Dave Ramsey Exposes His Ignorance of Capitalism \ stacker news ~econ

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Dave Ramsey Exposes His Ignorance of Capitalism www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CrgniwSLLM

717 sats \ 6 comments \ @kepford 11 Dec econ

Dave is far from the worst actor in the money space but he exposes his economic ignorance over and over. He doesn't get bitcoin but this video shows he doesn't get capitalism. His understanding is not as poor as the left but it has one thing in common.

Out of control capitalism is basically some outcome he does not like. Like many on the right today he wants the government to stop large corporations from buying residential real estate.

Instead of understanding the problems causing this he focuses on another layer of regulation. Later in the video he complains about all the barriers in the way of increasing the supply of housing. He doesn't mention the barriers to short term rentals (hotels). These barriers are the opposite of out of control capitalism. They are state regulation of markets.

Almost every time I hear someone complain about capitalism the problem is the state manipulation of markets. Not free markets. Just as the general problem with affordablility is monetary inflation which he also misses. Because people park their wealth in real estate housing prices are inflated and the value of the dollar is reduced by money printing.

It all makes sense when you understand bitcoin and free markets. The solution to crony capitalism isn't getting your buddies into office. It's getting the state out of the market

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115 sats \ 3 replies \ @SimpleStacker 11 Dec

Was never a big fan of Dave Ramsey. While I recognize that he has helped many people get through financial difficulties¹, I always thought his analytical approach was very surface-level, as this video does indicate.

A lot of the ills he brings up in the first few minutes are the result of market distortions. Large corps buying up all the housing is a result of the 2008 bailouts and Cantillonization of the economy. Airbnbs are (probably) the result of zoning laws not enabling certain neighborhoods to have hotels when there is a large demand for it. He needs to think deeper about the issues and not turn immediately towards gov't solutions that usually paper over an issue but don't address the underlying economic pressures.

And I appreciate that, it's harder than it sounds, having recently tried to helpsomeone through it ↩

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @kepford OP 11 Dec

result of market distortions

Indeed.

He needs to think deeper about the issues and not turn immediately towards gov't solutions that usually paper over an issue but don't address the underlying economic pressures.

Well said.

The other aspect that is one major reason I left the Republican party decades ago is that there is little thought of actually reducing the power and scope of the state anymore. Its like both sides have amnesia when they come to power. They do not consider or care that the other party will be in power again and use new powers I'm ways they disagree with.

I left the US political orthodoxy because it became clear to me neither side was interested in long term solutions for a diverse nation where people could live in harmony respecting each others liberties and sovereignty. Neither side. They are fooling themselves when they talk about this stuff.

I found people eventually that shared my conclusion and I realized there was a whole other world of political thought I was unaware of.

People like Ramsey are common. They stay on the surface. It must be nice to be wired like this. I wouldn't know.

84 sats \ 1 reply \ @SimpleStacker 11 Dec

The problem is that politicians (and most people too) seem to believe that the role of government is to solve peoples' problems. It's not, or at least it shouldn't be. The role of government should be simply to engender the conditions such that people can solve their own problems

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford OP 11 Dec

Indeed. In my not so humble opinion this view of the role of governance is basically a libertarian view of governance. It can be with a state (but the state tends to grow) or without.

Essentially in my view they ideal governance model is a little as possible. Protect the property rights of individuals. Law predates and exists outside of governments and the state. It arises organically as money does.

Positive rights and a general misunderstanding of the origins and principles of the pre United States has poluted the right and left. Today the average democrat and many republicans are offended by a traditional view of the role of government. It's wild to witness how far we have fallen.

58 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 11 Dec

Since the corrective mechanisms of market economies are so well documented, I think not understanding is a subconscious choice.

Accepting the logic of free enterprise, means accepting that the world may not be best ordered exactly in line with your own preferences.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @unboiled 12 Dec

I'm a fan of Dave and will continue to be one, even though I clearly deviated over time and haven't listened to his stuff in a decade. But it is worth noting: We'd be in a good position financially even without BTC if we simply continued to follow his advice. In fact, aside from having sats, we still do follow his principles.

Apart from being a law-and-order type of guy, I don't recall him ever showing any love for government intervention. He was mostly deriding them ("stop spending like you're in congress") and always griping about the chronic deficits.

So it's unusual. As he says in his opening statement:

This is actually one of the few times you'll hear Dave say: 'The government could actually do something.'

As for accusing him of missing inflation:

He is well aware of the dangers of inflation. He always harped on about it, what was that term he used? Something along the lines of you need high enough returns otherwise "inflation will tackle you from behind."

With him effectively being a real estate tycoon himself, it's also interesting that he considers foreigners, corporations and airbnb a greater issue than inflation. Either that, or he chose to rant about them for clicks and likes. And the latter would be highly unusual because, in the past at least, he didn't hesitate to lecture his audience with things they don't wanted to, but (he thought they) needed to hear.

Maybe he has gotten soft and is starting to bow to the gods of algorithms? Please do smash that like button and subscribe to beat the algorithm.

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