Originally posted by shavixmirThis reminds me of an old thread I made.
Right.
But, this money doesn't really exist, does it?
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Originally posted by AThousandYoungYes. Exactly.
This reminds me of an old thread I made.
Thread 133947
Do these billions and billions of dollars, yens, euros or whatever actually exist? And, if they do, where are they?
Originally posted by shavixmirMoney has always been something of imaginary value. This is no different now than 2000 years ago - difference is it was gold or silver coins back then, and bits and bytes now.
Yes. Exactly.
Do these billions and billions of dollars, yens, euros or whatever actually exist? And, if they do, where are they?
Originally posted by KazetNagorraNot so. There have always been those who sought by hook or by crook to swindle others. Shaving coins, etc. Huge "National Banks" make the swindling easier for those with lots of money.
Money has always been something of imaginary value. This is no different now than 2000 years ago - difference is it was gold or silver coins back then, and bits and bytes now.
People like George Soros, and Warren Buffet made a lot of their money trading currencies, stocks, and bonds, without creating any products of services. This in itself isn't bad, and serves useful functions, but the manipulation of money supply and interest rates by private bankers, pretending to be government entities is just fraud.
When an international trader could demand gold or silver there was a lot less room for fraud than when money transferred over the internet is just a string of 1s and 0s.
Originally posted by normbenignWhat figures are you using to compare levels of fraud between then and now?
Not so. There have always been those who sought by hook or by crook to swindle others. Shaving coins, etc. Huge "National Banks" make the swindling easier for those with lots of money.
People like George Soros, and Warren Buffet made a lot of their money trading currencies, stocks, and bonds, without creating any products of services. This in itsel ...[text shortened]... s room for fraud than when money transferred over the internet is just a string of 1s and 0s.
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The post that was quoted here has been removedI understood lots of companies had a head office in Dublin, not just IT companies, but I was not aware they went to the expense of actually staffing them at all. However that I saw as part of the financial sector in reality. On the corrupt nature of Ireland's financial scams I rely especially on Finton O'Toole's "Ship of Fools" book which I warmly recommend to all.
What every country needs to understand better, though, is the extent to which their corporations evade social responsibility in every form by scooping their earnings into offshore accounts and gambling with them. How any responsible, nationally based (in any country) business is supposed to compete against those corporations is beyond me and it is no surprise they are swallowing more and more of the world's commerce. In other words, the point is not to slag off Ireland's lack of regulation (among a list of other countries sponsoring this lark) but to pay more attention to the lack of responsibility in companies that play this poisonous game: British companies that pay no British taxes, American companies that pay no American taxes and so on. To be clear, they are even ripping off their own shareholders.
McDonaldising education is not confined to Ireland. The right to an education has become confused with the right to a qualification in England too and all you get is highly educated bar staff who still would not be seen dead reading a book. But modern governments do not want education - they are quite content with just qualifications to keep the job market under control and have no desire for an electorate that asks difficult (ie blindingly obvious) questions. The more people find politics and books boring, the better for them.
By the way when I finished school at 18, in 1972, people with the best Leaving Cert results were agonising over their choice - university or a job with the bank? If they could they chose the bank job. I chatted with one manager (who knew my mum) and he said he had offered a job to one 18 year old who turned it down because another bank offered a better pension. I met a few of my friends in London years later, where they were obliged - as part of their job - to go drinking (heavily) every lunch time with various building contractors who banked with their employer. That was the career they had chosen and it was driving them potty! Interesting times!
The idea of handing over the keys to Brussels (or more likely Berlin) has actually been seriously debated in an earlier forum. I searched and found that I was actually debating with YOU! 😀 on page 14 of this thread (back in May)
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Originally posted by KazetNagorraI'm not comparing then with now by percentage, or in total dollars or Euros.
What figures are you using to compare levels of fraud between then and now?
It stands to reason that if government is the safeguard against diluting the currency, as it is with counterfeiting laws, it can't be an insider while regulating and enforcing banking law. Either government, or big business can and will engage in human wrong. When they are melded together we have big problems.