1. One woman’s opinion. If John Kerry and the President are moving forward with Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, why should the rest of the world interfere? I’ve been reading the press and the embargoes imposed by The UK and the European Union are not helpful . This morning, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, responded to the EU embargo, by stating, ” if this new regulation singles out Israel and it is not universal, then it would clearly be discriminatory?” Give PEACE a chance. We have a choice.
2. Reading “The Age of Greed” by Jeff Madrick. And have just read the reason why Milton Friedman’s assumptions were incorrect. Though Friedman believed in the potential of the market place as the great leveler, his theory is based upon incorrect assumptions. ” Above all, Friedman argued, NO ONE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS. “. IN OTHER WORDS, HE BELIEVED IN A UTOPIAN SOCIETY, one that has never existed. Since the 10 Commandments were passed to Moses, we have lived by a system of laws. We have choices to make.
3.NY TIMES 7/21/13 A shuffle of aluminum, but to Banks, pure Gold. Firms profit and consumers pay Billions as metal is moved among warehouses. Specifically, There are 27 industrial warehouses in the Detroit area where Goldman Sach’s stores Aluminum . As the aluminum changes hands the aluminum is moved.
Let’s determine where this process egregiously profits the Bank, or any other entity involved in the control, the storage and the trading of the same commodity.
According to The Times article, Goldman or whoever owns the warehouse and the storage of the commodity gets to collect fees several times; 1 st they collect a fee for storage. 2 nd they collect fees for delaying the shipment of goods required elsewhere, 3 rd by controlling the shipment of goods, they know in advance what the movement of a particular Commodity will be and base their future pricing on the movement of the Commodity within their control.
A WIN WIN FOR THE “Banks” involved in the ownership and transfer of Aluminum or other Commodities of Commerce; such as power, oil, wheat, copper, etc.
Deregulation in the 1980’s , allowed the merging of Bank’s and commerce. This is not utopian! This is a ” rigged” manipulated Commodity Exchange that does not benefit Consumers. We had a choice.
Now, According to the Financial Times, 7/22/13, the US SENATE, is scheduled to hold a hearing on Bank’s involvement with power plants, oil refineries and warehouses. Sherrod Brown has said, ” Regulators need to take a long hard look at the practice of Banks holding physical commodities.” A ban on owning a physical Commodity is on the table for Fed review, once again. We still have a choice.
4. LOL. It just occurred to me, whenever you see a Transfer charge on your Con Ed bill, think, who’s getting the fee? Why am I paying for this transfer fee? It should be a line item expense for ConEd and not a separate profit center? As small businesses become extinct, the large corporations collect profits without regulation or explanation. Where is our choice?
If Bank’s became Banking businesses again, not traders, maybe we would all have greater cash flow and Lobbyists would shrink as the Pool of coveted cash disperses. A thought for choice.