No my house did get painted a year ago so its not that. I just watched a documentary with this title. It portrays the history and aftermath of the great financial system collapse of 2008 in the US.
What it showcases among the usual 'greed is rampant' and 'absolute power corrupts' themes is that the very acclaimed private educational institutions in the US are also contributing to the ongoing financial divide between the hugely powerful and the destitute.
Many scholars have gotten paid assignments to present their capitalism centric views and proposals and also secure positions on the board of directors of the very large financial institutions that benefit from these views, while not having to disclose these affiliations to the university that they teach in.
Also if you are confused between morality and profit it clarifies that the same right wing conservatives that would preach about the former are actually morally bankrupt and financially well off.
So while that is one point of view the truth is inescapable in that there is a system wide gap between true worth of anything and the future prospect of value added delivery. Today America is largely driven by a service sector economy that is non capital intensive for the most part (outside of agriculture which is also dwindling) and relies heavily on the intellectual potential of people to come up with innovation that will improve quality of life for humanity.
This has created a skewed demographic that does not necessarily have the ability to adapt rapidly to this change and importing outside skilled labor (subsidized by foreign governments like India or China) to do the Inside Job(s) has become the smart investment.
In a truly open economy the supply of goods and services would flow where there is demand and improve living conditions for all but given how imperfect people are that is at best a pipe dream.
This autumn the weather gods cooperated as we took a family trip in the northeast to see six states that qualify or makeup what is known colloquially in America as New England. Mass, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island (tiniest state in the union). The outing helped tally up the states we either lived in, visited or have worked in to 47. Guess which three have eluded this intrepid traveling family. Any rate the drive was all in about 1,800 miles and included some memorable geographic wonders or points of interest. Easternmost part of state of Massachusetts being one. Furthest drivable road east in Mass being another. Visit to all Ivy League schools (term harkens to a collegiate athletics conference and generally regarded as elite academic institutes of some repute worldwide) is another random bucket list item of which this trip afforded the chance to knock two more of the list. Dartmouth in Hanover, NH and Brown (and its sister institute the RISD - school f
Is a pipe dream the one you get after smoking a pipe? Peace pipe produces peace? Observations about most things -role of educationists etc.- are spot on.
ReplyDeleteWonder if the arab world version in the form of the hookah is any better? Guess not.
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