If I recall my 1970's television shows correctly, The Brady Bunch would occasionally have an episode where one of the family or community members was having a problem. The solution, more often than not, was to "have a concert" and somehow that would raise the bail money for the local innocent man or send Mr. Jones' cancer into remission. It may have been the Partridge Family, but the larger point is it was a show and it didn't have to adhere to reality. Even though a "concert" wouldn't really solve the problem in the real world, it did on TV.
Fast forward to today and I have a hard time seeing any difference between the Brady Bunch's solutions to society's ills and modern day democrats/Keynesians/leftists. I recall, very clearly, when the Supreme Nepotist for Life of Target Trust Fund Baby Fame, Mark Dayton, ran for SENATOR (not governor, as he is now) and his economic "plan" was (are you ready for this?)....
building community centers.
Now, for those of us with a basic grasp of economics or just plain common sense, we know having "community centers" does not result in a booming economy. Community centers, if anything, turn out to be buildings that never produce anything, house the occasional municipal "touchy feely" event, more likely the local vagrants, and end up being nothing but a waste of money at taxpayer expense. You employ a few more unnecessary parks and rec people, maybe a couple more janitors, but it produces nothing of economic value in the end. But the worthless Brady Bunch Keynesianism doesn't stop there and coalesces around some key and common "investments" that I'd like to further identify.
Bike Trails - Triggering this post was when I passed the exit for Amery, WI on my return trip from Milwaukee. Amery is where I had this dishonor of attending my senior year in high school. My peers were so stupid my GPA and rank increased not because I tried harder, but because the grading curve had been so dumbed down. The stupidity continues today because the city council decided to spend money on a local city pavilion WITH A BIKE TRAIL that would naturally bring scores, if not MILLIONS of tourists to Amery, Wisconsin. Of course, every one of you has heard of Amery, Wisconsin and their SPECTACULAR bike trails, right? I mean, along with Vegas, Disney World, and Yellowstone National Park, you all plan to travel great lengths to Amery, Wisconsin for their world-famous bike trails, right? I can only imagine the multiplier effect your tourist dollars will have on the locals.
Crappy Museums - YOu know the Smithsonian or the Field Museum of Chicago? Yeah, we're not talking about them. We're talking about the local crap museums where the locals grab garbage that hasn't been used since the economy tanked and think they're preserving and protecting their heritage. They're also more than happy to use federal or state dollars to finance these super-powerful stimulators of the economy. The Duluth Aquarium comes to mind. And hey, when you're on your way out to Yellowstone, you should try the "Salt Creek Museum," though you better call in advance and make sure there isn't a waiting list.
Concerts - Hey, who knew the Brady Bunch was right all along!? Yes concerts a la "Live 8" or "Live AID" and "Comic Relief" that were supposed to end AID's in Africa and stop world hunger. Sure glad those things worked! Look at Africa boom! And it has nothing to do with massive amounts of Chinese investment. None at all. It's because Bob Geldorf said, and I quote, "we must do something, even if it doesn't work." Well, at least Bob is honest about Keynesianism.
Business Parks/Enterprise Zones - From Carnivore's Cave, Enterprise Zones! Yes, of course. You "zoned" an area of your town to have crappy, minimalist office space built up next to the Pamida! How didn't we see this before! You don't need DEMAND for a product! You don't need CUSTOMERS or and IDEA or LEADERSHIP or CAPITAL! No, all you need is a strip mall that has your precious city council's permission to set up shop there!
I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind. If anybody thinks of other examples of "Brady Bunch Keynesianism" please let me know!
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8 comments:
Its the Partridge Family that did this. Not the Brady Bunch. I often mix these two up as well.
Erm Cappy
You have to phone the Salt Creek Museum as it's only open request.
Anon,
Yes, I know. There's only about 300 people in Midwest, WY. the issue is the museum shouldn't exist.
How about the redistribution of wealth idea I've been hearing about? Taking 40-50% of what those evil, greedy rich people earn and giving it to "hard working" people that are struggling to make ends meet. I was watching a clip of Bill O'Reilly (who I happen to hate a lot, but he was completely right on this specific issue) own this idiot law school student and Obama supporter who blamed everything on capitalism, which I'm getting highly tired of hearing about. These people don't even know what a central banking system is or what the Federal Reserve does!
Obamacare falls into this same Brady Bunch/Partridge Family Keynesian category along with creating another housing bubble to get out of the recession.
You'd think that instead of building bike trails or crappy museums, these small towns would make a big stink about passing legislation that the property tax has been reduced by 50% and will stay at that rate for a minimum of 75 years. But NO, that would mean the parasites would have to cut back; can't have that.
I've seen where they think they are being generous and setting up "enterprise zones" where taxes are reduced for 5 years. The special rates expire and still there has been no business development. As if 5 years is long enough to get a business moving and returning on an investment.
I call fowl! The Partridge Bunch were selling a demonstrable product: themselves. Their ability to do oral (in harmony, to be charitable) is the opposite to Keynes' fantasy.
If your community center example actually sold some commodity* called "community" that would be a more accurate comparison to the '70's songwriter charity shows you conflate. :)
* My grandfather worked at his local community center in Silver Springs, Nevada back in the mid-60's; I remember the sign out front said Blackies Tavern or some such (I was 12 I think).
"...the larger point is it was a show and it didn't have to adhere to reality. Even though a "concert" wouldn't really solve the problem in the real world, it did on TV."
And what was even MORE unrealistic, nearly any problem was solved in 30 minutes (or less, if you didn't count commercial breaks); but for more serious problems, it could take nearly 60 minutes (a 2-week episode).
"It was called television PROGRAMMING for a good reason!" -- unknown blogger
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