File this under the If it wasn’t so pathetic you’d have to laugh category.
Boris Johnson just declared that ‘project fear is over’ and everyone’s fine. No problems with anyone’s pensions, retirement savings, etc.
He obviously hasn’t looked at anyone’s pensions, retirement savings, etc.
Meanwhile markets around the world are again in freefall. They just had to suspend RBS and Barclays shares
But no one has been hurt. Not a single pension has been hurt due to Brexit. Not a single one.
Turns out he has more in common with Trump than just the hairstyles and the hatred of Muslims.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-boris-johnson-banks-economy-rbs-barclays-consequences-project-fear-latest-news-a7105311.html
You have some of the biggest banks in London being shaved to the tune of 25% but no one has been hurt. No one is seeing their pension hit.
Regarding a debate that Greg and I have had on Brexit, here is what someone who lives there says. This is my Uncle Paul who wrote this in an email
"We'll just have to see how this, to my mind, national tragedy plays out. Im too upset to talk about it rationally at the moment - I had been thinking of moving to Holland for the summers to play music with my friend, then buy a little place in Spain for the winter - all impossible now. They've taken away a continent of opportunity and given us half a broken, small island in return.
"Maybe there will be an upside that I cant see."
I guess I shouldn't provide a link as this is a private email conversation. I have to say the Brits are particularly cold blooded to still vote for this after Jo Cox's assassination.
But it gets you to thinking. Greg argues that the EU should have been structured differently from the beginning.
I don't know if that's true or not but here's what I can say. There is a time path dependent nature to things. The best system at year zero is not the same as the best system at year 10 much less year 70.
This has screwed a lot of people. Saying that we should have a more virtuous system from the start does nothing to help them now.
After years of struggling as my accounting degree was worthless and all I could get was service jobs, I finally seemed to get a little luck with my inheritance. Now this being destroyed too.
The idea that this will enable the Brits in some long time in the future to learn the virtues of MMT is small comfort to me. It's no comfort whatsoever.
What we may have to do now is keep a British bank account and just take out small amounts as time goes on-assuming the pound ever stops hemorrhaging.
As to the EU it confirms my own instincts. Usually you're better off with evolution and not revolution. I said usually. There are extreme situations that this is not the case.
But this was not one of those cases.
Boris Johnson just declared that ‘project fear is over’ and everyone’s fine. No problems with anyone’s pensions, retirement savings, etc.
He obviously hasn’t looked at anyone’s pensions, retirement savings, etc.
Meanwhile markets around the world are again in freefall. They just had to suspend RBS and Barclays shares
But no one has been hurt. Not a single pension has been hurt due to Brexit. Not a single one.
Turns out he has more in common with Trump than just the hairstyles and the hatred of Muslims.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-boris-johnson-banks-economy-rbs-barclays-consequences-project-fear-latest-news-a7105311.html
You have some of the biggest banks in London being shaved to the tune of 25% but no one has been hurt. No one is seeing their pension hit.
Regarding a debate that Greg and I have had on Brexit, here is what someone who lives there says. This is my Uncle Paul who wrote this in an email
"We'll just have to see how this, to my mind, national tragedy plays out. Im too upset to talk about it rationally at the moment - I had been thinking of moving to Holland for the summers to play music with my friend, then buy a little place in Spain for the winter - all impossible now. They've taken away a continent of opportunity and given us half a broken, small island in return.
"And the UK itself is dead when Scotland leaves. Sadly, I feel that our country has been destroyed and that it wont be fixed in my lifetime; theres been a right wing coup here and we will now see racist gangs in the streets as they have been so emboldened by what they see as majority support. Beautiful Jo Cox has already been assasinated by them. But the turkeys just voted for Christmas so we're all at the party!
"Maybe there will be an upside that I cant see."
I guess I shouldn't provide a link as this is a private email conversation. I have to say the Brits are particularly cold blooded to still vote for this after Jo Cox's assassination.
But it gets you to thinking. Greg argues that the EU should have been structured differently from the beginning.
I don't know if that's true or not but here's what I can say. There is a time path dependent nature to things. The best system at year zero is not the same as the best system at year 10 much less year 70.
This has screwed a lot of people. Saying that we should have a more virtuous system from the start does nothing to help them now.
After years of struggling as my accounting degree was worthless and all I could get was service jobs, I finally seemed to get a little luck with my inheritance. Now this being destroyed too.
The idea that this will enable the Brits in some long time in the future to learn the virtues of MMT is small comfort to me. It's no comfort whatsoever.
What we may have to do now is keep a British bank account and just take out small amounts as time goes on-assuming the pound ever stops hemorrhaging.
But this was not one of those cases.
"Greg argues that the EU should have been structured differently from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if that's true or not but here's what I can say. There is a time path dependent nature to things. The best system at year zero is not the same as the best system at year 10 much less year 70.
This has screwed a lot of people. Saying that we should have a more virtuous system from the start does nothing to help them now. "
Thats a slight oversimplification of my position Mike. I won't get into this all day again with you cuz its understandably a sore subject with you and I wish no ill will.
So this is all I will say regarding this comment;
Not only do I say the system was designed poorly I say it was actually designed with this outcome in mind. The intent was to eliminate any govt form having a chance to use fiscal policy, under the guise of "we have no more money!!!"
You are right that a lot of people have been screwed, even prior to Brexit the screwing was happening DAILY!
Are you really going to feign "I dont know if the problem was the original design or not" ?
Saying we should have a more virtuous system is not just words and in fact saying it over and over is the ONLY thing that can change things! Its funny how everyone that gets hurt asks for help. Why is that? Same reason everyone thinks everyone ELSE is overpaid. None of this will get better til something fundamental is altered.
I disagree. You may feel you know what the intent was, I don't know that myself.
DeleteWhen the first idea of EU was pushed it was just after WWII.
I still think you underestimate the accomplishment of ending European conflict.
Now that was a more Keynesian age. Keynes had designed Bretton Woods, etc.
If there was a prejudice against fiscal stimulus it probably came later with the rise of the anti Keynesian economics of the 80s, etc.
"You are right that a lot of people have been screwed, even prior to Brexit the screwing was happening DAILY! "
More people are getting screwed now then before. Anyone struggling before is still struggling. No one's life has improved in any way by that vote.
Meanwhile many are now seeing their savings and retirement hit.
Maybe some day the British will elect some kind of enlightened leadership after electing Cameron twice and now maybe Boris Johnson.
Why am I personally feel better if maybe some think that their 1000 year goals might in some vague way have been advanced?
Even if this is true-and it probably isn't-it won't be me that benefits. Great to be a victim to some utopian time years in the future.
Clearly the people against Brexit were just fear mongering.
The EU structure could have been improved. And outside the euro it had a lot of positive effects as my uncle's sketch makes clear.
I don't buy that the EU is all bad and was always intended to be bad.
I think the economic fashions changed for the worse.
I still like evolution better. The idea that you only can change anything by blowing everything up has no historical proof behind it.
Regarding MMT, I think there are a number of good insights-though I haven't thought all of it through yet.
DeleteI think the better ideas absolutely can be picked up over time.
Even in the US, you see the Dems moving in the right direction. They now have ruled out entitlement cuts and no longer even in principle believe in a balanced budget anymore.
The Obama Administration is now in principle of a small structural deficit.
In 2011 they were still for balancing the budget.
Things rarely work out in an all or nothing proposition.
There is a huge difference between when the Euro project was conceived and when it actually began. And really its not controversial as to the whys and hows the "choice" was made to only have a European CB as the only supranational entity. It was to make sure only monetary policy could be used in a counter cyclical situation not fiscal policies. Each individual govt had to "get" their Euros from the private sector because according to the Chicago school/DSGE/Rational Expect/IGBC believing crowd these were "proven ideas, that had made Keynes' ideas about a govts capacity obsolete.
DeleteSo in fact I'm not just throwing out a conspiracy theory. The current guys might brag a little less about it today but they were bragging about the ideas then. And it wasn't just right leaning econ guys either. Krugman, DeLong and co are in the same camp for the most part. They only slightly differ about responses "at the zero bound".
Interestingly though, none of them ever thought we would see this situation again. They thought they had solved the riddle of financial crises and severe recessions/depressions.
So, if your models basically tell you that none of what we have seen the last 8 years was even possible/conceivable, exactly how much should we trust them or trust your faith in them.
Here is my real snark comment of the day (warning)
If these CBs cant manage a "crisis" in an economy as small as Britains (less than 5% of worlds NGDP) how can we trust then with something bigger.
Dont worry, they got this.
(Snark off)
The ECB is not relevant to the issue of Brexit as Britain has the BOE and the pound.
DeleteI'm glad you think they've got it buddy. England is in total anarchy right now. Nobody has got anything. They don't even have a leader.
Regarding the ECB they are less than a 20 year institution. You can argue that it was built in the image of the Bundesbank and on Monetarist lines-though Milton Friedman himself as well as Krugman warned all along that it wouldn't work.
I didn't say ECB Mike I said CBs, which is BOE primarily but the ECB has to handle the Euro fallout.
DeleteMy larger point was to say that Britain is tiny on the world scale, if these CBs (all of them) cant corral this "contagion"( as they are so fond of saying )then they are worthless. Equivalent to a doctor not knowing how to handle 1 kid with a virus in a kindergarten class.
I will say though that Britains importance psychologically to the western world is larger than its 1/25th or so of world GDP. Rightly or wrongly we place muuuuch more concern here in the US on the Brits than we do say China. People here were hoping for a China collapse when the news about their economy wasn't completely rosy, which would have been waaaay more devastating globally than what will actually be the result from a.... probably never gonna happen-Brexit.
We are still silly little tribal monkeys........ and we try and deny it instead of understand it...... which is the whole globes problem.
Ok, Greg, as long as you're still in the game, here's my newest post on the EU
Deletehttp://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2016/06/on-evolution-of-eu.html
Oh and this;
ReplyDelete"As to the EU it confirms my own instincts. Usually you're better off with evolution and not revolution. I said usually. There are extreme situations that this is not the case. "
If you think what we have is evolution, or even consistent with evolutionary principles you dont understand evolution. What we have is "pseudo intellectual design". There is nothing evolution like in the arrangement of the EU. It is top down control by a few powerful people
As Greg pointed out in a link he posted (in another of your posts Mike) to a good article on the subject, "Project Fear" is not over, it's just started, ESPECIALLY for Boris and Nigel. (Thanks for posting Greg).
ReplyDelete