Wednesday, July 16, 2014

where the seignurial elites are taking us...,


reformer |  We are awash in capital and yet, around the world, the economic revival is floundering.
Clayton M. Christensen and Derek van Bever, writing for the Harvard Business Review, note the modern era is characterized by "capital superabundance" in which financial assets are today almost 10 times the value of the global output of all goods and services, and that the development of financial sectors in emerging economies will cause global capital to grow another 50 percent by 2020.

"Like an old machine emitting a new and troubling sound that even the best mechanics can't diagnose, the world economy continues its halting recovery from the 2008 recession," write Christensen and van Bever. "Look at what's happening in the United States: Even today, 60 months after the scorekeepers declared the recession to be over, its economy is still grinding along, producing low growth and disappointing job numbers."

Despite historically low interest rates, they write, corporations are sitting on massive amounts of cash and failing to invest in innovations that might foster growth.

The two acedemicians want to know what is causing this behavior.

"Are great opportunities in short supply, or are executives failing to recognize them? And how is this behavior pattern linked to overall economic sluggishness? What is holding growth back?"

The pair, with assistance from alumni, explored a wide range of reasons for the sputtering recovery, including political and economic uncertainty, the low rate of bank lending, a decline in publicly supported research in the United States, and the demise of innovation platforms like Bell Labs.

They believe that the crux of the problem is that investments in different types of innovation affect economies and companies in very different ways, but are evaluated using flawed metrics.
"Specifically, financial markets -- and companies themselves -- use assessment metrics that make innovations that eliminate jobs more attractive than those that create jobs. Efficiency innovations typically pay off within a year or two." Companies invest in efficiency, which eliminate jobs, because on an unexamined assumption, they write, "Which has risen almost to the level of a religion -- that corporate performance should be focused on, and measured by, how efficiently capital is used."

Would you like that in regular English? Short-term profits trump long-term profits in an era when the rule is get as much as you can, as fast as you can and get out.

The result, write Christensen and van Bever, is that the institutions, especially banks, that are meant to "lubricate" capitalism no longer do so.

Christensen and van Bever believe the system can be turned around by appealing to logic, fairplay and appropriate government policy that would liberate capital from short-term profits.
Fat chance, argue some political and economic observers.

"With all due respect ... these guys are thugs and looters," notes Arendt, writing for Daily Kos. "Your polite attempt to point out they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs will get no traction with conquistadors. They will continue to suck America dry while looking for the next target overseas."

Let's not forget that for more than 30 years, following reduced taxes on the wealthiest Americans and the rolling back of regulations to rein in financial malfeasance, we have been promised the wealth would "trickle down" or that "a rising tide raises all boats." But since Ronald Reagan's days as president, the rich and corporations have stashed more than $30 trillion in offshore tax havens.

"Our surplus has been channeled into the Wall Street gambling casino, the rise of a predatory class of financial capitalists, and a bloated military/intelligence/police budget," notes Arendt.

Michael Lind calls this a "plantation" mentality, "a cruel caste system in which the white, brown and black majority labor for inadequate rewards while a cultivated but callous oligarchy of rich white families and their hirelings in the professions dominate the economy, politics, and the rarefied air of academic and museum culture." Fist tap Dale.

31 comments:

BigDonOne said...

"What is holding growth back?"
Productivity would go thru the roof if all the resources committed worldwide to supporting useless-breathing parasites were, instead, dedicated to worthy industry, commerce, and scientific research..........

CNu said...

lol, no whitey.., all you get is a poster-child spot in the comments section of my blog. But take heart BD, we both know that Subrealism is school for you - your first and best cognitive buzz of the day. Accept no substitutes...,

CNu said...

Agreed! As noted in the articleAs Robinson notes, "The
wealthy and powerful are free to abuse employees, break laws, destroy
the commons, and crash the economy -- without ever being held to
account. The rich flaunt their ostentatious wealth without even the
presence of humility, modesty, generosity or gratitude." In addition,
the military/industrial complex consumes 60 percent of our annual
treasury
and the police are given the training necessary, not to serve
and protect, but to subdue and suppressThanks for calling that out!

Constructive_Feedback said...

Who said anything about CLASSES? (I've had my share of "Black Studies Courses" during undergrad - more than 20 years ago. The greatest thing that I learned from college was how to RESEARCH, leveraging the great resources on campus and neighboring schools)


This guy recently came through Atlanta:

Dr Runoko Rashidi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPjcAKIhuoY



He showed great African civilizations. (And did a good job of it)


BUT since the theme of the lecture was 'Black Revolutionary Movements' - the bulk of the emphasis was focused on Blacks throughout history fighting the European.


I was left wondering: "Is there any history of Chinese/Black, Native American/ Chinese conflict in which the European was not involved?"

Tom said...

For me it seems very strange to imagine that the only financial support we get from our parents is inheritance. My parents were able to keep me in safe neighborhoods and schools. They even paid for me to go to college. And frankly middle-class inheritance is pretty much a bygone institution given the costs of end-of-life medical care.

Tom said...

How does the timing on Palestine work out as a post-WWII deal? I'm not seeing it.


And you have individual Jewish scientists' work being considered part of a deal with the Allies ... negotiated with whom? These guys are supposed to say to the Allies, look, give us Israel or we're going to drive cabs and you get no bomb?


When the Mandate was upgraded to independence ca 1948, sure, at that point there must have been gratitude towards folks like Einstein and Oppy (and yes I. I. Rabi in Building 20) and many more, but since when does a Churchill or a Roosevelt give a scientist any more than a medal and a few flattering words?

CNu said...

That's fine.

You would prefer maybe a Rothschild killuminati explanation? "What Einstein, Oppenheimer and Teller, the three of them are Jews, made
for the United States could also be done by scientists in Israel for
their own people," Ben-Gurion wrote in 1956. Avner Cohen, the preeminent
historian of Israel's nuclear program, has written that Ben-Gurion
"believed Israel needed nuclear weapons as insurance if it could no
longer compete with the Arabs in an arms race, and as a weapon of last
resort in case of an extreme military emergency. Nuclear weapons might
also persuade the Arabs to accept Israel's existence, leading to peace
in the region."Personally, I don't believe any of that happy horse shit about defensive and deterrent ideals. Straight up, simple, and plain - you build and demonstrate nukes as a means of dominating your adversaries, period.

Your mileage may vary on this one Tom. But I have no use for the tiresome myth of justice or the even more repugant fairy tale of democracy or any of these other trappings of public political theatre. Psychopaths entered into concrete specific transactions for concrete specific ends. In this case, IMOHO - we get the bomb, you get a state. Frankly, given the geography and demography, I think the Zionists got the short end of that stick.

Vic78 said...

The reason I said to forget about reparations was that it's not going to happen. Yes, there's a strong case for it; it's just not a practical pursuit.

There are thousands of more fruitful pursuits. None of them are easy, but results can be seen in less than 20 years. You can even get easy support from all over. Examples are universal free college, repeal Patriot Act, getting away from fossil fuels, legalize weed, make recycling the norm, large scale indoor farming, encourage urban living over suburban living, algae farms, replacing the current media model, cutting Homeland Security's budget, co ops, getting the old heads to move on from labor unions to build something better, getting rid of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, getting more people to spend time outside of the US, strengthen local economies and cutting chain stores, saving Liberal Arts, and a lot more.

Everything I put down is something that can get broad support. You aren't alienating potential supporters, it'll come across as sensible to most people you bring these issues to,

Ed Dunn said...

Tom the Cold War was based on the acquistion of these scientists - and killing them to prevent them to going to the other side. Actually we can look at the fall of the Soviet Union and saw the race for USSR nuke scientists by Pakistan and North Korea and Iran and USA and others and accommodation of Russian diaspora worldwide.

CNu said...

Einstein was much more of a public intellectual(thinker) than a practicing puffer in this realm intensively physical chemistry do.

I refer you back to Pauwels and Bergier Following the experiments of Bergier and Helbronner, it is claimed that
the American "Office of Strategic Services" (O.S.S., forerunner of the
C..I.A.), established in 1942 under Roosevelt, tried to find and locate
Fulcanelli at the end of the War. The Americans, as well as other allied
intelligence agencies, wanted to gather as many expert scientists as
possible to prevent them from passing to the enemy, the Sovjet Union.
This claim is allegedly confirmed by Canseliet. For these agencies
Fulcanelli seems to have been a real person at the end of the War in
1945. But he remained untraceable….and from there forward onto the fact that it was France who helped Israel bring Dimona online ~1960.

CNu said...

Even bigger if you were France and the French have been at this nuclear alchemy for a while, not to mention the occult origins of Fascism/Nazism in synarchic France http://subrealism.blogspot.com/search?q=synarchy

Tom said...

Jews devised nuclear fission and nuclear weapons.

Ok, there it is. Respect. Another group of people who could have been treated as "natives" and colonized were the Japanese. What did they do to get included in the subset of humanity who deserve Christian charity from the Anglosphere? They kept us and our priests the heck out of Japan for hundreds of years, on pain of death. After we forced them to open up, they rapidly mangled Russia in a war and went on to kill a shitload of Americans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKuA6Rha1yw



Respect I buy as part of the explanation. We have one set of ethics for people we respect, and another set for ... others. Doesn't mean we won't kill you ... Euroids have been massacring each other for as long as our history goes back. But you get respect if you're enough of a badass.

makheru bradley said...

You did say: This summer in which I have went out of my way to engage in "Black (African) history" education sessions..., not classes. My bad. I'm assuming that Rashidi is one of those historians.

[the theme of the lecture was 'Black Revolutionary Movements' - the bulk of the emphasis was focused on Blacks throughout history fighting the European.] Given the 500+ years of European domination why wouldn't that be the theme?

"IT IS THEN that I begin to understand that A HISTORIAN OF FACT is not necessarily qualified to ADMINISTRATE A MOVEMENT in which Black people of today." Please provide an example of a "historian of fact."

makheru bradley said...

What exactly do you, NCOBRA, NBUF, and the host of other just-us seeking aspirants to a blood payment have to bargain with? We have nothing but Justice, but we know it will require massed-based political pressure. "We get the bomb, you get the state." So the Manhattan Project spurred by the discovery of Otto Hahn led to the creation of Israel, and subsequent German reparations to the Jewish state. Ben-Gurion and Begin thought it was their terrorism.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2004/06/17/zionism-anti-semitism-and-the-people-of-palestine/

CNu said...

Both groups have fought their fights and are willing and able to fight to the bitter end. Both groups have been fully assimilated into the anglosphere. Both nations get the real short end of the stick serving as garrison states on the fringes of our empire - and in a pinch, i.e., when the shit finally goes down with China and/or Russia, both of these garrisons will field as many able-bodied soldiers as humanly possible for Armageddeon.

makheru bradley said...

As expected there is no national conversation Ed Dunn has generated. Carry on with your delusions of grandeur. I'm sure that if you are ever able to generate a national conversation we'll discuss it, just as the reparations issue has received widespread attention and conversation since the Coates article.

CNu said...

lol, Bro. Makheru ropa-doping...,

Constructive_Feedback said...

[quote] I find myself unable to divorce myself from the impression that you are an exemplar of what not to do when it comes to mainstream black recruitment of folks to social conservative, teatard conservative, conservatism as racism - ends of the political theatre.[/quote]


And THERE IS YOUR FLAW SIR!!!


You ask ME for "Solutions" and stop "Belly Aching" against the "Black Racial Services Machine" when MY SOLUTION is that the BLACK RANK & FILE must REGULATE access to THEIR VALUABLES or accept than they have failed to see the need to protect their minerals and should be content with the GRAND HARVESTING OPERATIONS.


BUT WAIT - What about the "Black Racial Services Machine" that controls the "Artificial Horizon" of the Americanized Negro? Beyond ME (who is "one man" ) asking YOU (who is "one man"): "When have you ever asked the Black Racial Services Machine for SOLUTIONS" - it is clear that a more SYSTEMATIC enforcement of the valuables of within the Black Community (away from political opportunism which disarms them) is necessary.


I AM NOT LOOKING FOR 'DISCIPLES' TO FOLLOW MY LEAD.
I told you for years that the content on my blog is OPEN SOURCE.
I DO NOT PLAN TO CHANGE my acerbic engagement with the 'Embedded Black Fox Confidence Men' who are STEALING the 'Black Community Governance Culture'.


If those who are more OFFENDED BY ME than by the larger network of people who conspire to harvest their valuables into American politics yet LEAVE THE AMERICANIZED NEGRO UNDER-DEVELOPED - then it is THEY who have the wrong sentiment.

Constructive_Feedback said...

MB:


I don't quite understand your question/indictment but - in relation to Brother CNu's response - the clear answer to your apparent misunderstanding of my "research journey" is .......


* I've been to more than one "community lecture"
* I've visited several "black book stores"
* I've had a discussion about Marcus Garvey among several self proclaimed "Garveyites"
* I've watched DVDs and Internet videos
* I am reading several books


The bottom line remains: The capacity to produce "Historical Documentation" does not necessarily correlate to one's ability to manage human resources in the present - with the goal of developing them.

Ed Dunn said...

makheru demand of me to demonstrate a national conversation when everybody can barely contain their laughter at his cognitive dissonance of irrelevance on a Disqus discussion. i find it funny that the words are being used are "conversation" and "discussion" and not "implementation" or "action" coming out of his mouth - i believe i stated this a while ago if i'm correct...

Ed Dunn said...

Cracka Smasha?! is that some BlackProf reference from years ago? LOL...

CNu said...

lol..., merely conversation.

makheru bradley said...

How would you know? You are not in the movement where the information presented by Coates is being discussed.

For an expired shelf-life Coates is still making waves--in Big D of all places.

[Since Ta-Nehisi Coates's cover story on reparations was published this month, he's been asked repeatedly whether he really thought reparations for African Americans were politically feasible. His answer has been consistent: maybe not, and certainly no time soon. But it seems my colleague overlooked one important asset for the pro-reparations side: elected officials' short attention spans. That's how Dallas County, Texas, ended up adopting a resolution this week that backed significant monetary awards for the victims of racism. And in the Old Confederacy, no less!]

http://theatln.tc/1lFjkQb

http://bit.ly/1wxr1bD

makheru bradley said...

Those are some good ideas Vic. Whether mass-based support can be generated depends on the dedication of those committed to those ideas. Bro. Feed supports you. The sky is the limit.


"Thought without practice is empty. Practice without thought is blind." -- Kwame Nkrumah

makheru bradley said...

the clear answer to your apparent misunderstanding of my "research journey" is ....... Bro. Feed. I don't misunderstand what your research journey is. IDK what your research journey is. I simply asked that your provide an example of "A HISTORIAN OF FACT is not necessarily qualified to ADMINISTRATE A MOVEMENT." Why is it so difficult to answer a simple question?

makheru bradley said...

i believe i stated this a while ago if i'm correct... Yes you did

"I really salute you and your carrots and collard greens urban garden...how impressive..." Us colored folks down heah in Car'lina be eatin' healthy, and savin' money... how impressive.

Constructive_Feedback said...

Me providing you an "Example" is not the proper means of dispensing of your question.


I can say - based upon the observations of how our world is framed today that:


1) MOST "Americanized Blacks" IF they were presented the CULTURE that "Africana Studies Professors" say was STOLEN FROM OUR AFRICAN ANCESTORS by the European Slavers/Colonists that MOST BLACK PEOPLE would REJECT THIS CULTURE - rather than being appreciative that Cultural Anthropologists have reassembled the "rules of society" which allowed these African empires to rise.


2) When President Obama threw sanctions upon the African nation of Uganda for claiming BOTH "Self-Determination" and the CULTURAL ROOTS in their decision to regulate HOMOSEXUALITY - did you notice that NONE OF THE "Afro-Centrists in America Who Live In Air Conditioning" lashed out saying that "AFRICAN CULTURAL NORMS TRUMP newly adopted 'International Norms' as professed by the UNITED NATIONS


3) RARELY can a people who are living in a present interval of time see that THEY HAVE ADOPTED the IMPERIALIST ANTICS that they condemn from previous people in history.

DD said...

I was sincerely asking. On a one to one basis how would you and I deal with leveling the playing field between us? Does admitting a bias but not embracing it makes me a white supremacist? I thought it made me self aware. Do you see how labeling me a white supremacist would encourage bad behavior since there's no repercussions for acting any worse if I already fall in the bad guy category?

Seriously and without rancor; on an individual level how our what type of reparations would or should I provide to you individually so that everything is square between us? I'm truly asking.

Ed Dunn said...

Thanks Makheru for proving the only thing you and your ilk and your heroes have and ever contributed to history and our people is a long ass worthless back and forth convo..

makheru bradley said...

The folly of Ed Dunn: participating in a conversation he considers to be worthless.

umbrarchist said...

Growth is bullsh!t!!! Ignoring Demand Side Depreciation for 60 years means growth measurement was incorrect anyway. 7 billion people on the planet and computers everywhere and economists can't do algebra.

Master Arbitrageur Nancy Pelosi Is At It Again....,

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