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> Canada has the lowest ratio of net debt to gross domestic product among the Group of Seven industrialized countries If we're including household debt this do

> Canada has the lowest ratio of net debt to gross domestic product among the Group of Seven industrialized countries If we're including household debt this does not square with what I've read elsewhere. p.s. I've immensely enjoyed various sharp screeds from recent years ripping Taleb a new one: http://scottlocklin.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/nassim-taleb-clown-of-quantitative-finance/ http://scottlocklin.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/nassim-taleb-cl... http://falkenblog.blogspot.com/search?q=taleb http://falkenblog.blogspot.com/search?q=taleb

lukestevens 16y ago
Those Taleb take-downs are well worth a read. Taleb makes for good media soundbites as a contrarian; but to me it seems more like anti-intellectualism for the educated. I'm not sure why he deserves that platform he apparently has. From the first piece: "So why do people listen to this guy? Part of it is doubtless the “famous for being famous” effect. Taleb is witty and clever, and ruthlessly promoted himself as a public figure after his trading days were over. Not a bad strat for success in the modern media culture: grab the megaphone and declare yourself a genius. Everyone wants to think they’re more of a mental bigshot than the eggheads who run things. Plus, it’s not like Jim Simons has time to write Financial Times articles. He’s too busy making money more or less proving people like Taleb wrong."
- kiba 16y ago
  I dislike pyschoanaylsis. They're really neat explanation but they're well, lack explaining power. Plus they don't do much for learning about the truth, and they're more about attacking a person's character.
  - houseabsolute 16y ago
    Not sure if psychoanalysis (a.k.a. Freudian psychology) has anything to do with the subject at hand. I think you mean to say you don't like comments that delve into a person's suspected motivations. But the comment you're replying to doesn't talk about motives at all. It just talks about the means this man has used to achieve fame and why they worked.
    - kiba 16y ago
      I think you mean to say you don't like comments that delve into a person's suspected motivations. Yes, this is what I meant. But the comment you're replying to doesn't talk about motives at all. Then I have completely misinterpret what the comment say.
      - lukestevens 16y ago
        Yes, my comment was just that the quality of his ideas don't seem to match the size of his platform, if I can put it that way :)
patrickgzill 16y ago
My view of Canada is that they have a large amount of natural resources, some even renewable natural resources, on a per-person basis. The USA has a large amount of natural resources as well, however, 10 times the population to spread it amongst.
- rubashov 16y ago
  A bet on Canada is a bet on the commodities markets, plain and simple. Canada is fucked if Bob Prechter is right. Canada does great if Jim Rogers is right.
  - fauigerzigerk 16y ago
    I don't know. Isn't it possible that Canada does well supplying resources to emerging markets and the US stock market that Prechter talks about still goes down or stagnates? Prechter and Rogers don't make predictions about the same thing.
    - lzw 16y ago
      In an inflationary environment, the US Stock market will likely go up due simply to the value of each dollar going down, meaning that a given amount of economic value delivered results in more dollar profits and more dollars in the stock price. So, you could have a losing investment economically even though the prices went up! Imagine what the last 10 years of S&P 500 would be indexed to growth in your favorite money supply index.
kiba 16y ago
I have no ideas what those people are talking about in some of their arguments. However, I'll keep the allegation about Taleb in mind.

lukestevens 16y ago

Those Taleb take-downs are well worth a read. Taleb makes for good media soundbites as a contrarian; but to me it seems more like anti-intellectualism for the educated. I'm not sure why he deserves that platform he apparently has. From the first piece: "So why do people listen to this guy? Part of it is doubtless the “famous for being famous” effect. Taleb is witty and clever, and ruthlessly promoted himself as a public figure after his trading days were over. Not a bad strat for success in the modern media culture: grab the megaphone and declare yourself a genius. Everyone wants to think they’re more of a mental bigshot than the eggheads who run things. Plus, it’s not like Jim Simons has time to write Financial Times articles. He’s too busy making money more or less proving people like Taleb wrong."

kiba 16y ago
I dislike pyschoanaylsis. They're really neat explanation but they're well, lack explaining power. Plus they don't do much for learning about the truth, and they're more about attacking a person's character.
- houseabsolute 16y ago
  Not sure if psychoanalysis (a.k.a. Freudian psychology) has anything to do with the subject at hand. I think you mean to say you don't like comments that delve into a person's suspected motivations. But the comment you're replying to doesn't talk about motives at all. It just talks about the means this man has used to achieve fame and why they worked.
  - kiba 16y ago
    I think you mean to say you don't like comments that delve into a person's suspected motivations. Yes, this is what I meant. But the comment you're replying to doesn't talk about motives at all. Then I have completely misinterpret what the comment say.
    - lukestevens 16y ago
      Yes, my comment was just that the quality of his ideas don't seem to match the size of his platform, if I can put it that way :)

patrickgzill 16y ago

My view of Canada is that they have a large amount of natural resources, some even renewable natural resources, on a per-person basis. The USA has a large amount of natural resources as well, however, 10 times the population to spread it amongst.

rubashov 16y ago
A bet on Canada is a bet on the commodities markets, plain and simple. Canada is fucked if Bob Prechter is right. Canada does great if Jim Rogers is right.
- fauigerzigerk 16y ago
  I don't know. Isn't it possible that Canada does well supplying resources to emerging markets and the US stock market that Prechter talks about still goes down or stagnates? Prechter and Rogers don't make predictions about the same thing.
  - lzw 16y ago
    In an inflationary environment, the US Stock market will likely go up due simply to the value of each dollar going down, meaning that a given amount of economic value delivered results in more dollar profits and more dollars in the stock price. So, you could have a losing investment economically even though the prices went up! Imagine what the last 10 years of S&P 500 would be indexed to growth in your favorite money supply index.

kiba 16y ago

I have no ideas what those people are talking about in some of their arguments. However, I'll keep the allegation about Taleb in mind.