Nudge Sunstein On The Ideal Time For Pillaging

By Chris Rossini

Machiavelli openly spoke of the importance of deception. Isn't democracy nothing more than a grand deception? Am I the only one who remembers the tears of joy that were flowing down American cheeks when Obama was elected?

Well, Cass 'Nudge' Sunstein, who makes a living concocting ways for 'The Prince' to gain more power, has come up with a formula. If The Prince wants to pillage, he has to do so when the deception is fresh in the victim's mind.

Here's how it works:

While we endure endless speculation about who will run for president in 2016, an important question is being left unaddressed: How will the ultimate winner be able to take any useful action?

Naturally, just as our Keynesian friends grab their calculators to come up with "inflation targets," so does Sunstein head to his lab to calculate the best time to pillage the public (or what he calls "useful action").

First, a new president has much greater power to achieve legislative change during the initial 16 months of the term. The nation typically unifies around a president-elect, partly because there has been no time for the new administration to have made apparent mistakes or wandered into huge controversies.

Sunstein has calculated that the deception tears begin to dry up after 16 months. If you're going to rob the public blind, that's your window.

Our Keynesian friends would immediately exclaim: "Wait a minute! Does the data support this claim?!?"

Not to worry. Sunstein knows better than to show up at a central planning party without any data:

In 2009, after Barack Obama assumed office, Congress enacted the $787 billion stimulus bill; the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act; the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act; and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. In 2010, Obama signed the most important statutes of his presidency, the Affordable Care Act and the Wall Street Reform Act -- and for good measure, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Sunstein alerts future Princes:

...this window of opportunity closes quickly.

So there you have it. Obama took advantage of the tears and his 16 month window.

Deceive and Pillage fast.

After that, the victims start to yearn for a new deceiver.

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Chris Rossini is author of Set Money Free: What Every American Needs To Know About The Federal Reserve. Follow @chrisrossini on Twitter.