OT - capitalism and the current financial crisis

[Arianddu]

This is possibly the best explanation of the current financial crisis I've seen:

http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?display=home

This is the full length lecture http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=139&template=PDGCommTemplates/HTN/Item_Preview.html (57 minutes)

[strangegrey]

I think it's worth noting that someone (by appearances of your profile) lives outside of the US, feels mentally fit enough to produce a resounding endorsement of an economic lecture such as this. It's quite similar to dumping myself into a forum and proclaiming that X vetinarian drug has had a resounding effect on the Kangaroo population thanks to a video I watched from some vet situated in Melborne.

However, I'm not going to harp on that....but I do think, it might be apropriate to point out that a video which spends 30 minutes discussing the social and economic history of the US, might be better endorsed by someone who's got real world understanding of the social and economic history of the US...and not what someone sees or hears on a sat feed of CNN halfway across the world.

The video (the full 57 minute one, not the 4 minute segment) makes a few excellent points regarding the wage gap from the 70s. But unfortunately, was delivered in a tremendously oversimplified way. There are more than the 4 presented reasons for such a gap, most notably the inflation brought on by the decoupling of gold backing from the US dollar, which had a terribly devastating effect on the purchasing power of US goods in this country. Being an economicist (who, presumably was lecturing to economics students at the University of Mass @ Amherst) one would expect a more technical lecture. It seems as if this person was lecturing to a group of senior citizens at the local Y and not to economics students.

However, enough of that. Sadly...the video ends in pure and utter bullshit. I was waiting for this dope's suggestion as to how to fix this problem, and I can't say I was surprised when he suggested communism/marxism (being that he's a prof from UMASS).

What I find laughable, is the sheer paradoxical irony this idiot presents when blaming computers for the depression of real wages in the late 70s...yet suggests the solution to this problem is that more companies employ a business model similar to what Steve Jobs did with Apple. He fails to recognize that employee ownership (in the form of stock option plans and profit sharing) hasn't solved this problem, despite being in play for well over 15 years...and wont work to fix it in the future.

"Marx's idea of a communist enterprise" isn't the sollution to this problem...and it never will be.

Like I said, the video presented some excellent points in establishing groundwork...albeit, oversimplified. However, it was clear after suffering through the last 10 minutes of this video, that the first 47 minutes were designed to present a stupid idea that has never and will never work....except within the delusional minds of college professors.


As an american that's lived in this country all my life, I suggest people look elsewhere to either supplement or base their understanding of this financial crissis. This video doesn't drill down deep enough. Just deep enough to present a failed political ideology.

[StoneCold]

I'm no analyst but some of what's happened has been exacerbated by the recent political campaigns. However bad things were got worse with the constant "sky is falling" mentality.

If we're supposed to be hopeful with the new set of leaders, why are so many companies and city governments tightening their belts and laying off all these folks?

Mass paranoia.

[Ehwmatt]

I think it's worth noting that someone (by appearances of your profile) lives outside of the US, feels mentally fit enough to produce a resounding endorsement of an economic lecture such as this. It's quite similar to dumping myself into a forum and proclaiming that X vetinarian drug has had a resounding effect on the Kangaroo population thanks to a video I watched from some vet situated in Melborne.

However, I'm not going to harp on that....but I do think, it might be apropriate to point out that a video which spends 30 minutes discussing the social and economic history of the US, might be better endorsed by someone who's got real world understanding of the social and economic history of the US...and not what someone sees or hears on a sat feed of CNN halfway across the world.

The video (the full 57 minute one, not the 4 minute segment) makes a few excellent points regarding the wage gap from the 70s. But unfortunately, was delivered in a tremendously oversimplified way. There are more than the 4 presented reasons for such a gap, most notably the inflation brought on by the decoupling of gold backing from the US dollar, which had a terribly devastating effect on the purchasing power of US goods in this country. Being an economicist (who, presumably was lecturing to economics students at the University of Mass @ Amherst) one would expect a more technical lecture. It seems as if this person was lecturing to a group of senior citizens at the local Y and not to economics students.

However, enough of that. Sadly...the video ends in pure and utter bullshit. I was waiting for this dope's suggestion as to how to fix this problem, and I can't say I was surprised when he suggested communism/marxism (being that he's a prof from UMASS).

What I find laughable, is the sheer paradoxical irony this idiot presents when blaming computers for the depression of real wages in the late 70s...yet suggests the solution to this problem is that more companies employ a business model similar to what Steve Jobs did with Apple. He fails to recognize that employee ownership (in the form of stock option plans and profit sharing) hasn't solved this problem, despite being in play for well over 15 years...and wont work to fix it in the future.

"Marx's idea of a communist enterprise" isn't the sollution to this problem...and it never will be.

Like I said, the video presented some excellent points in establishing groundwork...albeit, oversimplified. However, it was clear after suffering through the last 10 minutes of this video, that the first 47 minutes were designed to present a stupid idea that has never and will never work....except within the delusional minds of college professors.


As an american that's lived in this country all my life, I suggest people look elsewhere to either supplement or base their understanding of this financial crissis. This video doesn't drill down deep enough. Just deep enough to present a failed political ideology.

You are the man

[Arianddu]

I don't agree with everything said, and I certainly don't think his proposed solution is workable in real terms. However, his analysis that real wages have stayed the same, while profits have gone up, and looking at the rise in debt, makes a lot of sense. As well as the idea that this is something that has been building for 30 odd years. There's been a lot of partisan blame going on, that the Republicans did this, the Democrats did that, etc, and what I liked about this was that it pointed out that it hasn't happened for simple reasons. I think it's a shame though, that in showing complicated, multi-cause reasons, he's presented a simple one-fix solution.

[Gin and Tonic Sky]

. There are more than the 4 presented reasons for such a gap, most notably the inflation brought on by the decoupling of gold backing from the US dollar, which had a terribly devastating effect on the purchasing power of US goods in this country. .

definitely one of the worst mistakes in US economic history. Not only did it have a devastating effect on purchasing power, it gave the government and excuse to dig us into more and more of a debt hole, as the newly printed money didnt have to be backed by gold. The one sure fire way to limit the power of the govt and politicians would be to go back to the gold standard, as there would then be a limit to how much money the govt could spend. Of course, dont expect that to happen !