Sarkozy: Laissez-Faire Capitalism is Over

[profitoverhumanity]

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/cont...global+business

[K-Mac]

They say that as though we ever had it.

[Zip]

"The US will lose its status as the superpower of the world financial system. This world will become multi-polar," with the emergence of centres in Asia and Europe, he told the German parliament on Thursday.

This sounds more like this dolt's wet dream more than anything.

The extent to which the US manages to retain some semblance of a freer market than the peoples states of Europe will herald how much faster it pulls out of this mess.

The sad thing is that retention is not a certainty by any stretch of the imagination.

[~Sophia~]

Notice how they understand the connection between superpower and laissez-faire.

[Maximus]

They are jealous, and are hoping we will fail.

[Lagroht]

I think it in the end all depends what the 'regulation' will entail. If this will mean that financial institutions are forced to provide more transparency about what they are doing and that maybe some financial instruments that are so complicated that the associated risks can not be seen by anybody are to be banned. Then I would liken the rules and inspectors to be the banking equivalent of traffic rules and traffic cops.

I am only afraid Sarkozy is not pushing for this kind of regulations, the French are always pushing for fascist like control over the economy, he is also fighting against the independence of the European central bank because it only has the purpose of keeping inflation in check, not the purpose of 'stimulation' the economy by inflating the money supply. The Germans actually are more pro-free market (in part because of their big export industry) and probably lean more in the direction of the financial cop kind of regulation. Something I expect my own country (the Netherlands) also to do.

About the multi-polarity, the EU is divided in itself, by languages, cultures, differences in opinion and histories but I think the countries get drawn together by necessity and qua economics this might be something to consider: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/th...r/2001rank.html, the world is always shifting.

[Tenure]

Sarkozy, incidentally, is lauding this over the rest of the Europe, because France has not been so hard hit by the recession. What he means is that their usual average 10% unemployment rate has not changed in the Financial Crisis. Britain, by comparison, usually has a rate around 5%, which has risen to 6.5%. His conclusion is somehow that since France hasn't had more unemployment, it is somehow faring 'better'.

Asshole.

[Lagroht]

for your entertainment: http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telsta...matters_ca.html

I must say I am pleased about the size of my 16 million people country in the strange maps

[Jake_Ellison]

I think it in the end all depends what the 'regulation' will entail. If this will mean that financial institutions are forced to provide more transparency about what they are doing and that maybe some financial instruments that are are to be banned. Then I would liken the rules and inspectors to be the banking equivalent of traffic rules and traffic cops.

Except for the part about protecting anybody.

The purpose of a traffic cop is to prevent people from being killed or hurt. What is the purpose of a bureaucrat deciding what a contract between two individuals or firms, concerning nothing but their own private property, should contain?

Can I be the equivalent of a traffic cop in your living room next, to make sure you and your wife don't have conversations which may be "so complicated that the associated risks can not be seen by anybody"? You know, for tranparency's sake.

[Lagroht]

Except for the part about protecting anybody.

The purpose of a traffic cop is to prevent people from being killed or hurt. What is the purpose of a bureaucrat deciding what a contract between two individuals or firms, concerning nothing but their own private property, should contain?

Protection against fraud, laws could force all information on the table in layman’s terms letting the individuals and firms make their contracts based on all relevant and comprehensible information.

Can I be the equivalent of a traffic cop in your living room next, to make sure you and your wife don't have conversations which may be "so complicated that the associated risks can not be seen by anybody"? You know, for tranparency's sake.

, of course the traffic cop analogy has its limitations....now I think of the harsh way I see the American police operate on TV (Dutch cops are not so quit to treating you as a criminal) I think maybe I shouldn't have used it .

I don't know if in the USA you have the term 'death my guild', in the Netherlands we have. It is when you cause the death of a person by doing something you should have known could cause the death of that person, but you did it anyway. This is for instance if you drive like a maniac through a densely populated area and kill someone who was by accident crossing the street.

In analogy I propose to add a new crime to the law books: fraud by guild. Because this is what I would label a lot of shit going on with the financial institutions right know.

[SD26]

They are jealous, and are hoping we will fail.

Yeah, that was kind of my thought. It's like the Super Bowl is over, and all the teams are starting to come up with all their sports cliches to talk about rebuilding and how the Steelers aren't going to repeat...blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, I want less regulation, but things aren't as bad as when my father lived on a farm with no electricity and no indoor plumbing...as I type from my laptop wirelessly.

[Jake_Ellison]

Protection against fraud, laws could force all information on the table in layman’s terms letting the individuals and firms make their contracts based on all relevant and comprehensible information.

...of course the traffic cop analogy has its limitations....now I think of the harsh way I see the American police operate on TV (Dutch cops are not so quit to treating you as a criminal) I think maybe I shouldn't have used it .

I don't know if in the USA you have the term 'death my guild', in the Netherlands we have. It is when you cause the death of a person by doing something you should have known could cause the death of that person, but you did it anyway. This is for instance if you drive like a maniac through a densely populated area and kill someone who was by accident crossing the street.

In analogy I propose to add a new crime to the law books: fraud by guild. Because this is what I would label a lot of shit going on with the financial institutions right know.

Be specific. Who specifically is being defrauded, by whom specifically, and why aren't current anti-fraud laws sending those specific criminals to jail?

Until you name them, I'll just take your opinion as nothing more than Marx's views of the classes: tribalism, collectivism. I reject all such arguments as arbitrary judgements, with no basis in reality.

Of course, you have to also tell me what do you think the relationship between the principle of individual rights, specifically the right to private property, and "laws that force all information on the table in layman’s terms" is. Isn't that information private property?

Or, if we are to cut to the chase, you can just answer this question: What fundamental principle, if any, should we apply to human interactions and when deciding on a proper system of government and laws?

P.S. The main difference between American and Dutch law-enforcement is the definition of their duties. While the American officers are expected to take action against criminals, but have a set of clear limitations, such as absolute freedom of speech, private property, due process, Dutch police may for instance detain someone (for 24 hours I believe) without charging them with a crime, they can obviously act against certain types of speech, search cars wirthout probable cause, Dutch citizens don't have the right to carry arms, there are mandatory ID cards etc. (in fact in many European countries-not sure about the Netherlands, the cops are simply allowed to stop you on the street and check your ID/passport between I think 10PM and 6 AM-and have the right to detain you if you don't have it)

The fact that the Dutch are nice about violating individual rights doesn't change the nature of their actions. The American cops are free to take decisive action because it is far more certain that they are taking that action against a criminal, rather than any citizen, for reasons that aren't clearly defined.