We could also just stop tying people’s entire futures to a 401k. That would solve all of this.
What can go wrong? Little reckless IPOs never killed anybody and never tanked world economy not even once… or twice… or thrice… or… oh well… how the fuck is this legal again?
We just need our politicians to not be on the take and actually push the people bribing the fuck out of them… to not bribe them…
I worry about this plan
Politicians on the take? come the fuck on, have some respect - its ALL CAP THE TAKE!
Wait: consults his 8yo’s urban dictionary
NO CAP, it’s ALL CAP THE TAKE.
Google’s Sergey Brin spent $100m opposing California’s Prop 40, a one-time wealth tax that would put the funds toward healthcare and other public services.
I’m just amazed that this is legal. In my book, Sergei would right now be enjoyingnthe view out of a prison window for that stunt alone…
Using infinite money for political actions is protected as free-speech now, thanks to the Citizens United decision in 2010. That’s a huge part of where this all went really badly wrong. It was not the first nail in the coffin, it was more like a railroad spike. And the fascism express is coming through, right on time. All aboard!
This is a billionaire problem as well as a deregulation problem (and of course, there is absolutely a feedback loop in play). Wealth disparity has become a vast chasm, and deregulation allows megacorps and billionaires to leverage their already insane wealth with the investments and retirement funds and pensions of the general public, via index funds and ETFs to continue to multiply their already nonsensically insane wealth.
Don’t forget that selective regulation can be worse than none.
The stage is already set to use regulatory capture to protect tech monopolies in the name of security and safety.
Can’t have these useful tools in the hands of citizens who are not engaged in maximizing shareholder value.
yeah, the size of the chasm will continue to grow exponentially too, as they have more and more power and weight to throw around. It will accelerate until things become untenable, and that won’t be fun for anyone involved, be it the 99% or the rich, just for different reasons
The problem isn’t necessarily with the IPOs. If an unprofitable company wants to go public with nothing to offer but empty promises, why shouldn’t they?
The real problem is how these companies have grown as large as they have with no profits, and are dominating the US economy. In a sane world, ordinary investors wouldn’t be lining up to buy shares of these companies that may never show a profit. What makes it even worse is how indexes are bending their own rules to get these companies in. Many ordinary people might not even realize how much their retirement is tied into these companies at this point.
Now, educated investors might see these as a lotto ticket. Put a small amount into each one, and maybe one or two hits big and generate outsized returns. But those folks are not gambling with their pensions. I have a bad feeling that when it all falls apart, the country as a whole will be left holding the bag, either because the stock market craters to the point that no one can retire, or the Feds step in and bail it all out
If an unprofitable company wants to go public with nothing to offer but empty promises , ehy shouldn’t they?
Because its fraudulent and in the end its always the people that have less that will end up suffering the consequences?
But that’s the thing, it’s not fraudulent to run a business that loses money. And these folks are committing no fraud, they are entirely honest in their filings that show they are burning through money with no hope of actual profit.
Yet, people keep buying. It’s like they care less about the underlying business, and more about catching a profit before it all falls apart.
They don’t need to be fraudulent, if they can get just as much investment by being honest.
The “people” buying are retirement accounts that actual people can’t control
Most of us can’t control line-item investments, but we can move that money around. I’d bet the “super duper low risk” categories don’t hold much or any AI stock at the moment. Anyone know?
The whole arrangement is remarkable: investors get to cash out on an AI valuation nobody can justify, pension funds get handed the risk, and if it blows up we’ll be told the economy is too important to let it fail.
It’s long past that time. Tax the hell out of the ultra-rich!
Naomi Klein is awesome
