re: #460 Talking Point Detective

Agreed - but suggesting that it is, more or less, a problem of employment doesn’t really hit what the problem is.

In terms of the manufacturing sector, yes it does.

The problem is that the financial sector became such a huge magnet for investors.

That would actually be a rather completely different, though completely valid, problem.

Even old-time manufacturing companies, like GM, became largely an extension of the financial industry (seeking profits from loans).

I actually think that companies like that are the exception and not the rule. of course, when companies are mostly owned by other companies, it depends where you draw the line.

The whole notion of a long-term business model meaning making a reasonable profit for turning out a quality product for a good price is becoming increasingly a thing of the past. It has been replaced by the model of structuring companies to be mechanisms for financial maneuvering that brings short-term profits to investors.

Well, it’s not wholly replaced, it’s replaced to the extent that the fitness environment that is the market favors it.

I think you’re mixing up two highly related but still distinct things:

1. The operation of the stock market rewards short-term performance over long-term performance.

2. Financial instruments, of varying complexity, exploit distortions and loopholes in the market to produce profits without any actual value increased to back it up.

So, many companies do, in fact, use those financial instruments, but I don’t think that you can safely say that most manufacturing companies are also involved in financial instruments. I don’t know one way or the other, though, so if you have something that’s convincing, I’m ready to be convinced.