Theft Is Deflationary--Especially the Crony-Capitalist/State Kind
(January 31, 2014)
Monopoly power in all its forms--in our system, crony capitalism and its partner, the neofeudal state--enables theft on a systemic scale. If a monopoly forces its customers to pay more for low-quality goods and services because they have no choice, how is that not theft? If the Mafia raises the price of "protection" on small businesses (another case of monopoly and no other choice), how is that extortion not theft? When a local government raises junk fees to fund its cronies' excessive (i.e. non-market-rate) salaries and pensions, how is that monopoly power to extort more money from those with no other choice any different from Mafia extortion/theft? If a pharmaceutical company extends a patent on a costly medication by changing the dosage slightly, how is that not theft via regulatory capture? If a government contractor charges the Pentagon $1,000 for a hammer (all those overhead charges, tsk-tsk--lobbying corrupt politicos costs a lot, you know), how is that not theft of taxpayers' money? When the Federal Reserve drops the yield on savings to near-zero to funnel all that stolen wealth to its cronies on Wall Street, how is that not theft? Monopoly power in all its forms--in our system, crony capitalism and its partner, the neofeudal state--enables theft on a systemic scale. When crony capitalism and the state are essentially one system, the propaganda organs of the state and mainstream corporate media combine to persuade the stripmined populace that their theft is not theft, it's "capitalism and democracy at work." This is known as The Big Lie. What we have is systemic theft, predation and exploitation. Calling things what they really are would upset the apple cart of systemic exploitation. Let's Call Things What They Really Are in 2014 (January 15, 2014) Correspondent Jeff W. explains that all this systemic theft is inherently deflationary: All forms of stealing are deflationary. Stealing cuts into the average citizen’s disposable income, it reduces how much he can buy. Because there are now fewer dollars chasing more goods, deflation is the inevitable result. Stealing is actually worse than a zero-sum game. Society loses more than the thief takes. In addition to losses from theft, a victim often has to spend more on security measures. Theft also has a chilling effect on capital investment and commerce in general.
Thank you, Jeff, for explaining the causal connection between systemic theft
and deflation. To all those terrified of deflation (for example, central bankers
and their cronies holding trillions of dollars in phantom assets and illusory collateral),
the solution is obvious: get rid of systemic theft. But since those terrified of
deflation are at the top of the monopoly-power thievery pyramid, that is asking the
impossible: for the thieves to relinquish their power to steal.
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