Total US unemployment rate hits 17.5%

[drsteph]

Quote from Misthos:

The US elites designed that system just after WWII. The free rider issue, though I believe it's not as significant as you do, does not affect our elites. They are the first to make money from wars, defending Europe, maintaining exorbitant defense budgets, etc...

The bottom 99% is increasingly irrelevant and not part of the dialogue. Your point is moot to the decisionmakers.

Actually, the 'free rider' paradigm is probably the number one maintainer of our reserve currency status. Lets us print and extract the seignorage that has benefitted our population with an increasing standard of living (in nominal terms) over time. Make those folks pay for their own defense and withdraw the Pax Americana and things will get chaotic real fast. Bad for business/ global trade. And bad for a career politician's chances of getting re-elected. Promotes demagoguery, which is bad for everyone in the status quo.

That last point, by the way, is relevant to the discussion. When you force the upper middle and lower upper classes into the proletariat, bad things historically happen. And then you have the voting power to make it happen through demagoguery. Some astute politicians are already seeing this point and positioning accordingly.

Tugwell's ghost speaks again...

 

[Scataphagos]

Quote from Trvlwanderer:

a good "epidemic" reducing world population by 25% would certainly make the tree huggers and cap and tax folks happy.

Best way to reduce carbon IMO.

Inducing government-run healtcare which will allow the bureaucrats to eliminate the elderly before they get "too expensive"... is another.

But don't forget.... your PARENTS will soon be part of that elderly and so will you and your kids, eventually...

If the world were just, there'd be a Logan's Run for the elderly... that is if they could still run...