Uncle Sol

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Art is a jealous mistress.” It seems these days that poetry is taking up all of my time as far as writing is concerned. So, while I reserve the right to post here from time to time, you are far more likely to find something new if you stop by my poetry site at poetry.unclesol.net. I hope to see you there!

by Carlton Lloyd Smith

I don’t have much to add to this article, except to suggest that you follow the link and read it in full. It may help you filter out the idiocy you are seeing in the mainstream media these days regarding the stimulus.

The real problem, however, is that the Keynesian model is simply incorrect. It is based on the very crude idea that the economy, as measured in Gross Domestic Product, can be accurately summarized by the following formula: GDP = C+I+G+(X-M). In English, this means the economy is equal to consumer spending (C), plus investment (I), plus government spending (G), plus (exports (X) minus imports (M)). Since government can only control government spending directly, any failure of consumer spending must be compensated by increasing government spending. That is what the $787 billion is nominally intended to do, to make up for the decline in consumer spending.

However, this is complete balderdash, as a third economic theory points out. The Austrian school, to which I myself subscribe, has repeatedly shown that neither monetary nor fiscal policy are capable of doing more than delaying an economic contraction, and that using them to delay contraction only extends and exacerbates the contraction when it eventually arrives. Austrian theory teaches that credit inflation, which is how they describe the monetarist tool of injecting liquidity by cutting interest rates, leads to investment and consumption booms that will inevitably be followed by busts. It is, in fact, the only economic school with a reasonable explanation for the economic cycles so readily seen in the historical data.

This post by the same author, about the column linked above further shows where Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman effectively states, “Though my head is firmly planted in my rear, the planting is less firm than that of other economists of my stature.”

by Carlton Lloyd Smith

Today I have launched a new site at poetry.unclesol.net to post my new poems. I didn’t want them to detract from the main purpose of this site, which is to discuss those things that shape our lives. While I don’t think the poems detract from that purpose, it is my intention to continue writing them regularly, and I don’t want this to become a blog of poems with an occasional piece about economics or politics.

So, for those of you that have no interest in poetry, you will no longer find them posted here. For those of you that do, feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed on the new site, or check back when you’re so inclined to see if there is anything new. You will also notice that there is a link on the sidebar here that lists recent posts to the poetry site, so you can see if there is anything recent there also.

by Carlton Lloyd Smith

Before entropy did its devil’s work
I was content keeping time with inertia

Standing on the bridge over the dank concrete river
Carrying garbage from afar to an unknown destination
The small child looked at me with round eyes
Hoping I might trade her pennies for a small candy

The men were full of bravado, passing me tequila in double doses
My wife smiling at me in joy for the expected child sitting placid in her womb
We sat and ate in the cantina too young to appreciate the gravity of the situation
Smiling and hope filled the room in bushels as we laughed

The man asked for fifteen for the blanket but finally accepted ten
It was hand made and wool and very soft and big
I thought its grey was charming and I knew it would keep us warm
And it did; It still keeps her warm today

The sun was bright and the Coronas were less than a dollar
Tasting sticky in the heat it was our last stop before we returned
Crossing over the bridge and the river
Foul with waste destined for a distant home

by Carlton Lloyd Smith

The rolling of the tires sings softly
Punctuated by tar marks on the road

movement to momentum

Quiet carrion meandering slowly
Informed by sunlight and small flowers with white buds

action to existence

Sinking deeper into my soul
A soft whisper calls me

hope

by Carlton Lloyd Smith

I have been known to pen a poem from time to time. This is a recent creation and I thought I would share it with you.

I sing!
The heart personified
Spring and its merry travelers and life!
Emerson’s jealous mistress has returned
I sing the breaking dawn
Leaking languid shards across the Eastern sky
I sing with the voice of Marvell
His coy love waiting in his eyes
I sing for Whitman a new song
A new day, a new dawn, a new birth
Breathing deep the breath of life
I sing my love
And I am not afraid!

by Carlton Lloyd Smith