Truth about money

Truth about money is the title; not following the next craze is the theme. It is not necessary, folks, no matter what you hear about jumping on the train as you are told that it's leaving the station for good. The message is that one can sustain a steady growth toward retirement bliss without the assistance of those who only want to suck your wealth into their pockets.

From time to time, there may be posts that touch on issues related to the big T. For instance, there were a few that mentioned the importance of being and people. Both of these get short shrift in the modern, abstracted views. Being has never been understood inside capitalism; labor (and the hands of people providing such -- including brains, too) was just a resource to be exploited. Oh, labor is given a wage. Ah, yes, minimal, usually. Why? Well, profit and rent take the majority.

Now, that's also related to people who, in the majority, are nothing but pawns. Fat cats (supposedly the best-and-brightest) collect most of the takings. And, at the same time, foster the ruination of the common weal (one example of many). Why? Well, some talk about the majority not adjusting to the new requirements (put here arguments related to those who are of the set that has 60% (or more, thanks Milken) - small set (5%, if that), I might add - is their being on the correct side of the human capital equation). Hey, it's a two way street. Business ran off shore to exploit in their new type of colonialism, namely globalization. Some movements were multiply done, as they chased the lowest denominator in terms of remuneration.

Some companies were wise enough to allow people to pursue further education. Lifelong learning, a very noble cause. But, I can easily identify several subjects that managers (capitalists) need to study -- related to their understanding about profits and rent. Old Adam would love it, I really believe.

Now, money may be a lot of things, but mostly it's a pollutant and poison (highly addictive to some - who go to extremely silly means to obtain - Madoff, et al). We have never got to a type of sustainable notion and its related mode, whose metaphor would probably be biological/medical (see Miliken's recent use of a medical metaphor). Money as blood so to speak.

Ours is always boiling, perpetually, due to bubbles whose bursting causes some pause for reflection. But, before you know it, the bulls (with their balls) [hey, the bear is similarly endowed] start to run amok again. People start to talk about not missing the gravy train as it leaves the station for the next peak of silliness (note, China thinking thusly, jumping on the Hedge Fund bandwagon, despite losing oodles via Blackstone - well, were they ever Communists? well, was anyone? is there some underlying issue related to Confucius that needs some understanding?). Getting on that train is not necessary (we'll go into that, to boot, and lay out how casino capitalism will never support the majority - it's a fat cats game only, like Buffet, et al).

Of course, some might point to the government's re-entrance into the marketplace, after having withdrawn sufficiently to allow the running amok. But, who knows how to resolve the issues of bubble identification (as we heard from Ben's predecessor)? Well, we can do that, folks. Too, some view has to temper that of the profiteers and the rent seekers (wage is seen as pittance thrown to the never-do-well; what?; note that wage can go to human capital as well as rent - actually even physical labor deserves its rent).

Not suggesting answers, yet. Just saying here, that before we run off after the new high and subsequent crash, let's keep up the reflection on the whys, using insights bolstered by new knowledge - hey, we're not like 1930s (academics, aside, sheesh - the whole context is so different now).

Well, let it be known, that we'll continue such analysis here. Oh, by the way, it's been said a time or two that we need to look at where the next craze will be. It might be fun to make that more focused, sort of as the lab to test our hypotheses. Yes indeed.

Too, though, if you've read this far, we can lay out rules that work. Okay. No silliness necessary.

Remarks:

04/03/2011 -- Tis tranche and trash.

03/15/2011 -- The M & Ms are apropos.

01/27/2010 -- It's really ca-pital-sino.

11/30/2009 -- From 'Our basis' can grow a whole bunch.

08/27/2009 -- Madoff exemplifies (albeit somewhat indirectly) systemic risk.

08/24/2009 -- Last year, Ben blinked and panicked. He frantically pulled out all stops as if with no thought for tomorrow. Now, he has no use for 'mea culpa' big daddy that he is. Ben, start to unwind now. The Vienna School's view that these things are undecidable (which is a computational issue) is right on.

08/10/2009 -- As promised, FEDaerated is here.

07/31/2009 -- Let's see, 5,000 got over $1M for services rendered. Well, that's probably a sign of being a best-and-brightest, at least to certain eyes; it's called rolling-in-the-dough.

Now, this can be used to illustrate how the game it to fill the pockets of a small set to an exorbitant amount. Does the game need to be that way? Hell no. We'll look at that some more.

07/30/2009 -- Ben rakes (see Remarks) it in, too. An, pity the poor savers. From a look at a serious imbalance: finance can be run by people who can be non-profit in scope (no need for the silly games) and who have an impeccable (oh, what quaintness!) un-interest in money. Yes, it can be so.

07/23/2009 -- We see Goldman raking it in. Too, some of the hedge funds have bled, some almost fatally, while at the same time a few have raked it in. How ought we get the type of accounting done that is required? Expect an econoblog soon.

07/17/2009 -- China is over two trillion in bucks. We? In a deep hole except for old Ben B's printing press.

06/27/2009 -- One can relate the T-issues here simply by considering two things: eye of the needle (note comments from viewpoints of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and Tolstoy (see 12/02/07 Remarks).

Modified: 08/24/2011