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I hope you're not suggestion that we go back to a gold standard? I wouldn't mind certain capital controls though, specifically limits on credit money issued for

by jlhawn 5y ago

I hope you're not suggestion that we go back to a gold standard? I wouldn't mind certain capital controls though, specifically limits on credit money issued for purchase of land.

29athrowaway 5y ago
The outcome of WW2 was extremely favorable for the US. WW2 is not happening again. If the US is going to remain being as prosper as the period immediately after WW2, some economic miracle would need to happen. AI and robotics could be that miracle.
- CryptoPunk 5y ago
  It is not just the US that experienced rapid economic growth in the post-war period.. From what I recall, growth rates in Western Europe were even higher, as were growth rated in Japan. The best explanation for that growth is that the burden of regulations, including zoning restrictions on building higher-density housing, and the share of GDP consumed by government spending, was much lower, for nearly every advanced economy, in the 1950s and 60s. Look at the Japanese experience for example: https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/JapanandtheMythofMITI.html https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/JapanandtheMythofMITI.h... With respect to growth in regulations that restrict expansion in housing supply, and how they have stifled economic growth in the US, I recommend this paper: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/mac.20170388 https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/mac.20170388 To get an idea of just how rapidly government spending has increased in the advanced economies, see this graph: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/social-spending-oecd-longrun https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/social-spending-oecd-long...
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    The developed countries also had much younger population. This matters for innovation, people over 65 rarely come with that kind of innovation that moves the needle visibly (e.g. semiconductors).
    - CryptoPunk 5y ago
      The elderly population, while growing rapidly over the last century, had been quite insignificant as a share of the total population, until recently. More generally, demographics cannot explain the slowdown in growth in my opinion. The age pyramid in 1980: https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1980/ https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1... Seemed better suited to growth than the one in 1960: https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1960/ https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1...

by jlhawn 5y ago

I hope you're not suggestion that we go back to a gold standard? I wouldn't mind certain capital controls though, specifically limits on credit money issued for purchase of land.

29athrowaway 5y ago

The outcome of WW2 was extremely favorable for the US. WW2 is not happening again. If the US is going to remain being as prosper as the period immediately after WW2, some economic miracle would need to happen. AI and robotics could be that miracle.

CryptoPunk 5y ago
It is not just the US that experienced rapid economic growth in the post-war period.. From what I recall, growth rates in Western Europe were even higher, as were growth rated in Japan. The best explanation for that growth is that the burden of regulations, including zoning restrictions on building higher-density housing, and the share of GDP consumed by government spending, was much lower, for nearly every advanced economy, in the 1950s and 60s. Look at the Japanese experience for example: https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/JapanandtheMythofMITI.html https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/JapanandtheMythofMITI.h... With respect to growth in regulations that restrict expansion in housing supply, and how they have stifled economic growth in the US, I recommend this paper: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/mac.20170388 https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/mac.20170388 To get an idea of just how rapidly government spending has increased in the advanced economies, see this graph: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/social-spending-oecd-longrun https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/social-spending-oecd-long...
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  The developed countries also had much younger population. This matters for innovation, people over 65 rarely come with that kind of innovation that moves the needle visibly (e.g. semiconductors).
  - CryptoPunk 5y ago
    The elderly population, while growing rapidly over the last century, had been quite insignificant as a share of the total population, until recently. More generally, demographics cannot explain the slowdown in growth in my opinion. The age pyramid in 1980: https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1980/ https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1... Seemed better suited to growth than the one in 1960: https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1960/ https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1...