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Showdown at Syntagma?
Was at my buddy's place late tonight where we enjoyed cigars and
whiskey on his balcony. Beautiful night here in Montreal but we were
thinking about what's going on in Greece and the controversial vote on the austerity package
on Wednesday. I told him I went all cash in my portfolio early this
morning and going to wait this out even though the stocks I'm watching
took off (apart from solars, paying close attention to JDSU, CIEN, FNSR and JNPR at these levels).
I'm going to follow up on my previous post on the ugly truth with some more ugly truths:
1) Ugly truth on why Greece is the future:
Watch what is going on in Greece right now because this is the future
of capitalism. We are at a historic crossroad. Had an interesting
conversation with a money market/bond trader from Toronto this afternoon.
Nice guy, sharp, very knowledgeable and he has four kids so he's
concerned with what's going on in the world and he's up-to-date on
social media He told me to get on Twitter which I did, to update my
LinkedIn, which I have not, and taught me how to use Google reader to
follow many blogs at once (very cool).
Anyways, for a trader, this guy is a deep thinker. He explained to me
how he got interested in pensions because his father was a Nortel
employee and his pension got hit when the company filed for bankruptcy.
He told me we are using "pyramidal assumptions with a rectangular
demographic base. The reality is people are living longer and the G7 is
dealing with historic low interest rates, which is pushing pension
liabilities through the roof." He told me he wasn't surprised that the
NDP garnered so many votes in Canada as there seems to be a leftist push
throughout the developed world as people are frustrated with what's
going on with their pensions and the financial/economic landscape.
I
told him capitalism isn't working the way it's suppose to work as too
many people are falling between the cracks. Mass youth unemployment
breeds more frustration and social unrest, which is what we saw in Egypt
and elsewhere. He told me that the old way of thinking isn't working
for the planet's 7 billion people and there needs to be a new way to
"pacify the restless many." Interestingly, I mentioned to him that
employment growth has been growing strongly in Dallas, Texas, spurred by
double digit growth in the video game industry over the last five
years. He said that video games might be the way to pacify many restless
souls. This reminded me of what my friend, Tom Naylor, said about the
"electronically lobotomized US population which has no idea what's going
on outside their red, white and blue borders."
The trader told
me that too many people attribute the spectacular growth in the US to
capitalism but the reality is that the "US was blessed with natural
resources and a great river system which allowed them to easily
transport materials from one side of the country to the other side quite
easily." This reminded me of what a buddy of mine from Wall Street said
about most of his hedge fund clients having "accidental success." Maybe
the US has had "accidental success" and the next 100 years won't look
anywhere as glorious as the past 100 years.
As far as Greece is concerned, no matter what happens with the vote, the country is going to suffer a painful recession and sell off state assets.
And it won't be the rich who suffer, but the poor and working poor.
Austerity isn't working for a simple reason: it disproportionately hurts
the poor and working poor. The rich will take a hit but they have
enough funds to withstand any shock that hits Greece. Most Greeks are
very aware of this injustice (no surprise that Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine has been the number one best seller in Greece for nine weeks in a row).
But
I believe that just like Greece was the birthplace of democracy, what's
going on in Greece right now has the potential to spread across the
developed world, even if most of the population is "electronically
lobotomized." I recently reread Noam Chomsky's The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many
just to see how things have changed since he wrote that book (not a big
fan of Chomsky any longer but he's dead right on a lot of what's ailing
our society). Not much, which is why communists are enjoying popularity
in Greece and elsewhere (God help us if communism comes back with a
vengeance!).
2) Ugly truth on pessimism:
Having said all this, I remain hopeful that humanity will find a way to
confront the serious challenges that lie ahead. If we don't, we're
fucked. Plain and simple. It's easy to drown yourself in pessimism but
the world is innovating and it's not all doom and gloom out there. I was
watching a segment on bionics on PBS tonight showing how robots are
helping quadriplegics walk again. There are a lot of bright people
working on important issues and it's too easy to fall under the "world
is fucked" mentality.
Had another discussion with a Montreal
hedge fund manager this afternoon who told me that there are many
yuppies retiring who long for the nostalgic years of the 50s and 60s and
they see everything going downhill from now on. He's optimistic, even
on markets and pointed out to me that Libor rate is lower than last
April which "tells you that banks are not overly concerned about
contagion risk from what's going on in Greece."
3) Ugly truth on Quebec's absolute return fund:
This hedge fund manager told me that my criticism on the $175 million
Quebec absolute return fund was too critical. "This is just the
beginning, there will be other programs targeting seeding funds." He
told me that "the scandals of the past like Lancer and others are still
fresh on institutions here and that the reality is that seeding hedge
funds is dangerous since less than 5% succeed long-term."
I
agreed but told him if done properly, focusing on liquid strategies
using managed account platforms, seeding is nowhere near as risky as
people think. Institutions have full control over the portfolio and
because they're liquid strategies they can shut it down at any time.
Moreover, I reminded him that Quebec's institutions have lost hundreds
of millions in venture capital, which is far more risky than seeding
hedge funds (but politically more palatable).
I also told him that I have no problem with established hedge fund
managers in Quebec (want to see them thrive), Jean-Guy Desjardins or
René Perreault and his boys over at HR Strategies.
Everyone is looking after their interests. I just think this SARA Fund
was poorly handled from the get-go and the spin they put on it was that
there would be an important seeding portion to it. They should have
created two funds: one for established managers (using HR Strategies or
just investing directly) and one for emerging managers (using Innocap's
managed account platform).
4) Ugly truth on sleep: Most
people don't get enough sleep, including yours truly. I was watching a
segment on Good Morning America that ideally we should get between six
and eight hours a night. If you get less or more then you're in trouble.
On
that note, I'm hitting the sack because I have to wake up early and
head to the gym at six a.m. Pay attention to what is going on in Greece
and how it might spread throughout the world. Below is a PBS news video
covering the crisis in Greece.
**UPDATE***
155 yays, bill passes and new austerity measures will be implemented. Stay tuned and go long risk assets after they sell the news.
»
- advertisements -
" Austerity isn't working for a simple reason: it disproportionately hurts the poor and working poor." - it actually is much worse than that. Instead of losing money that the top 0.01% used to gamble on debt instruments, they get bailed out at par and then use the proceeds to load up on cheap assets, whether it's oil futures, or gold, or farm land, or, more specifically int he case of Greece, on the ex-public assets that are about to be privatized.
The public loses 3 times: lower salaries/pension, the public assets are permanently transferred at depressed prices, the cost of services formerly provided by the newly privatized entities will go up.
The ruling elite wins on every count: no haircuts, full back-stop by the governments, acquiiring assets at depresed values.
The net result: While FDR SAVED Capitalism in the 30s, Karl Marx may be proven right in the not too distant future: the unhinged greed of so-called capitalists will destroy the system that made them rich and powerful.
From what I have read, much of eastern Europe's EU populace pines now for the good old communist days. Shows you what a balls up our crony fascism is. Better watch out for what you ask for, you just might get it :-)
So capitalism has degenerated to a roll-of-the-dice on how bright you were born to outsmart the other guy and the system in general. Probably the exact reason we are experiencing chaos in ME, Greece and soon in America . Traditional capitalism thrived when the captains of industry shared their spoils creating wealth for everyone. Today the big corporations are not sharing or caring about America , nor are the bankers sharing their ill-gotten gains from dubious shadow banking in collusion with politicians.
What form of capitalism is it that doesn't even allow me to take a shit without the gov't being all over the transaction? I have to walk through my gov't-approved home to the gov't approved bathroom, turn on the gov't mandated lightbulb and sit on the gov't mandated toilet that has been decided by our "intellectuals" to be of a size that is too small to handle what is about to be put in it.
How smart is a guy who comments on Capitalism when in fact real pure capitalism has not been in play in the USA in 40 years?
Try since February 3rd, 1913, though some may cite December 23rd, 1913. ;)
Project Capitalism to its end state. It is a zero sum game. It is currently
progressing as expected. Profit and growth at any cost. Those are the aims.
Unfettered, we will end up with one corporation, owning all.
Full of Leftist talking points and self-promotion. What we have is hardly Capitalism. Pointing to an insane fraud like Chomsky for guidance says it all.
How does this guy get a forum on this website? He's clearly out of his league compared to the other Guest Posters.
You obviously suffer from reading comprehension and while I'm not a fan of Chomsky (got too repetitive for me and offers no real solutions), I recognize his enormous contribution to political economics. Only a fool would so openly pooh-pooh him or other influential leftist intellectuals.
I'm sure you are a nice guy so don't want to offend you but much of your articles seem to show the classic struggle within between your Leftist leanings ("capitalism sucks because people fall through the cracks... blah blah blah") and railing against the crony capitalist outcomes of policies/practices put in place by those who agree with you ("The gov't is funneling funds to their buddies and not to me!")
The only fool when talking about Chomsky is the fool who funds him by buying his crap. He's rich because of fools like you.
My intellectual foundations are leftists, but not from Chomsky, more from Charles Taylor, one of the most important intellectual influences in my life. But I'm a fiscal conservative who believes we have to incentivize people to work and innovate but we also have to help the poor and disabled.
Welfare before the Welfare State:
http://mises.org/daily/5388/Welfare-before-the-Welfare-State
such sweeping conclusions on so little info. To say US economic and commonwealth success over last 200 years due to rivers for transportation. Not that rivers might have been more important economically than credit given historically, but really, for a couple of smart well informed guys, how could that be the extent of you analysis even if it was during a casual evening? How about a sustainably managed eco system of the better part of arguably the most naturally productive continent in the world was taken from its resident population - wiped out by disease, war, and genocide - and suddenly pillaged on a massive level. In my home state,MN, much of initial European settlement was due to timber industry...they took down so much old growth forest that had been growing for a 1000 years in such a short period of time the river higways had traffic jams of logs. And this sort plundermof various natural resources across the continent well past the first century of US.
Then there slavery, and all the massive wealth it created for some, including merchants and monied interests of the north.
And what of our agricultural and mineral abundance and mix of productive climates, tow masive ocean coasts connecting us easily to Europe/Africa and Asia and South America.
And what of our lucky acquistion of Louisiana Purchase, which included all important river, due to France's dire finamcial straits due to Hatian Revolution.
And what of Lucky "annexation" (theft by violent military takeover) of half of Mexico including California, just before gold rush.
And what of the incentives of a society that had so much stolen land and natural abundance it needed, wanted immigrants to flood in and exploit the areas not roped off for slavery plantations, a whole half of the country promised a decent independent life for the taking via homesteading. Did such economic opportunities for everyman not create unique opportunities and overall economic progress compared to plantations of South US and South America.
And if rivers for transportation were the be all and end all to the American accident what of the masive economic jolt from the railroads I the secon century?
And what economic return did we get by having democratic govt that while for most of existence did not represent all the people, still was more in the interest of common good than many other abundant nations In the 1800 and 1900s....a special combination of economic incentives to regular, low class people to achieve by luck and pluck, while the worst, counter productive, excesses of free markets restrained by successive movements and populist controls like anti-trust laws.
And what of economic luck aroundWW2? Our industrial capacity built up while rest of worlds developed nations bombed. Before war, cash flowed to us as a safe haven investment zone, and after war we essentially inherited Europes and Japan's colonies, and the exploitation of their cheap natural resources.
And what of union formation and progressive taxation implemented in the 30s that set the stage for American worker to get a healthy piece of the economic wonder the American GDP was on the 50s, 60s and 70s,? policies that led to a huge, broad middle class so accessible that a man with HS education could walk in door of factory make enough to raise a family, live in a decent neighborhood in nice house with nice car without wife working, and after just 25 or max 30 years of that retire to Soc sec income, Medicare coverage, and a decent employer paid pension?
And what of you analysis of capitalism? Egypt is capitalism? What Hatian capitalism? Germany and Japan and ,any other European countries have thrived as exporters and still have strong thriving, well paid, well-benefitted middle classes, they need not be China in wages to thrive in global economy. there are so many countries and various mixes of economic systems to explore, compare.
yes, things are a changing, yes it is more complex than capitalism as we know it is the end al be all of world economic systems....and yes there are many lucky accients in US economic history....but rivers for transportation, that it? Come on.....
such sweeping conclusions on so little info. To say US economic and commonwealth success over last 200 years due to rivers for transportation. Not that rivers might have been more important economically than credit given historically, but really, for a couple of smart well informed guys, how could that be the extent of you analysis even if it was during a casual evening? How about a sustainably managed eco system of the better part of arguably the most naturally productive continent in the world was taken from its resident population - wiped out by disease, war, and genocide - and suddenly pillaged on a massive level. In my home state,MN, much of initial European settlement was due to timber industry...they took down so much old growth forest that had been growing for a 1000 years in such a short period of time the river higways had traffic jams of logs. And this sort plundermof various natural resources across the continent well past the first century of US.
Then there slavery, and all the massive wealth it created for some, including merchants and monied interests of the north.
And what of our agricultural and mineral abundance and mix of productive climates, tow masive ocean coasts connecting us easily to Europe/Africa and Asia and South America.
And what of our lucky acquistion of Louisiana Purchase, which included all important river, due to France's dire finamcial straits due to Hatian Revolution.
And what of Lucky "annexation" (theft by violent military takeover) of half of Mexico including California, just before gold rush.
And what of the incentives of a society that had so much stolen land and natural abundance it needed, wanted immigrants to flood in and exploit the areas not roped off for slavery plantations, a whole half of the country promised a decent independent life for the taking via homesteading. Did such economic opportunities for everyman not create unique opportunities and overall economic progress compared to plantations of South US and South America.
And if rivers for transportation were the be all and end all to the American accident what of the masive economic jolt from the railroads I the secon century?
And what economic return did we get by having democratic govt that while for most of existence did not represent all the people, still was more in the interest of common good than many other abundant nations In the 1800 and 1900s....a special combination of economic incentives to regular, low class people to achieve by luck and pluck, while the worst, counter productive, excesses of free markets restrained by successive movements and populist controls like anti-trust laws.
And what of economic luck aroundWW2? Our industrial capacity built up while rest of worlds developed nations bombed. Before war, cash flowed to us as a safe haven investment zone, and after war we essentially inherited Europes and Japan's colonies, and the exploitation of their cheap natural resources.
And what of union formation and progressive taxation implemented in the 30s that set the stage for American worker to get a healthy piece of the economic wonder the American GDP was on the 50s, 60s and 70s,? policies that led to a huge, broad middle class so accessible that a man with HS education could walk in door of factory make enough to raise a family, live in a decent neighborhood in nice house with nice car without wife working, and after just 25 or max 30 years of that retire to Soc sec income, Medicare coverage, and a decent employer paid pension?
And what of you analysis of capitalism? Egypt is capitalism? What Hatian capitalism? Germany and Japan and ,any other European countries have thrived as exporters and still have strong thriving, well paid, well-benefitted middle classes, they need not be China in wages to thrive in global economy. there are so many countries and various mixes of economic systems to explore, compare.
yes, things are a changing, yes it is more complex than capitalism as we know it is the end al be all of world economic systems....and yes there are many lucky accients in US economic history....but rivers for transportation, that it? Come on.....
The part about the rivers is still valid. Basically, the US exports grains and bad debt. A quarter of US GDP passes through the Port of Southern Louisiana, mostly in the form of grains to Europe. Those are still transported by barge down the Mississippi.
Historically, a nation that controls a large river valley can exert dominance over the surrounding area. It's one theory why Europe has been so difficult to unite politically, since it has only the Danube that's even close.
Rivers are useful, but the Mississippi valley is not the financial center of the US.
The comment in the article about using the river system to cross the country is truly ignorant. When water transport was king, the way from NY to CA went around the tip of South America, not by rivers.
It was railroads that provided cheap coast to coast transport, and the best of those was the Northern Pacific, which did not go the government subsidy route.
I completely agree with your trader's assertion about demographics.
Greece's current emergency is one symptom of the intersection of demographics and energy scarcity. It grew its population at 0.07% annually the last decade. Meanwhile, oil has gone from the teens to the one-teens, which has an outsized impact in anation whose two largest industries are tourism and shipping.
It's hard to run a good debt ponzi without an ever-increasing population of suckers, and it's impossible to grow without ever-increasing energy inputs. This will be a world emergency soon.
Bullsh*t, Leo. This might be the fate of so-called democracy, but capitalism has not been tried in the Western World for nearly a century.
I agree. We have neither 'capitalism', 'democracy' nor 'free markets.'
If we tried, we'd see just how fast things crash.
Yep, "true" capitalism died some 80 years ago.
Right after putting the whole world on the road to chaos and devastation.
Communism fell, what makes you think capitalism is invincible?
What we have is kleptocracy - which is what communism was anyway. The European bankers with the last name starting with R - backed Lenin and Stalin. Communism let them loot Russia's natural resources and enslave the people.
Same f**kers - different day. Ditto the kleptocracies in Africa. Same thugs in the background.
Leo is a socialist, which is his perogative. I'm sure he had many years of indocrination in school by leftists that taught (and still do) that capitalism is evil. I would agree that free market capitalism as envisioned by Adam Smith and Hayak is dying, and has been replaced by crony capitalism and corporate fascism, both of which require the suspension of the Rule of Law for special interests and the shredding of the Bill of Rights here in America. Eliminate big govt and over regulation of every facet of business activity, and the true globalist agenda of the totalitarian NWO dies a natural death.
I'm a 40 year old man with progressive MS who trains hard every morning and HUSTLES for every penny I make. I'm the furthest thing from a socialist or communist. All I got are brains and balls! And let me be crystal clear, if it were up to me, I'd hang the "financial oligarchs" who are fucking up the world beyond belief.
Hey Leo - I generally don't like your stuff but a lot of the shit posted here is even worse left wing crap. No one ever says an unkind work about the leftist Kenyan elites stooge. ZH has a lot of leftist psy ops scum and yes I hate the banksters too.
Anyway - if you have MS - have you checked out Dr. Zamboni's work in Italy?
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091121/bc_multiple_sclerosis_091121/20091121/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
Google Dr. Zamboni and MS. The scum mega corporations, I am a capitalist, in the drug industry are trying to bury him because MS drugs are big business.
Capitalism in its present form is not fine. If it were, we wouldn't have huge income inequality all over the world!
Leo there's sweet fuk all you can do about income inequality (a nonsense par excellence). Go see the Zulu in Africa who have stood still (as is their devine right) for the past 5,000 years. They are where all men were 5,000yrs ago, the first rung on the ladder hunting for a living and just starting to 'manage' their enviroment (they herd cattle and do some basic farming of plants)
it happens that first China developed knowledge of its enviroment (Earths elements, plants and animals) which led to productivity (wealth creation) and an ever more comfortable lifestyle. Then the Ming dynasty (Govt) throttled its flourishing private enterprise economy just as Europeans started visiting and nicking their ideas and further developing them
The English turned coal (energy) and elements (iron ore) into tools and machines (productivity: 1 + 1 = 42) and that's how Europe became the world leader (in productivity and wealth creation) for 3 Centuries, joined by ex-Europeans, America
So the disparity between Europe and say the Zulus is entirely down to application of brains of industrious individuals (Englands industrial revolution was entriely private enterprise). And who is to say the Zulus not continue their basic lifestyle for another 2,000 years if they're happy that way.
But there's no system for correcting disparity of wealth creation. Nor should there be. You should bloody earn it, as the Europeans have. If you want 'in' you have to work at it and climb the rung. All socialism has done is drag everything down the sewer of ideological nonsense that people 'deserve' to be richer, instead of earning it, by robbing the richer (mainly middle classes). It's called theft mate whichever way you skin it
Clear your head of 'collectivism' and all the nonsense about how 'society' should be. There is no collective and no society, we are all individuals making our own paths. All collectivism (ideological academic dross) have failed. Period
Check out the Pilgrims story landing in America they set up an idealistic collective farming commune that was an unmitigated disaster for 2 years leaving the community starving, diseased and dependent on native Indians for handouts. Due to fighting in the ranks they devided out lands to be farmed individually. In the 3rd year the Pilgrims were producing food by the bucketload, so much in fact that they set up trading posts to barter the excess produce (wealth)
this same lesson is repeated time and time again throughout human history. The world is entirely an individual persuit not a collective academic or idealogical experiment all of which have failed collapsed in bankruptcy (see Eastern Govts, see Western Govts)
You're out of your mind if you think "income inequality all over the world" is proof that capitalism is failing. At least now the rest of your postings here on ZH are starting to make sense to me.
Leo, our current form is crony capitalism, not genuine capitalism. It is wrong to the core. If it was a more genuine form of capitalism, the wheels would have came off in spring of '09.
Crony corporatism, bootstrapped from a foundation of usurped liberal legalism, and now bound by psyops and technocracy for all.
+1
ZH must have a virus because the posters this morning are not Huff Post/DU loons.
Capitalism is right on track Leo, all is well, the outlook simply couldn't be better ;))
Capitalisms finest character, the Grim Reaper, has his blade out and is about to wield it on the unproductive (wasters) and parasites (scum) of society. 'Goodbye' banksters, 'Caio' to the Govt/public sector and 'GFU' to all the crony businesses that are propped up by this sack of shit insitution (Govt propped up sham businesses like big banks, GE, public contractors like the military, nuclear and green energy etc)
"Don't let a good crisis go to waste" indeed! Let's hope we do not repeat our error and re-erect Govt (the most corrupt, wealth destroying and ignorant institution in the world) so that the productive are once again bled of their hard/smart/industrious work and dragged down into the sewer of society where Govt resides
Western Govts are facing the same fate of Eastern Govts (bankruptcy in the USSR and China) because it is the exact same institution whatever academic label (communism, socialism or 'democracy') you put on it. It is a monopoly, a parasite, whose aims are the same and whose end-game (consuming/destroying other peoples wealth) is the same: bankruptcy of the greedy, lazy, thieving, unproductive pigs at the trough (of productive peoples wealth)
Capitalism is doing just fine so sit back, grab your popcorn and watch the unproductive parasites being culled ..how fantastically enjoyably entertaining is that? ...have another whiskey and cigar Leo
Agreed, but capitalism needs to be allowed to function if this is to happen. I'm not so sure that TPTB are going to be willing to let the blade fall, preferring instead to revert to some sort of collectivism or socialism with a global twist instead. After the obligatory wars, of course.
Capitalism functions 24/7/365 wether it be in communist China/USSR 40 years ago or the strangled by socialist/fascist parasite States of Europe and America... you cannot escape the economic rules of capitalism (productivity) wether you be Marxists, fascists or a free (from Govt) society
the USSR/China went bankrupt ignoring the rules of capitalism thinking ideology could replace being productive. Wrong. You cannot ignore being productive and generating profits (wealth). You just consume/destroy wealth until you go bankrupt calling up the Grim Reaper to mow you down (see China and the USSR's total bankruptcy)
but you mean of course capitalism is being throttled by Govt and their crony propped-up sponsors (parasites) who consume/destroy other peoples wealth by milking it out of productive society through the tax system (taxation is the biggest power of Govt).
Productive wealth is being consumed by parasites indeed. So society will suffer until they wake up one day and realise all Govt, East or West, is the same, a monopoly. Society gets what it deserves. So long as each of us as individuals are stupid enough to fund this sham and continue to aloow chunks of our earnings pissed away by this social scum we deserve it
We learn from our mistakes. This one should be big enough to drive the message home and last long enough for word (lessons) to get round who consumed/destroyed our wealth.. Government
First you assume capitalism is supposed to let people sit back and collect on their investments. That doesn't work. Then you decide capitalism failed, but that's not the problem. There's nothing wrong with capitalism, what's wrong is failure to enforce law with the lawbanking types. A 100% subversion of the law has taken place. Laws apply to one class, not the upper crust.
Then you go on this nonsense about happenstance being responsible for prosperity and growth. Fail. You don't recognize the pattern: Liberty->prosperity->parasites->subversion of law->tax farm->dust. Pensions probably come somewhere with parasites, after prosperity. That whole argument about resources is lame, everyone has resources, not everyone is efficient, hardworking and innovative, or even aspires to that (I know, old fashioned isn't it - sigh).
You lost me after that, you don't have hard evidence that living in any other way than - hard work - for yourself and the family unit - with moral fiber - with no overlord indolent class is best.
You're looking at fake signals - Pensions. Pensions are built on paper built on price fixing. I have as much use for a pension as much as for a tv.
Yes, his discussion of the failures of 'capitalism' is the sign of someone who has no fundamental understanding of what 'capitalism' is supposed to be. How can we be witnessing the failure of 'capitalism' when we haven't had anything like true capitalism for decades? What we are seeing is the failure of fiat-currencies and fractional reserve banking. What we are seeing is the failure of central planning. What we are seeing is the failure of majoritarian democratic government.
As for suggesting that the US' growth had nothing to do with its economic system, but was a result of natural resources and rivers - well, these things existed before the Europeans arrived - if economic organisation has no bearing on wealth production, why hadn't the native Americans been materially productive?
Sorry, Leo, FAIL.
Bingo. Absolutely epic fail.
I thought maybe Leo was just trying to see how may non-sequiturs he could fit into one BS post.
What a steaming pile of crap.
+1
Three good responses in a row. No one telling us (like Leo does) how the poor govt union workers are being taken advantage of because their pensions do not allow them to retire with full pay at age 45.
ZH must have a bug or the Obot's get up late in the morning to collect their govt cheese. They will come on later to spew for dear leader Mugabe 2.
Good article. Agree 100% on the "electronic lobotomy" that is gaming.
The attached video is saturated with biased comments though:
"Protestors looking for a fight?" "The police responded with teargas?" That's NOT what I've been seeing in Syntagma Square: It's the police trying to clear out the square, using teargas and batons. Yes, protesters throw rocks and molotov cocktails in RESPONSE.
Also, "the protestors want someone else to pay the austerity measures?" What kind of crap is that? Austerity measures are AGAIN presented as the INEVITABLE OUTCOME, but of course they're not, because the financial system is broken, and the banks as well as the corrupt elites of the PIIGS are to blame as much as the corrupt elite in Brussels.
Austerity = no haircuts for senior bondholders. It's that simple. But I would really like to hear good reasons for no haircuts for senior bondholders. Why is this sacrosanct? As a matter of equity, they are supposed to do due diligence, they took the risk, etc, yet they refuse to pay one penny, shifting the entire onus onto the little guy, his children, and his grandchildren. Why? I'm having cognitive dissonance with this!
The entire debt peonage system depends on it. Do you really own your own labor when someone else can denominate what you have to use as money? Is there any defense against someone else extracting almost all your productive capacity?
To make it work, though, the rule of bondholders must be upheld at all costs. That's one reason you never, ever see any of these guys talking about a 'Plan B.' As in so many cases with True Believers, admitting the possibility of alternatives is the true heresy.
Of course! But the greek elite (Papandreou family) holds the CDS (13 no less!) which will be triggered in a "credit event".
The politicians (Merkel, Maxime Verhagen) will have a hard time explaining in September, why they gave 120 billion euro extra to the senior bondholders, and that Greece has defaulted anyway.
It's just putting taxpayer money in private banks, counting on the fact that the population at large doesn't understand the (seemingly illogical) issue of a default meaning less loss of wealth for the taxpayer. They're making it worse. You, and a lot of ZH-ers know this of course. But here, with the MSM blackout, and the "bank bailouts" being presented as "necessary austerity", I'm not so sure who understands what.
It'll be a mess when they pass it, and a different mess when they don't. What bothers me is the gaul of these politicians to label anyone opposed as "illogical".
++
"counting on the fact that the population at large doesn't understand the (seemingly illogical) issue of a default meaning less loss of wealth for the taxpayer."
Yeah cool, make sure that as you approach the point at which you start to think of alternatives you switch your brain off. That'll fix everything.
Greece makes olives and wants the standard of living of Germany. The govt (union) workers want to be paid a lot like the other govt union parasites in the UK, USA, etc. Those days are ending. Leo - tell your bond trader friend to get a real job. Canada needs energy workers out West - people who actually do something.