I've been thinking about your "predators" Chris. Of course they exist; they always have. The big difference between what they couldn't do before but can do now is a shift in the economy from agriculture and manufacturing to finance and related industries such as real estate. This has coincided with the very rapid growth of the internet which enables greater secrecy and keeps what the predators are doing from the public eye.
All of this, along with the growth of peoples' economic expectations, has led to crises such as the American subprime mortgage crisis. Why of course, everybody is entitled to own their own home. So you build a very large number of houses, sell them to people who cannot pay, package mortgages into securities, get collusive rating agencies to rate the securities triple A, and sell them far and wide throughout the financial system. The securities are worthless but investors don't know that. Or as in the recent case of Goldman Sachs, sell them to people who know they are worthless but have taken out insurance against their collapse and make a lot of money that way. Perhaps it is more of an American game than a European one, but I'd argue that we are all complicit. Our expectations outrun our limitations, often greatly. This is certainly what has happened on this side of the Atlantic and from what I've read and seen of the other side, things over there are not that different. And of course the predators are there, waiting in the wings. Given the changes in the economic system and in technology, they don't really have to wait very long these days. Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christoph Reuss" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2010 4:38 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] FW: The European Union's Dangerous Game > Ed Weick wrote: >> So government, wanting to stay elected, borrows to give >> us at least a measure of what we want and thereby can accumulate huge >> debts. >> Government must also keep the economy in a state of minimum disorder, >> which >> can, if necessary, mean bank bailouts like the US TARP program and it may >> feel it has to do whatever is possible to keep automobile producers and >> their labour force going. Again huge borrowings may be needed. And of >> course it must fight wars, which may again require huge expenditures >> funded >> by borrowing. >> >> It is not only government, however. Because everyone in the advanced >> world >> feels entitled to the good life, consumers on average are way over their >> head in dept. > > High consumer debt is mainly a US phenomenon, and per se wouldn't require > state debt. Printing money at will to import stuff for free is also only > a US phenomenon, because the USD is the world's oil currency. > > State debt is mainly a mechanism of re-distributing money bottom-up, from > the > middle class (tax payers) to the rich (holders of state bonds reaping the > interests paid by taxes). The system of state indebtment was introduced > by & for the Predator class, not by & for "the masses". > > And why the state "must" borrow: > >> bank bailouts > > That's a symptom of billions stolen by the speculators. (Note that you are > confusing cause and effect, also in the timeline.) The housing bubble is > only a US phenomenon, but bank bailouts for hundreds of billions happened > all over Europe too -- guess why, and where did those billions disappear? > >> And of course it must fight wars > > It doesn't have to. The US is fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan > based on a false-flag incident by billionaires like Larry Silverstein > (9/11). > For example, he saved the expensive, long overdue WTC asbestos > refurbishment > and instead he reaped billions from the insurance, bought 7 weeks before > 9/11 > (after the WTC had been UNinsured for 30 years, since construction). > Again, not "the masses" are to blame! > > Which war is Greece fighting, anyway? > > >> I'm not saying that Soros and your other predators have nothing to do >> with >> it. All I'm saying is that we are all guilty. > > The key question is: Who could easily make a big difference? > > The billionaires could stop speculating immediately, and stop charging > interest > (or only very low interest) -- they're philanthropes, after all!? This > alone > would be sufficient to end the crisis (and not have it caused in the first > place)! But guess what, they don't stop because they want to keep making > billions -- they just can't get enough. > > "The masses" (outside the US, anyway) are not significantly indebted. > What > could they do to make a big difference (and do they have to change at > all)? > Consume less? That would make things worse! > > Can you answer these questions? > > Chris > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > SpamWall: Mail to this addy is deleted unread unless it contains the > keyword > "igve". > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
