Fiscal Theory

Senator Norm Coleman, quoted in the NYTimes:

Like Anthony Gregory, I agree with many of the nominees for the “

However, a large trade deficit — even one that persists for decades — is not necessarily bad or unsustainable.

It appears that the Appalachians are about to move again. Earthquakes? Shifts in tectonic plates? Not this time.

It follows that liquidity could come under severe pressure if the Fed decides to cling to the current fed funds rate target whilst the economy is weakening.

It is only because we have a monstrous welfare/warfare state that the government "needs" to collect an income tax. The beginning of Clinton's presidency was not that long ago. The income tax can be abolished. It can be done quickly; it can be done painlessly — and it can be done for the benefit of the American taxpayer instead of the federal leviathan. Now that is real tax reform.

Austro-libertarians should also be wary of the collectivism inherent in Schiff's (and other anti-trade deficit) articles. Unless you are a shareholder of Alcoa, what do you care who owns it? Why does it matter if those "future profits" are earned by Australians instead of Americans?

To conclude then, as long as the pool of real funding available to Americans is still growing, and as long as the growth momentum of liquidity is heading up, US financial markets will remain well supported regardless of the yen carry trade.

How do you restore the dignity supposedly missing from our capitalist society?

of Bush’s $3 trillion budget for FY 2008, but why is the “conservative” Heritage Foundation praising the president for—are you re