Re: I can readily agree that PROFIT is not a four letter word.
1. Yes, it really does bother me. I am not a "free trade" dude. If a nation exports jobs and imports products, the demise is predictable. Further, our steel industry was almost obliterated last year by proven dumping by several nations. The Clinton administration, representing the friend of the ordinary worker party, just waived it magic wand and pretended it didn't exist. "Free Trade" is definitely to the benefit of the capitalists, and, if I was one, I would take advantage of it; but, it is not to the benefit of the workers in this country. The balance of trade will catch up with us; it is a time bomb waiting to explode. We also got this new concept that says if you don't want to export it, then outsource it. Neither of the two major parties will IMHO express this issue to the satisfaction of the workers in this country. It is another time bomb that will explode and radically change the political landscape.
2. I guess we can just watch the battle between SAP and ORCL. That said, I expressed to friends last year that if I was Bill Gates, I would go buy a big island somewhere, move all my operations, and establish the Republic of Microsoft. He probably would get some foreign aid. Actually, I admire him for not doing so.
3. My point here is that we need to watch what the 10% are doing, not the 90%. It is said that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. I need only look at what my wife and I earned when we got married and were starting down the path of life and what we paid for rent, food, and transportation, as compared to what my oldest faces every month. His is not a very pretty picture. My bank pays me something like 2% on a savings account, while I can get some 5% in the brokerage cash account (my numbers might be off a little). Yet, the brokerage account is not counted as savings. Well, I don't have FDIC insurance in the brokerage account. Some of us are learning that there are new tools available, while it is in the interest of the political folks favoring banks to support the old notions of savings.
Somewhere along here, we will probably just have to agree to disagree.
As always, Just a View from the Swamp on a beautiful day.
Berney |
