Sanders’s Nordic-style policies might sound nice, but..

Quote: AZDuffman

I think you mean "to control deflation.

Yes, you are correct! The effect of lowering the interest rate is to increase money supply and increase inflation.

Unfortunately, I think like a mathematician. I don't say acceleration and deceleration or inflation and deflation, I say positive or negative acceleration and inflation. The Swedes phrase it as providing "support for inflation" which I translate as "control the inflation rate".

Quote: Riksbank

Repo rate cut to –0.50 per cent
Date 11 Feb2016
The economy continues to strengthen but inflation is expected to be lower during 2016 than previously forecast. The period of low inflation will therefore be longer. This increases the risk of weakening confidence in the inflation target and of inflation not rising towards the target as expected.

To provide support for inflation so that it rises and stabilises around 2 per cent in 2017, the Executive Board of the Riksbank has therefore decided to cut the repo rate by 0.15 percentage points to −0.50 per cent. Purchases of government bonds will continue for the first six months of this year, in accordance with the plan adopted in October.

At any rate, the effect on consumers is to distrust bank accounts and to fear increased fees if not outright bankruptcy.

Quote: Pacomartin

At any rate, the effect on consumers is to distrust bank accounts and to fear increased fees if not outright bankruptcy.

On one hand I'd say the reason for the negative rates is consumers are still spooked after the Panic of 2008. OTOH I see them doing the same stupid car loans and leases for vehicles they cannot afford. As said, lately I am thinking the old system has run its course and some kind of new system must rise up.

Debt-free within 3 years is my goal to ride it out.

Quote: terapined

I dream of a Nordic style America

Keeping it where it belongs. Dreamland. Well done ;)

Quote: Pacomartin

A Nordic person myself, I left my native Finland seven years ago and moved to the U.S.

I thought you were in the US Navy?

Quote: Paco

This, in turn, makes Nordic citizens willing to sacrifice their own interests to help their neighbors. Americans don’t feel a similar kinship with other Americans, I’m told, and thus will never sacrifice their own interests for the common good. What this is mostly taken to mean is that Americans will never, ever agree to pay higher taxes to provide universal social services, as the Nordics do. Thus Bernie Sanders, and anyone else in the U.S. who brings up Nordic countries as an example for America, is living in la-la land.

I think this is a misunderstanding.

When speaking on this topic, I suppose I would be labeled a conservative. I have no interest, nay, an extreme disinterest in having my money stolen by .gov and funneled to the poors. "Social-ish" things like infrastructure, sure. Social programs, not so much.

That's not for a lack of kinship or clanism. Rather, I think it's because of kinship and clanism.

We have an old theatre in town, like, really old. It somehow survived all the fires and the floods and the buyouts and still stands today. It was shuttered for at least a decade and left to sort of rot, but its essence never left. It's very much like stepping into 1920 when you walk in. It's no Boston Opera House, but it could be said it's a crown jewel of our area.

For the last decade, there have been efforts to restore it. We've created the "Harley Happening", since redubbed the "Hollywood Happening" after the theatre's namesake. It's turned into quite a large bike rally bringing in folks from quite literally the entire country. We run dice runs from the rez to Alaska and back. It's a BFD, especially for our quiet little village.

I reentered that theatre last Xmas for the first time in 25 years. They had it open and were showing Rudolph, Frosty, et al. The theatre seats were still missing, some of the plaster still hung in tatters, but you could see the structural improvements, the restoration, the effort. You can tell this thing is going to be restored to its former glory. This dumb little theatre that only we care about that's gonna take <$10mm to fix... yet we're doing it.

That all takes what you're describing. It takes a combined effort of labor, of support, of management. It takes donations of time and money, personal time and money. It takes a sacrifice of self. Yet its getting done.

I see it all the time here. When one of our famous floods tries to wipe our entire community into Erie, sure, FEMA and the National Guard are here. For sure the Army Corp of Engineers handles some issues that a town of <3,000 just couldn't do on their own. But it is us, our time, our money, our effort, that we use going door to door to fix our lives. Sure, .gov took care of our fresh water reservoir being destroyed. Well, they do after a 5-7 years wait of red tape nonsense. But it's your neighbor who's in the streets with a tractor, in your yard with a shovel, in your basement with a bucket, getting your personal life back on track. Not by theft, not by threat of imprisonment, but just out of a sense of community and neighbor-family.

To be human is to be a part of something, something for which you must give, and also from which you will receive. That's just a given. But though that is necessary, I want my time, money, and life to be given for those who give to me. When my hard work is taken, I want to see a result where I live. I want that gift to be used for those who have given to me. Socialism does not accomplish this. We are too vast. A state like Sweden is only roughly the size of NY/PA with a pop of Manhattan. Like anarchism, it can certainly work on a small scale. But only on a small scale.

And then, you've worked for .gov. The biggest, most gluttonous, most wasteful, inefficient, idiotic, mismanaged entity ever created, and this is who we want to steal our money to use to manage social services? Pfft, lol. You have to be a monumental mental defective to support the pursuit of this route. To want to help is noble. To want .gov to carry it out is absurdly idiotic.

As always, follow Ghandi...

Quote: Ghandi

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.”

In other words, if you want a vast protective net, start sewing it yourself. Give when you can, take when you need. We do it here, and I swear to Christ, I see real effort that not only works, but weaves bonds between people that makes a family. And it's YOUR net, and it envelopes YOU. That is the "support services" we need. You putting your hand into my Buffalo pocket to give to some wanker in Auburn under the threat of imprisonment is assault, and that gives me the right to punch you in your idiotic, idealistic face =p

Quote: Face

I thought you were in the US Navy?

I titled the post "A Finn speaks out in defense of a Nordic style America" which I thought conveyed that I was quoting the article. It seems to have confused people.

I am equal parts Spanish (1920), Hungarian (1910), Syrian (1900), and Palatinate (1760-1886) (Western Germany along French border) raised in Pennsylvania just north of Philadelphia. My Spanish grandfather moved across the street from current Sands Casino location in 1920 when he immigrated.

Quote: Pacomartin

I titled the post "A Finn speaks out in defense of a Nordic style America" which I thought conveyed that I was quoting the article. It seems to have confused people.

I am equal parts Spanish (1920), Hungarian (1910), Syrian (1900), and Palatinate (1760-1886) (Western Germany along French border) raised in Pennsylvania just north of Philadelphia. My Spanish grandfather moved across the street from current Sands Casino location in 1920 when he immigrated.

Ah, Jesus. I knew that. And your folks lived (semi recently) near Pittsburgh. Had a beauty of a boat, navigated the same waters I do now.

Sorry. Benders ruin my eye for detail =p As you were.

One thing all the Nordic countries
have in common is that they're
all pretty racist and make no bones
about it. They don't like blacks very
much, especially African blacks.

Quote: Face

Ah, Jesus. I knew that. And your folks lived (semi recently) near Pittsburgh. Had a beauty of a boat, navigated the same waters I do now

Well my grandfathered died in 1988 and the boat was sold shortly afterwards. It was Oakmont Yacht club.
http://www.oakmontyachtclub.com/

You have to wonder why the author left Finland in the first place.

Quote: AZDuffman

As said, lately I am thinking the old system has run its course and some kind of new system must rise up.

As I am assembling this table I see that the Bank of Japan had zero% interest rates on february 12 1999 and it's been lowish since the early 1990's when the real estate first crashed. So you may be right, that this is a liquidity trap that we will never emerge from.

Date	US Fed	Bank of England	European Central Bank	Sweden Central Bank
Thu 10/Mar 16			0.000 %
Wed 17/Feb 16				-0.500%
Wed 16/Dec 15	0.500 %
Wed 08/Jul 15				-0.350%
Wed 25/Mar 15				-0.250%
Wed 18/Feb 15				-0.100%
Wed 29/Oct 14				0.000%
Thu 04/Sep 14			0.050 %
Wed 09/Jul 14				0.250%
Thu 05/Jun 14			0.150 %
Wed 18/Dec 13				0.750%
Thu 07/Nov 13			0.250 %
Thu 02/May 13			0.500 %
Wed 19/Dec 12				1.000%
Wed 12/Sep 12				1.250%
Thu 05/Jul 12			0.750 %
Wed 22/Feb 12				1.500%
Wed 21/Dec 11				1.750%
Thu 08/Dec 11			1.000 %
Thu 03/Nov 11			1.250 %
Thu 07/Jul 11			1.500 %
Wed 06/Jul 11				2.000%
Wed 27/Apr 11				1.750%
Thu 07/Apr 11			1.250 %
Tue 16/Dec 08	0.250 %
Thu 05/Mar 09		0.500 %

And if I may, because my opine is a bit harsh, some clarification...

This is all born out of a long held belief in mine, that being that life as we know it is f#$%ed up. What we do, our way of living, has never made sense to me. Going back to being a child, it just felt wrong.

I wrote in the Thief thread how I view money as life, in a way. We sacrifice our time, our life, in return for this thing of value. That's always been strange to me, as "value" doesn't seem to make sense. The guy at the DPW makes $2X p/hr, and he's in charge of the water. The most important good we must receive, and without this guy or crew of guys, you don't have it. 3-5 days without it, you die. Guy over here catches a ball real good. He works 100 minutes a year and makes $10mm. First guy works 20-30 years and hopefully has enough of a net to survive. Second guy works 7 years and is awash in luxury. Never made sense.

But that's what we have. So we sacrifice our very lives to function in this system. At ~25yrs old you really come into your own. You start to accumulate real knowledge, and you're spry enough to do just about everything. Through your 40s you're really kicking. Old enough to know, young enough to do. Yet these fullest periods of our lives are burned doing menial, pointless, valueless tasks to acquire this construct that has no value, yet is all the value. Makes no sense.

There was a time when I though being an adult meant being able to fool yourself. Like, some day you will learn the ability of being willfully ignorant, like it was a skill that must be attained. Then you could go to your 9-5 270 days a year and get excited over having a whole week off where *gasp* you could be you and pursue actual life.

That's why being thieved pissed me off so much. He didn't take "$80" from me. That $80 of post-tax cash was made away from home, away from family, away from people and activities I love. I was out in 10* weather. I was cold, I was in pain. 7 hours of that it took for me to get that $80. 7 hours of MY LIFE is gone, impossible to be refunded, and that guy took it. He took MY LIFE.

This topic I cannot view differently. Taxes in general I take little offense to, especially town or school tax. It's used here. I directly elect the person responsible for it. I have a voice in it. When it goes wrong, I can physically act to right it. When it goes right, I personally gain from it. I don't view this as theft. I view it as purchasing goods and services. It's equivalent to commerce. It is "Socialism", but, as I said, it works in this case because of its small scale.

This "National" bulls@#$ is ludicrous, and yes, it puts me into insta-violence mode. I have no desire to have anything to do with or do anything in Dillwyn, Kansas, or Gresham, Kentucky, or any other part of the US except my region, MY home. When you take from me in this sense, I cannot understand it in any way other than theft, and theft of money is theft of life.

I guess I just wanted to clarify. I have friends both here and RL who are bleeding hearts, and the fact that "you care" doesn't make me want to punch your face, doesn't make me respect you less. I don't throw rocks at bums, hell, I AM one of the poors I talk so much s#$% about. But if you want to help, then help. Be Ghandi. I am, too. But if I want to reach into YOUR pocket to help my neighbor Bob, you should want to defend the life you sacrificed, you should want to tell me to f#$% off, maybe even punch me in the face. I have no right to your life. It is YOURS to be given freely. You want to take? Then fight me for it =p