Saturday, January 24, 2009

[economy good] according to gates

Shades of Dr. Pangloss


Bill Gates' take on the economy:

Despite the fact that his foundation’s assets have declined by over 20% in the past year—actually a decent performance, relative to other institutional investors—Mr Gates is remarkably optimistic. He will be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, where there will be much talk of the need to “reboot” the global economic system, but he thinks such talk is exaggerated, because the foundations of the economy are basically sound.

“Even if it now drops 5-6%, the world economy has delivered phenomenally,” he says, predicting that innovation and wealth creation will eventually resume because the underlying market and technological forces remain as potent as before. Well, let’s hope so.

Glad he's happy with things.

20 comments:

  1. That's a very rosy outlook. I wonder what he would say if he was on the minimum wage?

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  2. As the old joke goes, it's a question of mind over matter: I don't mind, you don't matter.

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  3. Will he pay my lecky then?

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  4. Hmm when your worth goes from $100bn to $90bn because of the recession it's no big deal. However, if the recesssion means you go from keeping head above water to drowning then Gates can stick his views where the sun doesn't shine

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  5. Bill Gates throws Americans under the bus

    Hard economic times are forcing job cuts at many businesses. Most Americans understand that; even if they deplore it. This economic downturn has even hit Microsoft. They are downsizing 5000 jobs. Of the 1400 they cut immediately, 873 were in the Puget Sound area where the company is headquartered. None of the cuts are going to be in India.

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  6. The axis of economic evil speaks. It inspires the immediate installation of Linux does it not?

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  7. The last thirty years have seen bubble after bubble blown by the US and UK financial "intelligentia" to hide the fact that our economy's are out of balance and badly in need of restructuring. Each time a bubble bursts, the "authorities" come up with another Rube Goldberg scheme to keep the game going. If this sounds like Bernie Madoff is at the controls, you get the picture. So far, this pyramiding scheme, this crime of the eon, this global financial conspiracy, has used financial debt, and blatantly corrupted national/international statistics to construct ever-loftier bubbles and keep the economic pie expanding, and to remain hidden from the general populace.

    The question before us today is whether or not this pyramid has reached an untenable level such that one more bubble is not possible. It appears that the financial "authorities" are simply relying upon that same old, tired conundrum again---more debt piled on top of old debt. This time, the governments of the world are being asked to back the debts created in private banks. Indirectly, of course, that means that the folly and enormous wealth concentrated in the hands of a few capitalist elites are being backed by the hard labor of the common taxpayer.

    Common sense says that the exponential increasing debt, and interest on that debt, injected into a globally collapsing GDP, cannot possibly be repaid.

    In Great Britain, for example, the government is planning to tackle the problem by nationalising the banks, something the US has been doing in a slow, unmethodical way for the last two years. The problem in Britain, however, is that the Pound is not the world's reserve currency and there is far less in reserves than the debt to be assumed. In other words, if the government were treated as a bank and assumes this debt, it will be technically insolvent. This could present problems. The next entity to be bailed out by the US government is likely to be the government of Great Britain. An infusion of dollars, still the reserve currency of the world, is likely to be necessary to keep the fraudulent concentration of ever more wealthy into ever fewer hands-scheme running.

    But, who will bail out the United States government? China? Perhaps they will. Perhaps they will instead decide to cut their losses and stop paying for the wests lifestyle choices. Do we want to take that chance? And, if we do get bailed out this time, what will happen when the bubble is larger next time?

    At some point, the outcome is certain. That point, a serious inflection point, will come when the final bubble bursts and the common man rises up and overthrows the capitalist elites who destroyed the system with their greed.

    These elites are easily identified, they make no secret of their intent, and that is their secret of their success, the incredulity of the electorate, coupled with an intense dumbing down via the education systems, a compliant MSM complicit in monumental lies and distortions, and a series of governments serially addicted also, to bare faced lies.

    The only question is whether we are about to reach that bursting point soon or whether the current situation will be turned into yet another huge bubble of debt that keeps the boat afloat for one more short-lived round.

    If the latter, the market is due for one huge bear market rally starting soon before collapsing utterly, systemically, globally.

    We have weeks, no more!

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  8. JPT - I would presume Pangloss is a reference to Voltaire's Candide, wherein a character named Dr Pangloss instilled unwavering optimism in the eponymous character Candide.

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  9. Things go up...things go down...then they go up again...I lived through the shithole that Liverpool was in the 70's and 80's so I'll be fine.

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  10. "And further to that point, what people don't seem to understand is that the world needs a method for international trade settlement that is not any one country's currency or obligation, gold or something else that has the characteristics of money (google if you don't know what those are). The ONLY other way that works is for a "one world currency" so that debasement is completely hidden and settlement is possible in a currency that everyone has to use.
    This is the goal of the current crisis. The power of the central bankers is derived from their ability to control everyone's medium of exchange. They are the direct beneficiaries of the work of others vis-a-vie control of the medium of exchange. They use this control to buy off politicians in order to remain the "money masters". They use this power to gain control of the boards of directors of critical industries, control legislation and lobbying of politicians. They fund various foundations that have input to educational programs. In effect, they have complete regulatory capture of the gov't. Ever wonder why almost every university economics program teaches Keynesian theory as their main economics model?
    Creating money out of thin air is a "taking" of private property since everyone is required to accept this debased currency in exchange for their labor (legal tender laws). It's a big scam and since you don't hear a call from our politicians to return to an honest monetary system, you can assume they are all in on it.

    Every f*cking one of 'em.

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  11. I think Microsoft is in for a rough ride over the next few years. The forces that will pull us out of this recession, if Brown and Obama will let them, could well destroy Microsoft's hold on the software market.

    It seems to me that technology is moving towards light and mobile. And if the operating systems don't move with them they will be replaced. Vista was a case in point -- it was way to heavy.

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  12. Cherie - precisely.

    Sackers - :)

    JPT - see below in comments.

    Ordo - I pay as I go.

    Welshcakes - 'twould be nice.

    James - precisely.

    TIR - big three are in trouble.

    Wolfie - why Linux?

    Anon - thanks as usual.

    Damon - yes and thanks.

    Thud - the unions killed it.

    Uber - yes.

    Rob - they are and not only them.

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