Project for Philosophical Evaluations of the Economy |
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The Bush spending vs. the Obama spending
Dialogue with the Alter Ego, first drafted on Feb. 19, published on March 10, 2009
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement by Noah denkt™ (Nd): We happened to see the presentation by Chairman Bernanke to the National
Press Club on Feb. 19. And the authority, kindness and openness which he demonstrated there has made it plain
to us that it would be wrong to call his present counter-cyclical money-printing policy reckless. After all, he is truly
convinced, that the spending spree is appropriate which he has embarked on. And so you cannot really blame
him too much for wanting to stave off a pain that would have been quite inhuman anyway.
Answer by Alter Ego of Noah denkt™ (AE): Does that mean then that you are now endorsing a deficit-incurring
policy of which you have said earlier that it will eventually cause an economic tsunami?
Nd: No, no, we continue to be very pessimistic about the middle and long-term consequences of this money-
printing business. It’s just that we find it less irresponsible now than we used to when it was first introduced by the
Bush administration.
AE: And that is because it has been better explained now?
Nd: Yes, it’s partly that and it’s partly due to the fact that the Bush administration in deed had a more ruthless way
of doing business which made it difficult to take a second, more congenial, look at its policy proposals.
AE: So your judgement too has been clouded then by simple-minded party preferences?
Nd: No, this has nothing to do with party preferences. Much rather does it have a lot to do with the facts. Just think
about truth-bending that went into Bush’s justification of the Iraq war. Or think about the Valery Plame issue. And
if that’s not enough then we would like to remind you of the greed-endorsing neo-con philosophy that Bush
ultimately stood for. - On the basis of that, it’s clearly fair to argue that the Bush administration had a
Machiavellian harshness about it which the Obama team simply doesn’t have.
AE: Okay, granted. The net results of the free-spending policies, however, will be the same, won’t they?
Nd: Perhaps not.
AE: What?
Nd: Well, we can imagine that the higher degree of intellectual honesty with which the Obama administration has
embarked on the counter-cyclical money-printing business will ultimately result in a tsunami that is a little less
ferocious than it would have been if the whole process had been seen through by the Bush administration.
AE: Why would that be?
Nd: Because of the fact that the Obama hubris is a lot less pronounced than that of Mr. Bush. And so it’s only
reasonable to expect that the universe’s anger will be somewhat less severe than it would have been if the Bush
tricksters had continued at the helm. After all, human beings have now adopted a more humble approach. And so
it is only reasonable to expect that universe will take that into account when formulating its final judgment on it.
Because it would be too unjust if the heavens reacted otherwise that you could now still want to speculate on them
AE: Jees, you leave us speechless. What mystical argument. We would never have expected that you resort to
such a transcendental line of thinking.
Nd: In other words, you consider our position as irrational and unreasonable.
AE: Yes.
Nd: Well, perhaps it is. But we still stand by it and would like to go on record with this. Obviously, the net result will
eventually show whether we got it right or wrong here.
AE: Fair enough.
Nd: So do we concur on a battle plan then.
AE: Yes, we do.
Nd: Great. Thank you!
AE: You are welcome.
---------------------------------------
Dialogue with the Alter Ego, first drafted on Feb. 19, published on March 10, 2009
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Statement by Noah denkt™ (Nd): We happened to see the presentation by Chairman Bernanke to the National
Press Club on Feb. 19. And the authority, kindness and openness which he demonstrated there has made it plain
to us that it would be wrong to call his present counter-cyclical money-printing policy reckless. After all, he is truly
convinced, that the spending spree is appropriate which he has embarked on. And so you cannot really blame
him too much for wanting to stave off a pain that would have been quite inhuman anyway.
Answer by Alter Ego of Noah denkt™ (AE): Does that mean then that you are now endorsing a deficit-incurring
policy of which you have said earlier that it will eventually cause an economic tsunami?
Nd: No, no, we continue to be very pessimistic about the middle and long-term consequences of this money-
printing business. It’s just that we find it less irresponsible now than we used to when it was first introduced by the
Bush administration.
AE: And that is because it has been better explained now?
Nd: Yes, it’s partly that and it’s partly due to the fact that the Bush administration in deed had a more ruthless way
of doing business which made it difficult to take a second, more congenial, look at its policy proposals.
AE: So your judgement too has been clouded then by simple-minded party preferences?
Nd: No, this has nothing to do with party preferences. Much rather does it have a lot to do with the facts. Just think
about truth-bending that went into Bush’s justification of the Iraq war. Or think about the Valery Plame issue. And
if that’s not enough then we would like to remind you of the greed-endorsing neo-con philosophy that Bush
ultimately stood for. - On the basis of that, it’s clearly fair to argue that the Bush administration had a
Machiavellian harshness about it which the Obama team simply doesn’t have.
AE: Okay, granted. The net results of the free-spending policies, however, will be the same, won’t they?
Nd: Perhaps not.
AE: What?
Nd: Well, we can imagine that the higher degree of intellectual honesty with which the Obama administration has
embarked on the counter-cyclical money-printing business will ultimately result in a tsunami that is a little less
ferocious than it would have been if the whole process had been seen through by the Bush administration.
AE: Why would that be?
Nd: Because of the fact that the Obama hubris is a lot less pronounced than that of Mr. Bush. And so it’s only
reasonable to expect that the universe’s anger will be somewhat less severe than it would have been if the Bush
tricksters had continued at the helm. After all, human beings have now adopted a more humble approach. And so
it is only reasonable to expect that universe will take that into account when formulating its final judgment on it.
Because it would be too unjust if the heavens reacted otherwise that you could now still want to speculate on them
AE: Jees, you leave us speechless. What mystical argument. We would never have expected that you resort to
such a transcendental line of thinking.
Nd: In other words, you consider our position as irrational and unreasonable.
AE: Yes.
Nd: Well, perhaps it is. But we still stand by it and would like to go on record with this. Obviously, the net result will
eventually show whether we got it right or wrong here.
AE: Fair enough.
Nd: So do we concur on a battle plan then.
AE: Yes, we do.
Nd: Great. Thank you!
AE: You are welcome.
---------------------------------------
| © Landei Selbstverlag, owned by Wilhelm ("Wil") Leonards, Gerolstein, Germany. All rights reserved. Reminder: Noah denkt™ is a project of Wilhelm ("Wil") Leonards and his Landei Selbstverlag (WL & his LSV). Consequently, all rights to the texts that have been published under the Noah denkt™brand name are reserved by WL & his LSV. The commentary and the reasoning that was provided on this page is for informational and/or educational purposes only and it is not intended to provide tax, legal or investment advice. It should therefore not be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security or any issuer by WL & his LSV or its Noah denkt™ Project. In fact, WL & his LSV encourage the user to understand that he alone is responsible for determining whether any investment, security or strategy is appropriate or suitable for him. And to leave no doubt as to what this means we urge our user to also note our extended Legal Notice. |
__________________________________________________________________________________________