McCain is an idiot

[lew]

McCain's EBay Model for Jobs Finds Few Buyers Among Economists - Yahoo! News

June 24 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain's model for ginning up the economy isn't Keynesian or Milton Friedmanite. It's EBay Inc.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee regularly asserts that 1.3 million people worldwide ``make a living off EBay.'' He holds up the figure as evidence the world's largest Internet auctioneer is a model for job and economic growth.

McCain, seeking to address voter anxiety about the economy, uses EBay to signal that he is ``fundamentally optimistic about the capacity of the U.S. economy to innovate, for that innovation to give new opportunities for jobs,'' said Doug Holtz-Eakin, the candidate's senior economic adviser. ``We shouldn't be obsessed with looking backwards all the time, and saying, `Gee, where did those jobs go?'''

This affection for EBay as an engine for job creation, however, confounds economists such as Betsey Stevenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia.

``In terms of jobs, there's no net increase in GDP that comes from trading stuff that's already made,'' said Stevenson, author of a study on the Internet and employment levels. ``New people selling stuff out of their closet on EBay isn't growing the economy.''

Secondary Income

Even Meg Whitman, EBay's former chief executive who is now a McCain campaign co-chairwoman, sounds a note of caution about the 1.3 million figure, saying it includes those whose primary and secondary sources of income come from the online auctioneer. McCain, an Arizona senator, doesn't always make that distinction.

McCain's EBay model -- ``to trade things that are produced in other countries just to swap them'' -- conveys a message ``that America can't produce anything and that's a very dismal view of the U.S. economy,'' Stevenson said.

For McCain, EBay is proof that American ingenuity, unbound by trade barriers or taxes, can compete in a global economy. It also serves as reminder that there is a technological revolution that is transforming the way Americans work.

``Ask Meg Whitman how many there was 10 years ago, when she took over of the CEO of EBay -- it was in the thousands,'' McCain, 71, said after citing the 1.3 million jobs figure at a town-hall meeting in Westport, Connecticut, on April 9. ``It's called an information-technology revolution, and it's not that much different as far as its effects worldwide as the industrial revolution was.''

Silicon Valley Cachet

Talking about EBay also lends McCain's campaign a dash of Silicon Valley cachet, as he campaigns at town-hall meetings and business forums across the country with Whitman, and former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina, who now heads Victory '08, the Republican National Committee's arm to win the White House.

In an interview, Whitman, 51, said the 1.3 million figure includes 750,000 people in the U.S. who ``make most, if not, all of their living selling on EBay.''

McCain ``understands that actually creating a small number of rules, enforcing those rules and not having government trying to solve every problem'' is the best way to promote growth, Whitman said. ``That is the lesson of EBay: It is a level playing field.''

Entrepreneurial Agenda

Nurturing small business is a central plank of McCain's economic agenda. His economic proposals, from lowering corporate taxes to offering a $5,000 credit for a family's health-insurance premium, are tailored to encourage entrepreneurship, Whitman said.

Having portable health insurance that isn't coupled to an employer would encourage more entrepreneurs to start their own business, she said.

Whitman said every potential full-time EBay entrepreneur reaches a point when they have to make a decision: ``Can they quit their day job'' so that they can ``get to a place where they can come onto EBay and make more money.''

Cindy Shebley, author of a soon-to-be-published book, ``How to Market an EBay Business'' said many prospective EBay entrepreneurs are recent retirees.

``We have lot of moms and pops who are literally having their business out of their garage,'' said Shebley, who teaches classes on EBay in Washington state and estimated that approximately 70 percent of her students are retirees.

Many economists accept McCain's view of EBay as a prominent example of 21st century business creativity. Yet they question its value as a model for job creation.

`Market for Junk'

``It's an example of good old-fashioned U.S. ingenuity, but selling used products is a limited business model,'' said Ethan Harris, the chief economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York. San Jose, California-based EBay transformed what was an ``incredibly inefficient market for junk and turned it into a very efficient market for junk.''

McCain may not accept such criticism. He has shown increasing disdain for any economist who questions his policy prescriptions. Earlier this month, he lashed out at critics of his proposal for a summer gas-tax holiday.

``You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange. ``They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.''

What a fucking moron. The Austrian economics knew this was coming and stated as such for years.

[Scrum]

He doesn't even know how to use a computer.

[lew]

Originally Posted by Scrum

He doesn't even know how to use a computer.

[motivez]

I doubt he has ever been to eBay, let alone actually register an account or have purchased something.

I don't understand how someone with such little knowledge on technological matters can actually be President today. It matters a great deal in many areas.. If you really are computer illiterate, how can we trust you to make good, informed decisions on matters related to it?

[Stylerod]

Originally Posted by lew

McCain's EBay Model for Jobs Finds Few Buyers Among Economists - Yahoo! News




What a fucking moron. The Austrian economics knew this was coming and stated as such for years.

Hell, liberals have been telling us the economy is weak for the last 8 years. I guess if you keep on saying something it will come true sooner or later.

[motivez]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

Hell, liberals have been telling us the economy is weak for the last 8 years. I guess if you keep on saying something it will come true sooner or later.

Not rly.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

Hell, liberals have been telling us the economy is weak for the last 8 years. I guess if you keep on saying something it will come true sooner or later.

Yeah, this whole mess is because liberals were talking.

[A_C_E]

Originally Posted by lew

What a fucking moron. The Austrian economics knew this was coming and stated as such for years.

EVERY economist knew this was coming for years, you dolt. They just got greedy and waited too long to bail, as anyone would with 25%+ RoR rolling in yearly.

You don't need to be an adherent of a philosophy without any factual data to know what a fucking bubble is.

[Ardentfrost]

Originally Posted by A_C_E

EVERY economist knew this was coming for years, you dolt. They just got greedy, as anyone would with 25%+ RoR rolling in yearly.

You don't need to be an adherent of a philosophy without any factual data to know what a fucking bubble is.

Keynesians were calling for those rate cuts, dude. They thought the increased money supply would sustain economic growth, and it didn't, just like Friedman said for 40 years.

[lew]

Originally Posted by A_C_E

EVERY economist knew this was coming for years, you dolt. They just got greedy and waited too long to bail, as anyone would with 25%+ RoR rolling in yearly.

You don't need to be an adherent of a philosophy without any factual data to know what a fucking bubble is.

Just like EVERY economist knew the Great Depression was coming?


No, consistently the Austrian School has been the best predictor of the economy for decades. Yet, most people ignore and ridicule them.

[A_C_E]

Originally Posted by lew

Just like EVERY economist knew the Great Depression was coming?


No, consistently the Austrian School has been the best predictor of the economy for decades. Yet, most people ignore and ridicule them.

It's easy to be right when things go poorly when you're screaming doomsday all the time.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[SoFlaJDM]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

Hell, liberals have been telling us the economy is weak for the last 8 years. I guess if you keep on saying something it will come true sooner or later.

i guess you can't address the message of the OP without trashing liberals in some stupid way... typical

this is just one of the many reasons why mccain is losing more and more of the under 35 vote... looks like his friends in the elderly voting bloc won't take him very far

[lew]

Originally Posted by A_C_E

It's easy to be right when things go poorly when you're screaming doomsday all the time.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Yes, because the Austrian School is screaming doomsday all the time.

[lisp]

Originally Posted by lew

McCain's EBay Model for Jobs Finds Few Buyers Among Economists - Yahoo! News




What a fucking moron. The Austrian economics knew this was coming and stated as such for years.

Ebay is not a "job", is't a hobby and maybe, just maybe, a form of supplemental income. But to support your family on just selling on ebay..no. I don't see it anyway. You should submit this to the following website:

Hypocrisy.com

After all, most politicians are hypocrites in one way or another.

[Stylerod]

Originally Posted by Scrum

Yeah, this whole mess is because liberals were talking.

I never said that.

But we had a lot of years with a great economy and a LOT of people refused to acknowledge it. We had many threads here and in DIACF with Dems/Libs saying something bad about the economy others refuting them by showing great economic numbers.

After, what, 4 or 5 years of a really good economy liberal prayers have been answered and the economy is getting worse.

[A_C_E]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

I never said that.

But we had a lot of years with a great economy and a LOT of people refused to acknowledge it. We had many threads here and in DIACF with Dems/Libs saying something bad about the economy others refuting them by showing great economic numbers.

After, what, 4 or 5 years of a really good economy liberal prayers have been answered and the economy is getting worse.

It's called a bubble.

Learn it, live it, love it.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by A_C_E

It's called a bubble.

Learn it, live it, love it.

It wasn't a bubble, it's because liberals were praying to lose their houses and jobs just to stick it to Bush.

[Rouger2]

You can't have an economy based on gigantic trade deficits last for ever. It is great for awhile but it will come back to bite you in the ass. Democrats and Republican presidents have been responcible ever since Reagan and his protection of the Japanese for the gigantic trade deficit we had with them. Any complaint about it was answered by him as Japanese bashing, and the Japanese gave him a million dollars for his protection after he left the presidency. Now we have a gigantic trade deficit with every country in the world how wonderful. While we stupidly cling to the idea of free trade and let every one take advantage of us by them not actually allowing free trade.

[thewise1]

Originally Posted by lew

Yes, because the Austrian School is screaming doomsday all the time.

A_C_E knows economics. Everyone else is just screaming doomsday.