Dangerous trend: More capital flowing offshore
The love affair of American investors with the stock market appears to have ended. The year now ending will be the fourth consecutive year in which mutual funds that invest primarily in American stocks experienced net outflows of funds, meaning that investors as a group withdrew more money than they put in.
No big deal, you think? Well think again. With nearly $10 trillion in corporate debt maturing over the next few years, competition for scarce capital is on the verge of become more intense than ever. And America is rapidly becoming a stand for nothing except arming the world.
Most observers agree that cash-rich Big Business will emerge stronger than ever in the face of the maturity wall, extending their clout beyond any recognizable borders. So will Big Politics. With Citizens United, U.S. policy and elections are now for sale to the highest bidder, regardless of their nationality, location or agenda. Way to go, Mr. Pope.
BlueNC is dedicated to freedom and fairness for the people of North Carolina. If you share that vision, welcome. If your intention is to disrupt our efforts, please find somewhere else to express your opinions.
Like?
Comments
Hopefully that will start reversing soon
I've been worried that Congress' (and the Administration's) lack of resolve in passing reforms for Wall Street would keep both American and foreign investors from having confidence in our regulatory system. By waiting as long as they did, I believe they caused this loss of capital, which could be the single biggest hindrance to recovery.
No worries
The republicans and big business will convince the village and the idiot public that SS must be saved by privatization. Wall Street will need that cash infusion to keep their house of cards from a second collapse. Banksters wanted the SS cash back when Bush proposed privatization for profits but maybe as a hedge against their use of CDO's, etc. (although I doubt it, greed only generates more greed)
With 30% of the total corporate profits generated in finance (2004 - 2006) per Brad Delong http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2010/12/upon-what-meat-hath-our-financial-... the house of cards has been been on the brink of collapse for years. SS privatization would have postponed that collapse for some time and will do the same now, certainly long enough for banksters to live large for a while in their "damn everything but my wealth" mindset.
F-One
I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle...
John Stuart Mill 1866
What do borders mean, anyway?
The production of goods and services requires the coming together of raw materials, capital, information, and labor. Our "free trade" policies have rendered international borders essentially impotent to restrict the flow of raw materials, capital, and information -- three of the four essential ingredients. And of course, the finished goods and services also flow relatively unfettered across political boundaries. Arthur Jensen's speech in the classic movie Network pretty much lays out the reality of international business and finance.
So, the borders really exist for the sole purpose of creating the modern equivalent of the antebellum plantation, where cheap labor can be concentrated and held hostage. American xenophobia plays perfectly into the hands of the "multinational corporation," bringing incredible pressure to bear against any policies that might loosen the restrictions on travel across borders -- especially into our country. We can't allow the people who sew our clothes and build our recliners and assemble our computers the mobility to seek out the most favorable conditions in which to provide their labor.
______________________________________________________________________
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. -- sign on Einstein's office wall.