We should be suspicious when politicians, economists and the media declare a "consensus" and marginalize dissent. President Obama says, "There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy."
That's not true. Last week, the Cato Institute ran a full-page newspaper ad signed by more than 200 economists, including Nobel laureates stating:
"We the undersigned do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan's 'lost decade' in the 1990s ... Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth."
Doesn't that sound remarkably like global warming? There's no debate, everyone agrees, blahdy blah, and meanwhile the peanut gallery is saying that actually they don't agree.
My father is fond of saying, "Don't cloud up the issue with the facts." How fitting.
1
My dad says something similar: "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind's already made up!"
The next person who whines to me about how the Republicans are being selfish for voting against big spending bills is gonna get it. Maybe I'll ask them for 90% of their money (even if it's $5). Then, when they don't give it to me, I'll tell them they're selfish, because they're not stimulating my economy. If they spend that $5 on me, they'll get richer! That's how it works, right?
By the way, Sarah, did you listen to Glenn Beck's show yesterday morning, or watch it in the evening? Did you hear/see him play the Al Gore speech, or talk about Pelosi's 500 million lost jobs? HI-LARIOUS.
Link to the Gore speech (in case you didn't hear it), and
Link to "Nancy Pelosi is an Idiot". Hee.
Posted by: Deltasierra at February 05, 2009 05:27 AM (fPHZv)
2
Pelosi also appears to have been under the belief that natural gas is not a fossil fuel. I'd guess her "reasoning" process went something like this:
--fossil fuels bad
--natural gas good
--therefore, natural gas is not a fossil fuel
Posted by: david foster at February 05, 2009 06:03 AM (ke+yX)
3
B-but david, anything "natural" must be gOOd! The "natural" sticker on my SUV exonerates it!
Sarah, "facts" are a Europpressive invention, a
white cloud that mars the dark beauty of the imaginatiOn, the dreams of Our father, the audacity of hOpe.
The Cato Institute's 200 "economists" probably all got degrees from the University of Phoenix. A for-profit institution, of course. The greedy pay each other to reinforce their delusions. When will they ever realize that
the money tree is real?
Deltasierra, I would ask for 100% of everybody's money. I know best how to spend it. I am a professor. I am smart. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," said Marx. My ego has
needs. Appease it. Do your duty.
Posted by: kevin at February 05, 2009 06:46 AM (+nV09)
4
This is yet another example of the sociocentric worldview I dealt with in
this comment. "Consensus" is meaningless by itself. Facts are independent of people. If X is false, and everyone believes X, does that make X "true"? Reality is not determined by majority vote.
Nor is it determined by minority vote. A conspiracy theory gets no points for being embraced by a handful who believe they are more perceptive than the blind sheeple.
"I believe it, so it must be true."
"Lots of experts agree with me, so it must be true."
"Only my little gang agrees with me, so it must be true."
All three variants of the same belief are false.
Posted by: Amritas at February 05, 2009 07:00 AM (+nV09)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
