What is Digg?257 Comments
- Sirocco, on 01/31/2009, -3/+130The "wealth" was never there to begin with.
- badqat, on 01/31/2009, -5/+85Paper isn't wealth...it's frikin' paper.
- acrodev, on 01/31/2009, -2/+78They call it a bubble because it's artificially inflated and hollow wealth. I guarantee it will happen again.
- inactive, on 01/31/2009, -1/+60 So either 40% of the worlds wealth was a total fraud to begin with or 40% of the worlds wealth has been quietly transferred to some very clever people. Probably half and half.
- TheSpook, on 01/31/2009, -2/+54This wasn't even paper. This was just a bunch of numbers.
- My company's stock is trading at $110/share today! I'm worth $6.8 billion!
- Doh, my stock just went down to $52/share, I'm only worth $3.2 billion. :( - inactive, on 01/31/2009, -1/+50Where is Tyler Durden when you need him?
- Narcism, on 01/31/2009, -4/+4940% of World Wealth didn't exist to begin with.
- FearlessFreep, on 01/31/2009, -1/+44"Wealth can not be detroyed. It can only be "moved" from one person to another."
Only if the 'wealth' is based on something tangible and/or finite, like land, gold, crops, cattle, or currency.
The problem with the idea of 'wealth' here is that it's an imaginary concept. Like I have 10 dollars and I 'lend' you 100. There's really only 10 dollars in the system but we have the illusion that there are 110 dollars in the system. As long as you and I keep doing this with each other and we have an agreement that we really have 110 dollars, then it's ok. but it's really artificial and all it takes to collapse the illusion is for someone to realize 'hey, I actually need t he real stuff' and when the chits start getting called and it unwinds you realize you really only have 10 dollars and the rest sorta evaporates.
That's what's happening with "40% of wealth destroyed". The land is still there, the gold is still there, the cattle is still there, the crops are still, the dollar bills are still there, but the illusion that we have more 'wealth' than can be accounted with in anything real, it's being called due and the illusionary wealth is evaporating - souldawg, on 01/30/2009, -4/+41Numbers like this and people announcing that it will only get worse is slightly scary. Not going to lie.
- LucasVB, on 01/31/2009, -0/+30Exactly. And that's exactly why it happened.
Accurate headline would be: "Financial Crisis Has Destroyed 40 Percent of World's Make-Believe Wealth". - schnikies79, on 01/31/2009, -3/+32Much of this so called "wealth" never existed in the first place. No one really had it to begin with.
- hbyrne, on 01/31/2009, -3/+30It's certainly destroyed about 40% of my wealth.
- inactive, on 01/31/2009, -4/+29You can thank the Federal Reserve System for causing this inflationary bubble. http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/englund/2 ...
- chrissku, on 01/31/2009, -2/+27Financial Crisis "Has Destroyed 40 Percent of Wealth for 1% of The World"
Most of the world has/had no wealth. - BossKey, on 01/31/2009, -0/+19When so much of that "wealth" was represented by loans or arcanely constructed financial products that were backed by nothing (since the means did not and does not exist to pay them back), we really didn't lose 40% of the world's wealth.
We are merely returning to a time when you can only purchase what you can afford (a.k.a. reality).
It's just such a shame that many people and families were lured into a financial situation that is not actually sustainable for them. On the other hand, if it's because they got greedy against their better judgement, then they got the lesson they deserved. - jggube, on 01/31/2009, -2/+20The term "destroyed" really brings home the message.
- life036, on 01/31/2009, -1/+18I don't get it. How the ***** could it have been "destroyed"? It had to go somewhere, like a banker's pocket or something.
If it got "destroyed", then maybe it never really existed in the first place, eh? - Tehrab, on 01/31/2009, -0/+16Our current standard of living is already being curbed. Reports of household debt declining, personal savings increasing and other tidbits of info here and there point to a major re-work of the American living standard already underway. It is absolutely great news for the long-term. Terrible and horrific news for the short-term.
A better read: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/12/11/ameri ... - inactive, on 01/31/2009, -2/+17who gives a *****, im still broke and happy
- doctordbx, on 01/31/2009, -0/+15My parents lost a lot of their stocks bought with their retirement annuities that were supposed to keep them alive. They're far from rich and now fa from even being self funding.
They've never heard of or were ever even involved in sub-prime mortgages.
You might be a cold hearted "hate the rich" kind of socialist guy, but Mum and Dad worked ***** hard for 40 years so they could retire. This has hurt them, and it could and has pretty much happened to anyone, not just the irresponsible. - inactive, on 01/31/2009, -0/+15what actually disappeared? are 40% of your possessions gone? are 40% of the buildings in the world gone? wealth is a perception and that 40% never existed to begin with.
- inactive, on 01/31/2009, -1/+15I can't think of anything witty to counter your comment. So, a simple "SHUT THE ***** UP!" may need to suffice.
Don't worry, this crisis will find your arrogant ass and mete out some karmic retribution on your impoverished, faded soul.
...hey! That was kinda witty! I take back my STFU comment! - jsffive, on 01/31/2009, -4/+17Right... because STUFF... just "magically" disappeared...
Or is it perhaps, just the VALUE of those things decreased?
Wealth... does not DISAPPEAR. It is merely TRANSFERRED. Before this crisis, approximately FORTY PERCENT of the world's wealth was held by only ONE PERCENT of the people... And AFTER the crisis has passed, do you think that the Bushes and Clintons of this world will be living in TRAILER PARKS?
Gimme a ***** break.
When all those loans default and foreclosures occur... who will end up with the DEEDS TO THE PROPERTY that, BEFORE they became HOUSES, were merely empty plots of land?
Can any of you ***** artist KEYNESIANS answer that question please?
WE... shoulder all the RISK... and THEY get all the benefits... merely because, at the beginning of this ponzi scheme, they had the money, and we didn't. And the real rub is: they only had to "risk" ONE-NINTH of the principle of the loans, due to the "magic" of the fractional reserve banking system that THEY instituted.
Look up the term "fractional-reserve banking", and open your eyes.
It's been 95 years since we instituted this paper currency system, and nothing has changed. We still have depressions. We still have recessions. And we STILL have "liquidity crises"...
The only difference is, NOWADAYS, the money in our pocket isn't worth anything. In fact, it's worth less and less LITERALLY, everyday!
Usury is destroying the world that WE live in... not the world in which the wealthy elites live.
Think about it. - Nerys, on 01/31/2009, -7/+20its also a lie. Wealth can not be detroyed. It can only be "moved" from one person to another.
in this case its being "moved" from the many to the few. I guess they consider that destroyed. while its not far from the truth its not THE truth they still have it and can use it. - Ninh, on 01/31/2009, -5/+17So where we do we go and hang those bankers?
- Skooma714, on 01/31/2009, -0/+1240% of world wealth was apparently fake anyway.
Real wealth just doesn't disappear. - cyberdork, on 01/31/2009, -1/+13You both are wrong. Banks and rating agencies with terrible risk management did it.
- inactive, on 01/31/2009, -1/+13I have $89.99 theoretical Internet trillions.
- doctordbx, on 01/31/2009, -5/+17It's pretty easy to say it didn't exist, but....
tell that to the now millions of unemployed world wide.
tell that to the millions who have lost sight of their ability to retire.
tell that to the millions that are already retired and have seen their self funded pension all but dry up.
Pretty sure it existed. - airwalkery2k, on 01/31/2009, -1/+13But will you value that piece of paper tomorrow as much as you would an apple?
- acrodev, on 01/31/2009, -0/+11Tyler should've hit their data centers, not their corporate offices.
- misternils, on 01/31/2009, -0/+11Well you can't destroy what never really existed. That is what happens when you build your economy on borrowed debt on every level.
- quakefiend, on 01/31/2009, -0/+10What's funny is, you can't actually "destroy" wealth. You can only destroy backed-by-nothing worthless fiat paper currency. The amount of *actual* wealth in the world remains the same. After all, it's kind of hard to destroy the real value of gold or real estate isn't it? The only thing that changes is the "value" of those hard assets in terms of some fiat currency (not its true value).
Intrigued? Go to http://www.mises.org and read more. - Ghoztt, on 01/31/2009, -3/+13Spot on. Paper is not wealth. Your credit card is not wealth.
A man going out into a field and growing food for one hundred people....
now that is wealth. - inactive, on 01/31/2009, -0/+9Abolish money. Genius. Then you can trade for food with programming. You know how everyone needs Perl.
- skidork, on 01/31/2009, -2/+11Paper=apple.
All of it is wealth. Wealth is whatever we value. - michelsonmorley, on 01/31/2009, -0/+9The biggest problem is that his first statement assumes that cash == wealth. If there were a quadzillion more dollars printed today, wealth would still be the same today. (But there would be a massive redistribution of wealth soon after.)
- canvashinder, on 01/31/2009, -0/+9So far I've only seen, the wealth get bonus and the poor getting laid off.
- TiMMY8765, on 01/31/2009, -1/+10but I don't have an apple in my hand, I have a mouse
- Ghoztt, on 01/31/2009, -2/+10The world BANKERS did it.
- TakeyMcTaker, on 01/31/2009, -0/+8Banks' willingness to print fake money has gone down at least 40%, if not more. Due to incredibly low central interest rates (0%) and low reserve requirements (10% over $44M), their real ability to print fake money is higher than ever.
video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279
http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/fundsrate.htm
Bankers have even failed in a system that is completely rigged in their favor. Fire them all! - allcdnboy, on 01/31/2009, -0/+8a lot of it is false wealth. the reason for the crisis is because something that is worth $1 is selling on the market for $100 ... now we're getting things back to were they are actually only worth the real $1. It's called a market correction and it was needed years ago.
- inactive, on 01/31/2009, -0/+8That's virtual wealth. Talk about the loss of real wealth due to inflation and job losses. This is what matter for people like us.
- lowtolerance, on 01/31/2009, -0/+8The fifth rule of Project Mayhem is you must trust Tyler Durden.
- aelias, on 01/31/2009, -1/+840% of the worlds propped-up, back-room accounting, overinflated, imaginary wealth? Oh, OK. My paycheck has been the same the whole time. I think I would have noticed it getting 40% smaller.
The central banking system is ***** people with lots of money. For once, I'm glad to be under the radar for this round. If I had my life savings in the market, I'd be killing myself right about now. If it all goes comepletely sideways, I'll be comfortable being a robber baron. - gab00n, on 01/31/2009, -2/+9Yeah, true wealth is never lost only transferred. When there is a depression the banks gobble up every thing, but a lot of fake wealth was lost when the bubble done pop.
- norman619, on 01/31/2009, -1/+8We will survive. Not sure our current standard of living will though.
- bugsy187, on 01/31/2009, -1/+8@DigPiglet
citation needed - pintomp3, on 01/31/2009, -0/+7Thank you cyberdork. People forget the hand the rating agencies had in the mess.
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/446/index.html
What role did the credit rating agencies play in the current economic crisis? This week, a former managing director at Standard & Poor's speaks out on U.S. television for the first time about how he was pressured to compromise standards in a push for profits. Frank Raiter reveals what was really going on behind closed doors at the credit rating agencies the public relies on to evaluate the safety of their investments. - Dumbledorito, on 01/31/2009, -0/+7"Noooo! My imaginary money!"
http://www.superpoop.com/100808/imaginary-money.jp ... -
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