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qqueenofhades · 5 years

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Question for you. When you have time. And if you want. I know things are busy for you. What do you mean by end stage capitalism? Thanks.

Aha. I am sorry that this has been sitting in my inbox for a while, since I’ve been busy and doing stressful things and not sure how to answer this in a way that wouldn’t immediately turn into a pages-long rant. Nothing to do with you, of course, but just because I have 800 things to say on this topic, none of them complimentary, which I’ll try to condense down briefly. Ish.

In sum, end-stage capitalism is at the root of everything that’s wrong with the world today, more or less. It’s the state of being that exists when the economic system of capitalism, i.e. the exchange of money for goods and services, has become so runaway, so unregulated, so elevated to the level of unchallengeable dogma in the Western world (especially after the Cold War and decades of hysteria about the “scourge of communism”) and so embedded on every level of the social and political fabric that it is no longer sustainable but also can’t be destroyed without taking everything else down. Nobody wants to be the actual generation that lives through the fall of capitalism, because it’s going to be cataclysmic on every level, but also… we can’t go on like this. So that’s a fun paradox. The current world order is so drastically, unimaginably, ridiculously and wildly unequal, privileging the tiny elite of the ultra-rich over the rest of the planet, because of hypercapitalism. This really got going in the early 1980s when Ronald Reagan, still generally worshiped as a political hero on both the left and right sides of the American political establishment (even liberals tiptoe around criticizing Saint Ronnie), set into motion a program of slashing business and environment regulations, reducing or eliminating taxes on the super wealthy, and introducing the concept of “trickle-down” or “supply-side” economics. In short, the principle holds that if you make it as easy as possible for rich people to become EVEN MORE RICH, and remove all irksome regulations or restrictions on the Church of the Free Market, they will benevolently redistribute this largess to the little people. To say the very least, this….does not happen. Ever.

Since the 1980s, in short, we have had thirty years of unrestricted, runaway capitalism that eventually propelled us into the financial crisis of 2008, after multiple smaller crises, where the full extent of this philosophy became apparent…. and nobody really did anything about it. You can google statistics about how the price of everything has skyrocketed since about the 1970s, when you could put yourself through college on one part-time job, graduate with no student debt, and be assured of a job for the next 30 years, and how baby boomers (who are responsible for wrecking the economy) insist that millennials are “just lazy” or “killing [insert x industry]”. This is because we have NO GODDAMN MONEY, graduate thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt (if we can even afford college in the first place), are lucky if we find a job that pays us more than $10 an hour, and often have to string together several part-time and frangible jobs that offer absolutely nothing in the way of security, benefits, or long-term saving potential. This is why millennials at large don’t have kids, buy houses, or have any savings (or any of the traditional “adult” milestones). We just don’t have the money for it.

Even more, capitalism has taken over our mindsets to the point where it is, as I said, at the root of everything that’s wrong with the world. Climate change? Won’t be fixed because the ruling classes are making money from the current system, and if you really want to give yourself an aneurysm, google the profiteers who can’t wait for the environment/society to collapse because they’ll make MORE money off it. This is known as “disaster capitalism” and is what the US has done to other countries for decades. (I also recommend The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.) This obviously directly contributes to the War on Terror, the current global instability, the reason Dick Cheney, Halliburton, Blackwater, and other private-security contractors made a mint from blowing up Iraq and paying themselves to rebuild it, and then the resultant rise of al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other extremist reactionary groups. The bombing produces (often brown and Muslim) refugees and immigrants, Western countries won’t take them in, right-wing politicians make hay out of Threats To Our Way of Life ™, and the circle goes on. Gun control? Can’t happen because a) American white supremacy is too deeply tied to its paranoid right to have as many guns as it wants and to destroy the Other at any time, and b) the NRA pays senators by the gigabucks to make sure it doesn’t. (And we all know what an absolute goddamn CLUSTERFUCK the topic of big money and American politics is in the first place. It’s just… a nightmare in every direction.)

Meanwhile, end-stage capitalism has also systematically assigned value to society and to individuals depending entirely on their prospects for monetization. Someone who can’t work, or who doesn’t work the “right” job, is thus assigned less value as a human (see all the right-wing screaming about people who “don’t deserve” to have any kind of social and financial assistance or subsidized food and medicine if they won’t “help themselves”). This is how we get to situations where we have the ads that I kept seeing in London the other month: apps where you could share your leftover food, or rent out your own car, or collectively rent an apartment, or whatever else. Because apparently if you live in London in 2019, there is no expectation that you will be able to have your own food, car, or apartment. You have to crowdsource it. (See also: people having to beg strangers on the internet for money for food or medical bills, and strangers on the internet doing more to help that person than the whole system and/or the person’s employment or living situation.) There is nothing inherently wrong with capitalism as an economic theory. Exchanging money for goods and services is understandable and it works. But when it has run out of control to this degree, when the people who suffer the most under it fiercely defend it (see the working-class white people absolutely convinced that the reason for their problems is Those Damn Job Stealing Immigrants), when it only works for the interests of a few uber-privileged few and is actively killing everyone else… yeah.

Let’s put it this way. You will likely have heard of the two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max airplanes in recent months: the Lion Air crash in October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March 2019. Together, they killed 346 people. After these crashes, it turned out that the same malfunctioning system was responsible for both, and that Boeing had known of the problem before the Max went on the market. But because they needed to make (even more) money and compete with their rivals, Airbus, they had sent the planes ahead anyway, with unclear and confusing instruction to pilots about how to deal with it, and generally not acknowledging the problem and insisting (as they still do) that the plane was safe, even though it’s been grounded worldwide since March. There are also concerns that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is too deep in Boeing’s pocket to provide an impartial ruling (and America was the last country to ground the plane), and other countries’ aviation safety bodies have announced that they aren’t just going to take the FAA’s word for it whenever they decide that the Max is safe. This almost never happens, since usually international regulatory bodies, especially in aviation, will accept each other’s standards. But because of Boeing’s need for Even More Money, they put a plane on the market and into commercial passenger service that they knew had problems, and the FAA essentially let them do that and isn’t entirely trusted to ensure that they won’t do it again. Because…. value for the shareholders. Or something. This is the extreme example of what I mean when I say that end-stage capitalism is actively killing people.

It is also doing so on longer-term and more pernicious everyday levels. See above where people can’t afford their basic expenses even on several jobs, see the insulin price-gouging in the US (and the big pharma efforts in general to make drugs and healthcare as expensive as possible), see the way any kind of welfare or social assistance is framed as “lazy” or “bad” or “socialist,” see the way that people are basically only allowed to survive if they can pay for it, and the way that circle is becoming smaller and smaller. The American public is also fed enduring folk “wisdom” about “money doesn’t buy happiness,” the belief that poverty serves to build character or as an example of virtue, or so on, to make them feel proud of being poor/deprived/that they’re doing a good thing by actively supporting this system that is responsible for their own suffering. And yet for example, the Nordic countries (while obviously having other problems of their own) maintain the Scandinavian welfare model, which pays for college and healthcare, provides for individual stipends/basic income, allows generous leave for parenthood, emphasises a unionised workplace, and otherwise prescribes a mix of capitalism, social democracy, and social mobility. All the Nordic countries rank highly for human development, overall happiness, and other measurements of social success. But especially in America, any suggestion of “socialism” is treated like heresy, and unions are a dirty word. That is changing, but…slowly.

In short: the economic overlords have never done anything to give power, money, or anything at all to the working class without being repeatedly and explicitly forced, they have no good will or desire to treat the poor like humans (see: Amazon) or anything at all that doesn’t increase their already incomprehensible profit margins. The pursuit of more money that cannot possibly be spent in one human lifetime, that is accumulated, used to make laws for itself, and never paid in taxes to fund improvements or services for everyone else, lies at the root of pretty much every problem you can name in the world right now, is deeply, deeply evil, and I do not use that word lightly.

#politics for ts #rant #long post #that...wasn't super brief #but i could have gone on for a while longer #/drinks heavily and passes out #anonymous #ask

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preciousmetals0 · 4 years

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Sprin(T)-Mobile; This Dish Is Bananas

Sprin(T)-Mobile; This Dish Is Bananas:

The Un-Network Is Now THE Network

And then there were three…

The wireless market got a touch smaller and far more interesting this morning. A U.S. federal judge ruled in favor of the $26 billion merger between Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile US Inc. (Nasdaq: TMUS).

The ruling shut down a multistate challenge to the deal’s approval by both the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. According to Judge Victor Marrero: “The resulting stalemate leaves the Court lacking sufficiently impartial and objective ground on which to rely in basing a sound forecast of the likely competitive effects of a merger.”

Marrero continued that the states failed to convince the court that a combined company would “pursue anticompetitive behavior.” Furthermore, the judge noted that, if left alone, Sprint could “cease to be a truly national [mobile network operator].”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is considering appealing the ruling. “From the start, this merger has been about massive corporate profits over all else, and despite the companies’ false claims, this deal will endanger wireless subscribers where it hurts most: their wallets,” James said.

The Takeaway:

Let’s start off with a great big “Well, duh!” for Attorney General James. Of course this deal is about massive corporate profits. All deals are.

Corporations exist to generate massive profits. That’s their job. That’s what they do. (They’re like the Conway Twitty of the business world — yes, that’s a country song reference, y’all.)

I won’t comment on the antitrust implications of the Sprint/T-Mobile deal … or whether it’s ultimately bad for customers or not. I’ll leave that to Banyan Hill expert Ted Bauman, who’s sure to comment on this merger sooner or later.

By the way: Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the Sprint/T-Mobile merger by dropping me a line at [email protected].

What I will say is that this deal is big trouble for moose and squirrel … er, rather, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T). The pair have dominated the wireless world for years, gobbling up subscribers left and right.

Now, however, there’s a serious contender to deal with.

After AT&T failed to take over T-Mobile back in 2011, the latter used the $3 billion in breakup fees to launch a serious bid to dominate the wireless market. However, T-Mobile lacked in spectrum — i.e., the wireless airwaves that connect your devices.

Sprint has oodles and oodles of spectrum, including a broad swath of 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum that’s critical for 5G wireless. Unfortunately for Sprint, it has no cash to take advantage of this spectrum.

That’s what the Sprint/T-Mobile merger is all about, Charlie Brown: spectrum. And now, T-Mobile has both key 5G spectrum and the cash to further its nationwide 5G rollout plans.

What’s more, the new company is truly a pure play on the wireless market. There’s no debt-burdened Time Warner content or streaming package like at AT&T, or failed AOL/Yahoo content like at Verizon.

Just pure, unadulterated and unfettered wireless.

So, while AT&T struggles to pay down the cost of buying content and Verizon rides the fence on what to do with its media division, the new T-Mobile will solely focus on rolling out 5G to the world.

That focus is truly great stuff for investors. I look forward to seeing how the combined company’s stock trades once the merger is complete. It’s certainly on Great Stuff’s future watch list.

In the meantime, there’s work to do to bring 5G to the masses.

I mean, you can have all the G’s you want, but without a ground network to transfer that signal from the tower to the internet at high speed … well, you’re SOL.

That means fiber optics, and rolling out such a network doesn’t happen overnight — unless you’re out there unspooling cable … you aren’t, are you?

So, let’s stay crafty and find some real 5G profits.

And boy, are there profits to be had! The great wireless migration could generate over $12 trillion in new industry wealth … from telecoms to consumer 5G devices and more.

Many Great Stuff readers know Ian King and his incredible eye for picking tipping-point tech trends. The 5G explosion is no different. Ian just spotted one company that’s at the forefront of the 5G transition.

If you click here now, he will show you just how huge the 5G trend is … and why this tiny stock is setting up to clutch that $12 trillion windfall.

The Good: Hasbro Ain’t Toyin’ Around

After nearly a year of dominance by plastic figurines and bobble heads bobbleheads, actual toys are back!

Hasbro Inc. (Nasdaq: HAS) reported that net income skyrocketed to $2.01 per share in the fourth quarter from just $0.07 per share last year. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.24 per share, blowing past the consensus estimate for $0.91 per share.

(Pssst … net revenue was a little light at $1.43 billion, versus Wall Street’s target of $1.44 billion … but no one’s talking about that.)

Driving Hasbro’s success were strong sales of partner brands such as Frozen 2, Star Wars, Spider-Man and the Avengers. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) toy sales — ahem, I mean “partner brand” revenue — spiked 24% to $1.22 billion for the year.

“We’re incredibly excited that ‘The Mandalorian’ season two will come to Disney+ this fall,” said Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner.

Umm … Mr. Goldner? Maybe you could get some freakin’ Baby Yoda merch on the shelves soon, please? Honestly, your revenue could’ve been millions higher already!

The Bad: M-m-m-my Corona

What do you get when you cross a Chinese pandemic with a struggling “premium” athletic clothing retailer?

You get a hot mess, that’s what you get. Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) not only missed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter revenue target, it also lowered sales guidance for 2020. The company expects revenue to fall between $50 million and $60 million for the first quarter … and that’s just from lowered sales expectations.

Sure, Under Armour has about 600 stores in China, but about 60% of the company’s products are manufactured in China, Jordan, Vietnam and Malaysia. With the exception of Jordan, the rest of those countries are smack in the middle of coronavirus central. That means lowered productivity and potential supply disruptions as this epidemic grows.

And as for that “premium brand” thing: “We believe prior promotional activity has impacted the consumers’ willingness to pay full price for our brand to a higher degree than we originally anticipated,” said CEO Patrik Frisk.

So, part of Frisk’s excuse is that customers don’t want to pay full price for the company’s stuff? I think the market is telling you something, man.

For now, I’ll avoid Under Armour stock like I avoid paying full price for its clothes.

The Ugly: Dish Is a Mess

Did you think I forgot about Dish Network Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH)?

No, sir. Dish is crucial to the whole Sprint/T-Mobile merger. As part of the deal with the Department of Justice, Dish will buy Sprint’s prepaid wireless business — aka Boost Mobile.

Let’s make no bones about this: Dish is getting screwed. The company already struggles with falling subscriber numbers for its pay-TV business. Dish’s old-school satellite service is worse than cable, after all. It’s all the content you’ll never watch (but still pay high prices for) … all bundled up in a service that screws up in the rain.

The bright idea to fix this is for Dish to buy Boost Mobile — a 4G mobile service on Sprint’s old network in a 5G world. Why not just start rolling out Betamax tapes as well, Dish?

Not only does Dish get the short end of the stick on the wireless deal, it’ll also soon face serious competition from Starlink — Elon Musk’s new satellite-based internet service.

I know, you’re thinking: “Starlink isn’t a pay-TV service, why should Dish worry?”

The answer’s simple: video streaming. The only thing that prevents some customers from moving away from Dish is the fact that they can’t get shows any other way. With Starlink and a Roku Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) player, all that changes.

I have to think that the only way Dish survives in the new Starlink and 5G world is for someone to buy out the company. Although, what company has such poor judgement that it’d even consider buying Dish? (No AT&T, don’t even think about it!)

5G! 5G! 5G! All we ever hear about is 5G! What’s so great about 5G anyway?

I mean, sure, 5G has never had its picture on bubblegum cards … so you’ve got me there.

That said, today’s Chart of the Week details some of the key benefits that the average smartphone user will notice right away when switching to 5G:

Now, if that doesn’t mean a whole lot to you … let’s just say that 5G is stupidly faster than your current 4G wireless service. That real-world speed of 100 megabytes/second is faster than most people have from their landline-based internet provider.

In other words, if you aren’t a data hog like yours truly, you might even be able to ditch your internet landline, just like you ditched your phone landline years ago. (Please tell me you don’t still have a phone landline…)

When it comes to 5G, this is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re in a Big Data world now, and Big Data needs high-speed transfer rates. As you can see from the chart, 5G has all that covered and more.

Great Stuff: Marco?

It’s that time again!

That’s right, it’s time to feed the Great Stuff beast!

This week, we’re focusing on the Sprint/T-Mobile merger — surprise! Be sure to write in to [email protected] and let us know your thoughts!

Here are some of this week’s topics:

Do you think the Sprint/T-Mobile merger will have a negative or positive impact on the wireless market?

Do you have any antitrust concerns?

Are you itching to invest in the combined company?

Which wireless carrier do you believe is the better investment: AT&T, Verizon or Sprint/T-Mobile?

Now, you know the drill. You have about two days to drop me a line at [email protected] to make this week’s edition of Reader Feedback.

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out Great Stuff on social media. If you can’t get enough meme-y trade war goodness, follow Great Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Great Stuff Managing Editor, Banyan Hill Publishing

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goldira01 · 4 years

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