You - and millions like you - apparently have no interest in the human story behind those precious numbers of yours.
If you think being uninterested in the people behind numbers in our current discussion makes a person "not nice," then you either have a problem with reconciling your beliefs to your actions,
As to "You - and millions like you - apparently have no interest in the human story behind those precious numbers of yours." That is obviously an insult, and you intend it to be one. But you don't know me, and have absolutely no basis for that statement. If you did, you would know it couldn't be farther from the truth.
or with the way you're communicating them
I can't take responsibility for the misinterpretation of what I say, or the resulting lack of logic in imputing my motives. However I do understand it,, most on the site are very far left idealogues,,,not all but most. Anyone who is left in American terms, but right from the ET norm, is open to gross misinterpretation, and slandering of character and motives. If it bothers one too much, they should just drop off the site. Obviously it hasn't bothered me too much, but it has caused me to take long breaks at times. It's worth it for me because I get a view of the European far left, reference to great articles I wouldn't otherwise see, and, just as an example, a European view of the French presidential election. But one has to be willing to take some insults, and I find it hard to believe that you don't understand that this one was an insult, and was meant that way:
You - and millions like you - apparently have no interest in the human story behind those precious numbers of yours. That's where we're different. Until you understand this, you will never be able to make sense of most of what's said on this site.
I never said TBG's comment was not insulting. I said you're the one who interpreted the insult into you not being a "nice" person.
And claiming the argument is based on you being enthusiastic about the DOW is ridiculous. You either lack reading comprehension or you're being disingenuous (gee -- was that arrogant or was it supercilious? neither, I think -- maybe you can come up with another name to call me).
It looks to me as though the argument is based on this:
TBG: "The US economy is only 'growing' if you're in the mythical top 1%. For everyone else in the US, the economy is a deeply sucky thing" WC: "we both live in free countries. if you want to believe this stuff, be my guest."
For everyone else in the US, the economy is a deeply sucky thing"
WC: "we both live in free countries. if you want to believe this stuff, be my guest."
So, you think that basically saying it's a free country and your facts are a "belief" is... ? not confrontational or dismissive? merely showing enthusiasm for the DOW? I think describing it as "disinterest" was being generous.
Y'know, there's a saying -- if one person's an asshole, it's probably them. if everyone's an asshole, it's probably you. With that in mind, why do YOU think you are so consistently "misunderstood" on this site?
I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and allowing that you may not realize how insulting you're being -- you're doing your best to prove me wrong. Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
I regard the "Right/Left" distinctions as obsolete, and that most of us on ET - including wc probably - share the same Values.
Where we differ is how we express those Values - and boy can that lead to trouble. "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
Y'know, there's a saying -- if one person's an asshole, it's probably them. if everyone's an asshole, it's probably you
And nice way to avoid the main point of a comment once again.
Does it really matter where the saying comes from? I assure you it's quite common in the US in the "regular" people circles you claim to be so familiar with. The meaning has nothing to do with you or calling people assholes -- it simply means that if you have a problem with lots of people (as opposed to one person) that the problem may lie with you rather than the other people. But you really didn't need that explained, did you? Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes
You - and millions like you - apparently have no interest in the human story behind those precious numbers of yours. The fact that people have interest in the Dow, the CAC, or any other index simply does not equate to people who "have no interest in the human story". There is no logic there.
The fact that people have interest in the Dow, the CAC, or any other index simply does not equate to people who "have no interest in the human story". There is no logic there.
The context comes from the fact that Jerome and others have posted fact after graph after study pointing out that the wealth in the Dow is not currently being shared with those who aren't in the share owning class - a subset of the US population which happens to include the vast majority of it.
Similarly, there is endless evidence that real incomes among most of the US population are either static or shrinking in real terms.
If I was insulting, it was to try to hammer that point home against a smokescreen of standard issue exceptionalist rhetoric about how investment supposedly makes everyone richer.
You are of course entitled to believe that having the Dow at record levels makes everyone richer. But the point of this debate is that there is absolutely no evidence to support that point of view, and plenty of hard evidence to contradict it.
And yes - I can be abrasive when someone dismisses a year's worth of posts on ET which have underlned, examined, discussed and dissected that evidence with a curt 'Hey - you can believe what you want. We both live in free countries.'
