This is a sort-of, kind-of, what-the-hell follow-up to my anguished post earlier this week on the realization that there are “just too many words” that have lost all meaning and value. I ask forgiveness from the editors and readers of TMV for more of my (Omphaloskepsis)navel contemplations.
I decided to review some of my prior posts from TMV (a mistake). I started blogging on TMV in early 2009 and was rather prolific for the first three years. Then I slowed down and in 2013, I became rather erratic in my posting. I still work part-time (thankfully my spouse has worked full-time since 2008 at the same Federal Contractor) and I worked on a few new enterprise ideas but none really panned out.
I am working on two books – one fiction and the other non-fiction, but they are both stuck in rewrite as I can’t tell one from the other. I am reminded that the difference between fiction and non-fiction is that fiction has to make sense. I prefer general chaos, perverse randomness, and pervasive arbitrary stupidity to best describe reality.
I’ve written over 200 TMV posts to date. I try to make each one unique but sadly I’ve rehashed many topics over and over again – particularly discussing corrupt crony cartel capitalism; the criminal oligarchy; US healthcare and sick-care; the finite planet and environmental degradation; useless political parties and their asinine paralysis; economic policy and modern monetary theory; sociopaths and psychopaths; and President Obama and a variety of celebrity follies. I should ask the NSA which words I have used the most in my posts – just to see if I’ve been naughty or nice. Maybe my ego is too big – even the NSA likely doesn’t care what the hell I write on TMV.
One thought that danced through my head was to comb prior posts that could be rewritten in 2014. Some people didn’t read them and others have probably forgotten them. That’s how many writers, commentators, pundits and bloggers seem to operate. But I want to fix the old ones so much that just “tweaking” a few of them would not be sufficient even for my own low standards or the higher standards of TMV. It would also involve too much work and I am suffering from an excess of laziness – a preference to be a “moocher” and not a jobs creator.
It isn’t a job if one works for free. At best it’s being a “consultant” in any field handing out pretty business cards. But I persist in my writing – which is probably more evidence of a serious psychosis or general insanity. Amazingly I’m already trailing off at I’ve not even written 500 words to this point.
Since my last post took so many words and subjects off the table (and onto the floor) I am at a pleasant “loss for words.” Some TMV readers recommended that I concentrate on the small, personal and local things to find personal satisfaction. I don’t have many people in my life and those relationships are pretty good. The City of Phoenix (where my family and I reside) is a well-run governmental entity. The State of Arizona is another story – or joke – but because more money comes into the state from visitors and retirees, it can partially and temporarily cover up its many deficiencies of really poor governance and a very shallow economy. Thus I’ve turned to an exploration of bellybutton lint.
I will return to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) for the masochists on TMV. There are important points I wish to repeat with respect to MMT. It may describe the underlying operations of monetarily sovereign nations but when a political/economic system is so corrupt, fraudulent, manipulated and criminal, it doesn’t matter what the underlying policies and principles are when those entrusted with running the system cannot do so honestly or competently. In a country where the “rule of law” only applies to the non-elite, non-wealthy and powerless, then anything goes and nothing matters.
Money is only an efficient means of exchange and method of keeping score. It is not a store of value except in the short term. It can be issued directly by a government or by the government simultaneously issuing debt through the banking/financial sector. It is both a credit and debit, based upon overall social trust and general convenience. It is a legal fiction that is supported by the power of a state to spend and tax in, and enforce the use of, a particular currency. Banks create it by lending funds under a governmental charter – so ultimately it should be a public good in that it facilitates most activities in a modern society. It does not need any backing or support by tying it to any commodities, gold, real estate or tangible assets when issued by the state, but often banks require such collateral to their loans that create money.
I will also try to link to and repost articles by other blogs and writers in the future – generally from the list I now include at the bottom of my posts. There are many people who are better at thinking and writing than I am – but I am crafty enough to recognize those efforts and honest enough to give credit where it is due. In fact, many ideas explored in my prior posts have been “borrowed” or “stolen” from other persons – originally found in the recommended readings below. I am still trying to synthesize the various ideas into a coherent worldview and overall interrelated perspective.
I am now finished with my thoughts for today. This post is less than 1,000 words. However our TMV Editors have not issued me any brevity awards – this being the second in a row under such a paltry word limit.
I wish everyone who writes for or reads TMV a very pleasant weekend. President Obama’s NSA speech today will probably provide enough fodder for thought and blog material for at least a week – until the next crisis, disaster, or silly escapade distracts our nation’s collective attention.
Respectfully submitted by Marc Pascal, ranting from Phoenix, Arizona. You can reach me at [email protected]. Here is a list of my favorite blogs, including aggregators and those that concentrate on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)***:
BILLY BLOG*** by Bill Mitchell (http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog)
BUSINESS INSIDER (http://www.businessinsider.com)
FABIUS MAXIMUS, Chet Richards, Editor (http://fabiusmaximus.com)
GOLEM XIV by David Malone (http://www.golemxiv.co.uk)
HISTORY UNFOLDING by David Kaiser (http://historyunfolding.blogspot.com)
IAN WELSH by Ian Welsh (http://www.ianwelsh.net/)
Jesse’s Café Américain – (http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com)KUNSTLER by James Howard Kunstler, formerly blogging under the name “Clusterf*ck Nation” (http://kunstler.com)
MICHAEL HUDSON*** (http://michael-hudson.com)
MODERN MONEY MECHANICS*** – MMT Simplified by Senexx (http://modernmoney.wordpress.com)
MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY*** by Rodger Malcolm Mitchell (http://mythfighter.com)
MOSLER ECONOMICS*** is written by Warren Mosler (http://moslereconomics.com)NAKED CAPITALISM*** written & edited by Yves Smith & Lambert Strether (http://www.nakedcapitalism.com)
NEW ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES*** (http://neweconomicperspectives.org)
OF TWO MINDS by Charles Hugh Smith (http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html)
PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM by Cullen Roche who calls his views “Monetary Realism” which is a distinction without a major difference from MMT (http://pragcap.com)
SCIENCE MAGAZINE (http://www.sciencemag.org)
SHADOW GOVERNMENT STATISTICS by John Williams (http://www.shadowstats.com)
THE ARCHDRUID REPORT by John Michael Greer (http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com)
SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED by Charles Kinsley Michaelson, III (http://ckm3.blogspot.com)
THE BURNING PLATFORM by Jim Quinn (http://www.theburningplatform.com)
THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE by Michael Snyder (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com)
THE HIPCRIME VOCAB *** by an architect writing under the pseudonym “escapefromwisconsin” (http://hipcrime.blogspot.com)
THE TRANSPORT POLITIC By Yonah Freemark (http://www.thetransportpolitic.comTHE WEB OF DEBT BLOG by Ellen Brown an attorney who is running for Treasurer of California under the Green Party banner advocating the creation of a public bank (http://ellenbrown.com)
WASHINGTON’S BLOG – (http://www.washingtonsblog.com)
ZERO HEDGE edited by Tyler Durdin (http://www.zerohedge.com)