Here in the UK if feels as if we have gone backwards maybe 10-15 years. Services are not just being cut back but are being savaged.
One example is a piece of common ground near me where kids can play. The council have cut it and maintained it for nearly 50 years. Now they cannot afford to. Other services for the young and vulnerable that date back to the mid 80's are going.
Here's my question. My guess is this is the case in the USA and Europe. So what was the point of all that growth and prosperity? Here in the Uk , like many places , there was massive growth. House prices went through the roof. But is this the net result ?
Who does Boom Bust serve? Certainly not the huge majority of average voters. Is this really the way to run things?
Originally posted by knightmeisterThe gamer geek age has produced what is called a "munchkin", "powergamer", "rules lawyer" etc. This is a very intelligent person who devotes his mind towards manipulating the rules of games so as to maximize whatever variables matter to him; most powerful character, higher score, coolest virtual clothes, most virtual money, whatever.
Here in the UK if feels as if we have gone backwards maybe 10-15 years. Services are not just being cut back but are being savaged.
One example is a piece of common ground near me where kids can play. The council have cut it and maintained it for nearly 50 years. Now they cannot afford to. Other services for the young and vulnerable that date back ...[text shortened]... erve? Certainly not the huge majority of average voters. Is this really the way to run things?
These players become enormously powerful in games. In any sort of competitive game, it is impossible to oppose such people for ordinary folk. In chess they're called Masters or higher.
In politics they're called Senator. In economics they're called self made millionaires.
These "economic munchkins" often belong to the school of thought that "everyone knows the rules of capitalism, if they make a mistake and give me all their money oh well, they should have known better, and I'm smarter and therefore deserve the money more, the market proves it, it's social Darwinism".
Normally, the rules of competitive games are modified when this influence becomes overwhelming and the rules lawyers are the only ones who can play the game. That's kinda like how our economic system is. The casual players cannot survive in this economic environment due to economic munchkinism.
The economic munchkins and heirs are the ones who get the money.
We need to "patch" capitalism to make it less cutthroat.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100712/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bernanke_small_business;_ylt=AjFjPxx0sLSldMgxd3.[WORD TOO LONG]
http://tinyurl.com/265xyb9
Small companies denied credit as big firms thrive
By Jeannine Aversa, Ap Economics Writer – 2 hrs 47 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Big companies are building up cash and are expected to report strong earnings starting this week. Not so for small businesses that can't get loans — or hire freely until they do.
The gap helps explain why the economic rebound isn't stronger and could even stall. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stepped up pressure Monday on banks to break the logjam and lend more to smaller firms, which employ at least half of American workers.
Small business owners are relying on personal credit cards or raiding retirement accounts to stay afloat, the Fed chairman said.
Bernanke and other regulators have urged banks for months to lend more to smaller companies. Lawmakers have complained that small businesses that want loans are having trouble getting them. Banks have countered by saying demand remains weak.
The Fed does have authority to create programs to increase lending, such as providing low-cost loans to banks. But economic conditions would probably have to weaken considerably before the Fed would propose such a move. One such program set up during the 2008 financial crisis was recently closed.
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Landis says she would like to hire one or two more people for her 10-person firm and wants to expand into New England. Yet even though she says she's never missed a payment, Landis says her line of credit was cut about 18 months ago.
She relies on credit cards to pay for everything from supplies to payrolls. Without additional credit, she says, "It is impossible to expand, and I can't hire."
Nearly one-third of small business borrowers report difficulty arranging credit, the National Federation of Independent Businesses says.
By contrast, big businesses, which start reporting their second-quarter earnings this week, have enjoyed easier access to loans and low interest rates.
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Originally posted by zeeblebotThe natural consequence of laissez-faire. There can be only one World Chess Champion. Well, sorta anyway.
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Landis says she would like to hire one or two more people for her 10-person firm and wants to expand into New England. Yet even though she says she's never missed a payment, Landis says her line of credit was cut about 18 months ago.
She relies on credit cards to pay for everything from supplies to payrolls. Without additional credit, she says, " ...[text shortened]... arter earnings this week, have enjoyed easier access to loans and low interest rates.
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The only patch I see a need for when it comes to capitalism is making sure workers have safe working conditions and making sure companies do not pollute the enviroment.
There's no need for a nanny state, but we've grown so accustom to safety nets here in the US I don't see how we can do away with them. Worker's Income Credit was a great idea. Help those out who are trying by working, that's a much better solution than just giving people money to do nothing. It is better for the idividual because sitting around without a job is depressing and it is better for Society because more people are contributing to it and each person costs less to support.
It's about time we pulled our military out of places like Europe and making Euripean countries pay for their own defenses. Let the US miltary bases remain open in the US and pump more money into our economy.
I think little things like that would go a very long way in righting the ship, at least here in the US. Sooner or later the Europeans are going to have to wake up and smell the coffee and realize that they are living way beyond their means.
Originally posted by EladarIsn't the U.S. defence budget just a teat upon which contractors suck up their allotment of taxpayers' money? Doesn't the size of U.S. spending suggest that the arms industry - and therefore the U.S. too, in this repsect - is living beyond its means too?
Let the US miltary bases remain open in the US and pump more money into our economy.
The US military is the tit that the entire Western world suckles. We are the shield so that the other Western nations don't have to. It frees up the money so the Europeans can have their Socialized states.
Sure contractors make big bucks providing the US with the top military machines in teh world, and I'm sure many contractors get more money than deserve. But people making money on the US isn't just the military contracts. The same thing happens with social programs.
Yes, the US is living beyond its means. We definitely need to cut back on our spending.