Should Americans Worry That Foreigners Hold Lots of Dollar Assets?

[Bradley in DC]

http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2007/11/should-american.html

[jon_perez]

ROTFLMAO! And here I was wondering which "shallow web postings of uneducated bloggers" you were referring to....


:D :D :D :D :D :D

[Bradley in DC]

ROTFLMAO! And here I was wondering which "shallow web postings of uneducated bloggers" you were referring to....


:D :D :D :D :D :D

I refer to one by the well-respected chairman of the economics department of a university who's works are often cited in peer-reviewed articles. :p

[fsk]

Just because someone's the chairman of the economics department at a university, doesn't mean they're NOT a troll.

That's like saying that Ben Bernanke is the absolute authority on sound monetary policy. Ben Bernanke is as much a troll as jon_perez. Ben Bernanke is far more dangerous, because he can impose his will on others by force. An obnoxious person on a discussion forum is easily ignored.

There's a major fallacy in the article cited by "Bradley in DC". That assumes that you're dealing with a free market. In a *TRUE* free market, a businessman who tries to discriminate against an employee suffers negative economic consequences. The businessman loses a worker, and the employee can find a job just as good elsewhere.

The USA is *NOT* a free market. It's a communist dictatorship. (http://fskrealityguide.blogspot.com/2007/06/communist-manifestos-successful.html) In many industries, there are only 3-5 employers, frequently located in different cities. An employee who is unfairly fired may be forced to move. The other employers may "check references" and the discriminating businessman may give a false bad reference. A worker can't easily get a job of equal value, because the labor market isn't really a free market.

If universities didn't pass of lies and nonsense as "economic research", we wouldn't be in the mess we're in.

BTW, after careful analysis, I'm more inclined to believe that jon_perez is just a fool rather than a serious professional troll. If he were a serious troll, he would have created several different identities and posted under a bunch of different names. Does he realize that the people trying (pointlessly) to educate him are actually several different people?

[Indy Vidual]

"Should Americans Worry That Foreigners Hold Lots of Dollar Assets?"

We should worry much more that Foreign Governments are about to dump their dollar-based investments.
/First country to switch gets the best prices. :eek:

[sharkcity]

If thier dumb enough to hold USDs they should be allowed. My Canadian real estate investments are up 82% in 4 years- just on currency conversion. Throw in the fact that real estate is up another three fold in British Columbia and there's not a sound reason to hold the greenback. I think we're nearing a low though. Other G20 countries will have to debase to avoid the disruption the dollar is causing. Hate to say it but the USD needed to fall. We're giving up way too much cost advantage to the far east. Inflation will stay low as long as China keeps its Yaun pegged too the USD. Look out below if they let the Yuan float..

[jon_perez]

Just because someone's the chairman of the economics department at a university, doesn't mean they're NOT a troll.Actually, Bradley was referring to Don Boudreaux, the author of the blog entry quoted in the OP.

So what you should have said was that just because someone is the "chairman of the economics department at a university and has written so-called peer-reviewed articles", it does not mean that they are above writing condescending (and frankly speaking, meaningless) tripe like that specific blog entry above. From whichever angle I look, that blog post seems to have been written with schoolchildren in mind. Does Don really have such a low opinion regarding the intellectual ability of his blog readers?

I'm not familiar with Boudreaux's other articles and they may or may not reflect the embarrassingly low intellectual content of the blog post in question, but as you have observed, for Bradley to be making an appeal to academic credentials when it comes to bolstering the credibility of someone he is quoting, but at the same time be so virulently against the [massively, I presume] credentialed eggheads who run the Fed, reeks of hypocrisy and partisanship.

I hope you can spot the specific point I am trying to make and not once again misconstrue this last statement as "aggressively defending" the Fed. :rolleyes:

[Spirit of '76]

Actually, Bradley was referring to Don Boudreaux, the author of the blog entry quoted in the OP.

So what you should have said was that just because someone is the "chairman of the economics department at a university and has written so-called peer-reviewed articles", it does not mean that they are above writing condescending (and frankly speaking, meaningless) tripe like that specific blog entry above. From whichever angle I look, that blog post seems to have been written with schoolchildren in mind. Does Don really have such a low opinion regarding the intellectual ability of his blog readers?

I'm not familiar with Boudreaux's other articles and they may or may not reflect the embarrassingly low intellectual content of the blog post in question, but as you have observed, for Bradley to be making an appeal to academic credentials when it comes to bolstering the credibility of someone he is quoting, but at the same time be so virulently against the [massively, I presume] credentialed eggheads who run the Fed, reeks of hypocrisy and partisanship.

Instead of all the blustering, why not dissect the ideas in the blog posting?

[fsk]

I usually just read the details of what someone writes about. I ignore "credentials". The more someone shows off their credentials, the less likely they are to know what they're talking about.

No, jon_perez was not "aggressively defending" the Fed in the previous post. You have on other occasions, though. I'll try to point it out next time you do it.

The problem is that most of you're trying to compare things written by people with "credentials" with stuff written by "amateurs". The "amateurs" are closer to the truth than the "pros", but the quality of the amateur writing varies (along with that of the pros).

IMHO, jon_perez should really read through my blog, because I think my explanations are good. Once you understand "The Compound Interest Paradox", you'll start to understand. I give detailed examples in some posts.

[jon_perez]

Instead of all the blustering, why not dissect the ideas in the blog posting?What is there to dissect???

The analogy that Boudreaux concocts to explain the deficit situation of the US vis-a-vis the rest of the world is oversimplified to the point of being useless. That's just my opinion, of course. Feel free to explain why I'm wrong.

[Bradley in DC]

Jon is trying, per usual, to obfuscate by creating false premises. I criticized his reference to a website criticizing the gold standard in another thread. He now says I was saying things I did not, but that is his SOP.

[Bradley in DC]

Actually, Bradley was referring to Don Boudreaux, the author of the blog entry quoted in the OP...

I'm not familiar with Boudreaux's other articles.

Well, I guess I should be happy you at least admit you are quick to dismiss and ridicule what you have no idea about. Recognizing you have a problem is the first step... ;)

[Spirit of '76]

The analogy that Boudreaux concocts to explain the deficit situation of the US vis-a-vis the rest of the world is oversimplified to the point of being useless.

How?

[Bradley in DC]

Actually, Bradley was referring to Don Boudreaux, the author of the blog entry quoted in the OP.

I hope you can spot the specific point I am trying to make and not once again misconstrue this last statement as "aggressively defending" the Fed. :rolleyes:

Yes, I was referring to Don, but so was FSK making a good point in the theory but not attacking him specifically. He is right.

You are wrong, of course, to correct him. We can all read each others' posts fine without your help saying everyone says what they don't say but you say they say.

Is English your first language? I can understand your persistent confusion if so, and my apologies for not being more patient.

[fortilite]

It's funny, everyone is looking so hard at whether they will maliciously dump their holdings that they ignore the market answer - if the dollar is plunging investors will ditch their tumbling assets. I don't think the Chinese or anyone else is out to screw us, but I do think they will be forced to. I've stopped investing in US markets, I've given up on the dollar, and I'm a patriot. It won't be nationalism of foreigners that causes a dump, it will be our uncontrolled government spending.

[mordechai]

Yes. It is inherently dangerous.