I've been reading some of the old pre Kenynesian economic books, pre WWII. The most notable, Karl Marx, who thought wealth redistribuition was not only neccessary but also virtuous. President Obama (who admits he doesn't know much about economics) is quoted when he was young as saying, "I believe in wealth redistribution." Others claim it will get redistributed by the market without interfering in any way whether you like it or not. I'm kind of Mr. Natural, and just like letting nature take care of itself. But on the other hand, even an animalistic sport like the NFL agreed that to keep the whole thing going they should give the first round pick to the worse team. I have no conclusive opinion. I was just wondering on this weekend when the market is about closed or non moving, what others thought about redistributing wealth by means other than the natural redistribution that occurs when we take risks that either redistribute it to me, or away from me.
"I'm kind of Mr. Natural, and just like letting nature take care of itself. But on the other hand, even an animalistic sport like the NFL agreed that to keep the whole thing going they should give the first round pick to the worse team." a private action is a lot different than a government action which gums up the marketplace by government edict.
well zdreg, that is the thing I don't understand. It's 100% guaranteed that when the government takes money from me they are going to spend it. So how does that hurt the economy? They overpay their workers for unproductive work that neither you or I want or need, and then those workers spend it, and it comes right back to me (minus the government vigorish.) bad for me, but not sure why it is bad for the world in general.
Karl Marx was probably the most influential economist of all time (second only to Jesus Christ.) Might I suggest a book? The Worldy Philosophers http://www.amazon.com/Worldly-Philosophers-Economic-Thinkers-Seventh/dp/068486214X
If you get bored with life the way I often do, you may find some amusement on the Science Channel, where they discuss the mysteries of the universe in layman's terms. For instance, there are some who say energy can never be created or destroyed, only transformed. Sometimes I think it is the same way with money. All that wealth was already there, it was just sitting down below the surface in the form of dead dinosaures.
Like my tenth grade PE teacher said, if I gave each one of you $1m, in 20 years, two or three of you would be very rich and the rest would be working for them. Redistribution is always going on. Even the redistribution gets redistributed. (Something else my PE teacher said: stay away from the skanks at the trucker bars. He was always full of good advice).
laugh if you want nutmeg, but I'm sitting on too much cash. I started selling bonds when the 10 year hit 126. Now here it is at 132, and at my age I can't get any heavier in stocks. I'm losing money everyday in cash, so I'm re buying the bonds at what most believe (myself included) should reasonably be the top. So I am the one loaning the US government (and also a few shady junk bond issuers) money to redistribute. "Where does that fit in the picture"? I don't know, I have it, and they need it, and they'll pay me for perpetuating their scheme (until it all comes crashing down in the form of rising rates.)
so basically, those of us that have cash are loaning it to the government, who in turn are giving it to the most unproductive members of society, and then taxing us, so we can pay back me the interest due on the loan.