We’ll be on a lighter posting schedule starting this evening, Sunday into Monday, which will be either three or four posts, depending on the news flow (two or three plus Links). We’ll be targeting three posts a day after that through and including New Years’ Day. Hope you all have safe travels and get a break.
Lambert will be in New York on Wednesday January 8, so I thought that made for a good excuse for a long-overdue meetup. I’m still looking into venues, but we need a place in Manhattan, reasonably well served by public transportation, where a large group could meet informally, that isn’t too noisy (the last venue was right by Zuccotti Park and was quite large but proved to be way too noisy).
But we are set on a time: starting at 6:00 PM and we’ll be there till at least 8:30 PM. So put it in your calendar and check back for location.
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Just wanted to thank you for yet another year of incredible effort and dedication. Have a peaceful and happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year. Paul.
I second that!
Yves:
I would love to be there and meet both of you and share some food and drink. Unfortunately, I am scheduled to be Germany, Czech Republic, and Turkey visiting suppliers. Best of health and luck and maybe next year.
Paul said it all above.
I am with Paul and William. Although these days I tend to feel some sympathy for Mr. Scrooge (at least for his anticonsumerism stance), enjoy the Chrismasts!
Echoing sentiments of Paul and William C.
Happy holiday to everyone at n.c.
with gratitude for the great ongoing discussion.
Happy holidays.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7H3i6wZZ9g
“I wrote a comment at occupy.org which had something on the money system – which I mentioned debt free money and they refused to print it.
And they said they had a community standard………a community standard , you can’t talk about debt free money – how do you get to that community standard , that’s what I like to know.”
No, it’s that the folks from American Monetary Institute (who are the source of the “debt free money” coinange) were lobbying Occupy, showing up at various Occupy working groups and trying to hijack them. They would have pre-printed fliers and wanted to talk ONLY about their issues, they had absolutely no interest in anything on the working groups’ agenda (I saw them do this consistently at Alternative Banking and I heard reports of the same at other Occupy groups). They did that for a good year and a half. Their manner was polite, but they were were disruptive and insistent.
And to make this worse, their “debt free money” construct is austerian without them even understanding it. 2/3 to 3/4 of their ideas are the same as MMT, but the balance are completely incorrect (for instance, one legislative proposal they are still pushing hard calls for the paying down Federal debt, which is both extremely destructive and unnecessary). So they confuse people who have learned a bit about MMT and use it to propose policies that are massively favorable to the 1%, while pretending the reverse.
Both tactically and intellectually, they operate in bad faith. The group I was involved with (which I left in part because of them) struggles with how to contain them give the Occupy framework. So I’m not surprised.
The tactic is called co-optation and is standard fare for the agonotology motivated plutocratic sect.
In a truthful world it would be called misdirection for the purposes of bleeding energy from meaningful change.
Happy Ho Ho to all!!!
WOW ! Must be super-intelligence present.
I admit to not knowing what agonotology means, but to claim ‘plutocrats’ among the lower income reformers ‘sect’ is enough of a stretch to doubt credulity .
The plutocrats are those wanting to preserve the status quo, not those wanting reform.
Yves, I’m thinking that your analysis of AMI’s debt free money ideas would make a rather interesting post to read. I’m one of those who has got my head around and am on board with MMT and have read about AMI’s ‘debt free money’ and am trying to work out its pros and cons. Maybe a post with more of your thoughts on the topic could be an idea next year if you suddenly find yourself short of other material to s̶h̶r̶e̶d̶ analyse (although I must admit I can’t see a lack of material coming any time soon!).
Not much to add to the words of Paul, William, Ignacio and nycT other than express my deep appreciation for all that you’ve done and continue doing in simplifying the complicated. Joyous Holidays to you and everyone at NC.
Fair enough Yves – you can talk the talk and perhaps walk the walk but forgive me for becoming more sceptical of certain contributors on your site.
Phil Pilkington comes to mind.
Obtuse and unnecessary complex explanations for economic activity which in all likelihood is merely sophisticated extraction and or social manipulation by the inner sanctum sets off all my inner alarm bells.
Simple agrarian like common sense can go much further then generally believed.
But I guess one Irishman and another looks pretty much the same to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kahnb3qnm0
I have talked to a lot of the “dynamic” Irish on the run up to Christmas ( the pubs are surprisingly jammed to the rafters with expats spending money )
What is now generally accepted amongst even the most laid back fellows is the extreme absurdity of the money system as it currently stands.
But sadly most seem happy to remain locked within a absurdity.
It comes naturally to us for some funny reason.
Burning all that kerosene to distribute credits to imperial backwoods sounds almost like a logical system after 10 pints of stout but it ain’t really.
Cork city on a Saturday night before Christmas.
People (expats) coming out of the walls now.
More people become lost in the flood….me thinks……..on the brink of another capital dumping me thinks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTF4ojbGj1c
” He rides headfirst into a hurricane and disappears into a point”
I too would love to meet up with Lambert and friends, but on such a short notice I can’t. This wouldn’t be such a problem if I lived closer to New York, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
Cynthia:
It can be fun, we used to do this at Slate’s The Fray and BOTF when 20 or 30 of us would show up in Chicago, Philly, or NYC. It made for a fun couple of days for some very talented and eclectic writers from all parts of the nation.
Bill
A cash / deposit economy which must do pointless work so as to access external credit production is exceedingly vulnerable to carpetbaggers.
The most successful city publican by a wide margin is in a battle /race of expansion between himself and what looks to be like British backed antiseptic pubs with the power of credit on their side.
Despite having a HUGE amount of cashflow in his business the domestic banks will not give credit it seems………….step up the bland selling merchants of the UK – who are ready to assault my town with a profusion of soulless shitty bars which will also extract profits to dark financial hubs.
This is a business like no other,” he says. “I don’t even sell drink. I sell empathy, sympathy, solace, celebration—good times.”
http://thecorknews.ie/articles/raising-bar-4416?page=show
A epic battle awaits.
“Be a man and give me what you owe me”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrL9T7ouOkM
In the Vickerstown bar ………….”waiting form change to come”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlfaBgAzG5Y
Alas, I will be in beautiful, downtown Salt Lake City on the 8th, and thus unable to enjoy the rustic charms of pastoral Manhattan. Too bad, something tells me it will be a hell of an evening. Maybe next time.