The richer a society gets, the more government fools your country can afford, the more stupid government rules they can create
When I was in Ireland I saw two policemen in 2 weeks and no council dudes at all, it was just like the UK in the 1970s 1980s
Lovely and peaceful, everyone getting on with their little life, no government clergy strutting about looking for trouble
Too much wealth is just as bad for a society as too little, everything in moderation keeps it all in balance
When I was in Ireland I saw two policemen in 2 weeks and no council dudes at all, it was just like the UK in the 1970s 1980s
Lovely and peaceful, everyone getting on with their little life, no government clergy strutting about looking for trouble
Too much wealth is just as bad for a society as too little, everything in moderation keeps it all in balance
Income inequality growing in socialist Europe too as economic policy/central banking rigs the system
for the rich/global stock bubble.. That along with of course more automation less need for "grunt" workers in society at large..
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[h=1]Actually, Denmark is becoming more like us[/h]
October 23
NEW YORK
Income inequality is on the rise. The rich control more of the country's wealth. Union membership is falling. The ranks of the poor are growing.
Sounds like the United States? Actually, it's Denmark.
This tiny Scandinavian country has been in the spotlight in recent weeks. Bernie Sanders, who is running for president as a self-described social democrat, and Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel-prize winning economist, have both pointed to Denmark as a model of equality and social welfare that the U.S. should follow.
To be sure, Denmark still has one of the lowest rates of inequality and highest rates of economic mobility among developed countries. Its citizens enjoy an expansive social safety net, which includes free college and health care, as well as subsidized child care. Denmark also ranks at or near the top in terms of global happiness.
To pay for all these benefits, Danes are more heavily taxed than Americans. In Denmark, total tax revenues is 49% of the size of the economy, compared to 25.4% in the U.S., according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Danes pay a top tax rate of 56%, compared to 39.6% in the U.S.
Denmark, however, is contending with many of the same issues that are widening the income gap in the U.S. and other European countries. Wealthy Danes are benefiting from the boom in global stock markets in recent years. Educated citizens with mastery over the latest technology are commanding bigger salaries, while middle class manufacturing jobs are disappearing. The Danish government cut taxes for the rich, while curtailing public assistance for the poor, jobless and recent immigrants.
"There's more of a stigma on unemployment," said Kristian Weise, director of Cevea, a center-left think tank. "Danes generally support a big welfare state, but there is a growing feeling that people have to do more for themselves to get a job."
Here's how the gap is widening:
Denmark, along with Iceland, saw the largest increase in inequality in Europe -- rising 12% in each country between 2008 and 2012, according to Eurostat.
The Top 10% of Danes saw their incomes grow by 29% over the decade ending in 2013, while middle-income folks experienced only a 12.3% bump, according to the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, a left-leaning think tank, citing national statistics. The poorest Danes suffered a nearly 1% loss in income, a rare occurrence in a country where everyone's income usually rises.
When it comes to wealth, the Top 10% are collecting more of it, though official statistics are a little misleading because they don't include pension savings, which are spread out more evenly among the population. What the data shows is that the upper crust controlled nearly 80% of the nation's net worth in 2013, up from 65% in 2000, according to the council.
In the U.S., the Top 10% controlled nearly 78% of the wealth in 2013, according to Edward Wolff, an economics professor at New York University.
Fewer Danes are joining the three main trade unions that negotiate collective agreements, with membership falling to 60%, a 10 percentage points drop since the late 1990s. Still, participation in Denmark's unions is far higher than in the U.S. where the membership rate was just 11% in 2014.
And poverty in Denmark rose to just above 6% in 2013, compared to just above 3% in 1995.
While Sanders is trying to become the first social democrat in the White House, Denmark kicked its social democrats out of power in June. This may lead to cutbacks in the country's safety net. The country's new center-right leaders have already re-instituted a cut in social assistance for recent immigrants andthey are looking to cap these benefits for everyone, Weise said. Instead, center-right officials have said they want to give more incentives to Danes to work.
Mobility is already being affected. In recent years, there's been a decline in the share of young adults from poorly educated families who go on to graduate from high school or college, said Jonas Schytz Juul, head of research for the economic council.
There are other consequences, too. Juul points to recent OECD and International Monetary Fund research that shows rising income inequality hurts economic growth. Also, the widening gap hurts social cohesion.
"You have to feel some sort of connection to make a welfare society work," said Juul. "If the gap between richest and poorest is getting wider, that system is challenged. You feel no connection to the people on the bottom."
for the rich/global stock bubble.. That along with of course more automation less need for "grunt" workers in society at large..
-------
[h=1]Actually, Denmark is becoming more like us[/h]
October 23
NEW YORK
Income inequality is on the rise. The rich control more of the country's wealth. Union membership is falling. The ranks of the poor are growing.
Sounds like the United States? Actually, it's Denmark.
This tiny Scandinavian country has been in the spotlight in recent weeks. Bernie Sanders, who is running for president as a self-described social democrat, and Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel-prize winning economist, have both pointed to Denmark as a model of equality and social welfare that the U.S. should follow.
To be sure, Denmark still has one of the lowest rates of inequality and highest rates of economic mobility among developed countries. Its citizens enjoy an expansive social safety net, which includes free college and health care, as well as subsidized child care. Denmark also ranks at or near the top in terms of global happiness.
To pay for all these benefits, Danes are more heavily taxed than Americans. In Denmark, total tax revenues is 49% of the size of the economy, compared to 25.4% in the U.S., according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Danes pay a top tax rate of 56%, compared to 39.6% in the U.S.
Denmark, however, is contending with many of the same issues that are widening the income gap in the U.S. and other European countries. Wealthy Danes are benefiting from the boom in global stock markets in recent years. Educated citizens with mastery over the latest technology are commanding bigger salaries, while middle class manufacturing jobs are disappearing. The Danish government cut taxes for the rich, while curtailing public assistance for the poor, jobless and recent immigrants.
"There's more of a stigma on unemployment," said Kristian Weise, director of Cevea, a center-left think tank. "Danes generally support a big welfare state, but there is a growing feeling that people have to do more for themselves to get a job."
Here's how the gap is widening:
Denmark, along with Iceland, saw the largest increase in inequality in Europe -- rising 12% in each country between 2008 and 2012, according to Eurostat.
The Top 10% of Danes saw their incomes grow by 29% over the decade ending in 2013, while middle-income folks experienced only a 12.3% bump, according to the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, a left-leaning think tank, citing national statistics. The poorest Danes suffered a nearly 1% loss in income, a rare occurrence in a country where everyone's income usually rises.
When it comes to wealth, the Top 10% are collecting more of it, though official statistics are a little misleading because they don't include pension savings, which are spread out more evenly among the population. What the data shows is that the upper crust controlled nearly 80% of the nation's net worth in 2013, up from 65% in 2000, according to the council.
In the U.S., the Top 10% controlled nearly 78% of the wealth in 2013, according to Edward Wolff, an economics professor at New York University.
Fewer Danes are joining the three main trade unions that negotiate collective agreements, with membership falling to 60%, a 10 percentage points drop since the late 1990s. Still, participation in Denmark's unions is far higher than in the U.S. where the membership rate was just 11% in 2014.
And poverty in Denmark rose to just above 6% in 2013, compared to just above 3% in 1995.
While Sanders is trying to become the first social democrat in the White House, Denmark kicked its social democrats out of power in June. This may lead to cutbacks in the country's safety net. The country's new center-right leaders have already re-instituted a cut in social assistance for recent immigrants andthey are looking to cap these benefits for everyone, Weise said. Instead, center-right officials have said they want to give more incentives to Danes to work.
Mobility is already being affected. In recent years, there's been a decline in the share of young adults from poorly educated families who go on to graduate from high school or college, said Jonas Schytz Juul, head of research for the economic council.
There are other consequences, too. Juul points to recent OECD and International Monetary Fund research that shows rising income inequality hurts economic growth. Also, the widening gap hurts social cohesion.
"You have to feel some sort of connection to make a welfare society work," said Juul. "If the gap between richest and poorest is getting wider, that system is challenged. You feel no connection to the people on the bottom."
Income inequality growing in socialist Europe too...
Believe me when I say I've lived in a socialist country (called Britain), and there ain't no socialist countries left in Europe. France has hung onto a few splinters though.
Nowadays you've got either right wing revenue backed liberals or left wing revenue backed liberals, but there aint no socialists left over here, no siree.
The people from the socialist period(up to 1980) are the current oldies with the nice forever pensions from the now sold-off-to-the-corporate-stock-market-gangsters socialist industries.
From my generation onwards most people don't have a pension pot to piss in. Long live the revenue backed liberal eutopia!
Believe me when I say I've lived in a socialist country (called Britain), and there ain't no socialist countries left in Europe. France has hung onto a few splinters though.
Nowadays you've got either right wing revenue backed liberals or left wing revenue backed liberals, but there aint no socialists left over here, no siree.
The people from the socialist period(up to 1980) are the current oldies with the nice forever pensions from the now sold-off-to-the-corporate-stock-market-gangsters socialist industries.
From my generation onwards most people don't have a pension pot to piss in. Long live the revenue backed liberal eutopia!
An anomaly of UK law means that my Scottish water supply is still socialist, and owned by the state
My bill is around 300 dollars a year, I can run the tap and flush the bog as much as I like
In England, after 30 years of privatisation, water bills average 500-1000 dollars a year per household and they are metered for every gallon of use
It's the same stuff from the same pipes, but theirs is now privately owned, so a massive redistribution of wealth from the poor/middle to the rich can happen
Before privatisation(about 1986), both Scotland and England paid the same water rates in the old socialist system
My bill is around 300 dollars a year, I can run the tap and flush the bog as much as I like
In England, after 30 years of privatisation, water bills average 500-1000 dollars a year per household and they are metered for every gallon of use
It's the same stuff from the same pipes, but theirs is now privately owned, so a massive redistribution of wealth from the poor/middle to the rich can happen
Before privatisation(about 1986), both Scotland and England paid the same water rates in the old socialist system
Too late the damage already done.. Dig deeper or start to take your lumps now..
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[h=1]Raghuram Rajan warns of global threat from easy money[/h]By John O'Donnell
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has warned about the risks of easy money, urging the United States to raise the cost of borrowing sooner rather than later regardless of the jolt this may give markets.
Speaking at an event with the head of Germany's Bundesbank, who sent a similar message, Raghuram Rajan said that low borrowing costs and money printing were a threat to financial stability and would lose effectiveness over time.
Rajan, who is worried that shrinking returns on investments in Europe prompt a flood of investment and inflation in India, said "extremely aggressive monetary policy ... eventually may have tremendous consequences for financial stability".
"If everyone is doing it, you won't get much benefit out of it," he said.
Speaking on the same podium, Jens Weidmann, the head of Germany's central bank, backed Rajan's warning.
"I share the concerns regarding monetary policy that is too loose for too long," he said.
Rajan said that the Federal Reserve's likely increase in interest rates in December could upset markets but that it was nonetheless necessary.
"The liftoff has been one of the most widely advertised factors," he told an audience of students.
"I think there will be volatility but I think we have to bear it. I worry more about the consequences of staying in the ultra accomodative ... world," he said.
(Reporting By John O'Donnell; editing by Francesco Canepa/Jeremy Gaunt)
-------------
[h=1]Raghuram Rajan warns of global threat from easy money[/h]By John O'Donnell
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The head of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has warned about the risks of easy money, urging the United States to raise the cost of borrowing sooner rather than later regardless of the jolt this may give markets.
Speaking at an event with the head of Germany's Bundesbank, who sent a similar message, Raghuram Rajan said that low borrowing costs and money printing were a threat to financial stability and would lose effectiveness over time.
Rajan, who is worried that shrinking returns on investments in Europe prompt a flood of investment and inflation in India, said "extremely aggressive monetary policy ... eventually may have tremendous consequences for financial stability".
"If everyone is doing it, you won't get much benefit out of it," he said.
Speaking on the same podium, Jens Weidmann, the head of Germany's central bank, backed Rajan's warning.
"I share the concerns regarding monetary policy that is too loose for too long," he said.
Rajan said that the Federal Reserve's likely increase in interest rates in December could upset markets but that it was nonetheless necessary.
"The liftoff has been one of the most widely advertised factors," he told an audience of students.
"I think there will be volatility but I think we have to bear it. I worry more about the consequences of staying in the ultra accomodative ... world," he said.
(Reporting By John O'Donnell; editing by Francesco Canepa/Jeremy Gaunt)
GS with captain obvious stuff I've been saying for years as markets bubble on zirp crack...
---------------
[h=1]Goldman Sachs Says Corporate America Has Quietly Re-levered[/h]One of the biggest post-financial crisis imbalances sits on corporate balance sheets, according to analysts at the bank.You might choose to whisper it softly, but the balance sheets of U.S. companies are yelling it loudly, while wielding a baseball bat:
Corporate leverage is now at its highest level in a decade, according to a new analysis from Goldman Sachs.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Years of low interest rates and eager investors have encouraged Corporate America to go on a shopping spree. On its list are share buybacks and dividend hikes to reward equity investors, as well as a series of merger and acquisition deals, all funded through a generous bond market. Since cash flow has not kept up with the boom in bond sales, the splurge has left Corporate America with its highest debt load in about 10 years, according to the bank.
Source: Goldman Sachs
"Companies in the United States have taken advantage of low interest rates to issue record levels of debt over the past few years to fund buybacks and M&A," Goldman analysts led by Robert Boroujerdi wrote in the note. "This has driven the total amount of debt on balance sheets to more than double pre-crisis levels."
While much of that could be attributed to the energy sector, in which exploratory oil and gas firms have relied on friendly capital markets to fund growth, the trend appears widespread. Goldman points out that even after stripping out the besieged energy sector, net debt to earnings is at its highest point since the crisis.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Meanwhile, a symptom of the trend appears elsewhere on corporate balance sheets in the form of goodwill, a type of intangible asset that occurs when one company pays a premium for another. Companies may have to write down the value of such goodwill at a later date if acquisitions do not pan out as expected.
Goldman estimates that close to $1 trillion of the intangible asset known as goodwill has been added to corporate balance sheets since 2008, thanks to the boom in U.S. mergers and acquisitions.
Source: Goldman Sachs
While that is not a bad thing in itself (goodwill can represent real value in the form of a brand name, for instance), Goldman worries that it could be a sign that companies are failing to invest efficiently.
"We view persistently high levels of goodwill when accompanied by consistently low sector-relative financial returns as an indicator that the company has not used its asset base as productively as expected, which can ultimately dampen stock returns," the analysts say.
(Money spent on hefty M&A premiums and share buybacks may also go a tiny way toward explaining stubbornly low growth after more than six years of extraordinary monetary policy stimulus. Goldman points out that central bank balance sheets have doubled since the crisis, yet global growth in gross domestic product is running at a mere 3 percent for the fourth straight year.)
The leverage level of Corporate America is set to become a hot button topic as the Federal Reserve gets closer to embarking on its first interest rate hike in nearly a decade. Goldman joins Citigroup in warning that investors may be growing more wary of rewarding leverage-increasing corporate actions as the credit cycle turns.
"The spectre of rising rates, potential global disinflation (dare we say 'deflation'?), declining operating profits and wider credit spreads continues to create near-term consternation for weak balance sheet stocks," the analysts conclude.
---------------
[h=1]Goldman Sachs Says Corporate America Has Quietly Re-levered[/h]One of the biggest post-financial crisis imbalances sits on corporate balance sheets, according to analysts at the bank.You might choose to whisper it softly, but the balance sheets of U.S. companies are yelling it loudly, while wielding a baseball bat:
Corporate leverage is now at its highest level in a decade, according to a new analysis from Goldman Sachs.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Years of low interest rates and eager investors have encouraged Corporate America to go on a shopping spree. On its list are share buybacks and dividend hikes to reward equity investors, as well as a series of merger and acquisition deals, all funded through a generous bond market. Since cash flow has not kept up with the boom in bond sales, the splurge has left Corporate America with its highest debt load in about 10 years, according to the bank.
Source: Goldman Sachs
"Companies in the United States have taken advantage of low interest rates to issue record levels of debt over the past few years to fund buybacks and M&A," Goldman analysts led by Robert Boroujerdi wrote in the note. "This has driven the total amount of debt on balance sheets to more than double pre-crisis levels."
While much of that could be attributed to the energy sector, in which exploratory oil and gas firms have relied on friendly capital markets to fund growth, the trend appears widespread. Goldman points out that even after stripping out the besieged energy sector, net debt to earnings is at its highest point since the crisis.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Meanwhile, a symptom of the trend appears elsewhere on corporate balance sheets in the form of goodwill, a type of intangible asset that occurs when one company pays a premium for another. Companies may have to write down the value of such goodwill at a later date if acquisitions do not pan out as expected.
Goldman estimates that close to $1 trillion of the intangible asset known as goodwill has been added to corporate balance sheets since 2008, thanks to the boom in U.S. mergers and acquisitions.
Source: Goldman Sachs
While that is not a bad thing in itself (goodwill can represent real value in the form of a brand name, for instance), Goldman worries that it could be a sign that companies are failing to invest efficiently.
"We view persistently high levels of goodwill when accompanied by consistently low sector-relative financial returns as an indicator that the company has not used its asset base as productively as expected, which can ultimately dampen stock returns," the analysts say.
(Money spent on hefty M&A premiums and share buybacks may also go a tiny way toward explaining stubbornly low growth after more than six years of extraordinary monetary policy stimulus. Goldman points out that central bank balance sheets have doubled since the crisis, yet global growth in gross domestic product is running at a mere 3 percent for the fourth straight year.)
The leverage level of Corporate America is set to become a hot button topic as the Federal Reserve gets closer to embarking on its first interest rate hike in nearly a decade. Goldman joins Citigroup in warning that investors may be growing more wary of rewarding leverage-increasing corporate actions as the credit cycle turns.
"The spectre of rising rates, potential global disinflation (dare we say 'deflation'?), declining operating profits and wider credit spreads continues to create near-term consternation for weak balance sheet stocks," the analysts conclude.
Yeah the state owning all the important stuff works really well in Middle East and South America ...
Centralizing power always corrupts.. Just the nature of mankind.. Create positions where that person has a lot of power and usually a sociopath will occupy it.. Or a puppet to vested interests like say Obama
Need to spread it out decentralize things as much as possible if you want the best chance at equality.. As America has increased centralization of power in recent history... The haves vs have not gap has grown...
Yeah the state owning all the important stuff works really well in Middle East and South America ...
Um... actually nothing works really well in those places, and it never has in my lifetime...
I wouldn't use the ME or South America as a poster child for anything except social deprivation and disaster
Um... actually nothing works really well in those places, and it never has in my lifetime...
I wouldn't use the ME or South America as a poster child for anything except social deprivation and disaster
bad q..
Who knows terribly managed company .. But have a decent brand with solid following.. Hopefully they will get their act together eventually..
bought at 5 something sold at 12 something bought at 5 something and will hang on till it either goes back up or goes bust..
Seems the case.
What a poorly run company it seems.
They do have great products though.
The protein bars I buy by the case.
Ive had all the competition and muscle pharm is the best.
I spend over $250 a month on their products I'm seeing them more prominently displayed at all the health stores.
My health club just recently started selling them.
So the product is there and the demand for the products are good.
Those combat crunch bars have s really high profit margin.
A 12 count case cost around $30
ZIRP bubble running outta steam.. Running outta monopolies to create and jobs to axe to help bottom line.. With all the money getting shoved into share buybacks to fluff earnings.. Little money put into the future outside the realm of tech..
hilarious the corner the fed now backed into.. Serves them right for allowing this shit to go on too long..
Let's QE MORE!!!
hilarious the corner the fed now backed into.. Serves them right for allowing this shit to go on too long..
Let's QE MORE!!!
hilarious the corner the fed now backed into...
The only way out now for our elitist sociopaths is to hike interest rates
Once you understand their mindset, they are rather easy to predict
These are people who have no empathy with other living creatures, they are intelligent and know how to act and behave so as to appear normal to the wider community, but they have no empathy or humanity
Any social cost will be nothing more than irrelevant collateral damage to them
The only way out now for our elitist sociopaths is to hike interest rates
Once you understand their mindset, they are rather easy to predict
These are people who have no empathy with other living creatures, they are intelligent and know how to act and behave so as to appear normal to the wider community, but they have no empathy or humanity
Any social cost will be nothing more than irrelevant collateral damage to them
