tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610233.post8168395334423604145..comments2023-06-19T04:16:51.117-07:00Comments on buggieboy: Feudal PrivilegesJ.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09027687985747914971noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610233.post-52777926918486003022008-09-27T08:07:00.000-07:002008-09-27T08:07:00.000-07:00I agree with both of your intentions but I fear th...I agree with both of your intentions but I fear that neither is possible.<BR/><BR/>JD's history is a bit flawed, the ancient civilizations relied very heavily on large agricultural estates that used slaves (the slaves had NO chance to get ahead as opposed to the VIRTUALLY no chance to get ahead that the later peasants enjoyed).<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, our nation fought a revolution because we weren't being accorded the rights of ordinary Englishmen, in other words, the founding fathers WANTED the system of the time to work and only rebelled when all legal opportunities were blocked. The American Dream only manifested itself in the 1820-40's when the full value of wise decisions made by earlier leaders came to fruition.<BR/><BR/>I am not going to argue against JD's assertion about inherited wealth because it's largely true but I do note that inherited wealth isn't everything it is supposed to be. There LOTS piranhas in the water who are stripping wealth from the unsuspecting inheritors. <BR/><BR/>In the current environment only the hungriest of carnivores and the most vicious scavengers are doing well and that MUST change or economic Darwinism will wreck us all.<BR/><BR/>While JD's history might not be strictly Gibbon, his math and economics are perfect.<BR/><BR/>World leaders (both political and financial) have made so many short-sighted economic decisions since the mid-1960's that there is little chance that even the US government can play Superman and save the speeding train before it hurtles over the cliff. <BR/><BR/>History teaches us that after a certain point any attempt to save the the system is going to backfire in the long-run and harm the very people the government is trying to help. We are either very near that point or have already past it.<BR/><BR/>Al is VERY right when he says that a Depression would more horrendous than we can imagine. Hobo communities beginning to form as overloaded homeless shelters are being forced to either throw out the people best able to care for themselves or founder under the weight of people who need their services. I can't imagine the agony of the shelter directors who have had to make these decisions. If I'm right and we're already beyond the point of no recovery, we are ALL going to be facing similar decisions in the next couple of years.<BR/><BR/>Al's suggestion of a one-time tax hitting the super-wealthy is a good one but isn't possible. Who do you think the politicians care more about, thousands of failing small donors or a few big donors who can probably survive the coming economic firestorm? Before you answer, take into account the fact that perhaps as many as 50% of the country's households have negative net wealth (if you sold all of their assets, they would still owe more than they have).<BR/><BR/>This country (and by extension the rest of the world) has been addicted to debt for over 40 years. We have finally reached the point that all addicts eventually reach, we have to decide whether we are going to break the habit or let it kill us. Breaking the habit is going to be incredibly painful, letting it kill us will obviously be worse.<BR/><BR/>The thing I find galling about our current leaders is that when presented with this choice, they suggest we borrow $700 billion. They've made their choice and want us to drink the kool-aid with them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610233.post-82785190896630735532008-09-26T12:25:00.000-07:002008-09-26T12:25:00.000-07:00JD-A very well worded appeal, but, I fear, a littl...JD-<BR/><BR/>A very well worded appeal, but, I fear, a little too steeped in emotion. This is a self inflicted wound. America stood idly by while the rich fiddled away.<BR/><BR/>But, sadly, something must be done to try to engineer a soft landing. The less affluent will suffer more in a crash than the rich. The bailout will not solve the problem, but it will treat the symptoms until, hopefully, our nation once again is blessed with adult supervision. The question is how swiftly that supervision can be put in place, and how responsibly it functions.<BR/><BR/>We need a way to punish the offenders without the people going through living hell in the process of delivering the punishment.<BR/><BR/>Yes, a crash would be emotionally pleasing, but being only a generation removed from the Depression, I remember too many stories of the difficulties my small business owner parents suffered in the last crash, and they had incomes the entire time.<BR/><BR/>The only drastic measure I offer at this point is that those who profited from this scam of the mortgage market should be barred for life from holding positions that involve the slightest stewardship over another person's money. Further, we should levy a one time personal property tax of 50% on every "Wall Street" player with a net worth greater than 5 million dollars and use this money to pay for needs of those displaced by this mess. Hell, they would still be multi-millionaires.<BR/><BR/>AlAviator47https://www.blogger.com/profile/05585964386930142907noreply@blogger.com