John Stossel v. Ben Stein on Larry King

[ClayTrainor]

I just found this youtube. Stossel and Stein debate economics for a few minutes on larry king.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ80IrtTLoI

Go to 4:30 or so for the stossel segment.

Ben Stein's logic is very baffling in this one

[0zzy]

stein is a mf dumbass,
john the king.

[ClayTrainor]

stein is a mf dumbass,
john the king.

Yea, that's a pretty damn accurate statement if i do say so myself :cool:

[humanic]

Stossel said: "...Government cannot CREATE funds. Government takes from one group, one part of the bathtub, and puts it in the other...."

Stein replied: "John with all due respect as much as I love you... Government DOES create money; they can just write a check. The checks from the Federal Reserve ARE MONEY. They don't have to raise taxes to do this. The checks from the Federal Reserve are money. They should be flooding the society with money, bailing out the auto-industry, bailing out everybody! And-- we can worry about sorting it all out, getting the money out of the society later. They CAN create money; they don't have to tax you or me to get it."

Stossel should have nailed him here. Yes, they can create checkbook "money", but they cannot create WEALTH. Big difference. Inflation IS a tax. Those new FRNS dilute the value of all of the other FRNs in existence. That is the same as a tax. Taking from one group and giving to another is exactly what the government does when they create new money. Inflation or traditional taxation - either way PURCHASING POWER is being transferred.

[ClayTrainor]

Stossel said: "...Government cannot CREATE funds. Government takes from one group, one part of the bathtub, and puts it in the other...."

Stein replied: "John with all due respect as much as I love you... Government DOES create money; they can just write a check. The checks from the Federal Reserve ARE MONEY. They don't have to raise taxes to do this. The checks from the Federal Reserve are money. They should be flooding the society with money, bailing out the auto-industry, bailing out everybody! And-- we can worry about sorting it all out, getting the money out of the society later. They CAN create money; they don't have to tax you or me to get it."

Stossel should have nailed him here. Yes, they can create checkbook "money", but they cannot create WEALTH. Big difference. Inflation IS a tax. Those new FRNS dilute the value of all of the other FRNs in existence. That is the same as a tax. Taking from one group and giving to another is exactly what the government does when they create new money. Inflation or traditional taxation - either way PURCHASING POWER is being transferred.

Yea, John didn't really get fired up like i hoped he would. Ben Stein set him up good there. It blows my mind that Stein actually calls himself a conservative...

[coyote_sprit]

Ben Stein's initials happen to be BS for a reason.

[NYgs23]

Stossel seemed too halting on on edge at the end there. He should have made the point that inflation and "Fed checks" are just a subtler way of shifting the wealth around.

[Matt Collins]

It blows my mind that Stein actually calls himself a conservative...Yeah, I'm starting to lose all respect for him now.

[Matt Collins]

You should see when Stein got into a yelling match with Neil Cavuto a few weeks ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAEAMJ76KHk