The idea was that the wealthiest class had the most to lose in an unstable society, yet time after time they have dismissed that as irrelevant to them. The process of accumulating wealth becomes an end in itself, separate from the society from which they extract it. Simple hubris doesn't seem a good enough explanation.
The interesting comparator here is China. The Chinese state has shown no compunction in controlling its billionaire class.
In the last 6 years, we have seen the sheen coming off the US billionaire class and any narrative that they are operating for the greater good is increasingly untenable.
The particular problem in the US is the extent to which flows of money (which are present everywhere) deform the political process.
I used to have friend who was tech founder and regular Davos attendee. After a couple of beers at a party, I asked him what the positive impact of Davos had been when inequality in the West had grown since Davos was founded in the early 70s. He mumbled something and went and sat on a different table.
Re: financial managers; ETFs & gravity have proved to be the Achilles’ heel to those superstar funds, their hero managers seem to have crashed to earth.
Who would have thought an index linked fund would be a superior investment?
Not quite sure where there's a claim about (retail) fund manger superstars in the article, but the answer to that question is almost everyone that spent a minute on the topic and is not paid to claim the contrary. If there is a need to pick someone, my choice would be John Bogle.
You cannot plan for the redistribution of income when greed is the defining motive of many rich people. It will be in their interest to subvert and corrupt any attempt to redistribute income and/or wealth. The rising tide of political corruption is not a coincidence, but instead is a consequence of the greed of most billionaires. They are protecting their wealth by any men’s available to them. Governments either do not have the will to stop excessive wealth accumulation, or, they have been corrupt and have become complicit in the greedy plans of the very rich.
I'd suggest a different set af "alternative ideas."
Abandoning the idea that business should somehow intuit the public good and act against the incentives created by public policy.
Financial regulation that would seek to reduce institutional failure [How US regulators allowed banks to make huge bets on using ST labilities to fund long term fixed rate assets is totally inexplicable!] nevertheless leaves zeroing out of the equity of owners of failed institutions -- something spectacularly NOT done in 2008
Tax reform that substantially closes fiscal gaps, principally by raising personal income tax rates.
Finally getting serious about avoiding avoiding and adapting to climate change by taxing net CO2 emissions.
Taking seriously the building code and land use regulations that create obstacles to more abundant and less expensive housing Improving service provisions -- collection of dissemination of better economic data, policing and public education are necessary if longer term projects.
The idea was that the wealthiest class had the most to lose in an unstable society, yet time after time they have dismissed that as irrelevant to them. The process of accumulating wealth becomes an end in itself, separate from the society from which they extract it. Simple hubris doesn't seem a good enough explanation.
The interesting comparator here is China. The Chinese state has shown no compunction in controlling its billionaire class.
In the last 6 years, we have seen the sheen coming off the US billionaire class and any narrative that they are operating for the greater good is increasingly untenable.
The particular problem in the US is the extent to which flows of money (which are present everywhere) deform the political process.
I used to have friend who was tech founder and regular Davos attendee. After a couple of beers at a party, I asked him what the positive impact of Davos had been when inequality in the West had grown since Davos was founded in the early 70s. He mumbled something and went and sat on a different table.
Re: financial managers; ETFs & gravity have proved to be the Achilles’ heel to those superstar funds, their hero managers seem to have crashed to earth.
Who would have thought an index linked fund would be a superior investment?
Not quite sure where there's a claim about (retail) fund manger superstars in the article, but the answer to that question is almost everyone that spent a minute on the topic and is not paid to claim the contrary. If there is a need to pick someone, my choice would be John Bogle.
Franco Modigliani :)
You cannot plan for the redistribution of income when greed is the defining motive of many rich people. It will be in their interest to subvert and corrupt any attempt to redistribute income and/or wealth. The rising tide of political corruption is not a coincidence, but instead is a consequence of the greed of most billionaires. They are protecting their wealth by any men’s available to them. Governments either do not have the will to stop excessive wealth accumulation, or, they have been corrupt and have become complicit in the greedy plans of the very rich.
I'd suggest a different set af "alternative ideas."
Abandoning the idea that business should somehow intuit the public good and act against the incentives created by public policy.
Financial regulation that would seek to reduce institutional failure [How US regulators allowed banks to make huge bets on using ST labilities to fund long term fixed rate assets is totally inexplicable!] nevertheless leaves zeroing out of the equity of owners of failed institutions -- something spectacularly NOT done in 2008
Tax reform that substantially closes fiscal gaps, principally by raising personal income tax rates.
Finally getting serious about avoiding avoiding and adapting to climate change by taxing net CO2 emissions.
Taking seriously the building code and land use regulations that create obstacles to more abundant and less expensive housing Improving service provisions -- collection of dissemination of better economic data, policing and public education are necessary if longer term projects.