201–210 of 313 posts
Debt: the first 5000 years by David Graeber. It’s a fantastic piece that takes a step back from the present moment and asks how the economic debt system developed and how other people in other times have done things.
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Very well written indeed, unfortunately owned by globalists since 2015 (check out the ownership change, if you are interested [1]) I had been an avid reader for 30 years, cancelled my subscription around 2015-2016, and I was not even aware of the new ownership at the time, I just sensed the change of their ideological orientation and did not like it one bit. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economist_Group
What? They bought up another company in 2015. Not the other way around. Why would that even be a bad thing?
The Agnelli family owns 43.4%, members of the Rothschild family own 21%, other big corporate/rich families interests own the rest. Lots of "Sirs", "Ladies" and "Baronesses" on the board of directors, as you can see below.
From the Wikipedia page:
Pearson PLC held a 50% shareholding via The Financial Times Limited until August 2015; at that time Pearson sold their share in the Economist. The Agnelli family's Exor paid £287m to raise their stake from 4.7% to 43.4%, while the Economist paid £182m for the balance of 5.04m shares which will be distributed to current shareholders.[2] Aside from the Agnelli family, smaller shareholders in the company include Cadbury, Rothschild (21%), Schroder, Layton and other family interests as well as a number of staff and former staff shareholders.[2][3]
The current members of the board of directors of The Economist Group are: Rupert Pennant-Rea (Chairman), Zanny Minton Beddoes (editor-in-chief of The Economist), Lady Suzanne Heywood, Brent Hoberman, Sir David Bell, John Elkann, Alex Karp, Sir Simon Robertson, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Chris Stibbs and Baroness Jowell.[12]
Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild publicly supports many politicians including Hillary Clinton.
2. A Template For Understanding Big Debt Crises (2018) by Ray Dalio
3. Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand
4. Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy by Thomas Sowell
It helps to know what "making sense" means to you? If it means "Will my job be safe for the next 12 months", the reading will be different. If it means "What 10-15 stocks are poised to give me great returns in the next 5 years", the reading will be different (this would be sector reports, 10-Ks etc) If it means "how can I ensure that another economic shock won't destroy my wealth or plans for FIRE", the reading will…
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After reading quite a lot about economic policies it sounds a lot like some sort of engineering - you have some levers/gadgets that you can use, but you have to understand the consequences of each of them and how the interact with the "real world" of companies and people participating in the economy. Sure, people being certain about what's going to happen and when is akin to snake oil, but using good insight and tool…
That's the Keynesian view where you can move a lever (cause) and measure the changes (effect). Unfortunately, there are way too many variables, interactions, etc, etc to have any real confidence in those measures. It's further complicated by the idea that the normal tools (primarily interest rate & money supply delivered via subsidies, etc) are beyond their "normal" operating ranges. When the Fed rate was 5% and loan…
Thats not Keynesian economics at all! Or rather it's a view that people from schools of thought completely opposite to Keynesian also believe.
Does anyone not think this? Eg, Quantitative Easing: does anyone (Keynesian or not) think it does nothing?
I highly recommend Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. It is a very approachable book that can be read in one sitting.
It illustrates the seen and unseen effects of action from Frédéric Bastiat.
Making sense in what fashion, to what end? Investment opportunities? Proposed public policy changes? Where to look for a job? To a large degree the economy is unknowable. That's why you can get two economists in a room and receive seven opinions. Don't get me wrong; there's good value there. It's just that economics is an odd mix of philosophy and math. On my more cranky days I call it astrology for people who know c…
With our current crisis trying to discern what worldview policy is trying to force the economy to serve helps me understand decisions, especially with regard to things like inflation, consumer confidence, greed/fear, etc.
Making sense in what fashion, to what end? Investment opportunities? Proposed public policy changes? Where to look for a job? To a large degree the economy is unknowable. That's why you can get two economists in a room and receive seven opinions. Don't get me wrong; there's good value there. It's just that economics is an odd mix of philosophy and math. On my more cranky days I call it astrology for people who know c…
My favorite fight between two economists - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc