Thursday, May 12, 2011

And When You Say "Economy", You Mean. . .?

People seem to understand the word "economy" in the weirdest ways:

President Barack Obama's approval rating has hit its highest point in two years — 60 percent — and more than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll taken after U.S. forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In worrisome signs for Republicans, the president's standing improved not just on foreign policy but also on the economy.
We are all glad that Osama is dead, that goes without saying. But the economy didn't improve overnight because the terrorist was killed. There are very serious economic problems plaguing this country. They need to be resolved by changing what happens within this country. While chasing down terrorists who are hiding in Pakistan is a very worthy goal that I, for one, wholeheartedly support, it doesn't fix the economy.

In the two most recent elections, we kept hearing that this time people will vote on economy because that's what everybody cares about right now. Today we are seeing what this caring about the economy actually amounts to.

Do you remember how I told you that one of Marxism's tragic flaws is its reliance on the idea that people are motivated by economic factors? Does anybody need any more proof that people couldn't care less about the economy even if they loudly claim they do?

2 comments:

Tim said...

Speaking about the economy, can you tell me where I can find statistics about governmental debts in America ?

I am interested in the debt per state figures to be exact.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, people get carried away. When they see something wrong, they see wrong in everything and when they see good, they look good in everything: some sort of “freezing” effect. I doubt very much they were thinking on the economy in general or even in their own economy when they took their decision.

However, Bin Laden’s death could prove influential in the economy if investors sense that the terrorism treat is over and that the global atmosphere is more stable. If it’s so they will start investing more willingly on companies that actually produce goods, rather than betting on the oil price going high and thereby increasing it even more, anticipating further conflicts which would limit access to oil in the Middle East.

So, if investors feel that his death is good for the economy, so will it be for the average Joe, since oil prices have tremendous influence on the costs of almost anything we use every day.


Lear