by Newfie » Wed 17 Sep 2008, 08:01:23
To grossly understate the obvious, something is wrong, seriously wrong, here.
Maybe we need some kind of paradigm shift or something.
I'm not a financial guy, just an engineer. I believe in an event I call the "opportunity of ignorance." That is when you bring in someone not involved with your project to take a fresh look. We all get so wrapped up in the details and technicalities of the moment to moment we forget where we are going. That said, and no one is more ignorant than I..........................
All this money is not really "money." Us working stiffs thinks of money in real terms of what he can buy: milk, gas, beer. Bill Gates is "worth" billions based upon the "value" of his stock. Which is just whatever the last dude paid for a share multiplied by x number of shares. If Bill wanted to cash out he would flood the market and the stock would be worth squat.
If I buy a house at $200,000 and sell it for $400,000 then I "made" $200,000. If I buy mild, gas, and beer with the money. Then the bank mortgages the house for $400,000 but can't sell it so it is worth squat. They lost "money" but nothing in the real world changed. The house still exists and performs its primary function. So somehow our paradigm of value is screwed up. What are we really trying to do? What really constitutes value?
40+ years ago I read some Ayn Rand. As I recall she defined a mans worth as the value added he provides to a system. Money is an abstraction of that value. Our society has taken that value abstraction to absurd levels.
If all does collapse, then there will be some period of disarray while we recalibrate the scales of value. The money changers will be seen to be valueless while the mechanic and blacksmith will still be able to do value added work. Until the scum bags screw it up again.
Still it sucks to live through the time of disarray, especially with all the other shit going on: PO, GW, etc.
Although, perhaps is a very strange way, this may be a good thing. If we quit buying unnecessary toys and crank back down on the usage of fossil fuels to make them last and give the environment a break then maybe we can buy some time. But there is still overpopulation. Oh well forget it, we are screwed.
Cheers
When going through hell, keep going! Churchill
Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much. E Wiman
I know there’s no solution, so I just enjoy what’s here and I enjoy the journey G Carlin