“This
is not capitalism; this is mere plunder by a powerful few. We do not
have 'capitalism.' We have a corrupt system of kleptocracy ruled over
by the big money power of a relatively few.” Jesse
-------------
Smoke/Fire:
Puerto Rico will cut its minimum wage to $4.25 an hour. Because
beggaring the worker is the best way to pay back Wall Street bond
holders.
Just ask Argentina.
Creativity
Abounds:
Apparently a lot of
liberal arts majors are getting jobs as creative artists in S&P
500 companies' accounting departments, which would explain why 90% of
them no longer use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in
reporting earnings results. 380 of the Non-GAAP reports claimed net
income to be up 6.6%, while using GAAP showed the same companies' net
income declined 11%.
Europe
Running Out Of Mattresses:
Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch behemoth, is offering
€300 million of debt maturing in 2020, with a zero interest coupon.
The potential four year yield will be 0.06%.
Happy
Motoring:
97%
of all new diesel cars exceed official pollution limits, some by as
much as 600%. VW
was giving power-point
lectures
on how to foil emissions tests back in 2006, and Mitsubishi says
if first found ways to beat the tests
25 years ago.
Quoted:
“Voters know at a gut level that our system of global capitalism is
working mainly for the 1 %, not the 99 %. That’s a large part of
why both Sanders and Trump have done well, because they tap into that
truth, albeit in different ways. The Panama Papers illuminate a key
aspect of why the system isn’t working–because globalization has
allowed the capital and assets of the 1 % to travel freely, while
those of the 99 % cannot.”
Politics
101: In the US
political process should the interests of the voters or the interest
of the party prevail? Party, obviously. After all this is not a
democracy. Wasn't intended to be. That's
why over half of us think the system is crooked,
it is.
A
Bite Out Of The Apple:
Poor, failing Apple; it only made $10.5 billion in profit in the
last fiscal quarter and only has $233 billion in cash sitting around
after its gross profit margin slipped from 40.8 cents on the dollar
to 39.4 cents. How's
it supposed to survive at such low levels of greed to goodness?
Words
& Deeds:
Dennis Hastert, back when his full name was Speaker of The House
Dennis Hastert, wanted to “put repeat child molesters in jail for
the rest of their lives.” When he was sentenced to 15 months in
jail for hiding the
money he used to hide his abuse
of children for
decades, he cried and begged for leniency. If
his first name wasn't “Former House Speaker” how many years would
he have gotten? Maybe he gets
the volume discount, sort of like a Catholic priest?
Question
For Graduates:
What would you rather do with your life, work in an office cubicle or
sail around the world with a cat?
A
Parting Shot:
3 comments:
Smoke/Fire: Sort of like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, isn't it? Then there is Creativity Abounds: it has long been apparent that the term 'value' means different things to different people depending on how they view a given item.
The current definition of the term means something that makes zero sense to the average consumer...but again I struggle with 'word choice' here because 'sense' isn't a good fit.
The working poor 'understands' their head is being held under the water, it is the 'why' that escapes them..because almost nobody self-indetifies as 'working poor' or as being a member of the 'surplus population'.
Last night a local news magazine [Chronicle, WCVB 5 in Boston] produced a show titled AI but referring to how robots were continuing to, er, 'steal jobs'...and how the 'expert' they had on 'hoped' humanity would crack the economy that can't provide jobs for those who need then before it became a nightmare of the well-off few, living behind 'gated splendor' while the rest of us fought tooth and nail (to the death was even implied) over 'the scraps'.
After the capitalist and his sidekick, organized crime get through, there's nothing left to fight over.
If the public doesn't wake up there's gonna be one heck of a 'correction', the bloodiness of which will amaze even the most grim among us.
Re. "This woman and her cat are having the best time sailing around the world"
Liz sailed with us a couple of times before she set off on her solo journey. My friends and I had crossed oceans many times and I had sailed around the world twice and we all thought she was insane. At the time she was very immature and had little practical sailing knowledge.
The sea is very unforgiving. I guess she showed us.
rto - Yes, the sea is very unforgiving - but for those who learn quickly from scary experience, sailing can be easily "the best" of experience.
When my wife and I first set out we were such raw novices that surviving the first night crossing the Gulf Stream was far from given. We somehow schooled ourselves to live aboard for a couple of years, seldom anchoring anywhere for more than a few days.
Later I comfortably single-handed for six months on a craft much like Liz's. No cat; I took Roger, a slightly disreputable Teddy bear.
But then you all knew that I was never one to take the school solution.
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