Ron Paul hates the bailout

Vox -

"[Y]ou appear to be too wedded to pure macro analysis to fully appreciate its significance to political economy."

It may appear that way ... in brief combox statements.

"The short-term credit you think is a lifesblood is more akin to steroids; take it away and the addicts will die as the truly profitable companies knock them out of business."

Huh? Nearly all well-run businesses need access to short-term credit. I'm not talking about easy credit. That's a whole 'nother ball of wax.

"Now, how can you possibly say that abolishing the Fed is a really dumb idea? ... After all, it has destroyed 95 percent of the value of the dollar in less than a century, a dollar that had previously appreciated 50 percent in a period that saw higher economic growth than we've seen in decades."

God, if I had a dollar for every time I've heard this .... You're right. There are a lot of problems with the Fed. I am perfectly willing to see reserve requirements raised and limits placed on the Fed's ability to set short-term interest rates. (This is not the place to elaborate.) That would curb a great deal of the credit excesses that bother Paulistas. The money supply needs to be able to expand with the needs of the economy (again, carefully defined). The gold standard is an unnecessary straight-jacket. In fact, it's barbaric.

Rent-seeking, like the poor, will be with us always. I think it's utopian to think we'll ever have a pure political or economic system. It will always be messy.

We need to learn from our mistakes, remain eternally vigilant and do the best we can in the "fog of war" we always find ourselves in.

* * *

What were you doing in Tokyo? I was there, too, back in the day. And I'll will be there next week, too. (In fact, I should be preparing.)

Pyrrho, I know speculative bubbles. I saw this one coming with 20-20 vision. You don't have to believe me; I really don't care.

No man daring to claim the name of Pyrrho, the first Skeptic philosopher of yore, should ever, ever say such things.

Re-read The Black Swan. Save yourself! Or at least give up the name, because the real Pyrrho is turning in his 2500 year old grave.

Pyrrho, Perhaps you should reread Taleb yourself. He does not claim that ALL things are unpredictable.

You wrote: "I know speculative bubbles. I saw this one coming with 20-20 vision."

Taleb would NEVER write this. No real skeptic claims 20-20 vision of the future. Sheese, even a typical dude on the street doesn't do this, and if they happen to get lucky enough to make a correct prediction they understand it's mainly luck and it could have went any which way.

I can't speak for Taleb, but anybody can see "warning signs". I know I sure did, and in fact still do. Any true skeptic sees more than their share of warning signs. But this is a lot different from what you are claiming - predicting the future with clarity. This is everything Taleb stands against, and he's said this over and over.