[quote=davelj]
I apologize in advance for butting in here, Allan (and yet I do so anyway!). In “investor’s” defense, he wants someone to explain exactly WHY and WHERE Griffin is wrong. And given where he’s coming from (that is, a conspiratorialist), I can actually understand why. My problem with this is twofold (to which I’ve alluded herein): (1) Reading 6 pages is one thing; rebutting 6 pages in a manner that all concerned can understand (and – sorry here – but “dumbing it down” so that a non-professional – as I presume “investor” to be – can understand it) is another issue entirely. I know I’m going to get a ration of “arrogance” grief for that statement, but it’s true nonetheless. I’ve taught a fair amount of finance in various professional capacities, so I know how this generally works. (2) The burden of proof should be on the original poster to make his point first. He wants someone ELSE to do all the work and I’m not biting. And he’s complaining about it. And that’s patently absurd.
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Dave: Feel free to butt in, Dave. I’m reminded of the Will Ferrell character in “Zoolander” (“I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!”).
I both see and get your point. However, deigning to grant credibility to a noted crank like Griffin is beyond me, rightly or wrongly. Its akin to explaining to someone that storks don’t deliver babies, and then explaining, with facts and pictures, how birth actually works and then getting a blank stare and having them start over with the stork discussion. The real irony is him mentioning hitting you and I over the head with a hammer and my thinking that its being deployed on the wrong person.
If Griffin hadn’t suffered such widespread and thorough debunking, it would be one thing. But, in this case, one can easily find reputable authors fully discrediting Griffin and his work. In addition, his affiliation with various extremist and reactionary groups goes even further in destroying what little credibility remains.
Describing the WHERE and WHY is finally made impossible by the simple fact that “investor” is unwilling to do what he demands of us: Read those alternate sources that FULLY explain the workings of the Fed and stand as an obliterative counterpoint to the six pages he holds so dear. No matter how Herculean the effort, Dave, you will never disabuse him of his misapprehensions because he refuses to do even the simplest of research and thus remains willfully ignorant.
This has all the trappings of medieval religious inquiry. If the Mother Church does not decree it as Truth, it is not Truth. This is Occam’s Razor writ large and plain, but I also forget we’re dealing with a conspiracy theorist, so something evil must be lurking in the closet.
