According to a report yesterday on CNNMoney.com, "geopolitical concerns have eroded confidence in paper money, leading investors to pile into commodities -- which, in turn, have reached multi-year and all-time highs. ... The appeal of stocks has been somewhat tarnished by the volatile global situation [translation: the ongoing financial collapse]. ... Meanwhile, the physicality of commodities have boosted their appeal -- and made prices soar." Says Phil Flynn, senior market analyst for PFG Best, "We're almost going back to a barter system, where commodities have more value than paper ..."
Imagine -- people actually valuing commodities (mere stuff) over paper (to say nothing of electrons which of course represent real wealth)! We might as well go back to swapping pigs and chickens for our clothing and supplies! Thank goodness we have senior market analysts to point out such absurdities!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Daily Outrage
Imagine this headline -- CEO of Company Responsible for 11 Deaths Receives Six-Figure Safety Bonus. You say you missed that in this morning's paper? Didn't hear it on the evening news? I'm sure you didn't, because I just made it up -- the headline, that is, not the fact.
The CEO of TransOcean, whose Deep Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year, killing 11 workers, received $374,000 above salary for his company's safety record. A presidential commission determined that the explosion resulted from "lax standards," but according to TransOcean, "Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record."
As Laura Flanders put it, "Eleven workers dead, untold volumes of sea-life poisoned and more than 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the sea. If that's what an historically good year for safety looks like at TransOcean, I'd hate to see a bad year."
The CEO of TransOcean, whose Deep Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year, killing 11 workers, received $374,000 above salary for his company's safety record. A presidential commission determined that the explosion resulted from "lax standards," but according to TransOcean, "Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record."
As Laura Flanders put it, "Eleven workers dead, untold volumes of sea-life poisoned and more than 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the sea. If that's what an historically good year for safety looks like at TransOcean, I'd hate to see a bad year."
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