The following was sent to President Trump, February 26, 2018, on his web page, via a link to this Blog.
We hear on national news and from many sideline critics, including the President, heavy criticism for these four officers, who failed to face an AR-15 without body armor. Nor were their weapons compatible with this the type of firepower inside the school. Their local Sheriff was also very critical and outspoken about their unwillingness, to confront the shooter. But, did he make sure his personnel had the right equipment, I think not; he should have planned for this kind of a situation. Moreover, here is a man who's department repeatedly failed by not acting on a clear history of a young boy's troubled mind. The FBI did not do any better.
It is my understanding, that the police usually arrives to a trouble spot like this, aided by the 'SWAT' in full body armor, and weapons that can challenge an AR-15. These aids, protections and weaponry were not available to these four officers, now so ill spoken of. Confronting an AR-15 with just your shirt and uniform on your back, and armed with just a pistol, looks to me as an unfair expectation. The probability of being killed in doing so is very high, to say the least, consequently, the probability of any of them stopping the shooter, is not that great.
When I was young I acted, in the face of danger, differently, then I would today as an adult. At the age of nine, I climbed five flights of stairs during heavy
bombardment, just to retrieve my mother's gold-watch, she forgot in the
panic, while bombs were falling all around us; you might ask me, would you do it again? My answer
would be hell no, I am not a stupid kid anymore, I am a thinking adult now; do you take me for a nut? I fully understand why the students involved, consider this a dereliction of duty, by these Sheriff deputies. When we are young we feel invincible; we are convinced nothing can happen to us, at least this is how I felt then when I was young.
As I recall, the Las Vegas Metro Police was also waiting outside of the shooter's hotel room door, until the shooting stopped, before they acted. In situations like this, a 'Freudian Dead Wish' is also not the answer. Yes, the Las Vegas Metro Police waited outside, while calling for the 'SWAT' for assistance; see the reference, and quote below. Now in this particular situation, Metro could have fired through the room door, with a good change of killing the shooter, or at least interrupt his killing more people. They might have been able to shoot from around a corner, with less danger to them; who knows? Certainly, they were far better equipped that these four officers.
Ref. http://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-shows-exactly-how-the-las-vegas-massacre-unfolded-2017-10#1024-pm-police-officers-gather-near-paddocks-room-11
"One message said: "I'm on the 32nd floor. The room is going to be 135."
Another said: "It's room 135 on the 32nd floor. I need the SWAT."
It would be almost another hour, however, until officers would break into Paddock's room."
So please, let us not be so damning, after all nobody wants to commit suicide, in their right mind.
Added 2/26/2018
Ref. https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/23/sheriff-deputy-villified-lack-of-action-parkland-shooting/
Here is what professionals had to say.
"Most people are familiar with the classic psychological responses to
threat: fight or flight. These evolutionary responses are found
throughout the animal world.
“What police are called on to do is not natural,” said Ellen
Kirschman, a clinical psychologist who has worked with police
departments across the country for more than 30 years. “Instead of
running away from danger, they [are expected to] run toward it.” [added by me]
But police psychologists often encounter a third path: a freezing response."
"Officers involved in controversial shootings often experience a sense of
betrayal, she said. “The betrayal makes the experience much harder. You
feel betrayed by the community you risked your life to protect.
Betrayed by your own friends in the department. Betrayed by the
administration that’s throwing you under the bus,” Kirschman said."
“The funny thing about police departments is that when you’re recruited,
police are told, ‘We have your back.’ The family in blue and all that.
But in high-attention situations like this, you see departments quickly
turn against their own officers when they need support most.”
“This is a problem we see among trained law enforcement
professionals. What’s impressive is that most of the time they don’t
freeze. They’re able with training to do their best in a situation,”
said Miller, who is regularly brought in to counsel officers after
shootings. “Now imagine putting teachers in that same position. It’s a
recipe for disaster. It’s not just a question of them freezing or not,
but who becomes liable when teachers react poorly and end up killing a
student?”
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Friday, February 23, 2018
Have You Ever Wondered What 'MIC' Stands For?
The phrase "Military-Industrial Complex" (MIC) was made famous by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who in his 1961 farewell speech warned us about MIC, by stating, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."
MIC refers to the alliance between the military and the war industry, who profits from war production.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY (copy and paste this link to hear President Eisenhower articulate this passage of his speech)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five star general, before he became the President of the United States of America; he had first hand experience with the MIC, i.e. he knew what he was talking about.
MIC refers to the alliance between the military and the war industry, who profits from war production.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY (copy and paste this link to hear President Eisenhower articulate this passage of his speech)
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five star general, before he became the President of the United States of America; he had first hand experience with the MIC, i.e. he knew what he was talking about.
Military Spending History
| FY | DoD Base Budget vs. | Total Spending in Billions of dollars. |
|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ref. https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320
Our federal budget currently is 4,1 trillion dollars (1000 billions is 1 trillion, and 1000 millions is a billion); ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_federal_budget
Considering the above numbers, our military spending is about 20% of our total federal budget.
In 2016 we in the US spent more money on our military than the next eight countries combined.
Ref. https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison
When one looks at the foregoing, the warning by Eisenhower should come to mind.
Other than North Korea, nobody is threatening to attack our nation, and the first and last time we were attacked, by a foreign power was in 1941, by the Japanese. Even today, there is no hard evidence that North Korea has the capability to reach our country with their rockets. And, even if they could, we have the hardware to knock many of them out of the sky, we are told.
Any reasonable person would, or should ask, why are we spending such an exaggerated amount on our military, coming from taxpayers money?
To add insult to injury, trillions of dollars were reported unaccounted for, i.e. lost?
9/10/2001: Rumsfeld said, on TV, $2.3 TRILLION Missing from Pentagon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4GdHLUHwU (copy and past link to see video)
The next day, 911 came along, and as misfortune would have it, the Pentagon accounting offices were destroyed, during the attack. Needless to say, to this day nobody knows, or cares, where this money was spent on, or whether it was filling somebody's private pockets.
To add more insults to injury, the external auditor (Ernst & Young) now says, it cannot account for 800 millions.
"The Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has reportedly "lost
track" of hundreds of millions of dollars it spent, said Ernst &
Young, the accounting firm conducting the first-ever Pentagon audit,
according to Politico.
E&Y discovered that DLA "failed to properly document more than
$800 million in construction projects," said Politico, which also
reported this is just one of the many instances where millions of
dollars went missing as the accountability system inside the Pentagon is
broken. Worse, according to Politico, the first-ever audit, covering
the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2016, signals complete incompetence
about how the Pentagon handles its $700 billion annual budget."
Ref. https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-05/pentagon-auditor-cant-account-800-million-spending
What is so hilarious, this was, apparently, the first ever audit carried out by an outside auditor. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is a multi-billion a year agency (about 366 billions in 2016), which was never audited, until now.
Here at home, in our nation, we have so many urgent needs for the poor, education, healthcare, infrastructure like mass transportation, etc. and many others, too numerous to list them here. With all these needs, what is our Government doing, it spends too much on the military, and cannot account for trillions of dollars, money that could solve many of the nation's problems.
Yes, we are voting every 4 years, but just because the party in power changes from time to time, it does not change the fact, that either party is in on the deal; each of them maintain the status quo, by continuing the mismanagement of our nation's financial resources. We don't have to fight them, we just must embarrass them daily, until normalcy reappears, and even then we must stay vigil, at all times. Right now we are all sleeping at the switch.
Let us take a leaf from the young generations' book of social media, and spread this type of information, to every American, who is old enough to read. Most of our fellow citizens are struggling daily, by working full-time jobs, and have little time to research what is really going on. We can help them by providing this type of information, in abridged format. This is what a democracy is, foremost, all about. Voting is OK, but it changes little, if anything.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
ADDITIONAL LAND GRAB BY THE MILITARY?
The LVW NEWS reported 2.15.18 in an article, with pictures, that the military seeks more wilderness areas for the purpose of destroying it. When is enough enough? As can be seen on the picture, the military has already a tremendous land area, that they are currently using to play war. While the additional land wanted appears to be small by comparison to the land they already occupy, it represents 300,000 acres, no small potato. What this picture clearly demonstrates is, that the military has already grabbed a considerable land area, that the taxpaying people can no longer enjoy for recreational use.
The military may be a necessary evil, however, there has to be a limit on how much they can take from the public domain. Already the quality of life is severely impacted by tremendous noise pollution, caused by low flying jets over the homes of many. At times our homes and its contents are severely shaken in the process.
Merriam Webster defines Land Grab as follows.: a usually swift acquisition of property (such as land or patent rights) often by fraud or force.
We have become a nation where violence and destruction is all around us; our children are no longer safe in schools. Young impressionable minds absorb all this diet of violence we feed them with video games, depicting military brutality at every turn. The AK-47 and AR-15 have become the weapons of choice to kill our children in their classrooms. Instead of preserving wilderness areas for the present and future generations for peaceful, educational, and recreational purposes, the military with their apparent unsatisfiable appetite for more land will diminish this opportunity. The military, who is to be ready to protect the homeland, from the enemy, looks now more and more like the enemy, by destroying our homeland. Land taken from the people is for all intense and purpose, land destroyed, along with nature and animals in it. When is enough enough?
The military may be a necessary evil, however, there has to be a limit on how much they can take from the public domain. Already the quality of life is severely impacted by tremendous noise pollution, caused by low flying jets over the homes of many. At times our homes and its contents are severely shaken in the process.
Merriam Webster defines Land Grab as follows.: a usually swift acquisition of property (such as land or patent rights) often by fraud or force.
We have become a nation where violence and destruction is all around us; our children are no longer safe in schools. Young impressionable minds absorb all this diet of violence we feed them with video games, depicting military brutality at every turn. The AK-47 and AR-15 have become the weapons of choice to kill our children in their classrooms. Instead of preserving wilderness areas for the present and future generations for peaceful, educational, and recreational purposes, the military with their apparent unsatisfiable appetite for more land will diminish this opportunity. The military, who is to be ready to protect the homeland, from the enemy, looks now more and more like the enemy, by destroying our homeland. Land taken from the people is for all intense and purpose, land destroyed, along with nature and animals in it. When is enough enough?
We have until March 8, so the paper reports, to register our opposition to this land withdrawal, by our Government, for the benefit of military expansion, in our state. For more info visit www.nttrleis.com, or call 702-652-2750; you can also email your comments to nttrleis@leidos.com. Pickup the 2.15.18 edition of the LVW NEWS, page 65 has the article with more info.
Let Us Stop It!
Please pass this article on!
Darkest areas are at issue.
We have until March 8, so the paper reports, to register our opposition to this land withdrawal, by our Government, for the benefit of military expansion, in our state. For more info visit www.nttrleis.com, or call 702-652-2750; you can also email your comments to nttrleis@leidos.com. Pickup the 2.15.18 edition of the LVW NEWS, page 65 has the article with more info.
Let Us Stop It!
Please pass this article on!
Darkest areas are at issue.
Friday, February 16, 2018
We Need A Paradigm Shift In Our Culture
The following was transmitted to President Trump on his website, Feb. 16, 2018.
If we as a society do not change our culture drastically, we can talk about mass shooting prevention until we are blue in the face, nothing of consequence will happen, and shootings in schools and elsewhere will happen again and again. We as a nation have failed too many times, at all levels, in every category of local and federal Government Agencies, including the FBI, the School Administration, and Citizenry.
The world Trade towers' story was perhaps the biggest blunder, since Pearl Harbor, if indeed it was caused by outside agents; many professionals in engineering and sciences, including Metallurgy would argue that the heat generated by burning Jet Fuel in air will not melt steel.
For the sake of this article, let us say, the towers came down because of the witnessed impact by the Planes, piloted by foreign agents. Here were more than enough warning signs, to foil this plot, had the agencies responsible for our protection done their job; they did not see the obvious over and over again. One could almost get the feeling that nobody wanted to handle this hot potato, or worse still, nobody gave a damn about our safety. In any event, the FBI, and others, did not do their due diligence, in this matter as well.
The recent mass school killings in Parkland, Florida, just a few days ago, almost mirrors the incompetence exhibited before 911 happened; here too the many warning signs were ignored, or for lack of competence, not recognized what they were.
Now let us look at what went wrong.
The school administration took the easy way out, by just kicking the student out, without investigating the root cause for his unsociable behavior; I have read or heard so far nothing about such an effort. After such a tragedy, involving the loss of life, and serious injuries, schools are quick to provide counseling to the survivors, but apparently the troubled student received little, or most likely no counseling, by the school, or the school district; he should have been referred to a professional psychological counsel. We all know that children, and young people act out to get attention. This is especially true for teens, who yearn to be respected like adults; they want to be somebody, they are trying to cement their self-esteem.
Now let us look at a better way to handle a similar situation.
Let me share a real life situation, which I experienced a while back. One of my supervisors came to see me, to report that a certain inspector, who was a Vietnam Vet. had said to him, that sometimes he feels like coming to work with a gun, and kill all those who are constantly bullying him, at the workplace. I ask my supervisor, how he responded to the individual. Whereupon he told me, " I said, what the hell are you talking about". At this point it would have been easy to fire, the inspector, on the spot. I chose a different route to solve the problem.
I ask that the inspector come to my office at once, for a talk. When he arrived, looking very upset, I invited him to seat next to me; I did not sit behind my desk to demonstrate my authority, which would have been very wrong. After assuring him that this talk was not between him and his manager, he opened up bit by bit. I learned that he was under the care by a VA hospital for some time for PSD, without much success. When I asked, why does he think his fellow employees are harassing him, he could not point at a specific reason, they, apparently, just enjoyed bullying him; he broke down in tears. His self-esteem appeared to be rock bottom.
Here is what I did to resolve the issue. First I offered for him to go home for the rest of the day, with pay, to calm down. Then I asked him not to report for work, at his usual place of work, but to report to another division, a few miles from the former place. Finally I asked him to keep our conversation private. A couple of days later I visited him at his new job, and before I could asked him how things were going with him, he told me that he liked his new job, and that his fellow workers liked him. It was very obvious, his self-esteem was on the mend. I followed up several months later, and found him to be all smiles. When I asked his supervisor about him, the man was also all smiles; we had a win-win situation.
I have been managing Quality Assurance/Inspection departments, for major Aircraft and Aerospace companies for many, many years. I also lectured on Root Cause Identification and Corrective action, at a number of Technical Symposiums, and I think I am qualified for saying, that the school administration handled this student, less than professional. It appears their action contributed to the sad outcome of this story.
From what I could gather, early in the phase of this matter, other students were knowingly or unwittingly making this student feel less than welcome, in his surrounding. The student's perception must be acknowledged. His alleged bad behavior was most likely caused by what he perceived to be a hostile environment. The school administration knew, or should have known, in what situation this student found himself. The school administration forgot that every student is also a customer, without whom they would not be in business; one must never see a customer leave ones business upset and humiliated, because human nature will look for vindication, or worse try to get even.
Most schools in our country manage barely to instill the necessary academic knowledge, and skills into their students; more importantly, the fail together with the parents, to show them what good social behavior looks like. I live near a middle school, and I see these young people, on our streets when they are on their way home, and I can assure, they lack good social manners. They have no respect for public or private property, nor consideration for the world around them. What are our schools doing to eradicate bullying? To make matters worse, we are providing these young people with smart phones, so they can insult and malign others, in an anonymous fashion, and have driven some to suicide because of it.
As far as the FBI is concerned, their excuse that they were unable to link the screenshot provided to the person who posted this insane statement, about wanting to be a professional school shooter, is not only sad, but totally outrageous. They were sitting on vital input provided to them, doing absolutely nothing to prevent this tragedy. After the killing, they now suddenly were able to connect the dots. That reminds one of the police department, who did not act properly, when a young women athlete reported sexual abuse by the team doctor. An apology by them, this late in the game, only adds insult to injury.
The first order of business to solve any problem must always be the search for the root cause, only then can we take action for the immediate fix, followed by lasting corrective action, to prevent any recurrence. We need parents and relatives to talk to the young people in their family, and guide them to become good members of our society. Next the schools must reinforce good social manners, in and around the school, and the world at large. So far I see little of any evidence that this is happening. Too many parents, today, are too preoccupied with themselves to bother with the very children they produced.
When I grew up, all the neighbors in the immediate surrounding had the God given right to discipline us unruly children, and when we complaint about them doing so, we got another lecture from our parents as well. Nowadays, should a neighbor scold or slap an unruly child, he his immediately threatened with a lawsuit by the parents, who did not fulfill their obligation to educate their off-springs to act always in a civil manner, respecting others, as well as their property.
Last but not least our law enforcement agencies, who get pretty good pay, must earn their paycheck, by performing their fiduciary obligations, and protect the people 100% every time; too many times young people are ignored, as a matter of routine. Young misguided people can inflict great pain, on all of us, when they perceive that we do not respect them as a person, by ignoring their mental anguish. From our own experience, we surely all know that growing up is not easy!
If we as a society do not change our culture drastically, we can talk about mass shooting prevention until we are blue in the face, nothing of consequence will happen, and shootings in schools and elsewhere will happen again and again. We as a nation have failed too many times, at all levels, in every category of local and federal Government Agencies, including the FBI, the School Administration, and Citizenry.
The world Trade towers' story was perhaps the biggest blunder, since Pearl Harbor, if indeed it was caused by outside agents; many professionals in engineering and sciences, including Metallurgy would argue that the heat generated by burning Jet Fuel in air will not melt steel.
FACT: Jet fuel burns at 800° to 1500°F, not hot enough to melt steel (2750°F).
For the sake of this article, let us say, the towers came down because of the witnessed impact by the Planes, piloted by foreign agents. Here were more than enough warning signs, to foil this plot, had the agencies responsible for our protection done their job; they did not see the obvious over and over again. One could almost get the feeling that nobody wanted to handle this hot potato, or worse still, nobody gave a damn about our safety. In any event, the FBI, and others, did not do their due diligence, in this matter as well.
The recent mass school killings in Parkland, Florida, just a few days ago, almost mirrors the incompetence exhibited before 911 happened; here too the many warning signs were ignored, or for lack of competence, not recognized what they were.
Now let us look at what went wrong.
The school administration took the easy way out, by just kicking the student out, without investigating the root cause for his unsociable behavior; I have read or heard so far nothing about such an effort. After such a tragedy, involving the loss of life, and serious injuries, schools are quick to provide counseling to the survivors, but apparently the troubled student received little, or most likely no counseling, by the school, or the school district; he should have been referred to a professional psychological counsel. We all know that children, and young people act out to get attention. This is especially true for teens, who yearn to be respected like adults; they want to be somebody, they are trying to cement their self-esteem.
Now let us look at a better way to handle a similar situation.
Let me share a real life situation, which I experienced a while back. One of my supervisors came to see me, to report that a certain inspector, who was a Vietnam Vet. had said to him, that sometimes he feels like coming to work with a gun, and kill all those who are constantly bullying him, at the workplace. I ask my supervisor, how he responded to the individual. Whereupon he told me, " I said, what the hell are you talking about". At this point it would have been easy to fire, the inspector, on the spot. I chose a different route to solve the problem.
I ask that the inspector come to my office at once, for a talk. When he arrived, looking very upset, I invited him to seat next to me; I did not sit behind my desk to demonstrate my authority, which would have been very wrong. After assuring him that this talk was not between him and his manager, he opened up bit by bit. I learned that he was under the care by a VA hospital for some time for PSD, without much success. When I asked, why does he think his fellow employees are harassing him, he could not point at a specific reason, they, apparently, just enjoyed bullying him; he broke down in tears. His self-esteem appeared to be rock bottom.
Here is what I did to resolve the issue. First I offered for him to go home for the rest of the day, with pay, to calm down. Then I asked him not to report for work, at his usual place of work, but to report to another division, a few miles from the former place. Finally I asked him to keep our conversation private. A couple of days later I visited him at his new job, and before I could asked him how things were going with him, he told me that he liked his new job, and that his fellow workers liked him. It was very obvious, his self-esteem was on the mend. I followed up several months later, and found him to be all smiles. When I asked his supervisor about him, the man was also all smiles; we had a win-win situation.
I have been managing Quality Assurance/Inspection departments, for major Aircraft and Aerospace companies for many, many years. I also lectured on Root Cause Identification and Corrective action, at a number of Technical Symposiums, and I think I am qualified for saying, that the school administration handled this student, less than professional. It appears their action contributed to the sad outcome of this story.
From what I could gather, early in the phase of this matter, other students were knowingly or unwittingly making this student feel less than welcome, in his surrounding. The student's perception must be acknowledged. His alleged bad behavior was most likely caused by what he perceived to be a hostile environment. The school administration knew, or should have known, in what situation this student found himself. The school administration forgot that every student is also a customer, without whom they would not be in business; one must never see a customer leave ones business upset and humiliated, because human nature will look for vindication, or worse try to get even.
Most schools in our country manage barely to instill the necessary academic knowledge, and skills into their students; more importantly, the fail together with the parents, to show them what good social behavior looks like. I live near a middle school, and I see these young people, on our streets when they are on their way home, and I can assure, they lack good social manners. They have no respect for public or private property, nor consideration for the world around them. What are our schools doing to eradicate bullying? To make matters worse, we are providing these young people with smart phones, so they can insult and malign others, in an anonymous fashion, and have driven some to suicide because of it.
As far as the FBI is concerned, their excuse that they were unable to link the screenshot provided to the person who posted this insane statement, about wanting to be a professional school shooter, is not only sad, but totally outrageous. They were sitting on vital input provided to them, doing absolutely nothing to prevent this tragedy. After the killing, they now suddenly were able to connect the dots. That reminds one of the police department, who did not act properly, when a young women athlete reported sexual abuse by the team doctor. An apology by them, this late in the game, only adds insult to injury.
The first order of business to solve any problem must always be the search for the root cause, only then can we take action for the immediate fix, followed by lasting corrective action, to prevent any recurrence. We need parents and relatives to talk to the young people in their family, and guide them to become good members of our society. Next the schools must reinforce good social manners, in and around the school, and the world at large. So far I see little of any evidence that this is happening. Too many parents, today, are too preoccupied with themselves to bother with the very children they produced.
When I grew up, all the neighbors in the immediate surrounding had the God given right to discipline us unruly children, and when we complaint about them doing so, we got another lecture from our parents as well. Nowadays, should a neighbor scold or slap an unruly child, he his immediately threatened with a lawsuit by the parents, who did not fulfill their obligation to educate their off-springs to act always in a civil manner, respecting others, as well as their property.
Last but not least our law enforcement agencies, who get pretty good pay, must earn their paycheck, by performing their fiduciary obligations, and protect the people 100% every time; too many times young people are ignored, as a matter of routine. Young misguided people can inflict great pain, on all of us, when they perceive that we do not respect them as a person, by ignoring their mental anguish. From our own experience, we surely all know that growing up is not easy!
Sunday, February 11, 2018
US A Plutocracy - No Longer A Democracy?
In October 16, 2005 Citigroup wrote a report for their wealthy clients, which eventually was leaked, I suppose, and can now be found on the internet, where I found it, and others that followed some time later. When we read their summaries, I think we get the picture, what they think about the average citizen in this country, and others who also operate their economies as a plutonomy.
First let's look at two definitions:
What is Plutocracy?
"Plutonomy (from Greek πλοῦτος, ploutos, meaning 'wealth', and νόμος, nomos, meaning 'law', a portmanteau of "plutocracy" and "economy") is a term that Citigroup analysts have used for economies "where economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few."
In the summary of this report they wrote;
"SUMMARY
➤ The World is dividing into two blocs - the Plutonomy and the rest. The U.S.,
UK, and Canada are the key Plutonomies - economies powered by the wealthy.
Continental Europe (ex-Italy) and Japan are in the egalitarian bloc.
➤ Equity risk premium embedded in “global imbalances” are unwarranted. In
plutonomies the rich absorb a disproportionate chunk of the economy and have
a massive impact on reported aggregate numbers like savings rates, current
account deficits, consumption levels, etc. This imbalance in inequality
expresses itself in the standard scary “ global imbalances”. We worry less.
➤ There is no “average consumer” in a Plutonomy. Consensus analyses focusing
on the “average” consumer are flawed from the start. The Plutonomy Stock
Basket outperformed MSCI AC World by 6.8% per year since 1985. Does
even better if equities beat housing. Select names: Julius Baer, Bulgari,
Richemont, Kuoni, and Toll Brothers."
In this report we can also read,
"4) In a plutonomy there is no such animal as “the U.S. consumer” or “the UK
consumer”, or indeed the “Russian consumer”. There are rich consumers, few in
number, but disproportionate in the gigantic slice of income and consumption they take.
There are the rest, the “non-rich”, the multitudinous many, but only accounting for surprisingly small bites of the national pie."
"At the heart of plutonomy, is income inequality. Societies that are willing to
tolerate/endorse income inequality, are willing to tolerate/endorse plutonomy."
"Protectionism or regulation. Here, we believe lies a cornerstone of the current wave of plutonomy, and with it, the potential for capitalists around the world to profit. The wave of globalization that the world is currently surfing, is clearly to the benefit of global capitalists, as we have highlighted. But it is also to the disadvantage of developed market labor, especially at the lower end of the food-chain."
"Our conclusion? The three levers governments and societies could pull on to end plutonomy are benign. Property rights are generally still intact, taxation policies neutral to favorable, and globalization is keeping the supply of labor in surplus, acting as a brake on wage inflation."
"The U.S., UK, and Canada are the key Plutonomies - economies powered by the wealthy.
Continental Europe (ex-Italy) and Japan are in the egalitarian bloc."
Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-1.pdf
In March 5, 2006, their summary reflects the following.
"SUMMARY
➤ The latest Survey of Consumer Finances, for 2004, has been released by the
Federal Reserve. It shows the rich continue to account for a disproportionately
large share of income and wealth in the US economy: the richest 10% of
Americans account for 43% of income, and 57% of net worth. The net worth to
income ratio for the richest 10% of Americans increased from 7.4x in 2001, to
8.4x in the 2004 survey. The rich are in great shape, financially.
➤ We think this income and wealth inequality (plutonomy) helps explain many of the conundrums that vex equity investors, such as why high oil prices haven't
seriously dented growth, or why "global imbalances" are growing along with
the equity bull market. Implication 1:Worry less about these conundrums.
➤ We think the rich are likely to get even wealthier in the coming years.
Implication 2: we like companies that sell to or service the rich - luxury goods,
private banks etc. Favored names include LVMH and Richemont."
Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-2.pdf
In September 29, 2006, the wrote the following:
"The Global Investigator
The Plutonomy Symposium — Rising Tides
Lifting Yachts
➤ Time to re-commit to plutonomy stocks – Binge on Bling.
Equity multiples appear too low, the profit share of GDP is high and likely going higher, stocks look likely to beat housing, and we are bullish on equities. The Uber-rich, the plutonomists, are likely to see net worth-income ratios surge, driving luxury consumption.
Buy plutonomy stocks (list inside).
➤ Plutonomy stocks at a premium, but relative pricing power is key.
➤ Our Plutonomy Symposium take-aways. The key challenge for corporates in this space is to maintain the mystique of prestige while trying to grow revenue and hit the mass-affluent market. Finding pure-plays on the plutonomy theme, however, is tricky.
➤ Plutonomy and the Great Conundrums of our age.
We think the balance sheets of the rich are in great shape, and are likely to continue to improve. Don’t be shocked if the savings rate worsens as equities do well.
➤ What could go wrong?
Beyond war, inflation, the end of the technology/productivity wave, and financial collapse, we think the most potent and short-term threat would be societies demanding a more ‘equitable’ share of wealth." Emphasis added.
Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-3.pdf
I admit, the referenced reports herein represent heavy reading; the charts do not reflect the current state of affairs, however, we get the message, don't we?
I recall reading in one of these reports, that in their opinion, the US is no longer a democracy, because the super rich are now calling the shots. I find myself in complete agreement. We see that also in other major countries, and until the majority has enough of this abuse, it will go on. The fact that we have elections, does not alter the fact that the working men and women, are getting the short end of the stick.
This Plutonomy can only exist, because the majority, which is poor compared to the super rich, have an innate dream to one day join them, by perhaps winning the big lottery one day, or by some other fantasy coming true, etc. Once the majority realizes and accepts the truth, it will spell the end of this plutonomy, we are now subjected to. History is full of examples where the masses finally saw the light, and reacted, and often it was not a pretty picture.
We are told over and over the tale of the American Dream, and if we work just hard enough, we can achieve anything. Most of the current wealthy were born with silver spoons in their mouths; I venture to say that almost all of the self-made Billionaires did not get there, within the rules of the law. Somebody got the shaft, and contributed to their lucky (?) fortunes. Just look at companies like Herbalife, and others less blatant. Companies who pray on the poor, less knowledgeable, and the greedy, who risk their retirement, aspiring the American Dream.
The American Dream is mostly reserved, and enjoyed by the ruling class, in this country. A number of other countries have similar outcomes. For the working stiffs, the American Dream is nothing but a mirage, and failing to see what it really is, keeps the Plutonomy going.
As an aside, the front people of the super rich, also known as our members of congress, for the most part are multi-millionaires. When one follows the link below, one can see how rich the majority of them really are. There are a few, probably newcomers, who have not collected their share yet; just give them time.
https://media.cq.com/50Richest/
First let's look at two definitions:
What is Plutocracy?
- Government by the wealthy.
- A country or society governed by the wealthy.
- An elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.
"Plutonomy (from Greek πλοῦτος, ploutos, meaning 'wealth', and νόμος, nomos, meaning 'law', a portmanteau of "plutocracy" and "economy") is a term that Citigroup analysts have used for economies "where economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few."
In the summary of this report they wrote;
"SUMMARY
➤ The World is dividing into two blocs - the Plutonomy and the rest. The U.S.,
UK, and Canada are the key Plutonomies - economies powered by the wealthy.
Continental Europe (ex-Italy) and Japan are in the egalitarian bloc.
➤ Equity risk premium embedded in “global imbalances” are unwarranted. In
plutonomies the rich absorb a disproportionate chunk of the economy and have
a massive impact on reported aggregate numbers like savings rates, current
account deficits, consumption levels, etc. This imbalance in inequality
expresses itself in the standard scary “ global imbalances”. We worry less.
➤ There is no “average consumer” in a Plutonomy. Consensus analyses focusing
on the “average” consumer are flawed from the start. The Plutonomy Stock
Basket outperformed MSCI AC World by 6.8% per year since 1985. Does
even better if equities beat housing. Select names: Julius Baer, Bulgari,
Richemont, Kuoni, and Toll Brothers."
In this report we can also read,
"4) In a plutonomy there is no such animal as “the U.S. consumer” or “the UK
consumer”, or indeed the “Russian consumer”. There are rich consumers, few in
number, but disproportionate in the gigantic slice of income and consumption they take.
There are the rest, the “non-rich”, the multitudinous many, but only accounting for surprisingly small bites of the national pie."
"At the heart of plutonomy, is income inequality. Societies that are willing to
tolerate/endorse income inequality, are willing to tolerate/endorse plutonomy."
"Protectionism or regulation. Here, we believe lies a cornerstone of the current wave of plutonomy, and with it, the potential for capitalists around the world to profit. The wave of globalization that the world is currently surfing, is clearly to the benefit of global capitalists, as we have highlighted. But it is also to the disadvantage of developed market labor, especially at the lower end of the food-chain."
"Our conclusion? The three levers governments and societies could pull on to end plutonomy are benign. Property rights are generally still intact, taxation policies neutral to favorable, and globalization is keeping the supply of labor in surplus, acting as a brake on wage inflation."
"The U.S., UK, and Canada are the key Plutonomies - economies powered by the wealthy.
Continental Europe (ex-Italy) and Japan are in the egalitarian bloc."
Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-1.pdf
In March 5, 2006, their summary reflects the following.
"SUMMARY
➤ The latest Survey of Consumer Finances, for 2004, has been released by the
Federal Reserve. It shows the rich continue to account for a disproportionately
large share of income and wealth in the US economy: the richest 10% of
Americans account for 43% of income, and 57% of net worth. The net worth to
income ratio for the richest 10% of Americans increased from 7.4x in 2001, to
8.4x in the 2004 survey. The rich are in great shape, financially.
➤ We think this income and wealth inequality (plutonomy) helps explain many of the conundrums that vex equity investors, such as why high oil prices haven't
seriously dented growth, or why "global imbalances" are growing along with
the equity bull market. Implication 1:Worry less about these conundrums.
➤ We think the rich are likely to get even wealthier in the coming years.
Implication 2: we like companies that sell to or service the rich - luxury goods,
private banks etc. Favored names include LVMH and Richemont."
Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-2.pdf
In September 29, 2006, the wrote the following:
"The Global Investigator
The Plutonomy Symposium — Rising Tides
Lifting Yachts
➤ Time to re-commit to plutonomy stocks – Binge on Bling.
Equity multiples appear too low, the profit share of GDP is high and likely going higher, stocks look likely to beat housing, and we are bullish on equities. The Uber-rich, the plutonomists, are likely to see net worth-income ratios surge, driving luxury consumption.
Buy plutonomy stocks (list inside).
➤ Plutonomy stocks at a premium, but relative pricing power is key.
➤ Our Plutonomy Symposium take-aways. The key challenge for corporates in this space is to maintain the mystique of prestige while trying to grow revenue and hit the mass-affluent market. Finding pure-plays on the plutonomy theme, however, is tricky.
➤ Plutonomy and the Great Conundrums of our age.
We think the balance sheets of the rich are in great shape, and are likely to continue to improve. Don’t be shocked if the savings rate worsens as equities do well.
➤ What could go wrong?
Beyond war, inflation, the end of the technology/productivity wave, and financial collapse, we think the most potent and short-term threat would be societies demanding a more ‘equitable’ share of wealth." Emphasis added.
Ref. https://pissedoffwoman.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/citigroup-plutonomy-report-part-3.pdf
I admit, the referenced reports herein represent heavy reading; the charts do not reflect the current state of affairs, however, we get the message, don't we?
I recall reading in one of these reports, that in their opinion, the US is no longer a democracy, because the super rich are now calling the shots. I find myself in complete agreement. We see that also in other major countries, and until the majority has enough of this abuse, it will go on. The fact that we have elections, does not alter the fact that the working men and women, are getting the short end of the stick.
This Plutonomy can only exist, because the majority, which is poor compared to the super rich, have an innate dream to one day join them, by perhaps winning the big lottery one day, or by some other fantasy coming true, etc. Once the majority realizes and accepts the truth, it will spell the end of this plutonomy, we are now subjected to. History is full of examples where the masses finally saw the light, and reacted, and often it was not a pretty picture.
We are told over and over the tale of the American Dream, and if we work just hard enough, we can achieve anything. Most of the current wealthy were born with silver spoons in their mouths; I venture to say that almost all of the self-made Billionaires did not get there, within the rules of the law. Somebody got the shaft, and contributed to their lucky (?) fortunes. Just look at companies like Herbalife, and others less blatant. Companies who pray on the poor, less knowledgeable, and the greedy, who risk their retirement, aspiring the American Dream.
The American Dream is mostly reserved, and enjoyed by the ruling class, in this country. A number of other countries have similar outcomes. For the working stiffs, the American Dream is nothing but a mirage, and failing to see what it really is, keeps the Plutonomy going.
As an aside, the front people of the super rich, also known as our members of congress, for the most part are multi-millionaires. When one follows the link below, one can see how rich the majority of them really are. There are a few, probably newcomers, who have not collected their share yet; just give them time.
https://media.cq.com/50Richest/
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