This page was last updated on October 5, 2016.
One Cartoon, 10,000 Words …; Carl Davidson; Facebook; August 31, 2016.
You can learn more about BCR’s leftster management here. “Leftster” is the combination of leftist and gangster, inspired by the left-originated “bankster.”
Referring to a cartoon he shared about economics, Carl Davidson (KD) of Beaver County Reds (BCR) wrote, “One Cartoon, 10,000 Words …” Cranford Coulter (CC), the guy who originally posted the cartoon, wrote, “People who don’t know the difference between household economics and macro-economics are dangerous, deceitful or stupid, and should not be involved in federal government.”
In my paper creatively entitled Economics, I wrote, “Do your eyes glaze over at the mere mention of economics? If so, that’s the intent of people of any ideology who want us to leave economic decisions to them. In truth, economics is simply the study of everyday human behavior. Beware the person who asserts this or that issue is too complicated for the average citizen to understand.”
In the first panel of the subject cartoon, someone who may or may not self-identify as a female (F1) says, “The federal government’s budget is just like a family budget.” Another someone who may or may not self-identify as a female (F2) replies, “Really? Your family prints its own currency?”
In the second panel, F1 replies, “No.” F2 then asks, “Can your family sell its own super-low-interest bonds to borrow money?”
In the third panel, F1 replies, “No! But when I do my family budget, I can’t spend more than I earn.” F2 then asks, “Then how will anyone in your family ever own a home? Or go to college?”
In the fourth and final panel, F1 replies, “My point is, the government has to cut back! Starting with Social Security!” F2 then asks, “Your family saves money by robbing Grandma?”
As for “robbing Grandma,” the feds can’t steal Grandma’s Socialist Security (SS) or Medicare. The feds can choose to reduce or deny benefits but it’s not stealing. That’s because as soon as Grandma paid her SS and Medicare taxes, those fruits of her hard work ceased being Grandma’s property and became the property of the U.S. government. The same is true for all taxes at all levels of government. While the feds kept track of how much Grandma paid, there is no stack of cash or IOUs with Grandma’s name on it. In case you’re wondering why SS was designed like this, it was all about politics. As FDR said, “I guess you’re right on the economics, but those taxes were never a problem of economics. They are politics all the way through. We put those payroll contributions there so as to give the contributors a legal, moral, and political right to collect their pensions and unemployment benefits. With those taxes in there, no damn politician can ever scrap my social security program.” Details are at “Socialist Security and Medicare.”
As for CC’s comment, “People who don’t know the difference between household economics and macro-economics are dangerous, deceitful or stupid,” that covers the vast majority of us, perhaps even CC, F2, and KD. Fortunately, the underlying principles of microeconomics (“household economics”) and macroeconomics are more similar than dissimilar.
For example, a household spending more than it earns is a bad idea. F2 thinks getting a mortgage to buy a house means you’re spending more than you earn. Not true, as long as your overall household spending (including the mortgage payment) is less than you earn. It’s a good time to remember a mortgage is a secured loan.
F2 thinks you need to spend more than you earn to “go to college.” Again, not true. My parents and grandparents managed to send their combined two daughters to Grace Martin Secretarial School and their combined five sons to Carnegie Tech (now CMU) and Penn State without spending more than they earned. I should mention at least three of my grandparents were not high-school graduates yet still were able to accomplish their feat during the Great Depression.
As with a household, government consistently spending more than its tax collections is a bad idea. As the debt grows, so does the portion of the budget dedicated to paying interest and retiring debt. Eventually, the government must pay back the debt.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity. <g>
© 2004-2016 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.