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What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

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Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#321

Post by relaxing »

atoav wrote: post #216
boppo1 wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> genuine value creation But how do we even know what this is anymore? With more than half the wealth accumulated by the top fraction of society it seems like ultra-luxury goods are going to be the most profitable, but surely that's not actually genuine value creation. And have we strayed too far to achieve that without austerity? How will we pay interest on the national debt?

Ultra luxury goods have a few downsides tho. The ultra rich are not easy customers, there is a high risk involved with having few customers (e.g. they could leave you hanging, another company could outperform you and grab that customer and you are basically done for etc.). A friend of my family has made his living selling handcrafted multi-million dollar hunting rifles. Let me tell you, these people are not easy to d…

> handcrafted multi-million dollar hunting rifles

Haha what?

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#322

Post by miguelazo »

reverius42 wrote: post #137
miguelazo wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They told him he was a Kremlin asset in 2016 and he believed it. They gave him committee chairmanship as a consolation prize and now he’s one of the biggest hawks for the Dems’ proxy war in Ukraine. Even called out the CPC letter calling for diplomacy alongside military aid.

Ukraine was invaded by Russia. Not sure how that makes it "the Dems' proxy war".

Ah yes, that’s obviously where the story starts. ;-)

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#323

Post by miguelazo »

qaq wrote: post #154
spaceman_2020 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife's uncles is one of the top doctors in his field in the country, and was the head of department in the country's top medical university. He makes less money than me, even though I'm 35 years younger and my "skills" include some basic coding, some marketing, and some understanding of social media. Whereas this man has spent nearly 50 years in the medical field and has treated multiple presidents. None of the st…

"I'll be okay with a pay cut if it means a more equitable, more fair society" hmm you could make it more equitable by raising your maids comp by your own description it would have 0 adverse effect on you.

Individual choices are not the solution to systemic problems. That’s not to say they’re not also important.

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#324

Post by miguelazo »

qaq wrote: post #274
michaelt wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While spaceman_2020 certainly has the money to pay their maid a lot more if they earn 50x what their maid does, that doesn't address the issue of all the other maids in the economy. I mean, I give a sandwich to the one homeless guy I see on my daily commute, which might have a big impact on that one guy - but let's not pretend I'm solving homelessness by doing so.

But it does in a small way and it adds up when a lot of people do it. Being from Ukraine I see first hand how a lot of people volunteering/donating are making very sizeable impact on the problem even though each individuals contribution might be small.

And yet the systemic problem— the US using Ukraine as a pawn to weaken Russia, means that all those donations will ultimately mean nothing as the country’s infrastructure is reduced to rubble.

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#325

Post by miguelazo »

qaq wrote: post #238
sph wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is thinking blue or red are the answer to this problem. Their current iteration is the leading reason why we are in this situation now.

Nope they are a reflection of their voters e.g. "us". As long as majority regardless of side continues to vote for amorphous virtue signalling unprincipled politicians the things will stay as they are.

This assumes an informed electorate that has real choices. It is most certainly not, with corruption and a totally dysfunctional profit-driven media ecosystem virtually guaranteeing it remains that way.

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#326

Post by lamontcg »

blitzar wrote: post #164
lamontcg wrote: post #151

What if you're just too young to remember a business cycle because you weren't an adult or were still in college so were insulated from 2008? Its funny to read all these takes from "kids" who think that all the fundamentals have totally changed at this point like the economy has turned some fundamental 180 degree turn and we're heading back towards >6% rates forever. It hasn't. The Fed is going to crash the economy i…

Born in the 80's I see. Complaining that people born in the90's have seen less than someone born 10 years earlier. There are people born 20 years before you that have seen 2x as much.

> Born in the 80's I see

incorrect.

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#327

Post by danaris »

miguelazo wrote: post #324
qaq wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does in a small way and it adds up when a lot of people do it. Being from Ukraine I see first hand how a lot of people volunteering/donating are making very sizeable impact on the problem even though each individuals contribution might be small.

And yet the systemic problem— the US using Ukraine as a pawn to weaken Russia, means that all those donations will ultimately mean nothing as the country’s infrastructure is reduced to rubble.

You are spreading Putin's propaganda.

Russia invaded Ukraine because Putin wants to reconstitute the USSR, with him on top. All the bullshit about NATO is just noise to get people who would otherwise side with the obvious victims to suddenly hem and haw and say, "Well, was Putin provoked? Is this really about the US?"

No; you've been suckered. It's about Ukraine, and the people dying there, who won't be in any better shape if the rest of the Western world just hands them over to a megalomaniac dictator who genuinely believes that any Ukrainian who doesn't identify as Russian is mentally ill or a traitor.

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#328

Post by qaq »

miguelazo wrote: post #324
qaq wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does in a small way and it adds up when a lot of people do it. Being from Ukraine I see first hand how a lot of people volunteering/donating are making very sizeable impact on the problem even though each individuals contribution might be small.

And yet the systemic problem— the US using Ukraine as a pawn to weaken Russia, means that all those donations will ultimately mean nothing as the country’s infrastructure is reduced to rubble.

Keep watching Russian TV.

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#329

Post by lamontcg »

baandang wrote: post #298
lamontcg wrote: post #151

What if you're just too young to remember a business cycle because you weren't an adult or were still in college so were insulated from 2008? Its funny to read all these takes from "kids" who think that all the fundamentals have totally changed at this point like the economy has turned some fundamental 180 degree turn and we're heading back towards >6% rates forever. It hasn't. The Fed is going to crash the economy i…

We are not slashing rates, that is not going to happen. Those times are over. We can not slash rates without inflation becoming a larger issue. We had a nice run but this is back to the historic norm that inflation is always lurking in the background and highly constraining on central bank policy. You are just repeating a standard narrative that is almost certainly wrong. 6-12 months out a mild recession happens and…

> Those times are over. We can not slash rates without inflation becoming a larger issue.

If unemployment is pushing 8% they certainly can.

> Once inflation catches a spark it doesn't just go out because basically everything economic in terms of a recovery is inflationary.

This is nonsense. If the economy is in recession and unemployment is at 6-8% then we won't be in a recovery and it won't be inflationary. It will wind up blowing up another asset bubble, but they don't care about that, which is why economists distinguish between inflation and housing appreciation.

The pandemic recession was way too brief and v-shaped and was heavily cushioned by all the stimulus. That won't happen next time. That isn't the new pattern of recessions.

Re: What if your entire worldview was just because of near-zero interest rates?

#330

Post by danaris »

qaq wrote: post #189
geysersam wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not suggesting virtue signaling. Paying your maid more than market wage is virtue signaling. Voting for a party working to increase her bargaining power is not. We need both individual action and political reform.

No it's not. Crocodile tears about how unfair it is for her to make so little instead of paying her more is virtue signaling. Dems have being in power in CA forever voting for them is not going to change maids wage.

So what's your alternative proposal?

I 100% agree that paying the maid more is the right answer in this specific case, but saying that the Democrats are part of the problem, even if it's true, fails to account for the facts that a) the Republicans are much more of the problem, and b) there are no other viable parties to vote for due to our voting system.

"Voting for the Democrats" is a necessary, but insufficient, part of the solution. Another part is "voting for more progressive Democrats in primary elections". Again, necessary but insufficient. I don't have the whole answer...but I know that bitching about not being able to change anything...doesn't change anything. And, in fact, makes it much less likely that positive change happens, because it either makes people feel helpless, or directs them to utterly impotent methods. Which then fail, and leave them (once again) feeling helpless.

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