tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363750719887401024.post7689910446088485360..comments2023-10-25T07:01:43.750-07:00Comments on The Daily Salt Shaker: Obama Protectionist? Who Would Have Thought?Sea Salthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17729667460510653536noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363750719887401024.post-10210548072335139592009-01-30T19:37:00.000-08:002009-01-30T19:37:00.000-08:00Yes exactly the point. Remember how big the surviv...Yes exactly the point. Remember how big the survivalist movement became in the 70s. It just faded away in the 1980s, because the social mood was positive. <BR/>You can trace literature back for centuries, and observe the swing back and forth from negative to positive social moods. Edger Allan Poe became very popular during a bad economic downturn. His material would have never sold during a boom period.<BR/>Fitzgerald`s roaring 1920s books were a complete dud in the 1930s. <BR/>Movies in the modern period also reflect this. King Kong in the 1930s was a huge hit. Jaws and The Exorcist in the 1970s were also big hits. Compare the 1970s Deer Hunter movie (war is awful)to a 1950s John Wayne war movie.<BR/>During downturns people become rather nasty. Villains become heroes like Bonnie and Clyde, or Dillinger in the 30s.In England Dick Turpin The Highwayman, was very popular because the economy was down. Vulgar behavior becomes fashionable in economic downturns, like streaking in the 1970s. Economics is not just about numbers, there is also a social aspect. Human beings are not numbers.Pat Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551693452450069608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363750719887401024.post-59841332122303199982009-01-30T15:56:00.000-08:002009-01-30T15:56:00.000-08:00Very interesting. I feel the mood these days among...Very interesting. I feel the mood these days among people I talk to. Nobody wants to invest or buy property. The newspapers scream that the worst is yet to come, you feel like stocking up on food and ammo, not starting a business.Sea Salthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17729667460510653536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363750719887401024.post-4627121448716801952009-01-30T10:02:00.000-08:002009-01-30T10:02:00.000-08:00Protectionism is a characteristic of a negative so...Protectionism is a characteristic of a negative social mood. In down economies there are social aspects that appear such as; tariffs, wars, declining birth rates, movies and popular books with dark and or horror themes, increase interest in religion, and the hatred of political leaders.<BR/>In optimistic environments, people invest and take business risks, the birth rate increases, peace instead of war, countries co-operate with one another with trade and commerce.<BR/>This is what central bankers to not understand. In Japan interest rates were at zero for many years, but business never took off. People need to feel optimistic before they start a new business. <BR/>So Strack you can expect more protectionism world wide over the next couple of years. The NDP are already calling for the government to enact the same tariff provisions the US just announced. Yes its terrible and will lower everyone`s standard of living, but it is going to happen.Pat Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551693452450069608noreply@blogger.com