tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post6605447622724548827..comments2024-03-28T19:18:40.387-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: 21 TrillionOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-77271679764138890152012-07-23T17:59:07.325-04:002012-07-23T17:59:07.325-04:00The super rich suffer from a common human malady, ...The super rich suffer from a common human malady, Anon. They believe that what they do should serve as a template for the rest of humanity.<br /><br />Mitt Romney believes that, if Americans imitate his behaviour, they will all get rich.<br /><br />Friedman called the Romney model "rational." He assumed -- with Alan Greenspan -- that it was rational for markets to be self regulating.<br /><br />Keynes would have said that markets go off the rails precisely because they are not rational.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-75272951309948856522012-07-23T17:10:13.257-04:002012-07-23T17:10:13.257-04:00" He also claimed that tax breaks encouraged ..." He also claimed that tax breaks encouraged 'rational' behaviour. The truth was quite the opposite. "<br /><br />I disagree. The super rich probably are acting rationally. Rational and humane behaviour are different things. We also need to distinguish between what is individually rational, and what is rational for everyone as a whole.<br /><br />For example, if someone yells "fire" in a crowded theatre (better yet, if there is a fire) and there are limited exits, and not everyone can get out in time, it makes perfect sense for an individual to push and shove and trample. But since everyone as individuals does that, they all end up worse off. I think that the modern right, and the wealthy elite, has created (or been in the process of creating) a system in which we are all worse off. They won't notice though. They just notice how much better off they are compared to the people at the bottom. And if feels good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-86039764613534951232012-07-23T12:22:03.138-04:002012-07-23T12:22:03.138-04:00It's all about making the world safe for oliga...It's all about making the world safe for oligarchy, Mogs.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-62072929324623018452012-07-23T12:06:12.664-04:002012-07-23T12:06:12.664-04:00I just got off the phone with another retired teac...I just got off the phone with another retired teacher, Lorne, who I worked with for years. He's not a Harper supporter. <br /><br />But someone who my friend went to university with -- and his wife -- visited over the weekend. The man was a student of history. And he really believed the Harper line.<br /><br />My friend described his friend as someone who appeared to have undergone a religious experience.<br /><br />What do you do when politics becomes a religion?Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-14732357393460953782012-07-23T10:46:56.608-04:002012-07-23T10:46:56.608-04:00"The wealthy do not act out of altruism. Givi..."The wealthy do not act out of altruism. Giving them a break simply encourages more greed."<br /><br />Ya eh?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-24058562063039201902012-07-23T10:41:53.630-04:002012-07-23T10:41:53.630-04:00What really makes me wonder, Owen, is why so many ...What really makes me wonder, Owen, is why so many people still cling to the nostrums you mention in your post. Is it ignorance, lazy thinking, the pervasiveness of right-wing propaganda, or a secret belief that they too will someday become one of the elite?Lornehttp://www.politicsanditsdiscontents.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.com