On Jan 3, 12:11*pm, Mr.B1ack > wrote:
> Harry K > wrote:
> >On Jan 3, 5:16 am, Mr.B1ack > wrote:
> >> >We could easily make gas consumption fall even more if we took away
> >> >the drivers license of dangerous drivers.
>
> >> Are you nuts ? They drive more - and faster ... meaning
> >> both oil companies and oil speculators make MO' MONEY !
> >> Oil companies and speculators BUY POLITICIANS and REGULATORS.
> >> Ergo, no such law will come to be.
>
> >We apparently haven't learned yet. *Saw a report last week that SUV
> >sales are high and rising again.
>
> * *Lots of those "easy credit / no money down / no
> * *interest 'till 2012" things again too. IMHO, no
> * *meaningful regulation of credit practices has
> * *been implemented either.
>
> * *Nope. Nobody learned a gawddamned thing.
>
> * *The depression isn't nearly deep enough - and
> * *those high gas prices didn't last long enough.
>
> * *Which begs us to wonder ...
>
> * *To some extent, a legit function of govt is to
> * *provide fiscal/social "safety nets" to buffer
> * *the inherent yo-yo aspects of market capitalism.
> * *Big 1st-world societies require that extra
> * *stability. Govt can get everyone over the
> * *roughest bits.
>
> * *However ... often those nasty boom/bust cycles
> * *or other screwups MEAN something ... there's a
> * *collective lesson to be learned. In '29 and '08
> * *the lesson was about indiscriminate lending and
> * *the hazards of speculating using borrowed money.
>
> * *Now '29 was a *disaster* ... vast numbers of
> * *people turned into hobos or flop-house/soup-line
> * *regulars overnight. Even many of "the rich" were
> * *reduced to sweeping floors ... assuming they
> * *didn't just jump off of something high. People
> * *LEARNED the value of a dollar, they LEARNED
> * *that even mighty institutions can crumble to
> * *dust, they LEARNED about the evils of credit
> * *and the wages of sinful speculation. Those
> * *lessons lasted a rather long time. A skeptical,
> * *conservative view of finance became deeply
> * *ingrained in the public psyche.
>
> * *The '08 situation has been different. Govt
> * *immediatly jumped in, bailed even the cappiest,
> * *stupidest banks and lenders, bailed all sorts
> * *of big biz and attempted to 'stimulate' smaller
> * *businesses. Joe Public got his reduced-mortgage
> * *plan, debts reduced, super-extended unemployment
> * *and a lot of other small perks. Joe barely notices
> * *that his job opportunities are still disappearing
> * *to east asia - and therefore doesn't demand strict
> * *measures to stop the outflow.
>
> * *Result ... nobody learned a gawddamned thing.
> * *They're ready to pick up with Hiz & Herz SUVs
> * *and a wallet full of credit cards right where
> * *they left off. Banks are increasigly ready to
> * *indulge such things, even if they're still
> * *paying off their bailouts. The only thing
> * *that's remained down is real estate - though
> * *the govt TRIED to get people hooked on that
> * *again too.
>
> * *So happy days are (sort of) here again ... in
> * *a relative way anyhow. And all that happiness
> * *is paid by BORROWED MONEY - terabuck loans from
> * *countries I wouldn't really call our "friends".
> * *All this sets the stage for a far worse crash
> * *a few years hence.
>
> * *So, did govt do good ... or do evil ?
>
> * *Should this depression have really HURT, enough
> * *so everyone learned something ?

If I ever buy another car, I suspect it will be a hybrid or full
electric. I am retired in my 70s. 99.9% of my driving is a radius of
30 miles and the remaining trips are only 100 miles roundtrip.

Harry K