Comments by "Daniel Larson" (@daniellarson3068) on "Econ Lessons" channel.

  1. Thanks man - I would just like to see a debate between sharp tongued Kamala Harris and the Donald. She would rip him a new one. His insanity would be exposed for all.
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  2. Wow! This video was different. I get the Putin is very afraid of true belief. However, some of the other stuff that was talked about was outside my world. Catholic, Orthodox and Slavic people really do have a kind of world of their own. I guess many of us in the United States would say that Russian religion is not "true" religion.
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  3. Jobs are lost, lives are hurt .
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  4. The guy makes a lot of sense in a lot of directions. I'm not sure how many Russians will see his video. I'm not sure how many will buy into his idea of not consuming, but I bet the smart ones are already doing it. I would think the signs of upcoming bad times are there for the average Russian to see despite the rhetoric from Putin and his cronies. In fact, I would think it's like a big poster in bright colors. The smart Russians will know that frugality is its own reward. The days are cold. The snow is falling. The sky is grey. War has come to Russia. Russian media says most of Europe is at war with Russia. Time to horde potatoes.
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  5. So old World traveling Pete Zeihan is somewhat wrong with his demographic predictions. Mr. Biernat provided a number of examples countering the idea that the declining population of Russia may not be a determining factor in Russia's future. I had kind of wondered about that. It seemed like there would be more oil money for each person until the "Special Military Operation" took place. How about the opposite? At the present time I'm listening to the book, "The Wizard and the Prophet," where the author expounds on Malthusian ideas. It does seem very reasonable that high populations of humans can exceed available resources in a country. Thankfully, technology has so far kept predicted major catastrophes from happening. Russia may not be facing a catastrophe from decreasing population, but are other countries facing catastrophes from their increasing populations? Sometimes it seems the only thing these high population countries have to offer is low cost labor and no opportunities for their vast populations to better their lives. Comparative advantage only offers them one thing, their inexpensive labor.
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  6. I love the background. The pseudo building painted on the wall is great. The smart car adds something too. Here's a paraphrase of the talk. I get the idea that just like the building is fake that crypto currency is somewhat fake too. Currencies of countries are backed by the country. Past performance of the currency and the actions of the country lead to trust. The national currencies are based on trust. I don't understand crypto currency, but there seems to be nothing behind it. Surely, it's a medium of exchange. Baseball cards could be a medium of exchange. Unlike a currency baseball cards have no large institution like a government backing them and can be volatile. Crypto currency seems the same. Again and again we are told, "Follow the money" and we find shenanigans. As Mr. Biernat describes, Russian money may be followed through a path of crypto currency. They are a nation of gangsters and have long laundered money. I haven't seen this reported anyplace else.
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  7. Good talk - It made sense. Things cost what they cost due to supply and demand. As China manipulates the value of their money it becomes "Funny Money." It's not the first choice for people to use. The value of the medium of exchange (Currency) is set by the masses and not by communist bureaucrats.
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  8. Why did YouTube omit my response? Try again. The folks that brought the Rust Belt and the exodus of industry to foreign lands brought a lot of pain. There are still houses in Detroit scheduled to be demolished. Somebody must have made a lot of money from all that pain.
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  9. Good Video - I like your idea about Putin retiring to a place very warm.
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  10. Many people say Putin is one bad person. I think the guy making this video has his head in the right place.
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  11. Thanks - I saw that on this date Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address. It may seem odd, but my mind jumped to the people in Ukraine. They are fighting for freedom and a democratic government. History does sort of rhyme.
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  12. Good Message -OK, so these three right wingers will say some of what we want to hear. However, unlike the other leaders you mentioned who have ideals and want to make the world a better place, these three are are out to only help selected groups and not most of us. I'm thinking of Trump here, but do morals more often accompany those with the ideals for a better world? Trump doesn't seem strong on the moral thing. "In America, anyone can become president. That’s the problem." - George Carlin
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  13. Nope - "Consumer goods are not made in despotic countries." Then he names China, the world's manufacturer. Sure there's stuff made here. You can't move the farmland overseas. What you can do is have automation and imported less expensive labor to work that farmland. Maybe not altogether good. Nearly all consumer items are made elsewhere. All TVs are made elsewhere. Refrigerators, stoves and washer dryers are very often made elsewhere. The United States recorded a trade deficit of 67.43 USD Billion in January of 2024. This indicates the wealth of the country is leaving. With modern digital electronics more and more jobs are outsourced. Visit some of the rust belt cities in the Midwest and talk about what they used to make here. Economists drink the Kool Aid of free trade but forget the enormous externalities when a factory is closed. Sure, there's still goods and services manufactured and performed here, but the quantity is diminishing. It will continue to diminish unless we modify the rules of trade to favor the people in the country. It seems more often than not they now favor only the rich capitalists of this second gilded age.
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  14. Thanks - This one made a lot of sense. The video had a flow from beginning to the end. There was sort of an ultimate truth about it. We've been had. The folks who really run Russia have been showing a face to the West they know we wanted to see. There have been signs that they are not who they pretend to be. The West did not want to believe those signs. They showed a reality other than the shown face.
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  15. Let me paraphrase: So if Harris wins she will support Ukraine and they may drive the invaders out. If Trump wins the economy of the entire world will be so bad that Russia will fall apart. You might be right. Despite Trump having been sent to an Ivy League business school, his history shows him not to be a very good businessman. How will Putin react? Despite having a degree in economics, Putin has driven the economy of his country to a bad place. Leaders like this running the world don't do much for the rest of us.
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  16. Once again a lot to unpack there. It was sort of an attack on MAGA. I've heard the idea expressed quite a number of times in a number of ways. I've heard MAGA described as a cult. It's puzzled me how the formerly warlike Republican party would not wish to support Ukraine. It's puzzled me that the party of Ronald Reagan who called The USSR an evil empire has prominent persons who do not want to support Ukraine. It's puzzled me that prominent Republicans do indeed echo the comments given by the Russians. I read many of the comments looking for a rebuttal from a MAGA person. None was to be found. You know - Maybe they are on some sort of psychoactive drug. Truth is stranger than fiction.
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  17. Good video. We are told that centralization is bad for countries. Is it bad for these big corporations too? It seems like wall Street likes it when a "Strong Man" takes over a big company. He is the guy in charge and dictates how the company will be run. At any rate, the centralized economy, 5 year plans and rationing didn't work so good for the 70 years when Russia did it before. So now they do it again. What's that definition of insanity again?
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  18. Thanks - I only half listen to rhetoric from politicians, but a couple of things you said really disturbed me. Are Russians really going to sell the idea of "Sanctions Relief" and make it believable? I guess stranger things have happened. I found the results of the recent US presidential election as one such example. It was also mentioned that a Lend Lease program could be used to help Russia. That idea is just so wrong. Yet if they repeat some of this stuff often enough on controlled media , "Perception becomes reality."
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  19. yacht? I woulds just said boat.
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  20. 1 Ruble is equivalent to .011 US dollar. It used to be better before this war. Russia has had to use gold for trading or the local currencies such as the Indian Rupee or Chinese Yuan. Nobody wants Rubles. You can withstand sanctions, but that doesn't mean you are thriving. Russia is in a war economy. It is said this cannot be sustained more than a couple years until their big stash runs out.
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  21. Whoa! There was a lot of stuff to unpack from that box of talk. Some of it went over my head. I do sort of agree that the "Czar of Russia" does not want Russia to perish. Tucker Carlson interviewed him and he babbled on with this alternate history. I sort of think he wants to preserve a Russia that never was. At any rate the advice to stay away from the "dark side" fits these bleak November days. Good Advice.
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  22. Good Talk -The pigs. The wild pigs take care of themselves. Maybe the leaders in Russia don't want any of these wild pigs taking care of themselves. They want to be the only wild pigs like the pigs in "Animal Farm." The pigs in "Animal Farm" ran things. I saw a video about the big floods in Russia. It showed some people hired a contractor to make dikes to protect their homes. The video said that these people would be put in prison for fixing their flooding issue. Those people who put up the dike were being innovative. They weren't begging Putin for help. They were like the wild pigs making their own survival. The leaders need compliant folks. So these people who battled the floods will be put away.
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  23. It's Smoot Hawley - But I think you are right. It is said these tariffs contributed to the Great Depression. I've wondered about this whole thing. A convict is in power because folks wouldn't vote for a black Asian Indian woman. I hope somebody figures all this out because stuff is flying into the fan.
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  24. One would like to agree with you, but I live in one of those states that he mentioned. I see many more signs in people's yards showing they support Trump rather than Harris. There is prejudice against a black asian woman running for the high office. In these times that prejudice is not expressed openly, but is there. There's an enormous number of people that maintain an ignorance of basic facts and vote on "gut feel." When Trump has his rallies, he does generate a feel that people are on some sort of mission against the people who have frustrated their lives. Trump doesn't speak from facts, but his supporters don't seem to care. Voting for Trump is an odd form of striking back against the establishment. Yet, Trump is a product of that rich establishment they reject. Experts didn't think Trump would win a few years back and yet he did. All surprises are not always good.
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  25.  @genrcflyer  Yes -the US debt - Then there was the Laffer curve and what his vice president called "Voodoo Economics." Some clarification regarding President Reagan is often necessary.
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  26.  @SomeCantHandleTruth  Sadly, ideas like were discussed in the video have a reality behind them and although the ideas may be amplified at times are still based on that reality. People cited examples of that reality in the comments. News stories about that reality are not as frequent as other negative things in this this world, but still those stories pop up. The reality should be acknowledged.
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  27. Good rant! That rant reminded people not to be blinded by the BS smoke that seems to be issued from news media and some world leaders. This rant was a reminder of principles that should be at the core of any "deal" that is made with Putin. It was a reminder that freedom is at stake here. It was a reminder that there is a "right" thing to do. It was a reminder that Putin shouldn't be allowed to steal land. I worry a bit about the next US president because he does not seem to be a man steeped in the ideals for which the US has been run for 200 or so years. He may take the easy road and not the right road. Perhaps great things can only be achieved when you have great ideals. What did JFK say? "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too."
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  28. Good talk - However, many of us I am sure are not familiar with all the Economists that you quoted. What further signs will we see to indicate this collapse? Will we see, for example, hyperinflation as the Weimar Republic saw? Will there be shortages as there were in the Soviet Union?
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  29.  @jerrymillerstein  It's not hard to find facts against Trump. There are multiple examples showing he has a poor character. He is a convicted criminal. He has been shown to have lied many thousands of times. His history shows he is a bad businessmen having been through numerous bankruptcies and selling products that are flawed. He instigated the attack on the Capital. He was impeached by the House twice. I could find many more reasons not to vote for Trump, but I suggest you do a small amount of research. It goes beyond character. Actual competence in the office of presidency should also be considered by yourself.
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  30. Well - How honest has Russia been about honoring it's agreements? Seems like there is a lot of industry they seized or rendered deals null and void. Rendering deals with Russia about their gas null and void seems more than fair given their behavior. In fact, it seems like a wise practice.
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  31.  @gudini2559  YouTube does that. YouTube censors a lot of stuff. You may not see this.
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  32. You are a pure capitalist and not corrupted with human values. You will succeed in this life.
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  33. I guess the rich guys are scared of there starting a precedent. OK - They can take the ill gotten gains from the Russian robber barons. The other robber barons are afraid of this. I'm quite sure they figure they would be next. And,.......I figure there are a lot of these rich robber baron guys out in the world.
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  34. How long would it take to develop those resources? I wonder if there are alternative ore bodies elsewhere in the world that may be in more peaceful places. I don't think mining companies want to incur any more risk than necessary. Infrastructure is also needed to develop ore bodies. A great deal of energy is needed and shipping may not be a simple task. Some of Ukraine's infrastructure has been ruined by the Russians. I just wonder if this deal is little more than a paper deal that would never come to fruition.
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  35. Good Talk - They say they had 300 billion dollars in savings at the beginning of this war. Some say they spend 300 million dollars a day on the war. That gives them about 1,000 days of war. It's day 784 of the war. Maybe, money will be running short for the Russians in about 8 months.
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  36. Good Video - Isn't it rather curious that the largest country in the world which proclaimed itself Communist when I was a kid essentially was using Capitalism as their weapon? By thinking they had a monopoly on gas supplies, they thought they could control people. They were a bit akin to the US robber barons of the 19th century. Capitalists sometimes misjudge people's yearning for freedom. It ain't all about money, you know.
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  37.  @SuezWSuezW  Now that would make sense. He would have finished his education just about the time the Soviet Union was falling apart. He received his degree in 1997 and I envision that the curricula could have lagged the times so his training could have been as a Soviet economist. His reported behavior certainly mimics those old Commie bosses.
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  38. Well - There's a lot of things that just don't seem to work like theory. Some people tell me communism is good. Read this they will say. Maybe, it sure does look good on paper. Reality - not so good. Adam Smith sounds good too. A few years back I had a discussion on this topic with a wise Indian immigrant. He made the point that the North American market is big. Everything is right here that we need. We are big enough to be an independent market from the world. He also pointed out that trade here tries to play with a level playing ground. Chinese people are smart. They tilt that playing ground to help China. Trade with them is not always "free trade.". They dominate Rare Earths for example. When foreign nations attempt to develop these, they crash the market making new investments elsewhere unsustainable. Nor do they have to play under the same environmental rules. Mr. Biernat gives the example of a copper mine in Connecticut. Value added products from that copper ore could not be developed in North America due to the system being rigged for England. This benefited England. England rigged the rules of world trade a long time. It worked for England. It worked a long time. I'm not one of those who are enthusiastic about Trump. However, he does have a lot of smart businessmen around him and maybe some of his ideas will work. I've seen what free trade has done for what is now called the "Rust Belt" and it isn't all pretty. Thanks for the video.
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  39. Good Talk: China plays the long game. Confucius once said, "It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." What if Putin had gone slowly? How much of Ukraine could he have simply bought for what he has invested militarily? Honestly investing in Ukraine would have won friends and control of the country. Genghis Khan conquered China. His grandson Kublai Khan was essentially Chinese. China has absorbed enemies. They play the long game.
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  40.  @wildbillbegleyjr.3523 It's OK - It appears whatever I had written vanished. Maybe the original post was deleted. Have a good one.
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  41.  @EconLessons  Do it before Professor Wolff converts me.
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  42. There's that Malthusian idea that people can outstrip the available resources. Too bad. Most people I've met from the Philippines have been great people.
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  43.  @РафаэльСаркисянц-ъ2т  Have you ever considered that the average Russian might end up better off if this happened? It's not like people want to turn Russians into slaves. I would say they want to prosper alongside Russians. Do you want the Chinese to invest in Russia or the Europeans?
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  44. Could it be that most don't even realize that it's there?
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  45. So Russia is going away. Well - Not many remember Livonia these days. Countries come and countries go. China will probably take a piece of it.
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  46. You'll just have to watch Star Trek.
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  47. Good Video - What distinguishes man from the snakes and lizards? People have told me that people have souls. They are capable of empathy and compassion. These things are reinforced in a society by a good religion. Russia's KGB took over the religion in Soviet times and never gave it up. It sounds like empathy and compassion were removed from the Russian Society. I guess they are left being like those water moccasins. Mr. Biernat says you can't really negotiate with snakes in your yard. It sort of makes good sense.
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  48. Gee Whiz - Sounds like that was a while ago. Back in those days one could work, save money and pay for an education. Can you still do that?
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  49. The oil sold to India and China is crude oil. India and China were not buying refined oil products from Russia. They refined their own products and kept the jobs in their respective countries. The attacks on the refineries will primarily affect Russia. It is hoped the attacks will continue. Given a more recent video from "Econ Lessons," I begin to wonder if part of the reason that India and China did not purchase refined products from Russia is that there could have been quality issues.
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  50. There may be many reasons Trump won. The fact that his opponent was a black woman probably didn't help the Democrats. This was not the entire reason. The reasons stated by Mr. Biernat are also valid. The vast media support received by Donald Trump was also a factor. he was a known "brand." He had been selling himself for the 4 years he had been president and for the years in which Biden was president. The switch from Biden to Harris was not a normal transition. This did not help the Democrats. I look forward to future videos on Econ Lessons that will discuss Trump's economic policies. Will isolationism restore manufacturing or simply make people poorer?
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