I have had a business owner, a two neighbors, and family members ask me what are we to do about the economic crisis.
The answer is to study Austrian economics, but since average people do not have the time or inclination to do this, I suggest the following to them:
1) Register Independent. Don't provide the Republicans and Democrats the satisfaction of having you registered in their monopoly on power. Try to imagine a Congressional district in which there were no registered Republicans and Democrats.
2) Cast a blank vote in Federal elections. Continue to vote in State and local elections, but cast a blank vote for President, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representative. It would be a beautiful thing if they held a Presidential election and no one came.
3) Support Ron Paul. Support the Campaign for Liberty. This, I hope, would lead them to the Austrian school.
My question is this: How do we, as students of the Austrian school, respond to "lay people" when they want to know what to do about the economic crisis? (If you bring up Anarcho-Capitalism, even if you are right, I think you will lose them.)
"The market is a process." - Ludwig von Mises, as related by Israel Kirzner. "Capital formation is a beautiful thing" - Chloe732.
Send them a link to this: http://mises.org/daily/3870
If they don't want to learn, then there isn't much you can do for them.
Are they suppose to blindly follow you into what they've been told by the media as a "crazy third-party mindset"? Maybe they will, but they probably won't do any of those three things unless they learn at least some basics.
But I suppose if you can get people to support Austrian economics without knowing anything about it, I guess go for it. It's better than having another pro-government interventionist.
chloe732: 2) Cast a blank vote in Federal elections. Continue to vote in State and local elections, but cast a blank vote for President, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representative. It would be a beautiful thing if they held a Presidential election and no one came.
Why just federal elections? It would be a beautiful thing if nobody voted for anybody.
Robbery: The nation's fastest growing career!
Duties: Giving the people their bread and circuses, extracting payment by force, validating legitimacy, etc.
Job Outlook: Ever increasing and shows no signs of stopping!
Human Action Comics
"....when prices are adjusted for inflation, Americans today spend '40% less on clothes, 20% less on food, more than 50% less on appliances, about 25% less on owning and maintaining a car'than they did during the early 1970s. Over that same period, Census Bureau tables show, US median household income rose by at least 18% in constant dollars . . ."
the above information was at this link http://blog.mises.org/archives/010741.asp#c604991
i dont know for certain if it is true or not. if its true...it doesnt seem like crisis has been a broad problem.
this link http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north555.html states
"There was economic growth, but it was not spectacular after 1973, when real wages grew stagnant for two decades. The stock market did not outperform general economic growth. After taxes, it did not match economic growth."
i dont know it thats true either...i suppose two decades of stgnant wages would be more crisis-like than the first quote. but each seems to cover the same time period?
is there a crisis?
in response to "when prices are adjusted for inflation, Americans today spend '40% less on clothes, 20% less on food, more than 50% less on appliances, about 25% less on owning and maintaining a car'than they did during the early 1970s. Over that same period, Census Bureau tables show, US median household income rose by at least 18% in constant dollars . . ."
i received this reply "
bbnet replied on 11-12-2009 9:09 AM
sthomper: if the figures i posted earlier about lower prices for many goods is true, and the prices have decreased in relation to wages from 3 decades ago....is the current money regime a 'bad' thing?
Yes, the positives mentioned are a product of the evolving market, not the current money regime and would be even more positive if the market was freer."
here http://mises.org/Community/forums/p/11896/269141.aspx
so is the crisis really one of monetary de-governmentalization...as the masses go rushing to commodity metals as money??
or is the crisis that "the current money regime would be even more positive..." can that be proven?