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The irrational and bonkers part is where that giant financial industry ceases to believe that it could be risky to lend boat money to a fisherman. It's not nec
by totalZero 10y ago
The irrational and bonkers part is where that giant financial industry ceases to believe that it could be risky to lend boat money to a fisherman.
It's not necessarily irrational and bonkers for there to be more money changing hands in the fishing financial industry than among fishermen themselves. By itself, what does that really mean? It doesn't mean that money is being created out of thin air. People are making bets in that system, they are loaning money and taking specific complex risks, and as a result some people will lose everything. But also, some fishermen will be able to buy a boat or survive a season of poor catch, even in situations where many fishermen experience misfortune simultaneously.
The question is how it affects the community. Maybe there's a big crash and people in the island lose their livelihoods. Or maybe the very existence of their livelihoods is due to financial services that make the fishing industry large, robust, and prosperous.
- forgetsusername 10y agoBut why do you only blame the the financial industry, and not the fisherman? Everyone loses when stupid risks are taken.
- totalZero 10y agoIf you put the name of a housecat on a loan application, and someone buys a boat in the cat's name, it's kind of hard to blame the cat.
- AnthonyMouse 10y ago> But why do you only blame the the financial industry, and not the fisherman? Because the fisherman has no alternative. If loans are given too freely then taking the loan becomes necessary to compete in the market against competitors who do.
- josho 10y agoI suspect that the financiers will make that very same argument.
- AnthonyMouse 10y agoExcept that the fisherman weren't the ones lobbying for regulations that allow/encourage the finance industry to do that.