Journal zogger's Journal: The story of Basicland 13
An interesting little bit of analogous fiction by an executive at Berkshire Hathaway, Basicland.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The story of Basicland
Live within your income, even if you have to borrow to do so. -- Josh Billings
I love parables like that (Score:2)
These dangers were significant by 2012, when the extreme prosperity of Basicland had created a peculiar outcome: As their affluence and leisure time grew, Basicland's citizens more and more whiled away their time in the excitement of casino gambling.
Yes, of course, we, the citizens are to blame for the financial shenanigans. There is no small, privileged class of people who fucked our economy, it was US, with our crazy speculation and gambling.
Fuck You, Executive from Berkshire Hathaway. Seriously, YOU AND YOURS ARE THE FUCKING PROBLEM. It wasn't us. You want to exonerate yourself? Give all your money to charity and live a life of simplicity and poverty. Otherwise, all you are is a hypocritical, amoral cheat, mouthing empty parables.
meaning (Score:1)
I think he more meant that people by and large are so intimidated by investing, and that the government has set it up so you *must* invest, you simply can't save money as it reduces all the time in worth, that they turn over their weekly surplus cash where it gets gambled with by the professional gamblers. (mostly, instead of really invested).
Berkshire Hathaway, Buffet's company, really does do a lot more traditional investing than not. In fact ole warren is on record calling derivatives weapons of mass fin
Re: (Score:2)
A lot of people talk the talk, but you walk the walk which is why I pay attention to you and never write you off as a wingnut. :)
I didn't realize BH was Buffet's company: he's one of the few ultra-rich that I have some respect for. You know he's barely leaving his kids anything? A few million (which is barely a fraction of his wealth.) Thinks they should make it on their own. I can dig that.
Re: (Score:2)
You shouldn't respect him. Remember when he lobbied for the bailouts? Who do you think the largest shareholder in AIG was? Warren Buffet through BH. And the guy who holds the most responsibility for the meltdown? I'll give you ONE guess who owned the largest share of Moodys.
Warren Buffet is the worlds largest welfare recipient, ever. Nothing more.
yowza (Score:1)
Interesting information, thanks!
speaking of wingnuts (Score:1)
I have a tool I designed and had built at a machine shop before. It's a wingnut tightener, for that last little bit you need that you can't get with your fingers, that can be used by hand, or placed into a drill chuck. It's ("it" being people's variations, I never patented it or anything, just had a few dozen built, sold enough to cover my costs and retain a few of them, it went wild after that) used in the convention/expo business all over heck now for setting up and tearing down exhibits. I once say a guy
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe you could sell that device to California. All the wingnuts there are pretty loose. If they aren't tightened down, why, California could slide off into the ocean.
Re: (Score:2)
that they turn over their weekly surplus cash where it gets gambled with by the professional gamblers.
Not only that, but thanks to the repeal of Glass-Steagall, you know those people who shunned the whole casino market thing and accepted that they were going to get a fraction of a penny on the dollar in interest and put their money into savings accounts where they thought it was safe? Their money got gambled away too.
Re: (Score:1)
Ya, I juast replied in another thread, the toyota thread, on a side issue about the repeal of glass steagall.
It's just overlapping cons, con after con after con. That economic reason, that you just can't beat them so don't play in their games, is one of the three top reasons I am into practical preparedness and independence. The other two are natural disasters, and various wars or internal wars against the people, etc.
Well, plus it's fun! It's a nice lifestyle, hard work included.
Savings accounts..closed mi
Re: (Score:1)
Yes, of course, we, the citizens are to blame for the financial shenanigans.
Yes indeed. I didn't RTFA, but it is the little guy's greed that made him sign onto home loans with no qualifications that Wall St. types co-gambled on, it is the average voter who hates other crooked politicians but keeps sending theirs back to office, and it is workers' greed to sign up with unions who steal for themselves outlandish retirement obligations that bankrupt companies and cities.
Elites are effers, but ultimately it is
reform (Score:1)
That's why reform has to start local..with yourself. It's about the only way to practically go about things. I can't change the entire huge global economic mess, but I can change my personal reality.
Oh, the article is cute, not very long, worth the read.
Re: (Score:1)
Read it. "Benfranklin Leekwanyou Vokker" is old fool -- he says we only have to go back to before we had casino gambling. This would merely neutralize one of the things that's sure to kill us, and leave perfectly intact the other thing that's as well sure to kill us.
We have to go back to when a "strong family-oriented culture emphasizing duty to relatives, plus considerable private charity, provided the only social safety net", when "governmental revenues came almost entirely from import duties" and there w
I agree on both (Score:1)
You are correct, it has to be addressed at all angles. I think right now the only thing that might work is for the government to drop the ridiculous notion of corporate or personal income taxes, they are not needed under a fiat currency system. Go to direct funding, with quid pro quo tariffs at the borders to even out the global wage arbitrage effect, and start to slash government costs across the board, starting by eliminating entire agencies that aren't needed and/or could be done entirely by the states.
O