From dissatisfaction to disdain

Reality has never involved politics and economy having an ability to meet ever-increasing expectations, though many political and economical theorists have for many a decade argued just so. When huge parts of the western workforce was employed non-publicly funded and when industry was in abundance, came wealth and immense state revenue never seen before in the history of mankind. In the intervening time, as judgement was impaired by over-optimism, politics across the spectrum started adapting to the imaginative world views. Gullibility replaced sober administration.

Since reality is not optional, many are now waking up to a world where they have a hard time making ends meet, as they had expected more. Simultaneously a manic generation is retiring, and has become accustomed to the riches described in the paragraph above. Meanwhile some western heads of states claim that the crisis is over, others keep increasing debt and yet more are firing up the money printing press - undermining the very "trust" that has replaced the gold standard.

What any earnest and clear-headed leader with intact morality should do is quite the opposite: Explain how much it costs to run the state's primary undertakings, that it ought to focus on these first rather than granting wishes, and that the country needs to balance budgets - imports and exports, revenue and spending - both because no other country on the planet wants to pay for our standard of living, and because real poverty always hit those at the bottom the hardest. A political leader with dignity would obviously also make clear what hard work it takes to maintain our society and the toil behind building welfare.

Otherwise the people will continue to expect the impossible, why should they not when their chosen leaders cling to it. The contempt for politicians will increase as they cannot in any way keep their promises. Extremism and dark ideologies with utopian commitments will follow.

Laurits Andersen Ring (1854-1933) Landevejen ved Maagenstrup/Road near Maagenstrup (1888).

Om tiltro som møntfod

Det er en smule underligt at nogle klør sig i skægget efter endnu et bankkrak (senest Tønder Bank). Vi har været vidner til den største kreditekspansion nogensinde, egentlig gennem mange årtier, men massivt forstærket gennem 00-erne. Vesten har ikke haft forøgelse i værdi, snarere tværtimod, da produktion og forædling i store træk er flyttet til andre dele af verden. Samtidig trykker banker via nationalbanker nye penge for at alle skal være glade og slippe for at tilpasse sig med rimeligere levestandard tilfølge.

Efterfølgende kommer så hovedpinen. Som resultat af ovennævnte naivitet og økonomiske analfabetisme, skal kommende generationer betale af på de bjerge af gæld man med stor "succes" har fået oparbejdet. Værst er det at der ikke er udsigt til at politikere bliver klogere, de langer til stadighed hjælpe- og kickstartspakker bestående af penge der ikke eksisterer i reel værdi. Lidt som at tisse i bukserne.

Dear President Barack Obama

"Congratulations to winning the election. I am sure You will do your best continuing to advocate social progress in the United States of America, and best of luck with it. 

However, the total public debt of your country lies at over US$16 trillion* - a colossal sum! The truth behind all those numbers implies the spending of funds the United States in fact does not have, and it involves indebting future generations rather than living within your means. That is not very socially responsible, is it? 

Your aims are set high, and that is honorable. But politics must never be about what sounds good. A sober constitution is what has made America great and it is what will do so in the time to come.

Again, best of luck President. This was just a short but important reminder on this cheerful day, as the ones worst off are always those hit the hardest by long-term unrealistic economical policies."

It is important to keep in mind that there were candidates in the primaries devoted to actually balancing the budget, and had bold plans for doing so. Mitt Romney was not one of those.

U.S. National Debt Clock
U.S. Public debt on Wikipedia

* "Trillion" in short-scale English speaking countries is a 16 followed by 12 zeros (16 with the exponent 12).

Nyinkommen kokbok

Via nådiga svärmor har »Hemmets kokbok« nått det Forsberg-Gillvingska hushållet. Den är utgiven av Fackskolan För Huslig Ekonomi I Uppsala på P.A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag (Kungliga Hofboktr. Iduns Tryckeri-A.-B. Stockholm 1919). Således är boken från perioden innan språket med nödvändighet skulle anpassas till lägsta gemensamma nämnare och snarare i viss mening verkade uppmuntra till den goda fostran som krävs hos oss civiliserade samhällsförvaltare. Huruvida detta kom sig trots kärvare tider, eller på grund av, kan liksom det av undertecknad görs, ofta begrundas.

Förordet inleds med följande mening:

»Hemmets kokbok« är en kokbok för det borgerliga hemmet; den innehåller huvudsakligen vad man kunde kalla god husmanskost, men därjämte även ett ej ringa antal finare, och naturligtvis dyrare, rätter för mera festliga tillfällen.

Det framstår mig riktigt att ett välfungerande kök med tillhörande köksbibliotek kräva denna kokbok. Vid sidan av John Seymours idé- och handbok »Självhushållning« givetvis, allra helst i Bonnierfaktas förstaupplaga med svartvita och bruntonade detaljrika illustrationer.

»Hemmets kokbok« bjuder även på en ordlista. Som ovan nämnt, inte förenkla utan folkbilda:

Produktion ger värde, inte sedelpressen

Häromveckan publicerade jag tillsammans med Carl Anders Breitholtz och Jost Stricker Jørgensen en dansk version av Återindustrialisering ger framtidstro. Debattartikeln fick heluppslag i Jyllands-Posten och kompletterades med en passande illustration, vilken kan ses som digital faximil här.

Direktlänk (JP) till illustrationsbefriad Genindustrialisering giver fremtidstro.