Thursday 4 December 2008

On the downward slope - let's get slim



If you are only moderately interested in economics, just listen to the ABBA singing "Money, money". They know all about it.

.........

The economy - everywhere - is heading south, bye bye boom days. Most of us are mere onlookers while the future unfolds, but not everybody is idle.

Opposition or governing parties - right, left or center, green guys or oil hawkers - realize their hour has come. Now is the time to tell us what to do to get the economy humming again. "Don't worry, good people, we'll manage".

What I have not yet heard is that: you might easily loose your job, could be we'll have to fight inflation, quite possible taxes have to be raised. On the contrary, I am listening to a tune I know too well: "we'll do the washing without your getting wet".

Some days ago a worthy politician (no name given, no country specified) told me this:

"Every citizen should get a bonus of 500 € (about 600 $) to be spent immediately with the only condition to add 200 of his own.

Imagine I get the 500 what would I do with this: I would buy a new computer so as to be able to run "Microsoft Flight Simulator X" thus making happy Hewlett-Packard and Bill Gates. And afterwards? Nothing. Same script as before, just read again the first two lines here above. Useless, costly straw fire.

Others are clamoring - a big chorus, worldwide - for a substantial tax break. That's more or less the same as the 500-€-stunt. Most of us don't pay a fortune in taxes anyway thus the break will look like a pittance. And the big income people will like it, certainly, but it will just make a splash in their wallet.

And all that money where does it come from?

a) from the state coffers - but I hear they are empty

b) borrowed somewhere - but the money has to be paid back and
before there are the interests.

c) the good old money printing machine - say hallo to inflation

So I think we have to solve the recession the hard way: cut useless prestige spending, raise the taxes where possible.

Because if we don't want to go under, become a kind of backwater, this has to be done: upgrade our schools and universities, research and development in real science, credit to people who wish to create new businesses. Stop our addiction to oil coming from non palatable countries.

These are the challenges and there the money must go. Our money.

Meanwhile, if someone of my dear and esteemed readers wishes to save souls from hell by doing something for or against the beast exposed, the economic collapse 2008-2009, the number 666, the anti-christ revealed, just listen to this one:

19 comments:

  1. i guess i am perplexed as to where the money is going to come from. this issue is global and everyone is borrowing from everyone else- and the whole world is losing jobs and whatnot. makes me wonder how they propped the whole thing up to begin with. i say we may as well scrap the system and start over.

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  2. Georg, I am listening to the 666 video...and I have read your prescription to beat recession - "cut useless prestige spending and raise taxes". Do commies say anything different?

    These guys on You Tube are saying that Satan is just about to take control of the world and the 'chip' is his mark!

    As it is we are living our lives in lust and worldly desires, and, if I am not completely wrong, chastity, is a 'vice' that has long been discarded by most.

    Georg, so we have the anger of God and the power of the devil and the resurgent commies combined!

    We might had a chance if there was only the devil or the commies to fight; but with both acting in tandem, there is no hope!

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  3. Yes Georg, I forgot to mention that ABBA has been one of my all time favourite groups... they were simply mind blowing at their peak...there are so many great songs they sang..still fresh as if it was yesterday... I wonder where and how they are now.

    "Money, money, money
    Always sunny
    In a rich man's world"

    It's a bit cloudy now!

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  4. To Betmo
    Don't you worry, we'll muddle through. This is certainly not the end of the world, let's say about 12 to 15 bad months to live through. Many of us have seen worse.

    To Vinod
    Glad to hear you appreciated this strange video. It could have been made about 800 years ago, only these people did not have YouTube.

    Taxes are not ideological. They are the means to enable the state to carry out his duties. And schools, universities and research cannot be upgraded with borrowed money.

    As to your remark about the Communists, the only ones I know really well are those of Eastern Germany and they might have nothing to do with the Communists of India.
    In the DDR, they taxed like everybody else but their way of distribution was lopsided. At the reunification, their republic was bankrupt and nearly the whole country in a state of dereliction.

    Last not least the ABBA. I am glad to hear you like them, too. They are all alive and kicking but they do this separately. And anyway, their music is still selling and money is pouring in on them at a steady pace (the commies would have loved to tax them to the tune of 100%).

    Cheers to both of you
    Georg

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  5. Good day Georg,
    As always a thoughtful and thought provoking selection.
    I listened to the Abba, and enjoyed, I couldn't get through the other video, I'm sure you understand 80% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
    ~Smile~
    a good day to you, and thank you...

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  6. Yes, our generations "depression"

    What's humorous is our fearless leader mentioned yesterday for the first time, that yes indeed we are in a recession.....

    Then he purchased a $3 million dollar home.

    That just beats them all.

    Yes, it's been coming and it's not all his fault, but he and his cronies are going to great lengths to say none of it was due to his running away from issues as they arose ; (

    BTW, the clip must have been down at the time. It's up and I will leave on about another week before I delete it.

    Cheers!

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  7. Thank you Sorrow and Coffee for commenting.

    To Sorrow: to tell you the truth, I've never listened totally to the second video. I'll do it before imagining another post.

    To Coffee: as to your fearless leader's home purchase: hope he did not to go to Fanni Mae or so. 3 Mi $, must be a fortified palace with an electric wall around.

    Coming back to this clip: why do you delete after some time?????

    I listened to it, very interesting.
    Georg

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  8. Georg: R U kidding, I bet he paid cash! ; (

    To stay legal 4 the songs, in case anyone from the music business takes me to task for letting people download music for free, even just a song.

    As for any interview, I always ask if the person minds if I use a clip, and usually they say it's OK. But the museums, who should have them online out here, still do not do so. Pity, they should and have offered to help. Sadly, they do not see the benefit of doing so.

    Cheers!

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  9. hi Georg and friends

    i read your 'economy post' a few days ago, but i was waiting to read the always interesting comments your visitors always post here

    as for the money, who cares??? if you have more or less bills, they are paper anyway... our natural resources and goods are the ones to worry about!

    as for me, i rather have a baguette than a diamond these days, diamonds are much harder to chew and i am not sure they can buy you baguettes once the wheat is gone too...

    as for ABBA, i am the daughter of a very young mother, so i grew up listening to them ALL THE TIME, i still like them a lot!

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  10. Somebody want to catch Mr Greenspan and ask hime a few questions?

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  11. This is for Berenice and Rati

    Berenice: sure, chewing a diamond would make your dentist happi. But if you happen to have one, you have always the possibility to go to your baker and change it against some baguette. The other way round: not so sure.

    Elisabeth - my wife - got one from her parents. But the darned thing is so small, you need a microscope to see it. Neither a pawnbroker nor a baker would feel attracted.

    Hallo Rati: thanks for commenting. You have an English family name but Rati sounds Indian. But as you talk about Mr. Greenspan (Grünspan in German),I suppose you are not living in India but inside the USA.

    Sure, Mr. G has a certain responsibility but, nevertheless, I can't help thinking that WE made it happen, not Mr. G. He was only happy to oblige. As I see it, it was us who considered the time has come to live on borrowed money. To spend without having. To buy mortgages on houses not yet paid.

    As the German saying goes "The trees don't grow sky high".

    Cheers to both of you
    Georg

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  12. Hi Georg,

    Yes I am Indian and so is my husband; his family took on the name of the American missionary who converted them 4 generations ago... I am Hindu and we coexist peacefully!

    And no, we live in India...Mr Greenspan is top of the mind here because in the world of banking n finance, we take our regulators very seriously...and we expect them to regulate and not depend on "self-regulation", as did Mr Greenspan....Interest rates left too low for too long...recipe for disaster...hmmmm?

    If money is available so cheaply and then to expect "self-regulation" is like putting out a pot of honey and not expect flies on it!

    By the way Georg, I went to a school in India run by the most amazing German nuns...my regret to date is that i didn't learn german from them....
    Cheers!

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  13. Hallo Rati,

    Let me tell you that I like very much this picture of the honey pot and hoping for no flies.

    In fact, you are right. Too many people purchased things they could not afford, even with low interest rates.

    I am born in Berlin and passed my childhood there. This part of the country is about 90 percent protestant. The first Catholics I met was in the Rhineland where the percentage is reversed. Thus I have seen more nuns in the movies than in real life.

    Here in the media we hear from time to time killings of Christians, people driven from their homes. But Vinod told me this to be far from normal.

    Maybe it is for India what car accidents are here: about 5000 dead per year but still most people drive around years and years without accident. Like myself, no accident, never ever. So we consider driving a safe activity.

    Cheers to you, greetings to Mr. Parker.

    Georg

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  14. Yes u are right most of our nuns were from West Germany....

    About the killings of Christians...yes as Vinod says, it is an abberation....Hindus are basically mild people and tolerant to a fault

    In Orissa, where the incidents have occured, the missionaries have also a major role to play in upsetting the religious socio-economic equation, by converting the poorest of the poor. They claim that it is voluntary and without inducement. I can believe that if ONE individual gets inspired to convert...but entire Families? and entire groups of people suddenly see the light?....a bit hard to believe...
    some of the missionary zeal is also extreme in as much as abusive of our hindu pantheon .....Violence ofcourse is not the solution but when a swami is hacked to pieces by groups sympathetic to the missionaries, it becomes difficult to rein in the rage and the kiliings happen...ON BOTH SIDES....the Western ( sympathetic to the missionaries ) media presents a lopsided, one dimensional perspective.
    5000 is really high rate of casualty....the no of Christians ( specifically) might not be even 50....
    My husband's name is Kevin and he reciprocates ur greetings! BTW he loves the German Beer! and is a Protestant too!!

    Cheers...

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  15. Hallo Kate (Pansy??),

    Thanks for passing by reading and now leaving a little comment of sympathy.

    Sometimes I look on that world map - here above in blue - showing people from really everywhere. Seeing the numbers, it became obvious to me for the first time that only one in three or four leaves a comment.

    So now: welcome into the commenting minority.

    Georg

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  16. Et un peu de français au milieu de tout ça?
    On est tous dans la même charrette et ce n'est pas près de s'arranger!
    Quelqu'un me disait de ne pas m'en faire parce que tout cet argent c'était "virtuel". tu as essayé toi de payer ton caddie avec de l'argent virtuel? Ils nous prennent pour des ânes
    Bisou
    Viviane

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  17. Bonjour Viviane,

    Nos hommes politiques sont créatifs. Mais tout cet argent n'est pas virtuel. En partie c'est emprunté et il va falloir le rembourser et avant lâcher des intérêts.

    Une autre partie est vraiment virtuel, c'est des garantis "pour le cas où".

    Merci pour la visite. Surtout maintenant où il fait si froid et les routes verglacées.

    Georg

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  18. Hallo Georg!!!
    J'ai plus de nouvelle de toi?
    serais tu noyé sous des tonnes de neige?
    j'espère que vous n'êtes pas bloqués
    dans ta région reculé. hihihihihi!!!
    ce cantal!!! Il est vraiment inhospitalier!
    passe une bonne fin de semaine et un bon weekend
    A très bientôt.

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  19. It's time for an ABBA revival! ;o) Perhaps if the current rise in organic & locally produced food here could be sustained, then perhaps that'll revive locally made goods industry and make some real economic difference. Though it sort of hinges on folks being willing to spend a bit more for originality instead of always buying the cheapest stuff available. Not that rosy a prospect in Walmart country. :oP

    Hope the weekend is going well your way!

    Smorgy :o)

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