Maggie's Farm

The post on lying is exactly how my industry works.

I was told once that if I wanted a job, I should spread a rumor that the person in it was interviewing elsewhere. This gem was shared with me by a person who had moved up the ladder simply by sharing 'information' as widely as possible.

He said "if you tell it to enough people, it becomes true, and then there is nothing anyone can do about it."

We see this in politics constantly, and we rarely think about the ramifications. The idea that we are sold on the Fed as a necessary evil, or that government spending can boost productivity is all part of repetition.

Keynes, for example, isn't "wrong" in the sense that government spending won't improve the economic environment. But what a discussion of Keynes would lead to is a discussion that we are taking future potential productivity, spending it today on what we perceive to be necessary improvements, without wondering if we'll need that money later. But later comes, and we need it, but we're paying interest on money already spent!
So what now? Well, borrow more! Keynes said it's OK!

This is not what Keynes said at all, but it's been repeated enough that it has become doctrinal truth to politicians.

Austrian Economists are fond of saying there are not many solutions, just trade offs, and you have to decide if those trade offs make sense for what you hope to achieve. This means that Keynes' approach MAY be correct, in certain economic environments, but it is by no means the best or only solution.

I was pleased to see Nassim Taleb endorse Ron Paul today - he is one of my favorite masters of data, and it would not please me more to hear him continue to repeat what he has to say. Because right now, we must get that beast called government under control again.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/ron-paul-talebs-new-black-swan