Chico Sajovic

@robin_j_brooks It will work. The rest of the world will suffer the consequences until Iran folds. All for vainglory.

Narrative shift on the blockade 1. The US blockade won't work 2. It works, but Iran can outsmart it 3. It works, but it's slow and incremental 4. Wow, it's hitting Iran quite badly already 5. The US blockade was a good idea 6. Should've done this to Russia robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/embargo-iran

@AlecDacyczyn @WEschenbach Ok then, matching 401k it is, like the rest of us.

@WEschenbach Pensions are in lieu of retirement plans (ie: 401k). No one is supposed to "make do with Social Security". SS is insurance/welfare in case you outlive your retirement savings.

Another unpopular opinion of mine … NO GOVERNMENT PENSIONS AT ANY LEVEL, FROM COUNTRY TO CITY The rest of us have to make do with Social Security, and so should they. w.

@AndyMasley Too much farmland? Most likely due to subsidized farm insurance, import quotas and ethanol. Without massive government intervention there would likely be much less farming going on in the United States.

New post on data centers and land use, where I explain why I think we have way too much farmland

@kennettstan @fiat_money @Resist_CBDC The US government is a Public institution. The US government creates and controls the Money Supply. Therefore money is "public money".

@fiat_money @Resist_CBDC There’s no such thing as “public money”.

"The worst enemy of socialism is not capitalism. It is reality." ~ Margaret Thatcher

-The US Govt owns the reserve(RSVs) ledger -Cash can be exchanged for RSVs and vice versa -Deposits are promises to pay RSVs -Treasuries are RSVs now for more RSVs in the future -Govt spending inc. RSVs, taxes dec. RSVs -The govt trades RSVs for private sector financial assets

@EMaggiori_ Incredibly you likely support paying people with money even more money under the crazy delusion that that will somehow reduce the risk of inflation.

@EMaggiori_ Orthodox and hard money types like your self promote rules that unnecessarily restrict the supply of money for the sole sake of simulating an exogenous money supply. While the evidence does not support your view ( post GFC Japan & US).

Typical conversation with an MMTer: MMTer: The government doesn't need taxes in order to spend! Me: Uh, no. The treasury actually needs to replenish its accounts by collecting taxes or selling bonds. Otherwise it is not allowed to continue spending. The central bank doesn't guarantee it will buy any specific number of bonds, and it doesn't provide an unlimited overdraft to the treasury. Those are the rules. MMTer: But those rules are all self-imposed and could be changed!! Me: All rules are self-imposed and could be changed. We could allow local governments and NGOs to create money for example. The rules have been imposed for a reason--economists don't think politicians will use the power to create money judiciously, and there aren't major economic benefits to be gained from it. MMTer: Are you telling me you do not agree that a government deficit is a surplus of the non-government sector? Me: ...

@GeneSohoForum That’s what RE taxes are for.

Owning a home is not natural, although nearly 2/3rds of US households are homeowners & a little over 1/3rd are renters! Home prices are a social product that vary wildly though time & place! Home prices need to be regulated, along with the right of homeowners to RENT their homes!

@BrettErickson28 @ChrisO_wiki @JonathanLanday *if* the strait remains closed after stocks have been drained, no one knows how high oil prices would need to go to destroy demand to meet new supply levels. Apparently most don’t believe the closure will last that long (I am in this camp).

1/ The world faces a catastrophic cliff-edge shortage of oil due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade in the next four weeks, analysts warn. This will cause a deep recession, fuel rationing, the shutdown of entire industries, and oil prices potentially as high as $370 per barrel. ⬇️

@ProfHall1955 The book seems so poorly conceived that it doesn’t even warrant a response.

Bad move to publish this. His Argentina example proves he doesn't understand the basics. He's gonna be absolutely slaughtered in reviews - might even do one myself.

@JoshYoung Ya never know when the American people might elect a fucking moron.

Airlines stopped hedging their oil exposure, and now Spirit is bankrupt and out of business. Persistent, irrational oil bearishness has consequences.

@cafreiman Fairness doesn’t exist. But we could choose to use the tax code to increase consumption among the lower classes at the expense of the upper middle and higher classes.

“If you’re richer, your fair share of the tax burden is greater” isn’t a compelling claim, in part because it conflates affordability with fairness.

@Handre 2% RE tax rate? LMFAO! You have no idea what you are talking about.

Your town starts with a simple 2% property tax to fund basic services. Year 3: Revenue shortfall hits. Infrastructure "desperately needs" upgrades. Property tax jumps to 3.5%. City council promises this covers everything. Year 5: School district claims crisis funding needs. Separate education tax appears; just 1.5% for the children, they say. Your total tax load now sits at 5%. Year 8: Environmental impact assessments become mandatory for all development. New environmental compliance tax of 0.8% gets tacked on. Plus a transportation improvement fee of 1.2% because the roads can't handle the delayed projects. Year 12: Housing affordability crisis emerges (funny how that works). City creates affordable housing trust fund requiring another 1% tax. Storm water management fees add 0.5%. Total burden now exceeds 8.5%. Year 15: Local businesses start fleeing to neighboring counties. Commercial tax base shrinks. Residential property owners must make up the difference. Rates jump across all categories. Your effective rate hits 11%. The city's books show every tax paying for its designated purpose. The infrastructure still crumbles. Schools still claim poverty. Housing costs skyrocketed beyond what any middle-class family can afford. You started with one modest tax for basic municipal services. A complex web of overlapping levies now funds an army of bureaucrats managing the crisis created by the previous army of bureaucrats. Each department gets its budget. Each program gets its funding. Each tax collector gets their cut. The services you actually wanted remain broken, just more expensive.

@TaviCosta Who the fuck are all these morons who stash physical cash under their bed?

Argentina is the only country where money supply is contracting at a double-digit rate. Meanwhile, the rest of the world continues to expand credit with little to no monetary discipline. None of us own enough hard assets. tavicosta.substack.com/p/macro-update

@BevansAdvocate Interest payments?

I've progressively come to the view that almost nothing should be tax deductible

@GaryHalpin23 @matthewstoller Of course not. But consumer options are very high which gives me confidence that prices are fair and the regulatory environment is not too burdensome.

@matthewstoller Stop being retarded. You really think airlines are a free market?

Everyone but United and Delta is in varying degrees of trouble. JetBlue is on the verge of going under. There have been 240 airline bankruptcies since deregulation. If we want an airline system we need to regulate it.

@DrNickA This is core problem with the Democrats, Liberals and Progressives. They aren’t actually concerned for the wellbeing of the lower classes, they’re just upset about the existence of the wealthy.

Having argued with people about private schools for days now. It basically comes down to the fact that some people think it is fundamentally wrong that some people have more money, than other people.

@DrCameronMurray Exactly!!!! That’s why the interest rate should be 0%. Get the bureaucrats and fucking political influence out!

Re: Rent control Many will say “We can’t set prices in the economy by bureaucratic rule. What about the misallocation that will occur?” And then in the next breath “The best way to set the price of money (interest rate) is to have bureaucrats decide its price”