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Insights Into America's Disneyland And Our "Neo-Feudalistic, Gulag Casino Economy" From Mike Krieger
Mike Krieger, formerly a macro analyst at Bernstein, and currently running his own fund, KAM LP, summarizies the pretend reality we are all caught in now, knowing full well America is set on a crash course with reality at some point, yet sticking our collective heads in the sand, as the collapse will be some time in the "indefinite" future. In the meantime, banks will continue to boost US GDP by peddling "financial innovation" and restructuring advice to countries like Greece... and nothing else.
Goodbye Disneyland, by Mike Krieger
In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable – what then?
- Winston Smith in George Orwell’s 1984
A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.
- Thomas Jefferson
We Must Move to a Free Market and Shun the Welfare-Warfare State or all will be Lost
Unfortunately for all of us, the primary economic policy of the U.S. government as well as many others around the world is an extend and pretend strategy that is economic suicide primarily in that it keeps the irresponsible in their assets and it makes the responsible shudder and shun productive investments. Whether it be a homeowner that is subsidized to stay in a home that he cannot afford or a bank that doesn’t want to come clean on the extent of its bad assets, the result is the same. Complete economic inertia. Now of course there has been a rebound in demand, but my argument has been and continues to be that this is the most unproductive rebound in aggregate demand that perhaps the world has ever seen. Whether it be in the U.S. or China, the demand is taking away spare capacity in many areas indeed but we must question the methods. This is where the whole idea of inflation comes into play. The whole reason why printing a million dollars and giving it to everyone doesn’t work is because this “liquidity” is not created through a productive process. It is purely an injection of new dollars into the economy. The basic rule of supply/demand kicks in. In the average person’s pocket, this money is unlikely to be “invested” in productive capital endeavors, rather the vast majority of it will simply be spent to consume the resources of that which can be supplied by the already existing capital stock. So in many ways it isn’t that the creation of the money itself that is the biggest problem, it is the distribution channel of that money. Only a small percentage of the population that receives the million dollars has the ability, drive and discipline to invest the money into something that will create economic value for the society at large rather than just blow it on a flat screen television. This is the entire premise of why a free market economy works when it is allowed to work (which I would argue is not possible under the current Federal Reserve system). The Fed is a socialist organization that SETS the most important price in the economy, the price of money. Even worse, when they set that price at say 0% as is basically the case today that 0% or anything close to it is not offered to all the small businessmen or potential entrepreneurs out there. It might not even be so bad if the low interest rates weren’t simply being used to gamble or play a carry trade with treasuries. Of course, the banks or anyone else for that matter playing a spread by borrowing at near zero to buy long-term treasuries is doing irreparable harm to this nation. They are complicit in the gross misallocation of capital to the government, capital that can then be doled out at will to favored interests. So all we have today is essentially a creation of money and credit out of thin air that is allocated to two major constituents. First, it has primarily been used to maintain the people of wealth, power and political connections (on both sides of the isle) before the crash entrenched in their socioeconomic roles. Second, is to pay off political favors. Those who supported the President in his campaign have been paid back handsomely and are today much more powerful and secure than before whether we are talking unions or the oligopoly banks. If we wish to have any hope of a sustainable recovery preventing the inevitable social unrest to come from truly getting dangerous we must restore the free market and end the union of big business and government, which historically has presented an extremely dangerous situation. For those that are in big business and think they have made a great move by joining forces with the state I suggest you go back and read your history. You never will possess the ultimate power, you will be seduced into thinking you do and then when the time is right government can eliminate you and your fortune with the stroke of a pen. Power is granted to you by this authority when you engage in this unholy union and it can be taken away on whim and your wealth confiscated. Selling out freedom and your fellow citizens for some extra money or government contracts will come back to haunt you. Your legacy to the United States will be as Max Keiser has called it, a neo-feudalistic, gulag casino economy that has already begun. Below is a link to an excellent interview with Bill Moyers on PBS about our financial oligarchy (I believe many industries here are becoming oligarchies but the financial one is the most powerful) and the need to stop its cancerous growth.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04162010/watch.html
There Will be Surplus...In 2050!
The above paragraph is meant to reach those that are actually faced with important decisions every day that can have a meaningful impact on our future. Decisions on whether to sacrifice their country’s and their children’s futures for an extra buck or to stop the game, stand up for freedom and make a positive difference in this world. This paragraph is meant for a much more broad based audience. Key to the entrenched elite strategy (whether in government or business) is to keep the public in an infantile state. What I mean by this is to keep the notion alive that big daddy government is going to be there to provide for you and protect you. Taking it one step further, they really want the public to believe the government’s existence is in fact necessary for the realization of all one’s hopes and dreams whether it be economically or with regard to security. If you remember from Orwell’s 1984, there is never-ending war in Oceania. Think about how useful a never ending “war on terrorism” is to those in positions of power. All this said, while I am a small government person, I am no anarchist. I think government can do a lot of good. I merely think government must be used a tool, a complement to the freedom, independence and individuality. Once the government becomes so big that is the primary driver of capital and investment we are in big trouble. This is where the individual’s economic creativity becomes stifled and things shut down. One of the key strategies being used by insolvent governments around the world right now are fantasy long-term budget projections. They basically read something like “well we expect deficits to GDP to be elevated for the next several years but there will be a surplus by 2020.” Sadly, many people actually believe this nonsense. As I have said before, the biggest wealth destruction in the next 1-2 years will be in my opinion without a doubt in the sovereign/municipal debt markets. Whether it be through inflation or deflation this stuff can’t possibly be paid back in real money or anything close to it. The biggest fallacy I hear from people I know that own government or municipal paper is they say they are “comfortable just collecting the yield.” Ok, they may be comfortable with that now, but what if inflation escalates in a major way which is in my opinion a one of the more likely outcomes to all this. It means that clipping 3.7% per year on a 10 year note will not be so comforting. The only reason people think it sounds good is because of what they just experienced in 2007-2009. Use some common sense and there is nothing comforting about it. In fact, it is downright scary. Here’s why. As inflation escalates the overall price of these securities will trend lower and then one day, whether in two months from now or a year from now yields are really going to spike and you will be sitting on a pretty hefty capital loss. By the time an owner actually comes to the admission that there is big inflation in the system (remember the big holders of long-term treasuries will be the LAST to admit this) there will be a major principal loss on the securities and the decision to sell or hold at that point will not be a pleasant one. Clipping the coupons wasn’t such a good idea after all…
Why Extending Unemployment Benefits is Inflationary and Why Food Stamps = Bread Lines
One theme I have focused on for years now is how the government and the establishment relies on disinformation and propaganda to keep this phony economy alive the populace distracted with “bread and circuses” as the Romans called it, or as we can say in the modern United States “food stamps and American Idol.” Before I get into some of the “bread” tactics used by politicians on both sides of the isle, I want to make something clear. I am not saying we should get rid of food stamps and unemployment benefits. In the current world where we allow corporate oligarchies to control all aspects of the country this would be unhelpful and immoral. However, I would be in favor of reducing them AFTER the oligarchy problem is dealt with. To do so before would lead to social chaos and would as I said earlier be entirely immoral.
Ok, so first with regard to food stamps. The latest data shows that 39.4 million Americans are receiving food stamps. One of the biggest spins you have heard on the media since 2008 is that this is nowhere near as bad as the Depression, after all, where are the bread lines? Well of course there are no bread lines, this is 2010. Food stamps are the modern equivalent. It is a convenient way to keep the suffering and plight of 13% of the American citizenry out of sight and out of mind. That way those that are benefitting from the corrupt crony capitalism of the current system can feel better about themselves. How about you join reality instead.
Next, there is the issue of unemployment benefit extensions. This situation is very similar to the simplistic scenario of printing money and giving it to everyone. Except this is worse. In that situation, at least some percent of those getting the money will be in a position to put that money to productive uses. Someone that is struggling with the severe trauma that is unemployment is going to basically use that money to pay the bills, pay down some debt, and if there is a little left over…well that IPAD sure looks nifty. All the while this is an unused asset of the economy. This unutilized economic asset is consuming on the taxpayer dime while not adding to the productive capacity of the economy. This is pure inflation. Again, I want to reiterate that dealing with this problem is not the first order of business. Dismantling the oligarchies and restoring a free market is. Then the welfare issue can be dealt with.
Next, to those that continue along this irrational line of thinking that without wage inflation there is no inflation (2+2=5), I see the first signs of it appearing despite U6 employment at near 20%. Let me give you an example. Here in New York City, we were just faced with a prospect of a doorman’s strike. At the last minute a deal was reached with the union which calls for a four year contract with a nearly 10% pay raise and no cuts in benefits for workers. First Wall Street bonuses rebound and now the unions. Entirely coincidental I am sure.
Say Goodbye to Disneyland
One of my old colleagues when I was at Bernstein and who is from another country described America to me with the following statement: “it’s like “Disneyland.” I never fully understood what he meant until the last couple of years. However, what I have also realized is this sense of delusional entitlement is extremely manifest in most other OECD nations as well. In case you missed it, earlier this week the European Union declared traveling a “human right” and is “launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers’ dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips” (see link http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2923469). A friend quipped to me after I sent him that article: “I just realized that there no longer exists any need for political parody. The Onion is a short.” Indeed.
Mike
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The author is 100% correct but we will not change course until after the collapse. There is absolutely no political reason nor the political will to do so beforehand. Just finished an older book...The Mexican Shock by Jorge Castenada. Lots of folks think we're well ahead of Mexico, but whereas we are still working on our 1st civilization in America, Mexico is wrapping up its 3rd (pre-colonial, Colonial, Republic) and working on its fourth. Interesting times ahead. I agree with the author's points except to say that nothing will change until it has to, and it doesn't have to just yet. Soon, but not yet.
I make the same observation regarding most managers (financial or otherwise).
BRING BACK THE COUGAR ADS!!!
Aren't your hands too busy typing?
http://www.
"Why do guys like you and I know what a duvet is?"
What scares me the most is not the collapse, but who writes the history after the dust settles. Will the world even acknowledge reality then or will it simply find a new sand box to bury it's head in?
That has been one of my concerns as well. Might be pessimistic but I get the feeling the current oligarchs will keep power through the collapse, after all they must know it's coming and can prep for it. So there is a chance that the free market, "evil speculators", and not being Keynesian enough caused the problem. Look at the history around hte Great Depression in the popular parlance. FDR is still seen by most as the man who ended the Depression, not the villain who held us in it. History is written by the winners, so we must ask, who is going ot be the winner here?
Crap, now I'm depressed.
All this means is we must win.
Don't count on the media, they only stumble on the truth every now and then.
Don't count on parents to teach their children, as they themselves are clueless.
With all the fear that will be running rampant there will be many false prophets capitalizing off the gullible.
Simply raise your own and inform those around you.
I've thought about this a lot -- yet, what's different this time is the communication medium and way-back-machine capabilities of the inter-web (which is made up of a series of tubes).
We can communicate real-time with on-the-ground people all over the world, with history, blogs, and intelligent analysis. Lord knows we don't get that through the standard media outlets. It seems that sensible statements, and accumulation of data and logic can conceivably carry the day.
It's possible that heavy-handed control attempts censorship, but there's too much high-quality stuff out there. So, IMHO our greatest worry (or boon) would be the rise of an eloquent and charismatic individual -- instant communication merely magnifies the power that person would wield, whether for good or ill.
The Internet is a great tool for freedom, which is why it will be destroyed by those seeking greater power. A tracking and licensing system will go far to silence dissent, especially as nations get more authoritarian. Here in the US we openly talk about murdering Americans on foreign soil on suspicions of "terrorism". How long before those same jackals will go out and "purge" bloggers and the Internet media, especially with a good track and license system. After all Internet journalism is "sort of like terrorism".
Wait till the first major net "terror" attack. Then they will have their digital Pearl Harbor to shut down the free Internet. I'm going to enjoy the free and open Internet as long as it lasts, because each day could be it's last.
*Knock* *Knock*
Good evening Mr. Anderson.
Do you go by the screen name of "Shameful" on ZeroHedge.com?
Did you make the following comments today at ....
??? Enough ???
if we silence our tongue, we are dead already.
I agree that they will try. However, IMHO, it will ultimately fail because:
It's not fun suffering the transition, but it's simply too easy to by-pass corrupt and incompetent centralization.
Or we can resort to meetings and passing notes likes some people in the middle east have learned to do after they figured out their sat phones were being tracked.
Agreed.
There was no internet in 1984. There's no way to stop the cloud computing happening on this site and others like it. Social media, interactive technologies, and a whole new generation of communication strategy, web design, channel planners, community developers, and many others have already created the infrastructure that will make information control impossible. Sure, I could see some misguided zealots try and unplug the internet. but another will pop up.
All these connections are like synapses firing and connecting for the first time. We're seeing a massive upgrade in collective intelligence and processing power. that increased power is capable of revealing all manners of fraud, delusion, and intellectual dishonesty much more quickly, thoroughly, and effectively than was possible previously.
If you can get out of the big cities, get yourself a wireless connection, and get an off-grid power source, you'll be just fine. They're not going to come after you. They'll have enough problems to deal with amongst those with no hope for long term survival in the big cities on the coasts.
No, there was an Internet as early as the late 60s/early 70s, created by Cold War R&D. It didn't start w/ TCP/IP, the core Internet protocol since at least the mid 80s, but there were ancestor protocols. What started in the 90s was the World Wide Web, on top of the Internet. It's the World Wide Web that introduced the Internet to the public.
Somehow I doubt they will try to destroy their number one tracking tool which allows convenient identification (IP logs are just a subpoena away, until SHTF then the gloves come off) and databasing of just who said what on 'key' sites.
If you think from a strategic point of view, the internet pretty much assures there will be no place for dissidents to hide. Until the remaining few figure this out.
Think it can't happen?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America
http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/RIAA_v._Verizon
Who needs the FBI when you have Facebook?
Facebook is THE BEAST.
The internet/web is too good to be true. I expect Gubmint to try to change that soon, read, under the current POTUS.
Any thoughts on whom this person may be? Not his name or national origin . Has his appearence been spoken of before ? Like 2000 yrs ago. This my friend is whom the whole world is setting itself up for . Equivalent to Tolkiens "One Ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them ". But all ( who still have their heads and a mark ) will bow down and worship him as god of the world . The worlds savior !!! Dark future indeed just before the light .
"Call on God, but row away from the rocks."
-Hunter S. Thompson
Everybodies got a plan till they get hit.
-Mike Tyson
So we hit first.
Abstract Rude Tribe Unique - Stop Bitin':http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9NzhDppnh0&feature=related
+1
This reminds me of what Rumsfeld said, history will have a very different opinion on the Bush administrations actions after 9/11.
If we wish to have any hope of a sustainable recovery preventing the inevitable social unrest to come from truly getting dangerous we must restore the free market and end the union of big business and government, which historically has presented an extremely dangerous situation.
Sounds like an oxymoron whistling past the graveyard. We need massive social unrest if we are to purge the nation of the insidious Federal Reserve and IRS and we need it now.
I think it was Winston Churchill that once said: You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, but only when it's too late.
Seems fitting and true.
..once they have exhausted all other avenues
the plunge protection team has sure been working overtime this week.
every down day gets bought back to even, every triangle breaks up
Life is good. People are out of work and not paying mortgages so have nothing but free time and extra cash. Profits are up, stocks are up, its party-time.
who knew "funemployment" was so profitable.
Hey if Ben just prints everyone a million bucks each we can get this recovery underway. Unfortunately we are printing money for those who already have it in the HOPES if they are kind enough in a few years they may let us all borrow a few dollars to buy an overpriced home and head to Sandals. Tis all good since financial responsibility is SOOOO 20th century.
...maybe more like 19th century.
it really has become just disgustingly funny hasn't it...
well maybe just disgusting.....
Nice avatar. What I would give for that brave man to be in office today. Here is a guy who lost his entire family by age 16 and it took him as President to rid this nation of corrupt bankers. Now we have cowardly lions gone wild like Judd Gregg, Dodd and his dear lord master supreme leader commander in facebook profiles President Obama.
Great piece, and I watched the Moyers clip with SJ & JK yesterday. Those guys make such good sense, I've really enjoyed following their talks on the press tour for 13 Wankers. Amazon still haven't got me my copy, but no doubt it'll be here in time for the apocalypse.
i watched too and was equally impressed, especially by JK. that man sweats integrity and is not afraid to throw a punch (and with style). if there is any hope at salvaging the system (assuming that it deserves to be salvaged which is a whole nother question in itself), it will be centered around those 2 men.
Japan Tries to Face Up to Growing Poverty Problem
By MARTIN FACKLERMEMURO, Japan — Satomi Sato, a 51-year-old widow, knew she had it tough, raising a teenage daughter on the less than $17,000 a year she earned from two jobs. Still, she was surprised last autumn when the government announced for the first time an official poverty line — and she was below it.
“I don’t want to use the word poverty, but I’m definitely poor,” said Ms. Sato, who works mornings making boxed lunches and afternoons delivering newspapers. “Poverty is still a very unfamiliar word in Japan.”
After years of economic stagnation and widening income disparities, this once proudly egalitarian nation is belatedly waking up to the fact that it has a large and growing number of poor people. The Labor Ministry’s disclosure in October that almost one in six Japanese, or 20 million people, lived in poverty in 2007 stunned the nation and ignited a debate over possible remedies that has raged ever since.
Many Japanese, who cling to the popular myth that their nation is uniformly middle class, were further shocked to see that Japan’s poverty rate, at 15.7 percent, was close to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s figure of 17.1 percent in the United States, whose glaring social inequalities have long been viewed with scorn and pity here.
But perhaps just as surprising was the government’s admission that it had been keeping poverty statistics secretly since 1998 while denying there was a problem, despite occasional anecdotal evidence to the contrary. That ended when a left-leaning government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama replaced the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party last summer with a pledge to force Japan’s legendarily secretive bureaucrats to be more open, particularly about social problems, government officials and poverty experts said.
“The government knew about the poverty problem, but was hiding it,” said Makoto Yuasa, head of the nonprofit Antipoverty Network. “It was afraid to face reality.”
Following an internationally recognized formula, the ministry set the poverty line at about $22,000 a year for a family of four, half of Japan’s median household income. Researchers estimate that Japan’s poverty rate has doubled since the nation’s real estate and stock markets collapsed in the early 1990s, ushering in two decades of income stagnation and even decline.
The ministry’s announcement helped expose a problem that social workers say is easily overlooked in relatively homogenous Japan, which does not have the high crime rates, urban decay and stark racial divisions of the United States. Experts and social workers say Japan’s poor can be deceptively hard to spot because they try hard to keep up the appearance of middle class comfort.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/world/asia/22poverty.html?ref=global-home&pagewanted=print
dlt
Interesting article. The other thing to realize is that the official poverty line is set pretty darn low. In the US, if you support four people on $23,000, you aren't considered to live in poverty. If you support NINE people on $45,000, you aren't considered to live in poverty.
Similarly the upper bound of "middle class" is set pretty low.
.
"But perhaps just as surprising was the government’s admission that it had been keeping poverty statistics secretly since 1998 while denying there was a problem, despite occasional anecdotal evidence to the contrary."
I'm sorry but this is just too crazy to even entertain? Governments collecting secret data and denying they're doing so? Lying to their populations?
That just crazy talk.
<sarcasm off>
There's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line.
It's like Disneyland
but they've combined It's a Small World with the Haunted Mansion
and you can't get off
LOL...
Now that stupid song is stuck in my head AGAIN!
It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all... lalalalala
Pseudo kid imitating robot voices sounding like Chucky singing ..
+1
Small world = Globalization
Haunted Mansion = Bills coming due and the cannibalization of one other financially.
It is all good times as long as everyone stays in line.
More like Pirates of the Caribbean.
Swinging higher and higher until it gets stuck at the top and physics takes over.
cool game, compare the economy to a ride at Disneyland
http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/deaths.asp
don't forget to drop the acid before you enter the park
As buzzsaw99 was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various investment bank buildings. But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
Later, buzzsaw99 sat on crapitol hill. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
buzzsaw99 told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the blankfein.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false politicians will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Time for a change of meds?
4shzl
I see what your problem is. You, as most of humanity, do not recognize the truth if it is not spelled or written in cold analytical manner. You are programmed to disregard facts if there is any beauty in the style in which they are presented. You seek order, structure and approved belief to accept your fellow humans, if you do not find that you just write pre -learned cliches like " Time for change of meds" and your ego devours you because your belief is that you are somewhat adjusted, special and indispensable. You are not. I can guarantee you that you are not one single of those attributes summarized in your identity. You are a programmed set of persons each with its own set of behavioral and thinking patterns which are easily denoted into one single word; Ordinary. Ordinary as death, stars or rain. what buzzsaw wrote is both beautiful and true. At least that is mine opinion. Your comment is a symptom of your programmed behavior and the need for you to differentiate from us "crazies". You are a symptom of this society which promotes artificiality instead of beauty, obfuscation of truth instead of the truth itself, society which is spawned by lies and fathered by self-delusion that every individual is unique and indispensable. You are a dogmatic. You do not question that which comes your way; you accept it or deny it like an automata which whole existance is based in a pre-written computer code and executed by a cheaply produced Japanese machine.
You, sir, disgust me. Good night.
PS.
If you have any problems with this, blame the morphine.
that gave me a chuckle. but don't blame him, his mom told him we was special. handsome too.
Our parents lied to us. What we thought was love was actually evolutionary instinct in preserving your offspring. They cared from us by feeding us lies about our own exceptionality so that Social Service wouldn't take us from them. But the fear was unjustified as it was not the fear of losing your child; it was a fear from the condemnation of society which would vilify a parent who gets his kid taken away. They were forced to feed us lies, to fake love, to tell us fairy tales in order to keep us in line and to protect themselves. We were lied to since we were pushed out from the uterus. We were lied to since we took our first step and even when we die we will be lied to. They will tell us stories about The Garden of Eden which awaits us once we start decaying 6 feet under. At best all that is a lie, at worst; the only truth that awaits us. They will talk to our spirits and they will never shut the fuck up. Heaven, for me, is eternal silence.
Cheeky, that was viciously dark..... I like it.
Preach on.
Let us look at the decision to have children in the first place. I think 98% of people of children b/c they are "supposed" to. Once born, the child becomes a narcisistic projection of oneself, " I am so fucking special, I need to make a smaller version of myself, so that my greatness may live in perpetuity." From their, the child becomes a status object, always to be compared to other children. Their child must be the smartest, must get into the right kindergarten (this is not a joke, NYC kindergarten is more competitive then Ivy League Colleges). And so the unfulfilled dreams of the parent are projected onto the child, whom is obligated to fulfill them. The dream of immortality, the chance to ehnance ones status, the chance to create a slave to fulfill unobtained goals of the parent; this is why MOST people have children.
Like you cheeky, I can see things a little more clearly then that, quite frankly I know I am not so special that the world can not live without my genes, and that there are enough god damned people on this planet already. With the complete lack of a "safety net" that will be in place by the time I grow old, perhaps a child would be helpful to me as caretaker. On that note, the wifey and I have decided if it comes to that, we will make a couple of stiff vodkas tonics and wash down a handful of oxycontin, if disease of accident does not take me first, death will be at the time of my choosing.
If it is love of and for a subserviant being, a dog will do much better then a child. A dog depends on you for food and shelter, and returns it with loyalty and affection. This is a straightforward and honest transaction.
Luckily for me, the worst lie I was told as a child was Santa Claus. I had no religion, no god, no ridiculous stories of how I will go to hell for not performing meaningless rituals. I was taught there may be a god, there may not be, there may be a heaven there may not, decide for yourself when you get old enough.
As far as expectations and narcisism and useless emotional torture, my parents were quite good for that.
Hell is other people, and Heaven is silence, Amen.
On a side note, I am fairly new here, and have been working 90 hrs a week for the past month or so, as such my contributions have not met my potential. I intend to bring a brutal, honest, dark and dystopian angst to these pages, while contributing thoughtfully on the topics at hand. In the mean time, I hope people will be able to deal with me.
Can i get an AAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEEEN
Amen brotha Serf, a-fucking-men.
Preach on.
Why do you work 90 hours a week? Do you identify with your work? Don't you have anything better to do? If this is all you got, then I suggest you take time to smell the roses...
Pan-the-ist- do you not see my name, SERF. I have incurred a largfe amount of non-dischargeable student loans, I am a debt slave. I also work in NYC, where hours like this happen. I am young, this is not my plan forever.
I hate my work, but it has given me an insider view into the ponzi and what unthinking people are at the helm.
I am in the process of getting the hell out of what I do, but in the meantime, work I must. I will be leaving this entire rat race slavefest for good, but it takes a little cash to get there.
my exact sentiments, too.
take it from a chick being pregnant, mother and married is all highly over rated.
hell, i got pregnant using a birth control. having that baby was the worst act of god, let me tell you. it was harder than doing the ironman†
im using dr. death cause i don't have a wife.
velo, it is taking all my strength not to fwd this to my friend whos child is due in two weeks... MUST..... NOT..... SEND....
tell her to breath, that was the only advice i received.
REALLY† got me though it.
Maybe your parents lied to you. Maybe your parents feigned love and offered false pride in some vicarious exercise of reliving their own failed and incomplete lives.
Dunno...don't give a fuck much, but wordsmithing some pseudo-philosophical condescending claptrap just paints you in a clever corner.
My parents are married 66 years and exemplify principles and values that are timeless. They sure as hell love each other and loved me and my brothers always, by action not word.
If silence is your nirvana, STFU about my parents, ok slappy?
Just kidding bro...love your work, really man, it's fucking brilliant.
Isn't Mr Rogers and his "you are special" song really to blame? Yeah, it is Mr Rogers fault! Who would have thought that that pap song done so many years ago would have the consequences we see today?
Very creative post. What say ye on the one who will dominate the world posted by Mikla - Thos whole finance mess / political world power thing is tied to what you just posted . Hmm prophecy has an answer to our problems and an end for them .
Corporations are creatures of the State.
It's not Disneyland it's Alice in Wonderland.
Corporations are now human. Instead of a certificate of incorporation, they receive birth certificates.
They are creatures of the State born from the State.
Eventually this will all collapse that makes the twin towers look like toothpicks.
Alice in Wonderland. Hairless monkeys have setup a financial and legal system that is built upon believing what is false is true.
Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.
Alice: How do you know I'm mad?
The Cat: You must be. Or you wouldn't have come here.
And there it is.
The failure to understand, or the willful obfuscation of, A=A.
It is at the center of all of this.
Well said.
Russ, those two A's are not equal. Look closely - dude on the right has a nugget at his feet, and that'll need to be redistributed.
I want justice, accountability....and revenge.
If everyone just went to the nearest building and jumped off, well everything would be solved.
7+ billion yet that have yet to see justice, they will, everyone will..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V92OBNsQgxU
I still can't hear that song without hearing "kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGhQ2BDt4VE
I think this is a great quote and useful for when trying to explain the current reality to people who don't care and think everything is fine.
"The latest data shows that 39.4 million Americans are receiving food stamps. One of the biggest spins you have heard on the media since 2008 is that this is nowhere near as bad as the Depression, after all, where are the bread lines? Well of course there are no bread lines, this is 2010. Food stamps are the modern equivalent. It is a convenient way to keep the suffering and plight of 13% of the American citizenry out of sight and out of mind. That way those that are benefitting from the corrupt crony capitalism of the current system can feel better about themselves. How about you join reality instead."
Can we communicate this stuff to friends and family, or is it a lost cause? No one cares until it happens to them I guess.
So true and if we had the draft, the war would be more visible
...and if there was no withholding, taxes would be more visible.
I wonder what the overlap percentage is between those 39.4 million Americans on food stamps and those Americans who are part of the "obesity epidemic?"
that's an excellent question
i would bet that 75% of the stampers are obese
Everyone should have a chance to know wealth and poverty at least once in their lives, then we wouldn't get these high minded know it alls , morons , who think that food stamps are to keep others out of their sight. Who gives a F**k if someone needs food stamps, if only the economy was managed , was working for the people , the nation, instead of it's high minded brats reaping hugh rewards for usury and global socialism .
According to CNBC:
"The S&P rallied more than 19 handles off its low today on the back of a better than expected rebound in...itself."
"Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed."
— Chuck Palahniuk (Lullaby)
And the poor people ask for more taxes!!!
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/04/15000-illinois-protes...
“I just realized that there no longer exists any need for political parody. The Onion is a short.”
Good link. Well illustrates the reduction in food supply to reduce incidence of obesity.
Just out of curiosity, what exactly is stopping these protesters from remitting additional taxes on their own?
Ohhhhhh, you mean they want OTHER PEOPLE'S taxes to go up, not there own, because if they really thought they should be paying more in taxes, they would just quietly do so.
No?
There's nothing "poor" about public sector employees these days. They make a bout double what equivalent jobs in the public sector pay. Everyone in that picture/video is on the clock (serving the public!) while they march for more money.
I fail to see how public sector unions aren't antithetical to the best interests of the public which they are supposed to serve.
GM paid back their government loans with interest.
5 YEARS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!
The slogans are all over.
Only in America can a beggar make headlines and advertise himself that he did the right thing.
Silly rabbit. These things only happen in third world banana republics with no history of freedom or independence, no strong working class, no independent press, an outspoken academia etc etc.
It happens somewhere else, not in Germany......er.......America.
Yes, and it's the ever-mystical "somebody else's" responsibility to clean up the mess: Provide my (free) healthcare, educate my kids, train my workers, and give me a big pension so I can sit on my (very large) ass.
10+% of the American citizenry are on food stamps.
When I first read that number over a year ago, I was also shocked.
But then I heard anecdotal evidence that lots of people apply for foodstamps, so they can (barely) keep up payments on the SUV or something they bought new some time ago, otherwise it will get reposessed. That's just freaking insane.
Since then I am not so sure what percentage to pity...
Doorman's union strike? Having to open doors, take out your own garbage and carry your own packages into the your apartment could plunge gotham's residents into eternal misery.
A doorman friend of mine told me that the real money is working the back door. The call girls tipped well, and avoided being spotted by the front desk.
This is a highly timely and great post! I'm re-reading The Road To Serfdom - F.A. Hayek, and it truly is spooky. In fact, it's terrifying. History has been down this road before.
I read it recently, it took a while, but it greatly effected my thinking. While I do believe that libertopia is stupid, I do think there are alternatives to Socialism. If you have time, check out Ben Franklin's auto-biography, it gives a wonderful snapshot into how things used to be.
"Unfortunately for all of us, the primary economic policy of the U.S. government as well as many others around the world is an extend and pretend strategy that is economic suicide primarily in that it keeps the irresponsible in their assets and it makes the responsible shudder and shun productive investments."
I'm personally glad they are commiting suicide. Die motherfuckers die.
THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT IS TO FLUSH IT ALL AWAY!
Tool - Aenima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCEeAn6_QJo
Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this
Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks
Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.
Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.
It's a
Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks
Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.
Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.
Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will cuz
I sure could use a vacation from this
STUPID shit, silly shit, stupid shit...
One great big festering neon distraction,
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.
Learn to swim.
Mum's gonna fix it all soon.
Mum's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be.
Learn to swim.
Fuck L Ron Hubbard and
Fuck all his clones.
Fuck all these gun-toting
Hip gangster wannabes.
Learn to swim.
Fuck retro anything.
Fuck your tattoos.
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory.
Learn to swim.
Fuck smiley glad-hands,
With hidden agendas.
Fuck these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.
Learn to swim.
Cuz I'm praying for rain
And I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mum please flush it all away.
I wanna see it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.
Time to bring it down again.
Don't just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.
I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend.
I wanna see it come down.
Come down.
Suck it down.
Flush it down.
American Idol needs to do a Tool thing, might revive those sagging ratings.
Dont call me a pessimist, try to read between the lines- LEARN TO SWIM!
I'm thinking Stinkfist is possibly more apt.
"This may hurt a little but it's something you'll get used to.
Relax. Turn away."
I think you're thinking of the next chrorus:
"Relax, turn around and take my hand."
"The latest data shows that 39.4 million Americans are receiving food stamps."
Correction:
39.4 million people living in America are receiving food stamps, including millions of immigrants and millions of illegal aliens (who have also flooded housing section 8).
Sounds like Krieger will be voting for Ron Paul in the next election. Yippee!
Good heavens does the President know about this?
Hey Mercury you're onto something there, the campaign slogan for 2012 "If only the President knew!"
to be sure Presidents dont matter.
Good, more mention of the casino gulag model. I suppose it's better then being sent to a forced labor camp in Prudhoe Bay. A more modern, kinder gentler, Gulag Archipelago.
Seeing this bit on inflation, the public is still fooled. Just had one prof extol the virtues of inflation "We need some of it to get us out of this problem!", while at the same time having to plan estate investment around it to avoid the loss of purchasing power. He loved treasuries to, because there is no chance the US won't pay, and surly the coupon will be above inflation...
Yeah, it amazes me, their ideas! Co-worker: "Inflation is necessary to raise home prices so that seniors can retire comfortably."
Inflation! Helps old bastards retire!
Speaking of a sinister bastard:
Thanks, Dick.
There's another word that means the same thing as "pretend reality": it's "dishonesty." Goldman misleads its clients to increase profits? I'll spare you my Claude Rains impression and just say that no one is shocked by this. We have become so used to dishonesty, in all its many forms, that we almost don't notice it any more. We don't believe government statistics, we don't believe campaign promises, we don't believe the info-tainment-news media. Nor should we. But how did it come to this?
I wonder about the role that consumerism has played. One source (http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html) estimates that kids in America see 40,000 commercials a year. I'm praying that that number can't be right, but there's no denying that we are exposed to a LOT of advertising every day. And very quickly we learn to tune it out, in hopes of keeping our sanity. None of us really believes, for example, that a certain laundry detergent will deliver "whites that are whiter than white." How could we, since they have been making that same promise year after year for the past half-century? At some level we do believe, of course; advertising works. But as a matter of functional necessity, we join Winston Smith down the Double-think rabbit hole, where we can hold two contradictory ideas in our head and accept them both as true. We know we're being lied to, but we accept it as part of the game, and we don't get all worked up about it.
Apply that learned ability to the political-economic sphere, and you see where we are today. We know we're being lied to from every direction, but we're used to it. It's just part of the game. Why complain? And besides, maybe we're wrong, maybe 2+2 does equal five, in which case the dollar's as good as gold, Ben Bernanke's got everything under control, and a "jobless recovery" is right around the corner.
"And very quickly we learn to tune it out, in hopes of keeping our sanity."
Let me stop you right there and say that while you think you are tuning it out, your subconsciousness is absorbing it full force. Worse, there is no "right" or "wrong", no subjective judgement parameters being used by your subconscious to filter what's coming in and thus imprinting on your subconscious. We all have photographic minds on the subconscious level but 99.9% of it is not accessible on the conscious level.
Unfortunately well north of 95% of what you do, say, think, feel, how you act and react is on the subconscious level and thus you have little to no control over it, mostly because you're not even aware that it is happening. This is very hard to grasp because we live under the illusion that we, meaning our consciousness, is controlling most if not all of what we do. This is a conceit, a self deception we indulge in without thinking to help us deal with things we say, do, think that we have no idea where they come from. It becomes second nature by 7 or 8 years of age and we rarely if ever think about it ever again.
There is no filtering things out on the subconscious level and thus you are influenced by those commercials, propaganda, disinformation, gossip whatever, whether you think you are or not. This ties in with our world view and the cognitive dissonance we feel when reality intrudes upon our own personal illusion. I could go on but it's really scary what governments and corporations have learned about the mind and mind control, particularly from afar.
We definitely are influenced by our surroundings but I cannot accept that we are simply slaves to our environment. While certainly there are tricks and tactics to manipulate people, I cannot believe that mind control could be so complete simply by being bathed in background noise.
Now if a person is not aware of what is happening perhaps, or not aware that they are being manipulated. Also from my limited experience a lot of the ability to manipulate comes from a person not having a consistent worldview. In that there is the difference that a manipulator can step in and use those conflicting beliefs like a lever to generate an action or series of thoughts.
Shameful
One must discard rigid thinking when thinking about this subject. First of all, I didn't say we were slaves, just that most of what we do from moment to moment is unconscious. When you are concentrating, very little of your subconscious is bleeding through and thus it has very little influence over you. This is why most people feel they are in control, because when they "try" to exert control, they are concentrating and narrowly focused. We then think this occurs all the time.
But of course, when you are concentrating your focus is very narrow. When you are driving to work, watching TV, listening to music, daydreaming, going through the motions etc, you are not consciously engaged and that is when prior subconscious imprints have the most effect. We spend the vast majority of our time in this state, including when we are "shopping" or when we are listening to opinions and are open to suggestion, including suggestion from within.
And a strong worldview is not a defense but an actual liability when it comes to being influenced by our subconscious. Since you have specific views, when your subconscious feeds you something that fits your worldview, your conscious mind doesn't question where it came from, only that it fits and should not be challenged.
People who are highly trained and/or educated are very susceptible to this and the most common expression I hear these people use when talking about this subject is "I cannot believe................" fill in the blank. The popular (TV and novel) image of mind control is making people do things they don't want to do. In fact, the control lay in getting people to do things they do want to do. And what they want to do is often influenced by advertising, political propaganda etc.
When confronting information that conflicts with your conscious worldview, the tendency is to reject it. Your ego then supplies information that helps you reject the contrary information and most of this info is coming from the subconscious, which as I said before doesn't apply a moral right or wrong filter to anything.
And we all have a very inconsistent worldview when measured objectively. You can not view your own worldview objectively and thus you would not think your world view is inconsistent. The level of self deception that goes on is extremely subtle and very much below the level of consciousness. Our only concious defense is to follow a rigid process of constant reevaluation and challenging of our views and beliefs.
Since we usually seek out people who are like minded, we don't usually do this with friends. And when talking with a person who has a different worldview, we often feel threatened and our ego will not allow much of this contrary info to penetrate. It is very difficult to constantly challenge yourself because at first it leaves you in a constant state of fight or flight. Since this isn't a comfortable place to be, we do not dwell there long, thus reinforcing the tendency to self deceive.
This process varies a bit from person to person but we all participate in it and it's particularly painful for the average highly educated motivated person to admit they might be anything different from what they think they are. Their ego has propelled them to this point. Their ego will not give up without a massive fight.
CD, do you subscribe to a specific school of pysch? This sounds very freudian to me.
No I do not. There are elements of Freud but this isn't the entirety of my view. It's always difficult to present a view in a limited space and without first setting parameters including definitions. I'm always amazed that a word one would think is universally understood to mean one thing has so many different definitions. This is because ones worldview often determines the terminology and definitions one uses to describe the world.
I like your analytical approach, especially with regard to the role of the unconcious. If you ever feel inclined to share any books/theorems/schools of thought that you think are useful, please do.
You are spot on about the advertising, I don't think people comprehend how much of an effect it has on behavior. Manufactured demand baby.
People should protect themselves from the advertising onslaught but our culture has be manipulated to believe that it's good to be assaulted in such a way because we are all consumers and thus good consumers should be willing to listen to the purveyors of consumer products.
People are worried about the programs when it's the advertising that is so much more dangerous.
removed
"Since we usually seek out people who are like minded, we don't usually do this with friends. And when talking with a person who has a different worldview, we often feel threatened and our ego will not allow much of this contrary info to penetrate. It is very difficult to constantly challenge yourself because at first it leaves you in a constant state of fight or flight. Since this isn't a comfortable place to be, we do not dwell there long, thus reinforcing the tendency to self deceive."
I recently had an online debate which made me lose sleep at night. I am not a good sleeper as it is. My heart was racing (I run, my pulse is usually around 40bpm) etc. My world view was being attacked and and I was clearly in the fight or flight mode. I tried to be open to what they were saying, but eventually I had to conclude I was dealing with group-think because these people wouldn't move an inch or give any consideration to my position. In short, I know this to be true.
You don't honestly believe there is a 'you' that has control over what 'you' do.. do 'you'?
Free will was created so the master can rationalize blaming the slave for being a slave.
Like I said above, it's difficult to explain oneself in a limited space and without setting parameters first. What is a slave? What is a master? What is control? What is belief? What is blame? These concepts depend upon your worldview and where you stand within your worldview.
I find it difficult to explain things clearly once I take freewill off the table because it is ingrained so strongly in our language.
Languge is the modern day sorcerer's tool. It can be used to liberate and enlighten or capture and enslave. I find it interesting that when the Catholic Church decided to enslave the world, the first thing they did was begin to kill off all the indigenous peoples, or more specifically the indigenous shaman, those entrusted to help keep the tribe in balance and connected and who often used language as a tool to heal and sooth.
Can't have that in an oppressive culture with only one way, meaning God's way, rather than each person finding their own individual and natural way towards truth and enlightenment.
CD, language has been the sorcerer's tool since the dawn of History; it is not a modern day development. Egyptian spells and prayers were written on scrolls don't you know.
Language is a false tool though, in the end, only through experiential knowledge can one transcend limitation. This is what I feel that you were trying to point out, that language by its very nature is limitation thus control.
This whole conundrum is why the great teachers are the great teachers. When one is trying to communicate about a concept that cannot be vocalized, only experienced, the pointing out must be deft and skillful.
I was trying to point out the modern day subversion of language by governments and other entities. The principal tools for ancient sorcerer was the vocalizations/vibrations they spoke, which has it's modern day equivalent in sound energy weapons. One of the process of verbal ritual is the attempt to gain power through the sound/vocalizations used during the ritual.
Remember the weapons of Dune?
ABARACADABARA
Indigenous healing and soothing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Codex_Magliabechiano_(141_cropped).jpg
"We must feed beating hearts to the sun god! How else will the sun rise in the morning?!"
The body and blood of Christ given and shed for you!
They Mayan "priesthood" is not an example of Shamanism. SCHSTOOPID.
There are those who think that life
Has nothing left to chance,
A host of holy horrors
To direct our aimless dance
A planet of playthings
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
`The stars aren`t aligned -
Or the gods are malign`
Blame is better to give than receive.
You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that`s clear-
I will choose free will
Geez CD: Master, Slave- you're sounding like my ex-wife. But if she knew nothing else, she knew what her half was. A little bit too eastern mysticism to me. If your neck was under a guillotine I am sure you would find your "worldview"
Just keep identifiying with your non-existant ego and asserting your will over others. You'll come around eventually. Reality is the best teacher, sometimes the only thing you can do is let the student proceed in his folly.
For example, I was at my son's school, waiting in my car in the pick-up line. I was watching a few boys who'd discovered a fire ant mound. One boy was particularly interested in seeing what would happen if he kept on polking the mound with a stick. I was about to get out of the car and tell him to stop. My husband said don't do anything...that boy's about to learn an important lesson. Moments later he was hopping around and slapping himself...a week of itching and scratching should reinforce the lesson.
Big government rewards failure, that's the way it sustains itself, it needs a constant failure as a way to justify its existence and expansion. It fails ultimately, but the saddest thing that before it happens, bg would suck a lot of resources from anything even distantly productive that the economy ends up completely destroyed with multiple generations of people being impoverished in this process.
Haha, thanks Cheeky! Sneaky punking Russian, well technically Uzbekistanian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxv3tMyIoiM
+14 trillion to BorisTheBlade. I hope you realize just how correct you are...
It happenned before, so it's not that complicated to go back in time and watch the results. America is not immune to that, in fact, it's probably even more vulnerable, because most Americans never had a first-hand experience with that - "this can happen to anyone, but us": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7w0EgEMu3w
Pay special attention to the Krupp empire, which managed to survive 2 world wars and countless governments while keeping a privileged relationship with the German state. So apparently it can be done.
(But don't feel bad about buying their coffeepots on Amazon. After 400 years, the family lost control when the government ended their special exemption from the German inheritance tax in the 60's.)
The coffeepots are Krups, not Krupp. I don't think they are related.
When you're right you're right. They are not related. Ouch
ThyssenKrupp AG is the current incarnation.
So you are admitting that taxes are more evil than Hitler?
At least Hitler is dead.
If you read the history of Krupp, you would know great, great, great, great grandpa Krupp kept his office over top of a stable, because he was invigorated by the smell of cow dung.
Now that surely, could clear your head in the morning.
Entitled to vacations... Good God! Where and when does this madness end? When do we start to reward self reliance again? I guess that's like asking when this Algo-centric rally is going to stop. Guys, (and gals) I'm with you all but I'm starting to lose hope. When does the comeuppance arrive? Greece is falling into the mouth of hell and we closed UP today. Not that I'm surprised, I'm just slowly losing hope for justice and re balance.
There is no such thing as justice, just us. The vacation bit is good, made me think of "Give me convenience or give me death". Don't think we will see a re-balance till at least after a full systemic collapse, and then we have to hope the oligarchs are not in the position to capitalize on the fear and uncertainty. Never let a good crisis go to waste.