Today I learned about capitalism

[kranky al]

gdp growth = tfp growth + alpha*employment growth + (1-alpha)* capital growth. (Alpha is the employment share)

employment growth has been much much lower then gdp growth and thus isnt the main driver of it as you claim. The last three hundred years has seen a massive boom in gdp per worker growth. I.e. growth that is beyond simply employment/population growth. capital growth has driven part of this growth but eventually it reaches a steady state level where on a per capita basis new capital created simply replaces depreciated capital resulting in the capital component making zero long term contribution to gdp growth (Read up on Solow growth theory if you want question this statement).

This means that in the long run the primary driver of GDP growth is total factor productivity growth.

And yes productivity does mean getting more output without using any additional resources. That is exactly what its definition is. As an example look at energy. we have long needed fossil fuel resources to create energy. We are almost at a point where energy can be produced without using any material resources on earth at all.

<<<China produces and consumes about 60 percent of the world’s cement — the Three Gorges Dam alone required 16 million tonnes of it. To put China’s massive 21st century construction splurge and concrete consumption into perspective, Bill Gates made a mind-blowing comparison.

According to his blog, between 2011 and 2013, China consumed 6.6 gigatons of concrete – that’s more than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century. Look at what the U.S. built between 1901 and 2000: all those skyscrapers, the Interstate, the Hoover Dam, the list goes on and on but all that concrete only amounted to 4.5 gigatons.>>>


Herp derp;China Used More Concrete In 3 Years Than The U.S. Used In The Entire 20th Century [Infographic]

 

[peetoo]

Melbourne mentioned by a New York agent 12 minutes in

 

[peetoo]

<<<China produces and consumes about 60 percent of the world’s cement — the Three Gorges Dam alone required 16 million tonnes of it. To put China’s massive 21st century construction splurge and concrete consumption into perspective, Bill Gates made a mind-blowing comparison.

According to his blog, between 2011 and 2013, China consumed 6.6 gigatons of concrete – that’s more than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century. Look at what the U.S. built between 1901 and 2000: all those skyscrapers, the Interstate, the Hoover Dam, the list goes on and on but all that concrete only amounted to 4.5 gigatons.>>>


Herp derp;China Used More Concrete In 3 Years Than The U.S. Used In The Entire 20th Century [Infographic]


View attachment 1582393

I read somewhere china pots half the worlds concrete right now. So that’s perhaps the world in 3 years poured three times the concrete the US did in a century.

A century which includes two world wars and a Cold War

 

[kranky al]

I read somewhere china pots half the worlds concrete right now. So that’s perhaps the world in 3 years poured three times the concrete the US did in a century.

A century which includes two works wars and a Cold War

But yeah seeds thinks growth comes from Cuthbert at the post office sorting parcels 2% faster

 

[kranky al]

Today i learned that in capitalism, democracy is for sale. To the highest bidder.

Fossil fuel giants paid 13,000 times more political "donations" than taxes - The Klaxon

Four of the nation's biggest fossil fuels companies paid over 13,000 times more in “donations” to the major political parties last financial year than they paid in taxes in 2020-21.

theklaxon.com.au

Four of the nation’s biggest fossil fuels companies paid over 13,000 times more in “donations” to the major political parties last financial year than they collectively paid in taxes in 2020-21.

Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) datareleased this morning shows Chevron, Santos, Whitehaven Coal and Woodside together made $390,930 in political “donations” to the ALP and the Liberal and National parties last financial year.

That compares to Australian Taxation Office (ATO) figures which reveal the four fossil fuel giants paid just $30 tax between them in 2020-21, the most recent available data.

Santos, Whitehaven Coal and Woodside Energy Group (formerly Woodside Petroleum) paid zero income tax in the year – while Chevron Australia paid just $30.

That’s despite the four companies earning combined revenues that year of $24.82 billion.

AEC data shows the “donations” the fossil fuels giants made last financial year were roughly evenly split between the two major sides of politics.

Of the $390,930, the ALP received $196,980 and $193,950 went to the Coalition parties ($109,300 to the Liberal Party and $79,900 to the National Party).

The AEC’s annual dump of political donations data, released today, shows other major fossil fuels donors included embattled Indian conglomerate Adani ($107,700) and coal baron Trevor St Baker, who “donated” $120,249 via “The Trustee for St Baker Family Trust”.

Fossil fuel lobby groups APPEA and the Minerals Council of Australia – which are funded by the major fossil fuel companies – “donated” $113,970 and $233,562 respectively.

More in link above.

 

[#23 Hill]

It's easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism.

 

[Gralin]

That's because capitalism thinks it can profit off the end of the world

 

[peetoo]

Like the trade in dead tiger body parts. Once they are extinct, the prices ‘skyrocket’

 

[Gethelred]

It's easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism.

It really isn't.

Capitalism in its current form has only existed for, at best, about 150 years. Before that, we had mercantilism and colonialism as defining economic forces worldwide; before that, the crown controlled economies directly.

You can go back through history to see various other eras that other methods and ideas have lasted far, far longer. Having a short memory does not mean the current status quo has lasted forever.

 

[Gethelred]

I mean, one might instead say 'It is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of democracy'. Democracy has lasted far longer, from much smaller origins, with less reason for people to seize upon it as an animating force.

I really, really wish neoliberalism would just get in the bin. Without the propaganda spread in the wake of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR, we wouldn't have this particular breed of ignorance paraded as wisdom.

Or at least, not as much.

 

[sataris]

I mean, one might instead say 'It is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of democracy'. Democracy has lasted far longer, from much smaller origins, with less reason for people to seize upon it as an animating force.

I really, really wish neoliberalism would just get in the bin. Without the propaganda spread in the wake of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR, we wouldn't have this particular breed of ignorance paraded as wisdom.

Or at least, not as much.

I somehow misread your comment and you were trying to say that the USSR would have stopped the spread of neoliberalism.

I need to stop drinking in the mornings.

 

[owen87]

I somehow misread your comment and you were trying to say that the USSR would have stopped the spread of neoliberalism.

I need to stop drinking in the mornings.

If instead you don't stop drinking after the morning you'll never notice you misread anything.

 

[kranky al]

I mean, one might instead say 'It is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of democracy'. Democracy has lasted far longer, from much smaller origins, with less reason for people to seize upon it as an animating force.

I really, really wish neoliberalism would just get in the bin. Without the propaganda spread in the wake of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR, we wouldn't have this particular breed of ignorance paraded as wisdom.

Or at least, not as much.

The end of the ussr was the worst thing that happened to the us.

They didnt even need to pay lip service to the bottom rung any more.

Before that they had to at least try to make their system look slightly better than communism….. empty supermarkets vs 3/4 empty fridges….

Food banks expecting surge as Snap nutrition benefits cut

Come 1 March, participants in 32 states will lose a pandemic-era emergency bonus to their food benefits.

www.bbc.com

 

[Not Important]

greed is the cornerstone of capitalism. no surprises here.

 

[nut]

Riddle me this…

So governments print money during Covid … raising debt levels. Which ends up stimulating the economies so much it causes inflation.
This debt is now the peoples debt….

… and the answer to reducing this inflation is allowing banks to raise interest rates ? Which does nothing to reduce the debt but actually increases the debt whilst screwing over the population !!!!

So inflationary spending goes to the banks?

Why couldn’t we have increased taxes to reduce inflation pressures and reduce debt at the same time?

I know the answer…

 

[peetoo]

If housing costs were properly represented it the inflation figure, increasing interest rates would be the last thing to reduce inflation

 

[E Shed]

This man makes all sorts of sense about what capitalism and individualism are doing to our mental health as a species
I highly recommend his new book "The Myth of Normal".

 

[nut]

If housing costs were properly represented it the inflation figure, increasing interest rates would be the last thing to reduce inflation

Increasing house prices increases debt … banks create money through fractional banking … debt=money … more debt more money.
Our entire economic system relies on the creation of more debt through housing.

Is it true we all paid off our debts the economy would collapse because money supply would decrease?

 

[kranky al]

Riddle me this…

So governments print money during Covid … raising debt levels. Which ends up stimulating the economies so much it causes inflation.
This debt is now the peoples debt….

… and the answer to reducing this inflation is allowing banks to raise interest rates ? Which does nothing to reduce the debt but actually increases the debt whilst screwing over the population !!!!

So inflationary spending goes to the banks?

Why couldn’t we have increased taxes to reduce inflation pressures and reduce debt at the same time?

I know the answer…

Saw a suggestion i liked far more than interest rate rises to cool the economy.

How about super rises.

Both employers and employees have to put more into their employees super fund.

Both get a short time hurt that cools the economy - but the employee benefits long term with better super.

 

[nut]

Saw a suggestion i liked far more than interest rate rises to cool the economy.

How about super rises.

Both employers and employees have to put more into their employees super fund.

Both get a short time hurt that cools the economy - but the employee benefits long term with better super.

We are a trillion in debt … don’t we have to pay that back?

 

[jb40]

We are a trillion in debt … don’t we have to pay that back?

the debt is owned to our self so technically no

the fiat ponzy scheme is a debt based system banks can write imaginary credit out

 

[jb40]

That's because capitalism thinks it can profit off the end of the world

capitalism works well in scandaniva?

 

[nut]

capitalism works well in scandaniva?

There is a difference between capitalism working for the people or people working for capitalism.

 

[jb40]

There is a difference between capitalism working for the people or people working for capitalism.

globalisation where corperations tell the governments what to do

 

[kranky al]

Exxon confirms Tax Office in pursuit as it and Chevron rip $13bn dividends out of Australia - Michael West

Woohoo! Two of the biggest tax cheats, ExxonMobil and Chevron (auditors PwC) have finally begun to pay a mite of income tax in Australia

michaelwest.com.au

Whos that shill that always denies corporate tax avoidance is a thing?