The Reader's Digest Condensed Version of "The Road to Serfdom"

I am rereading Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom”, and doing a little outside research on Hayek’s views.

Today I was looking up a quote on deflation, that I had seen previously, in response to a post I saw by R. S. McCain. McCain seems to like the idea of deflation, whereas my understanding is that most economists consider deflation to be much more damaging to an economy than mild to moderate inflation. During the course of digging up the quote I was looking for I came across the April 1945 Reader’s Digest condensed version of “The Road to Serfdom”. I have never seen this version before and I think it is probably safe to assume that most people currently jumping on the Hayek bandwagon haven’t either so I am linking it here for the curious.

BTW – the quote I was looking for was:

“I agree with Milton Friedman that once the Crash had occurred, the Federal Reserve System pursued a silly deflationary policy. I am not only against inflation but I am also against deflation. So, once again, a badly programmed monetary policy prolonged the depression.”

The silly deflationary policy that Hayek is referring to was a failure of the Federal Reserve to inflate the monetary supply to combat deflation.The deflationary cycle is described in Wikipedia:

During the Crash of 1929 preceding the Great Depression, margin requirements were only 10%.^[12] Brokerage firms, in other words, would lend $9 for every $1 an investor had deposited. When the market fell, brokers called in these loans, which could not be paid back. Banks began to fail as debtors defaulted on debt and depositors attempted to withdraw their deposits en masse, triggering multiple bank runs. Government guarantees and Federal Reserve banking regulations to prevent such panics were ineffective or not used. Bank failures led to the loss of billions of dollars in assets.^[13] Outstanding debts became heavier, because prices and incomes fell by 20–50% but the debts remained at the same dollar amount. After the panic of 1929, and during the first 10 months of 1930, 744 US banks failed. (In all, 9,000 banks failed during the 1930s). By April 1933, around $7 billion in deposits had been frozen in failed banks or those left unlicensed after the March Bank Holiday.^[14]

Bank failures snowballed as desperate bankers called in loans, which the borrowers did not have time or money to repay. With future profits looking poor, capital investment and construction slowed or completely ceased. In the face of bad loans and worsening future prospects, the surviving banks became even more conservative in their lending.^[13] Banks built up their capital reserves and made fewer loans, which intensified deflationary pressures. A vicious cycle developed and the downward spiral accelerated.

The liquidation of debt could not keep up with the fall of prices it caused. The mass effect of the stampede to liquidate increased the value of each dollar owed, relative to the value of declining asset holdings. The very effort of individuals to lessen their burden of debt effectively increased it. Paradoxically, the more the debtors paid, the more they owed.^[11] This self-aggravating process turned a 1930 recession into a 1933 great depression.

I don't know if this view is correct or not, but it appears that Hayek agreed with it, at least in part. I am not going to claim that he wholeheartedly endorsed all of the Monetarist's conclusions, just that he would have attempted to prevent the deflationary cycle.

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Another anniversary

The Fourth of July is also the anniversary of what I would argue is one of the most (if not THE most) iconic non-political speeches in American history:



I don't care if you hate the Yankees, if you don't get the sniffles while watching that, you're a pinko commie dickface.

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Why do we celebrate the 4th of July (Kinda NSFW)

kinda funny (unless you are a stickler for American History and a Glenn Beck fan) and the payoff at the end is worth it:

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Too awesome not to be posted

Even on this, America Fuck Yeah Day.

From TFLN obviously:


(562): the black eye was caused by a 12 year old girl in a vampire costume who punched you in the face after you aggresively screamed "TEAM JACOB!" in her face & howled at the moon...

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Adopted in Congress 4 July 1776

Fuck the rest of the world. Fuck the old order of things. Fuck the ancien regime mindset. Fuck the Divine Right of Kings. And fuck tyranny and being treated like shit with the fuckspear from the flying fuckeagle of freedom. And fuck everybody who has tried to limit, prevent, or hinder our ability to achieve life, liberty, and the fucking pursuit of happiness.

That's right, refuse and fuckwaste from the fuckquarry of fuckheadedness, we have indeed created a new world. We have fucking told the monarchies and strongmen of the world that WE THE MOTHERFUCKING PEOPLE consent to be governed, not the other fucking way around, something unheard of then and rarely achieved yet today. And the fact that this is so revolutionary and unique to this day, and that this experiment made public 230+ years ago still stands, is a testament to how fucking righteous and true it is and how fucking blessed we are to have had those risk takers and brave folks assembled in Philadelpia that year.

Have we made mistakes? Sadly, we have. But this date a long time ago set into motion the series of events which would help make the world more rewarding, safer, and better for those able to enjoy the freedoms we take for granted. And anybody who refuses to acknowledge what an awesomely radical and glorious achievement began and continues to unfold to this day needs to fuck off with a flintlock soaked in cannonfucking.

So celebrate, my fellow Americans, but never forget how fucking lucky we are to live in this free land. And fuck anybody with John Hancock's handcock if they don't like it.

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Located - John Fitzgerald Page's video resume

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Oh. my. word.

Yeah. VDH has had it up to there.

1. Some Vice Presidential wisdom: Most might now think it to be safer to go hunting with Dick Cheney than to be in a hotel room with Al Gore.

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This pisses me off

This driver was flicking cigarette ashes out his window in Rocky Mountain National Park today.

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Orson Welles on the Battle Hymn of the Republic

A little something for Independence Day weekend:

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Get thee to a nuthouse

St. Andrew of the Blessed Heart-Ache (no link, natch) continues to plumb the depths of insanity with a post titled "Why Does Sarah Palin's Vajayjay Trig Matter? Ctd":

You know the MSM is more interested in preserving their reputations on the far right than in seeking the truth.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Seriously, though, someone needs to commit this guy to the rubber room if he truly thinks that ABCBCNBCCNNTIMENYTWAPONEWSWEEK is in the tank for Sarah Palin.

So it's up to the blogs of regular people to keep these people accountable.

Yes, because it's not like the Dem-oriented press spent thousands of dollars to send reporters up to Alaska to dig up dirt on Palin while, at the same time, doing absolutely nothing to look at Obama's background. And I'm not talking about his birth certificate. I don't doubt that he was born in Hawaii. I'm talking about his college and on-the-job records.

All anyone is asking for is documentation and we can all move on. All I have ever asked for is for Palin to prove I am a fool for even asking.

You're not a fool. Calling you a fool would be generous. You're a dangerously obsessed nutjob.

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Yuengling Expanding?

Yuengling expanding!

At 7 p.m. July 14, the Port Carbon Zoning Hearing Board will review, and possibly approve, a variance application submitted by Yuengling concerning the expansion project, Herndon said.

"It's a dimensional variance for height," according to Charles M. Ross, director of the Schuylkill County Planning and Zoning Commission.

If the borough's zoning board approves that variance, then the county planning and zoning commission will review the company's subdivision and land development plans, Ross said.

"We're awaiting Port Carbon's decision on the zoning permit before we'll proceed," Ross said Wednesday.

The Yuengling Beer Company at Mill Creek was built in 2000 and started production in September 2001.

Seaman said demand for Yuengling beer has encouraged the company to think of ways to produce more.

"We're trying to keep up with demand. It's been obvious over the last couple of years that demand out of this plant has increased to the point where pretty much on a weekly and monthly basis, we require more beer. We've been talking about for the last year or so and decided in the last six months to go through with this," Seaman said.

Please let this mean I don't have to go out East to get Yuengling!

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John Fitzgerald Page (aka The Male Jacqueline Mackie Paisley Passey aka The World's Worst Person) is back...

UPDATE:  Extra special douchey update below the fold.

and this time he is trying to extort $1,000 from a 19 year old girl.

If you don't remember Mr. Page (hereafter "douche") he made the news in 2007 when Gawker.com dubbed him the world's worst person after an e-mail exchange he had with a potential match on match.com went viral. Douche apparently couldn't handle being rejected after laying out his numerous charms for the lady and responded to her "no thanks" thusly:

I think you forgot how this works. You hit on me, and therefore have to impress ME and pass MY criteria and standards - not vice versa. 6 pictures of just your head and your inability to answer a simple question lets me know one thing. You are not in shape. I am a trainer on the side, in fact, I am heading to the gym in 26 minutes!

So next time you meet a guy of my caliber, instead of trying to turn it around, just get to the gym! I will even give you one free training session, so you don't blow it with the next 8.9 on Hot or Not, Ivy League grad, Mensa member, can bench/squat/leg press over 1200 lbs., has had lunch with the secretary of defense, has an MBA from the top school in the country, lives in a Buckhead high rise, drives a Beemer convertible, has been in 14 major motion pictures, was in Jezebel's Best dressed, etc. Oh, that is right, there aren't any more of those!

Regards,

John Douche

To fully understand what a prize Douche is you need to watch this interview he gave to CBS News:

OK, so now you have the background and we can move on to today's story. Apparently since the last time we met him Douche has started a talent agency in Atlanta in which he sends the models on publicly advertised casting calls and then collects (according to gawker) large commissions. A 19 year old girl figured out what he was doing and via a reply all to an email let everyone else know. Douche then tried to wring a little money out of her:

Subject: "Your options: APOLOGIZE/SETTLE/GET SUED" He tells the girls "I am going to educate you to a bit and then give you your options."

...

1) APOLOGIZE. I need a full, heartfelt, detailed apology, which I will send to all affected talent. You had nothing to lose by working with me, and everything to gain. If I made you $100 this year, you were up $100!

OR

2) Pay me $1000 settlement EACH by Sunday at midnight. This is to make up for commissions lost today and in the future, by you actively revealing my business sources to my talent. And your attempt to damage my reputation, question my intelligence and reduce my talent pool. Also, my name or my business name is never to cross your lips again.

OR

3) On Monday, I will begin the legal process to sue you both for the sum of $100,000 for defamation of character, libel, slander, current and future loss of income & talent pool. I will probably win an out of court settlement from you for $10K each pretty easily, based on the emails you each wrote that I have forwarded to my counsel.

After Rebecca called him and told him to fuck off, basically, Page Douche reiterated his accomplishments and demands in a new email. Adding, this time,

My legal team is prepared, I expect to hear from you ASAP about which option you want to explore. You stood your ground as tiny mouse against a cat, now that you recognize that cat is a mountain lion, maybe you will come to your senses.

Now personally I don't really have a problem with Douche's business model.  If the girls aren't smart enough to check the papers themselves that's on them.  I do have a problem with him threatening someone because they figured out what he was doing and warned others.  Let's face it he knew he wasn't really providing a valuable service, when people contract with an agent they do so because they believe they are gaining access to people / events that they wouldn't ordinarily have, if you think you are smart enough to play off that belief without actually delivering you have no room for complaint when you are caught.

To really get a full view of Douche's douchieness check out his playlist and the underlying theme of the titles.  (Normally I wouldn't point this out because God knows I make my share of spelling errors, and like everyone I make mistakes of fact, but I don't manage to work my MENSA membership into every conversation; that said song number 3 in his play list is Big Bad John and the artist is listed as Jonny Cash.  First, Jimmy Dean sang "Big Bad John", second, it's Johnny Cash not Jonny.  If I was MENSA I think I would be reviewing that membership. )

more...

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When You've Lost AC360.....

Via

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Math is hard...

So hard it causes the capacitors on Dell computers to fail:

Dell, along with many other manufacturers of PCs, used capacitors produced by Nichicon, a Japanese electronics giant. According to court documents [PDF] in the suit against Dell brought by a major customer, Nichicon sold faulty capacitors, a key motherboard component, that leaked and failed with alarming regularity -- and Dell knew it.

...

Dell didn't make those capacitors, but once the company knew they were faulty, it obviously had a duty to its customers to recall the affected machines. It didn't. Instead it covered up the problems, relying on ridiculous excuses and blaming its customers.

According to the Times, when the University of Texas complained that its Dell PCs were failing, the company said the school's math department had pushed them too hard, making them solve difficult calculations.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what computers are supposed to do? I work in the ITE industry (or worked actually until I find another ITE job) and I remember the Taiwanese capacitor fiasco very well. It wasn't just Dell that was affected, but most companies fessed up to it immediately.

If the title seems familiar that's because it is

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Darkon? More like Dorkon

I have never really understood the SCA types. I knew a bunch when I was a teenager (actually a lot of them are still active in it) and I kind of hung on the fringes because I liked the armor and stuff but I never understood getting so completely immersed in something like this that it totally affects your everyday life.

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Brilliant!

See if you can find the flaw in the, um, "reasoning" here...

Metrolink, the commuter rail service that serves five Southern California counties, is raising fares an average of 6% to help cover a decline in ridership and revenue. The increase is expected to raise $3.3 million next year.

This sort of thing happens out here (and I'm quite sure everywhere else elected or appointed government dumbasses are in charge) at least once every few years. The last instance I can remember off the top of my head was when the LAX parking garages decided that they would raise fees because cheaper surrounding private garages were luring away customers.

Stupid assholes.

Posted by: Sean M. at 12:51 AM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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If there was ever a reason to give up WoW

this is it.

700 pd Ninjitsu master shows how she rolls by calling out former guildies:

I don't whether [know] we should blame video games for violence, or Pillsbury for being so delicious.

Posted by: chad98036 at 08:38 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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Hitchens has esophageal cancer

I was never a big Hitch fan, but this is very sad news, I cannot begin to tell you how horrible a way esophageal cancer is to go, my great grandfather died from it.  And I hate to sound so concrete on that, but esophageal cancer is one of those ones that is pretty much a death sentence. 

And yes, Allah's got that right, cigarettes and excess alcohol will absolutely do this to you, it was rare to see my great grandfather without a lit cigarette in his mouth until his health started going downhill.  Which is why you'll never, ever see me touch a cigarette (well, that and they smell wretched and cheap, yes it's partly tobacco snobbery, too), and only smoke a pipe or cigar on occasion. 

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 12:29 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Very Small l

Via Say Uncle, a Libertarian Purity Test


I scored 49, I would assume because I don't want to privatize the police, the courts and the military and I'm against leaving the world to blow itself up.

I've been avoiding the intertubes a lot lately, work is a little crazy right now. Hopefully in a week or two you can expect more inanity and sophmoroic posts.

Oh, and hopefully I'll post more too.

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