based on any standard, and because money works simply because we implicitly agree to use it (if you actually believe in what John Locke says about property), then we're stuck in a system that is dependent on governmental regulation because the government has essentially constructed the economy through its policies. Anything is allowed, out of fairness or greed, and the regulating facets of government is part of this "anything is allowed" system. We are basically stuck with this system unless some revolution happens. Right now unions are not creating a lot of new improvements for workers, but historically they have done a lot. Those changes do stay with us, and for all of us that work and earn our money, we should be happy for the labor movement. Upswings and downswings in the state of labor seems to be quite a pattern in US History.

(Though don't get me wrong, I not exactly what you'd consider to be a William Jennings Bryan...)

The issue with labor is this - we have free movement of all facets of production, but labor does not have mobility. This is why the European <b>Union</b> is actually working well as a (relative to ours) laissez-faire system. Labor is mobile in the EU, there is not much incentive to export jobs from one country to another, the "race-to-the-bottom" isn't as prevalent, and countries are inspired to make incentives for workers to come to (or stay in) their country as well as businesses (instead of just businesses). "What? You not going to pay us shit or give us benefits? We're moving to France." Of course, recessions tend to help the businesses win out over labor. The unified currency does help against severe inflation, at least.

And one more thing -"Because it's a free country" doesn't settle well with me as a good excuse for anything. Things are allowed and not allowed by agreements, "because it's a free country" suggests a system of anarchy that simply does not exist.

12-04-2003, 12:56 PM	#40 (permalink)
wilbjammin * * *	Shoutout to Neil Bush! While we're attacking all facets of America's economic structure, lets not forget the S&L scandal that we're all still paying off and probably will continue to pay off for many decades. Since the dollar is no longer based on any standard, and because money works simply because we implicitly agree to use it (if you actually believe in what John Locke says about property), then we're stuck in a system that is dependent on governmental regulation because the government has essentially constructed the economy through its policies. Anything is allowed, out of fairness or greed, and the regulating facets of government is part of this "anything is allowed" system. We are basically stuck with this system unless some revolution happens. Right now unions are not creating a lot of new improvements for workers, but historically they have done a lot. Those changes do stay with us, and for all of us that work and earn our money, we should be happy for the labor movement. Upswings and downswings in the state of labor seems to be quite a pattern in US History. (Though don't get me wrong, I not exactly what you'd consider to be a William Jennings Bryan...) The issue with labor is this - we have free movement of all facets of production, but labor does not have mobility. This is why the European <b>Union</b> is actually working well as a (relative to ours) laissez-faire system. Labor is mobile in the EU, there is not much incentive to export jobs from one country to another, the "race-to-the-bottom" isn't as prevalent, and countries are inspired to make incentives for workers to come to (or stay in) their country as well as businesses (instead of just businesses). "What? You not going to pay us shit or give us benefits? We're moving to France." Of course, recessions tend to help the businesses win out over labor. The unified currency does help against severe inflation, at least. And one more thing -"Because it's a free country" doesn't settle well with me as a good excuse for anything. Things are allowed and not allowed by agreements, "because it's a free country" suggests a system of anarchy that simply does not exist. __________________ Innominate.