But to begin, let's examine Kanye West's claims in his verse:
Break records of LouieAte breakfast at Gucci
My girl a superstar all from a home movie
Bow on our arrival the unamerican idols
What niggas did in Paris got em hanging off the Eiffel
Yeah I’m talking business
We talking CIA
I’m talking George Tenet
I seen him the other day
He asked me about my Maybach
Think he had the same
Except mine tinted and his might have been rented
You know white people get money don’t spend it
Or maybe they get money, buy a business
I rather buy 80 gold chains and go ig’nant
I know Spike Lee gon kill me but let me finish
Blame it on the pigment, we living no limits
Them gold master p ceilings was just a figment
Of our imagination, MTV cribs
Kanye West steps into the crossfire of the debate in Washington making the claim that when white people are given more money, there are 2 options a) they save, rather than spend or b) they invest in businesses. On the other hand, when he is given more money, he decides to spend it on "consumer" goods, namely 80 gold chains. Further, he goes "ig'nant" with the additional money he is given. He attributes his consumerism to his pigment and lastly, he has no limits to what he will spend. This is a strong argument - let's unpack it.
Consumer spending makes up 70% of spending in the US economy. If Kanye is right, personal consumer spending should not increase as net worth increases. As we can see from above, that is not what has happened. But, Kanye can still be right if we are to believe the increase in consumer spending is attributed to people of Kanye's pigmentation and predilections - especially his love for gold chains.
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A Kanye effect? Who knows. But Kanye claims that giving folks like him more money will increase consumer spending, and by extension, lower unemployment. This is the Kanye stimulus plan. We can only assume he supports the expiration of Bush era tax levels for the rich. Rather, the government should concentrate on tax cuts for the "ig'nant", which will stimulate the economy. Spike Lee disagrees (but can not unpack Mr. Lee's arguments here - we do not have his theories spelled out). Kanye makes a convincing argument in some respects. He has already "[broken] records at Louie Vuitton". Over the past year, LVMH has been up almost 14%. His approach seems to have worked internationally. The question is should we import his stimulus plan? Washington policy makers have much to think about.
Again - welcome back! We'll probably come back and analyze some sets laid out by Big Sean in his thesis.
Without delving too far into Kanye's characterization of those with pigmentation similar to his own, I believe that his characterization of white people would lead to a badonkadonk-boggling data line in the first graph. You allude to this point, arguing that "if Kanye is right, personal consumer spending should not increase as net worth increases."
ReplyDeleteIt bears noting that, if the above holds true, a nation of people devoid of pigmentation would necessarily render the red line of personal consumer spending flatter than the posteriors of said pigmentation-challenged population. Jokes aside, the resulting graph hints at deeper issues, as the consumer spending habits of pigmentless people bear close resemblance to those of dead people.
Is Kanye suggesting that those without pigmentation are dead inside? When will he wax lyrical about pigmentation's power in combating the undead?