Monthly Topic: Guns vs. Butter‏

[sophia_sadek]

The topic of austerity and stimulus got me thinking back to my high school social studies lessons. One of the things we learned about was the economic trade-off between "guns and butter." During the second global conflict civilian consumption was drastically restricted with a strict rationing system. Citizens accepted this heavy-handed form of

Comments

[ddstory]

The American campaign to prevent communists from educating girls in Afghanistan

You've made me curious. Got more info on this?

My father worked on the Manhattan Project

He was part of a secret organization too?

[kylinrouge]

Does this make Sophia 50-60+ years old?

[sophia_sadek]

I am old enough to remember the assassination of JFK, but not old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.

[geezer_also]

Bravo!!!

[underlankers]

[kylinrouge]

You should make an actual good Catholic-hating post, a good topic is the ban on abortion in many Catholic-dominated 3rd world countries.

[sophia_sadek]

Opposing the papal ban on birth control can hardly be called "Catholic-hating," except by people who mistake papal despotism for catholicism.

[kylinrouge]

Okay, make a Papal-hating post about it? Stop arguing semantics and do it! ;)

[sophia_sadek]

If you are that eager for such a post, you can write it yourself. I will happily contribute a comment.

[foolsguinea]

This was a good post.

[harry_beast]

I come from a country where the dairy industry is protected from competition by supply management. Anyone who wants to produce or import dairy products in Canada must buy quotas from a marketing board. Most of the quotas are, predictably, owned by large agribusiness corporations. The system has resulted in higher prices for Canadian consumers and is a recurring irritant in international trade talks. The egg, chicken and turkey markets are similarly regulated. Canada's recent efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations may spur the current government to abandon supply management

[sophia_sadek]

Winston Churchill made some interesting observations on the negative effects of protectionist policies. Monopoly and oligopoly are the primary negative results. David Healy has some interesting observations on how large manufacturers tend to dominate whether a medical system is oriented toward a free market or a social service paradigm.