#and the company does the whole job to create a new product or sells them a product they already made and sold to other companies

[bluastro-yellow]

I want the marketing and advertisement industry to explode now

[markpedia-china-importer]

Buy china products online in Cameroon

It is no news that China is the second biggest economy in the world and the highest supplier and producer of products used across Africa. Cameroon being in Africa is not an exception. Its now easy than never to buy China products online in Cameroon and gets it shipped directly to your exact city location in Cameroon. We sell and deliver to all major cities in Cameroon including Buea, Douala, Yaoundé, Kumba, Bamenda, etc. We also sell and deliver goods from china to other African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, etc.

If you are looking for a reliable means to buy china products online in Cameroon and get it shipped to you, then Markpedia is the answer. Markpedia is a top leading sourcing and importer of china products in Cameroon. Markpedia does the job of sourcing out variety of items for you, just to make payment and is shipped to your location.

How To Buy China Products Online In Cameroon?

There are several ways of buying online from China. But unfortunately fraudsters have taken advantages of it and getting people scammed off their hard earned money. Also, some methods are unnecessarily complicated making life difficult for users. At times users will need to undergo a paid training just to learn how to buy from china online in Cameroon. With our website, everything is straight forward. No special skill is needed. All You need to do is the following process;

Visit our website markpedia.com

Create A customer account

Checkout our product categories

Add your selected products to cart

Make payments

And wait for your shipment in Cameroon

Prepare your money for shipping fees upon arrival of your Chinese products.

Why Buying and Importing From China To Cameroon Through Markpedia

Markpedia is a well experienced dealer of china products. We have a great expertise in importing products from china to Cameroon and Africa as a whole. As such, you are sure nothing bad will happen to your goods as just a single company is involved with your purchasing and shipping. Markpedia has spacious warehouses in both China and Cameroon to enable the save storage of packages before and after importation. Markpedia has done all the hard work of sourcing high quality items you may need and present to you just to make a decision. We are indeed a great marketplace for every buyer and seller today across Africa.

Markpedia has a great partnership with most of the top producers in china on special pricing. This enable us to help our customers buy at the lowest possible prices. The prices we offer to all our customers are industry based prices at the lowest level. We don’t actually make money from selling items, rather we only make money from shipping logistics. Our intention is actually to save our importers the stress of doing all the hard work by presenting them a ready market to buy. We negotiate with the most trusted suppliers and producers who sell on our platform. We do all these on behalf of our lovely customers.

Markpedia also solve the problem of buyers wanting to buy items but companies can’t ship to their location. With Markpedia you are sure to find every single item you need and get it shipped to your door-step in Cameroon.

With Markpedia, you are sure of the best buying and shipping experience from China to Cameroon. Buy China products online in Cameroon from us at the cheapest prices and get it shipped to Cameroon securely.

In case you are a seller, you can also signup on this platform and start selling to millions of people online looking to buy your products.

Where To Buy China Products In Cameroon

The best place to buy Chinese items online and ship to Cameroon is on Markpedia market place. Markpedia has one of the best marketplace online dealing with purely China products. At Markpedia you are sure to find any item you are looking for. Markpedia is made up of the top quality producers and suppliers of chines products all over Africa and Cameroon especially. Visit our website markpedia.com and start buying China products online in Cameroon.

Advantages Of Buying Directly From China

There exist several advantages of buying your household items and other products directly from China and shipping to Cameroon.

The major advantage in buying directly from China in Cameroon is getting high quality products at very cheap prices. Sellers in Cameroon usually exaggerate the prices of items in the market. But if you are buying all by yourself from China, you buy at industrial based prices.

Also, you save yourself from the stress of moving from one store to the other or even market to market looking for a single item. Buying online directly from china makes it easy as you place your orders at the comfort of your home. You just go online, place an order, make payment and wait for your delivery to Cameroon.

Moreover, anyone today can take advantage of this and become a China product importer and make huge gain. It is now a whole new career for many youths, creating lots of job opportunity thereby reducing unemployment.

Aside from all these advantages, importing from China is fun and a very good experience. You can own a whole business with zero capital and no payment of rents, and also tax free. Contact markpedia.com if you ever want to start buying from China.

[johnruiz1]

CodeHub Review 2023 – World’s Cheapest App Selling Platform??

CodeHub Review – Introduction

The market for digital products is growing alarmingly quickly, and more and more people are hopping on board to sell digital goods and make money... And now you may join them by starting your own app-like software distribution company. That's correct A single app sumo program costs $50, but the website also offers hundreds of identical products that bring in millions of dollars for app sumo. In addition, you may create your own software marketplace with hundreds of DIY goods. Without lifting a finger, you can set your own prices, add new products, and start generating money.

The best part is that I'll also offer advice on how to launch your company from scratch and advertise it to bring in the most sales. You may use the website and launch your own business by simply following 3 easy steps... Want to know how...?

CodeHub Review – What is CodeHub?

CodeHub is the world’s First and Never done before “AppSumo Killer” App that lets you build your own Digital Product Selling Platform & Start your own Software Selling Business Today.

CodeHub Review – Features and Benefits

Create your own software selling platform with 1 Click Apps and launch your online store right now.

Access the 1 Click AI CodeHub App right away.

On your own platform, sell any digital products or software.

An entirely cloud-based system

Without any limitations, sell an unlimited number of software applications and digital tools.

thousands of commercially licensed software and codes within.

Software for DIY is included.

Once you pay, you may use it forever.

A Free Commercial License is Available

And Many more.

✅Benefits:

Easily manage your digital items by listing them in a number of categories.

a single, integrated dashboard that tracks everything for all of your digital goods

Without any obstacles, create user accounts for your audience

Create a digital store and market DFY software there.

CodeHub Review – How does it work?

Social Media Sharing buttons can help you increase visitors and profit greatly

Simple integration of payment methods will enable immediate earning

To manage your SEO traffic and improve conversions, use SEO Manager.

To increase your earnings, use an email manager that gathers and delivers emails on your behalf

START YOUR SOFTWARE-SELLING BUSINESS IN JUST 3 EASY STEPS:

STEP 01: Log in to your portal

STEP 02: ADD PRODUCTS OR CATEGORIZE EXISTING ONE’S

STEP 03: START SELLING AND EARN MONEY

CodeHub Review – My experience using CodeHub

I participated in the software's beta testing, and I'll now walk you through using CodeHub.

You may rely on my suggestions. I will try to be as truthful as I can in my article, which is entirely based on my own experiences.

The time is here to take action and launch the company you've always wanted to launch but have been delaying for various reasons... You may become the proprietor of a whole software-selling platform in a matter of minutes by following three simple steps that even a third-grader can do. On that site, you may sell dozens of DIY software items and make good money doing so. There are no complicated systems, hidden fees, or complex processes... What's best is…

You may also add your software products and take advantage of the virtually endless opportunities offered by the continually growing market for digital goods. You won't ever need to work another soul-crushing job since our firm is recession- and layoff-proof. Featuring a 30-day money-back guarantee, all for $16.61... However, you must act immediately as this offer expires today and won't be available anymore.

YOU CAN WATCH THE DEMO VIDEO HERE

MY OPINION:

Due to all the advantages it offers, I consider this software to be a game changer. And in actuality... Every business in this digital age, whether local or online, needs to have an online presence to establish a name for itself and gain the confidence of its audience. I think this software will benefit your business the most. This is the foundation of each and every successful online business. And… You'll Need It Too if You Want to Run a Tightly Controlled Busines

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT HERE

[friendship3pl]

Don't get yourself a warehouse; we'll handle it for you

So you've created the perfect product, and you want to be able to start selling it. However, you quickly discover there is a lot more to do in order to get your items out quickly and efficiently. What is the best delivery method for you to use?  What is the fastest method of sending packages, Should you be using the postal service or another courier service? It starts to get confusing. Delivery is eating into your margins, and you also realize that the spare bedroom you converted into a warehouse is running out of space fast for all your product.

That side hobby now looks like a full-time job, and you need to find some help! That's where third-party logistics can come into play and help you with your overall supply chain and logistics as needed.

What is third-party logistics?

Commonly referred to as 3PL, it's a full-fledged logistical and warehousing solution to ensure that you can focus on marketing and sales of your product while your 3PL partner helps to ensure the product gets to where it needs to go in a prompt manner.

         Pick, Pack and Ship

The pick, pack, and ship feature is one of the best advantages of working with a third-party logistics company for those who have their own e-commerce site or even work with marketplaces like Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Walmart, and so on. We can connect your store to our state-of-the-art warehouse management system, and whenever an order is placed, the details can be routed to us, where we pick the item, pack the item and ship the item.

But, of course, this doesn't only work well with e-commerce businesses but also when you finish a crowdfunding campaign, and you need that one-time service of getting those goods out to the people who earned rewards.

         FBA prep

Rather than letting Amazon prepare and sticker your items, We can help you prepare and label your items prior to sending them to Fulfillment by Amazon, which will help you better manage costs and margins and speed up the process before they reach FBA distribution centers.  Rather than having Amazon prepare your items, we can do it faster and for a fraction of the cost.  Additionally, a full prep center can be used to bundle or kit items, something that Amazon does not offer. 

         Returns management

Returns can also be handled by a provider such as ourselves. We can take the return and assess if the product is viable to be resold as 'like new' or used or whether it needs to be returned to you, the business owner, directly. So that whole end-to-end process is another service you don't have to worry about handling yourself.

         Warehouse management

This is one of the best elements of working with a 3PL business, all that warehouse management space. Since you will only be using a portion of a public warehouse, based on the area you need, you won't have to pay for the entire warehouse itself, adding yet another cost-effective measure and margin improvement to your business.

In addition, pallet storage helps for heavier items, as well as for better optimization with your items, and helps us to move your items in bulk format when necessary. 

By partnering with a third-party logistics company, you get goods in and out as needed, increasing your revenues without the headache.

Detailed info on pallet storage can be found on the website.

[inezdlsujournal]

Nov 9 (9th session)

This session Miss Pia discussed corporate social responsibility and how people see it, and how it is evolving in this day and age. For many years, corporations were only concerned about making money since that was the ultimate goal for every business or human to live a quality life, to make a living. Now companies are also concerned about society’s welfare which is essentially what corporate social responsibility is. This means that these managers and business owners are interested in long term corporate interest and also society’s health. A new trend in corporate responsibility is sustainability. Some managers believe that if a company helps society through their business as a main goal, then they will reap success. Companies can look to solve society’s problems by creating a product or service to fulfill a need and they will profit and help the world. Other examples of companies that follow Corporate social responsibility is for example make up creams that are made from ingredients that are imported from developing companies to help their country’s growth. Or for example companies that pride themselves in supporting charities or having a partner organization. Ben and Jerry’s, an ice cream company has been donating a full seven and a half percent of their pretax profits to different charitable institutions. Sustainability is really forward thinking revolving around creating new products that in the long run will improve society’s issues. Another way that companies can approach corporate social responsibility is through a different approach being stakeholder theory. The central focus is giving attention to every stakeholder in the entire company, whether that’s the employees, customers, owners, suppliers, management, or the community. Each of these players have their own role and responsibility to live up to. Employees want to have a good secure job and excellent wages while management wants happy workers and profits. Customers expect excellent customer service and high quality products. While a community wants a corporation to pay their taxes, offer their citizens good wages, and help support the government by not polluting. Suppliers want their business to remain plentiful and owners of course want financial return for an excellent profit. The most common reason against corporate responsibility is that critics feel the main purpose of a corporation is just to make a profit for their stakeholders. And that non profits should be the only institutions concerned about society and not a for profit business. Critics says that most corporations that participate in corporate social responsibility they need to spend more of their firms money and in the end costing their shareholders more profit. I do agree that this is true and it is easy to see this from a close minded approach that it is more costly on the people in the business and that it should be the other way around. But I also understand that there are so many companies out there that can sell a good or service but not all have sustainable ethics or a greater vision plan for not only their company, but for the community they are apart of and slowly the world as a whole. I would like to be represented by a company that upholds their corporate social responsibility and does more than what is required of them. It is a good indication that they will treat you well should you decide to buy a product or service from them or work for them. You will instantly know that they are forward thinking and have a greater plan and goal for their business and the community they are part of. Working for or supporting their business would mean that you are taking an active role in making society better one purchase at a time.

[recorporate]

The Top Business Strategies In 2022

Do you feel like your business growth has increased? Is your current strategy not really working? This article will give you inspiration. Our 2022 business strategy list contains the 5 most important strategies for this period. They have worked for other companies, so why not give them a try? A sample of small businesses and Fortune 500 companies have participated. Why not? When it comes to inspiration for a business plan, you should use as many sources as possible. So, without further ado, let's get started.

Here Are The Top 5 Business Strategies To Use In 2022

In this article, we will discuss the important changes emerging in business planning in 2022 and how you can apply them to your own business. As a leader, it's your job to adapt your business plan for success, and it's up to you to determine which emerging trends can be applied to your business plan for 2022. To lead your business in the right direction as we enter 2022, here are the top 7 business strategies to use recommended by entrepreneurs.

Establish The Right Company Culture

Many employees' expectations for healthy work-life balance and ethical corporate culture have changed due to the pandemic. According to a recent study, almost 50 percent of employees leave a job because it did not meet their expectations. Since employee goals vary widely, it's best to analyze your team to set expectations and develop an effective retention strategy. Are they satisfied with their work? Do they expect any kind of respect or reward? Organizations flourish when their representatives are fulfilled and blissful.

Don’t Pay For Ads, Buy The Whole Media Company

You can pay ezines and advertising agencies thousands of dollars to display your ad for a few minutes. You can even publish regular social media articles to maintain a good brand image. But these trading strategies are temporary solutions. Instead, many large companies acquire media companies outright. In this way, they have all the media, can post the ads as they want, and shape the customer's opinion however they want.

Educate Your Customers a Solution Instead of Selling a Product Directly

Content marketing is here to stay, but there is one area of ​​content marketing you should be focusing on in 2022: educational content. The pandemic has given us all different experiences, and a lot of wasted time is one of them. Because of this, some people have had time to perfect by reading more and viewing more academic content than they could before due to lack of free time. Of all the business consultants out there, this one is definitely the most beneficial for customers.

Use Technology To AUtomate Important Task

You can hire small paid salespeople to close new sales and increase your income. But with the right technology, your reach can be a hundred times greater. You can enter the numbers on a piece of paper by hand (and save yourself a headache later), or you can use accounting software that does it for you automatically. There are many ways to use technology to get results quickly and efficiently.

Focus On New Opportunities

It's important to stay on the lookout for new opportunities to explore emerging trends. It is important that you can adapt your business plan to support these emerging trends. Businesses will change, and accommodation for change must be included in the business plan for 2022. As we have learned in the past few years, the situation can change quickly, so it is important that you can modify your plan to make money. To be a successful business, you need to be ready to take advantage of opportunities that have not yet appeared. It forces you to stay focused on new trends and quickly catch up on news as it emerges.

Reward Customers And Clients Who Leave Reviews

Of all the business strategies discussed in this article, this is the one you can implement right now. Create a list of customers who have had great experiences with you. Let them know that you will pay them for leaving positive reviews on Google or your social media channels. This can be done through an email process or even a phone call if you have a close relationship with your client. At first, giving something like a $50 gift card or a bottle of red wine may seem like an expensive decision. However, you have to remember that having a lot of 5-star ratings and good reviews will help you win almost any competition that doesn't have better social proof than you.

Utilize your Imagination

Diversification and innovative use of digital media will provide new growth prospects in the coming year. Think about your relationship in a new way this year. When it comes to growing your business, the perfect game can make all the difference. Many companies are looking for similar companies to partner with, but sometimes it's better to take a risk and expand your reach into unexpected areas. And, when it comes to new technologies and platforms, be open minded; many businesses that have resisted going digital have found great success through e-commerce and social media.

Conclusion

Companies around the world have used hundreds of business strategies to grow and increase their income. But in addition to the right plan, you will also need good qualities: patience, skill, stability and courage. It will take time. However, if you remain in fear and face obstacles in common sense, these methods will work. It may not happen overnight, but if you continue to apply growth strategies to your business and take inspiration from other businesses, the sky's the limit.

If your business is considering hiring a business consultant or training your employees, you can view the best business services in Dubai and provincial programs on our hiring and training program directory page. ReCorporate Business Setup is one of the leading company formation companies in the UAE. We offer the best business services in Dubai and the UAE. Alternatively, or if you would like more information before booking, please email info@recorporate.net, send us a message using the form on our contact page or call us on +971 43258728.

Original Source  : https://bit.ly/3GaDUGE

[legacysuite]

Legacy Suite - The Company Securing Your Digital Life

Who are you? It is a simple enough question, but comparing the answers of somebody born 50 years ago to a present-day young professional will yield totally different answers. We are our social media presence. We are the products and services that we sell on Etsy and Amazon. We are the knowledge and media that we consume. And we are greater than the sum of all these aspects too.

Introduction

How we are perceived in the online sphere is, with every passing day, creating a greater overlap with who we are away from our keyboards, or AFK. The importance of these accounts, and the value that we create using them, are real to us and to the individuals who consume what we create. Should we not treat our digital presence, a carefully curated and maintained display of who we are, with the same level of safety and security that we treat our physical selves?

Digital Life is Real Life

The rapid adoption and wealth generation of the digital asset industry takes this understanding of digital value to a whole new level. In addition to the communities that we fostered and engaged online, we have digital currencies and assets whose price is governed by the very real phenomenon of supply and demand.  Thanks to the high-risk, high-reward nature of value creation within the digital assets space, the need for a digital equivalent of wealth and inheritance procedure is very much upon us.

Legacy Suite - A Company To Secure Your Digital Presence

LegacyPass Password Manager

As our digital footprint increases, the need to ensure its safety should rise alongside. Legacy Suite offers a variety of tools to simplify the efforts to stay safe online. The first step towards safety online relies on maximizing the effectiveness of the humble password.

Standing as the barrier between bad actors and your personal information, passwords are an essential safety component that, when used correctly, should keep most attackers at bay. A good password is easy to remember, hard for an attacker to guess, and unique for every service that you use. Instead of committing each unique string of characters to memory, LegacyPass is your go-to solution. This modern password manager does the hard job of encrypting and remembering every password for your accounts, letting you remember just a single code. Balancing the convenience of a single access with the best security that passwords have to offer, this is an essential service for staying safe online.

Digital Suite and Legacy Suite

At the end of one’s life, we would expect all the assets that we accumulated in life to be passed onto our next of kin. The hard work that was put in to build a corpus spanning, stocks, properties and vehicles will go through a meticulous process of inheritance in adherence to legal requirements and jurisdictions. Over the coming decades, if our reliance on internet-based services continues along this skyrocketing trajectory, many people will hold a wealth of digitally-native value. We should expect similar treatment for our digital goods. Digital Suite and Legacy Suite enable one to transfer these assets, accounts and online services to a predetermined recipient. This automated system will not protect these assets, but establish the groundwork for the creation of further, intergenerational wealth.

Conclusion

Sign up to Legacy Suite today, and secure your assets for generations to come. For more information on the entire set of services offered by Legacy Suite works, visit the official company website. Keep up to date with all developments at Legacy Suite by joining the community on Facebook, Twitter and Discord.

[bernie-lohan]

Starting A Business

To put it simply, if you need assistance discovering how to build an organization online, yet don't know where or just how to get going, you have actually pertained to the appropriate place. If you're a qualified trainer, your abilities are most likely in high need on social media sites. Life trainers, organization trainers, and health and fitness instructors are significantly migrating to sites like Instagram, LinkedIn, as well as TikTok to reach new customers looking for support and also advice. With the right social media sites marketing method and also some stylish, shareable web content, you can swiftly increase your client base in manner ins which weren't possible just a few years earlier. Research study your market completely to comprehend who your competitors are and whether there's even a demand wherefore you're marketing.

What's particular is that, without items, there is no online store, so sourcing things to market is your first step. Yet, afterwards, you still require to figure out just how to position on your own, market your store, as well as get clients. There's no denying that a liked brand is one of the most valuable possessions of a firm. As a small company, you might constantly find on your own contending against big brands with faithful consumers and advertising and marketing … E e-mail, social media sites as well as text to reach out to qualified clients. Give out business cards to good friends, and also upload those cards on bulletin boards.

You can turn something you're already doing each day into a profitable activity as a social networks supervisor. You're able to be your very own manager as well as choose your making potential. The even more experience and results you can show, the higher your service fees can be. There's a countless variety of platforms and systems out there. It's a possibility to get an introduction to advertising-- especially useful if you're interested in pursuing that as an occupation or additional business venture. If you choose to sell physical copies of your publication, you'll simply require to position an order with Blurb or CreateSpace whenever your job is acquired.

For instance, avoid detailing your whole paid advertisements strategy in this strategy-- just include that you intend to have one. I can not count the amount of times I've generated an idea as well as immediately said to my pals, "I should begin an organization!" I never ever do, yet if I did, I understand it would be on the internet. While there are definitely pricey solutions available that you can utilize to create your digital book, you can in fact do it on your own absolutely free with devices like Google Docs, Powerpoint, as well as Canva. Equipped with nothing but these devices, you can conveniently create a properly designed eBook lead magnet.

Online businesses can be successful if they can provide a solution that individuals are searching for. For instance, if you're good at making self-made delicious chocolates, you can start a small online organization by offering them. Nevertheless, you'll need to see to it that the item is distinct enough to earn a profit. One more fantastic method to start an on-line organization is by using professional solutions. Many companies need designers, authors, or programmers, as well as you can provide your skills on-line and also make a great living doing it.

Take your ability and also produce an overview, program, or how-to electronic book and begin selling it to your target market online. The process will certainly take some time, yet you can develop a trusted online business with this method. What services or products are they supplying to their clients? And how does that line up with the demand your organization concept satisfies? This an essential course for those that have a company suggestion, however intend to move it on the internet rather than into a standard store. Billions of people around the world now have accessibility to the Internet, making on-line businesses keyed for success.

How To Make A Business?

Our 3rd digital advertising pointer is to constantly maintain your approach appropriate to supply ideal outcomes for your firm. Search engine optimization can unquestionably be a complex as well as time consuming process, however the moment needs to be spent right here to ensure your internet site is getting discovered. Your best option is typically mosting likely to be investing a bit more of your spending plan and hiring the best individuals to do the appropriate study. At Ciplex, we emphasize the importance of not consisting of key words to just rank your site, but making use of the terms your target market is trying to find.

As an example, if you are marketing a hair care item, guarantee you reach out to influencers that have already operated in the same particular niche. In this digital age, an extensive internet marketing approach can assist you reach increasing varieties of potential clients. When reevaluating your strategy, concentrate on 6 key elements that can help fuel company development and also take your business to the following degree. Each electronic marketing element provides a special perk for your service. Set an objective that your business is trying to achieve, like establishing far better communication with customers, constructing brand loyalty, or raising repeat company. You can then determine which areas to concentrate on with your digital advertising initiatives.

And that implies you'll have several pleased yet excited visitors looking to return for even more. You want to attract attention in your visitors' minds and stay clear of a name that sounds also similar to one more business. Do a little study and also see what the others in your specific niche are called. No one wishes to type in "bestchicagobrownleatherboots.com" whenever they. wish to read what you're doing, assuming they'll also remember it. If you aren't prepared to buy your service, constructing success will certainly be tough, if not a complete unfeasibility. And also as a result of carrying out the ideal SEO approach, landing web page optimization, as well as using client reviews they are able to rate in the top 3 spots in the Google SERPs.

Nonetheless, this doesn't imply offline networks ought to be overlooked completely. The best means to meet customer demands is with an omnichannel visibility-- which integrates offline and also digital components. 56 Free & Creative September Advertising And Marketing Suggestions for Any Company Significant methods to get in touch with your consumers with material, occasions, coupons, and also a lot more. Get a little audacious with some enjoyable memes-- it's easy to make your very own with sites like meme generator. Ost your own cost-free webinar or companion with an additional company for twice the experience. Repurpose PowerPoint presentations for audience-friendly slideshares.

With GTMetrix, you can gauge how long your site takes to lots as well as what areas of performance require to be enhanced. The project spreads a favorable message of female empowerment, while also highlighting Under Armour's females apparel. The project got to 5 billion media perceptions, raised Under Armour's females's sales by 28 percent, and drew in an extra 42 percent of traffic to their site. Below, I'll study 5 real life instances of social media sites, email, SEO, as well as web site marketing approaches. I'll also consist of web links to added blog site resources at the bottom, for a lot more outstanding ideas.

It's fantastic when your target market sees your latest post, yet it's also better when they discuss it or share it. It implies extra buzz bordering your product or service, as well as boosted exposure every single time someone signs up with the discussion. With electronic advertising, you can create simply 1 content piece that attracts site visitors to your blog as long as it's energetic. You can develop an email marketing campaign that provides messages to targeted client checklists on a schedule, and also it's simple to change that timetable or the content if you require to do so. A B2C business with a high-ticket product, such as an automobile or computer system, could provide even more insightful as well as significant material. Therefore, your electronic advertising and marketing strategy always requires to be tailored towards your own customer base, whether you're B2B or B2C.

[contacteastshore]

Complete Bitcoin Miners Require Product Managers?

contact eastshore mining

Have you ever hear about bitcoins? It's the craziest issue - people are in the way writing their own product or service development definition together with inventing a brand new foreign exchange! This currency lacks the ties to any sort of government or nation. The whole thing "lives" inside minds of the pcs who together comprise the Internet. The math concepts behind it is a great deal complex, but it is very much growing in acceptance and, more importantly, you can easily buy things applying bicoins. Microsoft just lately announced that they would probably accept bitcoin with payment for their solutions. What does this mean for item managers?

contact eastshore mining

To Enjoy In The World Of Bitcoins, You've Got To Become A Miner

So here's precisely how bitcoins work. At first, there were no bitcoins. Then people commencing running a computer process ("mining"). This program sorted a math issue. When they solved the challenge, they would be honored for their "mining" pursuits with bitcoins with a central location. That math problem in that case became harder to resolve and everyone returned to work.

As bitcoins started to show up ever more, people started to take them in exchange with regard to real-world goods. When other people saw that the was happening, people become motivated to undertake more mining. So as to solve the mathematics problem quicker, large, faster computers have been needed. Investments within data center options were made and additionally what had been whatever people where working at at home on sacrifice computers quickly end up an industrial process almost overnight.

There would be one wrinkle from this whole "print ones own money" scheme. Much like "real world" stock markets like the dollar, european, yen, ruble, and so on the exchange charge for bitcoins is not really a fixed thing. Imagine on any offered day, the value in the bitcoins that you own personal can go as well up or off. If your business is usually involved in mining, next any big downward spiral in the value with bitcoins could have an exceptionally large impact on that profitability of your company.

How To Stay In Company In The World Of Bitcoins

As product administrators, if we want to get something to put with our product office manager resume then it can be our responsibility make sure that the company is a financial success no matter what product or service i am selling. In the case of some sort of bitcoin miner, we could selling a exploration service that brings about value simply by constructing more bitcoins. Among the list of things that we need to stay aware of is the benefits of bitcoins since as the value falls, the funds that him and i have to work with are going to be limited.

The way that will bitcoins are created is actually by having computers clear up a math trouble. When the math concern is solved, the firm will received even more bitcoins for our attempt. The challenge is which computers are becoming sooner and faster and that is certainly allowing more competition to enter into forex. As product leaders we need to take steps are very important the company is able to increase our capacity in addition to increate the computer resources.

Right now the modern world of bitcoins is incredibly much like an unsettled frontier. The rules never have yet been published; however , there is a lot of money to be gained. Product managers receive an important role to help play in keeping this company that they work for afloat by watching what's happening with bitcoin change rates and so that bitcoin mining ability is being maximized.

Precisely what All Of This Means For People

Talk about a challenge! Product or service managers who are buying real challenge are definitely the ones who will wind up working for a company that's in the business of exploration bitcoins. There is no many other firm or system manager job account that we can examine as a reference once we find ourselves in such a situation. This is a serious challenge!

The company goes a series of computers this spend their time period solving a cost problem that, when solved, will provide the organization with the funds that any of us need to keep going. Since product managers we should instead remain aware of precisely what the current exchange amount for bitcoins is normally. Additionally , we need to often be looking for ways that we may well expand the scheming capacity that the corporation uses to create bitcoins.

This is a crowded sector and it may become much more crowded over time since more players insert the market. With a robust guiding hand a product or service manager can help their own company to continue to advance forward in an truly changing market. If you're looking for a real excursion, this might be the occupation that you want!

Open communication has always been one of EastShore’s core values. If you have any questions, concerns or need any other help, please feel free to contact us.

[epicorcpq]

Enterprise Software With CPQ Wins Over Competition In Sales

To win over your customers, you need to provide them with an experience that significantly sets them apart from the competition. Getting their sales pitch right has been every company's dream, precisely a salesperson's. But the most complicated job is to customize it as per individual tastes. Customers will be confused if you try to explain this to them.

Enterprise software with CPQ can help you accomplish this goal. Let's begin.

How is ERP and CPQ tool helping sales professionals?

In the most basic sense, when your CPQ, such as Epicor Ecommerce CPQ and ERP systems, integrate, front and back-of-the-house operations become one streamlined whole. Your CPQ system handles front-of-house tasks like sales, pipeline, and quotes, while your ERP system handles back-of-house functions like inventory, production, fulfillment, and invoicing.

Enterprise software with CPQ works together to more effectively address the needs of sales reps and keep your existing clientele happy. Even if we assume that all organizations in the CPQ industry share similar objectives, the sales process is still the engine that propels them forward.

Implementing the correct improvements in the right places is difficult, even with the greatest intentions. For the sales department, this means more difficulty. As digital tools become more commonplace, salespeople must adapt to new standards, and a CPQ tool does just that and more.

One of the best methods to deal with sales difficulties is taking CPQ one step higher with CPQ ERP integration.

Are you prepared to reap the benefits of Integrating CPQ with ERP?

Enterprise software with CPQ systems integration can successfully yield significant gains in the following areas:

Save More Time:

First, the CPQ tool with ERP integration may save time since it eliminates the need for staff to perform tasks manually or in duplication. Additionally, doing away with the need to send data can reduce the time between when there is a sale and when fulfillment begins. All these savings add up to a quicker delivery time for the customer's order and more time for the staff to focus on making the next sale.

Human error cuts down significantly:

You can rest assured that what your sales team is selling is something your organization can and wants to provide, thanks to the much practical assistance a CPQ tool offers. Correct orders can be turned into wrong ones when a second person is added to the process after the sale to enter the data in the ERP manually. CPQ industry has a notched-up with ERPs in tow.

Complete understanding of every one of your customers:

Do your salespeople have an entire picture if they can't quickly see where their clients' purchases stand in the fulfillment process or if they have paid or have invoices that are still outstanding?

This chasm fills up via enterprise software with CPQ integration.

Better coordination between departments and software:

Do you have a new product you're trying to sell? Do we have a new price list? As one system evolves, the other often stagnates. Integration such as Epicor Ecommerce CPQ and ERP allows all team members access to the same data, which boosts collaboration and expedites the delivery of high-quality results.

Closing Words-

How Can Sales Reps Benefit From Epicor Ecommerce CPQ and ERP Integration?

Business software that includes Epicor's CPQ tool can be used to combat the issues that sluggish sales performance creates. Our enterprise software with CPQ fixes problems caused by incorrect configuration.

Usually, the quote-to-cash procedure is more prone to human mistakes when salespeople handle everything by hand. Using Epicor Ecommerce CPQ with ERP can sort through issues such as errors in configurations, sales, contracts, and estimates.

Epicor's CPQ supports manufacturers with events relating to incomplete pricing, spur-of-the-moment pricing, and the inability to incorporate multiple market considerations into a single price. All these are the problems that our CPQ tool-equipped enterprise software may help fix. To know more, connect with us.

[searidings]

Lena definitely just lets Jess walk into her office without knocking and that has definitely led to her walking in on Lena in Supergirl’s arms

Jessica Hoang’s job pays well.

Like, really well. Like, buy-your-mother-a-new-Valentino-purse-every-Christmas well. Surprise-your-boyfriend-with-a-trip-to-the-Bahamas well. Rub-your-success-in-your-high-school-nemeses’-face-at-the-reunion-but-like-in-a-classy-way well.

And it’s not that it’s exactly unreasonable. Being Lena Luthor’s assistant is no cake walk. Jess has been shot at. She’s been almost blown up on more than one occasion. She’s worked all the hours god sends and then some. Hell, she’s got the chief detective of NCPD’s major crimes unit on speed dial.

She has, at various times and with varying degrees of success, played the roles of bodyguard, nutritionist, nurse, therapist, and drinking buddy. She’s seen Lena in every shade and hue of human emotion; coaxed her through crisis after crisis with warm words and a kind smile and never once let her miss a meeting.

So, Jess doesn’t really mind accepting the generous salary. Has even made peace with the borderline obscene bonuses Lena likes to toss her way around Christmas, or her birthday, or any time Jess introduces her to a new kale recipe.

She’s not arrogant, but she’s not prone to under-selling herself either. She knows Lena values her, knows she’s integral to keeping L-Corp’s CEO afloat and thus, to the running of the whole operation. And more than that, she knows her own worth. Takes pride in the work she does.

So she’ll take the paycheck, and the late nights and the missed meals and all the other things that come part and parcel with employment in National City’s most conspicuous company.

And if those other things come to include a front row ticket to the tragicomedy of her boss’ relationship with a certain blonde reporter, so be it. She’s not about to quit, after all. Once she’d gotten a taste of sleeping on Egyptian cotton bed sheets, there was no going back.

-

It started with the unrestricted office access.

Actually, it started when Lena allergic-to-the-press Luthor first asked her to put in a call to the biggest news outlet in town to request a private meeting with one of their junior reporters, but Jess lets that one slide.

(She’s got her own hunk of a man to go home to every night, yet even she’s not immune to Miss Danvers’ button down and slacks combo, to her earnest blue eyes and eager charm. Lena can’t be blamed for falling under that spell, nor for the hypnotic allure of the muscles straining beneath those demure cardigans. She’s only human, after all.)

But adding Kara Danvers to the list of people to be waved straight into her boss’ office with no checks – or rather, creating said list, which to this day consists of precisely one name – was what really sealed the deal. It was portentous in every sense of the word, a harbinger of what was to come.

Since that fateful day, Jess has seen more of Lena and Kara’s relationship than she’s sure any of the three of them would ideally prefer.

At first, it was the interviews. They’d been fishy enough in themselves; sure, Lena Luthor is objectively interesting. But three separate articles in the span of two weeks? No one’s that interesting.

After the interviews, it was the lunch dates. The first time she’d interrupted one of those she’d almost fallen over her own feet in shock. The sight of Lena Luthor – the same Lena Luthor that Jess had, on more than one occasion, needed to actively bribe into ingesting anything other than espresso and scotch in a fourteen hour workday – licking burger grease off her fingers and happy as a clam, had thrown her off for the whole rest of the day.

(Lena had long since instructed Jess to just stick her head into her office without knocking if she needed her. “Things can go to hell far too quickly around here to waste time with buzzers and intercoms,” she’d said with a self-deprecating smile.

If only Jess had known then what she knows now, she might have put up more of a fight on that front.)

The lunch dates had gotten longer, and more frequent, and decidedly more intimate. A year after the reporter’s first appearance at L-Corp it had become commonplace for Jess to walk into her boss’ office to find the two of them slanted close together on the couch, Lena’s heels discarded, her stockinged feet tucked beneath the blonde’s thigh.

Then, Kara started showing up at 7pm to drag Lena away from her desk at a reasonable hour. Started dropping by on her way to Catco before work too, fumbling coffees and pastries in her blushing grip.

(She always brought a latte for Jess along with Lena’s regular order. Of all the developments, that was certainly one of the most welcome.)

She got to know Kara, as the years went on. Was pleased to discover that she truly was as delightful as she seemed. And it was nice to finally have an ally in her ongoing battle to regulate her boss’ shockingly unhealthy work habits. She and Kara could tag-team their efforts, trading off caffeine duty and playing bad cop to get Lena to leave the office before midnight. It meant that Jess had finally, occasionally, gotten a day off.

It didn’t escape her notice that Kara was always there on the bad days. She showed up like clockwork after every ruthless smear campaign against L-Corp, every stock market plummet, every assassination attempt. She would enter the office to find Lena crying and she would leave with the dark haired woman tucked securely against her side, if not smiling then at least calm. At least hopeful.

And Kara was there on the good days, too. The mergers and the product launches and the prototype successes; she celebrated every one of Lena’s triumphs as if they were her own. And Lena, Lena lit up when Kara was around. Bloomed like a rare flower beneath the megawatt glare of Kara’s sunshine devotion.

Her boss never said so in so many words, nor did Jess ever walk in on anything directly incriminating. But it was clear to anyone with eyes exactly what was happening between the two women, exactly where it would lead.

And then one day, Kara wasn’t there anymore.

-

The effect was as obvious as it was immediate.

Lena started coming in early and staying late, if she left the office at all. She barely ate. Her face was pale and drawn, and Jess would often enter her office to find her boss’ eyes red-rimmed.

It became glaringly, painfully obvious that without Kara dropping by at all hours of the day and night, no one was coming to visit Lena.

Her boss became closed-off and withdrawn, more so even than when Jess had first started at L-Corp. Gone were their weekly gossip sessions about the crotchety old men Lena couldn’t yet oust from the company’s board. Gone was her boss’ openness about her own life or her interest in Jess’, her frequent requests for photos of her cats or updates on the master’s in computer science she was studying for in the evenings evaporating into thin air.

Lena did not want to talk about it. Jess was informed of this emphatically and repeatedly whenever she would tentatively reach out, and slowly she stopped trying.

The closest they ever came to acknowledging the elephant in the room was the night of L-Corp’s annual fundraiser at the Luthor Children’s Hospital. Once the gala was over, Jess had run back to the office to drop off the donation paperwork in the company safe only to notice a faint light beneath Lena’s office door.

She’d entered to find Lena hunched on the floor of her private bathroom, heels kicked off and hair falling out of its intricate updo, mascara streaking her cheeks as she sobbed into her hands. Jess hadn’t hesitated for even a second before sinking down beside her.

Wrapping a secure arm around her boss’ shoulders and smoothing the flyaway hairs from her flushed face, she’d tried her best to convey the support and reassurance that Lena had so consistently shown to her. But the young woman had brushed off her platitudes even as the tears had continued to fall.

“It’s not okay,” she’d hiccupped against Jess’ shoulder, the scotch evident on her breath. “She’s gone. I won’t ever get her back.”

And that’s all she would say on the matter. Eventually, the tears had dried up and the exhaustion had set in and Jess had chaperoned her all the way back to her apartment and into bed.

Lena had shown up for work the next day in a pair of oversize aviators, clinging to her triple shot extra-large americano like a lifeline. She’d dropped a latte on Jess’ desk with a rueful smile, and that had been that. They never talked about it again.

-

That whole dark period only cemented the strong protective streak Jess had been cultivating over her boss ever since the very first attempt on her life.

It’s just that Lena is strong, and smart as hell and unfailingly kind and utterly undeserving of the punishment the world keeps foisting on her for her family’s sins. And worse, she’s not prepared to fight back. She just accepts it, internalises the hatred and the burden and the blame and Jess cannot, will not watch it happen. So sue her if she’s a little hyper-vigilant, a little possessive.

And so when Kara Danvers had shown up again one unassuming Tuesday, Jess intercepted her trajectory at Lena’s office door with narrowed eyes and a suspicious glare.

It must have been effective – she’d learned from stone cold boardroom killer Lena Luthor, after all – because the reporter shrank back a little beneath the force of her stare. Kara cleared her throat nervously and Jess had been a split second from launching into a what are your intentions with my girl speech ripped straight from a bad 1980s teen movie when the door opened behind her and Lena appeared.

“It’s fine, Jess,” her boss murmured and she had, reluctantly, stepped aside to let the blonde pass. Not before fixing Kara Danvers with one last pointed glare, though. If Lena wasn’t going to protect herself then Jess would just have to do it for her.

But there was no shouting, no screaming, no audible arguments. And when the blonde left a half hour later and Jess stuck her head through the office door to very unsubtly check on Lena’s wellbeing, there was no trace of red-rimmed eyes or tear stains. Lena simply offered up a small smile, a soft smile and once again, that appeared to be that.

Slowly, Kara Danvers became a regular fixture in L-Corp again, alongside the fancy espresso machines in every break room and the ever-present whiff of soldered metal.

Jess remained wary, a fact which did not seem to go unnoticed by the reporter. In fact, Kara redoubled her efforts to win her over, including new pastries and other sweet treats with the lattes she still regularly delivered.

“I can’t be bought, you know,” Jess had said once, taking the offered apricot Danish anyway. Her loyalty wasn’t up for auction, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t capitalise on the spoils of a bidding war.

Kara had only smiled sadly. “I know. I’m glad.” At Jess’ inquisitive stare she’d just shaken her head, reaching up to adjust her glasses. “I’m glad she has you.”

Jess had hmphed rather ungracefully, licking a stray flake of pastry from the end of her finger. She may have broken her boss’ heart, but no one could deny that Kara Danvers had great taste in desserts.

“I’m not looking for her forgiveness. Or yours,” Kara had continued, so surprising that Jess had inhaled a healthy gulp of latte directly into her lung. The reporter had waited until she’d finished spluttering before she continued. “I don’t deserve it. But for what it’s worth, she has me, too. Again, I mean. For as long as she wants me.”

Jess had narrowed her eyes, searching for any trace of insincerity in that earnest, handsome face. Finding none, her feelings toward the reporter had at last settled somewhere in the ballpark of grudging respect.

And there they’ve remained. She still watches the blonde carefully, still keeps a wary eye out for any sign that things may crumble into dust again. But Kara is true to her word. She shows up, she keeps showing up, and she sticks around.

And slowly, achingly slowly, the light comes back to Lena’s eyes.

-

It’s just another regular unassuming Tuesday when everything shifts again.

Kara Danvers hasn’t yet shown up for lunch and her boss’ conference call was scheduled to have ended a half hour ago, and this stack of expense reports desperately needs Lena’s signature so Jess doesn’t bother knocking as she shoulders open the office door.

A lesser assistant might have shrieked. They’d definitely have dropped the gargantuan stack of reports all over the floor. But Jessica Hoang was trained by Lena Luthor herself. She’s got dignity and composure for days.

Even so, it takes every ounce of poise she can muster not to let out so much as a squeak at the sight of her boss hovering a solid five feet above the floor of her office, enveloped tightly in the arms of a fully kitted and caped Supergirl.

It’s an unavoidably intimate embrace. Lena’s stockinged feet perch lightly on the toes of the hero’s red boots, her arms wrapped snug around the Kryptonian’s neck. Their foreheads are pressed together and they’re just gazing into one another’s eyes, Supergirl’s arms slung low around Lena’s waist as she drifts them in lazy mid-air circles.

For one horrible, stomach-churning moment Jess is faced with the mind-boggling possibility that her boss is, for all intents and purposes, cheating on her reporter gal pal with the city’s superpowered sweetheart.

But equanimity isn’t the only talent she’s picked up from Lena. Her problem solving skills aren’t bad either, or so her boyfriend is fond of grumbling when she steals the Sunday crossword out from under his nose.

Jess uses the split second before they react to her presence to appraise the scene with a critical eye.

At this proximity, there’s something decidedly familiar about those blue eyes and flowing golden locks. But the real clincher doesn’t end up coming from Supergirl at all. It’s the softness in her boss’ expression, the gentle slant of her features and the unguarded love in her eyes in the brief moment before she registers the interruption that really seals the deal.

Jess has, after all, seen Lena in every shade and hue of human emotion. The list of people her boss would look at like that, much like the list of people with unrestricted access to her office, consists of precisely one name.  

Two heads snap towards her in perfect tandem, two jaws hitting the floor in quick succession. Lena gasps and shoves herself away from Supergirl like the woman has suddenly become radioactive, apparently forgetting that she’s not currently abiding by the laws of terrestrial gravity and almost plummeting five feet to the ground.

She’s saved by the hero’s lightning fast reflexes, strong arms snapping out to catch her around the waist and pulling their bodies snugly back together into an embrace somehow even more intimate than the original.

Jess smirks. Lena’s cheeks are redder than she’s ever seen them as Supergirl floats them both gently back to the ground. “This isn’t— we were just— she’s not—” Lena tries half-heartedly as the superhero shuffles her feet at her side, blushing like a chastised schoolgirl.

Jess bites the inside of her cheek, calling upon every last shred of her professionalism to keep from laughing. “Your two o’clock is here,” she says gently, gracing her boss with a genuine smile. Jess may be proud of her own bullish protectiveness in front of others, but she’s a simple girl at heart. If Lena’s happy, she’s happy.

Both women are still staring at her slack-jawed. It appears no response is forthcoming any time soon.

Jess decides to put them out of their misery. “Just buzz when you want me to send him in, Miss Luthor. Miss Danvers,” she nods in acknowledgment as she ducks quickly back out of the room. Not quick enough, though, to miss the choked sounds of shock from behind her, nor the heated stage-whisper of how does she know, Lena? that follows her out of the door.

Jess shakes her head. And she doesn’t even have superhearing.

-

Lena Luthor has many strengths but subtlety, apparently, is not one of them.

That’s the conclusion Jess has no choice but to land on as she stares down at her phone. The extra 10k that has materialised in her bank account without warning or explanation could hardly be more obvious if it had come with the payee reference hush money right there in black and white.

Well. If Jess hadn’t been sure before, she certainly is now.

She shakes her head fondly. As if she would ever sell out her boss on anything, much less on what is very clearly a matter of the heart.

After all these years working together, she knows Lena trusts her. But she can also picture clear as day the scene that must have transpired in the office behind her just moments ago. Lena and Kara, panicking about being discovered. Lena falling back into her Luthor conditioning, deciding to clean up the mess by throwing money at it. The instant regret as she realises she’s just confirmed that there is in fact something to be covered up.

For a certified genius, her boss sure can be dense.

Jess chuckles. Taps out of her banking app and pulls up her messages. Your super secret’s safe with me she types, grinning. I’ve never told a soul that you were drunk as a skunk at the annual board meeting three years ago, and that was without a single dollar in bribes. Why would this be any different?

Hitting send, she swears she actually hears the sigh of relief her boss lets out despite the three inches of solid oak door separating them. She shakes her head again, biting her lip.

I’m happy for you, Lena she sends, warm affection swelling in her chest. Smiles when her screen lights up a moment later with a single red heart.

She locks her phone and squares her shoulders. Skims a critical eye over the weekly schedule she already knows by heart. Ushers in Lena’s two o’clock at her boss’ signal and settles back at her desk. Pulls up a new browser tab and searches up the cost of last-minute flights to the Maldives.

Just because Lena’s hush money was unnecessary, that doesn’t mean it can’t be put to good use.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Taxes are for the little people

If you wanna do crimes, make them incredibly complicated and technical. Like the hustlers that came into the bookstore I worked at and spun these long-ass stories about why they needed money for a Greyhound ticket home.

Those guys shoulda studied the private equity sector.

Private equity's playbook is to borrow giant sums by putting up other peoples' companies as collateral (yes, really). Then they use that money to buy the company they mortgaged, and pay themselves a huge dividend.

Then they sell off the company's assets and pay themselves even more money. That leaves the company in a state of precarity - assets they once owned, like their buildings, they now rent. If the rent goes up, they have to find the money to cover it.

All of this forms a pretense for mass layoffs, defaulting on pension obligations, lowering product quality, stiffing suppliers and borrowing more money. If the company doesn't go bust, the PE looters can flip it to *another* PE company, that does it again.

Whenever you see something really terrible happening to a business that once offered useful products and services and paid decent wages, it's a safe bet that PE is behind it. Toys R Us, Sears, your local hospital - and that memestock favorite, AMC.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/12/mammon-worshippers/#silver-lake-partners

Private equity goons make their money in two ways: the first is by pocketing 20% of  these special dividends and other extractive policies that hollow out business.

This is money at PE managers get paid for spending their investors' money. It's a wage, in other words.

But thanks to the "carried interest" loophole (a hangover from 16th-century sea captains that has nothing to do with "interest" on loans), they get to treat these wages as "capital gains" and pay far less tax on them.

The fact that we give preferential tax treatment to capital gains (money derived from gambling), while taxing wages (money derived from doing useful work) at higher rates really tells you everything you need to know about our economic priorities.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

The carried interest loophole lets PE crooks treat their salaries as capital gains, are taxed at a much lower rate than the wages of the workers whose lives they're destroying.

On top of the 20% profit-share that PE bosses get every year, they also pocket a 2% "management fee" for all the "value" they add to the companies they've taken over.

This is *definitely* a wage. The 20% profit-share at least has an element of risk, but that 2% is guaranteed.

But PE bosses have spent more than a decade booking that 2% wage as a capital gain, using a tax-fraud tactic called "fee waivers." The details of how a fee waiver don't matter because it's all bullshit, like the tale of the needful Greyhound ticket.

All that matters is that a legal fiction allows people earning *eight- or nine-figure salaries* to treat *all* of those wages as capital gains and pay lower rates of tax on them than the janitors who clean their toilets or the workers whose jobs they will annihilate.

Now, the IRS knows all about this. Whistleblowers came forward in 2011 to warn them about it. The Treasury even struck a committee to come up with new rules to fix it.

But Obama failed to make those rules stick, and then Trump put a former tax-cheat enabler in charge of redrafting them. The cheater-friendly rules became law on Jan 5, and handed PE bosses hundreds of millions in savings every year.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/12/business/private-equity-taxes.html

The New York Times report on "fee waivers" goes through the rulemaking history, the technical details of the scam, and the gutting of the IRS, which can no longer afford to audit rich people and now makes its quotas by preferentially auditing low earners who can't afford lawyers.

But former securities lawyer Jerri-Lynn Scofield's breakdown of the Times piece on Naked Capitalism really connects the dots:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2021/06/private-inequity-nyt-examines-how-the-private-equity-industry-avoids-taxes.html

As Scofield and Yves Smith point out, if Biden wanted to do one thing for tax justice, he could abolish preferential treatment for capital gains. If we want a society of makers and doers instead of owners and gamblers, we shouldn't penalize wages and reward rents.

There's an especial urgency to this right now. As the PE bosses themselves admit, they went on a buying spree during the pandemic (they call it "saving American businesses"). Larger and larger swathes of the productive economy are going into the PE meat-grinder.

Worse still, the PE industry has revived its most destructive tactic, the "club deal," whereby PE firms collaborate to take out whole economic sectors in one go:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/14/billionaire-class-solidarity/#club-deals

We're at an historic crossroads for tax justice. On the one hand, you have the blockbuster Propublica report on leaked IRS files that revealed that the net tax rate paid by America's billionaires is close to zero.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/08/leona-helmsley-was-a-pioneer/#eat-the-rich

This has left the Bootlicker-Industrial Complex in the bizarre position of arguing that anyone who suggests someone who amasses billions of dollars should pay more than $0 in tax is a radical socialist (so far, the go-to tactic is to make performative noises about privacy).

At the same time, the G7 has agreed to an historical tax deal that will see businesses taxed at least 15% on the revenue they make in each country, irrespective of the accounting fictions they use to claim that the profits are being earned in the middle of the Irish Sea.

That deal is historical, but the fact that it's being hailed as curbing corporate power reveals just how distorted our discourse about corporate taxes has become.

As Thomas Piketty writes, self-employed people pay 20-50% tax in countries that will tax the world's wealthiest companies a mere 15%: "For SMEs as well as for the working and middle classes, it is impossible to create a subsidiary to relocate its profits to a tax haven."

Piketty, like Gabriel Zucman, says that EU nations should charge multinationals a minimum of 25%, and like Zucman, he reminds us that the G7 deal does nothing to help the poorest countries in the Global South.

https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/piketty/2021/06/15/the-g7-legalizes-the-right-to-defraud/

These countries and the EU have something in common: they aren't "monetarily sovereign" (that is, they don't issue their own currencies *and* borrow in the currencies they issue).

Sovereign currency issuers (US, UK, Japan, Canada, Australia, etc) don't need to tax in order to pay for programs - first they spend new money into the economy and then they tax it back out again.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/10/compton-cowboys/#the-deficit-myth

These countries can run out of stuff to buy in their currency, but they can't run out of the currency itself. Monetarily sovereign countries don't tax to fund their operations.

Rather, they tax to fight inflation (if you spend money into the economy every year but don't take some of it out again through taxation, more and more money will chase the same goods and services and prices will go up).

And just as importantly, monetary sovereigns tax to reduce the spending power - and hence the political power - of the wealthy. The fact that PE bosses had billions of tax-free dollars at their disposal let them spend millions to distort tax policy to legalize fee waivers.

Taxing the money - and hence the power - of wage earners at higher rates than gamblers creates politics that value gambling above work, because gamblers get to spend the winnings they retain on political influence, including campaigns to rig the casino in their favor.

This discredits the whole system, shatters social cohesion and makes it hard to even imagine that we can build a better world - or avert the climate-wracked dystopia on the horizon.

But for Eurozone countries (whose monetary supply is controlled by technocrats at the ECB) and countries of the Global South (whom the IMF has forced into massive debts owed in US dollars, which they can only get by selling their national products), tax is even more urgent.

The US could fund its infrastructure needs just by creating money at the central bank.

EU and post-colonial lands can only fund programs with taxes, so for them, billionaires don't just distort their priorities and corrupt their system - they also starve their societies.

But that doesn't mean that monetary sovereigns can tolerate billionaires and their policy distortions. The UK is monetarily sovereign, in the G7, and its finance minister is briefing to have the City of London's banks exempted from the new tax deal.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-08/u-k-pushes-for-city-of-london-exemption-from-global-tax-deal

Now, the City of London is one of the world's great financial crime-scenes, and its banks are responsible for an appreciable portion of the planet-destabilizing frauds of the past 100 years.

During the Great Financial Crisis AIG used its London subsidiary to commit crimes its US branch couldn't get away with. The City of London was the epicenter of the LIBOR fraud, the Greensill collapse - it's the Zelig of finance crime, the heart of every fraud.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak claims banks are already paying high global tax and can't afford to be part of the G7 tax deal. If that was true, it wouldn't change the fact that these banks are too big to jail and anything that shrinks them is a net benefit.

But it's not true.

As the tax justice campaigner  Richard Murphy points out, the risk to banks like Barclays adds up to 0.8% of global turnover: "The big deal is that the 15% global minimum tax rate is much too low. Suinak has yet again spectacularly missed the point."

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2021/06/09/how-big-is-the-tax-hit-on-banks-from-the-g7-tax-deal-that-sunak-fears-really-going-to-be/

Image: Joshua Doubek (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IRS_Sign.JPG

CC BY-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[ask-iamnotanalicorn]

Previous: The Discord Timeline

The Industrial Devolution Timeline:

The road to economic domination was creeping and insidious.

First, Nightmare Moon returned. Celestia and Cadance were able to subdue her, locking her in a (very comfortable) prison while Celestia sought a way to free her sister of the evil influence warping her mind. With the monarch so distracted and Princess Cadance struggling to take up the slack, a few opportunistic entrepreneurs began getting their roots into the market.

Then the Crystal War began, dividing Celestia’s and Cadance’s attention even further. The Changelings attacked, sowing destruction and distrust until Cadance defeated their queen. Tirek cut a swath through the countryside before being stopped, increasing the economic struggles. It was as if a domino of assaults on the Equestrian daily life had started, with none able to stop the ever-larger dominoes from toppling.

Celestia was terribly injured during the final fight that destroyed King Sombra. Luna finally overcame her rage and the parasitic magic fueling it, but went into seclusion out of shame and a desire to tend to her wounded sister. Cadance’s focus was split between post-war rebuilding in Equestria, assisting the confused, freed, and much-distrusted crystal ponies with stabilizing their crippled city, and tending to her own first child. With their leaders so distracted and the country still reeling from so many attacks, ponies desperately reached out for any kind of financial and necessities stability. 

Perfectly fertile soil for the country’s most hostile economic takeover in its history.

Flim and Flam’s tactics were simple yet effective: move in wherever large numbers of companies had collapsed and fill the void with simple, cheap necessities that anypony could afford. As their finances grew, they began to expand, beating out surrounding competition with their rock-bottom prices until they could either buy out or crush their competitors. They continued this strategy further and further out, their influence spreading like hives across Equestria until hardly any retailers of food, drinks, household goods, small machine parts, and pretty much every other goods reseller below industrial level still operated. (Although who knew what the future might hold for FlimFlam Industries?) Once competition decreased to almost nill, they raised their prices to just barely affordable, swelling their already full pockets.

By the end of the Crystal War, they had such a grip, so much financial and political power, that even if the princesses should realize the toxic hold this company has on the market, it will be a long road back to rebalancing the economy. The country has, regrettably, come to rely on Flim Flam Industries, and their stranglehold would not be easily broken.

Sales always dreamed of being a traveling salespony. He’d even gotten a taste of it before the war. But now... well, there was no one to sell for. Companies kept dying out from under him. And if it weren’t bad enough that FFI already sold cheap, unexciting product options, the further lack of competition gave them even less incentive to TRY. They could cut costs on everything from packaging to flavor to color options; there was absolutely no consideration for variety or improvement or innovation. Soon everything in those blasted pop-up depots came in bland, uniformly labeled containers, with names like FLOUR and SOAP and TOWELS. There was no ART to it, and worst of all, no heart. And certainly no need for a door-to-door sales technique - not when F&F Depots were on every corner and people already had little choice but to get their goods from them.

So that’s how Sales ended up here, running one of those blasted depots. It is barely salesponyship, but it was still the closest thing he could find to his special talent. Meanwhile pollution and unchecked labor laws are creeping out from the cities, and farms are being consumed for their timber and factory locations. Quills & Sofas went under, leaving Sales’ father without a job and one more worry for Salespitch. Everypony prays that Celestia would heal, that Cadance would realize the depths of what was happening and make some move to stop it, that even the once-evil Princess Luna rumored to be tending her sister in the castle would take a stand. But for now, FFI is taking full advantage of the rulers’ distraction and obliviousness to tighten their hold on the country’s economy. Sales works and keeps his head down; it’s too great an issue for one pony to tackle, especially a pony whose only real talent is talking.

He tries to remind himself that things could be worse. Despite crummy wages and the soul-deadening monotony of just grabbing standard crap off a shelf when asked, Sales IS making a living. He makes an effort to keep his depot looking like the pony who works there actually cares (a façade FFI has long since abandoned.) Black took up work as a stocker in the store, so at least they get to hang out. Pollution isn’t as bad in Featherhorn (yet), although the deforestation and smog have been spreading nearer. But Sales just can’t get around the fact that there’s a briefcase-shaped hole in his soul where good, honest, smart salesponyship was meant to be. It’s hard not to be bitter and miserable when your purpose has been almost completely taken away from you.  Still... if Sales can find a way to get a new company going without being ground under Flim and Flam’s hooves... maybe he can go back to doing what he loves, and the world will feel a little more right again. Fun Facts About The Flim Flam Timeline:

- I got my idea for a total economic takeover from a book 6 of the Pendragon series, “The Quillen Games” by D.J. MacHale. Its setting is a world where a single corporation has such control that they even own the people to an extent, but I didn’t want to go THAT dark (although this is still darker than my initial draft), so I stopped at just owning all of the selling outlets. Lack of competition in capitalism breeds complacency, leading to high prices with minimal improvement or variety. (That book may have also stuck in my mind because it was the first time an author so thoroughly pulled the rug out from under me that I was too depressed to finish the series. I can’t HANDLE that kind of catastrophic reversal, MacHale!!!)

- Sales’s dad, Sales Patter, lost his job as Head of Sales at Quills & Sofas after the company was eaten by FlimFlam Industries. He currently lives at home taking care of Pitch Perfect while Pitch Forward does her best to bring in funding through her competitive high-diving sponsorships. Sales and Black contribute money as well, although Black has a surprisingly well-stocked savings account that he refuses to explain to anyone.

- Flim and Flam offered Sales a job as their company spokespony, mainly because they loved the idea of having an ‘alicorn’ as their mascot. Obviously he turned them down, but he did still grudgingly accept a position at the Featherhorn depot since it’s the closest thing he can find to what he’s good at. (Flim and Flam do still like to give people a show, especially when it comes to the smoke and mirrors they must use to keep the wealthier populace and government from paying too much attention to some of the ways FFI cuts their spending - at the expense of their workers, mostly.)

- I’ve seen others do this timeline harsher; there’s a fimfiction that had an interesting take on Celestia being injured in her fight with Nightmare Moon and then IMPRISONED by Flim and Flam’s company so it could take over, which led to an ever-rising problem with pollution, underage workers, poor labor laws, and backhoof politics. Some of that does exist in this timeline, but I went with a severe injury and seclusion in the palace. The Princesses are still AROUND, but being carefully shielded from the truly dark nature of some of Flim and Flam’s machinations. It may just take someone getting their attention drawn to the right things to start the ball rolling...

- Sales and Patter do team up to create a small startup company, selling goods made by Featherhorn’s citizens to the local area. Black uses his connections as a Royal Service agent to sneak them into the palace, where they get an uber-rare meeting with Princess Celestia, who is blessedly awake enough to recognize the little AI and hear their plight. She convinces Luna, who has been taking care of her this whole time, that something needs to be done. Luna is grossly undereducated about modern economics and business practices, but she pulls Cadance in, and while Cadance works on investigating these horrible labor practices they’ve reported, Luna begins brushing up on her education and offers some protection to Sales’ little company. She does, in fact, find some obscure ancient laws that give them a leg up in the fight against FFI when they inevitably try to buy out, sue, and/or bankrupt Sales’ and Patter’s company into the ground. But they start making some headway. 

- It’s a long road back to a balanced market, and much of the work will be done by the Princesses. But the inspiration ponies draw from the changes they see starts the dominoes again - this time, in the direction of positive change.

Next Week: The Wasteland Timeline (finale!)

[natromanxoff]

Here is the interview that has been translated by Google, from the link ‘1′ on this post:

After Freddie Mercury visited Zagreb, it was clear why he was leading two big guys everywhere

By YugoPapir

TODAY, exactly 25 years ago , the great Freddie Mercury passed away , and on that occasion we remember his visit to Zagreb and the interview he gave on that occasion. It was back in 1979 ...

"In a situation of useless concert rock scene (such as at least Belgrade), an interview with one of the world's famous rock stars is a special event. However, although the man is not in a position to choose and has no experience with Jagger, Lennon or Dylan, these conversations are sometimes it comes down to the usual routine of exchanging questions and answers ... Kind me, kind respondent ... I smile, the respondent smiles I ask a question, I know the answer in advance.

Hand on heart, that was exactly what the conversation with the first man of the Queen group was like. Despite the millions of records sold, the sound clearly defined and the status of the stars, the guys from the group do not have a particularly interesting "story" behind them. The only way to do something extraordinary is to try to provoke the interlocutor, but one usually doesn't have the opportunity to do so in such "serially" organized meetings between stars and the press, where a bunch of idle idlers are dragged around without much smarter work in mind.

The press conference was held in "Intercontinental" full of boring luxury and, on this occasion, unusual teams. After a short wait (the stars are always late), the Queen appeared, dressed as employees of an English insurance company on vacation.

After a few moments of doubt, various guys of unknown faces and occupations attacked them. Of course the main victim was Mercury. Honestly, I didn’t expect so many people with tape recorders, notebooks and similar supplies. It is not only clear to me where they will be able to place all this, because I have not seen the results of that journalistic attack anywhere except in "Polet" from an interview done on another occasion.

Maybe it's better not to publish it anywhere because I heard so much nonsense and ignorance in a short time that I felt pity for poor Freddy. Now it is clear to me why he is taking with him two guys, as if removed from the mountain, who were strategically arranged around the front door during the whole press conference.

And finally when the crowd subsided I seized the opportunity to talk to Mercury.

Not particularly tall, black, in a leather jacket and jeans, he looked more like one of the tappers in front of Belgrade cinemas than the world-famous rock old man. Stoic accepted to give an interview for "Jukebox", although over time he approved and became somewhat more exhaustive. I probably bothered him less than the others.

As usual, I started from the beginning ...

"It's a long story. Brian, Roger and I knew each other since we were students. John came later. We had experiences with earlier bands where we played as high school students. When we created Queen we had a clear idea of ​​what we wanted to do and our work today is the evolution of these plans and dreams.We had a very clear guiding star.From the very beginning.

Is it still clear that guiding star after all these successes and millions of records sold?

Why not. The halls where we play are always full, the records are on the charts. Why not?

From the articles we read about you, it could not be said that the critics really like you. What does it look like to be in one of the world’s leading rock bands while at the same time reading how records are being ruthlessly denigrated?

This is the case only with the English press. It could not be said that we live in the best relationship with them. The English today have no choice but to be cynical, which is why the press is like that to us. That’s why you can rarely read our interview at NME or Melody Maker. There is no point in us being a training ground for them. We learned to live with it and, you know, I didn’t care too much about it. Our records sell well. In recent years, a big thing has happened with punk, and we are understood as the total opposite.

One of the main drawbacks is the dependence on technology. Your records are lavishly produced to perfection ...

You can't survive without technology today. Loudspeakers, light instruments and the most ordinary rock band look like an LP&P to a folk group or a symphony orchestra ... Even today they can't survive without technology. Electricity is all around us and you can't avoid it. The production on our records is rich, but I don’t think it’s an end in itself as many want to present. I play a plain piano, John a plain “Fender bass,” only Brian has special “pranks” that I make myself, but that’s not overdone either. The most important thing is that it is all in the service of the idea.

You are all college educated. Do you think that had an impact on this direction of the group. I have noticed that there are prejudices in English newspapers about such groups, in fact about groups that originated from such an environment, starting from “Genesis” onwards?

First of all, we don't have much to do with "Genesis", then such prejudices are the most common nonsense. I don't see any purpose for them. I don't even know that being in college automatically makes us intellectuals.

I have no doubt that you spend a lot of time in the studio preparing the album, that's obvious. You've created some kind of art since filming (interrupts me) ...

We record, than what. That's what everyone does! But we made a style out of it. We do everything in a special way and I think there is imagination. It's specificity, not covering up weaknesses or something like that ... We don't even try to reproduce the sound from our records ... It's hours and hours of work and there are hundreds and hundreds of recorded sections.

The record is one thing, and the concert is quite another. Although some people pass it on to us as a flaw, we are very happy with their gig. It would be a tedious and boring job to always play the same ... At one time we were thinking of introducing assistant musicians to our performances, but I don't think that would work. It is our music and we understand it best. Such a way would only bring us unnecessary problems and obligations.

Can any significant changes in your sound and direction be expected on the next panels. There is a lot of criticism that you got into a certain "gyre" ...

Again about the critics ... we care the least about them! We have created a certain sound, success, image and that is what we are. It is logical for the group to evolve slowly ... It would be stupid to try something radically different ... And that is what the "scribblers" expect to have something to fill the newspaper with. Drastic changes lead nowhere and make no sense. You can't become something else overnight ...

Normally we will change. Whoever has followed our work so far is clear in which direction. This is also evident from our latest albums. There is no longer as much luxury as at "Opera" or "Racing" ... I think that our next albums will develop in that direction.

The group "Queen" is considered to be a very stable formation. No sharper disagreements were heard, and only the drummer had solo outings. Should we expect new solo projects and do they pose a danger to the group?

Although Roger has a lot of experience with solo attempts, I don't see any danger in that for the group "Queen". I think the best we can provide, we provide together. Solo attempts are just a small change of climate and refreshment. There is no special need to try our luck outside the team. When we realize we have nowhere else to go, the group disbands - there are no illusions that it won’t come and we don’t even think about it.

Do you have any information about your audience in Yugoslavia, and does the sale of records in our small market mean anything to you financially?

Well, I've heard from people in our company that we sell a lot of records. Do you see these gold and silver plates we got here? Also, we care that our music is heard all over the world, that everyone listens to it, that's why we perform so much. One should not be blasé ... It is not only important for us to be popular in England, America and Japan ... People are the same everywhere and we like to play for them ... This is just rock'n'roll after all ... "

Interviewed by: Branko Vukojević, filmed by: Dražen Kalenić (Jukebox, 1979)

[7r0773r]

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, translated by Richard Philcox

The colonized world is a world divided in two. The dividing line, the border, is represented by the barracks and the police stations. In the colonies, the official, legitimate agent, the spokesperson for the colonizer and the regime of oppression, is the police officer or the soldier. In capitalist societies, education, whether secular or religious, the teaching of moral reflexes handed down from father to son, the exemplary integrity of workers decorated after fifty years of loyal and faithful service, the fostering of love for harmony and wisdom, those aesthetic forms of respect for the status quo, instill in the exploited a mood of submission and inhibition which considerably eases the task of the agents of law and order. In capitalist countries a multitude of sermonizers, counselors, and “confusion-mongers” intervene between the exploited and the authorities. In colonial regions, however, the proximity and frequent, direct intervention by the police and the military ensure the colonized are kept under close scrutiny, and contained by rifle butts and napalm. We have seen how the government’s agent uses a language of pure violence. The agent does not alleviate oppression or mask domination. He displays and demonstrates them with the clear conscience of the law enforcer, and brings violence into the homes and  minds of the colonized subject. (On Violence, pp. 3-4)

***

A world compartmentalized, Manichaean and petrified, a world of statues: the statue of the general who led the conquest, the statue of the engineer who built the bridge. A world cocksure of itself, crushing with its stoniness the backbones of those scarred by the whip. That is the colonial world. The colonial subject is a man penned in; apartheid is but one method of compartmentalizing the colonial world. The first thing the colonial subject learns is to remain in his place and not overstep its limits. (On Violence, p. 15)

***

The colonized intellectual has invested his aggression in his barely veiled wish to be assimilated to the colonizer’s world. He has placed his aggression at the service of his own interests, his interests as an individual. The result is the ready emergence of a kind of class of individually liberated slaves, of freed slaves. The intellectual calls for ways of freeing more and more slaves and ways of organizing a genuine class of the emancipated. The masses, however, have no intention of looking on as the chances of individual success improve. What they demand is not the status of the colonist, but his place. In their immense majority the colonized want the colonist’s farm. There is no question for them of competing with the colonist. They want to take his place. (On Violence, pp. 22-23)

***

The people discover that the iniquitous phenomenon of exploitation can assume a black or Arab face. They cry treason, but in fact the treason is not national but social, and they need to be taught to cry thief. (Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity, p. 94)

***

In these poor, underdeveloped countries where, according to the rule, enormous wealth rubs shoulders with abject poverty, the army and the police force form the pillars of the regime; both of which, in accordance with another rule, are advised by foreign experts. The strength of this police force and the power of this army are proportional to the marasmus that afflicts the rest of the nation. The national bourgeoisie sells itself increasingly openly to the major foreign companies. Foreigners grab concessions through kickbacks, scandals abound, ministers get rich, their wives become floozies, members of the legislature line their pockets, and everybody, down to police officers and customs officials, joins hands in this huge caravan of corruption. (The Trials and Tribulations of National Consciousness, p. 117)

***

A country which really wants to answer to history, which wants to develop its towns and the minds of its inhabitants, must possess a genuine party. The party is not an instrument in the hands of the government. Very much to the contrary, the party is an instrument in the hands of the people. It is the party which decides on the policy enacted by the government. The party is not and never should be merely a political bureau where all the members of government and dignitaries of the regime feel free to congregate. Alas all too often it is the party which makes up the entire political bureau and its members reside permanently in the capital. In an underdeveloped country the leading party members should flee the capital like the plague. With the exception of a few, they should reside in the rural areas. Centralizing everything in the capital should be avoided. No administrative pretext can justify the bustle of the capital already overpopulated and overdeveloped compared with nine tenths of the territory. The party must be decentralized to the limit. This is the only way to revive regions that are dead, the regions that have not yet woken up to life. (The Trials and Tribulations of National Consciousness, pp. 127-28)

***

But can we escape vertigo? Who dares claim that vertigo does ot prey on every life? (Colonial War and Mental Disorders, p. 185)

***

Comrades, have we nothing else to do but create a third Europe? The West saw itself on a spiritual adventure. It is in the name of the Spirit, meaning the spirit of Europe, that Europe justified its crimes and legitimized the slavery in which it held four fifths of humanity.

Yes, the European spirit is built on strange foundations. The whole of European thought developed in places that were increasingly arid and increasingly inaccessible. Consequently, it was natural that the chances of encountering man became less and less frequent.

A permanent dialogue with itself, an increasingly obnoxious narcissism inevitably paved the way for a virtual delirium where intellectual thought turns into agony since the reality of man as a living, working, self-made being is replaced by words, an assemblage of words and the tensions generated by their meanings. There were Europeans, however, who urged the European workers to smash this narcissism and break with this denial of reality.

Generally speaking, the European workers did not respond to the call. The fact was that the workers believed they too were part of the prodigious adventure of the European spirit.

All the elements for a solution to the major problems of humanity existed at one time or another in European thought. But the Europeans did not act on the mission that was designated them and which consisted of virulently pondering these elements, modifying their configuration, their being, of changing them and finally taking the problem of man to an infinitely higher plane.

Today we are witnessing a stasis of Europe. Comrades, let us flee this stagnation where dialectics has gradually turned into a logic of the status quo. Let us reexamine the question of man. Let us reexamine the question of cerebral reality, the brain mass of humanity in its entirety whose affinities must be increased, whose connections must be diversified and whose communications must be humanized again.

Come brothers, we have far too much work on our hands to revel in outmoded games. Europe has done what it had to do and all things considered, it has done a good job; let us stop accusing it, but let us say to it firmly it must stop putting on such a show. We no longer have reason to fear it, let us stop then envying it. 

The Third World is today facing Europe as one colossal mass whose project must be to try and solve the problems this Europe was incapable of finding the answers to. 

But what matters now is not a question of profitability, not a question of increased productivity, not a question of production rates. No, it is not a question of back to nature. It is the very basic question of not dragging man in directions which mutilate him, of not imposing on his brain tempos that rapidly obliterate and unhinge it. The notion of catching up must not be used as a pretext to brutalize man, to tear him from himself and his inner consciousness, to break him, to kill him. 

No, we do not want to catch up with anyone. But what we want is to walk in the company of man, every man, night and day, for all times. It is not a question of stringing the caravan out where groups are spaced so far apart they cannot see the one in front, and men who no longer recognize each other, meet less and less and talk to each other less and less.

The Third World must start over a new history of man which takes account of not only the occasional prodigious theses maintained by Europe but also its crimes, the most heinous of which have been committed at the very heart of man, the pathological dismembering of his functions and the erosion of his unity, and in the context of the community, the fracture, the stratification and the bloody tensions fed by class, and finally, on the immense scale of humanity, the racial hatred, slavery, exploitation and, above all, the bloodless genocide whereby one and a half billion men have been written off. (Conclusion, pp. 237-38)

[meloncubedradpops]

Repo! the Corona Opera: Part Two Fascist Boogaloo

Greetings fellow Repo! fans,

Here is my second installment of a series of three essays where I compare our contemporary times with the movie Repo! the Genetic Opera. My first piece detailed the similarities between the two worlds, and turns out, I have an awful lot to talk about still. I ended my last article by posing the question, "What went wrong in this dystopia to normalize the concept of death due to nonpayment?" No doubt, this movie is incredibly outrageous on many fronts, particularly within the dynamics of the Largo family. As mentioned in the previous piece, I highlighted the pervasiveness of GeneCo's power and influence towards the citizens in the city (is it called city of GeneCo? GeneCo-land? GenCity? An actual city in Italy??). 

People who write stories often bend the rules to make their story compelling. Be it exaggerating social interactions, creating scientifically impossible scenarios, or even allowing the characters to use technology that does not exist yet. I admit the creators of Repo! applied all those tactics and more, which makes the parallels I draw that much more surreal. I want to acknowledge this before I dive deeper because yes, I truly think it would be impossible to have a company who can offer cheap and dirty surgeries with an absence of debilitating class action lawsuits resulting from botched procedures, infection, or their body rejecting the organ transplant. And while I admit Zydrate does not exist, yet, but we do have a long history with opioid abuse. If you asked me when I first watched the movie if I think the Largo family could be a mirror of an ultra wealthy family from real life, I would have politely disagreed with you. But times right now are freaking weird. A single day does not go by where something completely outlandish is blasted all over the news, particularly in the United States. 

In my last essay I pointed out examples where the citizens in GenCity live a life after experiencing a mass extinction event. Besides the technological anachronisms, society and GeneCo have an uncomfortably close relationship with each other. GeneCo is not merely a corporation that offers healthcare and surgeries, it has an unyielding power politically too. I argue that GenCity is ran by a fascist government that is controlled and operated by GeneCo. 

If you're not a person who is super familiar with fascism, basically it's an extremist right wing government philosophy. I find it interesting that in the song "21st Century Cure", Graverobber says: Industrialization has crippled the globe. Although plagues, war, and other hardships existed before industrialization, that paradigm of change accelerated the imbalances between man and nature. Fascism did not exist until after World War I, after all. Between the world war itself and the Spanish Flu of 1918, there was a lot of pain and suffering felt all over the world. Fascists took advantage of vulnerable populations and asserted that their political party is the only correct party, and those who oppose are considered an enemy. Historically fascist governments have blurred the lines between the spheres of what's considered "public" and "private", and often danced harmoniously with business allies in pursuit of profit. As an effect, fascist governments have required citizens to foot the bill of a private company's losses. With enough propaganda, fascist governments will have you believing that this is ultimately for the betterment of everyone. And if you give them enough time, they will normalize terrible acts against humanity that barely make a peep, if the truth even comes to light. 

For the rest of this essay, I will be highlighting examples in the Repo! movie that correspond with characteristics of fascism, using political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt's The 14 Characteristics Of Fascism, which was published in the spring 2003 issue of Free Inquiry magazine.

The 14 characteristics are:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. 

The world surrounding GeneCo occupies itself with the concept that this incorporated area derives a sense of nationalism, in the absence of much dissent. If you see below, there is an advertisement on the top right corner that says, "Your Birthplace for a new Heredity". GeneCo is not just a company that sells organs and surgeries. It is its own incorporated city. This ad, combined with GeneCo's relentless messaging that not only did this company save humanity, you must conform to the idea that only GeneCo can provide you the experience of feeling clean, safe, and perfect.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Being able to legally repossess someone's organs because they didn't make their organ payments is about as disdainful as you can get. Nathan has a whole song called "Legal Assassin", and there doesn't appear to be many laws that would at least have the pretense that these repossessions are remotely humane. There are multiple instances in the movie where Nathan approaches a client who is already restrained, panicked, and powerless. From what I can gather from the media in Gencity, GeneCo proliferates the idea that the company would be dysfunctional if people could get financed surgeries and let those payments go to collections. When you're a mega corporation, they let you do it.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

While the career of a Graverobber is certainly creepy and macabre, the idea that they could be executed without a jury of their peers is especially strange. After I created my last essay, my friend Veronica pointed out, that per "A Needle Into A Bug", one of the deleted scenes from the movie, that street zydrate is not actually derived from the brains of dead people. He extracts zydrate from bugs that nest inside the craniums of dead people, which in my opinion is a huge distinction. So who is he really stealing from? Is it morally okay to dig up a corpse to get drug goo to sell to junkies? Absolutely not, and the idea is incredibly disrespectful for the dead. And while I am sure there are graverobbers in this world that likely steal things like jewelry from corpses, I still wouldn't justify being executed extrajudicially. 

Further, Graverobber's relationship with the Largo family has me believing even more that GeneCo needs them more than their media campaign can justify. Rotti has access to incredible surveillance of the city, so you would think he would eliminate anyone who enabled Amber Sweet's addiction. My theory is GeneCo knows that street zydrate may result in more surgery sales. However they want to continue making money selling the lab-grown stuff. So the end justifies the means, if we can associate graverobbers and those who use street zydrate as criminals, we can continue believing that "they" are the enemies setting everyone else back.

4. Supremacy of the Military: Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. AND 12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment: Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

GeneCo employs a private police force to carry out law enforcement. They patrol around a graveyard, a quasi-public space carved out for those who mourn. And because there is pervasive video surveillance, Rotti can demand that they do his bidding at any time. An example is his order to murder the repo man. We aren't aware of any sort of involvement beyond the borders of GenCity, but even the concept of a graveyard being a warzone is a special kind of hell. 

5. Rampant Sexism- The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

Genterns! On the surface, it’s pretty cool that there is a large volume of female medical professionals who are skilled enough to carry out surgeries. However behind the sexy veneer is the reality that Genterns are not set up for success. They are not provided adequate PPE and work under non-sterile conditions. In the "Mark it Up" scene, one is killed by Luigi. Imagine going to medical school for years and years, only to be tasked with the job of organ warehouse worker. Then on one of your shifts you are stabbed to death because the CEO's son bumped into you while you were working. Not only that, but you are also expected to dress proactively for the purpose of selling the GeneCo product and experience.  

6. Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. GeneCo has a monopoly on the media of the city. Politics, entertainment, healthcare, you name it, they have a direct stake in, and control over, the media. We do see from time-to-time tabloid clippings of the Largo family. But generally speaking, GeneCo puts a lot of effort in upholding their image. The best evidence is Blind Mag's story. She is a singer who acquired the ability to see after a GeneCo cornea surgery. And while she clocked into work day in and day out, singing and advertising for GeneCo for 17+ years, her departure resulted in Rotti murdering her. But why? Was he afraid of the things she would say? Rotti knew he was terminally ill when she declared her resignation, and yet killing her on stage is somehow less of a scandal?

7. Obsession with National Security: Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. Fascist countries use fear as a tactic to keep the masses scared and compliant. The universe of Repo! is one filled with tragedy. Millions of people have died. I would imagine that the series of events that would lead to the creation and success of GeneCo was contingent upon people being scared for their lives. While dealing with the coronavirus, I find myself constantly checking my temperature, keeping my distance from people, and wearing a mask out in public. The human spirit is resilient, which is how we have survived so long. However sociopaths smell our fear and use it against us. The city of GeneCo is surrounded by plots upon plots of graveyards, signifying the carnage left after their public health crisis. I have a strong feeling that GeneCo was able to harness the threat of whatever caused the massive organ failure epidemic and as an effect created a power vacuum. 

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined: Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

This one is going to be a reach, particularly because there is an absence of religion in this story. I don't think religion would be on the creator's of Repo!'s purview, and honestly I don't blame them. If you look at the imagery of the story, however, it is very gothic. We have no idea if religion survives, and if it does, to what extent. I would imagine that people still have spiritual needs, and I argue that the GeneCo Opera is an example of how they get that fulfilled. 

"If you want it, baby, GeneCo's got it"

The GeneCo opera is not your typical opera experience. GeneCo specifically tells their customers to "testify". People are singing in unison, praising GeneCo. Clearly GeneCo has taken several human rituals and blended them together to create an over-the-top entertainment experience that seeks to advertise their company behind the testimonials of its patrons. The benefits of the opera for GeneCo, as a fascist entity, are two-fold: have people associate their most nirvana moments with an experience only GeneCo can offer (zydrate and surgery), and distract them with religious-like concerts so they won't question their neighbors being murdered on the streets by that very same company. 

9. Corporate Power is Protected: The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. AND 13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Throughout the entire movie, the Largo family is front and center. We know Rotti is terminally ill, and he utilizes his final moments to tie up loose ends in his life. His children feel entitled to his estate and the company of GeneCo. At no point do we see Rotti consult with a board of directors at GeneCo, a private fiduciary firm, or with any government entity. I would describe the company of GeneCo to be a weird combination of an aristocracy, government body, and corporation. His children commit crimes with no recourse or justice. Rotti kills the doctor who tells him he's dying. Luigi kills multiple people throughout the movie. In one of the opening scenes, we see a photograph showing Pavi is cutting off a woman's face. In the credits we see Amber's body guards lying dead on the floor during her press statement. What sort of corruption took place to make these occurrences so prevalent and normalized? 

10. Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

We aren't super privy to the machinations that make this city functional. But there is a clear stratification that has sustained itself long enough that healthcare is not a right in this city, and those who can't pay for necessary healthcare can finance it. In a just society, if we have the means to save humanity, we can figure out a way to pay for it. Be it taxes on the most wealthy or other cost-saving measures, if there is a will, there is a way. However if you give a company enough power and money, it will do everything it can to stay on top. The best examples I can think of would be Nathan and Blind Mag's tenuous career at GeneCo. Neither really wanted the job they were given, but they were forced into those positions by Rotti. Had Bling Mag belonged to a entertainment union, would she have had more protections? Would a proper investigation into the murder of Marni result in justice being served, and the opportunity for Nathan to live a better adjusted life? Rotti masterfully manipulates situations that create powerless outcomes for his employees.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals: Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts We don't see any particular evidence that GeneCo is currently hostile to higher education or academia. What we do know is the technologies of this world are akin to something we'd see out of the 20th century. However GeneCo is advanced enough to synthesize usable organs.  In my last essay, I drew parallels to today by highlighting that there may have been a "brain drain" of intellectualism as a result of academics dying from their public health crisis. Outside of the opera house, we don't see many examples of art in this world. Maybe this is what happens when a government stops funding programs it deems frivolous or challenges the status quo?

14. Fraudulent Elections: Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Based off context clues in the movie, we know that there is a group of voting citizens who help determine whether or not a company can repossess financed organs that are passed due on their payments. We don't know who makes these votes, the election process, or anything like that. So it is hard to say if GeneCo goes beyond their media campaign convincing voters to keep repossessions legal. Despite this lack of knowledge, I would argue that GeneCo wields incredible power regarding the course of elections for laws that apply to them. Okay, you want to pass a law to make organ repossession illegal? Fine, we don't have to offer products on a payment plan. The very threat of being able to take away healthcare is something right wing governments loveeee doing. 

Speaking of elections, the United States 2020 general election is approaching. Now that I argued the ways that GeneCo is fascist, I will tie together ideas from both of these essays into a final piece that I hope you will like. If you enjoyed this article, please send it to all your Repo! friends.