tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post1470612907406093496..comments2024-03-29T02:19:19.866-04:00Comments on Mike Norman Economics: Bad Lenders Make Bad Loans — Sharmini Peries interviews Michael Hudsonmike normanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03296006882513340747noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-30078710569805908132017-02-19T12:26:28.323-05:002017-02-19T12:26:28.323-05:00Calg,
to me it keeps coming back to what Ramanan ...Calg,<br /><br />to me it keeps coming back to what Ramanan has been pounding the table on for the last few years ie the external sector savings...<br /><br />Greece has to figure out how to reduce external savings that is enabled by the conduct of economic activity within its jurisdiction... there are probably ways to do this and still stay within the regulations of the Euro system...<br /><br />Same thing with the US...<br /><br />Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082502216984169113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-55234075536199929392017-02-19T02:53:52.974-05:002017-02-19T02:53:52.974-05:00Matt, Dan Lynch: Don't know about the current ...Matt, Dan Lynch: Don't know about the current debt levels, but as Frances Coppola & Merijn Knibbe too (?) pointed out a year or so back, all the refinancing of the debt at long term and low interest made it probably <i>not</i> unpayable - if the Greek economy just got on its feet, for it does have two first class, major fx earners - tourism & shipping. This would happen in a jiffy if it just adopted MMT = not being insane = intuitive economics that makes logical, mathematical sense. So I think it is right to be skeptical of Hudson here. Greece could easily become "competitive" - an awful concept, almost always badly misused - if it just floated its own currency against the Euro. One index of how much the Euro has distorted trading relationships is the country in {Germany, Greece} that exports olive oil to the other. Hint: It is not Greece. <br /><br />One of Marx's unfulfilled ambitions was to write a biography of Balzac. Often in the Comedie Humaine, the lawyer Derville complains of the crushing debt that he owes Gobseck, the money-lender. But Derville himself insisted on the high interest rate! So I think old Karl would have understood very well - maybe not agreed, but definitely understood - why it might be a good idea for Greece to pay in full, in Euro, if it can.Calgacushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06031818010224747000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-83008275379767226722017-02-18T16:02:53.773-05:002017-02-18T16:02:53.773-05:00In response to increased Obamacare patient loads, ...In response to increased Obamacare patient loads, my doctor converted to a concierge model in December. That means to get an appointment AT ALL you have to pay him $385/mo. Mind you, that is pure rent. It doesn't pay for the appointment or service, that is just for the privilege of being able to see him. He still charges the same fees for services that he always has. <br /><br />Without realizing the economic irony, he said he was furious at his landlord for doubling his rent in January, so at the last minute in December before his lease was up he packed up and moved to a new office building. <br /><br />The greatest power our government wields is NOT it's currency but regulatory monopolies it grants to selected people.<br /><br />Ryan Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04815033054435303399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-21615415246884327782017-02-18T15:55:17.797-05:002017-02-18T15:55:17.797-05:00Maybe there is some sort of advantage to doing tha...<i>Maybe there is some sort of advantage to doing that in Accrual Accounting for non-profits...<br /><br />iow they can take a non-cash expense for the amount of non-payment of the full invoice price...</i><br /><br />No, it's called negotiating power aka leverage. Government has the largest pool so it pays the lowest rates. Self-insured pay the highest rates. Insurance companies in between and they distribute over internal pools.Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-3617506733785543862017-02-18T15:52:02.369-05:002017-02-18T15:52:02.369-05:00Ask your fellow academics who are running that mor...<i>Ask your fellow academics who are running that moron-fest not me....</i><br /><br />You are making that claim, not me. I genuinely don't understand it. Looks like "rote" to me.Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-38521872906088228312017-02-18T15:49:57.035-05:002017-02-18T15:49:57.035-05:00http://politicsthatwork.com/graphs/size-red-blue-e...<a href="http://politicsthatwork.com/graphs/size-red-blue-economy" rel="nofollow">http://politicsthatwork.com/graphs/size-red-blue-economy</a><br /><br />Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-88435339555251531792017-02-18T14:45:17.230-05:002017-02-18T14:45:17.230-05:00Medicare and Medicaid create a defacto minimum pri...Medicare and Medicaid create a defacto minimum price for medical services. Some providers may charge more than the Medicare/Medicaid rate, but there is little incentive to charge less. <br /><br />Ditto the price of medicine. If Medicare is willing to pay $X per pill, why would a pharma company sell it for less in the U.S.? <br /><br />100 years ago, doctors did not make much money, sometimes getting paid in chickens if they even collected anything at all. <br /><br /><a href="http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2013/07/how-medicare-payments-are-set.html" rel="nofollow">How Medicare Payments Are Set</a><br /><br />There has been some movement toward paying for outcomes rather than for services, but that is easier said than done since the quality of care is not easily measured. On the other hand, the problem with paying per procedure is that providers have an incentive to maximize the number of procedures performed. <br /><br />On the supply side, the government has great influence on the quantity of doctors and nurses. <br /><br /><br />Dan Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11189866002273597534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-22824389770226410592017-02-18T14:41:42.116-05:002017-02-18T14:41:42.116-05:00Maybe there is some sort of advantage to doing tha...Maybe there is some sort of advantage to doing that in Accrual Accounting for non-profits...<br /><br />iow they can take a non-cash expense for the amount of non-payment of the full invoice price...<br /><br />Or they are selling the A/R to a collections firm at the full invoice and accept the usual 25% from the leg-breakers as paid and move on...<br /><br />Who knows you have to get qualified people in accounting/finance to look into it... ie not Professor Jonathan Gruber...Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-76487138809801278472017-02-18T14:27:12.719-05:002017-02-18T14:27:12.719-05:00Ask your fellow academics who are running that mor...Ask your fellow academics who are running that moron-fest not me....Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-37156033971132036732017-02-18T14:25:50.510-05:002017-02-18T14:25:50.510-05:00@Tom the parasites are those who don't produce...@Tom the parasites are those who don't produce anything of real value. Subtract FIRE, monopolistic profits, and the military from GDP, and the blue states don't have much left. <br /><br />What do I consume that is produced in Maryland? New York City? San Francisco? <br />Dan Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11189866002273597534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-19910084405170799312017-02-18T14:16:26.987-05:002017-02-18T14:16:26.987-05:00Who sets the price for medical care in the U.S.? T...<i>Who sets the price for medical care in the U.S.? The government is the price setter."<br /><br />Under numismatic systems, govt is price setter for everything....</i><br /><br />Explain to me how that works. <br /><br />As far as I can see based on personal experience and reports of people I know who are familiar with the process, the government pays about 25% of what an uninsured person will be billed, and insurance companies pay about 60 to 70% of that.Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-3713875632750982002017-02-18T14:11:46.055-05:002017-02-18T14:11:46.055-05:00Michale Hudson has identified the mechanism but hi...Michale Hudson has identified the mechanism but his solution and others proposed, including the MMT solution, are simplistic since they are economic solutions rather than holistic ones when the problem is not only economic but also social and political. <br /><br />Greeces problems are not foundationally economic. They are social and political historically. The require social and political solutions before progress can be made in addressing the economic issues. Otherwise it will just be exchanging one set of parasites for another. <br /><br />There's an old Vietnamese proverb, "Dung heap remains the same, only the flies change."Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-78257596570991800632017-02-18T14:07:14.451-05:002017-02-18T14:07:14.451-05:00So yes they are doing better economically -- becau...<i>So yes they are doing better economically -- because they are parasites. </i><br /><br />Historically the blue states are surplus-generating states and the red states are deficit-dependent states in real terms of trade and employment, as well as recipients of per capital federal subsideies. Who exactly are the parasites? Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-18047929949650148872017-02-18T14:03:22.832-05:002017-02-18T14:03:22.832-05:00Public GoodsPublic Goods
There are several ways t...Public Goods<a href="http://www.pitt.edu/~upjecon/MCG/MICRO/GOVT/Pubgood.html" rel="nofollow">Public Goods</a><br /><br />There are several ways that public goods can be provided by government. The first is government both pays and administers as is the case with the military, courts, law enforcement, etc.<br /><br />Another way is that government funds the operation but hires contractors to administer it.<br /><br />There can be various combinations of these ways.<br /><br />Another is that government privatizes provision of the good entirely. <br /><br />Public goods that are privatized can be run as private concerns subject to market vagaries, or subsidized.<br /><br />Lot of options. <br /><br />Suit the tool to the job.Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-19650351088482331292017-02-18T13:44:27.735-05:002017-02-18T13:44:27.735-05:00I think there needs to be a shift in thinking abou...I think there needs to be a shift in thinking about finance.<br /><br />The creditworthiness of the borrower is usually more impacted by the rules of the system than any thing else.<br /><br />The US pursued idiotic trade policy, suppressed incomes, used low rates/ mon pol to induce people into real estate loans when creating a deflationary spiral then prosecuted the lenders for not knowing their loans would suffer under US economic policy and lambasted the real estate industry with all sorts of law suits and fines. <br /><br />This is the level of thinking in the west. Gotcha regulation and protection rackets.<br /><br />No one thinks about how the systems of governance, finance, environment, business -- all policy generally work together. Flaw or feature of compromise and democracy, perhaps.Ryan Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04815033054435303399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-28377104674999710052017-02-18T12:44:43.015-05:002017-02-18T12:44:43.015-05:00"Who sets the price for medical care in the U..."Who sets the price for medical care in the U.S.? The government is the price setter."<br /><br />Under numismatic systems, govt is price setter for everything....<br /><br />Warren via rote: "all prices are necessarily a function of what govt pays for things and what they lend against things..." <br /><br />govt pays for healthcare and lends against education... both going up up up as the academics in positions of rule continued to direct increased flows of USD balances into those two areas of the academe....<br /><br />We've had 8 years of rule by the academe and they of course are going to get USDs to the academe... so you have rising healthcare and university prices... rinse and repeat...<br /><br />now the academics have been tossed out and acquisitor people are coming in and they have a different approach that will be, I guaranty you, more efficient if they get their policies implemented... probably even more well distributed and egalitarian results ....Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-75821374403816229952017-02-18T12:36:35.766-05:002017-02-18T12:36:35.766-05:00Dan here:
"Finland: The sick man of Europe?&...Dan here:<br /><br />"Finland: The sick man of Europe?"<br /><br /><br />http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35656150<br /><br /><br />Same thing as Greece...<br /><br />Hudson not helping at all....Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-84406086734772132872017-02-18T12:26:34.541-05:002017-02-18T12:26:34.541-05:00@Tom, blue states are where finance, monopolistic ...@Tom, blue states are where finance, monopolistic tech, and defense industries are located. So yes they are doing better economically -- because they are parasites.<br /><br />Socially the Western and mid-Western red states are superior to the blue states. It's the former slave states that have social problems. The social problems correlate to inequality. <br />Dan Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11189866002273597534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-27213988903513020322017-02-18T12:21:12.805-05:002017-02-18T12:21:12.805-05:00@Matt, a "non-profit" is still private, ...@Matt, a "non-profit" is still private, and in practice the only difference between a for-profit and a non-profit is that the non-profit does not have to pay taxes. A non-profit is not the same as public operations. CEO's of non-profits are often paid just as much as their for-profit counterparts. If it were up to me I would eliminate the non-profit tax exemption, because I think it is a scam.<br /><br />Who sets the price for medical care in the U.S.? The government is the price setter. If Medicare pays "$X" for a service, why would any doctor or hospital be willing to perform that service for less than $X ? Why does government set high prices? Because for-profit providers have an incentive to maximize returns by bribing politicians. <br /><br />Someone needs to tell Finland that their leftist material systems are shit. Someone needs to tell Russia's state-owned defense industry that their planes and missiles are shit, but America's for-profit F-35 boondoggles are not shit.<br /><br />I am agnostic on the capitalism vs. socialism issue, but will say that capitalism doesn't seem suited for every type of activity. Making widgets, yes, but doing things for the public good, maybe not.Dan Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11189866002273597534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-85220204275486999102017-02-18T12:16:59.231-05:002017-02-18T12:16:59.231-05:00Tom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJfFJdzSM08
...Tom:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJfFJdzSM08<br /><br /><br />Looking more and more like Venezuela out there all the time...<br /><br />btw dog that didnt bark: Trump no comment at all on the Oroville Dam...Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-88836505012383040252017-02-18T12:12:13.454-05:002017-02-18T12:12:13.454-05:00That's way the red states are doing so much be...That's way the red states are doing so much better socially and economically than the blue states. (snark)Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-72563154272661382762017-02-18T12:05:44.919-05:002017-02-18T12:05:44.919-05:00Dan,
Health care in the US is run by NON profits....Dan,<br /><br />Health care in the US is run by NON profits... in my State, the big two are Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland (both in the academe) and then there is MedStar Health which is a NON profit (non academe).... that is about it...<br /><br />So yes the costs are high here (for the people who pay...) the non-profit model leads to more inefficiencies so the prices keep going up...<br /><br />Education is non-profit... so you see the high prices for University training... <br /><br />the left doesnt look at the efficiency they look at idk how people are treated or something as being paramount... not the numbers... qualified people look at the numbers... left is not qualified for positions of material rule/administration...<br /><br />rule of the left turns all the material systems into shit eventually....Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-52751729277330994242017-02-18T11:54:58.241-05:002017-02-18T11:54:58.241-05:00Here Dan this is NOT a bad thing: "The port a...Here Dan this is NOT a bad thing: "The port averaged 71 container moves per hour per berth, unloading and loading giant container ships by crane faster than any other port in the country."<br /><br />According to Hudson, this is a bad thing... its NOT a bad thing...<br /><br />Other people who study STEM fields spend a lot of time and effort training to then go make this type of thing happen... ie increase efficiency... its a general goal of many technical disciplines...<br /><br />Hudson has NO apparent respect or awareness for any of this... ie he is NOT qualified to be working and/or commenting on any sort of material systems issues...Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-17772353019162514702017-02-18T11:51:35.140-05:002017-02-18T11:51:35.140-05:00@Matt I do not live in Maryland so cannot say anyt...@Matt I do not live in Maryland so cannot say anything about PPP's there. But last I heard, Maryland has a high cost of living? How is a high cost of living more efficient?<br /><br />Running a monopoly for maximum return to investors does not guarantee efficiency, since a monopolist can pass on its costs to consumers. None of the private businesses that I have worked for were efficient. Cronyism & nepotism were rampant, and management was bloated. <br /><br />Rural roads, rural mail, and rural utilities are not "profitable" and would not exist without government support. I'm grateful for my socialized infrastructure. The jobs it creates are stable living wage jobs.<br /><br />There are many examples of public operations that are more "efficient" than for-profits. Health care is a good example. Countries with public health care like Cuba and Finland have lower costs than countries with for-profit health care. The VA costs less and provides better service than private health care in the U.S.. <br /><br />Perhaps the port business is simple enough that the private sector can handle it -- if all they are doing is loading & unloading containers. That's a lot different than healing a sick person or educating a child, where the value is not easily measured. Dan Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11189866002273597534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761684730989137546.post-3985408079642969162017-02-18T11:27:16.273-05:002017-02-18T11:27:16.273-05:00Dan yes they cannot pay their external debts but w...Dan yes they cannot pay their external debts but why?<br /><br />Hudson never explains it, YV never explained it... none of these people can explain it... so they resort to fantasies about "neo-liberals!" etc.. they're not qualified people to be working in this area and are loose cannons not helping... just fomenting more continued ignorance and stupidity....<br /><br />PPPs are run with an expected return to the PP investors, so this is incentive for most efficient operation of the infrastructure which is missing in a pure public owned model... so you get the cronyism/nepotism/Title7/Title9 coming in and the whole thing is soon shit...<br /><br />Here locally the Port of Baltimore is a PPP and they win awards for efficiency:<br /><br />http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-port-efficiency-award-20161213-story.html<br /><br />"Baltimore's port was the most productive port in the nation for the third straight time in 2015, according to an independent analysis by the Journal of Commerce.<br /><br />The port averaged 71 container moves per hour per berth, unloading and loading giant container ships by crane faster than any other port in the country.<br /><br />The 11 cranes at the Seagirt Marine Terminal, the port's primary container facility, are operated by Ports America Chesapeake under a $1.3 billion public-private partnership deal."<br /><br />PPP: "most productive"... so no joking... <br /><br />All of the PPP roadways in my area are the most impeccably maintained... <br /><br />Bill often uses a strawman for roadway PPPs where you have to "negotiate with the road owners... " here in Maryland anyway this thing you put in your car called EasyPass which debits an account for a buck or two when you use the infrastructure... so there is no negotiation involved, its regulated rates for the use...<br /><br />It works well... increases efficiency so more income from leading govt USD flow is left over for other areas of the economy besides infrastructure...<br /><br /><br /><br />Matt Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11978352335097260145noreply@blogger.com