|
|
By Ken Carroll, on June 13th, 2013
Greek philosopher Zeno’s most famous paradox was an attempt to show that motion is a myth. In Zeno’s scenario, Achilles must race a tortoise and because Achilles is much faster he gives the tortoise a head start. Surely a demigod outraces a plodding reptile with four-inch legs, right?
“Not so fast, my friend,” said Zeno of Elea, who may have been an ancestor of ESPN commentator Lee Corso. After the contestants begin running, Achilles reaches the starting point of the tortoise, but the tortoise is also moving and is at a point farther down the track. Achilles will soon reach that second point, but his armored rival has again moved on. This scenario repeats an infinite number of times because there are an infinite number of points between the two.
The point (pun intended) Zeno was attempting to make was that while Achilles gains on the tortoise he can never catch him. The current – and more accurate – scenario is the reduction of the deficit can never reduce the debt.
The deficit is like the gap between Zeno and the tortoise; it doesn’t matter how much you reduce the deficit, income never catches spending and thus every year we are more in debt. When a politician brags on “reducing the deficit” – and I’m looking at you Barack Obama – remember they’re losing ground to a tortoise and at the end of the day our federal government is more in debt.
While our friend Zeno was wrong about motion and his conclusions were, at best, just a little warped; he still provides us with a problem that tickles our synapses. Unfortunately the tortoise, who went on to greater fame when he out-dueled an overconfident hare, represents an elusive deficit that must be surpassed by a surplus. Currently, Achilles is eating the tortoise’s dust and the American people are swallowing the poison pill of a federal government that simultaneously spends too much money and drives private businesses out of the marketplace.
The truth is that our spending is out of control and our revenue is stifled because our massive federal government out-competes the private sector, which must turn a profit, for resources, There is no plan to reduce the debt and restore private enterprise.
It’s time for Achilles to take his spear and put an end to the tortoise of deficit spending. If we do not begin to produce annual surpluses, then we will never begin rolling back a debt that is smothering our economy.
Thank you for reading. If you liked it, please share it. If you didn’t like it, let me know why. I appreciate feedback. Thanks, Ken
 . . . → Read More: Achilles, the Tortoise, and the Deficit
By Ken Carroll, on June 13th, 2013
Greek philosopher Zeno’s most famous paradox was an attempt to show that motion is a myth. In Zeno’s scenario, Achilles must race a tortoise and because Achilles is much faster he gives the tortoise a head start. Surely a demigod outraces a plodding reptile with four-inch legs, right?
“Not so fast, my friend,” said Zeno of Elea, who may have been an ancestor of ESPN commentator Lee Corso. After the contestants begin running, Achilles reaches the starting point of the tortoise, but the tortoise is also moving and is at a point farther down the track. Achilles will soon reach that second point, but his armored rival has again moved on. This scenario repeats an infinite number of times because there are an infinite number of points between the two.
The point (pun intended) Zeno was attempting to make was that while Achilles gains on the tortoise he can never catch him. The current – and more accurate – scenario is the reduction of the deficit can never reduce the debt.
The deficit is like the gap between Zeno and the tortoise; it doesn’t matter how much you reduce the deficit, income never catches spending and thus every year we are more in debt. When a politician brags on “reducing the deficit” – and I’m looking at you Barack Obama – remember they’re losing ground to a tortoise and at the end of the day our federal government is more in debt.
While our friend Zeno was wrong about motion and his conclusions were, at best, just a little warped; he still provides us with a problem that tickles our synapses. Unfortunately the tortoise, who went on to greater fame when he out-dueled an overconfident hare, represents an elusive deficit that must be surpassed by a surplus. Currently, Achilles is eating the tortoise’s dust and the American people are swallowing the poison pill of a federal government that simultaneously spends too much money and drives private businesses out of the marketplace.
The truth is that our spending is out of control and our revenue is stifled because our massive federal government out-competes the private sector, which must turn a profit, for resources, There is no plan to reduce the debt and restore private enterprise.
It’s time for Achilles to take his spear and put an end to the tortoise of deficit spending. If we do not begin to produce annual surpluses, then we will never begin rolling back a debt that is smothering our economy.
Thank you for reading. If you liked it, please share it. If you didn’t like it, let me know why. I appreciate feedback. Thanks, Ken
. . . → Read More: Achilles, the Tortoise, and the Deficit
By DanielJMitchell, on June 11th, 2013
I periodically post TV interviews and the second-most-watched segment – edged out only by my debate with Robert Reich on Keynesian economics – was when I discussed how President Obama’s statist policies are bad for young people. So there’s obviously some concern about the future of the country and what it means for today’s youth. […] . . . → Read More: Obamanomics and Big Government: Bad News for Young People
By Marita Noon, on June 10th, 2013
In a news cycle where the lack of transparency is revealed daily, it is refreshing when something previously opaque exposes its true motives. Such is the case for the Sierra Club and its desire to block oil and gas drilling. I’ve written many times on environmental groups’ influence over use of public lands and how they often use claims of some endangered flora or fauna as cover for their efforts to block any beneficial economic development, such as mineral extraction or agricultural activity. They cry about some critter when in fact it is really about control—control of public lands. It is this very tactic that was the impetus for my “Smash the Watermelons” initiative. Everywhere I speak, I give out bumper stickers with the slogan and pens with a green barrel, but that write with red ink. Imprinted on the pen is: “Green on the outside, red on the inside. SmashTheWatermelons.org” When people ask about the bumper sticker’s meaning, I explain: “When you spend every day, as I do, on energy issues, you quickly realize that the environmental zealots are really about blocking development in America. While they appear green on the outside, they are red on the inside.” But [...] . . . → Read More: The Sierra Club exposed
By Allan Bourdius, on June 10th, 2013
Anybody who drives – I’m guessing most of the people reading this – is probably receptive to the meme of “our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling”. Yet, though billions of dollars are spent annually between all levels of government as soon as one thing gets fixed or improved, another starts falling apart. What’s the real story
Read more [+]
. . . → Read More: Bridges Too Far
By Matthew S. Harrison, on June 9th, 2013
With all the incivilities thrown around in DC these days, I thought I would write a little reminder to our fellow citizens across the aisle (knowing they call me their enemy rather than a fellow American Citizen). A long time ago, 237 or so years, a group of wise, worldly, freedom loving men [...] . . . → Read More: Here Comes Commie Boo Boo!
|
