Disastrous Economic Fallacies - Terror as Stimulus?

Do natural disasters, earthquakes, or wars stimulate an economy and create growth? Did World War 2 get the US out of the Great Depression? Frederic Bastiat explained why such thinking is fallacious. More information on the Bastiat Legacy Project is available at www.AtlasNetwork.org/BastiatLegacy, and for more videos like this from Atlas view www.vimeo.com/atlasagi

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• liberty
• justice
• libertarian
• peace
• paul krugman
• frederic bastiat
• broken window
• economic fallacies
• 9/11
• terrorism
• world war 2
• stimulus
• keynesian economics
• austrian economics
• free markets
• freedom
• hayek
• mises
• ron paul
• austin petersen

[Coteincdr]

Bastiat was the bad ass of economist!! hahaha

[TheTomGPalmer]

@drewm4355 Money is not wealth. Money is a means of exchange. If I have $100,000,000 in dollar bills in the middle of the desert, but not a glass of water to keep me alive, I am not wealthy. (And printing money, like in Zimbabwe, doesn't make you richer; you have more money, but can't buy more stuff.) If you break a window, there is *less wealth.* Money may move from tailor to baker, but wealth was still destroyed. The tornado in Joplin made people poorer; it was not "good for the economy"

[IcyScythe]

So if WW2 didnt get us out of the great depression what did?

[deckert]

An additional scenario is the increased divorce rates in the United States. We say, "Wow divorce rates are up that is really unfortunate," but to follow the same consistent argument, we must say divorce is good. Divorce allows for two times the expenditure on housing, utilities perhaps, furnishings, etc... This perverse though could not be further from the reality of the world. Society's well being is significantly less.

[Zyworski]

This makes me think of the old commercial where the guy would say, "we are the price busters", right as he puts a sledge hammer through a television set. now deep down in my heart of hearts I know that trashing a tv set didn't do his profit loss statement any good, but there are people out there who would rush out to buy a tv from the price buster.

[AroundSun]

@Squiglypig Of course, who isn't going to take free money? But ask yourself, who is giving it away! Who is opening up the treasury doors to these people? THE POLITICIANS! Why do they do this? Because they are bribed and lobbied!! 

[Squiglypig]

@AroundSun If anything the bailouts goes to show that the corps are completely hypocritical when it comes to economic models. Normally they'd say that socialism won't help any form of economy and that pure capitalism is the way to go, but when socialism can help them in a time of need it's only the right thing to do.

[AroundSun]

@shadesters Libertarianism is the future. We have no choice. We're broke and people are waking up

[shadesters]

@AroundSun True, but those relationships are pretty much set in concrete, and we can't sever their ties, because the people in power keep everything the way they want it, regardless of what the people want, even though government is supposed to be for the people... We need a good flushing out of government, and I don't see that happening anytime soon... people will always wait until it's too late... when will it be too late this time? When unemployment hits 20%?

[AroundSun]

@shadesters Bailouts are a form of fascism and corporate socialism. Capitalism is not to blame, the federal reserve central bank and the cushy relationships between big business and Washington are to blame for every economic problem we face today.

[shadesters]

@AroundSun You would be right, if the banks were still lending, which they really aren't... I am not saying we need to go socialist or fall, but we need some improvements... like more taxes for the rich and less kickbacks for CEOs of failing businesses... it was the high variable interest rates and bad lending that helped fuel the latest mortgage crisis, and then we bailed the banks out, and they still give their CEOs millions in bonuses? Only in America can you reward failure...

[AroundSun]

@shadesters There is no such thing as hoarding. They can only invest or spend. Even if they save it in a bank, which there is every incentive to do so, it is still lowering interest rates for the ordinary people to get educational loans, consumer loans, cars, and mortgages. Granted we are in a free economy that grows by saving and producing rather than borrowing and consuming.