Goldman Sachs: Great American Bubble Machine

[Vympel]

Too long to quote

Includes a video summary. A run-down of the gangster state America has become and the company at the center of every single speculative bubble of the past few decades.

[Edi]

Taibbi is excellent as always. It's funny how I grew up in a time when the US was seen as something good and great here by those who weren't kowtowing towards Moscow, yet during the past thirty years it has increasingly become a third world shithole papered over with a glittering facade of sparkling illusions.

More than anything, it is sad.

[Starglider]

yet during the past thirty years it has increasingly become a third world shithole papered over with a glittering facade of sparkling illusions.

I'm probably going to regret this, but I'm going to have to ask you to explain this. A tiny minority of individuals in the US experience a quality of life comparable to the average Nigerian - a country at the top end of the (dubious) third-world classification. The US trails other top-tier developed nations (western Europe, Canada, Japan) on some important metrics (despite its GDP-per-capita lead), but its average quality of life is hardly approaching 'second world' status, never mind 'third world'. This is borne out by the fact that very few immigrants from 'third world' countries (or even Mexico) want to go back.

As far as I can see this is more trendy 'hating on America' and gross exaggeration of the situation. It's quite possible that the US will decline in the future, but it hasn't happened yet, and if it does the end result is far more likely to mirror Mexico or Russia than Zimbabwe.

[[R_H]]

And instead of credit derivatives or oil futures or mortgage-backed CDOs, the new game in town, the next bubble, is in carbon credits — a booming trillion- dollar market that barely even exists yet, but will if the Democratic Party that it gave $4,452,585 to in the last election manages to push into existence a groundbreaking new commodities bubble, disguised as an "environmental plan," called cap-and-trade. The new carbon-credit market is a virtual repeat of the commodities-market casino that's been kind to Goldman, except it has one delicious new wrinkle: If the plan goes forward as expected, the rise in prices will be government-mandated. Goldman won't even have to rig the game. It will be rigged in advance.

It will be interesting to see if his prediction is accurate.

[Edi]

yet during the past thirty years it has increasingly become a third world shithole papered over with a glittering facade of sparkling illusions.

I'm probably going to regret this, but I'm going to have to ask you to explain this. A tiny minority of individuals in the US experience a quality of life comparable to the average Nigerian - a country at the top end of the (dubious) third-world classification. The US trails other top-tier developed nations (western Europe, Canada, Japan) on some important metrics (despite its GDP-per-capita lead), but its average quality of life is hardly approaching 'second world' status, never mind 'third world'. This is borne out by the fact that very few immigrants from 'third world' countries (or even Mexico) want to go back.

As far as I can see this is more trendy 'hating on America' and gross exaggeration of the situation. It's quite possible that the US will decline in the future, but it hasn't happened yet, and if it does the end result is far more likely to mirror Mexico or Russia than Zimbabwe.

An exaggeration, I must admit. But the stories about the state of the society there, with regard to wealth disparities, the health care system problems, the massive defrauding of the government by the rich, the corporatism and all the other myriad maladies make it seem like a shithole. Sure, if you're rich and healthy, no problem. Fail one of those and it doesn't look remotely so good anymore. To someone from here, it all looks like a rat-race.

For myself, I would never even consider moving to the US unless I had ironclad guarantees against the kind of misfortunes that routinely wipe Americans out financially.

[Starglider]

But the stories about the state of the society there, with regard to wealth disparities, the health care system problems, the massive defrauding of the government by the rich, the corporatism and all the other myriad maladies make it seem like a shithole.

There's some severe selection bias going on there - most news stories exagerate these problems for effect. The majority of Americans have decent housing, excellent health coverage, no fear of starvation, high-school level education and a regular income. Yes, those metrics could be better, and the common American notion of being the best country (to live in) in the world is extremely dubious. But to call these conditions 'third world' is to trivialise the suffering of people stuck in countries where there are regular famines and droughts, where corruption is open and pervasive, where gangs literally rule the streets, where the only viable job for many young males is the local milita, where freedom of speech is a fantasy and where religious or military leaders impose brutal, discriminatory legal systems.

To someone from here, it all looks like a rat-race.

Granted but all the same criticisms apply to a much greater degree to Russia, Mexico etc and those aren't considered 'third world'.

[Edi]

Granted. Can't really argue with any of that.

[Tsyroc]

As I live in Southern Arizona I will volunteer that second world shit hole might be accurate.

At least shit hole comes to my mind far too often living in Tucson.

[Bob the Gunslinger]

I would like to add that the average American does not, in fact, have adequate health coverage, but the average healthy American thinks he does.

[aerius]

There's some severe selection bias going on there - most news stories exagerate these problems for effect. The majority of Americans have decent housing, excellent health coverage, no fear of starvation, high-school level education and a regular income.

Majority? Excellent healthcare coverage? Are you shitting me? Maybe if you're rich, work for the government, or have a damn good union, but otherwise, it's mostly crap.

[Starglider]

Majority? Excellent healthcare coverage? Are you shitting me? Maybe if you're rich, work for the government, or have a damn good union, but otherwise, it's mostly crap.

Compared to who? Canada, perhaps, but compared to the average Kenyan or even Indian the average US worker is doing pretty well. Almost all the expensive treatments and procedures that could bankrupt an American with poor cover are completely unavailable to all but the rich elite in the third world. On a global scale, the average quality of US healthcare is still in the top 10%.

[Big Orange]

America has many advantages and successes, but it squanders many of them due to its political and cultural mindset, which at its worst is self-delusional, sometimes wilfully destructive. We're celebrating the Appollo 11 landing now, but what has the US done since then that is as similarily significant? Where is the Moon base and the mission to Mars?

And while America's health care is high quality, even Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina provide UHC, despite all three countries perhaps being a fraction as wealthly as the US put together.

[K. A. Pital]

Mexico etc and those aren't considered 'third world'.

Why is Mexico not "Third World"? Also, while Edi clearly exaggerated with the "third world", I do think that the US should come under more scrutiny in how it behaves, and exists, as a First World nation.

For example, with an obscenely high per capita GDP it only barely manages to keep HDI on the level of France and other European First World nations. It is a very surprising level of mismanagement of financial resources if anything.

[Samuel]

As far as I can see this is more trendy 'hating on America' and gross exaggeration of the situation. It's quite possible that the US will decline in the future, but it hasn't happened yet, and if it does the end result is far more likely to mirror Mexico or Russia than Zimbabwe.

I think he is refering to the act the US is more likely to decline into being a state where weak central government causes hardship, but not slip all the way into being a failed state.

[Big Orange]

For example, with an obscenely high per capita GDP it only barely manages to keep HDI on the level of France and other European First World nations. It is a very surprising level of mismanagement of financial resources if anything.

It's not mismangement when the goal of Turbo Capitalism in the first place was to concentrate the wealth into the top 1% and fiercely keep taxes as low as possible. Its more because the US authorities are more self-centred and short-sighted than inept.