Geoff Mulgan: Post-crash, investing in a better world

[yourmain]

The cardiac arrest? Vampires?

The banksters CAUSE the crisis.They raped and defrauded the globe and caused instability in the global financial system. No PHD from Yale needed to figure this one out.

The U.S Banksters, federal reserve (Biggest fraud in the history of the world) call the shots. No democracy here.

[evastruz]

To some of the people who has negatively commented of this video...

Maybe you should know that Schopenhauer identified three stages for any new ‘truth’: ‘first, it is ridiculed. second, it is violently opposed, third, it is accepted as being self-evident.’ Enjoy.

e.

[bawbawbla]

I'm sure the Marxism v2.0 this guy described will be about as successful as version one was in the Soviet Union. This stuff is why alot of people believe mainstream academia is rampant with left wing propaganda. Giving this guy a speaking slot in the TED conference just gives him the illusion of credibility when really all he saying is government should control the economy which is a very old and tried concept. He must believe the socialists of today are somehow smarter than they were years ago.

[Raxer21]

where can i order seats for this glorious TED conference?

[megalibra82]

everyone repeat after me

THIS VIDEO SHOULD BE VIRAL

THIS VIDEO SHOULD BE VIRAL

PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE A LOOK ON THIS VIDEO.

[mrlowdangle]

complaints choirs? i guess some people havnt heard of singing the blues?

give all your money to black people,or they'll be poor and hateful,and you'll be a rich and white,and thats racist!.. go on,it'll make u feel all warm and fuzzy inside,at least until your robbed and stabbed in the eye

waffle waffle big words etc [applause]

[IslandHermit]

The video about investing in education and elderly care and you talk about being robbed and stabbed by blacks. I think that says volumes about you and very little about the video.

[order9066]

I didn't hear him mention the mental midgets who caused the bubble; the Bank of england and the Federal Reserve.

[olderbluesfan]

trickle down regan bullshit, then N.A.F.T.A, Then bush and cheny ,The best jobs left are at  walmart with all their generous benefits

[guillone]

Let's be honest guys. In a nutshell, we now have more people who sponge off the system than add to it. That's why we're in trouble. You can't create more social services than the GDP. That's what we're doing. It's not rocket science, do the math, this will not sustain itself. Set politics aside, this is just common sense. It's no different from how I have to run my budget. There is an income column and an expense column. Once you're insolvent, it's over.

[KickAssClown]

First off, are you sure your model expresses sufficient complexity to account for the world? Does what you spend result in thousand-fold returns to yourself or your community? What the distribution of excellent humans look like? Does income and expense account for the tendency for decisional illusions people make, account for individual or social ignorance? Does income and expense reflect educational wealth? Can it reflect educational wealth? Where do jobs come from? Where do business come from?

[regresseur]

I'm a liberal and I disagree with you 100%. Terrible logic you have there, my friend. We need to create as many programs imaginable to help support these poor people who contribute little to nothing to society. We need to spend every red cent, until we are emaciated, lying in an enormous body pile, so that these people, who are so poor and precious, can dance on our remains.

[MajNorberg]

regresseur: wow just a transparent attack on middle class and poor...no evidence...it's the taxes of the middle class and poor that make up the majority of collected taxes in a any first world country...don't you forget that.

[chickerbeanflicker]

For some reason TEDtalksDirector videos aren't showing up in my subscriptions list, does anybody else have this problem?

[muzzleray]

sometimes i miss one, but it's usually me who's been away or not noticed.

like i didn't get the heads up about this lecture, but hey you must've found it.

[benjaminjean1984]

so Tony Blair lol 05:50 .....

[benjaminjean1984]

Fucking awsome talk-xcuse my expresion summed up my thoughts since the recession, he reminds me of tony blair alot actually but i think they both had same coach!!!!

[jamblinuk]

Equal Money for all!!!!!!!

[Panpiper]

We created vast sums to blow up stock and housing bubbles and fuel a debt driven consumer economy. When the inflation boom burst, the response is 'stimulus', meaning print and borrow even more money to keep the bubble inflated. The advice of this talk is to spend/borrow more money on government molding society. The real problem is the whole notion that government spending is any sort of solution. Debt created the crisis we are in, even more debt is NOT the solution.

[createsutoo]

WoW.. Nice Artifacts on the Shelf.....

i Love that Sphere......

[generationalist]

While I disagree with Geoff Mulgan's opening statement I really enjoyed this video and completely agree with his reasoning. We the US have funded major corporations for many years to encourage growth - it's called subsidization. The assumption is that the big corporation will earn money and innovate new technology better and faster than small businesses. Instead they eat the cash as profit to artificially inflate stock value this yields wealth for a few at the expense of the republic.

[generationalist]

Opening statement at 00:40 is crap "it's only a few months since government injected enormous sums of money to try and keep the whole system afloat". The system has only been kept afloat for this many years because of tax money injected into the system. Many major corporations only survive because of tax dollars used to procure their corporate properties for them and provide a cheap employee base. Corporate growth has long been funded by our tax dollars.

[Maxstate]

So capitalism is seeing off socialism, but more and more returning to its core values of worker support, empathy and productive sustainability?

What exactly is it that people think 'socialism' is?

[dragan221]

The socialism is state ownership of the industry, central planing of the economy and state controlled distribution of wealth in order to maximize equality. Look it up. Precisely the things that have been abandoned as massive failure by every country in the world except for a few crackpot dictatorships like North Korea. You can't take the success of free market capitalism, throw in a few social services such as it was done in many developed countries and call it socialism.

[Maxstate]

By that definition, I can also claim that protectionism is one of the main ideals of free-market capitalism, as put forward in the very pillars of Adam Smith's ideas (look it up, as you said).

Socialism is the reason that you have humanity at work: your minimum wage, your contracts, your pension, not to mention all of the instances that make sure your workplace is safe, belong to the 'socialist' school of ideas.

[dragan221]

When I said look it up, I meant it. Look it up on wikipedia or on websters. That's what the word means, simple as that. Socialism at the very minimum involves the state ownership of the industry. Nobody advocates that anymore. If you want to describe the watered down capitalist system, as exists in UK for example, with one word, you need to come up with something other than socialism.

[0megaD]

Taken from your wikipedia:

Socialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating state, worker or public ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with an egalitarian method of compensation.

In fact, nowhere on wikipedia does it state that socialism revolves around "STATE OWNERSHIP ONLY" of anything. It revolves around the *ideas* of various *things*.

[Maxstate]

Further more:

If you're willing to discredit socialist states as failed states, I'd like you to take a look at the Soviet Union, which survived for the bigger part of the last century. The countries that were poor within its borders are still poor now and are considered problematic even by the European Union. Introduction of free markets caused the mean life expectancy AND GDP in a lot of these countries, Russia in general, to plummet.

[wamukota]

The Soviet Union would have collapsed anyhow, too much money was being pumped into the war industry and the government production plans were downright idiotic. And even if the Soviet Union hadn't collapsed, it still was a failed state, because living in Soviet Union sucked (unless you were willing to become a hypocritical bastard who anally raped his own country).

[wamukota]

And by "his own country" I don't mean the Soviet Union, but the countries imprisoned by it.

[Maxstate]

So it WAS kind of like the United States is now - and every 10 years, if following the capitalist collapse cycle?

What you know about the Soviet Union is mostly propaganda; if we're going to compare the two states by living standard, what would you call the living standard in British India (after millions of died from famine due to the British war machine)?

[wamukota]

What I know about it comes from the experiences of my parents and my siblings, I was too young, but believe me, it isn't propaganda.

[Maxstate]

Right, what I said: propaganda. Usually, in civilized discussion, emotional and anecdotal 'evidence' isn't really seen as evidence. Your parents, grandparents and whatnot could've told you anything from their own personal experience, which doesn't make it true because it came from them. Furthermore, you cannot use it as an argument because anecdotal evidence is infallible and therefore fallacious.

I can find a grandparent to say the exact opposite of what you are saying.

Answer my question

[wamukota]

Come on... where do you get your trustworthy information then. The story of my grandparents being taken to Syberia is not true? What the fuck am I supposed to believe then, what can be taken as proper evidence? The grandparent you'll find is propably an old fart that complains at the young people being too noisy and that the youth is worse than they were a few generations before.

[wamukota]

Where are you from anyway? Propably not the former Soviet Union.

[Maxstate]

These countries are run by the mob these days, which of course is in some way powered and connected by all of the imperialist free market countries we know of today. If you're wondering why there aren't any prospering communist or socialist countries now, then you need not to look any further than the United States. One clearcut example would be their embargoes; easier however is to remind you of countless' names like Allende and Pinochet - the latter of which was backed by Reagan (look it up).

[generationalist]

dragan221 your spelling is horrible. We do not have free enterprise in the US. We do have a quasi socialist state which has been expanding for years. Socialism in not state ownership of industry however nationalist socialism is founded on the economic principal that industry is run by the most brilliant people a god ever made and that they should run the world. By the way nationalist socialist in German is Nazi. So you see there is a form of socialism that is exactly the opposite of your claim.

[Maxstate]

Only "national socialism" is to socialism as republican is to (the American) "Republican"; they are opposite poles,

[generationalist]

Maxstate I think we are in agreement provided you are saying that what most Americans call republican is opposite of what the definition of republican truly is. After 9/11 GW had a choice - he could admit that the US fell down due to too much government bureaucracy and then fire the top level incompetence and corruption to try and improve the system for the republic or expand opportunities for corruption and bureaucracy and sweep fault under the rug. I think we agree which one of these happened?

[Maxstate]

Generationalist: I think that the American government is inherently corrupt, no president or new administration will be able to change that.

[generationalist]

Maxstate I think we are mostly or at least partly in agreement. Most people say socialism when they really mean a nationalized state, totalitarian regime or an oligarchy. The word socialism is badly is used and often misunderstood. Most of the arguments surrounding socialism do not even stem from what socialism is but instead on what most people believe it is. With that said socialism in terms of absolute equal distribution of wealth is wrong. Life is not fair and forced equality, is not right.

[dragan221]

"Socialism in not state ownership of industry" If you are going to redefine words however it suits your political views it makes it hard to have a rational conversation without providing those definitions first. Can you provide "your" definition of the word socialism since you obviously use one that is different from the one found for instance in the websters dictionary and wikipedia..

[Maxstate]

You are an idiot: socialism is a set of various beliefs and ideas that all revolve around egalitarianism and humanity within an economic system. State-owned ownership of industry? What? Are you a total moron? Do you really think that an economic or political system can be summarized into a single line or sentence; that it can be boiled down to a single thought or idea by a single author?

What economic system is currently instated within the United States, by your definition?

[Maxstate]

Also, back on the total moron bit: I point you to, for example, the former socialist republics of Yugoslavia, which had a WORKER-owned industry and agriculture within a planned economy. I point you towards Lenin's New Economic Policy, which advocates the propagation of privately-owned businesses. You are too shallow of mind to comprehend the world to be more than two distinct, black and white sides; I'm guessing that this discussion won't lead to anything productive for either of us.

[dragan221]

You still didn't look it up? I thought I told you to look it up. Look, it's easy even for a fired up cretin like you. Just try to calm down a little, go to merriam-websters, or wikipedia (or a dictionary or encyclopedia of your choice) search for socialism, and then read the words that come up on the screen. I am sure you can manage that much, can you?

[Maxstate]

Why do I even bother debating youtube comments

[generationalist]

dragan221 you asked Maxstate to look it up. But if you bothered to look it up his previous comment on socialism you would know that MaxS is stating almost exactly what is stated on wiki. Did you bother to actually read the wiki article? That's twice you failed to read for context. First with my previous comment and second with wiki. You clearly do not understand what socialism is.

[generationalist]

Go back and read your precious wiki again dragan221 you missed the part that said "Contrary to popular belief, socialism is not a political system; it is an economic system distinct from capitalism." from wiki on socialism in THE FIRST PARAGRAPH. Maxstate and I are not arguing politics we are arguing economics. Also while you are at it go back and read the comment to you from OmegaD. OD also pointed out your incorrect assumptions and failure to read your own sources. You argue like a christian.

[controlserv]

I take offense to this statement, I'm a very economically informed Christian and don't appreciate Christianity being stereotyped in this way. If this is a valid economic discussion then please leave your religious hate comments unarticulated.

[generationalist]

Stereotyped in what way? The foundation of christianity (and all theistic faiths to be more politically correct) is to take some theistic -belief- and argue the subjective faith as if it were an objective fact. That is not a stereotype nor a personal attack but an honest observation. draggan221 is arguing his personal faith based definition of socialism as if it were fact. He has no objective measure to prove his argument so he -is- arguing like a christian; subjectivity posing as objectivity.

[Ntone606]

Er... post crash? The real crash hasn't even begun yet - and it'll be much worse oweing to the govt intervention. All the debt and toxic derivatives are still in the system.

[Inupiatun]

No, it would have been a whole lot worse if the government hadn't intervened at all.

[Ntone606]

We'd have had a steeper decline without govt intervention - but at least we'd have cleaned the system. All govts have done is delayed the pain - at the expense of the hard working prudent savers of the world.

I assure you this is going to get much much worse.

[andrewmanford]

i couldn't agree with this guy more than 100%...great stuff!

[corkcityjane]

very worth watching....superb ideas.

thank you TED.

[kwamelaryea]

Resource Based Economy Please, because as long as there is a Monetary based system it will be open to corruption. For those who doubt it check out zeitgeist addendum.

[cavey89]

he talks like such a poletition. lol

[VoiceOfReasonQQ]

he is so spot on

[CeBePuH]

Okay, the whole message fits in the video description.

The rest is logorrhoea.

TED, please, more substance and less bullshit.

[InnovisionGlobal]

I love that "take NO as a question not an answer" Thank YOU for sharing I am going to live with that thought. Some other great food for thought too ... Thank YOU again.

~Expect Miracles

Shane

[Shaunt1]

The Recession and severity of the problems in the economy now were not caused by the short comings of capitalism they were cause mostly by interference and manipulations from other forces. The Federal Reserve interest rates, Government policies, etc. They caused much of the problems and the reason capitalism is the best system is because peoples greatest motivation is their own interests. Advancements and innovations that make better life possible come from people serving themselves.

[anotherelvis]

Most of this talk is hot air. Halfway through the talks he reveals that he is talking is about green economy and better human relations, but he never manages to say much beyond that. He would like to put 1% of public spending into innovation of green economy and knowledge about human relationships or something.

[ArgueExplain]

Can I opt out of the billion extra years of life for the citizens? I don't want to live forever or longer.

[nine9s]

"Can I opt out of the billion extra years of life for the citizens? I don't want to live forever or longer."

He's not talking about individuals living for a billion years apiece, he's talking about total time saved per person multiplied by all the people involved. So if 300 million people save 3.5 years apiece, that's about a billion years saved.

[ArgueExplain]

I know. Even 3.5 seems too long.

[blurglide]

One sentence he says economic growth doesn't correlate with happiness & quality of life, then the next sentence he says we need to help these million unemployed youth. Economic growth is what they NEED. If the problem is unemployment, economic growth is the solution. Sure- extreme wealth doesn't necessarily guarantee happiness, but poverty sure can guarantee unhappiness.

[LudicrousTachyon]

A billion extra years of life achievable in a decade? I'm all for that, where do I start working on it?

[CaptScruffywhiskers]

A thoughtful and optmistic discussion! I believe the crux of the issue though is that as individuals we need to take more responsibility for our own actions,as shareholders within our society. Cheers!

[humanist7117]

Yes!!!!

[swyft187]

ww3 = banksters vs the masses

[poweredxbyxhope]

"a billion years of extra life for today's citizens"

...

Does he mean what I think he means, or have I been watching way too much Sci-Fi?

O.O

[Lihinel]

He is just refering to what he expects as the sum of the increase of each individual citizen.

If he means on a global scale that would be less than 2 month on average for each person, but I guess he is refering to specific countires.

[poweredxbyxhope]

Ah... Okay.

I think I'll lay off the Star Trek for a few months. xD

[manofaction2828]

It's not just touching what was said but real as well. If you listen all the way through you'll find the point of the talk at the end of the video. Human's are not just selfish and competitive, but also compassionate and caring. And society should include the latter two qualities as important as well.

[blurglide]

Uhhh...if you force someone to do it, it isn't compassion and caring.  You are free to distribute your OWN products and resources however you see fit. I encourage you to do so. Charity is noble, and you should donate all you can until your standard of living is down to the same level as those you're donating to. You are not free to distribute someone elses resources. That is not compassionate and caring- it's theft...slavery even..

[Deathicorn]

when you say servants you mean slaves

[libanlibanliban]

I'm at the 7 minute mark, and he hasn't said a darn thing yet.. ...

[doedicurus]

very good speech.

[doedicurus]

In the future, socialism won't look nearly as bad. I would bet on it.

[blurglide]

I've seen Star Trek too, but do you care to offer an argument more detailed than what you'd bet on?

[reason285]

"Paved the way for welfare states"- Oh yeah cause that worked so great!!!! This guy represents everything that is wrong with modern thinking. We need less government, not more.

[playgrrrr]

less government is what has brought us this great crisis. government is what saved thousands of jobs paying for the mistakes that the banks and the car industry made. liberal capitalism fails, because humans fail. dictatorship is never good. the dictatorship of money is no exception.

[reason285]

Really so you think government has been shrinking? If humans fail, then how can you say if we give complete control to some humans (the government) it will solve the problem? So you say X cannot solve the problem so we need X to solve the problem?

[playgrrrr]

i think ill let you brood over it a little more. maybe youll figure out what im saying in another 31 years. you have learned how to write, so apparently not all hope is lost. not even for people like you.

[reason285]

I see. So rather then responding to the question, you just use insults. Yes I can see you are a very thoughtful person. Never mind just stay stuck in your little world were everything you think is correct and everyone else is wrong. I am sure you will learn a lot in this life. Hahahahahaha

[playgrrrr]

I see. So rather than thinking for yourself and understanding what i had laid out, you meet me with (staged?) ignorance and insult my goodwill, intellect and patience. Yes I can see you are a very thoughtful person. Never mind I'll just stay in my little world where everything that can be made sense of through argument is correct until stronger arguments against it emerge. I am sure you will be stuck with your rather low level of awareness in this life. Hahahahahaha

[reason285]

Wow you plagiarize too!!! Which argument did you put forth? The only thing I got from you was an insult.

[aleksandarrodic]

You should not try to reason with people like reason285 with insults.

[madnessdexter]

lmao good one, your a funny guy.

[bluzy25]

get your head out of your ass

[playgrrrr]

get your head into it and you will see the same amount of shit that i do. here is the secret: your body is already there. your head has yet to arrive.

[Audirector]

Humans, due to subjectivity, "fail" by themselves, when without access to *useful* technology (aka objective governance). It's more of a comparison issue: between humans with and without technology, which assists them *enormously* in decision-making. It's common sense, really. Also, reason285 hasn't *fully* learned how to write. (Not many *have*, probably including me.) ...And YouTube isn't helping matters, since they haven't even created a comments system that allows for italicizing words.

[aleksandarrodic]

This is not a way to make a meaningful conversation. Let me demonstrate: You are both both ridiculous narrow minded drones! Hahaha!

Although my first sentence could be true, the second one will get to your emotions in a way which will make you counter my argument even if its true. You see?

[AEVautomatic]

what a moron

[agreeklove]

The problem with most ideas Man has came up with, from democracy to the door knob is they rarely ever include humans during it creation, and if so, it's with this fallacy that people will agree with it or come together for the greater good, no matter the sacrifices. Certain things cannot exsist not because it's impossible but it requires everyone to be in the same boat. An example: not all people want peace or equality. These things cannot happen unless we all are willing. Anima=Dualism

[VeracityMedia]

THE VENUS PROJECT FTW!

[kid29a]

Support me financially and I will make at least 1/3'000'000'000 of human population much happier ;)

Although I realize that capitalism is just what its name says - money rule - but I also realize that there is no practical better alternative, well maybe more socially based but yet - a capitalism.

Green jobs are increasing because they are financed using taxes.

[blurglide]

Socialism means someone else has first dibs to the fruits of your mind and the sweat of your brow. This is not a good way to spur innovation or have an efficient work force. The motivation is to do as little as possible. Soviet farms were in shambles, but the tiny plots the farmers kept for themselves were EXTREMELY productive. Enjoying the fruit of their own labor is what motivated them.

[dominice112]

Please do explain how you manage to fit the Soviet Union, and old communist structure, into your plea for "Anti Socialism behavior".

[Paulginz]

Interestingly, that's also how much innovation is done under capitalism. Do you think that the individual scientists own the intellectual rights to new medicine coming out from big pharma research labs?

[blurglide]

Of course they don't own them- they sell them to the highest bidder.

[tempemonkey2323]

Soviet farms was Communism, ie: no private property..

Socialism, how we really mean it, how Europe uses it, is simply higher taxes on the rich, and then distributing those taxes upon services for the poor.

BTW, doing this lowers crime, raises health, and also raises education... Its very beneficial...

Those who control the money, control you....

Everyone is connected in a society, in a true democracy, everyone MUST decide how money is distributed.

Libertarian ideals are naive.

[nine9s]

Tempemonkey2323: Crime, health and education were on the way down before widescale socialism was ever implemented. They have continued to improve *despite* socialism, not because of it. The freer an area is, the faster the innovation.

But even if that weren't true, if society weren't better off with laissez-faire, I would still be in favor of it because it is the only just system -- the only one in which human rights are fully protected.

[blurglide]

tempermonkey: You are free to redistribute your money how ever you see fit, but explain to me how you have the rights to first dibs on someone elses money?  Slavery is illegal, regardless of the class of the slave.

[tempemonkey23]

If the majority of society thinks that some people are hoarding too much money, yes capitalism is not perfect and its not a completely fair system,..... Anyways, if the majority of the population thinks that we should tax the rich more and deliver the taxes in the form of better schools or hospitals, or whatever..People have a right to do that.... Its very necessary for a democracy to keep a finger on the distribution of wealth..Otherwise the lower class gets fucked... Read a history book.

[blurglide]

Majority rule is mob rule; that's why we live in a democratic republic rather than a democracy. The rights of the minority need to be protected. Capital is not a zero-sum game. Just because someone has a lot of money does not limit your ability to make money at all. You do not have a first right to somone elses life and labor. Without people able to invest, in their own self interest, this money we wouldn't live in a country where poor people can be fat & own cars. They wouldn't have jobs.

[dtaijo174]

Spot on. simply by the creating a product from your talents & gifts you directly created wealth. Wealth is only finite when we stop producing.  Then and only then, will we scrap & fight for what is left.

[dtaijo174]

I suggest you read the history of Stalin, Lenin, Mao Ze dong, Ho Chi Ming, Trotsky, Mussolini, and everyones favorite Adolf Hitler.

Add the total murders vs world pop. and you will find that the ideologies that support ownership of its citizen and their property are the most violent and murderous in world history. It's there for you to discover. Freedom works, believe in yourself.

[tempemonkey2323]

Thats nice. I suggest you read books about these modern countries which largely practice SOCIALISM and offer universal healthcare, (England, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland..hell almost all the developed sane world.) and have high taxes for the upper class.

I dont remember saying that I support totalitarian, dictatorship COMMUNIST countries... Oh I pray for the day americans stop seeing things in black and white.

BTW check out health care rankings on the WHO.

[celshader]

Agreed. Cuba has a better health care system than the USA.

[dtaijo174]

Well stated.

[InMooseWeTrust]

Apparently this guy has never heard of Peter Schiff.

[DNATS]

Apparently he hasn't. Such an idiot.

[corenothing]

oh yeah, and the New Deal worked sooo well

[willspear1564]

He misses the point of economics: it is NOT to support social growth, it is NOT to support human growth. The point of the economy is to make money, not make people feel good about themselves. Once people feeling bad compromises making money, then it is the business of business to right that. What he advocates is socialism, as Winston Churchill said: Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

[pcuimac]

Socialism was a failure because it was introduced into agricultural societies by brute force. It started as a dictatorship and ended like most dictatores.

You have to invent a true democratic and free society that works together and is led by empirical science.

Support the Zeitgeist movement. We will build a resource based economy that is in dynamic equilibrium and respects nature and the freedom of individuals.

[CheeezMaster]

the zeitgeist movement...

great. another special interest group.

[brian12934]

Uh oh...I was listening till he said green economy.

[defect530]

California is pushing for a green economy. It's called Legal Taxable Marijuana. ;)

[Atoyota]

His last comparison to the 1800's republican revolutions does not swing for me, the current situation compares to Rome when it went from a republic to an oligarchic democracy.

Governments supporting failed institutions actually rewarding failure on the backs of the taxpayers.

He is correct in that infrastructure and new tech should have received the lions share of investment. But then the corruption that got us here should have been prosecuted as well.

It hasn't been and it will get worse.

[grraadd]

The cheapest and easiest way to support infrastructure and new tech is to cut taxes... But what then would do that poor Buddhist monk?

To get rid of most of corruption get rid of most of government bureaucrats and projects they "oversee".

The only problem is: there is so many of those useless tax dollar-devouring "public servants" and connected to those funds lobbyists that it would be almost suicidal for the politicians to touch the foul egg. They just add more loyal voters on government's pay.

[Atoyota]

The problem with Rome, and the current problem today in an American Republic, is voter complacency "or"/as well as ignorance/apathy..

Until their lives are affected, they don't care. By then it's too late, or let's hope for today "almost too late"

[grraadd]

right, let's hope Americans are better educated than Germans in III Reich - that's the only chance to stop the country from sliding into the fascism... But the socialist experience of FDR times didn't leave much impression - obviously, so we can't assume the Obama's reign will, and damages can change the country into the next France with bureaucrat class in power enslaving the rest of the nation.

[Atoyota]

It was not a lack of education as much as an intoxication that vaulted Hitler into power. The people loved him remember? Just as our current leader has undeniable charisma, and the people desperate for change with a hatred of the previous Admin. That 'was my fear', but the difference between then and now is the speed and accuracy of independent communications. Independent for the most part from the mainstream media (internet) and verifiable (sourced).

Still there is too much apathy I fear.

[grraadd]

right - that's why Obama's Tzars want to "regulate" internet. They've got majority of media, with appetite for more... FDR didn't stay in power for so long without a reason - he grabbed media by throat and didn't relax his grab until he was 100% brain dead. Through last cadence he was 50% brain dead (reminds me Fidel) ;-)

[stevenaudet]

I don't mean to be out of topic... but even if I hate stereotypes... have you seen this guy's mouth!

[jailarson]

If this guy thinks the crisis is over, he is dreaming. The derivitives bubble is looming like monster over a child who's only defense is to pull more covers over his head.

[BartenderMix]

he said the crisis isn't over, it'll get worse toward the end of the year

[D31u5i0n]

Delusion of acquisition, the mental illness that is economy, it is mentally disturbing to hear you mentally handicapped failed humans "discussing" this topic. You might as well discuss the arrival of jesus.

[D31u5i0n]

Five failed humanus rated down my comment, Logic have failed this Meme hosts of the human body who probably think that they are human, only atheists can be human, your mental disability prevents you from merging with the human body "Your host, yes like parasites I'm afraid" you occupy for that reason you failed as a human, Homo sapiens.

Science and reason bitches.

[thunderpants10]

Technocracy

-problem solved

[BaileysBeads]

Blind faith in technology doesn't solve anything.

[thunderpants10]

Blind faith in anything doesn't solve anything, but since I didn't mention blind faith I don't see the relevance.

[playgrrrr]

no, but technology solves many problems first and foremost by enabling us to do more things, and to do things more efficient thus reducing the amount of labour needed. even now our economy is in a state of constant overproduction, constantly reducing the amount of resources needed to produce goods while improving the quantity and quality of the goods produced. in fact, our economy relies in this improvement and overproduction to obtain growth. thus it is impossible to provide work for everyone.

[playgrrrr]

ultimately reducing the amount of labour needed to almost 0.

anyone that believes otherwise and asks for jobs for everyone is both ignorant and stupid.

furthermore technocracy only means that you have people run the government that know what they are talking about instead of people that only care about power, manipulation, money, lobbies.

capitalism often hinders technical progress. best example is the car industry delaying the introduction of built to stock electrical cars.

[playgrrrr]

if you have any kind of argument to make bring it forth. technocracy has nothing to do with blind faith in technology. also, scientific and technical progress are good things, not bad.

i guess your plan to solve arising problems is to sit back, watch as people are enslaved by a system that amplifies the human desire for power and destruction, and pray to god.

argue or shut the fuck up.

[D31u5i0n]

*Logicocracy

[clearmenser]

Complaint choir? Awesome!

[TurboDally]

"socially responsible companies" <3

Does sub prime loaning fall under "responsible companies"?

[BartenderMix]

partially because their are several types of responsibilities, some which pull at eachother like environmental and financial/profit or growth.

[blurglide]

The government REQUIRED a certain percentage of lending to those with bad credit risks. People were now able to buy houses that couldn't afford them, and housing prices skyrocketed.

[jwfcp]

No, after the banks lost a few lawsuits due to redlining issues, they decided to play the victim card and claim the the govt was forcing them to play along. In reality, they were making a killing because due to a completely different set of circumstances, they were able to lie about the riskiness of the money they had lent out and sell the debt off to suckers.

your requirement is a myth, a limpwristing technique used to obfuscate the issue.