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Dalio compares capitalists to socialists using the old saw: one has trouble slicing up the pie, the other has trouble growing it. More appropriate today from

Dalio compares capitalists to socialists using the old saw: one has trouble slicing up the pie, the other has trouble growing it. More appropriate today from my experience working as a commodities trader: the financial sector eats the pie that the real economy bakes. I retired comfortably after only 10 years on the Street ... but I'm not proud of what I accomplished. And neither should you be, Mr. Dalio.

mac01021 8y ago
His main thesis here seems to be that modern capitalism, including the financial sector, is not serving the people as well as it should, or as well as it did during the middle third of the 20th century. It sounds like you agree with him, but want to criticize anyway?
- 3dfxiter 8y ago
  Yes, and yes.
  - mac01021 8y ago
    But why?
CryptoPunk 8y ago
The financial sector provides the work of analyzing economic need to better allocate capital. It is real work, that adds real value to the economy. The problem with the financial sector is that barriers to entry, created to "protect retail investors" and "mitigate systemic risk", result in the vast majority being excluded from the industry and a small elite capturing the majority of profits. Any development that threatens to disrupt the regulated financial sector is dealt with harshly by regulatory agencies, as in the case of the token sale market and the SEC's enforcement actions against token sale organizers.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  > created to "protect retail investors" and "mitigate systemic risk", result in the vast majority being excluded from the industry and a small elite capturing the majority of profits. Most Americans don't make enough to have anything left over to invest in the markets. This isn't a regulatory failing, this is a labor regulation failing.
  - CryptoPunk 8y ago
    It shouldn't cost anything to invest in the markets. The markets should be nearly frictionless, with no fixed costs for making an investment, making it possible to invest $2.50 at your local convenience store in a company or product that you like, the same way the poor buy lottery tickets in mass (currently 9% of the income of the poorest households is spent on lottery tickets).
    - toomuchtodo 8y ago
      > It shouldn't cost anything to invest in the markets. Hyperbole. It costs something to maintain the infrastructure (data centers in NY, NJ, and IL) to execute and settle trades. We're just arguing over how much.
      - CryptoPunk 8y ago
        It should cost almost nothing. It's an information technology, as cryptocurrency is demonstrating. The cost per transaction should be extremely low. That it isn't is a result of regulatory overhead.
        toomuchtodo 8y ago
        https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption > Bitcoin's current estimated annual electricity consumption* (TWh) 53.47 > Bitcoin's current minimum annual electricity consumption (TWh) 40.67 > Annualized estimated global mining costs $2,673,731,206 Just for the power.

mac01021 8y ago

His main thesis here seems to be that modern capitalism, including the financial sector, is not serving the people as well as it should, or as well as it did during the middle third of the 20th century. It sounds like you agree with him, but want to criticize anyway?

3dfxiter 8y ago
Yes, and yes.
- mac01021 8y ago
  But why?

CryptoPunk 8y ago

The financial sector provides the work of analyzing economic need to better allocate capital. It is real work, that adds real value to the economy. The problem with the financial sector is that barriers to entry, created to "protect retail investors" and "mitigate systemic risk", result in the vast majority being excluded from the industry and a small elite capturing the majority of profits. Any development that threatens to disrupt the regulated financial sector is dealt with harshly by regulatory agencies, as in the case of the token sale market and the SEC's enforcement actions against token sale organizers.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
> created to "protect retail investors" and "mitigate systemic risk", result in the vast majority being excluded from the industry and a small elite capturing the majority of profits. Most Americans don't make enough to have anything left over to invest in the markets. This isn't a regulatory failing, this is a labor regulation failing.
- CryptoPunk 8y ago
  It shouldn't cost anything to invest in the markets. The markets should be nearly frictionless, with no fixed costs for making an investment, making it possible to invest $2.50 at your local convenience store in a company or product that you like, the same way the poor buy lottery tickets in mass (currently 9% of the income of the poorest households is spent on lottery tickets).
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    > It shouldn't cost anything to invest in the markets. Hyperbole. It costs something to maintain the infrastructure (data centers in NY, NJ, and IL) to execute and settle trades. We're just arguing over how much.
    - CryptoPunk 8y ago
      It should cost almost nothing. It's an information technology, as cryptocurrency is demonstrating. The cost per transaction should be extremely low. That it isn't is a result of regulatory overhead.
      - toomuchtodo 8y ago
        https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption > Bitcoin's current estimated annual electricity consumption* (TWh) 53.47 > Bitcoin's current minimum annual electricity consumption (TWh) 40.67 > Annualized estimated global mining costs $2,673,731,206 Just for the power.