[ExI] Summer weather and COVID-19

Sun May 24 14:19:51 UTC 2020

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of John Clark via extropy-chat
Sent: Sunday, May 24, 2020 7:01 AM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Cc: John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [ExI] Summer weather and COVID-19

On Sun, May 24, 2020 at 9:03 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org <mailto:extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> > wrote:

> We point out the obvious to those who would loan the Fed money: this is a risky investment and getting more so.  You might never get your money back. 

>…That will never happen simply because unlike matter, energy and momentum money is not conserved. The Federal Reserve has the legal right to effectively create money from nothing…

Ja, we know it well: the print more money argument.  If they do that, then those who lent real money are paid back in play money, diluted currency.  They will not do that again.  This is a strategy that can be used only once.

>…And whatever the dangers that immediately printing vast amounts of new money may be they are trivial compared to the dangers of not doing it…

Plenty of lenders are coming to that realization.  The ones still lending to the US are clearly not dealing with reality.

>… In the last couple of months the income to 40 million American families has dropped to zero and they've also lost their health coverage during the worst pandemic in a century that has already killed 100,000 Americans with no end in sight…

Ja, so now the fed’s revenue drops dramatically.  How are they going to cover that?

>…and all those unemployed people are not going to just die quietly…

That’s right.  They are saying to hell with the government, we need our jobs.  What are they going to do, arrest everyone?  Then what?

It has been interesting to watch in California.  The fed has chosen to stand down on the stay-home business, the state government has mostly stepped aside.  Counties are still making demands, but cities are generally not following.  I haven’t heard of sheriffs making arrests over businesses which refuse to close.  At some point, economic reality demand it: the show must go on.  We have bills to pay.

Schools: many questions there.  Few solutions.

>…If the federal government refuses to create money and give emergency aid to the 

American people then the federal government will not be around for much longer…

John, was it not you who said we don’t need a militia?  Are you still saying that now?

>…and neither will the constitution. I don't know what will replace it but it won't be pretty.  John K Clark

Sounds like you and I eventually converged in our vision of the future.  The difference is that we disagree on whether the print-more-cash notion is a solution.  I say it isn’t.  It has been tried before.  Things went badly.  My suggestion is to cut federal government to match government revenue.  You are right: that won’t be pretty.

spike

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