TANSTAAFL is an acronym for the adage "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch," popularized by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein in his 1966 novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which discusses the problems caused by not considering the eventual outcome of an unbalanced economy.With the state of our (American) economy these days I was wondering..
It demonstrates opportunity cost. Greg Mankiw described the concept as: "To get one thing that we like, we usually have to give up another thing that we like. Making decisions requires trading off one goal against another."
What trade offs do you think we Americans needs to make to secure a more economically sound future for our grandchildren?I'll start by saying that we need to find ways to operate better in this global economy. Foreign nations like China hold the mortgage on our national debt. Maybe we need to trade off cheap trinkets from China for American made ones.
Somehow we need to find a way to pay down our debts and become financially independent again. Our governmental leaders need to find a way to fund huge initiatives like Social Security and Medicare, which are becoming more crisis like as more boomers (like me) enter retirement. Maybe we need to trade off Social Security and Medicare until boomers (and beyond) reach 70.. yikes did I say that?
Just a few thoughts. How would you answer the question? And remember TANSTAAFL J
Hehehe. Sorry for the boring subject, Bob. :-)
ReplyDeleteTo me, TANSTAAFL ranks up there with, "You can't cheat an honest man." They say every swindle counts on a man's desire to swindle someone else. Even so, TANSTAAFL means that if you take something for free, it's going to end up costing you more than paying a nice fair price for that thing.
We need to quit voting ourselves bread and circuses. Until we do, no law can save us.