old man emu

Thanks for that explanation. Unfortunately, like most people, I did not understand concepts whose word describing them was not defined. That's not a complaint against you. It just means that to understand it all, one has to be involved in it. It's a bit like looking at musical notation. I can't understand what it means, but when a musician interprets it, I can enjoy the sounds. The thing is, is the use of derivatives something that could go bad and destroy the global economy?

As a lifetime renter, I offer this: if the tenant has been satisfactory; paid rent on time and looked after the property, then renew the lease. A good tenant is a bird in hand. If you sell the house, you will only end up with a wad of money that is decreasing in value due to inflation. If you have already paid off any mortgage on the house, then the $400 per week is mostly yours, after allowing for maintenance and agent's fees. And don't let the agent con you into upping the rent. Agent's only do that to increase their cut. If your tenant has been good to you, why not give a reward by not increasing the rent. You can always let the tenant know that it might go up later if costs rise too much.

James Watson, co-discoverer of the double helical structure of DNA passed away on 6 November at the age of 97.

I'm still waiting for a decent rain event. The isolated thunderstorms have bypassed my place, or hve been so small as to only give a pattering of rain. I'm a good enough neighbour to accept a delay in the graning of my wish for rain until the local harvest is completed.

I think that it is OK to consider what is being said. Isn't the purpose of a warning to generate a degree of fear of what might happen, and suggest that preparations be made for a bad situation? If the bad situation does not eventuate, what is the loss? Here's another video by the same creator. It seems basically factual, or at least not radical. It describes the causes of the cyclical nature of boom and bust. Just take a look at what is happeneing in the Stock Market. Stock values are rising, but where is the productivity one which the value of those stocks should be based? While the Stock Market values are rising, the rest of the economy is suffering from lessening affordability.

This video explains how the big US banks set up a system whereby they were the ones who produced the money that the Government needs for its functions, and how the banks worked it so the Government was forever in debt to the banks, despite the Government always paying the interest on the loans. It also explains what would happen if the Government paid off the national Debt. It is frightening information.

More like a Ponzi Scheme. A Ponzi scheme is a type of fraudulent investment scam that uses funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors, rather than generating profits from legitimate business activities. The scheme's collapse is inevitable because it relies on a continuous, unsustainable flow of new money, eventually leading to the system running out of funds.

I was just Yank bashing.

Reagan says in that speeech that the USA is unique in the world in that it accepts people from all over the world. Another example of the effects of American parochialism. At the very time he was saying this, in 1989, Australia accepted refugees from eastern bloc countries, Vietnam, Chile, Lebanon, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Somalia and Rwanda as well as Europe and North America.

Getting back to the original theme of this thread, we are facing a total collapse of our global civilisation simply due to the imminent collapse of the financial system. At the moment the global financial system is backed by a sort of promisory note called a Derivative. Jerry will correct me if I am misunderstanding what a derivative is used for. Basically money is loaned on a promise to repay it. The lender holds the record of the promise, but can use it to borrow money from a third party. The third party can then use the second party's promise to borrow from a fourth party. The problem arises if the first borrower fails to pay back the original loan. Then the original lender, who has become a borrower, cannot pay back what was borrowed from the third party, who can't pay back the fourth. The arrangement collapses. It has been estimated that currently the amount of money involved in these promises amounts to 600 trillion dollars - more money than actually exists in the global economy. And who thought up this wonderful financial scheme? Pretty sure you would fing the brilliant minds if you walked along Wall Street.

They ai't trash. They are good words of English heritage. Ain't: Originally a contraction of am not, and considered proper as such until in early 19c. it began to be also a generic contraction of are not, is not, has not, etc. This was popularized in representations of London cockney dialect in Dickens, etc., which led to the word being banished entirely from correct English. Trash: c. 1400, "fallen leaves, brush, and twigs used as kindling;" also "things of little use or value" collectively; "waste, refuse, dross; something broken or torn to bits, tattered garment;"

I see you've picked the eyes out of it.

What gets me is that anyone who has experienced getting a building built will have an idea of how long it takes. Trump doesn't even have the plans drawn up to submit for approval. Even if he charged ahead without approval, the building he wants probably couldn't be built in the time remaining of his presidency. He'll quit the White House leaving behind a building site, not a monument. And what will his succesor do? Tear down what has been built so far and replace it with a building more attuned to the architecture of the White House and West Wing? It is almost unthinkable that the next elected President might be a Republican.

Trump has just scored what is probably his greatest own goal of his political career. Speaking to the Press claiming to have the Economy under control, he said that he was tired of hearing the word "affordability". Then he followed it with the gaffe that will have to become the Democrats' campaign slogan for the next couple of years. He said, "I don't care about affordability." Go to the 3:00 timestamp to hear the words straight from the horse's mouth. Not that trump is ever going to take advice, but maybe he should note the words of an earlier Republican President

Oh my stars! Jerry has picked up a viral Americanism. Someone administer an OED, quickly!