I See Inflation At Crutchfield

[tw 2022]

Ohhh.. I know about his reputation/history ... does it make his findings/theories worthless ?

it does certainly put them in a different light.... to be *convicted* of a Ponzi scheme in the US, youy have to be a very shady character maybe fully a sociopath,, it isn't easy to to be prosecuted for that kind of thing here...

 

[solderdude]

But does that invalidate the graphs that were shown ?
Just because the character is shady the graphs that were put up must be incorrect or misleading too ?

In any case... this thread is about inflation. It is happening globally and happens again and again (no idea if there is some cycle there).
I just referred to the plots to indicate there appear to be cycles in the economy (as there are always in life) and maybe that what is happening is part of a cycle too.

 

[tmtomh]

But does that invalidate the graphs that were shown ?
Just because the character is shady the graphs that were put up must be incorrect or misleading too ?

In any case... this thread is about inflation. It is happening globally and happens again and again (no idea if there is some cycle there).
I just referred to the plots to indicate there appear to be cycles in the economy (as there are always in life) and maybe that what is happening is part of a cycle too.

Yes - one of the many useful things about measurements is that as long as they are properly done and not fraudulent, the measurer's morality and politics are irrelevant.

RE the economy, also yes - if there's one thing the history of capitalism shows, it's that capitalist economies are indeed cyclical. The only questions are how extreme the cycles are and how long they last - hugely important for all of us humans in our daily lives of course, but from the 30,000 ft view it's more or less the same cycles.

The two things that do appear to change significantly over time are (1) what sectors reap the largest share of profit; and (2) what the division of profit is between owners and workers/management (aka whether or not worker productivity increases tend to produce analogous increases in wages). In the US and much of the world over the past 50 years, more and more profit has been realized in the expanded FIRE sector (finance, insurance, real estate, and associated areas like tech, financial services, and so on). And as for the second item, there too the US trend and much of the overall global trend has been towards a growing "productivity wedge" - that is, steadily increasing worker productivity has not resulted in increasing real wages.

 

[1066]

eg Bernie Madoff (ie fraud)

Ah yes I looked this up. Very extreme example, was shocked.

 

[Petrushka]

eg Bernie Madoff (ie fraud)

Half the members of congress do better than Bernie.

 

[tw 2022]

But does that invalidate the graphs that were shown ?
Just because the character is shady the graphs that were put up must be incorrect or misleading too ?

In any case... this thread is about inflation. It is happening globally and happens again and again (no idea if there is some cycle there).
I just referred to the plots to indicate there appear to be cycles in the economy (as there are always in life) and maybe that what is happening is part of a cycle too.

not necessarily , that is a valid point... but it certainly makes taking a very close look at the data more needed...if I know for instance that my sociopath landlord thinks something, anything, it puts the validity of that thought highly in doubt.. in other words , if the landlord says something is a fact, he better have some proof,, it's how you start to think when dealing daily with a known pathological liar... and anybody convicted of a Ponzi scheme here in the US is likely to be a pathological liar.. Madoff certainly fits that description..and agreed , the economy is certainly cyclical..and i've been actively watching it long enough to have recognized it's cycled several times in the last half century...

 

[Steven Holt]

I think cost trumps philosophy when (US) folks are actually reaching for the wallet.

Yep, mostly true....but if there's a piece of gear that I want -- and I mean REALLY want -- I don't let price get in the way, to hell with it, I just buy it. Life's too short. Now, I don't get stupid about it, but we are in the golden age of audio baby and I want some of that gold.

 

[mhardy6647]

Yep, mostly true....but if there's a piece of gear that I want -- and I mean REALLY want -- I don't let price get in the way, to hell with it, I just buy it. Life's too short. Now, I don't get stupid about it, but we are in the golden age of audio baby and I want some of that gold.

I was specifically referring to an instance in which the same product was available in two variants, at two markedly different price points -- one US made, the other foreign-made.

There's no question that we Americans will buy whatever we think we want at whatever cost is involved if someone convinces us we want it enough.

 

[tw 2022]

I was specifically referring to an instance in which the same product was available in two variants, at two markedly different price points -- one US made, the other foreign-made.

There's no question that we Americans will buy whatever we think we want at whatever cost is involved if someone convinces us we want it enough.

yes , we have been brainwashed by mass media for about 70 years (?) now .. the TV/social media age is killing us.. I remember my neighbor calling tv's "idiot boxes" I wonder what she'd think about smartphones...