tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post1545999541701236907..comments2024-03-20T02:13:42.947-05:00Comments on real economics: Conversion to a sustainable society will be difficult and expensiveJonathan Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-12585019906901093462012-05-30T09:27:54.689-05:002012-05-30T09:27:54.689-05:00A couple of other things--
--I found this interest...A couple of other things--<br />--I found this interesting and pass it along in case you missed it--<br />http://www.businessinsider.com/the-president-of-the-bundesbank-lashes-out-2012-5<br /><br />--Back to the topic of conversion to sustainability in society, forgive me if I ramble, I'm trying to see trees in the forest--<br />Isn't the big part of world's problem are the jobs left behind in our non-productive economy are <br />(1) too heavily into service/arts/entertainment occupations for which there isn't enough demand to be sustainable as occupations. Oh, people love and need service/art/entertainment, but they refuse to pay the whole cost needed to support it, thus pro sports rely on public subsidies and the rest are starving artists living hand to mouth and usually without decent health care. <br /><br />Then the other jobs left to <br />(2) sustain us economically were too physically challenging to be performed over our extended lifetimes, so they were automated and once automated one person could do the work of 100, and instead of being physically worn out at 45 now a larger percentage of people could work until 70.<br /><br />This has led to more people literally with nothing to do, increasingly decade after decade. No work to be had, and the ideas for anything to do increasingly vapid, more and more unlikely to be something a person might actually want to say nothing of needing it.<br /><br />Veblen I suppose first spotted and labeled this consumptive trend, and now after a hundred years of it we have 7 billion mostly under-employed people to convince to be happy and spend ever inflated monies on ever inflated entertainment, in a world ever twisted to emphasize their activities due to the volume of their mass. <br /><br />While a few people in each community are actually producing something like food or shelter that actually add value.<br /><br />Thusly, our financial sector is the same--if we piled up the world's money into two piles, one for the value generated by the productive actions and the other for non-productive, the latter would now dwarf the former.<br /><br />Again thusly, it seems the only value of these non-productive activities and monies therefore, are to engage people is doing something to eliminate unrest. So, what is the problem with inflation? Or if we prefer to avoid Zimbabwe currency values, why not reset the value...say every 7 years like the classic debt forgiveness of our ancient leaders?<br /><br />It is just money...it is a tool, an idea created for people by people, and it is no longer serving it's purpose of being a helpful tool and instead is being handled clumsily and killing people.<br /><br />Ultimately, isn't the weak link our human ability to accept and handle change?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05252804186064393926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-46014716576889195262012-05-29T10:12:10.241-05:002012-05-29T10:12:10.241-05:00Maybe FieldofSchemes.com has, but actually probabl...Maybe FieldofSchemes.com has, but actually probably not? The stadium/arena building has the double advantage of gov't bureaucratic funding scheming combined with pro sports accounting/tax exemptions.<br /><br />Sprinkle on top all the outlandish real estate development deals where we prop up iffy developments under the disguise of jobs and future property taxes...here's the latest--<br />http://t.co/68dLUKcQ<br /><br />But more to the posting--why are these sports boondoggles given free passes in society while wind and solar projects are expected to run perfect out of the gate is amazing. The above Uptown project provides 2 full time jobs and the opportunity to vacate one office to fill a new one.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05252804186064393926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-46994342203083178302012-05-28T10:47:16.845-05:002012-05-28T10:47:16.845-05:00At the national level, has anyone tallied up all t...At the national level, has anyone tallied up all the tax dollars used to subsidize professional sports stadiums in the USA?<br /><br />As for the long thread of producers vs. predators - Dubya got his grub stake by investing the money he got from the Harvard Management Company into the Texas Rangers, that built their publicly financed stadium on land acquired by condemnation from the properties of Curtis Mathes, once the best televisions in the world.<br /><br />There's always funds available for sleazy "sure bets".David Bauernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-44742016404058129132012-05-27T10:02:39.257-05:002012-05-27T10:02:39.257-05:00I tried my best to get this idea (of city/state fu...I tried my best to get this idea (of city/state funding for green energy) into the local stadium debate in Mpls before it diverted 600+ million for 30+ years out of our economy, but of course failed given the distraction provided our citizens by the NFL circus.<br /><br />And of course I knew all along it would fail because of special interests...and to our country, 'the people' are not a special interest.<br /><br />It seems our gov't and business civic leaders actually do not have people's interests in mind. Oh they will talk the talk, but are unable to walk the walk.<br /><br />What they need is the right idea and right person to champion it through the civic and political jungle at the right time.<br /><br />It should involve all levels-- the university level, signing up prospective high school level students, under a contract to forgive/work-off their student loans, to re-imburse say a GE/Honeywell-like company who funds this program (and receives the benefit of course, but better them than China, eh), to create a green tech campus bringing in the brightest and most creative ideas/people ...say out in Arden Hills where they keep crying about how no one wants that land.<br /><br />So, there's an idea...feel free to spruce it up, but now who will champion it? Rybak? Mondale? Dayton? Some new Dem? Anyone left in the GOP? Anyone left in the state's business community who actually builds stuff and is willing to take this on?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05252804186064393926noreply@blogger.com