Sept. Seminar: Subsidies, taxes and inflation

["John Gelles" <johng@xxxxxxxxxx>]

        Competing for our attention, as we examine the
        political economy of global terror, response, and
        market reactions, are Marxist materialist ideologies,
        Islamic fascism, and a justification for the squeeze
        on wages begun when the accounting for profits
        was unable to accomodate subsidies based on
        output -- instead of a tax on earnings.

        No doubt a towering structure of literary
        references can relate the history of production
        to the history of war and misery.

        Moreover, there is in every breast enough
        hate of the other to last til the end of time.
        But the place we want to get to is the place
        where Islamic fascism can be destroyed as
        was German, Japanese and Italian.

        Once there, literary studies can proceed --
        they add to our libraries; and over eons of time,
        they will add to what wisdom can be distilled
        from that abundance of words.

        But justification for the squeeze on wages,
        (and the rape of the environment), enforced
        by false profit accounting, is absent. And
        still the squeeze (and rape) goes on.

        The new subsidy to prevent closure of our
        air lines is the example needed to prevent
        the race to the bottom interrupted on 11
        September. Not that any of Islamic fascism's
        agenda is a race to anywhere but hell.

        Yet there was on September 10th a recession
        in sight and the race to the bottom continued.

        The only real issue for this September seminar
        is how to pay for the subsidies necessary to
        win for democracy its wars against the race to
        the bottom and the race to hell.

        I say they cannot be paid from taxes -- at least
        not if the subsidies are big enough to stop both
        races. And even if the races are somewhat
        separate, they are also somewhat connected.

        So the issue is resolved into two choices: Do
        we pay for subsidies with performing public debt
        that looks forward to taxes with which to pay
        interest to private parties? Or do we use a public
        promise only to keep certain liquid savings whole
        when inflation tries to diminish their purchasing
        power?  If we do only the latter, necessary
        spending can begin now.

        It is repeated by pundits that you will never know
        when a war against terror is won -- except that
        the terror stops.  True enough.  But if our war aim
        is to establish freedom from want, we will know
        when that aim is achieved -- it will be when there
        is no want.

        We are always able to measure how much
        freedom of speech and religion we have.

        Freedom from fear of terror, crime, disease,
        filth, and bad police (if there are any), will require
        the free-est press imaginable, the best government,
        and a lot of time.

                John Gelles