It’s not news that many of the industries of the Western world have gone overseas since the late 1970’s, thus creating the “rust belt”. What’s largely missing is a proper understanding of why this happened and how that trend is accelerating, with so many companies now involved in what can be accurately termed as “financialization”. With central banks pricing capital at an absurdly low cost and governments happy to cover any and all losses, what could possibly go wrong?
At the heart of the issue is government intervention designed to provide the investor class with greater gains and fewer losses.
Yet the prevailing “wisdom” among policymakers and central bankers is that ever greater amounts of financialization—propped up by repeated government interventions — are somehow just a natural and inescapable feature of the market economy. With each new bubble and each new crisis, the central banks become ever more willing to try risky and “nontraditional” interventions, whether it’s negative interest rates, the abolition of physical cash, or ever larger purchases of near-worthless assets. Thanks to decades of government-fueled financialization, the stakes climb ever higher.
Look at the “wise business decisions” made by Disney, Ford, Annheuser Busch, and dozens of other large corporations. They are alienating their customers and destroying their brands. Are any Fortune 500 or 1000 companies making really rational long term decisions?
Government Intrusion picking winners and losers is distorting the business markets even worse. Bailing out the big banks has only made them bigger and more dangerous when they fail.
I know a crash is inevitable, but what will be the initiator(s), and when it will start? I do not know.
FDIC taking over banks, and then selling the profitable parts to JP Morgan for a song just makes JP Morgan bigger at the expense of the creditors of the now failed bank…
expect to see more of that in the future
Don’t dare use the F word though
Privatizing the profits.
Socializing the losses.
What could go wrong?
How is the behaviour of the bureaus and business any different that Voters voting themselves other peoples money?
All perfectly logical behaviour,if you live in a Kleptocracy.
The government unit of exchange is being made worthless,by design.
Trade it for small easily divisible items,before it’s true worth is publicly recognized.
I do remain curious about one thing.
Where do these looter plan to go?
Human nature being what it is,where do they plan to gather,where they will be safe from their victims?