Peace of Mind

The conflict between Alex Tabarrok and Daniel Gross first hit me as humorous, my innate sentiment with Tabarrok; finally evolving to the Gross position. It could have something to do with $127/barrel Oil, the limited Acreage of tillable land, the number of Calories necessary to obtain obesity, or with the environmental imprint of a technological Labor hour; still, I began to feel like Daniel Gross. My hesitancy may be based upon establishing Heat tunnels in the path of traditional Monsoon Winds, which feed our Agricultural base in the first place. I do know I dislike both India and China adding a million new cars every year, as the average Oil Well gains a probable 700 Average feet in depth. I am a fervent advocate of the American Style of Life, but fear I am becoming an Elitist in old Age; maybe it is the payment of current Gas bills.

My Heart resides with the Protectionists, but my head sort of joins Surowiecki with Mark Thoma’s caveat; while my Common Sense states that World Trade consumes too much fuel. Who is Someone who agrees with Everyone, yet thinks everything is definitely wrong? Is the term simply ‘Confusion’, or are there things like Economic Viruses which eat at Economies, exactly like Computer Viruses chew up Computer programming? I simply know that as I age, my life fills with increasing uncertainty; whether it is founded upon enhanced Awareness, or simply stumbling into new Problems remains the Question. I estimate that Problems to economic advancement always existed with the same abundance, though the Cost of their Solution has grown with the years–Inflation and Markets in everything!

David Smith has this article which extends the Confusion while assuring the quandary is not limited to this Nation. I guess my Question must be: How can Anyone determine the natural flow of Market expectations, when Government has so many economic Stimulus policies and Incentives while continually maintaining a deficit Expenditure flow? A Natural Flow economy probably has been impossible to determine since the Kennedy Tax Cut Package in the 1960s. Everyone states We have so much more because of Government intervention, but the ‘so much more’ may only be unfunded Government Debt, undercapitalized Private Debt, major Waste of economic resources, and an atmosphere of Crisis Management. I contemplate if a simple Head Tax coupled with a Prevention of Government expenditure above their Tax revenues might bring a sense of Calm. lgl