Creative Destruction Part 7
This on the front page of the NY Times, shouted out on the News Hour, Good Morning America etc...
"American companies just had their BEST QUARTER EVER...earned profits of 1.6 TRILLION dollars in the third quarter...profits have grown for seven consecutive quarters at some of the fastest rates in HISTORY."
Now where could all that profit possibly come from in "these difficult economic times"? And where is it all going?
The answer to the first question is two-fold. The American worker and the foreign consumer. By getting us to work cheaper, with fewer benefits ( health care, pensions, vacation) and harder, ( productivity is way up) the owners and shareholders get a bigger slice. Tiffany's can hardly keep their shelves stocked. And by talking consumers in developing economies into spend some of their hard earned savings, multi-national companies enjoy the best of both worlds.
Capitalists have proven adept at this strategy throughout history, part Marx, part Shumpeter/ Friedman, part Shock Doctrine. Marx wrote in the Grundrisse about "the violent destruction of capital not by relations external to it, but rather as a condition for it's self preservation."
Joseph Shumpeter put a positive spin on it, saying it was a necessary "gale" for bringing innovation and progress.Look at the living standards of the Farmer of Today compared to 1700!
Using Naomi Klein's framework we could say the crisis of the financialization bubble ( speculative debt of Banks and Wall Street) brought an opportunity for Real Economy capitalists to clear out debris ( unions, climate regulation, etc) so they could start over and build new fortunes. By the way, I just love how these guys are called "Mainstreet" in the dominant narrative.
The process has gone global ( or viral) and is strangling workers throughout Europe while creating opportunity for those able to take advantage. Social unrest is rising as austerity measures are enforced but I see little unified resistance, the kind that could really challenge the entire structure.One problem with all that capital now seeking profit is it will pour into emerging markets and create new Asian Tiger- Irish Tiger type bubbles. Maybe a Green Bubble?
At least we here in the US still have our Liberty and No Death Panels, thanks largely to the Tea Party. Something to be Thankful for, eh?
posted by troutsky @ 1:53 PM
25 comments
25 Comments:
Clear out debris?
Watch Europe and then remember the recommendations of Obummer's Catfood Commission.
Meanwhile, we throw a hissy because the scary Muslims might get on a plane.
It don't happen without the media. They are the lynch pin.
Obummer is just Murdoch's puppet.
Death by a million beakerkins.....
Speaking of Beak, I notice that the fiscal changes in Ireland do not include raising the corporate tax rate which is one of the lowest in the world.
Maybe the Beak will drift by and explain to us that the tax should be lowered even further to create jobs.
With the minimum wage lowered, workers laid of, VAT raised etc. there is ample demand stimulus, right, Beak? Help us, we don't understand the perfection of the market.
Maybe a Green Bubble?
Trout, I think the next bubble is in education. College is especially costly, and while I don't begrudge anyone a liberal arts education, it doesn't make sense to me that people spend five years at the university so that they can push around some paper for Goldman-Sachs.
Change is a-coming, but my guess it will be something neither of us expects.
According to the latest World Wealth Report HNWI's ( high net worth individuals) grew 17.1 % and their combined wealth grew 18.9%. These folks, millionaires and over, control 3.9 trillion now. North America still leads with 3.1 million HNWI's. We're still #1!
Hard times indeed. Invest in Vaseline.( it won't get you into the HNWI club but you won't be quite as sore when they get through)
The biggest bubble we have right now is called the Federal Government. That bubble has been around longer than any others, and its getting more and more to the point its ready to collapse, and when it does, its going to be something.
We also have multiple mini-bubbles. California is just the worse, not the only one.
We Tea-Party supporters have only started passing out the needles.
Mr Tea Party (Pagan Temple) (TP-PT) - you better save a big needle for yourself (full of smack!!) You will need it for the nightmare when it hits you!!
The needles we are passing out are more Tea Party Republican Senators and House members. That's Act II, coming in 2012.
Starring-hopefully-the nation's first Tea-Party President. Sarah Palin.
PT-TP
Well now that you are fully out of the closet and exposed, let me just say thank you. Your Teaparty is doing exactly what I have hoped for. The bitch will preside over the complete collapse of the fucking empire... And that is what I have expected. But, you obviously are too stupid to be afraid. What was it Jim Morrison sang? "This is the end..."!!
Does it end with a bang or a whimper, kultur?
I don't think it's going to be Palin, bitch doesn't have a fast ball. It's probably going to be Romney and everyone can drool over the wonders of the destruction wrought by Bain Kapital Management.
It will be whoever wins the Iowa caucus, followed by the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. If Palin wins all three of those, there's no stopping her. If she wins two, it will take her longer to sew it up, but she'll probably still take it.
At the rate things are going for Obama, he could run against Howard The Duck. Yes, I mean the movie, and it could pick Justin Love Kelly as its running mate, and they'd win.
And, wait now-out of the closet? Exposed? I'm trying to bring YOU guys out of the closet. I see a lot of smack talk about "Oh, we believe in local control by way of citizens councils" and all that, but it doesn't take much before you come down on the side of big government on the national level.
Admit it, most of you are Democrats who say you're socialists because you think it sounds cool. If you believed in what you say you believe in you'd have a hell of a lot more in common with the Tea Party than you do the Democrats. No, not on social issues and national security policies, but at least when it comes down to "power to the people", and the concept of federalism as a general rule, you have more in common with them than the Democrats or the establishment GOP.
But its easy to do that smack talk, not so easy to live up to it. I guess what it all boils down to is local control is cool, as long as everybody toes the party line.
As I have said before, Pagan, I don't care for either. There is no progressive voice in America, let alone socialist.
What truly confounds me are people who are so far over on the fringe that they think the likes of Clinton and Obama are leftists. Absolutely risible. Is Larry Sumers and Arne Duncan your idea of progressives?
Obama brings back Robert Rubin's deregulation wrecking crew, spends hundreds of billions to make sure the crack Afghan spec-ops don't night drop and put botulism in the right wing bed wetters corn flakes, touts privatizing the public school system and appoints a commission which wants to dismantle Social Security.
Is this your idea of a progressive. Oh and how about that health insurance bill? He sure showed those insurance companies, huh?
Now, come up for air from Atlas Shrugged long enough to describe what it is about American governance that you find leftist. As far as I can tell, the fight on the right, forgetting the religiously insane, is about laissez-faire vs. state capitalism with the Dems firmly on the side of sate capitalism and the tweaks necessary to keep the peeps quiet.
Ducky-
So you're saying Obama is a state capitalist? You know Hitler was a state capitalist, right? So you're saying in effect that Obama is a fascist, and I would have to agree with you. As far as how progressive he is or is not, I'll pass on that circular discussion. All I know is, he wants to expand government and government control, and that's my main objection to him, and to Democrats. How much his heart and their might or might not bleed on behalf of "the people" is none of my interest or concern.
PT-TP
You don't get it. I hate all government... I want NONE. Primitive Anarchy is my choice... but it will not work in this world. But I do believe that this civilization is coming down, and when I say she will preside over the end Ducky, it is not under her control... she needs do nothing... just sit there like the hillbilly ignoramous that she is. It will come down of its own accord.
Anywny all regimes are fascist at core... All economic systems are sanctioned by the state and vis a versa. It is only a matter of covert v overt control and sanctioning. I believe it is the same with religion, and other key principles of "civil" life as well.
So, TP-PT... I say BRING IT ON. The world is ready for the bitch... then we will religion, the sate and the economy all overtly aligned to bring down the fucking beast!!
meant to say: "then we will have religion, the state and economy all aligned"
There will just be another system to replace it. You have three groups of people, you have leaders, you have followers, and you have people that don't give a shit one way or another. It's not the leaders who are dangerous, its the followers. Everybody knows that. Most people just want to take care of their families and have their own special niche, their place in society.
The follower is an empty shell of a human without a leader to worship, more of a beast who needs the security of the leash, and the master's hand of discipline and reward. He will spend his life looking for a leader, and if necessary will create one.
If society collapses, that will be more true than ever, and it won't be long before leaders arise. The only difference is, its going to take real leaders.
Smack talk isn't going to cut it then.
Sometimes I think you are serious Pagan, then I go to your blog and see leopards ripping people up as a form of...entertainment?
Good example: Obama is a state capitalist; Hitler was a state capitalist, ergo Obama is a fascist. My dead grandmother could see the flaw in this logic and yet...
It's easy to pop bubbles. Do you TP s know how to avoid creating them?
Howard the Duck is at least as serious a candidate as Fred Thompson. What does this tell you about politics as such?
Big Government vs local councils or ; does size matter?
I don't wish to be ruled by a big capitalist government nor s small capitalist council.
I would go for a health system managed by a big, neutral government, that is of the people by the people etc..
I would go for a public swimming pool managed by a local, neutral council.
I would work for a worker managed company "owned" by the whole society.
Is this the same power to the people as the Tea Party wants?
Complain, complain. Those leopard videos were arranged in a certain order for a reason. If you watched them from beginning to end, they followed a set pattern. The female leopard in the first video, after killing a female baboon, saw it's dead victim give birth to a new-born baboon. Instead of killing it, she took it as her own "cub", and nurtured it, even protected it from a wandering hyena.
Leopards are magnificent, beautiful creatures which are highly intelligent and they can even be friendly and playful, even with a human who has earned its trust and friendship, as seen in video 2. But as seen in 3, they are still leopards and should be treated accordingly, ie with caution and respect. 4 and 5 show what they are capable of when angered or threatened.
It's all about accepting and respecting nature. I just captioned them in a humorous way because I wanted people to watch the damn things.
Good example: Obama is a state capitalist; Hitler was a state capitalist, ergo Obama is a fascist. My dead grandmother could see the flaw in this logic and yet...
The point is, that was Hitler's system, state capitalism. It's a fascist system. It's THE fascist system, and it affords all kinds of opportunity for mischief and abuse. Hitler's antics were made not just possible, but in most cases of his misrule inevitable by that system.
In state capitalism, there is private ownership, but it is under the direct control of the state. That means that in order to maintain your status in society, in order to prosper and excel, or to even survive, you have to bow to the state.
That is exactly the direction in which Obama and the Democrats are leading us, and that's been the Democrat way for going on three quarters of a century, though its been instituted gradually over the years.
It's easy to pop bubbles. Do you TP s know how to avoid creating them?
Bubbles always start out small, but company financial audits and prosecutions of companies that deceive their investors would be a good way to start, augmented by heavy fines and some time in jail in cases of financial mismanagement and outright deception.
But really, it shouldn't take a financial expert to know that a fifty thousand dollar four room house in Kentucky isn't ever going to be worth a million dollars.
A crime is a crime is a crime, whether you are putting a gun to somebody's back and demanding their wallet, or conning some stupid sucker into handing over their hard-earned money by lying about your balance sheet.
Bernie Madoff is probably going to spend the rest of his life in prison. He should have a lot of company, like practically everybody who sat on the SEC, who as far as I'm concerned might very well have been his partners in crime. There's probably not one single prison big enough for all the people who should be prosecuted for that fraud.
Howard the Duck is at least as serious a candidate as Fred Thompson. What does this tell you about politics as such?
I don't know what your problem is with Fred Thompson, but he's the main reason I became attracted to the federalist philosophy. I used to be for all kinds of stupid shit, until his campaign encouraged me to look at things with an open mind. It was like a heavy fog lifted.
Big Government vs local councils or ; does size matter?
Yeah, its easier to identify your rapist and bring him to justice, which means you're less likely to get fucked to begin with. Unless of course you "ask for it".
I don't wish to be ruled by a big capitalist government nor s small capitalist council.
I would go for a health system managed by a big, neutral government, that is of the people by the people etc..
I don't want to be "ruled" by either one. The entomology of the word rule traces it to "royal" or to "roy", or "king". I want my elected officials to be representative of my hopes and concerns, but I want them to limit themselves to what powers the constitution grants them. The same with local and state officials. I want them to govern according to the constitution. I don't want them to "rule" me and I also don't want them to piss in my face and tell me its raining, whether they are capitalist or not.
I would go for a public swimming pool managed by a local, neutral council.
I would work for a worker managed company "owned" by the whole society.
Why not have both? If the "whole society" can run a company and it can be profitable enough to make a quality product with respect for the environment and worker's rights while paying a living wage with a decent benefit package, then what's the problem?
It can either compete with a private company, or it can't. If it can't then its going to go under the "the people" (and here I mean the REAL "the people") and going to demand their investment (also known as tax dollars) back.
Is this the same power to the people as the Tea Party wants?
The Tea Party wants the government to stay in its place and stop the constant growth and corruption, the insertion into every areas of our lives, and the constant increases of deficit spending. That simple.
"There's probably not one single prison big enough for all the people who should be prosecuted for that fraud."
TP - what's your point? As I said, business and politics.. it's all crooks, and even the crooks are crooks. Bernie was just a good entrepreneurial capitalist, who was trained in the regulatory burocracy.
"I want my elected officials to be representative of my hopes and concerns"
When are u going to grow up, cry baby... no politician gives a FUCK about your hopes and concerns...
What a fuckin joke u R
When are u going to grow up, cry baby... no politician gives a FUCK about your hopes and concerns...
That's what elections are for, and that's why so many incumbent politicians got their asses voted out of office the last one. Next asshole destined for the electoral guillotine-Senator Dick "The Sucker" Luger (Indiana-RINO). And he is just for starters.
And if his coming replacement, or any of the current newly-elected batch fucks up, we'll toss heir asses out just as quickly.
The old days when information was controlled by a media monopoly are over and done. Now we have enough sources of information to be able to see through the smoke and mirrors with laser-like precision.
So when old Dickie boy is touted by the New York Times as an example of a "good conservative" we know what that really amounts to. He's just another establishment politician out to screw us as badly as any Democrat, and the Times will just as quickly skewer him as badly as they turned on John McCain, their last "favorite" conservative.
We're on to the bullshit now. There are enough lawyers and elites, career polticos etc. in Congress. We need more doctors, businessmen and women, more pizza parlor owners, more genuine heroes like Alan West.
That's why we like Palin so much. She comes from the people.
Death to the politicians as a class.
What a fuckin joke u R
This from a guy who closes his eyes when he makes love to his wife and sees Betty Rubble in his mind's eye. Admit it. If its not true, its only because you can't get it up any more.
When Fred Flintstone picks up his car and starts running with it, most people think "HaHaHaHa that's hilarious". You would probably say "now that's the way cars should be made".
Actually, my wife is a model, years younger than me, and we just had a baby boy, so my dick works fine. But you better keep a jar of vasaline handy for all those boys who are shoving it up your hillbilly fuckin ass so hard you think they give a fuck about you. They just are fuckin you. Ha Ha Ha... yaba daba dooooooooo
God - TP, you r from Kentucky... that is Deliverance territory... I gues I was right about that vaseline!!
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