Re:Bill Gates' loss = everyone's gain
on
Tech Stocks Tumble
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· Score: 1
It may be tempting to blame bill, but he really isn't the cause of this. The stock market has been out of control for a long time, due largely to inflated dotcom and tech stocks in general. The DOJ ruling and fall of M$ stock was only a trigger - it was really a matter of any time now. Greenspan has been trying to drive the market to correction for a while with his interest rate hikes, but it hadn't been responding.
Again, it isn't just M$ or the linux stocks, it's EVERYTHING, _particularly_ tech stocks which were the root of the market trouble. (By trouble I mean inflated valuation - yes, that's trouble too.)
This has been expected for a while. The stock market has gone _way_ out of proportion, and the economy is in danger of burning up. The US economy in particular has been approaching capacity - the current rate of growth is unsustainable and could lead to inflation, which the Fed doesn't like. Thus the interest rate hikes.
People, this is exactly what is supposed to happen in a healthy economy. The stock market can't deviate so far for so long - this was just a long overdue correction. Yes, it is a bit severe, but it will recover.
How does this silly stuff affect us, the techies and the geeks? On the topic of approaching capacity and INFLATION. Well, remember those INFLATED salaries that many of us are getting, because the demand is so high and the supply low? Well that's one of the things being attacked. Monetary policy makers hate INFLATION, that's why they go out of their way to fight it. That's why interest rates go up, and Greenspan makes strong pronouncements. With the US economy straining, INFLATION is inevitable - so a cooldown is necessary.
There's an old saying (french?) that goes along the lines of 'those who do not do politics will be done in by politics'. Well, the same can be said for economics. The fact is, we're all affected by the economy, and having some clue how it works can be very helpful. We are most definately going to be affected by this, but the stock market is only one piece of the puzzle.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of this story is that such a system is more likely to make matters worse, not better, and the fact that the type of violence it purports to prevent is rare and on the decline.
I once attended a lecture by Elliot Layton, a world-renowned expert in crime. One of the things I found particularly interesting about his lecture was that in general, violent crime has been on the decline for over a decade (at least in Canada and the U.S.), yet the general populace and the media perceives it as being high. My point is that this sort of profiling system is completely unecessary. Yes, columbine was a horrible tragedy, but such things are rare. Certainly there are other, much more frequent problems that need to be dealt with at the very least.
Another thing that bothers me about this system is that it focuses on one particular aspect of the perceived problem, and ignores many others. Where's the snitch line to report bullying, which is far, far more common? Why is it that the introverted and socially maladjusted has to be picked on at the institutional level as well? Where's the profiling system for the ever so common drunk-driving date-raping teenager? Most importantly, why are we trying to ruin the lives of these people instead of trying to help them?
Many kids who have a hard time in school become quite successful when they finally move on to better places such as university. This system may very well prevent that by taking opportunities away from kids with a lot of potential who just need a little time to get their lives under control. That, perhaps is the biggest danger - ruining the lives of kids before they've even had a chance to get somewhere.
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It may be tempting to blame bill, but he really isn't the cause of this. The stock market has been out of control for a long time, due largely to inflated dotcom and tech stocks in general. The DOJ ruling and fall of M$ stock was only a trigger - it was really a matter of any time now. Greenspan has been trying to drive the market to correction for a while with his interest rate hikes, but it hadn't been responding.
Again, it isn't just M$ or the linux stocks, it's EVERYTHING, _particularly_ tech stocks which were the root of the market trouble. (By trouble I mean inflated valuation - yes, that's trouble too.)
This has been expected for a while. The stock market has gone _way_ out of proportion, and the economy is in danger of burning up. The US economy in particular has been approaching capacity - the current rate of growth is unsustainable and could lead to inflation, which the Fed doesn't like. Thus the interest rate hikes.
People, this is exactly what is supposed to happen in a healthy economy. The stock market can't deviate so far for so long - this was just a long overdue correction. Yes, it is a bit severe, but it will recover.
How does this silly stuff affect us, the techies and the geeks? On the topic of approaching capacity and INFLATION. Well, remember those INFLATED salaries that many of us are getting, because the demand is so high and the supply low? Well that's one of the things being attacked. Monetary policy makers hate INFLATION, that's why they go out of their way to fight it. That's why interest rates go up, and Greenspan makes strong pronouncements. With the US economy straining, INFLATION is inevitable - so a cooldown is necessary.
There's an old saying (french?) that goes along the lines of 'those who do not do politics will be done in by politics'. Well, the same can be said for economics. The fact is, we're all affected by the economy, and having some clue how it works can be very helpful. We are most definately going to be affected by this, but the stock market is only one piece of the puzzle.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of this story is that such a system is more likely to make matters worse, not better, and the fact that the type of violence it purports to prevent is rare and on the decline.
I once attended a lecture by Elliot Layton, a world-renowned expert in crime. One of the things I found particularly interesting about his lecture was that in general, violent crime has been on the decline for over a decade (at least in Canada and the U.S.), yet the general populace and the media perceives it as being high. My point is that this sort of profiling system is completely unecessary. Yes, columbine was a horrible tragedy, but such things are rare. Certainly there are other, much more frequent problems that need to be dealt with at the very least.
Another thing that bothers me about this system is that it focuses on one particular aspect of the perceived problem, and ignores many others. Where's the snitch line to report bullying, which is far, far more common? Why is it that the introverted and socially maladjusted has to be picked on at the institutional level as well? Where's the profiling system for the ever so common drunk-driving date-raping teenager? Most importantly, why are we trying to ruin the lives of these people instead of trying to help them?
Many kids who have a hard time in school become quite successful when they finally move on to better places such as university. This system may very well prevent that by taking opportunities away from kids with a lot of potential who just need a little time to get their lives under control. That, perhaps is the biggest danger - ruining the lives of kids before they've even had a chance to get somewhere.