Division of Labour: Not quite what the founders had in mind?

December 19, 2009

Not quite what the founders had in mind?

In this Bloomberg story Senator (but seemingly not Statesman) Reid lets us know exactly why the past two elections were so important for those who prefer more rather than less liberty and less rather than more statism - and also why the rest of the country will be paying for the entire increase in medicare/medicaid costs for Nebraska (and probably Louisiana as well):

"A number of states are treated differently than other states," Reid told reporters. "That's what legislation is all about. Compromise."

I guess I missed that lecture during my political science class in college.

I am sure I don't know what legislation is "all about" but I am not so happy that it entails, in the eyes of the current (and past?) leadership, treating the states differently. In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged legislation and regulation morphed into the codified whims and pragmatism of the "Aristocracy of Pull." However, her point, in my reading, was that legislation that specifically aimed at carving out special exemptions for one state or region are a symptom of a deeper problem in the body politic.

It is fine for Ben Nelson to "secure" federal funding for Nebraska - but that federal funding doesn't materialize out of thin air (unless the good folks in Washington turn on the money press) but rather comes from us in Charlotte and Auburn and Spokane. Now, I am ticked at my Senator for not being #60 and getting the good folks of Lincoln (Neb) to finance the expansion of I-485 or helping Concord with the subsidies we "promised" to a local Speedway owner. After all, if money is on the table then I should be participating in the receiving not the giving. This reminds me of libertarian reporter John Stossel admitting to taking federal money to rebuild his hurricane damaged/destroyed house twice(!)*.

Of course that is exactly the problem - everyone wants everyone else to pay for their stuff and, in the end, the politicians are only too happy to facilitate - with a little help from the muzzle of a gun (taxes) and the mint's printing press (inflation).

I am fairly certain this is not what the (Federalist) founders had in mind.

Four predictions of what will happen (or not happen) after "reconciliation" (which this time around has too much irony for comfort):

1. small businesses do not expand because of uncertainty in exactly how much the reformed health insurance will cost, thereby prolonging the recovery or perhaps driving us into the "double dip" (this is already in the air among small business owners I know);

2. some tanning salons will go out of business (what is the price elasticity of demand for tanning machines?) and some of their customers will a) turn to good ol' Sol for their tanning needs thereby leading to more skin cancer than before (that one might be hard to test) or b) go the chemical route for their tanning needs with unknown unintended(?) consequences;

2b. After many rural tanning/hair/nail salons go out of business there arises a black market for tanning beds, permanents, and pedicures. This black market, what with those providing the tannings/perms/pedicures not licensed and trained by the state will lead to claims of even more health problems. This, in turn, will lead to the need for a new bureaucracy to crack down on this illicit black market and allowed to make a few "examples" out of the new criminal class;

3. medical tourism will almost expand in Barbados, Bermuda, Belize and other pleasant environs south. When it becomes apparent that (gasp, rich) folks are going out-of-the system to gain access to medical procedures without the wait/red tape/bureacracy, the Federal government will impose nearly prohibitive taxes on foreign-applied medical procedures purchased by U.S. citizens. This will also require a new bureacracy and attempts to gain access to U.S. citizen medical records that reside in another country, similar to what was recently wrested from Switzerland.

I'm sure there are more (funny and/or scary) predictions. If anyone thinks of clever side-effects of the probable reforms, I "tag out."

* As he wrote in a 2004 Reason magazine article titled "Confessions of a Welfare Queen."

Posted by Craig Depken at 04:50 PM in Economics

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The Science of Debt Dependent Saturation Macroeconomics

Terminal Quantum Fractal Progressions - Identifying the Wilshire's 11 October 2007 Secondary High

The Huffington Post prospectively 'published' the exact high day for the Wilshire; the world's highest valuation equity composite index.

The exact high for the Wilshire on October 11 2007 was prospectively predicted by the science of saturation macroeconomics. The science of saturation macroeconomics as defined by quantum fractal growth and decay of macroeconomic system's countervailing debt, on the one hand, and commodity and equity, on the other 'investment' instruments has now retrospectively indicated the final secondary high for the Wilshire.

Speculative money rotating from equity and commodity speculative instrument that flowed into global debt instruments driving the US ten year note, as way of a sovereign debt proxy, to its 150 year low at 2.04 percent on 18 December 2008 well matched the Wilshire's initial nodal low at 7400 on 21 December 2008. With the 150 year low long term interest, speculative money began flowing back into equities which had lateral growth and thereafter downward growth until 6 March 2009, completing a 7/16 week x/2-2.5x fractal sequence.

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Since 6 March 2009 the Wilshire completed a fractal sequence formed by the earlier 7/16 week first and second fractal series. A 7/16/19 week fractal series completed the first of two final fractal growth periods.

The 19 weeks of the 7/16/19 first fractal series were composed of a daily fractal series of 17/38/35 days :: x/2-2.5x/2x with a nonlinear drop seen on the minute unit charts on the 38th day of the second fractal.

The second fractal series is composed currently of 6/12/7 weeks :: x/2x/1x or 27/55/33 days. The 27th day of the third fractal is nested in a cup 5 days from the likely secondary Wilshire high on 4 December and the secondary high on 16 December 2009.

Since 9 December 2009 the Wilshire has followed a 15/32/15 hour :: x/2-2.5x/x fractal growth series ending on Friday 18 December 2009 with the characteristic nonlinear drop on the 31st hour of the second fractal. The final 15 hour is composed of a 3/8/6 hour fractal x/2.5x/2x or a 12/24/20 :: x/2x/1.6x 15 minute fractal.

On Friday 18 December the Wilshire reached its second and (relatively) final lower high of a 27/55/27 day x/2x/x fractal followed by a 15/32/15 hour : x/2x/x
fractal. Incipient nonlinearity of a major degree is expected on Monday 21 December 2009.

Possible fractal decay progressions using the 6/12/7 week fractal sequence (decay is confluent with and begins in terminal apical growth) are: 6/12/12 weeks or 6/12/12/9 weeks with the third fractal (of the latter fractal series) 12th a final third much lower high.

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