hogFeast

15 ms·

91.
by hogFeast 5y ago
This is typically the case in Europe, where (unsurprisingly) unions are more common. In the US and the UK, you see more militant unions, more wildcat strikes, more picketing, etc. which is why union membership went through the floor (I am i
92.
by hogFeast 5y ago
They earn a fee from merchants and, despite what they say, I believe most of these companies also have products that aren't zero interest (Affirm also sells some of its loans...I have no idea about this, I have relatively good knowledg
93.
by hogFeast 5y ago
It is also cultural. Being openly critical of other people just doesn't fly in some parts of the world. I don't really think there is any answer. I agree that some people communicate poorly with subordinates, I think that often pe
94.
by hogFeast 5y ago
If you word a question correctly, you can also find evidence for almost any belief with Google (it is Nietzsche, you ask Google, and Google asks you). It is actually quite bizarre to have a conversation with someone online, that person has
95.
by hogFeast 5y ago
The out of pocket costs are high here because of an $8k deductible, it is a choice.
96.
by hogFeast 5y ago
The only thing that is particularly unusual about the US is that private insurance companies are probably not very efficient (admin costs are multiples of similar mixed healthcare systems). But if you look at healthcare spending as a % of G
97.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Because the purpose of a govt is to make laws for everyone. The tyranny of the majority is just tyranny in the end (this is what authoritarian govts, ironically, fail to understand about democracy...debate and disagreement seems weak and de
98.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Yes, that is correct. I am not 100% sure on this topic but I believe it is Denmark and Sweden, of the Nordics, that signed up in 1992 to Maastricht which would mean eventually joining. But, in both cases, they haven't done so because i
99.
by hogFeast 5y ago
I am a reasonably large Charlie Munger fan (read all the bios of him and Buffett, read the Bevelin books, read Poor Charlie's) but the guy has the most phenomenal blind spots of any person alive because, bluntly, he isn't that wel
100.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Most of Eastern Europe is depopulating. Bratislava is nice but Munich or Paris is nicer because you can earn more money there.
101.
by hogFeast 5y ago
It varies the same as in the US. In the US, housing in Detroit is very cheap but few people want to live there. In Europe, housing in Bratislava is very cheap but few people want to live there. The issue with housing is that rates are very
102.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Overthinked and overengineered describes Monzo very well. Their business model isn't really banking but coming up with ways to extract money from investors, so this kind of overengineering is a strong business move for them.
103.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Richard Werner is a bit nutty but his work does have value. He takes a heavily heterodox position on interest rates, some of this is him being misleading in order to be controversial. But his points about the impact of interest rates on ban
104.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Chairman McChensey Martin (who served in the late 60s when all this started to blow up) used to say that the Fed is independent within government. So the Fed is able to develop policy independently but doesn't have room to actually run
105.
by hogFeast 5y ago
You also have government guaranteed mortgages. This is probably the most unusual aspect of the American home market in comparison to other markets...it is essentially publicly owned (the only place that has a similar structure is Denmark, a
106.
by hogFeast 5y ago
To explain more about the logic used by the guy you replied to... ...the problem is people think: interest rates go up, economy slows down, we can never raise interest rates. This logic takes on a life of its own. The US economy was in this
107.
by hogFeast 5y ago
You can guarantee that if you make any comment about TfL on here, you will be dogpiled by all the Londoners explaining how their lavish subsidies are actually justified. Every. Single. Time. I covered most of what you replied to in my answe
108.
by hogFeast 5y ago
It is very weird as someone who studied British economic history and privatization to see this view so commonly. I am not sure where it has come from (although tbf, the media does not report accurately on this subject). The main benefit fro
109.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Domestic banks were not allowed to hold USD deposits (because that would have meant export earnings leaked into the Chinese money supply and the RMB would have risen), so when an exporter deposited earnings with them, they would take the do
110.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Correct, four things can trigger a crisis...in addition to many other things. And that occurred after the currency crisis had started (the debt swap into Eurobonds was because of the GKOs). I am not sure what the US has to do with it. I am
111.
by hogFeast 5y ago
There is no distinction between foreign held and internal debt. The offshore debt is owned predominantly by Chinese state banks. There are a few funds that hold these bonds (Ashmore is one), but there is a massive dollar surplus within Chin
112.
by hogFeast 5y ago
It depends what you mean by currency crisis. But yes, it has happened. Russia 1998 is the most well-known example. Everyone believed that because Russia could issue GKOs in RUB, they wouldn't blow up like Asia...they did. This also hap
113.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Chinese state banks have substantial dollar deposits (it is largely state banks that are lending to companies like Evergrande offshore). The PBOC stopped issuing notes (and sterilising the dollar inflow) years ago, and onshore dollar deposi
114.
by hogFeast 5y ago
It can. The govt has stopped it doing so.
115.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Yes.
116.
by hogFeast 5y ago
There is actually a parallel effect of QE that no-one really wrote about: it causes a shortage of risk-free assets, and makes it harder for savers to fund liabilities. I can believe that QE had a positive portfolio effect in the early 2010s
117.
by hogFeast 5y ago
There was an article the other week from Canada about their CPI (I can't find it right now). Their CPI calculation was using prices that were half those available in stores (butter was one product, there are large variations in prices
118.
by hogFeast 5y ago
First really thorough analysis of this situation that I have seen. It is surprising that this observation isn't more common, it is very obvious from looking at sectoral balance sheets...but, I suppose, not many people do this (it is od
119.
by hogFeast 5y ago
Organized suffering for people who have never suffered. Lack of suffering is associated with shame and illegitimacy. Showing people that you have suffered is a way to shed guilt.
120.
by hogFeast 5y ago
I can't provide any recommendations on enclosure. I studied it at university, and can't recall what books were recommended. But if you search for stuff about agricultural productivity, you will find lots. I believe Gregory Clark a

More ›