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Conscious Capitalism, And Open Thread
Zero Hedge will be out of pocket for several hours: please use this post as an open thread opportunity to discuss how honest and transparent the government economic data dissemination complex is, how efficient the stock market is, how free of monopoly the Wall Street Fixed Income trading complex is, how altruistic the Federal Reserve is, and everything else that tickles your fancy. In the meantime, here is the latest controversial, and very much must read letter from Mike Krieger: Conscious Capitalism.
From Mike Krieger of Kam LP
Conscious Capitalism
Action alone is the province, never the fruits thereof.
Let not thy motive be the fruit of action, nor shouldst thou desire to avoid action.
- The Bhagavad Gita
Renunciation means absence of hankering after fruit.
As a matter of fact he who renounces reaps a thousandfold.
He who is ever brooding over result often loses nerve in the performance of his duty.
He becomes impatient and then gives vent to anger and begins to do unworthy things;
He jumps from action to action, never remaining faithful to any.
- Mahatma Ghandi
A Merging of the “Left” and the “Right”
During my most recent interview with Max Keiser I briefly introduced a concept that I referred to as “conscious capitalism” and I promised to expound on this idea in future writings. When I look around me I see a lot of encouraging signs but I also see a political, military and industrial establishment that is fighting with all its might to squash what I think could be a very powerful merging of forces on both the motivated and moral “left” and “right” sides of the political spectrum. As I have mentioned previously I tend to be libertarian philosophically yet I find myself in agreement with many of those who the mainstream media tells me are on the “other side.” Side issues like who is “racist” and the ground zero mosque are used to emotionally separate us and we must not give into such tactics. I think the most important thing for people that really want to change things for the better and lessen the stranglehold of the current corrupt and dependency/warfare model that is the United States of America should do two things. First, find the issues that we can agree upon and secondly as Ghandi instructed us “be the change that you want to see in the world” and spread this idea to everyone you come in contact with. We must remember that we have the ultimate power as individuals and consumers and at the end of the day this nasty little system we’ve got going survives based on our compliance whether we want to admit that or not.
What are the Main Issues we can Agree On?
End the Fed. I think the first issue to be dealt with is the Federal Reserve. Either it needs to be castrated or ended. As I have said before I think we are already on the road to achieving this end but we can’t give up now. The keys to ending the Fed in its current form are several fold. The first is to educate the masses on how and when the Fed was formed, what the Fed is, and finally who it ultimately answers to. Secondly, we need to support Congressmen like Ron Paul in their bi-partisan efforts to “Audit the Fed” or audit the gold reserves in Fort Knox. Despite having had considerable support from Congressional Democrats the bill was not passed as Mr. Paul intended and indeed the Fed was given more powers in that laughing stock of a Financial Reform Bill. Many will view this as a setback and in some ways it was; however, it was also a victory in that it served to “awaken” a growing percentage of the citizenry to how things work and to recognize that the Congress does not listen to the will of the people but rather protects the corrupt establishment at all costs. Having the power to create money and credit out of thin air, the Federal Reserve is the ultimate tool of the establishment and the noose around the necks of us serfs. When we have forced the Fed to respond to our inquiries their response in all cases is to grab further power and fight to avoid any disclosures of the actions they have taken in the shadows. Whereas truth can always shine through even the darkest night, lies must be compounded upon themselves indefinitely to maintain themselves. To quote Ghandi yet again: “The wicked can prevail only when they number multitudes, but goodness will rule when embodied to perfection even in one person.” This is a man who was able to boot the most powerful empire the world has ever seen using nonviolent methods. I think we can learn a lot from him.
End the Warfare State. When 9/11 happened I was working in the World Financial Center. I saw the buildings come down with my own two eyes. I saw the people falling out of the towers. I was scared and traumatized and for a while felt like I needed the government to protect me. Initially I was willing to give up some civil liberties to achieve some sense of comfort. I have since realized the grave error of my ways and I now shudder to think of the police state the establishment is trying to move us toward. Yesterday I read an article about how a Virginia court has upheld the right of police to place a GPS tracking device on a car without a warrant. Article can be found here http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime/Va-appeals-court-upholds-tracking-suspects-with-GPS-102431294.html. Someone tell me how this does not violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution? This is really terrifying stuff. What is so hard about getting warrant? Is this the type of country we want to live in? Beyond this, there is a clear trend toward more invasive screening tactics to prevent terrorism. The bottom line is this, if someone wants to blow something up or hurt people they will do it. Furthermore, instead of us sheepishly just giving away whatever self-respect we have left so that Janet Napolitano can scan your naked body before getting on a plane how about we stop invading countries in the Middle East and killing people. Sounds like a good start to me.
End the Stranglehold of the Large Banks, Multi-National Corporations and Unproductive and Overpaid Government Workers. When you look at the latest polls about what Americans have faith in at the top of the list is small business and at the bottom are Congress and the Banks. This is perfectly rational as everyone that has observed with an unbiased eye how things have unfolded since the financial crisis occurred has seen that the political establishment and Fed have made it their primary order of business to protect the big banks, big corporations and the overpaid and bloated public sector at the expense of the productive and hardworking citizenry and at the end of the day what they have really sacrificed is our currency (this will become painfully obvious soon enough) and our standing in the rest of the world (we are now seen as the third world banana republic we are).
First, the large banks. If there is anything anyone that dislikes the system as it stands should be against it is the TBTF (Too Big To Fail) banks. They played a huge role in destroying the global financial system and the long-term wealth creation mechanism of the United States. Not only that, but as a punishment for their sins they have taken taxpayer bailouts, paid enormous bonuses while 35 million Americans entered the food stamp breadline, fought real reform every step of the way (successfully I might add) and the executives have escaped punishment. We protect these banks as if they are some sort of national treasure. The one trend that becomes clear when it comes to the banks, the Fed and the power players in Washington D.C. is the more you screw up the more power you get. It is amazingly Orwellian.
As far as the Unproductive and Overpaid government sector I am not going to spend much time on it myself. Rather, I ask you to listen to this compelling interview given by Stephen Meister to King World News http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/9/4_Stephen_Meister.html. One of the key points he makes is that there are 7.9 million public sector union members and that for the first time in 2009 there are now more public union members than private sector union members (7.4 million). More importantly, the private sector workforce is five times as large as the public sector workforce so what you get is a situation where union membership is 34% in the public sector and 7% in the private sector. A lot of “conservatives” like to demonize auto unions and the like but the real issue is the public sector unions. He goes on to point out that at least at a private company there is a profit motive and so if the unions push too far they end up hurting themselves. Not so with a government union since there is no profit motive and their pay is just subsidized by the taxpayer! To summarize, what are we subsidizing? The TBTF banks, the war machine, a growing police state, and public sector unions that keep taking more and more. Everything is completely backwards. We live in and participate in a complete and total insane asylum.
Finally, the multi-nationals. As many are starting to understand we do not live in a world of “free trade” we live in a world of rigged trade where China manipulates its currency lower to keep the labor arbitrage alive. Due to rising inflation and wages in the coastal areas this is beginning to change, but the key is not to have companies now move from China to Vietnam or Mexico. We need jobs here. Our days of pushing paper around as a nation of traders, lawyers and bureaucrats is OVER. We don’t know it yet since the currency crisis hasn’t fully shown up in commodity inflation but it is happening underneath the surface. As a result, it is key to get producing jobs back to American shores as soon as possible. That way we will be able to provide for ourselves better after the currency loses much of its purchasing power abroad. This will not be easy but it is necessary. Furthermore, the longer we export such jobs abroad and continue to just collect food stamps, day-trade and file lawsuits the less skills we will have here to do the necessary things when the time comes.
Implementing Conscious Capitalism
So now we are back full circle to the idea of conscious capitalism. Back in 2002 in my personal journal I wrote a little essay titled “Ambivalence Toward Capitalism.” I decided to go back and read it before writing today and one of the lines stuck out to me. I wrote: “In my opinion capitalism is the best form of society that has graced this earth and yet is the worst form of ideology that has ever become so widely accepted.” What I meant by this was that I saw the inherent dangers of using a system based in large part on the selfish desires prevalent in mankind. Harnessing the abilities of man to produce, innovate and create to the best of his or her ability by offering rewards is essentially what capitalism does when it works well. However, what has become abundantly clear as of late is that if the society itself is immoral then capitalism will fail to function and it can be as destructive as any other system. This is where I disagree with many libertarians AND big government folks. There is nothing wrong with some limited federal government and there is nothing wrong with capitalism, where we get into problems is when we view either as a panacea or a religion. This is because they are both merely systems devised by imperfect human beings and as such will ultimately reflect the morality and ethics of the human beings interacting within that system. The United States has become in recent years, decadent, aggressive, immoral and brainwashed by television and mainstream media. As such, should we really be surprised that nothing seems to work whether it be Federal government or capitalism?
At the end of the day I still think as long as human nature remains the same capitalism is the best thing we’ve got. The reason it is the best thing we have come up with is because at the end of the day it is not something we came up with. Real capitalism, as opposed to the crony capitalism we have today, consists of the natural state of affairs in complex societies. As is wisely noted over and over in the epic Bhagavad Gita, we run into trouble when we become obsessed with the “fruits of action” since then we would lie, cheat and steal to achieve ones ends. However, those that attempt to demonize capitalism must understand that if the moral base of a society is unchanged it doesn’t matter what system is in place it will eventually become corrupt and tyrannical.
Therefore, what I think is of paramount importance in today’s America is we need to get a grip on reality as it is not as we wish to see it. The first thing is to understand how the financial system operates and how the Federal Reserve controls it. The second thing is to spread this knowledge to everyone you know. The third and final stage, which is the one we are entering in my view, is to be the change you want to see in the world. The most effective way to protest the system is to shed counterfeit money for honest money. This means for everyone that has the means to should sell a certain percent of their dollars and buy physical gold. If we did this the Fed would be history tomorrow. More importantly, once this happens the last thing we should do is accept another fiat currency devised by these same insane academics and central bankers that want to push this ridiculous idea of an SDR on us. Other things people can do is to look at their own lives and be more thoughtful about what bank one uses or what products one buys. I do not bank at the TBTFs and this is a conscious choice. This is conscious capitalism. Buying local goods produced nearby rather than something produced by Asian slave labor is another way. If we do these things based on a sense of morality, then not only can we get back to real capital markets rather than praying to the false god of crony capitalism, but indeed we can change the world through a paradigm shift in our collective consciousness.
All the best,
Mike
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What the hell does "out of pocket" infer? And where is Marla?
Who am I, why am I here? God Bless James Stockdale.
Confucius say: "man with hand in pocket feel cocky".
So Tyler does not feel cocky right now?
Must be TD's birthday and everyone is taking him to the strip club.
"Big hitter, the Lama."
"So I've got that goin' for me."
Kinda how I feel about Social Security.
Love him or hate him, but Denninger posted quite an interesting article earlier today.
http://www.market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=166271
Great. Very interesting. Thanks.
Hmm. I could have posited another interpretation of those charts; consumers are making purchases but are not using their credit cards. I'm not going to however because "not using your credit card" is unlikely when unemployment is this high. People fall back to credit in that case and hope for the best.
Probably there are two other things happening; 1) CC companies are no longer issuing cards like they used to and are raising fees/rates dramatically for balance transfers, and 2) people have maxed out their credit lines already and others have had their credit lines reduced.
Since the last 20 years of growth was due to consumer credit expansion and the home as ATM, yes these are ominous signs.
So will O issue a Fed-backed "Federal Reserve Credit Card" to everyone on unemployment, or who has a mortgage, or who has no additional credit line? I don't see how the administration can expect more-o-the-same growth without more credit. I'm not advocating use of credit to survive, just noting that "growth as we know it"
will slow and die without it. Fact.
I agree, it's the reason they're not using them that counts. It's not their free will.
I'll go a step further and speculate that 'growth' isn't the only thing that's going to die.
Consumer credit has been contraction for some time but the contraction is now slowing. The question is what portion of the contraction was attributable to the banks lowering people's limits and what portion was voluntary pay downs?
"A" FICO's are getting attractive balance transfer offers (up to 12 months 0%) but this is a very recent development. It is pointing to something.
I received a 0% offer from Citibank in June (yes 2010) for 18 months.
0% - 18 months - 3% balance transfer "fee"
Citibank, owned by the Gov't, is trying their own stimulus program!
That is the best offer I have heard about this year. 3% transfer fee is pretty standard.
In my own case if I can avoid using a CC I do. I've gotten to a point where I try to pay cash as a policy. I'm sure other people are doing the same thing. Not everyone is maxed out (as the consumer credit numbers show) and not everybody is unemployed (yet). So there is an undercurrent of rebellion in not using the cards.
recent transaction. not good with cash. make sure the dumb shit chick sales clerk, gives you your change and your payment gets put into her cash register. i swear to god to you, this happened to me. sold out completely. i now am putting my foot down. the GD women in this town i currently reside, are the dumbest asses, blame me for taking the money. could of been arrested if i was a man, black brown or tan.
No offense, but you're paying far too much attention to the Corporate McNews, which is no news but propaganda.
"Since the last 20 years of growth was due to consumer credit expansion and the home as ATM, yes these are ominous signs."
Practically insignificant in the overall scheme: the last 20 years was the age of the peddling of securitized debt, which produced debt-financed billionaires and now trillionaires, exponentially increasing the transfer of wealth to the upper .5% of the top 1%.
You probably have continued to hear repeated: 70% of the economy is consumer driven?
They never bother to explain that figure: 30% of that derives from the top 2% of the economic elite.
That is not good, but highly demonstrative of the super-concentration of wealth taking place.
It is not profitable for MultinationalCorporateAmerica to hire anyone in America, hence all that job creation taking place overseas via foreign direct investment (FDI) of American tax payer monies (as in stimulus and bailout funds).
Other than we are living through the demise of global capitalism, I wouldn't and sanely couldn't make any predictions; Obama's just looking towards his future Goldman Sachs partnership.
Good luck with the rest of us....
Excellent point. Thank you.
thanks for the post - Erin Burnett said it's a screaming buy
The real explanation for the smashing of Visa and Mastercard stocks is that congress/regulators are working to severely curtail what is known as the interchange fee, or what the merchants pay to the Visa/mastercard systems on a per transaction basis. The interchange fee pie is shared by many, including the card issuing bank, the transaction processor, and Visa and Mastercard themselves. Europe was reduced a long time ago to about 1/3 the fee that is paid in the US, so these stocks are reflecting the coming large revenue reduction. Also, bank stocks are going to take a hit with this when it comes to fruition.
And the kickback to consumers on those "reward" cards.
1%-5% cashback cards are really just funded by the interchange fees.
Escape, thanks for the heads up..disturbing trend in V and MA..economic nuclear winter coming ??
Denninger is right on, in this instance.
The PPT only seeks to lift the entire market. Individual issues such as V and MA demonstrate the structural weakness of the entire economy.
I'd have to go with the latter on Denninger!
Now, lets see... Credit Card stocks down sharply, in unison, over the period Fin Reg was developing Credit Card policy changes (and through to the final bill passing).
Wow, Denninger posting positive results from an Obama initiative... the end is obviously at hand!
maybe it has to do with the criminal banks getting taxpayer $ from ben @ 0% and then relending it to "consumers" @ 20%
I wont post anything unless I have something important to say
Counter intuitive, Plausible deniablity, Unusual uncertainty, irrational exuberance. Which phrase belongs to Allen Dulles?
Plausible Deniability.
Which he then said could not under any circumstances apply to J Edgar Hoover in Drag. Said J Edgar was the ugliest fucking woman in the whole world and it was far beyond him to even speculate on what Clyde Tolson saw in him.
You'll never be a president...
"I wont post anything unless I have something important to say"
@putbuyer
Aren't/weren't you you in RE or RE finance? I know you're on the farm now, but I thought I remember you mentioning a retail RE background? If so, you could probably corroborate what me or any other retail finance person has been seeing for the last 20 plus years. I'm taking 1003 applications which hide very little - and most show VERY little in the way of assets, especially the boomers, considering they are up to bat. Lots of debt, very little savings.
I don't mean to disparage anyone, just a concerned observation.
From a friend...
"PITY THE NATION"
(After Khalil Gibran)
Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerers
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
By force and by torture
Pity the nation that knows
No other language but its own
And no other culture but its own
Pity the nation whose breath is money
And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
Pity the nation oh pity the people
who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away
My country, tears of thee
Sweet land of liberty!
Obviously, someone doesn't like The Empire!
I pity the fools.
That would cover every empire since the beginning of time.
You seem sad.
Here's more Commie Central Planning for us all courtesy of Senator Christopher Dudd.
http://noisyroom.net/blog/2010/09/09/social-control-coming-to-your-neighborhood/
What drivel... Detroit death caused by local (democratic) government actions.
Of course, corporations taking profit (fat cat bonus) instead of investing to keep up with off shore competition, or sending jobs overseas to squeeze even more profit had nothing to do with it.
Interesting. Our city got a 3 year federal grant last year to establish an "office of sustainability," which is just one person sitting at a desk, currently focusing on converting the city to energy efficiency, blah, blah, blah. The joke in town is that her job is to sustain her job after the grant runs out.
At the same time, they also established an "Office of Neighborhood Services" which is roughly a dozen people drawn from different city departments in an effort to better "coordinate" services aimed at neighborhoods, with the mandate of targeting evil landlords.
When one looks at the departments represented, it reeks of back-door information sharing, like how fire departments will do fire inspections in order to get in the door of places where the police are having problems obtaining a warrant (or don't care to try). Now, they don't even have to bother as the new dept. has little (or none?) legal oversight. Instead, they just do whatever they want, culling info from every source they have.
This twit in this job should be fired immediately.
Since it is your town, what are you doing to make that happen?
.
Tyler, get back to work.
This isnt the SEC!
With you around, what is the difference? Midget porn notwithstanding.
Pladizow has the imagination of a left-handed-screwdriver.
His avatar suggests exactly what he is.
A complete and utter C**t.
.
i swear i don't see cunt, in that picture.
must be me.
An open forum of...? sounds like everyone's two cents invited: break out the tin foil hats!!!
www.thepersonaltrainerswife.com
And personal message of gratitude to Mr. Cognitive Dissonance: Thank you for directing me to my "off" switch for fear and for showing me how to manipulate my dopamine levels. You rock!
Dagny, I too am grateful to CogDis for his long work that included how to install the switch and turn it on and off.
Now I will try the link you provided...
Friend of mine made himself a tinfoil hat, it looks quite snappy on him!
Consider adding fofoa.blogspot.com to your blog roll! He is perhaps the biggest gold bull out there, and he writes high quality stuff.
That is a very cool site! It will be on my blogroll most def. Thanks for the heads up as well as all your continued quality comments here. I find you reliably reaffirmative of my positions (God, yes I still trade)... although, Mr. CogDiss might say the more sure that it makes me, the higher the probability that I am wrong. It sucks but, what fun!!
So Dagny, who is John Ga...?
Apparently Paul Johansson is, at least in the movie. See here: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424035/ He's the fella that played Special Agent Kuntsler in Boondock Saints II.
As to who he really is... isn't that kinda why we come here?
Ok, wait, Ima take a bong rip, I'll be right back.
Is Ima your significant Other?
This scene needs a little more detail. What are we talking? 18" acrylic or some fragile little glass contraption?
6 footer; gotta stand on a chair
I prefer a turkish pipe with indian tabacco and valium on top of the tabacco and the pipe filled with scoth.
I prefer Turkish Hash enjoyed in my vaporizer......
Homemade bubble hash, homemade bong.
Yeah, but do you drink the bong water? I had a clear necked one once. Guy came into my home and drank my bong water, uninvited. I watched the chunks go down his throat.
I'm shocked!
Doing that kind of stuff can make you want to run for Vice-President.
But this begs the question of how this guy gained entry into your home. Did you, like, hear a knock on the door and open it to hear, "Bongwater Inspector, I need to drink your bong water ma'am." How do these things happen in real life?
This happened when I was pretty young. Don't smoke any more. A friend of mine knew me to be someone who would always share a little if she had it. I had rules about the whole thing. No free loading. If you brought over chips, soda, something else we could use, no problem. I'd let you burn one bowl in my most excellent and if I do say so myself efficient bong. You smoke it right (following my directions) you would get high on a very tiny bit weed. I could make dope last a long time. At any rate, my friend brought his friend to my door hoping I could fix them up. I did not have anything and told them as much. The guy asked if I had my bong. Told him I had already scraped the pipe, bowl, everything for resin, that it was bone dry and not to bother. He asked me to show him the bong. I did. He grabbed it and drank the bong water. I watched as the filth slid down his throat.
The image is engraved in my mind to this day, and the urge to wretch remembering it.
Uninvited was not a grammatical error.
OH
MY
GOD
Reminds me of one of my creations - "Killer".
It was a big deal giving that bong away. Gave it to a couple that I knew would love it.
I never drank bong water, but I did smoke all the Oregano in the house when I was about 15. And, I saw a guy projectile vimit into a bong once. Cleared the table.
LMAO! Nice man. This calls for a little something...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PR_rzF8ofw
If you were going to take a position in S&P puts what month would you look at?
How do we possibly win the game when the Fed owns the players, the coach, the referee, the stadium and they make/change the rules as they go?
The answer is: don't play.
and the stadium toilets don't work. Everything they flush keeps coming back up
Yeah, and then they sell it back to us as hot dogs and nachos.
We can't, you lose.
Define your view of winning..
I will add 2 to the list:
- Check out of the debt/credit system. So long as you participate in the system that used debt-based means of acquisition, you keep the TBTF banks alive.
- Check out of the casino. Do not look for ways to benefit from the collapse by short selling, buying derivatives, etc. There is no reasonable basis for making money when something else fails, sorry. Therefore, should you conclude there are no positive, economically responsible investments to invest in, do not invest.
We will not succeed in fighting against the black hole of speculation if we continue to participate in it. We will not succeed in basing an economy on production, resources, and real things if we continue to speculate. We will not kill TBTF banks, government-backed monstrosities like GSEs, etc, if we continue to hock our future earnings to them with debt. Sorry, I know these are not popular choices. Its easy to say kick out the bums, end outsourcing, break up the banks, bring the troops home, etc. Its harder to say - I cannot afford that house, so I will not get it, and there are no good investments that are economically responsible, so I will forego the short term gains.I really don't understand the "I cannot afford that house...".
Practically everyone I know wouldn't think of buying a house they cannot afford.
Surely, it must be the exceptions you write about and those exceptions are located in three primary nutcase habitats: Florida, Californica, Nevade, particklelerly, Lost Vegas.
The rest of the country has some problems and RE isn't moving for sure, but the idea that the majority of us have not participated in the 'I cannot afford but will buy anyway mentality'.
Starving the gambling beast is myopic. I am amazed that people do not consider the immense risk they take up each morning upon commuting to work with cars whizzing by them in the opposite direction at fatal speeds, only a few feet or inches away from them. The real risk in doing nothing with your money but sitting on it.
Things have to move in an economy. Think for a second if all activity stopped just like that. We'd save our oceans, our forests, our mammals would proliferate, and then what?
There has to be an in between.
This appears to be a very good investment: 7.75 snapped up by private placement. You can bet there's a bunch of widows, orphans, and just plain folks that are going to wind up with some piece of this little gem.
Sept 9 (Reuters) - Linn Energy LLC (LINE.O) late on Wednesday sold $1 billion of senior unsecured notes in the 144a private placement market, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters service. Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Agricole, RBC, RBS, and Wells Fargo Securities were the joint bookrunning managers for the sale. BORROWER: LINN ENERGY LLC AMT $1 BLN COUPON 7.750 PCT MATURITY 2/1/2021 TYPE SR NTS ISS PRICE 98.264 FIRST PAY 3/15/2011 MOODY'S B2 YIELD 8.00 PCT SETTLEMENT 9/13/2010 S&P SINGLE-B SPREAD 535 BPS PAY FREQ SEMI-ANNUAL FITCH N/A MORE THAN TREAS NON-CALLABLE 5 YRS* *MAKE-WHOLE CALL 50 BPSYou are arguing something I did not say. I said 'economically responsible investments'. Short selling, derivatives, etc, are not economically responsible. As I said, one should rule out such things. This is not myopic. Participating in it to the detriment of society and our children is most definitely myopic however.
I know this is challenging deeply held ideology. Just like people think we need the Fed to regulate money and we need Keynes to smooth out economic cycles. Those are deeply held ideology too. Its just easier to point at macro things that 'others' control than it is to take a hit or make a sacrifice ourselves. Just sayin'.
As for housing that is affordable - what society says is 'affordable' and what is really, truly affordable are two different things. Simply put, we put too much value in what is essentially just shelter. Imagine if we poured those resources into, say, better energy chioces, better health care, developing the places in the world where so many people are desparate, etc. Imagine how much further along we might be.
Is this what the author meant by 'conscious capitalism'?
was that how autistic or artistic the Federal Reserve is?
It all went downhill after McCullloch v.s. Maryland in 1819 .... never been the same since but this is what needs to happen. Maybe it will take another Civil War for the federal govt. to relinquish its grip on all our throats....
i thought MvM was "the last best hope for humanity." In any case I thought the case was earlier than that so I'll have to google again. Jeffererson made the claim that "hey, beach--i can intrepret the Constitution--and SO CAN MY FRIENDS IN CONGRESS."
The California budget crisis is officially over. They've been looking for money, looks like they found it.
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-pacificare-unitedhealth-20100908,0,6657147.story
It's reaching new levels of absurdity.
We ain't seen nothin' yet baby
They will be handing out I.O.U.s to vendors for 15 years before they ever see a penny of this which by then will be reduced to $200 - $300 million.
Pacificare is a filthy story of unchecked corporate malfeasance and outright greed but what do you expect from an industry that has no anti - trust rules to answer to???? And that is just for starters when talking about health insurers.
How about they yank their license to do business in the state rather than resort to extortion?
I thought extortion was how you got a business license in LA.
Extortion appears to be the Chicago way, too...
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration on Thursday told health insurers that it will track those who enact "unjustified" rate increases linked to the health overhaul and may block those companies from a new marketplace for insurance coverage.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704644404575482233537023848.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
Sure is easy to become a conscious capitalist after you have made your fortune...
Speaking of Max Keiser, did anyone catch his last video where he's talking about Dick Cheney. Did he say what I think he said about that famous day?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O8PaPKRKC0&feature=player_embedded
WOW !
Max and Stacy really unload on TPTB.
Yup !
He said it...
9/11 was an "Inside Job".
All the MORONIC Deniers will be pissing themseves.
I'm talking to you Jim Quinn.
Wow, Max really goes off. Hadn't watched him in a while. Thanks!
'At the end of the day I still think as long as human nature remains the same capitalism is the best thing we’ve got.'
Not sure I'm buying that one. Whats wrong with benevolent dictatorships ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benign_dictator#Benevolent_dictatorship
''In effect, the monarchs ruled with the intent of improving the lives of their subjects in order to strengthen or reinforce their authority. In the spirit of enlightened absolutism, Emperor Joseph II said, "Everything for the people, nothing by the people."
Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses...not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you. I mean if I went around saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOOTKA0aGI0
+10
You deserve to be acknowledged for that bit of poetry!
Thanks for the chuckle. Noone does 'oppressed peasant' like Michael Palin.
". . . come and see the violence inherent in the system!"
indeed. thanks h_h!
Since it was such a big hit before (thanks for the reads, folks) and this is an open thread, I'll re-post the link to my HFT story:
http://madscienceunlimited.com/fiction/theexchange.html
Where we answer the question: What does a girl do with 4 trillion computational units?
Safe for work, probably not safe for your mom. Unless your mom works for the NSA.
my mom works in the kitchen. she finds "4 trillion" a little ridiculous and I agree. 4 quarts and a splash of sugar on the other hand...
The universe is fractal. At some scale, ridiculous became just enough.
If it's fractal, doesn't that mean it's ridiculous at all scales?
Oh behave.
*tee hee*
"When 9/11 happened I was working in the World Financial Center. I saw the buildings come down with my own two eyes. I saw the people falling out of the towers. I was scared and traumatized and for a while felt like I needed the government to protect me."
and then, he voted for a radical community organizer the first chance he got
hahaha, ahhhhhhhhhhh, that was so funny, you should do stand-up. Really, quit your day-job. Sign up for clown college today!
when I worked for the government i wasn't in the business of "protecting you" just "racking up a body count so I could go home to mom and apple pie." interestingly i work for the private sector now and i still feel that i'm in that business although i take note i'm suppose to be "driven to protect others." perhaps they mean it in the offensive and aggressive sense? i don't know. i'm easily confused in this "new normal." suffice to say "my vote wasn't wasted with BO" insofar as that goes.
Once again, day after day, week after week, we hit the same wall. As long as there is food in the grocery store and gas at the pump, NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
So unless y'all can come up with actual ways to crash this economy and take back our country, this is all just posturing!
Please, don't post it here because i'm sure Tyler doesn't want revolutionists on his hands...but come up with your own ways in your own lives, using your own connections to crash the system and DO IT.
he does have ears like Lincoln. Maybe that's the plan?
These people can continue this charade longer than you can remain solvent... all to keep the structure of society intact.
The only plan is to rise up against the baby boomers at the top and allow for free enterprise to rebuild the country with the resources we have.
"...unless y'all can come up with actual ways to crash this economy and take back our country, this is all just posturing!"
incubation, or masturbation.
SPY put spreads are cheap for next Friday. Enough eco news coming out next week to push the market down.
I have a question for the ZH community and would be very interested to hear what you have to say.
I own my house, car, etc. out right. I have both silver and gold bullion as well as many other investments. In cash terms, I have enough to keep me going for 2 years with a modest reduction in discretionary spending.
However, I have about 100K in credit card debt (about 20 cards) (took out chase advance offers years ago to buy gold and have been just managing the payments up until now).
My questions: This is all unsecured debt. I was thinking of defaulting on all my credit cards for 6 to 8 month period and then settle with the credit cards before legal action is taken. A very close friend of mine did this and got his approx 50K in debt settled for about 12,000.00.
Is this a moral issue or a good business decision? The way I see it, the good ole’ Fed and never ending taxes have destroyed our wealth (purchasing power). With what is coming, who can get credit anyway. Besides, all my chards are closed so they are of no further use. Is it wrong to take advantage of this legal avenue. Why should I would hard to pay banks for the money they lent which 1) comes out of thin air and 2) is paid for by bailouts and our tax dollars.
Please advise….
That's between you, your lawyer, and your 'maker' (whomever that might be).
First, when moral hazard has been telegraphed, by defaulting you are fucking me in the ass because I'll have to pay for your chicanery.
Second, in my work with creditors, if you're looking for a handout, then you need to have proof you can't pay... any creditor worth its salt is going to ask for the last few years' tax returns, pay stubs, etc. If you don't want to play ball, maybe they'll let you rock and roll... but maybe they'll sue you.
Last, if they decide to sue you and they get a judgment against you, then you will be forced to explain your financial position to the court... the judgment lien will probably automatically attach to all of your real property in that county... and if you have any additional real property, they can domesticate the judgment to that jurisdiction. You will also be asked to itemize your personal property, including your PM stash.
PS, you were positioning for the end game (pm's), but decided to try and time the market? Eat shit.
Don't mean to be rude but yours is a Peasant mentality. With all the defaults, they are not coming after small guys. I'm making a statement. Don't Tred On Me. You screwd me...I am getting out with what I can, when I can, before it is all too late.
We're both peasants only you haven't realized it yet. Wisdom is ultimately the acknowledgement of one's boundaries.
That's fine, but the bank is not the only person/entity you need to be concerned about. First, uncle sam is going to want something for the debt that was written down for you (expect taxes and, if not paid, confiscation).
Second, you have to worry about people like me who continue to pay our obligations because we agreed to do so. Who do you think is likely to rebuild the country and have any semblance of power? The people who have little or no debt and live up to their word or the people who gloat about racking up debt and gaming the system for pecuniary gain, which the former must repay? Some people may get away with it, but not you. Nothing but hubris stands in the way of your realization of this fact.
You may suppress the skeletons for a while, but they will come rushing out of the closet one day when you least expect it. There may not be a debtor's prison any more, but that's not to say that you will not become an outcast of the clan. You will try this scheme, or one like it, again one day and your card will get pulled in a much less "civilized" society. We are meticulous record keepers (would make the nazi's look like those people on hoarders show). Evidence of all these transactions will be available for all who choose to look. The political landscape may seek to punish you after the fact... proceed at your own risk.
I don't blame your for attempting to do so... but I would strongly suggest you look at all the possible ramifications for defaulting. Although, this is giving you too much credit because when you purchased all of this on credit, you couldn't possibly had any intention other than to default... unless you thought you could time the market. Again, an endeavor I would strongly suggest against.
Better to have the gold in hand for sure. But you may have to lie to a court to keep it...
Get away with anything you can get away with. Anyone with a conscience these days is just a sucker to be taken advantage of by the financial system.
In that case you have no right to moan about banks being bailed out. If the argument is, those who fail at investing should die (figuratively), then i suppose you should work an honest job for life until you pay back the $100k.
However, if you want to simply call it quits, then by all means do so, but please dont argue its so unfair how x-CEO brings his co bankrupt and gets a slap on the wrist.
As for morality - its only wrong if you see it as wrong in your mind. If you have no problem with it, then you shouldnt care what the internets will tell you.
Your thinking is a bit off. He is in breach of contract, something that was planned for from the beginning. He will take his knocks. A bail out would mean that the government came in and paid his bill for him and he got to go take on more credit card debt.
In the private enterprise system, it is hard to scan the same people over and over again, unless you have "pull" with the gubmint.
It's a business decision. It's all spelled out in the contract...contingencies for this and that...both sides know the benefits and risks. You are not stealing something that belongs to someone else. Credit in dollars is not real property. In fact, their creation of credit from thin air is a form of theft.
The only consequences are financial, not moral.
I'm Old School. A man should pay his just debts.
...or for that matter, a woman...
Yes, of course.
I'm with DoChen.
One cannot condemn the corruption in the system, if one condones the corruption by following in its path.
“The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked.”Napoleon Hill
Yes, well in that case, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."
The credit game is a rigged one. If I come to a card table knowing the dealer has stacked the deck, then I would have no compunction with pulling an ace from my sleeve. (Metaphorically speaking...I don't play much poker.)
I'm old school too. Slaves should remain slaves.
DoChen,
Slightly off topic but I feel the need to ask.
I was discussing the current currency situation with a Peruvian friend of mine and stated that one positive in the USA's favor was that the Dollar was the reserve currency and everyone all over the world loved dollars.
He said that the South Americans now preferred the euro over the dollar for daily transactions.
Any truth to that in your opinion?
In Peru's case (only), I would say it is about 50/50. All the street changers have both $ and Euro symbols on their shirts.
Lots of European tourists go to Peru. But, if forced to say one or the other I would say the US$ is traded more.
I agree. I understand that many people now face debts beyond what they can ever pay, particulary with underwater housing. But the "honorable" way out of this is bankruptcy.
I was tempted by this outlook last year ("I'll screw the banks right back!") but it leads you nowhere.
Morality and honor are ultimately internal traits. You just have to decide to behave properly, whether you have an audience or not.
Unfortunatly, a lot of people have defined morality down to "what I can get away with."
I try to always keep one thing in mind. I'll take nothing with me when I die, so what type of person was I? What type of model am I to my son?
Chumbawamba, is that you?
Almost, if your question was addressed to me:
I am not Chumbawamba!
I miss him though, he said he will not obey... Maybe the IRS got him.
I hope not.
Its both morality and business. When your decisions pass the sniff test on both counts, that is when you can start sleeping well at night. Unless, of course, you're a dirtbag in middle mgmt at Goldman Sa... sorry, nevermind. Do what makes you good with you.
double post. shit!
<dp>
Be extremely careful. In some states they can sue you for whatever assets you have and your property (PMs and RE) could be subject of sale at auction. Also, the IRS considers the difference between the amount owed and the settlement as income that you have to pay taxes on. Additionally the banks might not want to accept a settlement when you are carrying that much debt.
Whatever you decide to do, do it soon. In case of monetary collapse, the banks can demand immediate re-payment of your outstanding debt or rise your interest rates to 21% in order to recover their losses.
I would recommend that you either refi your house and cash out your current debt. This would lock in your interest rates and terms in a contract. with 4% 15 year loans, you are basically getting free credit. When the economy collapses, you can trade some of your PMs at a much higher price for FRNs and pay off your debt. In case of an extended deflation, you get to stay in your house and reduce your overall credit cost on the long run.
or, you might substantially increase your payments in order to pay them off as soon as possible. Consider selling some PMs to reduce your debt and accept the profits (I assume you bought gold at under 1000 and silver under 15 with a smile.
You do not want to have any unsecured debt at this time.
I would counsel against debt default. Unless you are in your 70s and/or financially independent, you might need credit in the future after the reset. You do not want to regret this in 15 years when you can not find employment and your credit is screwed or if you can find an RE investment opportunity.
What is this 'reset'? How is the credit rating system going to survive that?
The records remain long after the debts have been forgotten.
You're asking, so here goes...
Your mentality of screwing the companies represents the rot and greed thinking that got us into the mess we are in today. What's the law - nothing more than an impediment to work around? Believe it or not, those companies are held in pension funds, etc... which do have a material impact on the lives of your fellow human beings.
If you had any intestinal fortitude and personal standards of accountabiilty, you would know what to do.
I know, I know... ancient thinking
The law has little to do with it. This is a contract between two individuals. It's not stealing any more than my neighbor stole from me when I allowed him to use my dumpster in exchange for mowing my yard, but he couldn't when his mower broke down. I didn't let him keep using my dumpster. He then offered to pay cash to use it, which I accepted.
Contract renegotiation is not a moral issue. Signing a contract does not make you a slave.
You're saying it better than I can.
Buddy... you don't get it. The concept of contracts goes back thousands of years, and these things existed for a reason. If you didn't pay, you became an indentured servant or went to debtor's prison. You can use any argument that you want (loan losses, etc...), but this just proves my point of the degree of rot and moral decay that has permeated American culture. Our high brow enlightenment is not that far off from the tree.
What American culture...the one were we create ever larger bubbles in the economy which systematically strip wealth from the middle class? Or the one where inflationary monetary policy forces people to eschew saving in favor of going into debt? Or maybe it's the one where the Fed, government and banks collude to force the people to support fractional reserve lending?
Which of those features of our culture will be changed by peon debtors following all the rules set up by the system? (Hint: none of the above.)
The moral rules only apply in an honest system. If a burglar comes into your house and you manage to steal his gun, are you going to say "excuse me buddy, I think you dropped this"?
You're morally bankrupt. If you believe in a creator, you won't get away with your double speak. Moral relativism is nothing more than a passing fad of our age.
The banks need to be punished for their sins.
Oooh, I've been Judged, with purple prose. Get lost, creep. I'm no "moral relativist", whether or not there's a creator.
This is NOT a moral issue.
"The moral rules only apply in an honest system. If a burglar comes into your house and you manage to steal his gun, are you going to say "excuse me buddy, I think you dropped this"?
I gotta go with you on this one.
Get a couple more cards and buy more bullion with them before you walk.
This sounds corrupt, but this is the mentality of the gubment and the bankers against us pions, so I have no problem taking advantage of the system. There is no moral hazard. The cautious are made to pay and the wreckless are bailed out.
Golden rule man. Would you want someone to bone you out of 100k they agreed to pay you? Or break a contract you made with them? Or deceive you as to their capacity to pay or adhere to terms you mutually agreed on?
All actions have a moral component, the "business decision"/personal profit aspect of your scenario is just motivation to commit fraud and breach of contract.
Also, your little rationalization is moot. You're savvy and know how credit is fabricated and that such fabrication debases our currency, but you took the credit anyway. You can't bitch about debasement when you're exploiting the process.
If you get away with it good for you.
If I could create 100k out of thin air, and loan it to people, then no I wouldn't mind much if someone "boned" me out of it. It's just fraudulent bits in the ether. If I were fleecing the American public in the way the banks and Fed have been doing for decades, then I would be expecting my comeuppance sooner or later. It's the cost of doing business, that they are hoping to escape paying.
"If I were fleecing the American public in the way the banks and Fed have been doing for decades, then I would be expecting my comeuppance sooner or later. It's the cost of doing business, that they are hoping to escape paying."
Every well run operation builds in a margin for theft, especially the thieves.