Dust flux, Vostok ice core

Dust flux, Vostok ice core
Two dimensional phase space reconstruction of dust flux from the Vostok core over the period 186-4 ka using the time derivative method. Dust flux on the x-axis, rate of change is on the y-axis. From Gipp (2001).

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A brief comment on the growth of wealth in US history

One factor I neglected to mention the last time that was critical in the expansion of the wealth of the United States was the escalation of land values through development. In particular, homesteading, by which families were permitted to stake out areas of wilderness and through their efforts of clearing, draining, and raising crops, made it theirs.

Overlooking for the moment arguments about the environmental value of wilderness, and the fact that much of the land was not quite as empty as stated, you have to admit that this process created a lot of wealth. It was the creation of real wealth that led to the growth of America's economy; and not the projection of power worldwide through unlimited issuance of debt instruments favoured by Johansen and Simonsen (and Bernanke and Geithner and Krugman et al.).

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