Don puts that Wharton School education on display once more.

[Mashmont]

What a stupid lie. Why do you even bother?

Of course. Armchair troll FF knows better than the greatest economist of all time.

 

[citygator]

Of course. Armchair troll FF knows better than the greatest economist of all time.

He was not saying:

• prices never rise for other reasons, or
• government is the only thing that ever makes prices go up temporarily.

He was talking about persistent inflation, not short-term price shocks.

Inflation can begin from non-government sources:

• Supply shocks (oil embargoes, pandemics, wars)
• Demographic shifts (labor shortages)
• Global trade disruptions
• Housing shortages driven by zoning and geography
• Cost-push inflation is real (at least temporarily)
• Inflation expectations
• Wage-setting institutions
• Market concentration
• Global supply chains

The 1970s oil shocks are the classic example: inflation rose before monetary policy fully accommodated it.

After 2008 massive balance sheet expansion led to little inflation for over a decade which forced economists to recognize:

• Velocity matters
• Distribution of money matters
• Where demand shows up matters

 

[Dragonlady]

Maybe that rabble that you love so should try living within their means.

You mean Republicans? They’re the ones who keeping racking up the huge government deficits and failing to live within their means.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Armchair troll FF knows better than the greatest economist of all time.

Sophomore college Econ students know better than this. Friedman was a pioneer. So it should come as no surprise that we have learned something since then. Friedman's view of the invisible hand was a bit mythological. And his model of the market in this thought exercise was a homogenous, self-righting bowl of goo that does not exist, in the globally connected market we actually inhabit.

In the real world, government spending can even push down on inflation and costs, because of economies of scale and removal of profit-takers.

Now see, you learned something today.

 

[otto105]

Trump says economy is strong, but Americans should buy fewer dolls​

The U.S. economy has shown signs of resilience with the stock market up this year and overall growth looking solid for the third quarter. But many Americans see the prices of housing, groceries, education, electricity and other basic needs as swallowing up their incomes, a dynamic that the Trump administration has said it expects to fade next year with more investments in artificial intelligence and manufacturing.

So far, the public has been skeptical about Trump's economic performance. Just 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of the economy, according to a November survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

But Trump indicated that his tariffs and other policies were helping industries such as the steel sector. He said those industries mattered for the country as he then specifically told Americans that they should buy fewer pencils and dolls from overseas.

"You don't need 37 dolls for your daughter," he told the crowd. "Two or three is nice."

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/g-s1-101506/trumps-speech-grievances-about-immigrants

So.......the trump formula, as described in his rally speech yesterday, for fighting persistent inflation is for consumers to cut back on spending. You don't need to be a graduate of a renown business school like Wharton to know what happens to an economy, an economy largely founded on consumption, when people begin to spend less.

Lou Heddy, a retired maintenance mechanic who voted for Trump last year, said he's noticed in the past month alone that his and his wife's grocery bills have risen from $175 to $200, and he's not sure Trump can bring food prices down.

"Once the prices get up for food, they don't ever come back down. That's just the way I feel. I don't know how the hell he would do it," said Heddy, 72. (Hey Lou, neither does he)

It wasn't the only sign of an elderly man struggling to connect with reality.

The president repeatedly confused slowing inflation down with bringing down prices — which would be deflation, with its own risks. “Our prices are coming down tremendously,” he insisted, before wandering off topic. Later, he said that “inflation is stopped.” His own Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that as of September, inflation was running close to 3 percent, almost exactly where it was at the end of the Biden administration.

Mr. Trump came armed with a raft of statistics carefully selected to make his case, and blamed Mr. Biden for leaving him “the highest inflation in history.” But then he acknowledged that Susie Wiles, his chief of staff, told him recently, “We have to start campaigning, sir.” (Inexplicably, the president called Ms. Wiles “Susie Trump.”)

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/09/us/trump-news#trump-affordability-economy-pennsylvania

I don't need to point out what some folks would be saying about Biden if he referred to his chief of staff with his own surname. Or could not differentiate between lowering inflation and lower prices. But they wouldn't be calling him a stable genius.

We only need only two pencils too

 

[Mashmont]

Sophomore college Econ students know better than this. Friedman was a pioneer. So it should come as no surprise that we have learned something since then. Friedman's view of the invisible hand was a bit mythological. And his model of the market in this thought exercise was a homogenous, self-righting bowl of goo that does not exist, in the globally connected market we actually inhabit.

In the real world, government spending can even push down on inflation and costs, because of economies of scale and removal of profit-takers.

Now see, you learned something today.

Thanks, but I think I'll stay with the greatest economist of all time.

 

[berg80]

Thanks, but I think I'll stay with the greatest economist of all time.

Milt was a conservative, so of course his view made government out to be the bogeyman. That said, government policy can cause inflation. Tariffs being a good example.

 

[Mashmont]

Milt was a conservative, so of course his view made government out to be the bogeyman. That said, government policy can cause inflation. Tariffs being a good example.

There isn't conservative economics or leftwing economics. There is only the truth. Just like mathematics has no political bias.
Friedman was the best ever because he's been right about everything. Clowns like Paul Krugman, on the other hand, have been wrong about everything ("Trump will cause a deep recession his first term"). Liberal economist is another way of saying failed economist. Would you hire a math professor who only got wrong answers?

 

[berg80]

There isn't conservative economics or leftwing economics. There is only the truth. Just like mathematics has no political bias.
Friedman was the best ever because he's been right about everything. Clowns like Paul Krugman, on the other hand, have been wrong about everything

When you contradict yourself you do me the favor of not having to put your idiocy on display.

 

[Mashmont]

When you contradict yourself you do me the favor of not having to put your idiocy on display.

And of course, there was no contradiction. You just basically can't respond.

Conservative: "Please respond to specific points A, B, and C."
Leftwingers: "Yeah, well, you suck."