What parallels do you see between the financial situation in the book and today’s global economy? What differences do you see between then and now?
I feel like capitalism is even more out of control now, with billionaire oligarchs removing as many regulations and democratic institutions as they can, and with the AI and crypto bubbles, which have sucked so many in – but with disastrous consequences for a huge swath of humanity once they (inevitably) collapse
2 Likes
I agree - I have that scary feeling that the dot-com bubble and 2008 market meltdown may appear trivial compared to what may be in our future.
1 Like
Yeah, I hate to be pessimistic, but there sure seems to be a lot of financial sketchiness going on these days.
I agree with all of you. I think the interconnection has become even more extreme, and very difficult to reverse – if in fact it is desirable to do so, and I’m not sure I’ve made up my mind about that. It bothers me that a few very powerful people, sometimes working at cross-purposes with one another, can have such a wide impact. The few institutions that try to bring us together worldwide don’t seem to have much impact in the face of the opportunities to manipulate the world wide economy that sits in the hands of a relative few.
Things are not better - only greed it better. In today’s economy everything is about those 1%ers who own the wealth. Who cares about the rest of us? I listened to a kid of a 1% talk about how he didn’t care about what happened to the non-1%s as long as his family was okay. Where is the humanity?
I agree with everything everyone has said. All we can really do is take care of our communities and keep our own footprint as small as possible. So many Americans (myself included) have more than we actually need, IMO
2 Likes
Agree, agree! Politics is entering the arena. For example, laws were passed locally that prevent citizens of specific countries from buying land in our state. That’s not unusual in other countries, though. And look at what’s occurring in Albania. People are protesting the controversial and corruption over the coastal development projects being pushed by certain wealthy U.S. families. Greed, deceit, corruption.
I agree with what everyone else is saying. Things definitely feel out of control. Not just financially but morally.
I agree as well. And now we learn the president earned over $2 billion from recent investments. While gas prices are outrageous and inflation is horrible. Average people are unable to buy and/or sell their properties due to high interest rates. The super wealthy are only increasing their wealth exponentially while the majority of people are suffering to various degrees. And yes, the morality of so many is in the gutter…or worse. Just awful and shameful.
1 Like
This strategy has been going on for some time by manufacturing companies. It’s not just China, Mexico and Vietnam have long been sources. I can’t see it changing in the future.