All Economic Warfare is Based on Deception

[umbrarchist]

Russia, Ukraine, China and US debt are messing with the economic future of this technological planet?

 

Spaceship Earth is a Mess!

 

Believing in ideologies is nonsense. The people who claim to be Capitalists want the workers kept ignorant.

 

Adam Smith: Download Wealth of Nations, it has been in the public domain, and free on the internet, since 2001.  Search it for "and account", you will find multiple instances of "read, write and account". Why doesn't the right or the left advocate mandatory accounting/finance in the schools?

 

Karl Marx: Search his major work for 'depreciation'. Marx mentioned depreciation of money and machinery multiple times. He used the word 35 times in his first two volumes.  There were no steam trains when Adam Smith died. Marx rode in trains and saw machinery that was modern for his time.
But what sophisticated consumer technology was there to depreciate in his day?

 

In the 1930s John Maynard Keynes was writing about a 15-hour work week for grandchildren. That could have been the 1990s. But did Keynes ever see a television commercial for automobiles? When I went to college for Electrical Engineering the term e-waste did not even exist.

 

Today: Planned obsolescence has been going on for decades. What has happened to the DEPRECIATION of durable consumer goods?

 

How many automobiles have Americans trashed since Sputnik? There were 200,000,000 motor vehicles in the US in 1995.

 

Economists: Do not mention NDP, Net Domestic Product.

They subtract the depreciation of Capital Goods from GDP like industrial robots and 18-wheel trucks but Joe Blow's car can fall apart and not get noticed. Can economists tell the difference between a banana and an air conditioner?

NDP = GDP - Dcap (official economic delusion)
NDP = GDP - (Dcap + Dcon)   (reality)

Dcap == Depreciation of Capital Goods
Dcon == Depreciation of Durable Consumer Goods

 

GDP == Grossly Distorted Propaganda

 

I guess intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals cannot figure out that economists cannot do algebra.

 

Science Fiction:
Daemon & Freedom by Daniel Suarez
Voyage from Yesteryear by James P Hogan

 

[Pioneer1]

This so-called "debt" is a joke.

It's now over $35 Trillion and growing......
With NO PLANS to pay it off or even pay down on it...lol.

People (especially the Republicans) have been running around like Chicken Little screaming and crying about the debt and how the world is going to come to an end and the economy is going to collapse for 40 years or more...and it hasn't happened YET.

It's not even effecting the economy.
Our economy is stronger TODAY than it was 40 or 50 years ago.

 

[umbrarchist]

2 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

It's not even effecting the economy.
Our economy is stronger TODAY than it was 40 or 50 years ago.

affecting

 

Is that why there are so many homeless people? I don't recall this in the 90s, or is that sarcasm I see before me.

[Pioneer1]

umbrarchist

 

affecting

 

Yeah.
You and Cynique really belong together...lol.
 

 

 

Is that why there are so many homeless people? I don't recall this in the 90s, or is that sarcasm I see before me.

 

You're right.
There are far more homeless people on the streets today than in the past, but it has nothing to do with the national debt.

There are a list of reasons:

1. The population of the United States in general is higher today than it was in the 90s so the factors that lead to homelessness could remain the same and you'd still see more homeless people on the street.

 

2. More people are suffering from substance abuse (which often leads to mental illness and homelessness) today than in the 90s.  Not just in sheer numbers but a higher percentage of the population.

3. Wages for service industry and manufacturing jobs haven't kept up with the costs of living....especially when it comes to real estate...since the 90s.
On top of that, many of the U.S. citizens have been DISPLACED from service industry and manufacturing jobs and REPLACED with illegal immigrants.

4. More and more mental institutions that used to house mentally ill people have closed since the 90s dumping more people on the streets.

5. If there is anything good about the privatization of prisons, the good thing would be if you can't work....the prisons don't want you and will often find reasons to kick you out and set you free so they don't have to take care of you.
A lot of people have been dumped out of the prisons and jails and on to the streets since the 90s.

[umbrarchist]

16 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

umbrarchist.

3. Wages for service industry and manufacturing jobs haven't kept up with the costs of living....especially when it comes to real estate...since the 90s.
On top of that, many of the U.S. citizens have been DISPLACED from service industry and manufacturing jobs and REPLACED with illegal immigrants.

 

Do you have any reaction/thoughts on mandatory accounting/finance in the schools?

 

I communicated with an Internet entity who claimed to be an accountant said that he did not mind as long as it was not done until after he retired in 6 years.  I'm not sure but I think that was more than 3 years ago.

[Pioneer1]

umbrarchist

 

 

Do you have any reaction/thoughts on mandatory accounting/finance in the schools?

 

I hadn't thought about it until you brought it up because I didn't know it was a consideration in schools today.

However in my opinion....accounting, financial responsibility and any type of higher mathematics shouldn't be MADATED.
Not in public schools at least.

 

Why not?

 

1. Most people in society aren't smart enough to sufficiently comprehend much of it anyway.
Which is why the United States and most other Western nations have to constantly scour the planet looking for STEM students in other countries to fill the empty seats in their universities, if they want to keep them open.

 

2. Most people aren't disciplined enough to practice it or apply it even IF they learned it

 

Don't get me wrong....
I understand the importance of it and absolutely believe it should be FREE and AVAILABLE to all who desire to learn it.
It just shouldn't be mandated.

 

And to be totally honest...and I lot of people won't like what I'm about to type...but in this economy we NEED financially irresponsible people to keep it going.

[ProfD]

36 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

1. Most people in society aren't smart enough to sufficiently comprehend much of it anyway.

Which is why the United States and most other Western nations have to constantly scour the planet looking for STEM students in other countries to fill the empty seats in their universities, if they want to keep them open.

There's no shortage of STEM students in the US. Engineering, science and math are solid here.

 

US colleges and universities will import STEM students from other countries to keep those tuition payments rolling.

 

36 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

2. Most people aren't disciplined enough to practice it or apply it even IF they learned it

Also, there's never a shortage of people well versed in accounting/finance sitting in offices and cubicles typing away on computers generating spreadsheets of data.

 

IMO, the US needs to bring back trade schools and manufacturing jobs. 

 

We need more people who can build and repair things and capable of producing tangible goods and providing services.

 

We need to produce more beans before hiring folks to count them.

[Pioneer1]

ProfD

 

There's no shortage of STEM students in the US. Engineering, science and math are solid here.

 

If you look at most of those who are EXCELLING (not just sitting up in class occupying a seat) in math and science; a very large percentage are either immigrant students or students who are children of immigrants.

Remove THAT factor, and I wonder what the STEM enrollments would look like.

 

 

Also, there's never a shortage of people well versed in accounting/finance sitting in offices and cubicles typing away on computers generating spreadsheets of data.

 

Same as above.
Remove the first and second generation immigrant employees and see how many of those are FBA or White Americans.

 

 

 

IMO, the US needs to bring back trade schools and manufacturing jobs. 

We need more people who can build and repair things and capable of producing tangible goods and providing services.

 

I absolutely agree 100%!

We don't need more white collar jobs, we need more good paying blue collar jobs with benefits.

 

I keep telling people I grew up in Detroit where I saw men without highschool educations come up from down South, get jobs in factories, and were able to buy houses, new cars every 5 years, and even send their children to college from those factory jobs.

 

Bruthaz were able to support 2 families with one job...lol.
Took care of his wife and kids AS WELL as a girlfriend and the children he had by her on the other side of town...lol.

 

They got rid of those jobs and told everybody to go to college, and the city collapsed.
 

[umbrarchist]

8 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

umbrarchist

 

.

However in my opinion....accounting, financial responsibility and any type of higher mathematics shouldn't be MADATED.
Not in public schools at least.

 

Why not?

 

1. Most people in society aren't smart enough to sufficiently comprehend much of it anyway.
Which is why the United States and most other Western nations have to constantly scour the planet looking for STEM students in other countries to fill the empty seats in their universities, if they want to keep them open.

Double entry accounting is 700 years old, invented in Italy. The oldest double entry accounting book is 500 years old though it is actually a mathematics book with a section on accounting.

 

Electric power is barely 150 years old. Why do you associate Accounting and STEM. I trust haoles to pretend that most things are more difficult than they really are.

 

Relevant knowledge is just something else to play power games with.

[Pioneer1]

umbrarchist

 

 

Why do you associate Accounting and STEM. 

 

S.T.E.M. is an acronym for:
Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics
 

Accounting is a more advanced and practical form of Mathematics
It usually also involves the latest forms of Technology.
 

[umbrarchist]

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

 

 

Accounting is a more advanced and practical form of Mathematics
It usually also involves the latest forms of Technology.
 

How is accounting more advanced than trigonometry? I agree that it is more practical and that is why everyone should know it. It is mostly just addition and subtraction with a little multiplication for interest rates.

 

Of course now we have computers to do the idiotic and complicated busywork.

[Pioneer1]

umbrarchist

 

 

How is accounting more advanced than trigonometry? 

 

I'm not sure, but did I answer your question?

 

 

 

I agree that it is more practical and that is why everyone should know it. It is mostly just addition and subtraction with a little multiplication for interest rates.

 

I believe everybody who WANTS to know it and CAN learn it...should.
I don't believe in mandating it in general studies; but that doesn't just only go for math but for other subjects like literature, science, etc..

I'd make sure everybody who isn't legally retarded learn the basics as well as certain other life skills like proper bathing and washing your hands.
After that....say around 14 or 15.....you could drop out of school and pursue other goals (or no goal if that's your choice) OR continue your education as far as you like for free.

And even if you drop out...if you get the desire later on...you can always come back and continue your education; again...for free.
As long as you show the capacity to learn.

But not everybody has the same passion for learning.
I don't believe in forcing somebody who doesn't want to learn to just occupy a seat and frustrate the teacher "just because".
 

[ProfD]

The US literacy rate is very high. Meaning most citizens can read, write, speak and spell. Basic education serves its purpose in that regard. 

 

Advanced education is available to those who qualify. Studies beyond basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic are provided to individuals with an aptitude for it.

 

IMO, the *problem* with our educational system is that it's not refined enough. There should be learning tracks similar to career paths.

 

After grade school, it should be easy to identify whether a child is STEM, arts, humanities, vocational, etc. Schools should be set up accordingly.

 

It doesn't make sent to force a child into an education that's of little to no interest of use to their needs. It potentially frustrates everyone involved (child, parents, teachers, community).

 

To be fair, the US educational system already has some semblance of it in the form of private, charter and magnet schools. 

 

Home-schooling isn't talked about much but many parents have taken the education and socialization of children into their own hands.

 

The parents are deciding what their children should learn rather than subject them to a rote education in a setting that may not be conducive to their way of learning and/or interests.

 

Of course, home-schooling has to meet certain guidelines in order for the child to receive a certificate of diploma as mandated by the system.

 

As I mentioned above, the US will have to get back to vocational training and manufacturing jobs.

 

There aren't enough cubicles and offices to supoort everybody. Some folks don't want to be confined to a box. They just might want to work with their hands and mind.

[Pioneer1]

7 minutes ago, ProfD said:

The US literacy rate is very high. Meaning most citizens can read, write, speak and spell. Basic education serves its purpose in that regard. 

 

Advanced education is available to those who qualify. Studies beyond basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic are provided to individuals with an aptitude for it.

 

IMO, the *problem* with our educational system is that it's not refined enough. There should be learning tracks similar to career paths.

 

After grade school, it should be easy to identify whether a child is STEM, arts, humanities, vocational, etc. Schools should be set up accordingly.

 

It doesn't make sent to force a child into an education that's of little to no interest of use to their needs. It potentially frustrates everyone involved (child, parents, teachers, community).

 

To be fair, the US educational system already has some semblance of it in the form of private, charter and magnet schools. 

 

Home-schooling isn't talked about much but many parents have taken the education and socialization of children into their own hands.

 

The parents are deciding what their children should learn rather than subject them to a rote education in a setting that may not be conducive to their way of learning and/or interests.

 

Of course, home-schooling has to meet certain guidelines in order for the child to receive a certificate of diploma as mandated by the system.

 

As I mentioned above, the US will have to get back to vocational training and manufacturing jobs.

 

There aren't enough cubicles and offices to supoort everybody. Some folks don't want to be confined to a box. They just might want to work with their hands and mind.

Well put.....as usual.


I'm not sure if most people believe me when I tell them that I didn't learn ANYTHING in school.

Academically, what I know....I was either taught by my Mother or I learned on my own later on when I LEFT school.

Even what I learned DURING my school years wasn't taught by the schools themselves, but either by my Mother who helped me with my homework OR me figuring it out on my own.

 

[umbrarchist]

14 hours ago, ProfD said:

 

IMO, the *problem* with our educational system is that it's not refined enough. There should be learning tracks similar to career paths.

 

After grade school, it should be easy to identify whether a child is STEM, arts, humanities, vocational, etc. Schools should be set up accordingly.

The *problem* is that it sabotages children's minds while they are still in grammar school.  I remember preparing for school one morning in 3rd grade trying not to cry because I could not understand how I could get through another day of stultifying BOREDOM. This was in a Catholic school. They NEVER taught science.

 

After I discovered science fiction in 4th grade it was very little sweat. I could sit there and pretend to pay attention and have lots of other things to think about.

 

That is why we should have a K-8 reading list. Do not trust the haoles to suggest worthwhile material.

[Troy]

On 9/1/2024 at 9:43 AM, Pioneer1 said:

They got rid of those jobs and told everybody to go to college, and the city collapsed.

Sad, but seemingly true…

 

19 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

I'm not sure if most people believe me when I tell them that I didn't learn ANYTHING in school.

You probably learned something, but I get your point. I didn’t take calculus in high school, but I took it in college as well several courses in higher mathematics all of which I have forgotten. My grades in these courses were not good I had a problem understanding the concepts years later I watched a YouTube video and a light went off. I recall, thank you man. If the professors just explained it like this, it would’ve been so much easier.

 

I took many courses and did not learn very much. I’m not sure if it was my fault the professor‘s fault or combination of both probably the later.

 

In all my years in corporate America and as entrepreneur, beyond the basic skills of reading and math, I everything I needed to know on the job…

[umbrarchist]

9 hours ago, Troy said:

In all my years in corporate America and as entrepreneur, beyond the basic skills of reading and math, I everything I needed to know on the job…

 

It is really curious how encountering "the right book" can turn years of schooling on it's head.

 

The Screwing of the Average Man (1974) by David Hapgood 

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

5 star review posted in 2015

 

When I read this book back in 1981, it opened my eyes to the "way life is". It is the most insightful book I have ever read on the subject of personal economics in the real world. Enlightened my scepticism. I naturally drifted into a college major in economics because of the way I thought after this book. It didn't make me rich, but I'm one of those people who likes to have a clear focal point of view.

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

 

The system depends on controlled ignorance but the suckers must BELIEVE in the System.

Edited September 3, 2024 by umbrarchist
Add Goodreads review

[ProfD]

Many of the learning deficiencies and other labels they attached to children can be charged to an educational system that fails to maintain their interest and enlighten them.

 

Then again, the system is designed to produce certain outcomes.  Capitalism thrives on every type of person in the form of white and blue collar workers, unemployed folks and prisoners too.

[umbrarchist]

On 9/3/2024 at 2:58 PM, ProfD said:

Many of the learning deficiencies and other labels they attached to children can be charged to an educational system that fails to maintain their interest and enlighten them.

 

That is why we should have a K-8 reading list. Do not trust the haoles to suggest worthwhile material.

 

There is lots of old sci-fi in Project Gutenberg now:

Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/18137
The Servant Problem by Robert F. Young
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/23232
Black Man's Burden & Border, Breed nor Birth  by Mack Reynolds 
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/32390
Omnilingual by H Beam Piper 
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/19445
Deathworld by Harry Harrison 
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/28346
The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/20919

.......

Edited September 8, 2024 by umbrarchist
Copy paste from text file

[Pioneer1]

Troy

 

 

You probably learned something, but I get your point. I didn’t take calculus in high school, but I took it in college as well several courses in higher mathematics all of which I have forgotten. My grades in these courses were not good I had a problem understanding the concepts years later I watched a YouTube video and a light went off. I recall, thank you man. If the professors just explained it like this, it would’ve been so much easier.

 

I took many courses and did not learn very much. I’m not sure if it was my fault the professor‘s fault or combination of both probably the later.

Although the SUB-CONSCIOUS absorbs and remembers everything you come into contact with, the CONSCIOUS (which houses the intellect) has limits.
You can only absorb so much and if what you soak up is not being used, it's pushed into the sub-conscious and replaced by knowledge that is more relevant.

 

 

In all my years in corporate America and as entrepreneur, beyond the basic skills of reading and math, I everything I needed to know on the job…

Which is the way it should be.

 

I sincerely believe that the public educational system was PURPOSELY designed so that Black people and especially AfroAmerican males could NOT learn.
They study us and how we think and then they purposely construct curriculum that they know will work for White girls, White boys, and even Black females while leaving Black boys behind.

 

If that's JUST a conspiracy theory (and not a Conspiracy fact) and not the truth....then tell me why so many Black men excel in the U.S. MILITARY!

Seems to me if Black boys can't learn...that same pattern would follow them into the U.S. Armed Forces.  But we know Black men do FAR ABOVE AVERAGE in just about every department in the military.

 

There's a disconnect somewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

ProfD

 

Then again, the system is designed to produce certain outcomes.

 

Ofcourse.
It was DESIGNED to produce failures out of most Black men.
Especially AfroAmerican men.

 

They study us.
They know what makes us tick and how we learn.

Why do you think these Universities and private organizations get BILLIONS of dollars to do "research" on social behavior and the mind?
Who are they researching?  YOU
 

You can't tell me a 10 year old Black boy who can memorize every lyric to every song that his favorite rap artist produced (dozens if not hundreds)....but can't learn algebra.

[umbrarchist]

UmbrAcounting 101

You will have to forgive the first picture. I could have made a better picture with the photo editor on my phone but it would take days to figure out the app.

<Economic Unit>

This is a graphic of an Economic Unit. This is not the standard terminology in accounting or economics but I tend to think of things my way. The Basic Accounting Equation is pretty standard though. I had an accounting book that sold for $100 that did not define the equation until page 48. A much cheaper book had it on page 6. I mention this because Accounting is glorified and portrayed as complicated to intimidate people and make them pay a lot of MONEY for courses in accounting. Lots of people get emotional about MONEY and that is one of the problems in the Economic Power Game.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YfhDbTY19AE

So the equation is:

Assets - Liabilities = Net Worth 

or:

Assets - Liabilities = Equity

Equity has become more commonly used over the last 20 or so years. I will be old fashioned.

An Asset is something of value. An Automobile or a diamond ring qualify. They are very different things but how are their values determined? Somewhere there is a car worth $50,000 and somewhere there is a diamond ring worth $50,000. 

A liability is a debt that has to be paid. Like suppose you borrow $50,000 and you get to decide whether to buy the car or diamond ring. Liabilities usually means coming up with a fixed amount of money, usually every month.

$50,000 at 10% interest over 7 years would mean paying $830 every month and ultimately cost $70,000. That means paying $20,000 in interest. And that is only at 10% interest. Some credit cards are 25% interest. So you see there is a certain liability to Liabilities. I guess that is why they are called that.

So if the car is worth $50K and the Liability is $50K, when you subtract 50K from 50K you get a Big Fat ZERO. That is the Net Worth for this scenario, but, there is always a BUT. Cars are complicated machines and stuff happens to them over time in normal use. The Red Arrow pointing down with the "dep" is Depreciation. So by the time 7 years have gone by the car might have 105,000 miles on the odometer. Is it still worth $50,000? Let us assume that 50% of the value is gone and the machine is then worth $25,000. So you paid $20,000 in interest and lost $25,000 in depreciation to end up with a $25,000 car. But you got to drive for 7 years in a car that was originally worth $50,000.

Should a buyer think about the Interest and Depreciation before making the purchase? In other words, "Do the Accounting!"

Of course there is the alternative scenario.
Buy a $25,000 car and a $25,000 diamond ring.
The car would be worth $12,500 but how much would the ring be worth? For the sake of argument say it held its value it would be worth twice as much as the car. Of course you cannot drive to work in a diamond ring.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ypIx7VWNbfs

Now a normal accounting course would talk about debits and credits for weeks before they got to Depreciation. It was beyond page 150 in that $100 accounting book I mentioned.

The green arrows with "inc" and "exp" are of course Income and Expenses. For most people that income means a JOB. Those expenses mean, food, rent or mortgage, electric bill, gas bill, car payment, gas for the car, etc., etc.

<Panasonic flat screen>

But lots of stuff depreciates though. I saw this in an alley and looked up the original price on the Internet. At $2500 it depreciated at $192 per year over 13 years.

If purchased with a credit card:

Paying $75/MO at 18%

It will take 3 years and 11 months to payoff the balance. The total interest is $991.66.

Paying $200/MO at 18%

It will take 1 year and 2 months to payoff the balance. The total interest is $289.24.

To be continued...

[ProfD]

 

1 hour ago, umbrarchist said:

Lots of people get emotional about MONEY and that is one of the problems in the Economic Power Game.

$16 billion dollars were spent during last election cycle. Money burned up like kindling.  No accounting whatsoever.

[Troy]

A superior TV of the same dimensions would cost about $250 at Walmart today @umbrarchist. This one of the many reasons why economists are saying the economy is "improving." However, people don't feel it because they have already borne the brunt of the credit card debt you've described.

[umbrarchist]

4 hours ago, Troy said:

A superior TV of the same dimensions would cost about $250 at Walmart today @umbrarchist. 

And you think it would last 13 years.

I dropped out of Electrical Engineering and went into audio repair before I switched to computers. Advancing technology is a factor, but design and construction quality matter also. I could believe $500 not $250.

 

But my point was Depreciation which still applies.

[ProfD]

The same technology becomes cheaper over time.

 

A few megabytes of computer was expensive a decade or so ago. Nowadays, terabytes of memory cost less.

 

Same goes for consumer electronics. 4K TVs are cheaper now.

 

Of course, planned obsolescence is very real and always in effect.

 

Folks have been conditioned to expect that they will have to replace a TV every 5-7 years.

[umbrarchist]

25 minutes ago, ProfD said:

A few megabytes of computer was expensive a decade or so ago. Nowadays, terabytes of memory cost less.

I soldered my first computer together in 1979. An 8 Kilobyte circuit board was $120. 

34 minutes ago, ProfD said:

A few megabytes of computer was expensive a decade or so ago. Nowadays, terabytes of memory cost less.

I soldered my first computer together in 1979. An 8 Kilobyte circuit board was $120. 

 

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, umbrarchist said:

 An 8 Kilobyte circuit board was $120. 

A 1TB external SSD can be bought for the same price.

[umbrarchist]

2 hours ago, ProfD said:

A 1TB external SSD can be bought for the same price.

I was working for IBM in 1980.

A 3033 mainframe, the Top of the Line cost $3,000,000 with 8 Megabytes of RAM.

 

If you had come back in a time machine and told me about today's smartphones I would have called you a liar. To me we are Living Science Fiction.

 

But our educators cannot figure out what to do with the stuff. Before COVID I was at a high school working on their Wi-Fi. This White woman was talking about The Great Zimbabwe with walls 9 Kilometers tall.  I was hardly paying attention until I heard that.

 

High school kids with Chromebooks and teachers who don't know a meter from a kilometer.

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, umbrarchist said:

I was working for IBM in 1980.

A 3033 mainframe, the Top of the Line cost $3,000,000 with 8 Megabytes of RAM.

Definitely not a desktop either.

1 hour ago, umbrarchist said:

If you had come back in a time machine and told me about today's smartphones I would have called you a liar.

While there may not be enough emphasis placed on economics, accounting and physics, no shortage of STEM folks in every generation. 

 

1 hour ago, umbrarchist said:

This White woman was talking about The Great Zimbabwe with walls 9 Kilometers tall. 

 

High school kids with Chromebooks and teachers who don't know a meter from a kilometer.

I hope that woman isn't teaching STEM classes.

 

While the metric system is taught in US schools, the Americans who seem to use it the most are dealing with grams and kilos.

[umbrarchist]

5 hours ago, ProfD said:

While there may not be enough emphasis placed on economics, accounting and physics, no shortage of STEM folks in every generation. 

What is STEM without Physics?

The way the ions create an electric field across the depletion zone is physics. The way the read write head in a hard disk drive works is the same physics as in a reel to reel tape recorder. Physics is a continuum schools create these Intellectual barriers that are supposed to exist in people's thinking.

 

Where does atomic and electron physics stop and chemistry begin?

[ProfD]

3 hours ago, umbrarchist said:

What is STEM without Physics?

Physics is definitely a part of STEM. The tenor of your posts suggest a greater emphasis shoukd be placed on it.

[Troy]

On 11/11/2024 at 7:15 PM, umbrarchist said:

If you had come back in a time machine and told me about today's smartphones I would have called you a liar. To me we are Living Science Fiction.

A liar or crazy . Not even the Star Trek communicator is as sophisticated as a cheap cell phone.

 

On 11/11/2024 at 7:15 PM, umbrarchist said:

The Great Zimbabwe with walls 9 Kilometers tall.

They were truly advanced civilization, and that technology has been lost to antiquity

 

On 11/11/2024 at 2:10 PM, umbrarchist said:

Advancing technology is a factor, but design and construction quality matter also. I could believe $500 not $250.

This is a 50 inch television:


 

Over the last 40 years I’ve thrown away several televisions and computer monitors all of them in perfect working order. In the mid 90s I got a $3000 computer monitor at work. It was the state of the art at the time. I eventually took the monitor home and used it for many years when the flat screens came around and dropped dramatically in price. I got a couple of those and replaced my humongous 19 inch monitor. I decided to give it away. No one not even Goodwill would take it, I ended up putting it on the trash. 

 

More than 20 years ago, I purchased a 60 inch television it too was state of the art The largest black screen television on the market. It still works!

 

I still have an iPod that works. I have some tech that is almost 40 years old that still works.

 

I’ve never thrown away a broken cell phone or television. The only time I felt like I had to upgrade was when Apple deliberately screwed up the battery life or when they deliberately refused to upgrade software to keep it backward-compatible with old  operating systems

 

Bottom line hardware is great.  despite that people still feel compelled to upgrade cell phones every year or two. Replace cars every few years, but the latest or greatest TV.

 

This has nothing to do with accounting or understanding how to handle money.

Our society is consumer driven. Everything is aligned to encourage us to consume. That is our problem. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ProfD]

15 minutes ago, Troy said:

This has nothing to do with accounting or understanding how to handle money.

Our society is consumer driven. Everything is aligned to encourage us to consume. That is our problem. 

Bottom line. Capitalism thrives on it.

[umbrarchist]

Capitalism began being phased out in the 1920s. Corporate Consumerism is the order of the day.

 

PO will kill us all

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz68ILyuWtA
 

[umbrarchist]

UmbrEcon101

Karl Marx used the word 'depreciation' 35 times in the first two volumes of Das Kapital. But Marx died in 1883. Many things which consumers buy today that depreciate did not exist when Marx was alive. Marx and Adam Smith never saw a planned obsolescence economy which amounts to a planned depreciation economy.

 

In Marx's day the subject was called Political-Economy. The Depression shook the United States to the core and affected most of the world. The concept of GNP, Gross National Product, was developed in the late 1930s. What is meant by The Economy and how does one measure it? What is a Good Economy and what should be done to control it?

 

After John Maynard Keynes paid President Roosevelt a visit some time in May or June of 1934, FDR dismissed him as "a mathematician rather than a political economist." In fact, in the Democratic Party Platform of 1936, FDR's party did not adopt Keynesian doctrine. When Roosevelt was finally convinced of the need for a deliberate fiscal stimulus in 1938, it was on the basis of empirical results derived by researchers in his own government who had no direct acquaintance with Keynes's recently published ideas. But it is the response of the economy to the deficit spending, that World War Two required, that is taken as proof of the validity Keynes' ideas up until the 1980s.

The Worker/Consumers on the left provide Labor to the businesses on the right for which the businesses pay wages. Goods and Services are provided by businesses in the lower part of the loop for which consumers pay prices thereby completing the circular flow of green arrows, Money, all around the loop. Increasing the speed or quantity or both of that money through the loop is recognized as economic growth.

 

Loops similar to this have been used to describe and explain GNP/GDP since the 1970s that I know of. It was in my Samuelson's Economics textbook that I used in college. It is missing details like taxes and corporate investments. It will not explain fluctuations in the stock market, for instance.

 

But if there is a Gross, there should be a Net. The equation for the Net Domestic Product is:

 

NDP = GDP - Depreciation 

 

I have never seen a graphic in any book explaining NDP. I had to create my own:

When you read the textbooks on economics explaining NDP you will find that the Depreciation is for Capital Goods. Machinery owned by businesses, like Industrial Robots purchased by General Motors, 18-wheel trucks purchased by shipping companies. They get added to GDP when they are purchased and are then used to earn money for years which is the purpose of Capital Goods. This Depreciation can be filed with the Internal Revenue Service to reduce the taxes paid by a business. This makes it possible for economists to collect the data necessary to compute the Net Domestic Product.

 

So my diagram has a red downward pointing arrow to represent that depreciation. Consequently depreciation actually means two different but related things, the Physical Wear and Tear which reduces a machine's long term usefulness, and the money that the government allows businesses to file in compensation for that reduced value as a cost of doing business. 

 

What if an accountant "forgets" to file the Depreciation for a shipping company one year. Does that keep the physical Depreciation from happening to the trucks? Absolutely Not! The Laws of Physics Do Not Care!!! They do not care about the Money! They do not care about the Economy! They do not care about the PEOPLE!

 

When have you heard any economist talk about the NDP? It got half of a page in Samuelson's Economics textbook which was more than 600 pages if memory serves.

 

Of course having an arrow on the right side of the graphic ruins the symmetry of the picture. What has been happening on the Left side of the picture since World War Two? The first home refrigerators began appearing in the United States in 1927.  Through the 1930s having a refrigerator was a big deal. By the end of the 30s 45% of American households had refrigerators. It took until 1951 to reach 80%. Less than 1% of households had televisions in 1948. Refrigerators did not require broadcasting stations to make sense to buy. But by 1962 90% of American homes had televisions. Of course automobiles beat other devices historically. 60% of families had cars by 1929 in the United States. In fact the US had more cars than the rest of the world until the 1960s.

 

But machines wear out and break down and must be repaired or replaced or done without regardless of who owns the machines. The Laws of Physics do Not CARE!

 

So what happened to the depreciation on the Left side of the graphic? If depreciation is incorporated into the graphic on the Left what does that imply about the NDP Equation?

There are now Two Depreciations.
Depreciation of Capital Goods which though acknowledged to exist, is not mentioned to us peons by the glorious economics profession. And the Depreciation of Durable Consumer Goods which must exist and consumers experience but has not been part of the equation for decades. We have been living in a world run on defective algebra.

 

Dcap == Depreciation of Capital Goods 
Dcon == Depreciation of Durable Consumer Goods 

 

NDP = GDP - Dcap (official economic delusion)

NDP = GDP - (Dcap + Dcon) (reality)

 

Since consumers make purchases to replace their worn out durable consumer goods they are added to the Gross Domestic Product. This is called Economic Growth though the consumer does not experience any growth since he is spending money just to stay in the same place. GDP ain't what they say it is.

 

GDP == Grossly Distorted Propaganda

 

There were 200,000,000 motor vehicles on the road in the United States in 1995. How many were Capital Goods like 18-wheel trucks doing long haul drives from Seattle to Chicago? How many were sedate sedans for Granny's Sunday go to Meetin'? The Laws of Physics do not care! Machines wear out with use. They even deteriorate if sitting and doing nothing which can be significant if left for too long. So what is the logic behind economists saying nothing about the Depreciation of Durable Consumer Goods over the half-a-century since the Moon landing?

 

Consumers must work to compensate for that Depreciation. Is this just a high technology form of share cropping that is good for GDP?
.

 

 

Edited November 17, 2024 by umbrarchist
Paragraph spacing

[umbrarchist]

So, no responses in a week.

Was it too long and boring?

Did I put y'all to sleep?

.

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, umbrarchist said:

So, no responses in a week.

Was it too long and boring?

Did I put y'all to sleep?

i do not believe boring or slumber is the issue.

 

The forum does include Economy in the title. However, in the time that I've taken up a seat in my easy chair here, I do not recall economy discussions to the degree above. 

[umbrarchist]

9 hours ago, ProfD said:

I do not recall economy discussions to the degree above. 

 

Well I have never seen economics presented with that kind of emphasis on Demand Side Depreciation either. It is kind of original.

.

[umbrarchist]

Technology has been integral to our society for a while now.  I stopped troubleshooting to the component level in the 90s.  I do not know how to do this:

 

.

[umbrarchist]

An interesting/informative video:

 

"GDP" is a lie. 

 

It does not mention Net Domestic Product, Planned Obsolescence and the Depreciation of Consumer Garbage.

 

3.2K vus

.

 

[umbrarchist]

Scary Experiment 

 

 

All Fall Down

An experiment started by an imbecile who does not have a clue.

.

[umbrarchist]

I have been blocked by two verifiable PhD economists on BlueSky. The man Peter Eibeich is German, working on France. He just popped up out of nowhere blocking me. I never communicated with him. I presume he didn't like some post I made about economics.

 

I made 2 posts responding to things Dominique Baker wrote and got blocked within a couple of hours. I can no longer see exactly what I was responding to.

 

The first message to Dominique was in response to Italian college professors submitting to Mussolini. Only 12 out of 1200 refused to play along. Those 12 were fired.

Edited March 26 by umbrarchist
Spl err

[Pioneer1]

I'm wondering how were you able to bypass @Troy's  1.78 KB size limit on posted images, lol.
What's the trick to THAT????

[umbrarchist]

Here is documentation of Marx's discussion of depreciation. Each pic combines the title page with the last word in the search.

4 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

I'm wondering how were you able to bypass Troy's  1.78 KB size limit on posted images, lol.
What's the trick to THAT????

I didn't do anything that I am aware of, but I deleted the post and redid it because the pages were out of order.

 

They are JPEGs, does that matter. 1.78 KB is pretty small. Shouldn't that be MB.

[Pioneer1]

15 minutes ago, umbrarchist said:

1.78 KB is pretty small. Shouldn't that be MB.

I'm not sure but if you look at the bottom of the template window we use for posting messages it says  Max total size: 1.78 kB

....atleast on mine.

I routinely get messages telling me I can't post this picture or that picture because it's larger than 1.78 KB

[umbrarchist]

15 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

I'm not sure but if you look at the bottom of the template window we use for posting messages it says  Max total size: 1.78 kB

....atleast on mine.

I routinely get messages telling me I can't post this picture or that picture because it's larger than 1.78 KB

 

I think some Mad Hacker is after you dude.

[Troy]

@pioneer (there’s a bug such that when I try to  @ someone it doesn’t generate the link or alert when using my cell phone) share a screenshot showing your max file limitation. This is not a parameter I set so is the default and I don’t even know what it is cause I don’t recall ever hitting the limit. Whenever I post the image, I usually resize it and compress it a bit.

[Pioneer1]

19 hours ago, Troy said:

@pioneer (there’s a bug such that when I try to  @ someone it doesn’t generate the link or alert when using my cell phone) share a screenshot showing your max file limitation. 

 

I can't.
That's the issue.

Some pictures I can post, but most including a screenshot of any size won't let me and I get this message:

1 file would exceed the total allowed size of 1.775kB, and was skipped

At the bottom of the window we used to post messages it says: Max total size: 1.78 kB

 

 

[Troy]

I don’t know why you’re restricted to such a small file size. I’d have to look into it.

[Pioneer1]

 

• Accepted file types: gif, jpeg, jpe, jpg, png, webp
• Max total size: 1.78 kB