3 ms·

> Maximum production quotas How does the government know the exact amount to produce?

by iopq 3y ago

cvccvroomvroom 3y ago
Apart from going back to agrarian communism central planning by ill-informed bureaucrats, the issue is an absolute lack of systems and personnel in government to meter and observe corporate transactions in a localized, specialized, distributed manner who know the terrain up close whether degrees of gouging or catastrophic imbalances are happening or not. Can't let farmers empty water tables, let prices of eggs go insane, or corporations up prices just to take advantage of customers to the point it causes a price spiral. The Fed is ill-equipped, the FTC doesn't do much, and the CFPB was neutered.
- iopq 3y ago
  > let prices of eggs go insane I could just eat fewer things made out of eggs There are people who don't eat eggs at all!
  - bombolo 3y ago
    Unless you're a bretharian, eggs or beans are both items that you must buy.
    - iopq 3y ago
      Why? If I choose to eat a steak with some veggies on the side, where's the egg in that? Where are the beans? Yesterday I had a pizza. It had no egg or beans on it, just bacon, cheese, pizza crust, tomato, etc.
- somedude895 3y ago
  > the issue is an absolute lack of systems and personnel in government to meter and observe Ah yes, a bloated bureaucracy has always been the recipe for a flourishing economy. The US is still probably the most solid, wealthy and - compared to its peers - fast growing economy in the world. The lack of administrative meddling is what made the US the dream destination for all the most ambitious people around the world. A radical shift to jeopardize that is a terrible idea. I'm not from the US, but I'm glad different systems with different strengths exist. Even if only so we can compare how differences in e.g. amount of regulation etc affect a country overall.
analognoise 3y ago
If you had the online data of what was being ordered of Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, and a handful of grocers, you'd know exactly how much to produce. . The myth that a planned economy is inefficient comes from a time when not everything was computerized.
- Clubber 3y ago
  You're talking about food production, which is already centrally planned with subsidies to not grow certain foods. This has been in place since the dust bowl. It seems to be working pretty well. Probably wouldn't work in anything that isn't a historical staple though. Think of how much the congress is knowledgeable in tech for the last 20+ years. Could you imagine if congress centrally planned how the tech revolution and how it would pan out? We'd still be using whatever the first viable tech was (ENIAC?).
  - analognoise 3y ago
    Every computer advancement we take for granted today is due to industrial policy, and a time when the top marginal tax rate was over 70%. The idea that government is not effective and should not participate in industrial developments is all relatively new. Every year that goes by without a reset in industrial policy, the web gets worse and there are fewer companies doing actual hardware. It turns out when you let the people who focus solely on finance and efficiency run things, it goes well for a while and then your foundational companies become like Boeing. Government should participate more strongly, not less - including by breaking up big tech.
- Nasrudith 3y ago
  The Soviet Union had armies of mathematicians and surveyors to try to predict manufacturing needs. That is like saying "just use surveys"! Equating retailers with the entirety of the chain is massive willful ignorance. It is like equating knowing how to repair a car with knowing the entire manufacturing process of the car down not just to the ore but to the "production" of the individual workers themselves!
  - 3y ago
Nasrudith 3y ago
Forget knowing how much to produce, the idea that maximum productivity quotas would constitute an improvement in the economy is risible stupidity.

> Maximum production quotas How does the government know the exact amount to produce?

by iopq 3y ago

> Maximum production quotas How does the government know the exact amount to produce?

Apart from going back to agrarian communism central planning by ill-informed bureaucrats, the issue is an absolute lack of systems and personnel in government to meter and observe corporate transactions in a localized, specialized, distributed manner who know the terrain up close whether degrees of gouging or catastrophic imbalances are happening or not. Can't let farmers empty water tables, let prices of eggs go insane, or corporations up prices just to take advantage of customers to the point it causes a price spiral. The Fed is ill-equipped, the FTC doesn't do much, and the CFPB was neutered.

iopq 3y ago
> let prices of eggs go insane I could just eat fewer things made out of eggs There are people who don't eat eggs at all!
- bombolo 3y ago
  Unless you're a bretharian, eggs or beans are both items that you must buy.
  - iopq 3y ago
    Why? If I choose to eat a steak with some veggies on the side, where's the egg in that? Where are the beans? Yesterday I had a pizza. It had no egg or beans on it, just bacon, cheese, pizza crust, tomato, etc.
somedude895 3y ago
> the issue is an absolute lack of systems and personnel in government to meter and observe Ah yes, a bloated bureaucracy has always been the recipe for a flourishing economy. The US is still probably the most solid, wealthy and - compared to its peers - fast growing economy in the world. The lack of administrative meddling is what made the US the dream destination for all the most ambitious people around the world. A radical shift to jeopardize that is a terrible idea. I'm not from the US, but I'm glad different systems with different strengths exist. Even if only so we can compare how differences in e.g. amount of regulation etc affect a country overall.

analognoise 3y ago

If you had the online data of what was being ordered of Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, and a handful of grocers, you'd know exactly how much to produce. . The myth that a planned economy is inefficient comes from a time when not everything was computerized.

Clubber 3y ago
You're talking about food production, which is already centrally planned with subsidies to not grow certain foods. This has been in place since the dust bowl. It seems to be working pretty well. Probably wouldn't work in anything that isn't a historical staple though. Think of how much the congress is knowledgeable in tech for the last 20+ years. Could you imagine if congress centrally planned how the tech revolution and how it would pan out? We'd still be using whatever the first viable tech was (ENIAC?).
- analognoise 3y ago
  Every computer advancement we take for granted today is due to industrial policy, and a time when the top marginal tax rate was over 70%. The idea that government is not effective and should not participate in industrial developments is all relatively new. Every year that goes by without a reset in industrial policy, the web gets worse and there are fewer companies doing actual hardware. It turns out when you let the people who focus solely on finance and efficiency run things, it goes well for a while and then your foundational companies become like Boeing. Government should participate more strongly, not less - including by breaking up big tech.
Nasrudith 3y ago
The Soviet Union had armies of mathematicians and surveyors to try to predict manufacturing needs. That is like saying "just use surveys"! Equating retailers with the entirety of the chain is massive willful ignorance. It is like equating knowing how to repair a car with knowing the entire manufacturing process of the car down not just to the ore but to the "production" of the individual workers themselves!
- 3y ago

Nasrudith 3y ago

Forget knowing how much to produce, the idea that maximum productivity quotas would constitute an improvement in the economy is risible stupidity.