Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Generation That Invented the MBA


In an odd way, Dorcas' Daddy has always been kind of a touchstone for me.  Yes, I am still somewhat bitter about losing an Eagle to him, but that's OK, I have always been kind of a crappy loser.

He made a comment the other day that set me back hard on my heels.  I had been flailing about for days wondering why I had been sick of reading Jesse and Mish and that crowd.

Like Barry Switzer said, "Some people are born on third base and think they hit a triple."

Motherfuckers from affluent backgrounds whose parents cleaned up their High School DUI, paid for their life until they were 25, gave them the downpayment on their first house, got em a job (and payed for school) and now the guy pushes paper for six figures and thinks he's a self-made man.

And it's not a panacea, but let's be honest boys, being a tall white guy doesn't hurt anything but your rap career.

The whole fucking nation is overrun with these guys. Even the 'good' guys, like Jesse (Cafe Americain) and Charles (Of Two Minds) talk about rentiers and wealth extraction, then they give investment advice. AKA, how to make money sitting on your ass not being productive. Even the 'good guys' are lazy douches.

We're so fucked, and I'm not even sure I'm sorry.
  I guess this just kinda crystallized my thinking, but I am going to take this on a different tack.  I think that these snotty yuppies (yes, I think Jesse, Mish, Panzer, Charles,and Yves are the spokesman for a couple generations that will be noted by history as abysmal failures and best left behind.

Charles and Jesse are identifying the financial problem, them placing themselves above it.   Yet, as DD states so succinctly, all they know is doing useless and parasitic shit, like sell stocks.  There lies the problem.  I spoke of it in an earlier post.

Mostly I despise the rantings of Ayn Rand.  In my opinion, she is a sicko who argues that there is a group of people who are better than everyone else so they get to fuck us every which way.  Bullshit.  But there is a single scene where the Spanish male character is talking to Dagny's brother.  He speaks of the difference between making something of value and making money.  I can't remember the whole quote, but the end lines is "sometimes words have precise meanings".

I think that we also have forgotten the difference.

7 comments:

Jacob Gittes said...

I agree with your post here, totally. I am sick of them,too.
You are being too hard on Charles Hugh Smith, though: he has NOT led an easy life.
He is, and has been, a carpenter, working his ass off. He speculates with the little extra capital he has, to try to make his life a little better...

'DD' said...

Thanks for the shout out!

CHS is well meaning, all of them are. But when the bright lights can't break away from the concept that productivity = good, and speculation = bad, I am not encouraged.

The problem is not the bankers, the government, the liberals, etc.

The problem is our entire culture is based on taking more than you give, and getting something for nothing. It's practically instinctive.

Wealth/Money is magic--it is a shared illusion that power, in the form of human labor, can be stored.

Which is also why I think the goldbugs are the worst of all. You cannot store wealth, it is a mass delusion. There is no righteous way to 'protect' yourself from making sure your inputs are greater than your outputs.

Only evil believes that human labor can be stored, that power can be distilled to a computer transaction or a hunk of metal.

Save some food, save some water, and indeed, save some money. But don't believe it's noble or righteous. All my physical preps are something of a personal shame.

Guy on his 8th beer said...

My favorite quote about Bush the Lesser is: "He was born on third base and then he stole second".

"We're so fucked, and I'm not even sure I'm sorry". That's where I am right now. Tired. Numb. Indifferent.

Degringolade said...

Dorcas Daddy:

Did you ever open your blog back up....I can't seem to find it.

'DD' said...

Hey Deg,

The blog is still password protected and nothing is new there--I just haven't had much to say.

I think I'll unlock it next week, so people can roam my archives.

Mayberry said...

I have no problem with somebody cashing in on a good idea or product. I certainly have no problem with the jobs provided by those who've done so. I do have a problem with them manipulating the government, and therefore the market, and my bigger problem lies with the government who allows it's self to be manipulated.

But my biggest problem of all is with people who whine about others' success with their palm stuck out. So you weren't part of the lucky sperm club. Big deal! It seems like most of those rich folks' lives are pretty screwed up and miserable anyways, so why the hell would you want it?

We control things with our wallets, period. Don't like stocks, or sellers of? Don't buy them. But why damn those who do? Who cares! Do what you like, and nevermind everyone else. Shit, that sounded kinda "Randish". But it's true...

Degringolade said...

"cashing in" is ok on a good product. But I argue that as a generation, the boomers got rid of all the products that we used to make, outsourced their manufacture and the proceeded to "cash out" by selling off the husks of the means of production.

If I can stretch my memory, I think that Rand called them the looters. It is the role that everyone longs for, pulling wealth out of a magic box and then living large with no work.

There is no fundamental difference between a stock shill and Madoff. Taking money for doing nothing is the core of the issue.

Rentier economies always fail and always end up with a clear and malignant class divide. To defend such on the basis of Freedom is laughable at best.