[MonteQuest]

Borrow without a means of repayment and I would agree that your life might soon stink. I recommend against it.

How about the liquidity swap (QE) the FED did to buy bad bond debt from the banks?

Bad debt became the source of the financing for our oil glut. How can that end well?

[AdamB]

Are you referring to those who borrowed and cannot repay (we call them deadbeats here in the States) and they can be individuals, or countries. Greece for example. Borrow without a means of repayment and I would agree that your life might soon stink. I recommend against it.

Yet, you go on to herald the decision by the US to borrow money they can't ever repay as ok, as look what we did for the price of gas, oil production, car sales, etc. That $60 trillion was not just the PIGGS and debeats, China, Japan, and the USA are also included.

Fortunate then that, just as the US has during past times of concern over debt, the value of it is likely to be inflated away as it was before. At the expense of its citizens standard of living, but since when have TPTB ever cared about that, right?

So, if we take your statement Borrow without a means of repayment and I would agree that your life might soon stink.as an educated position, life in America is soon going to stink. Now we are in agreement.

Life in America, for single wage earner families, has been stinking since the early 90's. It has been disguised by the onset of dual wage earner families. Nothing peak oilish or debtish or climateish required to understand that yes...for some...and for more soon..life in America is going to get worse. That is a reasonable consequence of borrowing money you will have difficulty paying back, just see the Greeks for how that works out.

And don't even get me started on the OTHER reasons why, primarily related to what I see as the lack of work ethic among millennials. Nowadays someone can't even find good help without the applicant waving around a sheepskin from an Ivy, and even those have gotten questionable as to proof of anything of value.

[ennui2]

Oligarchy is probably the natural end-game for unfettered capitalism, period.

There's still a huge voting base in the US that believes wholeheartedly in deregulated Ayn Randian trickle-down economics, even though the end product we've seen so far has been anything but fair and prosperous. That's kind of where I part company on the politics. There's a lot of "PTB" talk here and I think that in the US we get the government we deserve. If we want something different, we'd vote for it. See Europe for alternatives. This is part of our cultural devolution.

[JimBof]

The single income family is almost impossible in Australia now as well.

[peripato]

Oligarchy is probably the natural end-game for unfettered capitalism, period.

There's still a huge voting base in the US that believes wholeheartedly in deregulated Ayn Randian trickle-down economics, even though the end product we've seen so far has been anything but fair and prosperous. That's kind of where I part company on the politics. There's a lot of "PTB" talk here and I think that in the US we get the government we deserve. If we want something different, we'd vote for it. See Europe for alternatives. This is part of our cultural devolution.

I can't see how Europe provides any example whatsoever. They are as much beguiled and entrapped by neo-liberal asshattery as anyone else.

[peripato]

The single income family is almost impossible in Australia now as well.

With the cost of housing in places like Sydney or Melbourne, I think perhaps 3 paychecks are required?

[ennui2]

I can't see how Europe provides any example whatsoever. They are as much beguiled and entrapped by neo-liberal asshattery as anyone else.

Let me educate you. 7 of the top 8 countries on the happiness index are in Europe. The US is below Mexico of all places. My feeling is that the US would do wise to reassess its aversion to socialism that it's been harboring since the Cold War began.

[ralfy]

Are you referring to those who borrowed and cannot repay (we call them deadbeats here in the States) and they can be individuals, or countries. Greece for example. Borrow without a means of repayment and I would agree that your life might soon stink. I recommend against it.

Yet, you go on to herald the decision by the US to borrow money they can't ever repay as ok, as look what we did for the price of gas, oil production, car sales, etc. That $60 trillion was not just the PIGGS and debeats, China, Japan, and the USA are also included.

Fortunate then that, just as the US has during past times of concern over debt, the value of it is likely to be inflated away as it was before. At the expense of its citizens standard of living, but since when have TPTB ever cared about that, right?

So, if we take your statement Borrow without a means of repayment and I would agree that your life might soon stink.as an educated position, life in America is soon going to stink. Now we are in agreement.

Life in America, for single wage earner families, has been stinking since the early 90's. It has been disguised by the onset of dual wage earner families. Nothing peak oilish or debtish or climateish required to understand that yes...for some...and for more soon..life in America is going to get worse. That is a reasonable consequence of borrowing money you will have difficulty paying back, just see the Greeks for how that works out.

And don't even get me started on the OTHER reasons why, primarily related to what I see as the lack of work ethic among millennials. Nowadays someone can't even find good help without the applicant waving around a sheepskin from an Ivy, and even those have gotten questionable as to proof of anything of value.

From what I remember, during the 1970s the petrodollar was employed, the gold standard was dropped, the long-term trend of trade deficits began, global oil production per capita reached a peak, and greater awareness of the effects of global warming and pollution started. These were followed by significant increases in heavy borrowing and spending that started during the early 1980s.

[onlooker]

and greater awareness of the effects of global warming and pollution started. These were followed by significant increases in heavy borrowing and spending that started during the early 1980s.

And therein is the amazingly reckless aspect of our civilization, already knowing the negative side-effects of continued use of FF we embarked on a spree of overspending and consuming that we almost certainly will never again see on this planet.

[ennui2]

But people tend to avoid really following the thought experiment of what would have happened had we zigged instead of zagged. It's easy to suggest that if we went another way that things would have turned out better, because we didn't, and therefore our imaginations fill in the blanks however we want them to.

For instance, Peter Schiff (or Ron Paul) kept saying around 2008-2009 that we should have let the system collapse and then pick up the pieces. But what would the pain have felt like on Main St. had we done that? I can assure you that the abstract idea of rebooting the system would have been far less painful than the reality. This is why, for instance, Greece finally balked on defaulting the EU.

[Dybbuk]

7 of the top 8 countries on the happiness index are in Europe. The US is below Mexico of all places. My feeling is that the US would do wise to reassess its aversion to socialism that it's been harboring since the Cold War began.

Socialism? So are you claiming that in those supposedly high-ranking European countries, the government owns the means of production?

[MonteQuest]

7 of the top 8 countries on the happiness index are in Europe. The US is below Mexico of all places. My feeling is that the US would do wise to reassess its aversion to socialism that it's been harboring since the Cold War began.

Socialism? So are you claiming that in those supposedly high-ranking European countries, the government owns the means of production?

I think he means democratic socialism. True socialism is the control of the means of production and distribution of goods and services by the state. None of them have such a system and Sanders isn't advocating having one.

[BigTex]

7 of the top 8 countries on the happiness index are in Europe. The US is below Mexico of all places. My feeling is that the US would do wise to reassess its aversion to socialism that it's been harboring since the Cold War began.

Socialism? So are you claiming that in those supposedly high-ranking European countries, the government owns the means of production?

I think he means democratic socialism. True socialism is the control of the means of production and distribution of goods and services by the state. None of them have such a system and Sanders isn't advocating having one.

And I think that sometimes when we say "socialism", what we really mean is simply mitigating the influence of big money on the political process, which is an entirely different thing from the government owning the means of production.

Any modern socialist country still has its elites who know how to get what they want by moving money in the right direction(s).

***

BTW, hey everyone! Just stopped in to say hello. It's been awhile.

[ennui2]

Now that's a face that hasn't been here in many years.

How long before vision-master comes in and tells us that Planet 9/10 is Nibiru?

[BigTex]

Now that's a face that hasn't been here in many years.

How long before vision-master comes in and tells us that Planet 9/10 is Nibiru?

I'm just happy that anyone remembers me.

Joy.

[ennui2]

Some of us have changed handles. Like I used to be Straker/mos6507.

You were one of the more moderate and intelligent voices. I learned a lot from your analysis.

[BigTex]

Some of us have changed handles. Like I used to be Straker/mos6507.

You were one of the more moderate and intelligent voices. I learned a lot from your analysis.

mos6507. Yes. It's all coming back to me now.

[ennui2]

This used to be one of my avatar images.



A profile just as kitsch as Bubba Ho-Tep.

[onlooker]

Well it looks like this prolonged low price of oil is really hurting the major oil producing countries like KSA, Venezuela and Russia. One thing curious is that they did not mention USA who I think also qualifies based on how the Fracking/Shale companies have been hurting some going out of business. Here is article. http://thedailycoin.org/?p=63710

[onlooker]

The economies of KSA, Venezuela and Russia are heavily dependent on oil sales. The US is a diversified economy with a broad economic base; twitter, facebook, and the Kardashians.

Yep you got a point P, we are a broad diversified economy. Or at least used to be