The New Myth

The Airlines are shutting down, though the traffic is there, all because of the fuel Costs. It is probably for the Best, as Most of the air traffic was nonsensical in terms of pure economic advantage. Americans go into Everything in a big way, exactly as they adopted air travel; then found raising that many People that high into the air everyday was too expensive. The airlines must be saved for very serious economic reasons, but with less passengers and greater service. I favor a more integrated system of air travel, where Airlines adopt the mantle of Tour centers. Travel would become more leisure with mainly high-density Prop-plane flights, scheduled Motel accommodations of set durations (with supplied guided Tours, and inlaid Car rentals) for lengthy Stopovers, and Pick-up flights; all set within a format of a Two-Week transition of the Country, unless an extremely high Express rate is paid. This would eliminate Christmas and Thanksgiving Disaster Weeks, and would promote localized Tourist attractions. Vacations would resume actual Relaxation Standards, air Passengers being forced to choice their attractions with normal transition schedules, and Business elements would regain adequate Movement capacity though paying the premium for that travel. Consumer flow could finally be spaced through both Terminal and Airport.

The Bankers found their Rubes, and sold the new Gold bricks known as derivatives. JPMorgan is the purported Savior of Bear Sterns; and one wonders where they found the Cash. The Sheep-shearing was conducted without fanfare, and Thousands now pay Hundreds of Dollars now, to pay Bankers Millions off Deals from which they divorced themselves from all Risk. All it took was a friendly face and a handshake, prior friendship beneficial but optional. This Country has no financial Poaching law, but it should; such a law forbids the Sale of any financial or Commercial paper to Anyone who does not understand the Risks involved, said Penalties being total repayment of any incurred losses. It leads to a minutia legal filing of initialed and signed declaration of Trade terms and charges by all Parties. The Polity will eventually have to protect itself from the new 3-Card Monte called derivatives.

I don’t agree with Brad DeLong, but it is no reason to discriminate against him, and this should be read by Everyone. It is the most coherent Statement which I have read by Anyone, concerning the proper approach towards Central Banking and Monetary policy. Read this tract of Thomas Palley as Counterpoint. I favor Palley’s views to much greater extent than DeLong’s, but also doubt the extent of the disaster to the American economy. Neither worries excessively about those economic sectors drafting too great an amount of Profits, thinking that anything doing well is good for the economy, not matter what injury is may provide to other sectors. The essential fault with the economy is way too much Paper–financial, Commercial, Residential, or otherwise. I used to listen as old Farmers and Ranchers talked of being Land-Poor or Cattle-Poor. The Day will come when Americans will realize that We are Paper-Poor, with Everyone granting this excess Paper an added Hand in the Till. The Paper is eating real Productive Profits, and feeding those Profits to worthless expenditure generating only more Paper of all types. Americans owe the inevitable Someone (Mel Gibsen claimed They in The Conspiracy) somewhere a high share of their Income for Paper; this translates to Americans owing 80% more than they should, 40% of the total debt being simply Paper which generated nothing for No One. lgl