5 ms·

Because those other commodities are not water and Americans have a very bad habit of using cherry-picked anecdotes to justify poor management and decision-makin

Because those other commodities are not water and Americans have a very bad habit of using cherry-picked anecdotes to justify poor management and decision-making. Just stop pretending like you give a shit about anything other than money. I'm sick of being gaslit by people like you. Talk about prices. Play your money games. But please stop pretending like you actually know anything about the real world, just because you play with money all day.

xondono 6y ago
Actually there's a pretty nice natural experiment in the US, because of the Onions Futures Act. There are several studies and some division between the experts on the details, but there's a strong case to be made for futures contracts reducing the volatility in these markets. One thing that people don't tend to realize is that speculation happens anyway, it's just not made in a public manner and through other types of contracts. In fact, if futures do reduce volatility then they reduce speculation, since it's volatility what drives speculation profits.
- jacobwilliamroy 6y ago
  Water is not onions. Bechtel managed to acquire control over water rights in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1999. They started charging a licensing fee just to collect rainwater. Within a year there were hundreds of thousands out on the streets demonstrating, as the speculation didn't actually fix the water scarcity in the city. It just made it worse, with over half the population lacking access to fresh water. Water is not onions. You cannot just talk about onions and pretend like you've said anything substantial about water futures.
  - xondono 6y ago
    What you are talking has nothing to do with a futures market, in fact is exactly the opposite, since what you are talking is a monopoly on water. By the way, the reason the US has a prohibition for onion futures is that someone did actually corner the market for onions. Off course that would be very hard to reproduce nowadays.
efdee 6y ago
People trying to explain to you why you are wrong is not the same as people gaslighting you. Your judgment seems to be heavily influenced by how you feel about people partaking in the stock market. When you're done with the ad hominems, try reading and understanding what people are saying.
- jacobwilliamroy 6y ago
  You're just shutting down because you're ashamed of how flawed and ignorant you are. When you learn to find joy in discovering your flaws, you will be a more effective person. More likely to survive and make money. You like money right?

xondono 6y ago

Actually there's a pretty nice natural experiment in the US, because of the Onions Futures Act. There are several studies and some division between the experts on the details, but there's a strong case to be made for futures contracts reducing the volatility in these markets. One thing that people don't tend to realize is that speculation happens anyway, it's just not made in a public manner and through other types of contracts. In fact, if futures do reduce volatility then they reduce speculation, since it's volatility what drives speculation profits.

jacobwilliamroy 6y ago
Water is not onions. Bechtel managed to acquire control over water rights in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1999. They started charging a licensing fee just to collect rainwater. Within a year there were hundreds of thousands out on the streets demonstrating, as the speculation didn't actually fix the water scarcity in the city. It just made it worse, with over half the population lacking access to fresh water. Water is not onions. You cannot just talk about onions and pretend like you've said anything substantial about water futures.
- xondono 6y ago
  What you are talking has nothing to do with a futures market, in fact is exactly the opposite, since what you are talking is a monopoly on water. By the way, the reason the US has a prohibition for onion futures is that someone did actually corner the market for onions. Off course that would be very hard to reproduce nowadays.

efdee 6y ago

People trying to explain to you why you are wrong is not the same as people gaslighting you. Your judgment seems to be heavily influenced by how you feel about people partaking in the stock market. When you're done with the ad hominems, try reading and understanding what people are saying.

jacobwilliamroy 6y ago
You're just shutting down because you're ashamed of how flawed and ignorant you are. When you learn to find joy in discovering your flaws, you will be a more effective person. More likely to survive and make money. You like money right?