And In Economic News...and Greek Philosophy

Business activity, as measured by the MNI Chicago report, shrank to a multi-year low.  Need I mention this occurred "unexpectedly"?

European unemployment rises to a record 12.1%, an official statistic which, like here, understates actual unemployment. 

Just a quick comment: The European Union and the social welfare state model followed to varying degrees,  but universally nonetheless, in Europe was designed to reduce income inequality.  The ostensible purpose was to preserve the social fabric, as inequalities tear at the social fabric, or so lefties tell us.  How is that social fabric holding up in Europe these days?

Plutarch vs. Aristotle.  Who's winning?  Europe is very rich.  It is not a heinous, immoral inequality that is wracking Europe.  It is the plundering of the productive sector.  It's Aristotle hands down.

Aristotle Trumps Plutarch

So Cory Booker is tweeting Plutarch quotes in defense of the Democrats' Leviathan entitlement state.

"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailments of all republics"

Fine.  That has sometimes been true.  There was another famous Greek philosopher who's wisdom on political economy might be more relevant.

"If the majority distributes among itself the things of a minority, it is evident that it will destroy the city." 

Booker's defense, while appearing soundly grounded, is overwrought.  A poor American in the year 2012 is richer than 80% of the world's inhabitants and, on average, richer than nearly all people who have ever walked the Earth.  Yes, poor Americans seem relatively poor compared to the vast and pervasive wealth of America in general, but calibrated on a global scale to global standards, there simply isn't poverty in America.  There is only relative poverty.  Where we are on the scale is just as important as the gap between two points.  We are not in danger of a convulsive rising up of long oppressed indigents, but we are in danger of destroying a quite remarkable economic engine on which we've all relied and traveled quite far.  In 21st century America, Aristotle trumps Plutarch.

“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics’ Plutarch ancient Greek historian (c. 46 – 120 CE)”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/21/democratic-newark-mayor-cory-booker-may-soon-be-living-on-food-stamps/#ixzz2Cs4

Mitt Is Right

Mark Perry had a post up on this the other day.  Here it is.  Two facts:
1) Nearly half of Americans pay no income tax at all;
2) Nearly 70% of all government spending is just writing checks to people

Perry tells you why it matters.

Our long-term fiscal problems won’t be fixed until we address what might be our nation’s most serious fiscal-related problem: we’re increasingly becoming a European-style “entitlement nation,” with “payments to individuals” increasing both in absolute dollar amounts and as a share of total federal spending, while at the same time the share of Americans who face a zero or negative federal income tax liability is above 40 percent and rising.  In other words, a declining share of American taxpayers is being forced to finance the rising cost of the federal government, which is increasingly being spent on payments to individuals.

Yes, that's how you ring up $16 trillion in debt but it is also how you destroy society.  Go back all the way to Aristotle, to know how long we've understood this basic political reality.

"If the majority distributes among itself the things of a minority, it is evident that it will destroy the city."

Modern Greece is living this scenario out right now, the state runs economy for the benefit of state workers and favored constituencies...and the state has essentially been destroyed.  Greece is broken.

Finally, remember Peggy Joseph?  What happens when we have too many Peggy Josephs?  We are building a society where nearly half the people have no skin in the game and are placing ever larger demands on those who pay for the system.  This is wrong morally, but simply unsustainable as a practical measure.  The system will break eventually and the break down will be about as UNcompassionate as the compassion-mongers, who egg this on, could ever contemplate.