Re: Niall Ferguson thinks the 2020s could be economically worse than the 1970s
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 6:53 pm
by peekpok
weatheriscool wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 7:08 pm
Honestly, I believe that the rich has taken such a large portion of the pie while every one else has so little that it is starting to matter. 75% of the population no longer can afford to buy homes, cars and many literally slave their lives away to even stay off the street. It is getting to the point where the progress of the early to mid 20's century that built the middle class is starting to collapse and my friends it aint going to be pretty.
I tend to agree with this. The economy has, in fact, grown exponentially without stopping for the majority of the last 50 years so the fact that anybody's life should be getting worse is totally absurd. I see the effects of this growth every day during my commute to work when I pass literally hundreds of relatively new (manufactured in the past 3-5 years) luxury cars that cost $50,000+, and some well more than that. It's also why so many silicon valley vaporware companies are now attaining massive valuations without ever turning a profit, or in many cases even selling a product. Rich people have so much wealth that they can't even find places to invest it. They'll invest in anything but the actual success of our society itself.
Re: Niall Ferguson thinks the 2020s could be economically worse than the 1970s
weatheriscool wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 7:08 pm
Honestly, I believe that the rich has taken such a large portion of the pie while every one else has so little that it is starting to matter. 75% of the population no longer can afford to buy homes, cars and many literally slave their lives away to even stay off the street. It is getting to the point where the progress of the early to mid 20's century that built the middle class is starting to collapse and my friends it aint going to be pretty.
I tend to agree with this. The economy has, in fact, grown exponentially without stopping for the majority of the last 50 years so the fact that anybody's life should be getting worse is totally absurd. I see the effects of this growth every day during my commute to work when I pass literally hundreds of relatively new (manufactured in the past 3-5 years) luxury cars that cost $50,000+, and some well more than that. It's also why so many silicon valley vaporware companies are now attaining massive valuations without ever turning a profit, or in many cases even selling a product. Rich people have so much wealth that they can't even find places to invest it. They'll invest in anything but the actual success of our society itself.
This is simply not true. People invest in start ups with the belief that they will generate a profit. A few individuals invest without thinking about profit, but there is always a purpose. There is no one investing in random things just because they can. To understand why so much money is invested in start ups that doesn't generate any profit demands some knowledge about business and economics, which I won't bother you with, but your sentences doesn't make much sense in my eyes.
Re: Niall Ferguson thinks the 2020s could be economically worse than the 1970s
weatheriscool wrote: ↑Sat Sep 03, 2022 7:08 pm
Honestly, I believe that the rich has taken such a large portion of the pie while every one else has so little that it is starting to matter. 75% of the population no longer can afford to buy homes, cars and many literally slave their lives away to even stay off the street. It is getting to the point where the progress of the early to mid 20's century that built the middle class is starting to collapse and my friends it aint going to be pretty.
I tend to agree with this. The economy has, in fact, grown exponentially without stopping for the majority of the last 50 years so the fact that anybody's life should be getting worse is totally absurd. I see the effects of this growth every day during my commute to work when I pass literally hundreds of relatively new (manufactured in the past 3-5 years) luxury cars that cost $50,000+, and some well more than that. It's also why so many silicon valley vaporware companies are now attaining massive valuations without ever turning a profit, or in many cases even selling a product. Rich people have so much wealth that they can't even find places to invest it. They'll invest in anything but the actual success of our society itself.
This is simply not true. People invest in start ups with the belief that they will generate a profit. A few individuals invest without thinking about profit, but there is always a purpose. There is no one investing in random things just because they can. To understand why so much money is invested in start ups that doesn't generate any profit demands some knowledge about business and economics, which I won't bother you with, but your sentences doesn't make much sense in my eyes.
It's not that investors aren't trying to make money. Of course they are. However, things that our society actually needs, and which will cause economic growth, like better education, better infrastructure, etc are not invested in because our capitalist market system doesn't provide any incentive to do so.
Re: Niall Ferguson thinks the 2020s could be economically worse than the 1970s
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:17 pm
by funkervogt
Here's another recent Niall Ferguson interview. This time, he makes near-term predictions about war and geopolitics instead of the economy. He foresees major military action involving Iran as the likeliest thing to happen, followed by a showdown between the U.S. and China over Taiwan. Ferguson views the ongoing Ukraine War as analogous to the Korean War in the sense that both Wars kicked off their respective Cold Wars and focused the West on the threat from the other side.
Re: Niall Ferguson thinks the 2020s could be economically worse than the 1970s
Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2023 4:01 pm
by lechwall
Inflation is already receding somewhat and based on what I'm hearing about GPT 4 which is due out this year there are going to be some major developments in the AI space which will positively impact GDP. It may well be that in the UK due to our own disastorous Brexit policy (something Ferguson wouldn't acknowledge) but for the world as a whole I don't see it.
