How is it that we come to accept as natural, wage differentials in which some few human beings receive 200% to 400% more compensation for their labors than most others? In the past, the “Divine Righs” of kings was sufficient explanation. Today, we are told the difference is merit-based. People who are paid 400% more, work 400% harder or are 400% smarter. In some way, they are our betters — the “best of the best”. The.Guardian.co.uk quotes Lord Griffiths, vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs International as saying “The British public should “tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity for all”, He must mean that if we tolerate 400% inequality, we will realize 400% more prosperity. Get up close and personal with your “betters” here: “Pay at the Top“.
Short Takes
- Lip Reading Babies: Utter nonsense!
January 17, 2012 | 8:54 pmSays psychologist David Lewkowicz of Florida Atlantic University, who led [a] study published yesterday…
’The baby in order to imitate you has to figure out how to shape their lips to make that particular sound they’re hearing,’’
Can you “figure out” why this is utter nonsense? I should as obvious as monkey see, monkey do. With this sort of thing passing for science, we are surely doomed.
- The Mark of Cain
November 9, 2011 | 3:13 amWatching Herman Cain duel with his female accusers is like watching the Jerry Springer Show. Not a pretty picture. If you partake, be sure an wash you hands afterwards.
- The Truth About Sovereign Debt
November 1, 2011 | 4:01 pmDuring the housing bubble people bet on rising home prices by taking out loans on to-good-to-be true terms and investment banking made bets on the rising home prices by lending on to-good-be-true terms. Everyone drank the Kool Aid. Prices went down. Having made bad bets, home owners should default on their loans and bankers should take their losses. This is the simple-minded logic of every-man-for-himself market economics.
The nations that joined the EU placed bets on rising economic prosperity that would come from joining the EU and adopting the Euro and borrowing from the EU banks on to-good-to-be-true terms. The EU investment bankers made speculative bets on EU member nations by lending them billions on to-good-to-be-true terms. The borrower economies went down not up. Everyone drank the Kool Aid and having made bad bets the borrowers should default on their loans and the bankers should take their losses. This too, is the simple-minded logic of every-man-for-himself market economics.
So how do the bankers hold the world hostage to their bad bets? They claim they are too big to fail. In other words, the only game they know is heads they win, tails we lose.
-
Archive for Short Takes »
- Lip Reading Babies: Utter nonsense!
I’m a week late to the party, but you mean 400X (or 40,000%). Doesn’t take away from your point.
You are correct! Adds impact, does it not?