Wednesday 31 May 2017

Ivanka Trump's art collection worth millions

It pays to have rich parents, even better to marry rich!
Ivanka Trump's Instagram put her at the center of a controversy over her lavish art collection worth millions — here's what she owns

Gimmick: Billionaires pledging to give away their money

No solution to root causes of Inequality. Also pervers as the Charitable donations loophole effectively allows them to decide how their assumed tax payments are spent, away from the needs/preferences of wider society.
14 more billionaires just joined Warren Buffett and Bill Gates in pledging to give away most of their money

Tuesday 30 May 2017

Public image of Billionaires

As long as dominant ideology and fawning media worship on the altar of crass wealth nothing will change Inequality in our societies.
The Russian Billionaire Who Became a Social Media Star

Monday 29 May 2017

Football - how Capitalism has been bastardised

No criticism about how the 15 made their fortunes - that is a story for another posting. But the developments in professional football have two lessons about how Capitalism has been taking the wrong turn - not because the system is inherently flawed but thanks to poor political and governance decisions.
Football is pretending to be a sport based on a Club system, not a business. So it should be up to club members to control the organization. Limiting individual votes would cut out rich oligarchs out of the scene in an instant.
Similarly, opening up television rights to proper competition and maybe limiting copyright would result in a drastic cut of revenues that could be splashed out on absurd compensation packages.
The 15 richest billionaire football club owners in England — and how they made their fortune

Monday 22 May 2017

Where are Jobs going to come from?

In the case of the UK a simple example would be the unsatisfied demand for nurses - if there are too many people in retail maybe they can diverted into these kind of roles?
Driverless Cars Could Lead To Job Losses Of 300k A Year, But Fear Not The Robot Apocalypse: Goldman

Sunday 21 May 2017

Apple thwarts Right to Repair - bring in Antitrust!

Time to break up Internet Oligopolies - in Apple's case force separation of hardware and content (App Store etc)
Apple Spends Big to Thwart Right to Repair in New York and Elsewhere

Friday 19 May 2017

Media fawn on Billionaires

They should rather analyse why it has come to this sorry state! Giving the population at large the impression that everyone can be a billionaire is pretty unrealistic, if not dangerous! Their wealth did not fall from the sky nor did feudal lords find undiscovered lands - they took it from the rest of the population .
These 10 American colleges have minted almost 400 billionaires

Saturday 6 May 2017

Carried Interest: pathetic defense of the indefensible

Carried Interest Loophole defended

Mark Zuckerberg's plan to create non-voting Facebook shares

The (Ultra) Rich build a moat around their wealth, make mockery of notion of Shareholder Democracy! Corporate Governance Crowd and Politicians complicit!
Mark Zuckerberg's plan to create non-voting Facebook shares is going to trial in September (FB)

Jeff Bezos just sold nearly $1 billion of Amazon stock (AMZN)

That is the problem with Shareholder Capitalism: The insiders/promoters get rich while the great unwashed public gets in when the (wealth) train has departed, acquires its chips are elevated levels of valuations. The trend towards ever-increasing inequality is also reinforced.
Jeff Bezos just sold nearly $1 billion of Amazon stock (AMZN)

Ban Non-Compete Clauses

Non-compete clauses are a tool that should not have a place in a free-market society. It may help the company/employer but restricts competition. The more suppliers there are for any given product the better for the majority, i.e. the consumers. Why are unions not taking a clear stand on this issue?
noncompete-agreements

Tuesday 2 May 2017

Corporation Tax - even larger loophole advocated

Another study purporting that lower corporation tax leads to higher tax revenues. Problematic as 'other things' are not equal. Cause and effect also not proven. And above all - if author favors even lower (17%?) rate, why should working people be taxed at much higher rates? The lower Corp Tax gets the more it becomes a tax shelter for the Rich. Capital Gains are not taxed on a current basis - no wonder the trend to ever-increasing inequality is intact.
WhyCorporationTaxCutsWork.pdf

Monday 1 May 2017

Steven Mnuchin: On the components for creating economic growth

Guess Inequality would not be high on his list of arguments?
Steven Mnuchin: On the components for creating economic growth

Steve Wynn: Becoming a Real Estate and Casino Mogul

Hero Worship at the Altar of Capitalism! Readers should think they all can become another 'Mogul' - problem is the model does not work for everybody, the system basically is a feudal model where the many serve the few at the top. Capitalism is the right system, but it needs a basic rethink!
Steve Wynn: Becoming a Real Estate and Casino Mogul

Harvard Business School: positively dangerous!

Harvard promotes a sort of bastardised Capitalism. It takes the existing system for gospel truth and basically just teaches students how to press the last drop of blood out of consumers and employees - all for the greater good of a tiny (and shrinking) minority of Super Rich. No new ideas apart from the relentless drill in search of more 'efficiencies' (profits to you and me).
lHow Harvard Business School Has Reshaped American Capitalism - The New York Times