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Paul Tudor Jones Warns "Disastrous Market Mania" Will End In "Revolution, Taxes, Or War"

Tyler Durden's picture




 

"This gap between the 1% and the rest of America, and between the US and the rest of the world, cannot and will not persist," warns renowned trader Paul Tudor Jones during his recent TED Talks speech, as he addressed the question - can capital be just? Hoping to expand the "narrow definitions of capitalism," that threaten the underpinnings of society, Tudor Jones exclaims, "we're in the middle of a disastrous market mania," adding "one of worst of my life." Perhaps most ominously, he concludes, historically this ends "by revolution, higher taxes or wars. None are on my bucket list."

 

As TED blog reports,

Can capital be just? As a firm believer in capitalism and the free market, Paul Tudor Jones II believes that it can be. Tudor is the founder of the Tudor Investment Corporation and the Tudor Group, which trade in the fixed-income, equity, currency and commodity markets. He thinks it is time to expand the “narrow definitions of capitalism” that threaten the underpinnings of our society and develop a new model for corporate profit that includes justness and responsibility.

 

It’s a good time for companies: in the US, corporate revenues are at their highest point in 40 years. The problem, Tudor points out, is that as profit margins grow, so does income inequality. And income inequality is closely linked to lower life expectancy, literacy and math proficiency, infant mortality, homicides, imprisonment, teenage births, trust among ourselves, obesity, and, finally, social mobility. In these measures, the US is off the charts.

 

 

“This gap between the 1 percent and the rest of America, and between the US and the rest of the world, cannot and will not persist,” says the investor.

 

“Historically, these kinds of gaps get closed in one of three ways: by revolution, higher taxes or wars. None are on my bucket list.”

 

Tudor proposes a fourth way: just corporate behavior. He formed Just Capital, a not-for-profit that aims to increase justness in companies. It all starts with defining “justness” — to do this, he is asking the public for input. As it stands, there is no universal standard monitoring company behavior. Tudor and his team will conduct annual national surveys in the US, polling individuals on their top priorities, be it job creation, inventing healthy products or being eco-friendly. Just Capital will release these results annually – keep an eye out for the first survey results this September.

 

 

Ultimately, Tudor hopes, the free market will take hold and reward the companies that are the most just. “Capitalism has driven just about every great innovation that has made our world a more prosperous, comfortable and inspiring place to live. But capitalism has to be based on justice and morality…and never more so than today with economic divisions large and growing.”

 

This is not an argument against progress, Tudor emphasizes. “I want that electric car, or the jet packs that we all thought we’d have by now.” But he’s hoping that increased wealth will bring with it a stronger sense of corporate responsibility. “When we begin to put justness on par with profits, we get the most valuable thing in the world. We get back our humanity.”

*  *  *

As one attendee noted, PTJ received a standing ovation...

 

Full video below:

 

 

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Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:15 | 5907126 PartysOver
PartysOver's picture

Yes, yes, and yes.  But it is still down the road before all the above happen.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:19 | 5907149 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

It's not the 1%, its the .01%.  Married couples making $250k/year who are "allegedly" in the "top 1%" are NOT living like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.  Just wanted to clarify that point.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:24 | 5907177 Manthong
Manthong's picture

Plato, anyone?

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:31 | 5907224 Pladizow
Pladizow's picture

Blah, Blah, Blah!

How many boards will this place him on?

What info will he be privy to?

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:35 | 5907240 flacon
flacon's picture

Taxes are not the answer because only the productive class pay taxes. The lower 80% don't pay taxes and the upper 80% don't pay taxes. It's only if you are independent, working in a non-government job and trying to make your life better FOR YOURSELF --> only those people are taxable, but those people are becoming less and less each passing day. 

 

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:44 | 5907278 walküre
walküre's picture

Exactly why they will raise taxes. The productive class has no choice but to play by their rules. The uberwealthy can use every loop hole under the sun. And really, does it make a dent in their pocket to pay $100 million in taxes when they have several billions?

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:51 | 5907293 nope-1004
nope-1004's picture

"Just corporate behavior"?  Give me a break.  Sounds to me like "just defecation", or teaching a dog exactly where to crap everytime.  Animal instincts are animal instincts, and greed is probably the most powerful.  In fact, Paul stated that all sin stems but from one emotion:  Greed.

This sounds way too simple and idealistic.  War is inevitable IMO.

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:52 | 5907301 maskone909
maskone909's picture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JhwQ17mLjo

TED Conference Exposed As Scientology-Style Cult

 

kind of scary.  made me look at ted a little more carefully.  they still do have some really good pieces tho.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:24 | 5907411 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

TED Conference seems like a progressive, agenda-driven social programming tool. As traditional social programming tools like Time magazine, NYT, network news are in their death throes, The Fabian Socialists are starting to adapt to the realities of the internet age.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:15 | 5907476 Lore
Lore's picture

I agree. This is simplistically-naive, altruistic-sounding ideological claptrap, a diversion, like the recent "divestment" talk among fund managers and like most of the "sustainability" prattle marketed as part of Agenda 21.  We're supposed to believe that the same "God's work" control freaks who create all the imbalances can be depended on to clean up their own mess?  Sorry, it never works that way.  Con men simply move on to the next con, leaving a trail of rape, pillage and destruction behind them.  You really want to create a "just" environment for capital formation and investment?  CUT THROUGH THE GREAT LIES AND TAKE POWER AWAY FROM PSYCHOPATHS. 

Political Ponerology:  A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:22 | 5907596 TruthInSunshine
TruthInSunshine's picture

Here's your latest Yellen balance sheet:

News Headline Summary

US Fed balance sheet liabilities increased to USD 4.458trl in the latest week from USD 4.451trl

http://headlines.ransquawk.com/headlines/us-fed-balance-sheet-liabilitie...

Yaaaay! 5 trillion is not far away!

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:52 | 5907674 Thirst Mutilator
Thirst Mutilator's picture

What's the OFF balance sheet?... Or do I need a bloody secret decoder penis ring to find out?

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:12 | 5907721 TruthInSunshine
TruthInSunshine's picture

Yeah, they definitely keep 2 sets of books.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:17 | 5907737 whotookmyalias
whotookmyalias's picture

ELP said it best back in the 1970's.  "tax the rich, feed the poor, till the rich ain't rich no more".

 

And if you don't know who or what an ELP is, for God's sake google it.  Some of you must live in labs.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 19:55 | 5908114 chunga
chunga's picture

I think that was Ten Years After bro.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 20:06 | 5908140 CapnJackDaniel
CapnJackDaniel's picture

Doom Doomity Doom. While I think you're right and there will be a rapid correction in the newar future, in the meantime here's Kate Upton dancing in a bikini for like, 5 minutes (You're welcome.)

About as likely to change the ineveitable outcome as any discussion around any of this cluster fuck we call a market system, but much, much easier to watch. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 22:56 | 5908703 Richard Chesler
Richard Chesler's picture

Pretty naive really.

Most people will do absolutely nothing.

If anything, they'll go after each other first, rather than the real Shylocks.

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:59 | 5908816 WhyWait
WhyWait's picture

War, Revolution, Taxes or the Tooth Fairy.

I vote for the Tooth Fairy.

If the Tooth Fairy's not real, I'll take Taxes.

I'm a great fan of other folks' wars and revolutions, won't shy away if there's no choice, but they can end badly.

On the other hand, the high taxes on the rich from the '50's through '70's worked out pretty well all in all.  

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 00:31 | 5908847 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

You mean the high taxes the rich didn't really pay because the tax code was loaded with loopholes??? Kinda like the tax code is now. But it's only the uber rich who benefit.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 02:09 | 5908935 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

A better TEDx talk, mine ;-)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XijsnujcFg

 

Am on the fence with TED. Very programming oriented. Very limit creating, yet fun....it's a strange beast for sure. Tremendous feel good factor, but what else?

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 17:45 | 5911253 flacon
flacon's picture

When he says: "'capitalism' has to be based on 'justice'" you know you are listening to a COMMUNIST. First of all capitalism doesn't have a CENTRALLY PLANNED ECONOMY, and second of all capitalism is JUST in and of itself, there is no "based on justice" clause. WE DON'T HAVE CAPITALISM and that's the PROBLEM. PERIOD. 

 

"JUSTICE (in their meaning of the word "social justice") = CENTRAL PLANNING" which IS THE ANTITHESIS of CAPITALISM. FUCK THESE ORWELLIAN PEOPLE AND THEIR SPEECH ABOUT "JUSTICE" They don;'t even know the meaning of the word. Justice is when all students who took out loans and when all mortgage holders who took out loans ARE FORCED TO REPAY THEIR DEBTS. 

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 08:14 | 5912558 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

Replace justice with an income distribution that doesn't have mind-bending kurtosis, a modicum of class mobility, and methods to handle the externalities it has done a damn poor job of handling to date.

 

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:15 | 5909387 WhyWait
WhyWait's picture

That's another problem.  You'd really rather have war or revolution? 

We'll probably get them anyway, I'm expecting both, not sure in which order. Am planning on surviving but honestly will be surprised if I do.

But give me an option I'll still take taxes.

As for the billionaires having a change of heart, that's the bomb! If praying for it would make it happen I'd get religion.

I could say I'll believe it when I see it, but the truth is I won't believe it when I see it.  Maybe one or two of them, that would help a lot, but history is not kind to that notion, and their idea of a change of heart is fatally tainted by their notion that they somehow deserve to have power over us and make our choices for us.

Consider the cases of Bill Gates and George Soros ...

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:21 | 5909405 WhyWait
WhyWait's picture

Question: WHY did this piece of soft-minded wishful thinking get 230,000 hits? 

Oh, I get it.  Paul Tudor Jones is going to save us!  Silly me!

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 08:17 | 5912564 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

Throw him into the volcano!!!

 

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 08:16 | 5912562 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

And the corporations; look at the portion of the tax base shouldered by individuals now and how much corporations used to pay once upon a time and wonder at how we haven't had a revolution already.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 22:52 | 5908706 willwork4food
willwork4food's picture

+1 for the vid and taking my mind off the shitstorm. Damn she's hot.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 22:58 | 5908723 NidStyles
NidStyles's picture

I don't get it, what's the big deal about her? She's just another white girl chasing clown dicks.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:17 | 5908760 Eirik Magnus Larssen
Eirik Magnus Larssen's picture

As a man with blond hair and blue eyes, I'll never understand the Western media's unhealthy obsession with blond hair and blue eyes.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 00:37 | 5908856 Ward no. 6
Ward no. 6's picture

i have always like the dark black goth look

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 11:08 | 5909792 juantrades
juantrades's picture

What about emo chicks?

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 10:13 | 5909571 Welder
Welder's picture

What a waste ! She shold be ashamed of dancing on monkey music.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 12:19 | 5910092 whotookmyalias
whotookmyalias's picture

I think that was Ten Years After bro.

 

I stand corrected.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 21:31 | 5908460 Swede32
Swede32's picture

I've always wondered about that song.  "till the rich ain't rich no more"? Why not "tax the rich, feed the poor, 'til there are no hungry poor"? Must be a different set of priorities...

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:33 | 5908780 Eirik Magnus Larssen
Eirik Magnus Larssen's picture

The irony is that many here at Zero Hedge blame the working poor for needing government programs, but are blind to the billions being given to large corporations, industries, and wealthy individuals in the form of subsidies, tax shelters, and tax breaks. 

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 12:20 | 5910096 whotookmyalias
whotookmyalias's picture

I don't think anyone is trying to blame the working poor, just the goverment for policies that not only lead to working poor but make them more and more reliant on the government.  BWTFDIK

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 08:24 | 5912570 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

Where do you think all that EBT cash (and transactional palmgrease) ends up anyway? Corporate coffers, medication providers, insurance companies, and of course the lawyers (did I just copy that list from their campaign contributors, yes, but that doesn't make it less true).

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:14 | 5907725 CH1
CH1's picture

You want "just"?

Then measure government contracts. Those are ALL paid for with stolen money.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 19:42 | 5907855 Thirst Mutilator
Thirst Mutilator's picture

Yes CH1 ~ I totally agree with you...

 

Everything... & I mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G that [reasons itself] to be 'THE eCONomy' these days...

 

- & whereby 'THE ECONOMY' is always fronted as the poison pill to hold the world hostage...

- & whereby the 'TANKS IN THE STREETS' threat is used as the poison pill

- & whereby TPTB [in the nodes of power ~ who were PLACED there], make the expedient choice

- & whereby, they're serving their own instinctual needs [by threat of DEATH, 'Kennedy style', or reward style such as what the Clintons & Obama enjoy]

- & whereby those who OFFER such choice are the money merchants

- & wherby the money merchants CAME TO BE money merchants, not by toil & sweat, but INSTEAD by coercion, blackmail, deception, & mass murder

- & whereby the same money merchants constructed a media empire [controlled by their own ilk], to divert attention away from the atrocities

- & whereby the same money merchants corrupted a legal system [so as to avoid prosecution]

- & whereby, as result of ALL OF THE ABOVE, 'GOVERNMENT' became the biggest elephant in the room [even though it PRODUCES NOTHING except war, death, & inequality]

- & whereby, naturally, there became a growing need for government CONTRACT SERVICE PROVIDERS

- & whereby the 'first bid' service providers tended to go towards 'ilk' that tended to PLAY BALL

- & whereby PLAYING BALL meant to IGNORE the atrocities [because making a sheckel was more important]...

- & whereby, after all the possible wealth stolen from hardworking 'folks' whose concept wasn't to PLAY BALL [like those previously mentioned], but instead worked at creating something meaningful, only to have it stolen from them.

- & whereby when that dynamic finally ended, & there were no pennies left to pick up in front of the inevitable steamroller

- & whereby the money [PRINTING] merchants recognized this fact and, without other recourse, began to monetize wealth [which, for a period of time, actually materialized MORE PENNIES to pick up in front of the aforementioned inevitable steamroller]

 

Yeah, so, you're right... It's all STOLEN MONEY...

 

You, my friend, during your posting history on ZH, have PROVEN yourself to be a staunch advocate of the MONEY STEALERS... So pat yourself on the back and kindly retire to your poo flinging hobby...

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 08:27 | 5912577 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_ooR1qB-c

"You take the pen and I'll take the sword, you can write some shit, til I cut your fucking head off."

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 20:02 | 5908138 Things that go bump
Things that go bump's picture

Psychopaths give up nothing. That's one of their defining characteristics. Taking power away would have to be done by force and not many have the stomach for it (except psychopaths). On the other hand, psychopaths would happily sacrifice millions even billions of lives if that was the price that had to be paid to retain what they've taken, and they wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Believe me, those who hold the reins of power will kill us all before they share what they hold or let us go.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:45 | 5907478 outamyeffinway
outamyeffinway's picture

Was it justice when Jones worked out with Goldman how they would rip off clients with MBS's? What a dick. Him and Nick and the rest of the <1%'ers. Pitchforks and Torches, bitchez!

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:06 | 5907550 Againstthelie
Againstthelie's picture

"Capitalism must be just."

It would be too funny, if it wasn't so tragic.

Compound interest debt based money creates the necessity of exponential growth and is the driving force behind the fact, that everything is being measured as capability to make profit. GROWTH. GROWTH. GROWTH.

Capitalism = money makes money.

Why should a company that takes care of elderly need to growth? Why should the fattest nation consume more and more?

Just another try to avoid talking about the main problem: exponential growth on a limited planet does not work and that compound interest is the most evil concept ever created.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:13 | 5907570 chunga
chunga's picture

I'm not sure it's capitalism's fault, but it's pretty hard to be "just" when the fastest growing commodity is fraud.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 07:11 | 5909085 striped-pad
striped-pad's picture

You're right that exponential growth on a limited planet does not work.

But does compound interest with debt-based money require exponential growth? I took that very seriously when I first watched "Money As Debt", but I explored the idea for a long time and found it was not true, because banks spend their interest instead of accumulating it. See my counter-example.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:51 | 5907500 Harbanger
Harbanger's picture

Taxation, war and then revolution, that's the sequence.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:56 | 5907513 OLD YELLER
OLD YELLER's picture

Or it could be just another way for the alphabetes (FBI, NSA, GESTAPO, ect.) to draw opposition into the open, and then? Heinz, take them away! We'll let the good Doctor interrogate them!

Just kidding. It can't happen here.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:36 | 5907633 teslaberry
teslaberry's picture

it's true but every once in a while a ted talk comes out that they don't really like, ---even ted sometimes allows local decision makers some independence that corporate tedquarters regrets. 

 

you will know this when the talk is not made public or censored. there are a hisotry of a few talks censored, and perhaps they should have been. but some should not. and i believe you will see this more frequently.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 21:14 | 5908383 FuzzyDunlop21
FuzzyDunlop21's picture

Fuck TED talks. Every one of these assholes in the audience is gonna go home and BTFD. 

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 01:47 | 5908924 jaxville
jaxville's picture

You nailed that square on the head Buckaroo.  It's getting a little scary how many apologists for the status quo there are on those talks.  

Tue, 04/07/2015 - 08:13 | 5966169 Ace006
Ace006's picture

Exactly. (Responding to Buckeroo Banzai's Fabian socialists idea below.)

Whenever anyone starts talking about income inequality I figure I'd better put my hand on my wallet, hide my 8-track tapes in a safe location, and have numerous assault rifles close at hand.

I'm surprised this prophet, seer, and prognostisizer didn't claim that income inequality causes low gas mileage and poor fashion sense.

This jasper is just itching to proclaim "From each according to his stock options, to each according to his vote" but settles for this "justness" nonsense. As determined by him, natch?

I can't wait to read about the results of surveys that ask "the people" what should be done with "excess profits." Redistribute them as our democratically elected representatives determine, I'm thinking. With input from impartial panels of highly, highly educated people.

This reminds me of something that we've seen a lot of before.

Tue, 04/07/2015 - 08:08 | 5966170 Ace006
Ace006's picture

Double post...

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:40 | 5907811 mc225
mc225's picture

yeah, ted is corny. hipsters love it though.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 22:10 | 5908584 caustixoid
caustixoid's picture

Vancouver TEDtalk last year cost something like $6000 to attend wherein the Beamer-driving class could pay to feel like society's thought leaders.

Personally I prefer Oniontalks like "Loudness Equals Power": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiZeOgxpCmI

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:51 | 5909503 Conor
Conor's picture

I did a Tedx and had a good experience, but yeah, it's a bit smug.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:06 | 5907351 Manthong
Manthong's picture

“narrow definitions of capitalism” 

If he was honest about the situation he would be lambasting the wide presence of fascism and totalitarianism rather than denigrating capitalism by implying that there is any of it left in this centrally manipulated economy.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:31 | 5907431 Nunyadambizness
Nunyadambizness's picture

Exactly!  If a person or company makes a product or provides a service that others are willing to pay for, who is it for someone else to determine what is "just" about that person or company??  Unfortunately what we have devolved to is a fascistic (or call it "crony capitalistic") regime that wants a socialist "utopia" that will never manifest itself on this planet--without the subjugation and murder of millions, perhaps billions.  Those "true believers" who want and are hoping for this utopia will be the first eliminated, because as Stalin said, they are "useful idiots" and nothing more.  

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:53 | 5907504 Lore
Lore's picture

Precisely. "The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.” - V.I. Lenin

On the plus side, the whole thing is bound to fail.  Unfortunately, barring some sort of broad-based awakening, the human cost is going to be horrific (as if it isn't already).

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 20:42 | 5908165 Manthong
Manthong's picture

According to Plato, Thrasymachus proclaims "justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger”.

In other words, justice is as it is in the modern United States where might makes right where the psychopath elite are concerned.

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:33 | 5907441 max2205
max2205's picture

The FSA has had a great decade....now they are all set for a nice gubermint retirement

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:47 | 5907665 ersatz007
ersatz007's picture

What's funny is that any attempt to constructively criticize capitalism is immediately jumped on as "denigration" and then twisted into some ridiculous notion that if one criticizes capitalism they must be either a socialist or progressive pansy or an evil totalitarian or fascist.

Most of these same people then lament that if only capitalism were allowed io function as it was intended then all would be right in the world. Well the same could be said for socialism or communism. But invariably, humans figure out ways to game and rig whatever system they operate in to their own benefit. And that usually means that someone else gets fucked over in the process.

The problems that result from ANY AND ALL socio-economic-governmental systems are due to HUMAN imperfection. So trying to blame our problem on the fact that capitalism just hasn't been allowed to work freely is like saying the reason I couldn't hammer the nail in was because my a was wrong even though my hammer is broken in the first place.

None of these systems is perfect. There is no such thing as perfect capitalism...because humans aren't perfect. The market will always be rigged because people will find a way to rig them.

So the discussion instead should be knowing that each system is gonna manipulated, which system is least susceptible and how do we achieve that. Getting rid of the Fed would probably be a good start. Taxing only income and NOT wages might be another.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:15 | 5907728 dogbreath
dogbreath's picture

I find the people that talk about capitalism the most are socialist who think it has to be fixed or changed some how.  But like you the capitalism they talk about is the debt based fiat banking capitalism that pays for our equity law socialism and makes the political class rich and powerful.  And like you the socialists confuse this perverted capitalism with the libertarian free market capitalism as it was intended that made the producer, the thrifty, the innovative wealthy without having to sell their souls.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:38 | 5907802 2handband
2handband's picture

The capitalism you're talking about will never exist outside of your imagination. Neither will the socialism Marx dreamed of. Any big system is going to lead to what we have right now. Nobody has ever found a good way to prevent large concentrations of wealth from being leveraged into power.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:13 | 5908749 NidStyles
NidStyles's picture

The capitalism I talk about has existed for thousands of years.

 

You can try to outlaw everything, but it doesn't stop black markets from former to supply it. Black markets are a clear demonstration that you can not beat the free-market.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:39 | 5908794 ersatz007
ersatz007's picture

I'm not confusing anything. I happen to believe capitalism is the best system we've come up with so far. However you like all the rest put faith in capitalism to work perfectly. Why has it become perverted? Why has it been corrupted? Lazily you will answer that it's because the socialists/progressives/communists perverted it. You will conveniently ignore the fact that the most "capitalist" of all the capitalists - bankers, financiers, and industrialists - only the latter of which actually produce and innovate - have all had a hand in perverting capitalism. Why is that?

So then by your argument, JP Morgan, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, etc...were merely Socialists in Capitalists' clothing then? Nearly everyone that trades a derivative is not a capitalist...since how does any productive activity come from gambling on a vehicle that is derived from someone else's productivity and is in no way benefiting the actual producers through direct investment (ie a stock or bond). Anyone who shorts a stock is not a capitalist (how is betting for a company's failure to enrich its stockholders productive investment?).

You're right... capitalism has been perverted ...not only by socialists, progressives, but also by folks who honestly believe themselves to be dyed-in-the-wool capitalists.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 01:54 | 5908929 dogbreath
dogbreath's picture

I was merely pointing out that people who talk about capitalism mix up current system and use the same label applied the capitalist of the goden era of industrialism.  They are not the same.   I keep running into people talking about capitalism this and capitalism that but the only book on the subject they have read is Marx - the con artist.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 02:26 | 5908943 ersatz007
ersatz007's picture

And many of those industrial capitalists had a hand in corrupting the "golden era" of capitalism. Because if you say they didn't then you don't know history. So if you agree that they did play a part (along with the progressives of that time) then my simple question to you is why? Why would industrial capitalists seek to corrupt the very system that rewarded their productivity, thrift and innovation?

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 02:42 | 5908948 dogbreath
dogbreath's picture

Thats a good question.  I think it boils down to power and monopoly both of which are superior to the capitalist/socialist dichotomy.   There is a wierd story of the moonshiners who turned their harvets of corn into alcohol which was a way to convert corn into a higher value commodity.  The tax authorities sent in the "revenuers" and out of the prohibition came some mega beverage conglomerates.   The education system is fucked so the only innovation happening isn't like the invention of home refrigerators and the means to manufacture them.  There are all these programed kids out there and some don't know where to turn because the schools didn't teach them to think.  The really smart ones reap the rewards of getting the big bucks jobs when they have barely started to shave.  The capitalism of anno 1900 is dead and it cannot compete with fiat currency or electronic credit.  The crime is the debt is on the wage earner but good luck changing that.  

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 03:33 | 5908975 Clarabell
Clarabell's picture

Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.

John Kenneth Galbraith

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 10:47 | 5909697 ersatz007
ersatz007's picture

that is an awesome quote...

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 11:11 | 5909801 juantrades
juantrades's picture

agreed

Tue, 04/07/2015 - 08:55 | 5966296 Ace006
Ace006's picture

Ha ha. Yes, that's a clever quote but at heart it's an instance of moral equivalency. The actual track records of the two systems were spectacularly different. The progressives in our midst were happy to shill for the hideous, degrading, murderous system.

If that was just a witticism JKG tossed out, well, fine. Though dollars to donuts he was down with the progressive struggle to destroy a great, free, and productive system. Or a useless, luke warm defender thereof with an extra helping of the weasily qualifications.

Tue, 04/07/2015 - 08:35 | 5966237 Ace006
Ace006's picture

Short summary of history of last 98 years: Capitalism delivered like gang busters.  Statism not so much.  

The problem is not that all systems get corrupted. It's that statist systems went straight to the truncheon, the bayonet, the secret police, and the fenced institutes of higher consciousness.

Free markets on their worst single day deliver what the planners and Wise Bureaucrats couldn't in 5, 30, or 70 years. Statism causes that silly laundry list of social ills this pumped up visionary goes on about.  And (more) statism is what we'll get from him as the "problem" he sees won't be solved without coercion. But, never fear, he knows that Goldilockian sweet spot so it's all good.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 02:46 | 5908951 John_Coltrane
John_Coltrane's picture

Yeah, I'll settle for two "reforms" for capitalism.

1)Real competition (i.e. no government propping up of insolvent banks, corporations etc)  (you know, like AIG, goldman sachs, GM)

2)Survival or extinction of companies based upon profit, not how many subsidies and regulations you can finagle from your goverment cronies.   (I'm talking about you, tesla and solar city)

(1) can be accomplished by elimination of the FED and the income tax.  (So, we need a time machine to take us back to 1912 or before)

reform (2)will follow from reform (1)

Hey, competition has worked for evolution for hundreds of millions of years.  Let's give it a try and let the chips fall where they may.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:28 | 5909425 Kickaha
Kickaha's picture

When reading the original article that prompted all of these comments, I was immediately struck by the idiocy of focusing on what is "just" without first defining "capitalism".  I think "capitalism" is a word that is continuously misused by the majority of people.  My understanding of the term is that "capitalism" is an economic system where the means of production are privately owned. (Query:  If the Fed ends up owning the means of production, is that "captitalism"?) That is the full extent of the definition, and the word should imply nothing further in terms of how those private individuals behave after being given the right to personally possess capital. For example, there is no reason to assume that individuals owning the means of production will fairly compete with one another for profit.  One can postulate a system of "free enterprise" in which that, in fact, does happen, but there is no reason to assume that free enterprise is a necessary component of capitalism, but every day people make precisely that assumption when touting the glories of a capialistic economic system.

 I think it would be a better assumption to assume that the owners of the capital will do everything in their power to retain that ownership, make enormous profits, and use that money to further their own interests.  This would include such things as despoliation of the environment, criminal fruad, total capture of regulatory agencies and justice departments, and utter and complete civil disobediance if it produces more profits and escapes meaningful punishment.  

Human beings will do anything they can to avoid having to engage in free enterprise, which is always perilous to preservation of capital and difficult to the point of taking from you ever ounce of energy you possess just to break even.  The question becomes whether a system in which everybody struggles to obtain product differentiation, favorable laws and regulations shielding them from competitors, advertising at or near the level of outright fraud, the transfer of internal costs to the external sphere, and violation of civil law, if expedient, is nevertheless the best possible way to keep your populace clothed, fed, and sheltered.  Personally, I think the answer is "yes".

A "just capitalism" would be one more closely resembling a free enterprise system.  I don't think that means that every company should be run by somebody having a moral kinship with Mother Theresa.  Instead, I think you want leaders who are strong, smart, tough, energetic, and willing to enter ther fray and fight within the rules.  But it will require a complete reversal of the very idea of how government interacts with the business community, from one where favors are doled out by the bushel in return for campaign contributions, to one where the government agressively seeks out and destroys the profitability of any company, if that profitability flows from criminal behavior, violation of civil laws, or the politically corrupt passage of competition-shielding laws and regulations.  I'll put that on my wish list, but I won't be holding my breath until it begins to happen.  In my lifetime, matters have headed in just the opposite direction at increasingly breakneck speeds, to the point where now the government is not much more than the lickspittle apologist for their big campaign contributors, and justice amonts to a public display of a slap on the wrist if you have the right political friends.

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:36 | 5907429 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

""Just corporate behavior"?  Give me a break.  Sounds to me like "just defecation", or teaching a dog exactly where to crap everytime.  Animal instincts are animal instincts, and greed is probably the most powerful."

Indeed, however, you can't ascribe human moral deficiencies like greed to a corporation. Corporations are artificial legal constructs that are, by definition, amoral entities. Trying to associate human values like "justice" to an artificial legal construct is an absurd and pointless exercise. Paul Tudor Jones is either a tool, a jackass, or a deliberate misinformer.

You want justice? Turn the clock back 200 years, to a time when Corporate charters were limited to specific purposes, with limited life spans, and were legally subsidiary to-- instead of legally superior to-- natural human beings.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:43 | 5907820 2handband
2handband's picture

Make it even better: every time a corporation's actions cause harm to citizens, prosecute every stockholder and every member of the board to the limit of the law. Eliminate profit without responsibility. But wait... if you did that, businesses would either be sole proprieterships, or made up of two or three individuals who trust one another absolutely. Perfect!

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:37 | 5908790 NidStyles
NidStyles's picture

Surprise, then you would have Capitalism.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 21:26 | 5908419 Farqued Up
Farqued Up's picture

To Nope-1004;

Sex is the driver, money-greed is simply a mode of an ugly puke to become attractive to the fluttering mascara eyes with the precious honey-hole. It works, too, Honey-Hole drops her idealism of chasing the Friday night quarterback in favor of the ugly puke with the loot. The ugliest puke on mother Earth had to be Ari Onassis and pristine Jackie became Jackie O. Princess Di was another, she hooked up with a Picasso painting with the intelligence of a Venus Flytrap. However, First Maw-in-Law tapped her ass out when she started planking the bedouin herder. But I digress.

Hmm, I wonder if we stacking bitchez have the honey-hole psyche as the ultimate objective? They sure do love bling.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:53 | 5907306 seek
seek's picture

Yes, they will raise taxes, and once again it will benefit the non-taxpayers on both ends of the spectrum. The inequality will remain, so they will raise them again.

They're going to blow way past the Laffer curve near the end. It'll effectively be communism without delivering any of the promised equality (so, communism.) Thankfully the system will blow itself apart just as this is being implemented. I'm sure they'll try to keep it going in the 2.0 version, but when TPTB find they can't get even basic medicines or technology because the key workers are starving at home trying to tend a window garden for food, they'll probably back off a notch or two.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:00 | 5907331 maskone909
maskone909's picture

we are in my opinion, waaayyy past the laffer curve.  there is simply no way to pay down our liabilities by conventional income taxation.  i truely believe this is the real agenda behinde QE. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:04 | 5907542 Lore
Lore's picture

I agree. The agenda is to strip the system of real capital and leave a global plantation.  Macroeconomic heaven for psychopaths.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:11 | 5907718 Hohum
Hohum's picture

How does one measure who is productive?  It is a discussion worth having.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:01 | 5908730 willwork4food
willwork4food's picture

If I gather a bunch of rocks in my back yard and try to sell them as special- I am being productive, not much, but when everyone wants to buy them I will get rich and am deemed "productive".

Pet rocks craze cerca 1980s

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:47 | 5907836 ajax
ajax's picture

 

 

It takes a tax revolt.

Ha ha ha.

Repeal FATCA

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:21 | 5907404 Grimaldus
Grimaldus's picture

Are you kidding me? I am taxed every time I turn around. And then there are income taxes. F**k me man this theft of my money has got to stop.

Grimaldus

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:58 | 5907886 Debt-Is-Not-Money
Debt-Is-Not-Money's picture

"It's only if you are independent, working in a non-government job and trying to make your life better FOR YOURSELF"

OOps, that's me.

O Shit!

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:47 | 5909481 lunaticfringe
lunaticfringe's picture

Sorry dude, but I disagree. I am in the lower 80% and I make about 50k. My tax bill including my Obamacare penaty was about 6400 this year. That inlcudes a couple grand for the state. That does not inlcude the extra couple grand I paid in property taxes, sales taxes, and gas taxes. Social security and medicare taxes a couple grand more.

I figure I lose 30% of my salary in taxes. I don't want to  add in all the 1000's I waste on insurance each year.

Productive class my ass. I am looking for ways to cut my hours and my tax bill. They have de-incentivized me and I wil never work overtime..

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:58 | 5909531 sharonsj
sharonsj's picture

Making up numbers now, are we?  It's the 47% who don't pay Federal Income tax because they don't earn enough--but they pay every other damn tax, you nitwit.  And it's the large corporations that don't pay taxes either.  65 of the top American companies either pay no federal income tax or pay between 8-10%.  Why aren't you bitching about them?  Or are you to busy listening to Fox News to actually find out the facts?

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 06:36 | 5912479 HughK
HughK's picture

Flacon must not understand what FICA is, or what sales taxes are.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:57 | 5907514 Flatchestynerdette
Flatchestynerdette's picture

xyzzy

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:17 | 5907579 Joe Sichs Pach
Joe Sichs Pach's picture

As so many here have already said, the machinations of the system of the market in it's current iteration need to be removed so some semblance of "fairness" returns.  Of course, the Market Makers have always had inside information and can front run orders or steal a bid in the pits, etc -BUT- there are actual humans behind those actions operating at the speed a human can operate. None of this laser driven, back-bone attaching, automated algo ordering bullshit.  

The markets no longer exist as they once did not all that long ago.  The outright theft that has taken place with these changes is enormous.  A step in the right direction, not a fix by any means, but a step to improve things would be to ban electronic trading and/or put realistic limitations on what they can do.  

Who determines those limitations?  Ahh, isn't that the bitch of it.  Someone is always gonna have the upper hand and inside information.  

These things really need to change and I do not know how it's going to happen.  

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:51 | 5907844 ajax
ajax's picture

 

@Joe 

A good post, please change your moniker.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:10 | 5907715 Model T
Model T's picture

Exactly, it's ridiculous. The Corps. kill thousands of people every year for profits and this windbag thinks they're going to listen to words. He either plans to get paid off, or he's in love with the sound of his own voice; I don't have time to listen to this bullshit.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 08:03 | 5909160 TrumpXVI
TrumpXVI's picture

Another TED talk.

Most of these things are delusional, the rest make no difference.  I see them as a sort of opiate for intelligent audiences who are trying to get it....but probably never will.

 

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 09:55 | 5909519 lunaticfringe
lunaticfringe's picture

For years I read and followed Stephen Covey before he died. Absolutely brilliant man and one of the best speakers I ever listened to. Everryone who ever heard him agreed.

The problem is that even though Stephen Covey was right about human nature, how to interact, and doing the right thing...well after they got done listenng they went right back to the office and engaged in the same old office warfare that we have all become accustomed to. In other words- the comprehension and put in practice rate of best practices is still nearly zero.

 

Because in the end, the people in power go right back and do the same shit they've always done. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:35 | 5907246 Bokkenrijder
Bokkenrijder's picture

Come on! Let's hurry up with this war and revolution and get it over with, we've got more imprtant things to do!

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 19:01 | 5907862 ajax
ajax's picture

 

 

What war? Shut the fuck up about some more war. No one wants more war. No one who I know wants anything to do with war.

For too many of you 'war' has become a perverse, grotesque solution for unemployment and your own personal gripes with cultures you won't even try to understand let alone live with even from afar.

If Israelis didn't look and act like slimmer, healthier versions of Americans you'd be advocating war with Israel instead of funding their every disgrace the way you do. And they know it.

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 20:39 | 5911809 Parrotile
Parrotile's picture

> No one wants more war.

There are many who most certainly DO want Moar War - and LOTS of it.

The Military-Industrial Cosy Collusion. Where war really DOES mean "More Money" - but only for the connected few

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:07 | 5907353 Freddie
Freddie's picture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpYUW0ekPSA

Here is a better TED speech.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:23 | 5907755 dogbreath
dogbreath's picture

napoleon

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:26 | 5907190 PrecipiceWatching
PrecipiceWatching's picture

Thank you.

 

I'm in the 1%, and getting hammered as much as everyone else.

 

Enough with the abjectly ignorant, Occupy-Commie, in the street sloganeering.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:57 | 5907315 seek
seek's picture

Ditto, my effective tax rate is rapidly approaching 50%. Funny how if you actually earn your income you're completely fucked, but passive capital gains lets someone making $75M a year have a lower effective rate  than someone earning $75K.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:20 | 5907402 Oppressed In Ca...
Oppressed In California's picture

Capital gains are not indexed for inflation like wages.  Therefore, in the case of significant inflation those paying taxes on capital gains are fucked.  Also consider that owners of capital effectively pay taxes twice: corporate taxes as well as dividends and/or cap gain taxes.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:26 | 5907417 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

I am confident that, for the well-connected, there are offshore strategies for mitigating and/or eliminating those capital gains tax problems.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:11 | 5907565 Lore
Lore's picture

Say it isn't so!

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 17:14 | 5907574 GMadScientist
GMadScientist's picture

He personally smuggles objet d'art 'up there' to the islands for Mitt and the train.

Don't end up like the wannabe Stanford though; yeesh, couldn't eat pastrami for a week.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 19:15 | 5907951 ajax
ajax's picture

 

 

"for the well-connected,"

Ah yes, same as it ever was.

For the rest of Americans trying to do honest business outside the US there's FATCA.

Repeal Fatca

Americans have no fucking idea what FATCA  means for Americans abroad, Americans abroad trying to create clients for American products.

Learn what it means and repeal Fatca.

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 03:32 | 5912390 August
August's picture

>>>Americans abroad trying to create clients for American products.

No doubt this is true for some Americans abroad, but every American Abroad I've ever met didn't give a rat's ass about promoting American products.... though I suppose the DEA agents crawling around Latin America might be shoehorned into the category of trade representatives.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:03 | 5907335 cornfritter
cornfritter's picture

oopth

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:59 | 5907322 Fun Facts
Fun Facts's picture

more like .000001 percent.

You could fit the whole lot of these satanic bastards who matter in a holiday inn conference room.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:37 | 5907452 HopefulCynical
HopefulCynical's picture

It's not the 1%, its the .01%. Married couples making $250k/year who are "allegedly" in the "top 1%" are NOT living like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. Just wanted to clarify that point.

Been saying this for years. Glad to see other people making this distinction. +1

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 22:14 | 5908599 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

he's prolly right.  listen to this. timing for elun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26eIruBvP8U

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:20 | 5907159 bwh1214
bwh1214's picture

This post is the best summary of how we got into this mess.  Starts slow but worth the read:

http://debtcrash.report/entry/history-and-introduction

Some of the other posts on the site are good as well.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:26 | 5907195 angel_of_joy
angel_of_joy's picture

It will be all 3 of them, most probably. It will start with massive tax increases (ongoing), go to war (for diverting attention & energy from internal affairs), and end up in revolution as the "great unwashed" won't feel like dying in some foreign shitholes anymore whenever the Elysium people tell them to jump.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:33 | 5907234 daveO
daveO's picture

Taxation via hyperinflation is always the choice of the slave masters. Depression, revolution or war is the fallout.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:05 | 5907343 angel_of_joy
angel_of_joy's picture

For now is taxation via Obamacare...

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:27 | 5907764 RaceToTheBottom
RaceToTheBottom's picture

Consider it a subsidy for insurance companies paid for my existing citizens, rather than the subsidies for WS paid for by future citizens.

 

 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:53 | 5907205 SloMoe
SloMoe's picture

Real simple solution: Do away with executive stock-option awards.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:16 | 5907388 813kml
813kml's picture

Where were you 20 years ago?

Too late, barn door let all the pigs drain the trough.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:47 | 5907286 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

Problem is, those things can happen suddenly.  If the wealthy in France had known when the French Revolution was coming, they probably would have avoided the guillotine.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 22:02 | 5908560 Tijuana Donkey Show
Tijuana Donkey Show's picture

They kinda did. There was a window to bail, and plenty did. Vanity got the rest. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 18:01 | 5907695 Model T
Model T's picture

The actual plan is that the Corps. will pay him off to get on the "I'm okay list"; this is similar to what they already do with the Congress Critturs and probably where he got the idea; if he does a good jjob of hiding his private slush fund, like the clintons did, I'm sure he'll be very successful. I'm also sure a top Private Detective Agency could find the Clinton Slush Fund and blow that criminal family out of the media sphere forever; but that's just my opinion.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 22:26 | 5908637 Meremortal
Meremortal's picture

I'll bet on higher taxes first, second, third and fourth.

Followed by war.

Revolution? Not happening unless or until things get much, much worse.

 

Capitalism's "justness" problem would disappear if today's Capitalism wasn't polluted by socialism and tinges of fascism.

I want a world with some hugely rich people. I especially like the idea of them living in my country. I wish one would move next door. And marry my daughter.  

 

 

 

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 07:13 | 5909088 pupton
pupton's picture

"Justice index"?  Is this going to be a "social justice index", which is a collectivist philosophy?

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 20:13 | 5911760 lsd
lsd's picture

was jesus reincarnated    nobody tells me anything

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 04:37 | 5912418 TripsTrading
TripsTrading's picture

The bubble is not in the equities, it's the bond market that will change things forward. 

By the way, this week was free money, expect some more swings next week, 2060 must hold as support to reach 2150 later this month. Positive reversal on the daily chart signals 2160 as target price: see here www.tripstrading.com 

Sat, 03/21/2015 - 09:22 | 5912647 ohBehave
ohBehave's picture

He thinks that this is the fault of capitalism????   Free Market????   Where is this free economy of which he speaks?

Good grief

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:14 | 5907127 kliguy38
kliguy38's picture

If its multiple choice I'll take taxes please.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:59 | 5907505 Praetorian Guard
Praetorian Guard's picture

In reality there is only so much they can suck the blood out of a turnip... at some point they will move to the next logical conclusion which is population control - in essence that is what taxes are, but the heavy hand will follow and pave the way for culling, via war. Too many people for commods, too much debt, etc. The 20th century was an anomaly for weather, energy, etc. and TPTB know this. Maybe Solent Green wasn't scifi? Hahaha...

Come join us for free at www.gunsgrubandgold.com 

Survival books, links, charts, weather, news, etc.  All are welcome!!!

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 07:14 | 5909090 pupton
pupton's picture

I'll tale my guns and PMs

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:23 | 5907174 BandGap
BandGap's picture

While it might be true that these elements currently exist in the US, the vast majority of China's populace have zero chance of making a decent living.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:29 | 5907216 10mm
10mm's picture

In the case of Revolution, it should of started by now. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:35 | 5907241 daveO
daveO's picture

Postphoned on account of (the FED) raining (free money).

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:59 | 5907329 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Delayed by football season and now the Final Four.  The dumbest idiots are white males who worship college thug ball and other idiocy.  Fools.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 21:52 | 5908364 Vullsain
Vullsain's picture

It is all the fault of white guys who watch some sports??

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 11:13 | 5909805 juantrades
juantrades's picture

it is the fault of the guys who play sports

Fri, 03/20/2015 - 14:04 | 5910519 Ass Burger
Ass Burger's picture

Stop worshipping the theatrical heroism vicariously through sports. Then be a fucking gladiator in your life. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:48 | 5907288 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

It took years and years of abuse before the founding fathers rebeled. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:05 | 5907346 ParkAveFlasher
ParkAveFlasher's picture

The Founding Fathers did not have holes in their stockings, to be sure. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:10 | 5907365 El Vaquero
El Vaquero's picture

A lot of the soldiers who did the fighting and dieing had no stockings. 

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:38 | 5907454 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Or limbs...

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:37 | 5907250 jonytk
jonytk's picture

enter Bitcoin...

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:17 | 5907139 Freedom In Your...
Freedom In Your Lifetime's picture

No system that gives a monopoly on 'legal' theft, violence, kidnapping, etc. to a select group of people can ever be just or moral. Stop giving out legal immunity on immoral acts and I don't care what you call it, it would be a giant leap in the right direction for humanity.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:18 | 5907141 limpinalien69
limpinalien69's picture

The Tribe will destroy the American empire like they did every other Power in the past.

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 15:39 | 5907245 The_Dude
The_Dude's picture

Here is a Tudor quote from the talk:

“Capitalism has driven just about every great innovation that has made our world a more prosperous, comfortable and inspiring place to live. But capitalism has to be based on justice and morality…and never more so than today with economic divisions large and growing.”

And that is the crux of the problem.  We are now a divided country with no shared morality.  50 years ago you could have said we had a shared historical, religious and cultural background.  Not any more.  We are leaning into becoming a fragmented society and likely fragmented nation.  

Capitalism does rely on on justice and morality like he said.  The problem now is that we have destroyed any common morality and view of justice through multiculturalism and diversity.  Effectively we have weakend the foundation that the country sits upon and it is only a matter of time for the building to come down.

Almost like it was planned......

Thu, 03/19/2015 - 16:21 | 5907399 cornfritter
cornfritter's picture

"We" who?  Morality and justice have been destroyed by a leadership willing, and intending, to destroy the Law and spirit of the Constition, and to destroy utterly the concept of a LIMITED republic.  That the Justice branch taking bribes to look the other way all along practically.  And yes, it was planned.  Rare few have found themselves more severely beaten by the blunt stick of diversity initiatives than I, but these were not the cause, just the aftermath of abandoning the Constitution in favor of socialism.  Naturally occuring diversity and the synthesis of culture is not evil, racism is wrong. 

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