rbarooah

47 ms·

541.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Have all audience members on Oprah for the past 3 years been given cars?
542.
by rbarooah 16y ago
We don't know how many people sign up because someone said it was cool or invited them and then forget that they have a Facebook account. It serves Facebook to publicize a giant number to make them appear unbeatable, but the numbers that co
543.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Right, but it costs nothing to join FaceBook. Measuring their success by counting membership numbers is the same as measuring the success of a shampoo brand by counting the free samples they've given away.
544.
by rbarooah 16y ago
You're probably right - if they'd just been allowed to collapse we'd be in serious trouble. However we're still in serious trouble because of the moral hazard created. Banks have been given the greenlight to take similar risks again becaus
545.
by rbarooah 16y ago
On the topic of straw men, I don't think you'll find me saying anywhere that the financial industry is "stupid, ignorant, or misguided", nor did I say that "wall street is bad". I'm not painting the people in the industry with any kind of
546.
by rbarooah 16y ago
It wouldn't work better for Apple than what they currently do. Stuff that's pre-announced rarely lives up to expectations even when it's good because people embellish what they've heard in their own minds. There's too much at stake for it
547.
by rbarooah 16y ago
You are trolling, right?
548.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Perhaps not. But not everyone has their chests puffed up about this. As it stands, they were rewarded for taking excess risk and are doing it again. What should be done next time?
549.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Funny - according to the very report I just quoted that positive GDP growth in 2009 is due only to growth in the financial industry which makes up for the declines other sectors are still seeing.
550.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Equally relevant: if the government thought that Facebook had weapons of mass destruction, they'd topple Zuckerberg.
551.
by rbarooah 16y ago
What relevance has that comment?
552.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Ended?
553.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Right - but the finance sector wasn't chosen at random to receive a bailout because of 'craziness'. It was bailed out because it's dysfunctional. And now, people in the financial industry expect it to get bailed out when it screws up,
554.
by rbarooah 16y ago
The private goods-producing sector value added fell 6.4 percent in 2009, after a 4.2 percent decline in 2008. The private services-producing sector declined by 2.1 percent, after a 0.4 percent increase in 2008. The finance and insurance ind
555.
by rbarooah 16y ago
If brain tumors are so unnecessary, why do people die from having them removed?
556.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Seriously? You're saying that it's fine for the financial industry to hold the country hostage when they fail because there's equal opportunity for other industries to do that too if they too can become large enough?
557.
by rbarooah 16y ago
How much of that GDP growth is just the financial sector itself inflating?
558.
by rbarooah 16y ago
If you see finance as infrastructure to help other businesses grow (as I do), then it's growth should result in the growth of other industries. Instead what we see is finance growing and other industries declining. To me that suggests a
559.
by rbarooah 16y ago
And since we're on the subject of evidence - what do you think of this: The private goods-producing sector value added fell 6.4 percent in 2009, after a 4.2 percent decline in 2008. The private services-producing sector declined by 2.1 perc
560.
by rbarooah 16y ago
How does a massive bail out 'keep the system in check'?
561.
by rbarooah 16y ago
How is it a straw man? You claimed something, and I said there was no evidence for it. I guess you just don't have any evidence.
562.
by rbarooah 16y ago
The financial industry makes up a much larger portion of GDP growth. Artificial growth that would have contracted if it hadn't been bailed out. Demand for the financial industry has been produced by force, not through the marketplace, unl
563.
by rbarooah 16y ago
If the financial industry hadn't been bailed out, it would have contacted. In its case, supply hasn't followed demand. Supply is artificially high, because demand has been produced by force.
564.
by rbarooah 16y ago
So you agree that the financial industry gets to take risks at other people's expense? This makes your other points about the benefits of the financial industry and your defense of them 'not stealing' seem incoherent at best.
565.
by rbarooah 16y ago
No. Not correct at all. There is no evidence whatever showing that the current size of the financial industry caused faster growth, more hiring or GDP growth other than the financial industry itself.
566.
by rbarooah 16y ago
This would be true if the losses from the last crash hadn't been socialized. If the financial industry had actually had to bear the consequences of the risks they take in the same way that entrepreneurs do, the decisions would be rational.
567.
by rbarooah 16y ago
The evidence is that the finance industry has grown faster than all of the other sectors, proving my point. I'd highly recommend that you rely your points on empirical evidence than empty claims.
568.
by rbarooah 16y ago
The growth has been primarily in the financial industry. Oh - I get it now - the finance industry has provided support for itself to grow.
569.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Finance firms put 100% of their time and energy into finding ways of making money out of existing money without producing any other value. Entrepreneurs do a little of this too, but foolishly allow themselves to be distracted by an irration
570.
by rbarooah 16y ago
Presumably this growth that the finance has supported is happening somewhere other than in the US?

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