Poverty in America, the Bailout, and You

[Twfan55]

Really good blog post about the bailout and its effect on the economy. Very easy to understand and imo a must read.

Check it out
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=5571

[Zephyrus]

So its another solution that isnt going to be pursued. Really nice way to waste my time.

[Admiral Piett]

So its another solution that isnt going to be pursued. Really nice way to waste my time.

Nice attitude.

[Viking Prince]

Not to be a spoil sport, but he is mixing his definitions of poverty:

There are two slightly different versions of the federal poverty measure:

• The poverty thresholds, and
• The poverty guidelines.

The poverty thresholds are the original version of the federal poverty measure. They are updated each year by the Census Bureau (although they were originally developed by Mollie Orshansky of the Social Security Administration). The thresholds are used mainly for statistical purposes — for instance, preparing estimates of the number of Americans in poverty each year. (In other words, all official poverty population figures are calculated using the poverty thresholds, not the guidelines.) Poverty thresholds since 1980 and weighted average poverty thresholds since 1959 are available on the Census Bureau’s Web site. For an example of how the Census Bureau applies the thresholds to a family’s income to determine its poverty status, see “How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty” on the Census Bureau’s web site.

The poverty guidelines are the other version of the federal poverty measure. They are issued each year in the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The guidelines are a simplification of the poverty thresholds for use for administrative purposes — for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. (The full text of the Federal Register notice with the 2008 poverty guidelines is available.)

The poverty guidelines are sometimes loosely referred to as the “federal poverty level” (FPL), but that phrase is ambiguous and should be avoided, especially in situations (e.g., legislative or administrative) where precision is important.

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/08Poverty.shtml

He is also mixing spending with investment transactions. Not all bailout money is expenditure -- actually very little.

He is also criticizing the creation of money out of thin air -- this is simply asserting that we have a fiat monetary system. Not really revealling too much is it? Stealth gold bug?

The guy is a an engineer and a businessman -- he knows nothing about what he is talking about though. They are simply Ron Paul talking points.

Sorry. IMO.

[Sphere]

The article rages against the Feds current monetary policy as leading to inflation, but we are actually in a period where deflation is a much more pressing concern. If money is gaining in value, it is less lucrative to lend it out. This leads to less lending, less investment, and slower economic growth. Both hyper-inflation and stagflation are things to be avoided. You have to manage the level of inflation vs the availibility of money to get the sweet spot were there is ample investment and growth and not too much devaluation of the currency.