Draine on Society

Recently, several pieces of legislation crafted by Congress have come under fire from politicians for their effect on the national debt. Typically these critics have been dubbed “deficit hawks” due to their conservative, or hawkish, viewpoints on the subject. But this type of behavior is not limited to one side of the political aisle. Indeed, all sound-minded and forward-looking individuals ought to agree that we must ultimately reduce the size of the national debt. Thus, a closer look into the nature of debt and deficits is warranted.

The Popular Capitalist View

A key part of the Popular Capitalist program is to reduce the cost of living. A lower cost of providing the necessities puts the rudimentary task of paying the cost of sovereignty more easily within the reach of the political economies of regions with modest resources. This allows those political economies and thus most political economies to offer its citizens opportunities to reach beyond mere survival and build capital that will benefit their communities for years to come. Also, a lower cost of the living beyond survival makes those efforts at building capital more attainable.

These past few months have been rough in New Brunswick, New Jersey and the North East in general. First, there was the snow, possibly the most profuse in more than a century. Dr. David A. Robinson of Rutgers University [1] says it all:
“Unfortunately, snow records are not lengthy or complete at most locations around the state, but I am confident in stating that most locations established new monthly snowfall records for any winter month in at least the past 130 years.” [2]
Then there was the rain. The …

Draine on Society

There are two forms of government economic policy: monetary and fiscal. Monetary policy is conducted by a central bank, or the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States, while fiscal policy is conducted by the Department of the Treasury and the Legislative Branch. This article will examine both forms and evaluate their relative effectiveness in promoting economic activity and growth in times of recession.

Draine on Society

Money is a fascinating human invention that has facilitated economic activity for thousands for years. The decision to introduce currency allowed humans to shift away from a barter exchange economy which had the burdensome requirement of what economists refer to as coincidence of wants. That is, if we operated in a barter economy and I raised chickens for a living, I could only purchase goods and services from individuals who wanted chickens.

Draine on Society

A “recession” is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Thus, by the time a contraction is officially labeled a recession, it may seem painfully obvious to informed observers. A “recovery” is defined as positive growth beginning from the trough of a recession and lasting until the next recession. The overall expansion and contraction pattern is known as the business cycle, and in true cyclical nature manifests itself over and over again.

What is Seen and Not Seen
On Wednesday the 29th, it was my privilege to attend a lecture given by a skeptic of man-made global warming, Lord Christopher Monckton of Brenchley. It is  likely your reaction to such a view will be either vehement opposition to the idea that anyone can disagree with the “inconvenient truth” of Al Gore’s movie or of the sudden realization that maybe one is not alone in one’s doubts.

Draine on Society

Research may be considered one of the critical aspects of human activity that separate us from all other known species. Through the continued study of a facet of the natural or human world, we are able to constantly expand the frontiers of human knowledge.

I originally began this letter with a desire to take Alexander Draine to task for the economic policies he has advocated in these past few weeks. I had hoped to end with a small quip about his positions being a Draine on our society. As I pondered and searched for evidence to support my claims, I realized something. Neither one of us has the omniscience necessary to argue our points with the absolute certainty that he has cloaked his arguments in.

By Mike Stuzynski, as edited by the Johnsonville Press. This article also appeared in second-edit form in the Daily Targum, 2/20/2009
If you’ve read any piece of political writing in the past two weeks, you’ve probably heard some use of the term ‘bipartisan’ thrown around a few times. And why not? On paper it’s a truly groovy subject, evoking images of people with different opinions shaking hands and getting along over a $4 espresso drink. If you take your cues from the popular media (and realistically, who doesn’t), it’s just …