The country is in good health and the people are happy as the shelter has enough bread for half of the people in line. It can be said, that human adaptation can allow for any minor improvement to be seen as a symbol of victory in the face of endless defeat. If today is less bad than yesterday, then it has been a righteous achievement, though the week before would see todays promise as a major defeat.
When looking at the financial industries of the modern world, any honest analysis will reveal that the practices of today, while effective, are not designed to exist in perpetuity. They cannot last forever. Today's best practices are the sins of tomorrow's past. The concept of perpetuity even proves this, as inflation decreases the value of continuous flat-amount payments enough that the present value of anything paid in perpetuity can be calculated. For clarity, that means that you can calculate the value in today's dollars that you would ever receive from a theoretically infinite number of payments. This is only possible because the value you are paid decreases enough to become effectively 0 over time, despite the amount you are being paid staying the exact same. Dollars are bound to become worthless.
Beyond the value of the dollar and the implications it has on the wealth of the citizenry of the nation, I would like to focus on the conservatism within the financial markets. Or, that is to say, how people believe the financial system NEEDS to be in order to function. Having worked in corporate finance and knowing many more who have worked in far greater intimacy with the banking and financial systems than myself, it is striking how little room there is for discussion of any alternative view on the current system. The creativity with which the entire industry is viewed stops at the point of simple financial reallocation to make cash flow look as good as possible for Federal regulators. Those who have invested their careers into the corporate structure of modern financial systems not only reject the idea of undoing the self-acknowledged dangers that have been brought upon the country by the current system as it is, but the perspective of doubling down on the level of centralized control seems to be the prioritized belief.
It is a culture unto itself, and the abdication of responsibility for the cogs role in the overarching machine is palpable. Each cog is intimately responsible for the duty that they hold as a cog and resentful of those who fall short in fulfilling their duty as a cog, yet the responsibility of anything that goes beyond their duty, or the duty of their team, is to be disregarded. As long as the needs of the team are met, that is what is important. If the team only exists due to an undo burden on the company by outside forces, the team will support those outside forces in the preservation of their own roles.
This is why financial experts would never presently pursue the advocation of the dissolution of the federal reserve. As much as they may see potential risk in the powers the reserve has to hinder their further functionality with new regulation, experts know that they are experts specifically in what the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) has mandated that they do. To never want more regulation but never pursue the undoing of what is existing is to allow yourself to be the victim of further tribulations from the entity which seeks to control you. If you are not removing their control, they will always seek more. This is in human nature, and thereby the nature of human created entities.
We make so much progress, we rely on that progress, and then we never ask ourselves what harm has come from that progress, and did that progress cause more harm than good? Who really benefits from inflationary currencies. Not the average person. This is the detriment of a consumption based economy. Anything that promotes consumption will be seen as good, no matter how poisonous it may be, and that promotion is funded and directed by those who would gain the most from said consumption, at the cost of the people. It is worth recognizing when you have made a deal with the devil.
Just thought I'd share this comment I was trying to comment on a Lotus Eaters video. Btw, ya'll should follow the Podcast of the Lotus Eaters if you aren't already. Great analysis and discussion
It's been a while since I've made a video, and this time with a locals exclusive. A cherry on top that I managed to fit within the size requirements. I like making shorter form content like this, considering my tendencies to ramble. Having content exclusive for my followers here is something I'll be working on doing more and more. I'll be creating more value here for my subscribers as well, with some subscriber exclusive content in the future. No timeline promises, cause I think we know how I get when I make a ton of promises (go hardcore for a week and then fall flat on my face unable to keep up with the sprint, lol).
Anyhow, let me know your thoughts and questions below. Have a great day everyone!
A direct upload! It turns out I recorded a video just short enough to meet the minimum upload offerings that locals offers to small communities like mine. That means you guys get this exclusively on locals!
I didn't sleep much last night, so I decided this was the perfect time to mull over my confused thoughts on how businesses are viewed from a legal perspective. Businesses are somewhat legal enigmas to me. Corporations are kinda treated as persons so that they can be double taxed, but have other protections, other types of businesses aren't treated the same way. They're able to consolidate power like governments, yet aren't subject to any form of limitations in regards to violating natural rights the same way the government is, despite being treated somewhat like persons they can still buy each other. It's just very odd to me from a principled, legal, and philosophical position.
Anyhow, my ramblings here are just that, ramblings. Still, I am curious what you all think of this topic. ...
The 2020 election is over, and the battle has just begun. What do I expect to come from the end of the election? Will the legal suits turn over anything for this election, or will they mean something for later down the line? I reflect on these questions and more in this discussion, and I also reflect on some final thoughts relevant to the Rise and Fall of Empire Series, that, thus far, being episodes 8 through 10 of the Construct Cast. Let me know your thoughts, and if you have any reflections of your own from this year's political cycle or other developments that you can't seem to get off your mind in the comments below.
In this episode of the Construct Cast, I discuss my analysis of Sir John Glubb's The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival, with an emphasis on my own consideration for what it would take to help an empire survive, or reboot. If immortality for an Empire is impossible, is rebirth impossible in the same way? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Editor's Note: Returning to the podcast versions of the Construct Cast, I want to catch our content up to the videos we have had released over the past month. I apologize for this getting away from me for a bit. With the rise in content production, I had allowed this to get away from me. We will be returning to audio podcast uploads of the Construct Cast as per our original regular schedule, at 12PM EST on the day of the original upload, going forward.
In this second Crossover podcast, we are once again recording with Kevin @Eng_Politics. His channel is a bastion of political thought and analysis from the perspective of a conservative engineer. Interested in diving deeper into my concept of Progressive Traditionalism and combating the concept with his own beliefs of what it means to be Conservative, we decided to put our definitions and beliefs to task in this crossover episode!
Be sure to check out Kevin's locals community here:
https://engineeringpolitics.locals.com/
And if you're more interested in the video version, here is a direct link:
https://engineeringpolitics.locals.com/post/235260/the-engineering-politics-podcast-30-conservatism-vs-progressive-traditionalism
So I just confirmed that, after a year off of the Keto diet, my Ulcerative Colitis (a type of IBS) is still not only in remission, but seemingly cured as if it never was there, including no more polyp growth.
This self-experiment has shown me that a prolonged period on Keto, about 2 years for me, was enough to create the long lasting effects to repair and cure my gastrointestinal system to complete recovery from what was supposed to be a lifelong, incurable illness. I still have a minor level proctitus at the exit, to put it in the least gross way I can think, but with the rest actually fully cured to where my new GI doctor asked if I was misdiagnosed originally is a major accomplishment.
For those seeking a source on how to get here like I did, I recommend following Thomas Delaur's YouTube channel for general inflammation control/healthy keto/ workout advice, only eat meat that is 100% Grass fed and pasture raised (including eggs), and drink a glass of Kefir at least once a week. Good ...
Controversial capitalist take, but I personally don't think stock ownership should give any power to the stockholders over business decisions. Buyouts and ownership should be separate from stock investment. How? There are various options to discuss. Why? Theoretically an investment firm could invest ownership stakes into every major investment firm over time and concentrate all of their investments to own controlling stakes across entire industries or even all publicly traded companies.
Actually, this isn't so theoretical if you look at BlackRock's partnerships with Vanguard and State Street. The three companies operate in virtual lockstep and theoretically wouldn't even need 51% collective ownership in the companies they invest in because any company with an array of other investors should have some theoretical minimum that they can guarantee will follow the leadership of these big 3 in most cases. I've seen estimates that they only need a collective 35% share to all but guarantee any ...
