The middle class of USA was formed in 19 century, it was small business and professionals. The post WWII 'middle class' was blue collar workers in position to dictate monopolistic wages, due to the rest of the world's production capacity being wiped out. The gov't that feeds off the income taxes grows during such fluke times very quickly but it does not shrink back to match the reality of the decreasing economy, instead it inflates the bubble (in USA helped by the USD being 'reserve currency'). This destroys the savings rate, moves capital savings out of the country. Coupled with excessive regulations (what else can a large gov't do, but regulate everything and tax everything?), also coupled with various socialist programs (paid for by IOU promises and political hot air and pyramid schemes) this causes massive outflow of capital and production capacity, which in turn leaves the population devoid of any real wealth production ability, removes the jobs from the economy, all while growing the inequality between the rich and poor by promoting gov't involvement into everything, which destroys competition and pushes prices up (this only adds the insult to the money printing/counterfeiting injury).
There is no reason for any middle class to exist in America. America now is the land of beggars and liars - beggars are the general public and they elect liars into high offices.
You seem to be forgetting that USA turned its economy from agricultural to industrial within the 19 century, while causing the USD to appreciate in value by a factor of 2, increasing everybody's wealth, creating new goods and services that never existed before than, causing massive increases in wealth, which in turn caused massive increases in human ability to concentrate on things other than growing food - people's rights is just one of the achievements of the free market that USA had before 1913. All done not only without, but despite gov't intervention, which always caused only one thing - creation of large corporate entities - tycoons, robber barons, bailed out financial and other institutions.
It is the 'invisible hand' that causes huge increase in wealth production, not any directed effort from the above gods of high gov't offices.
America's economic decline is due to people assuming that gov't must buy them shit.
1913 was the year that started the beginning of the end - IRS and Fed were created. Collecting income taxes on one hand and being able to print money to buy gov't debt on another provided US gov't with ability to grow quickly and much beyond what gov't is supposed to be - a spending item, which reflects the economy by growing and shrinking when economy grows and shrinks.
The gov't is a spending item, like any other spending item you cut back on it when times are hard. Instead the Fed provided gov't with ability to grow at all times by taxing the existing monetary supply - inflation, and IRS provided more water for the mill as well, but also with a side benefit of being able to actively participate and regulate all business activities.
After the WWII US was in position of having a unique combination of intact infrastructure and a large labor force that returned from the was, its currency became the reserve (instead of gold, as it should be) and US blue collar worker became the 'middle class' (which is a misnomer, middle class is small business and professionals, not factory workers.)
The so called 'middle class' of US had a monopoly on production (compared to the rest of the world) and it commanded a quickly growing salary, the American Dream was achieved. Within 20 years the world has recovered its ability to produce, but by that time the US gov't was addicted to the huge income taxes it was collecting from individuals and companies, and it wouldn't shrink itself even though the US production force started shrinking just after 1965 (also the year that US got itself into public healthcare business in big way, quickly forcing costs up). All the costs associated with gov't regulation provided enough incentive for manufacturers to start looking for cheaper places to do business - from lower salaries, to lower cost of doing business due to regulations, income taxes, etc., all of this pushed manufacturing out of USA.
Production and manufacturing - this is what pushes forward the necessity to innovate, to do R&D, and this is a market signal that a more educated work force is needed. This is what creates a more educated population, not gov't grants, which only drive up cost and destroy quality, as the present clearly shows.
At this point the US gov't is destroying currency so quickly, while US population is producing so little on per-capita basis, that it makes little sense for businesses to want to move to USA. Manufacturing moves to where it's cheaper to do, and it makes perfect sense. When you say 'let the bastards walk' - you are kidding yourself and everybody. "The bastards" have walked already. They are producing cheap goods of pretty good quality, they are doing it elsewhere, so there is no reason to pay any income taxes to US gov't.
The people of USA facilitated this, even required this (judging by your post they are actively pursuing this now,) with every vote for anybody who promises them something for nothing.
As long as IRS and Fed and huge gov't exists, which promises to you the foodstamps, welfare, education loans, mortgage guarantees, FDIC, business regulations, etc.etc.etc., the production capacity of USA will be decreasing.
However it is much worse now, that USA is monetizing its debt to feed its gov't beast at ever increasing rates. There is a reason why gold was USD350/ounce in 2003 and cotton was USD50/pound in 2003 and now gold is over USD1400/ounce and cotton is over USD200/pound - they keep the same ratio (1:7) but they went up in price by over 4 times in US currency, as well as in all other currencies - this is monetary inflation caused by gov't printing.
This is currency destruction, and it will only worsen the situation.
I hope to see this shortly: all socialist states fall economically and lose every ability to pay for all of their social programs, some turning into dictatorial prisons, some finally turning to the correct way of running their econ
1. USA mostly assembles parts made in other places.
2. Once the economy is not manufacturing, it will not be doing any real research/development - there is no pressure to out-compete anybody. Manufacturing is the key to increase in R&D spending by companies.
3. Profit is the only real yardstick as to how your product/service is performing. If you can't generate profit then the market doesn't need you to do what you are doing. If you are arguing for gov't spending into this, sure, some gov't spending provided some positive output, but how much money is sunk into all gov't programs to get any of that positive output? Definitely the private sector does it better when there is a reason to do it (market pressure).
4. Education in the West is done wrong. Gov't pushes its agenda and money, the education is inflating in all aspects - financial (people owe mortgages in education loans by the time they graduate from their sociology programs). There should be only market directing the need for any kind of education, any other money will only create a problem - oversupply of certain types of education and inflating prices and will produce shortage of other types of education, the kinds the market maybe needs - like apprenticeships, where young people learn trades.
--
I am opposed to the general sentiment among the crowds that gov't must be involved in economy. Gov't is the reason economy has gone to shit in the first place - it has an appetite for money that cannot be reduced, it never shrinks, even though it's all consumption and no production, and while other forms of consumption shrink during bad economic times, the one that doesn't is gov't.
It does so now by destroying not only the economy, but also the monetary system, which may undo the way society operates completely.
In the other news Sheryl Crow has also been breaking a record, reusing the same ply of toilet paper since 2007.
The musician was heard saying: "It has been tough at times, but you can achieve anything if you just put your mind to it. Also try not to pay too much attention to the color of the thing".
"The internet makes it much easier than in the past to find information about Satanism," said Carlo Climati, a member of the university who specialises in the dangers posed to young people by Satanism.
This bizarre notion we have in this country that all companies must always be earning more and more every year than before and always growing and profits must be more than any other company is unsustainable. It does no good for society and is the wrong way to go about things.
- you are barking up the wrong tree then.
Say that to your government, the Fed, who are PRINTING federal reserve notes. What do you think that means?
In 2003 1 pound of cotton was 50USD and gold was 350USD/ounce.
For 1 ounce of gold, you could get 7 pounds of cotton.
In 2011 1 pound of cotton is over 200USD and gold is over 1400USD/ounce.
For 1 ounce of gold you are still getting 7 pounds of cotton.
However notice that in USD the cotton went up 4 times and gold went up 4 times.
This has nothing to do with production of gold or cotton, this has to do with printing of money. Companies do not print money though, they use federal reserve notes - legal tender.
IF, IF there was no 'legal tender' notion on those worthless crappy pieces of greenish paperish substance, the more enlightened of us are rolling to snort cocaine with, then the merchants would not be accepting those dollars.
They would be requiring REAL money, and since real money cannot be printed, the PRICES of things would go down, just like they did throughout the 19 century USA, when dollar (gold equivalent), rose in value by a factor of 2.
In 20th century dollar lost value by a factor of near 20 now.
--
Now, of-course to stay ahead of REAL inflation (which is NOT what hedonistic CPI adjustments give you, which is reverse engineered never to show real inflation), companies have to grow their earning substantially year to year, because THERE IS such thing as cost of opportunity.
Why should anybody sink a bunch of money into one enterprise that doesn't even stay ahead of true inflation + earns some interest (at least as much interest as any other business)? There is no reason for money to be there if the thing doesn't stay ahead of inflation + doesn't gives something back on top of that.
You think this is bad for society? Get back onto the gold standard and prohibit the gov't explicitly from ever printing 'legal tender' again.
If a tsunami or quake takes out GPS satellites in orbit 20km above the surface of the Earth I think accurate time-keeping will be the least of anyone's worries.
- well actually, if that happen I would know what to be mostly suprised about - a 20km tsunami wave or a falling GPS satellite.
As to surpluses, etc., books are cooked everywhere, not just in USA. They have fancy accounting in most countries, you know?
Germany did something smarter than USA though - they allowed cheap work force to enter the country legally and thus retained most of its manufacturing capacity, as opposed to USA and others, who have outsourced their manufacturing to the places that are cheaper.
Yes, once you get your robot that can build another robot, and then they build armies of robots, and every human has his robot armies, it's all good and stuff, now tell me, what are they going to use for raw materials, space (land) and energy? How are you going to share that among all humans? Time share? Ha ha.
On the other hand if the same guy walks by often and laughs at that every single time, I would just watch VERY carefully to make sure they don't bring in a firearm.
Finance, just like any other good, needs competition to provide people with useful products.
Government on the other hand, destroyed competition in that sector (just like in many others), created various moral hazards, gave out various bail outs and stimulus and interest free money, created laws to guard large companies in that sector from failing, while creating other laws to prevent any sort of competition to take place.
Did you know that FINRA prevents financial advisers from publicizing their historical performance? This means they cannot say: here, I helped Bob to make this return on this investment over this amount of time not by doing risky trading but instead by actual investment strategy, which includes this, this and that.
So small firms cannot advertise their performance and large firms don't care, as long as small firms can't.
Well, if years of Beanie Babies porn has taught me anything is that you shouldn't count on having genitals and if you can't find any then you need to improvise.
I won't vote for any party that promotes anti-business agenda in any way ever.
Individual rights only make sense when they include right to make your own living and when the fruits of own labor are not stolen 'for the common good'.
Common good depends on ability of people to do business freely.
Not in Canada now, but will nevertheless be voting for Libertarians once again. If there is no Libertarian candidate in the riding, will vote Conservative.
These single focusfunctional/imperative/O-O programming classes are teaching tools (techniques), not tool selection.
- that's where it all goes wrong. Teaching people in colleges about specific tools rather than about helping them to adequately approach a problem and to come up with a solution that is generic enough mathematically, so that it could be expressed in any language. The tools they will learn on the job.
Of-course if that's a technical school, then there is more merit in that sort of an approach, still I'd rather have somebody who can think his way out of a box than somebody who has a hammer.
I got this idea, I know it's crazy, but don't dismiss it right out.
How about they start teaching people "thought oriented programming"? You know, thinking about the problem first, coming up with solutions to questions, ideas, figuring out the best tools for the jobs and then using that to do the work?
This gets repeated over and over again, and still all the MITM scaremongering carries on, while sensible approach of not displaying visual cues for HTTPS with self signed certs, that they are 'secure', but simply encrypting the connection and proceeding to the site, the same way it's done for HTTP is drowned out in the flood of FUD.
What browsers should do is display the fingerprint for the certificate near the URL, so it's easy to verify, but rather than that, HTTPS connections should be treated exactly like HTTP connections, unless there is a CA, in which case the browser should provide visual cues that a third party CA believes this is the actual certificate for the site, that the browser connects to.
Slashdot Mirror
I disagree entirely with your point.
The middle class of USA was formed in 19 century, it was small business and professionals. The post WWII 'middle class' was blue collar workers in position to dictate monopolistic wages, due to the rest of the world's production capacity being wiped out. The gov't that feeds off the income taxes grows during such fluke times very quickly but it does not shrink back to match the reality of the decreasing economy, instead it inflates the bubble (in USA helped by the USD being 'reserve currency'). This destroys the savings rate, moves capital savings out of the country. Coupled with excessive regulations (what else can a large gov't do, but regulate everything and tax everything?), also coupled with various socialist programs (paid for by IOU promises and political hot air and pyramid schemes) this causes massive outflow of capital and production capacity, which in turn leaves the population devoid of any real wealth production ability, removes the jobs from the economy, all while growing the inequality between the rich and poor by promoting gov't involvement into everything, which destroys competition and pushes prices up (this only adds the insult to the money printing/counterfeiting injury).
There is no reason for any middle class to exist in America. America now is the land of beggars and liars - beggars are the general public and they elect liars into high offices.
You seem to be forgetting that USA turned its economy from agricultural to industrial within the 19 century, while causing the USD to appreciate in value by a factor of 2, increasing everybody's wealth, creating new goods and services that never existed before than, causing massive increases in wealth, which in turn caused massive increases in human ability to concentrate on things other than growing food - people's rights is just one of the achievements of the free market that USA had before 1913. All done not only without, but despite gov't intervention, which always caused only one thing - creation of large corporate entities - tycoons, robber barons, bailed out financial and other institutions.
It is the 'invisible hand' that causes huge increase in wealth production, not any directed effort from the above gods of high gov't offices.
America's economic decline is due to people assuming that gov't must buy them shit.
1913 was the year that started the beginning of the end - IRS and Fed were created. Collecting income taxes on one hand and being able to print money to buy gov't debt on another provided US gov't with ability to grow quickly and much beyond what gov't is supposed to be - a spending item, which reflects the economy by growing and shrinking when economy grows and shrinks.
The gov't is a spending item, like any other spending item you cut back on it when times are hard. Instead the Fed provided gov't with ability to grow at all times by taxing the existing monetary supply - inflation, and IRS provided more water for the mill as well, but also with a side benefit of being able to actively participate and regulate all business activities.
After the WWII US was in position of having a unique combination of intact infrastructure and a large labor force that returned from the was, its currency became the reserve (instead of gold, as it should be) and US blue collar worker became the 'middle class' (which is a misnomer, middle class is small business and professionals, not factory workers.)
The so called 'middle class' of US had a monopoly on production (compared to the rest of the world) and it commanded a quickly growing salary, the American Dream was achieved. Within 20 years the world has recovered its ability to produce, but by that time the US gov't was addicted to the huge income taxes it was collecting from individuals and companies, and it wouldn't shrink itself even though the US production force started shrinking just after 1965 (also the year that US got itself into public healthcare business in big way, quickly forcing costs up). All the costs associated with gov't regulation provided enough incentive for manufacturers to start looking for cheaper places to do business - from lower salaries, to lower cost of doing business due to regulations, income taxes, etc., all of this pushed manufacturing out of USA.
Production and manufacturing - this is what pushes forward the necessity to innovate, to do R&D, and this is a market signal that a more educated work force is needed. This is what creates a more educated population, not gov't grants, which only drive up cost and destroy quality, as the present clearly shows.
At this point the US gov't is destroying currency so quickly, while US population is producing so little on per-capita basis, that it makes little sense for businesses to want to move to USA. Manufacturing moves to where it's cheaper to do, and it makes perfect sense. When you say 'let the bastards walk' - you are kidding yourself and everybody. "The bastards" have walked already. They are producing cheap goods of pretty good quality, they are doing it elsewhere, so there is no reason to pay any income taxes to US gov't.
The people of USA facilitated this, even required this (judging by your post they are actively pursuing this now,) with every vote for anybody who promises them something for nothing.
As long as IRS and Fed and huge gov't exists, which promises to you the foodstamps, welfare, education loans, mortgage guarantees, FDIC, business regulations, etc.etc.etc., the production capacity of USA will be decreasing.
However it is much worse now, that USA is monetizing its debt to feed its gov't beast at ever increasing rates. There is a reason why gold was USD350/ounce in 2003 and cotton was USD50/pound in 2003 and now gold is over USD1400/ounce and cotton is over USD200/pound - they keep the same ratio (1:7) but they went up in price by over 4 times in US currency, as well as in all other currencies - this is monetary inflation caused by gov't printing.
This is currency destruction, and it will only worsen the situation.
I hope to see this shortly: all socialist states fall economically and lose every ability to pay for all of their social programs, some turning into dictatorial prisons, some finally turning to the correct way of running their econ
1. USA mostly assembles parts made in other places.
2. Once the economy is not manufacturing, it will not be doing any real research/development - there is no pressure to out-compete anybody. Manufacturing is the key to increase in R&D spending by companies.
3. Profit is the only real yardstick as to how your product/service is performing. If you can't generate profit then the market doesn't need you to do what you are doing. If you are arguing for gov't spending into this, sure, some gov't spending provided some positive output, but how much money is sunk into all gov't programs to get any of that positive output? Definitely the private sector does it better when there is a reason to do it (market pressure).
4. Education in the West is done wrong. Gov't pushes its agenda and money, the education is inflating in all aspects - financial (people owe mortgages in education loans by the time they graduate from their sociology programs). There should be only market directing the need for any kind of education, any other money will only create a problem - oversupply of certain types of education and inflating prices and will produce shortage of other types of education, the kinds the market maybe needs - like apprenticeships, where young people learn trades.
--
I am opposed to the general sentiment among the crowds that gov't must be involved in economy. Gov't is the reason economy has gone to shit in the first place - it has an appetite for money that cannot be reduced, it never shrinks, even though it's all consumption and no production, and while other forms of consumption shrink during bad economic times, the one that doesn't is gov't.
It does so now by destroying not only the economy, but also the monetary system, which may undo the way society operates completely.
Aaaah, 1913. The year that separate States should have nullified their agreement to abide by the rules established by the federal government.
In the other news Sheryl Crow has also been breaking a record, reusing the same ply of toilet paper since 2007.
The musician was heard saying: "It has been tough at times, but you can achieve anything if you just put your mind to it. Also try not to pay too much attention to the color of the thing".
FTFS:
"The internet makes it much easier than in the past to find information about Satanism," said Carlo Climati, a member of the university who specialises in the dangers posed to young people by Satanism.
- trolling for the church's brownie points?
This bizarre notion we have in this country that all companies must always be earning more and more every year than before and always growing and profits must be more than any other company is unsustainable. It does no good for society and is the wrong way to go about things.
- you are barking up the wrong tree then.
Say that to your government, the Fed, who are PRINTING federal reserve notes. What do you think that means?
In 2003 1 pound of cotton was 50USD and gold was 350USD/ounce.
For 1 ounce of gold, you could get 7 pounds of cotton.
In 2011 1 pound of cotton is over 200USD and gold is over 1400USD/ounce.
For 1 ounce of gold you are still getting 7 pounds of cotton.
However notice that in USD the cotton went up 4 times and gold went up 4 times.
This has nothing to do with production of gold or cotton, this has to do with printing of money. Companies do not print money though, they use federal reserve notes - legal tender.
IF, IF there was no 'legal tender' notion on those worthless crappy pieces of greenish paperish substance, the more enlightened of us are rolling to snort cocaine with, then the merchants would not be accepting those dollars.
They would be requiring REAL money, and since real money cannot be printed, the PRICES of things would go down, just like they did throughout the 19 century USA, when dollar (gold equivalent), rose in value by a factor of 2.
In 20th century dollar lost value by a factor of near 20 now.
--
Now, of-course to stay ahead of REAL inflation (which is NOT what hedonistic CPI adjustments give you, which is reverse engineered never to show real inflation), companies have to grow their earning substantially year to year, because THERE IS such thing as cost of opportunity.
Why should anybody sink a bunch of money into one enterprise that doesn't even stay ahead of true inflation + earns some interest (at least as much interest as any other business)? There is no reason for money to be there if the thing doesn't stay ahead of inflation + doesn't gives something back on top of that.
You think this is bad for society? Get back onto the gold standard and prohibit the gov't explicitly from ever printing 'legal tender' again.
aaah, so Antarctica needs radiation hardened ice, I get it.
Wait, why is he missing his numbnuts again?
If a tsunami or quake takes out GPS satellites in orbit 20km above the surface of the Earth I think accurate time-keeping will be the least of anyone's worries.
- well actually, if that happen I would know what to be mostly suprised about - a 20km tsunami wave or a falling GPS satellite.
Germany is not proposing to ban the car.
As to surpluses, etc., books are cooked everywhere, not just in USA. They have fancy accounting in most countries, you know?
Germany did something smarter than USA though - they allowed cheap work force to enter the country legally and thus retained most of its manufacturing capacity, as opposed to USA and others, who have outsourced their manufacturing to the places that are cheaper.
In other news Europe has been recognized as irrelevant to the global market, right after the US.
Yes, once you get your robot that can build another robot, and then they build armies of robots, and every human has his robot armies, it's all good and stuff, now tell me, what are they going to use for raw materials, space (land) and energy? How are you going to share that among all humans? Time share? Ha ha.
On the other hand if the same guy walks by often and laughs at that every single time, I would just watch VERY carefully to make sure they don't bring in a firearm.
"stupid principle of scarcity" - and who are you going to enslave to do the work?
Until everybody gets an army of robots to build shit for them, who would be building shit for you for free and why?
Wrong.
Finance, just like any other good, needs competition to provide people with useful products.
Government on the other hand, destroyed competition in that sector (just like in many others), created various moral hazards, gave out various bail outs and stimulus and interest free money, created laws to guard large companies in that sector from failing, while creating other laws to prevent any sort of competition to take place.
Did you know that FINRA prevents financial advisers from publicizing their historical performance? This means they cannot say: here, I helped Bob to make this return on this investment over this amount of time not by doing risky trading but instead by actual investment strategy, which includes this, this and that.
So small firms cannot advertise their performance and large firms don't care, as long as small firms can't.
Well, if years of Beanie Babies porn has taught me anything is that you shouldn't count on having genitals and if you can't find any then you need to improvise.
ummhhhhh. I know this is /., and all, but are we collectively sure that females do not possess any genitals?
I just need some clarity on this matter.
I agree with the sentiment.
That's why my first vote goes for libertarians.
However I will never in my life vote for anything NDP, that's impossible, absolutely unthinkable.
The Bloc is useless, they are also French, so they can go to hell, they have socialist agenda.
I cannot stand the Liberals, they are dead to me.
The only sensible choice is libertarian. In absence of that choice I would rather go with Conservatives.
I won't vote for any party that promotes anti-business agenda in any way ever.
Individual rights only make sense when they include right to make your own living and when the fruits of own labor are not stolen 'for the common good'.
Common good depends on ability of people to do business freely.
be a bigger, better citizen, vote more than once.
Not in Canada now, but will nevertheless be voting for Libertarians once again. If there is no Libertarian candidate in the riding, will vote Conservative.
These single focusfunctional/imperative/O-O programming classes are teaching tools (techniques), not tool selection.
- that's where it all goes wrong. Teaching people in colleges about specific tools rather than about helping them to adequately approach a problem and to come up with a solution that is generic enough mathematically, so that it could be expressed in any language. The tools they will learn on the job.
Of-course if that's a technical school, then there is more merit in that sort of an approach, still I'd rather have somebody who can think his way out of a box than somebody who has a hammer.
I got this idea, I know it's crazy, but don't dismiss it right out.
How about they start teaching people "thought oriented programming"? You know, thinking about the problem first, coming up with solutions to questions, ideas, figuring out the best tools for the jobs and then using that to do the work?
any traction?
This gets repeated over and over again, and still all the MITM scaremongering carries on, while sensible approach of not displaying visual cues for HTTPS with self signed certs, that they are 'secure', but simply encrypting the connection and proceeding to the site, the same way it's done for HTTP is drowned out in the flood of FUD.
What browsers should do is display the fingerprint for the certificate near the URL, so it's easy to verify, but rather than that, HTTPS connections should be treated exactly like HTTP connections, unless there is a CA, in which case the browser should provide visual cues that a third party CA believes this is the actual certificate for the site, that the browser connects to.