Posted by Steve on July 05, 2003 at 19:32:45:
In Reply to: Re: Microislet JDRF Hybrid Funding posted by klausen on July 05, 2003 at 15:08:22:
Russia soon outproduced Germany in every category of munitions and won the war! This shows how much more efficient a socialist system can perform than a capitalist one.
Ever hear of lend lease program. Russia was saved by the industrial capacity of the US and stupid German war planning. If The Soviets system was so efficient why did they collapse in the 1980's and now have a partial capitalist system with a flat tax nonetheless. In fact the private land in Russia was about 1/100 of the public farms but out produce the public land. Why was that if state farms were so efficient?
As for the German economy, their unemployment rate is currently running quite high something like 10%. They just recently cut taxes in an effort to stimulate the economy. And yes they get free university education but as the German exchange students that have stayed at our house tell me they don't have enough money after taxes to choose another university outside of Germany like the Americans. Further their system seems to push people in a certain direction and if they deem you are not university material then too bad for you. Here in America anyone with enough grit and determination can get a college degree.
Poor societies do have distribution problems as you said. But their problem is not enough wealth to distribute. Imagine if all the wealth were taken and redistributed and non was reinvested but rather consumed, eventually there would be no value to the money taken. This is exactly what has happened in Zimbabwe. It also happened after the crown took over Ireland and partitioned the land into smaller and smaller parcels. Eventually a famine killed millions this too shall happen in Africa despite the poor now possessing the wealth they did not have before.
Money is not good or bad though you seem to think of it as good. It is simply a method of exchange. Joseph Campbell called it a symbol of congealed energy. This is the definition I like best. It not about good or bad, rather the wealth represented by congealed energy. This wealth produces the happiness that you seek for all.
You are only partially correct regarding the crash and depression. The Federal Reserve tightened the money supply after the market crash of 1929. This had a disastrous impact. There are many other factors some of it was a demand problem as you state but if the factories were capable of producing cars, trains, planes, factory equipment, railroads, ships why did they suddenly have weak demand? Most economists now point to the fed. The market crashed because of excess speculation. The crash caused a run on the banks as individuals lost confidence. Banks assets are held in loans and were illiquid. Soon the banks had no cash despite calling loans (today there is deposit insurance). This problem could have been easily solved by the Fed, thereby restoring confidence in the banks and stemming the breakdown of the financial system.
Enough lessons for one night, teaching socialists can be quite tiring.
Steve