Midnight Special - Billionaires Moving to New Zealand Edition
"The inequality of income and fortunes is essential in capitalism" Ludwig Von Mises
By the end of 2017, there were over 2,000 (2,043) billionaires on planet Inequality, an increase of about 13% over 2016. 195 were added during the year to include 76 from China and 25 from the U.S. In 2010, there were 1,011 with a total net worth (listed) of $3.6 trillion.
Wow, for baby boomers, that figure from China is head banging stuff. For everyone except the very rich, that trajectory should be downright frightening. And infuriating.
We obviously have a global problem on our hands.
The billionaire club's total net worth (listed) was around 8 trillion with the top 500 increasing their wealth by 1 trillion. The 2017 Oxfam report listed the top eight billionaires "owning" as much combined wealth as "half the human race".
Bill Gates has topped the list for years but now Jeff Bezos is surging ahead. Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg were not even in the top ten in 2015 and ended 2017 as numbers 3 (Bezos - $73 billion) and 5 (Zuckerberg - $56 billion). Now Bezos has broken the $100 billion mark in 2018.
Most right wing, conservative, libertarian type peasants and serfs are against socialism and defend this system of capitalism even in the face of such sobering statistics. I've had discussions with my brother and others regarding capitalism and it's tough to move the needle for those against big government and of the belief that people should "keep what they earn."
It all depends on how you think humans should live on this planet. Survival of the fittest is one thing, but this isn't about that. This is about intentional immoral and criminal actions on the part of those that control governments and financial institutions. This is about those with money using that money to gain unfair advantages so they can "earn" more money through rigged systems no different than casino gambling. This is about an accumulating generational unfair advantage for those who have stolen land and created systems to abscond and fraudulently create wealth. A system of exploitation, imperialism and monopolization enabled through the control of governments and rigged casino style financial systems.
The only answer is to take control of our governments away from the very rich.
It's pretty simple. At this rate, we're going to have trillionaires. The top one percent are going to have more wealth than the entire 99% combined. Hell, the top ten trillionaires will have more wealth than the entire 99% combined.
Think not? Then answer this, what has been put in place to stop or even slow down the insane wealth accumulation at the top? Of course the answer is nothing. Even the institutions controlled by the very rich are warning about this out of control system.
How is that acceptable to anyone except the very rich and those who aspire to be very rich? How can acceptance of such inequality be anything other than sociopathic behavior, i.e., what the fuck kind of human thinks this is OK? How long can we continue as a human race to ignore what is happening right in front of our pathetic faces?
Many billionaires and mega millionaires are using their incredible wealth to prepare for the day when the zombies try to scale the walls. They're purchasing land and building extravagant BOP's (bug out places) in strategic places, such as New Zealand, preparing a safe place for when the pitchforks and guillotines come out.
"Billionaire Peter Thiel, for example, has bought a lakeside property near Wanaka in New Zealand for £4.5 million. He has also bought 193 hectares of land in New Zealand.
Similarly, a number of ultra rich tech entrepreneurs and investors from the Silicon Valley have been looking to buy real estate in New Zealand. Robert Johnson, president of the Institute for New Economic Thinking revealed that “hedge-fund managers all over the world who are buying airstrips and farms in places like New Zealand because they think they need a getaway”.
http://www.intldaily.com/american-billionaire-moves-new-zealand/
Hedge fund managers. Silicon valley billionaires. A monster has been created and it's eating the planet and there's no superhero to save us. But we know who they are, their names are very public. The people of the world are going to need to take this on. I don't see how we cannot. Just look at those statistics again. Extrapolate forward. In the last 8 years the number of billionaires has doubled. The total combined wealth of those billionaires has more than doubled. The total wealth accumulations at the top are increasing AT LARGER PERCENTAGES every year. It is an insane system. We can't allow this to go on any longer.
I don't know how to stop it except by taking over the power of government away from the rich that control those governments and changing the rules of the game. Those in control, the very rich, are not going to give it up with polite requests. There needs to be an international working class movement that culminates in a global spectacle at the United Nations demanding the inalienable rights of all citizens on the planet; an end to the undemocratic "representation" governments in all countries; an end to the financial systems and institutions that have created and exacerbated the astronomical wealth inequality and resulting wars, killing, imperialism, and poverty; and the creation of a global citizens council responsible for developing and presenting alternative options and systems for the organization of the human race.
Time to put an end to this bullshit.
Well, you wake up in the mornin'
You hear the work bell ring
And they march you to the table
To see the same old thing.
Ain't no food upon the table
And no fork up in the pan
But you better not complain, boy
You get in trouble with the man.
Let the midnight special
Shine a light on me.
Let the midnight special
Shine a light on me.
Let the midnight special
Shine a light on me.
Let the midnight special
Shine a ever-lovin' light on me.
[video:https://youtu.be/cu7gafphe9M]
Comments
I wonder
I wonder what the people of New Zealand think about a bunch of psychopaths taking over their islands?
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
The same thing the people of Hawaii thought in 1893 when
Lorrin Thurston, Sanford B. Dole, and the U.S. ambassador John L. Stevens overthrew their legitimate government, setting the stage for annexation, loss of sovereignty, and inundation with immigrant-serfs to work the sugar plantations?
https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/jan-17-1893-hawaiian-monar...
Psychological thriller ...
I haven’t read it yet, but I will, when it's published.
I have increased faith that the opportunity for billionaires to build bunkers in New Zealand will be curtailed by the new government. Peter Thiel was encouraged by the greed of our last government.
Plus, Kiwis are remarkably protective of their land.
Thanks janis,
ya, from the article linked it didn't sound like all were too happy with this trend. I wouldn't figure the home of the haka dance would give them a hearty welcome.
I'm no rugby fan, but ...
[video:https://youtu.be/AnlFocaA64M]
...
[video:https://youtu.be/EgU-RWQ4J7o]
I do hope New Zealanders understand
that the occasional billionaire does not move in all by his or her lonesome. These folks go nowhere without security, servants and staff (secretaries and such) all of whom demand to be able to move in their families as well. Look for a significant incoming of large groups of varied persons who don't necessarily feel much reason to learn about, go along with or even respect indigenous values, culture and history. People take such billionaire serving jobs mainly for largesse, and they expect their entire families to prosper and rise in status, wealth and power. The rich patron and sycophants, from the head of security all the way down to the kitchen sous-chef, expect to be able to run things wherever they may perch.
I am afraid "being nice" doesn't go very far in dealing with such influxes.
Mary Bennett
The scenario describing the likes of Peter Thiel
coming with an entourage of staff who expect to set up house in NZ is highly unlikely. Some may get temporary work visas, but that’s about it.
If you want to read about some other scenarios, you might enjoy the following readings.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/24-02-2018/peter-thiel-is-looking-for-p...
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/15/why-silicon-valley-billiona...
I hope you are right.
I would, however, respectfully urge the citizens of NZ to be wary. Maybe restrictions on in migration might be discussed along with banning foreign ownership of land.
I find myself wondering if some of these Masters of the Universe, Theil, Soros, et al do not believe themselves to be a separate species.
Mary Bennett
They've been working on that.
And might explain why billionaires are getting citizenship and publicly moving there.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/new-zealand-foreigners-buy-property-ba...
And I hope she's wearing Kevlar and staying out of
Americaairplanes...Edit: just read your second link, (and thanks for both!) the Guardian one, which pretty much told us what we already knew, that TPTB will happily destroy everything and everyone existing in the belief that Super-tech will save them and that cryptocurrencies will be used and manipulated by them, just like the stock markets and politics.
From that link:
In the works of fantasy and fiction which The Psychopaths That Be take as 'philosophy' and blueprints for 'future planning', civilization, the world and life is not really destroyed where you are, and you can go on to read something else with a different ending. Reality doesn't work like that. Life in a video game isn't real.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
The subject of immigration and foreign ownership of land
is, has been, and always will be a hot topic of discussion in NZ. Qualifying for permanent residency is extremely difficult, and with a great shortage of housing and infrastructure, even short term visas are becoming more limited.
I appreciate your consideration for the country’s well being.
@janis b
When they want to bring the whole world to for-their-profiteering-wrack and ruin, wreck and runnin' won't work. And the descendants of the Maori have been sharpening their
pitch-forksdinner-forks in anticipation of their trying.Edited for a random creative punctuation incident. And another... sigh. And edited due to fouling up an integral word without even seeing it... moar sighs...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Boy, will Peter Thiel
be surprised when he finds out that he can’t be lord of the rings.
@janis b
Especially when his hired Nazgul turn on him...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
The hired Nazgul surely will turn on him
, but the Nazgul themselves, not to mention assorted concubines, hangers on etc. are not necessarily desirable citizens themselves.
Mary Bennett
From your lips ...
Having just visited your breathtaking country in November -- including Lake Wanaka -- it saddens me to think these assholes might ruin it. I'm already heartbroken over Icebreaker. I'm rooting hard for your new government.
If you want to return for a visit,
I think you'll be safe for the near future.
Concerning Icebreaker, they've long outsourced their production, but they do use primarily NZ wool; although I'm not too sure about how beneficial it is to the environment to encourage more sheep and wool production.
Drop me a line if you return.
I doubt
New Zealand will put up with them any more than Iceland.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I think you're right n/t
But the parasites
have the military to use.
The New Zealanders don't stand a chance, no more than, say, the Indians did in the US.
dfarrah
the poor do not move to New Zealand - so why would I care
if some nouveau rich colonialists 2.0 rotts in his jungle compounds over there? They will all kill themselves or get killed. Their land will be worthless and the Maori people will crawl in and reoccupy it.
Actually I think those Thiel types are ridiculously stupid.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Maybe because the influx of billionaires
into New Zealand is driving up the cost of housing as well as the other shit that follows things like this?
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
sure, I know, but what would I be able to change about it
and then why would I care if all my caring just would depress me and make me angry? Fancy discussions about it won't make the poor to move over there to "follow their dreams of a better, nicer life". So, do you want me to waste my time with another pipe dream?
https://www.euronews.com/live
Resist caring when it angers and depresses you!
Got it! I can turn a blind eye with the best of them!
Could you please define "fanciful discussion"?
c99 is a place for harsh truths.
That is why I am here, why I support it as best I can.
Care, mimi. That is important.
Give a shit.
Don't quit.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
@snoopydawg
Not to mention that they plan to own and run the country,
get rid offree themselves of any pesky democracy around.Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Those rich mofo's better build great seawalls
with strainers to keep out all the plastic waste. The bunkers should be water tight and have excellent air filters to screen out the chemicals sprayed to "geoengineer" our planet.
People who are okay with this have either not given thought
to the implications of allowing billionaires to "earn" a geometric return on their wealth, or are just too dim to comprehend the arithmetic. Piketty addressed it, I guess, but I don't know whether he addressed the fundamental impossibility of it.
I imagine that your propertarian friends (who have, of course, misappropriated the word liberty, yoking it to a philosophy that exalts the single greatest social constraint on personal liberty ever conceived -- private property) would agree that a 5% real annual return on capital is pretty minimal. Well, if those billionaires get a 5% return on their 8 trillion bucks for the next hundred years, here's how their annual return and net wealth will look at the end of each decade, in trillions of dollars.
2018 0.4 8.0
2028 0.7 13.0
2038 1.1 21.2
2048 1.7 34.6
2058 2.8 56.3
2068 4.6 91.7
2078 7.5 149.4
2088 12.2 243.4
2098 19.8 396.5
2108 32.3 645.8
2118 52.6 1052.0
So, yeah, in 2118 the global economy will be expected to return 53 trillion dollars to the heirs of these clowns, whose accumulated wealth will have surpassed 1 quadrillion.
Assuming the global population stabilizes at 10 billion, that means $5300 (in 2018 dollars -- remember, we're talking about the real return) from every man, woman and child would need to go to meet the annual vig for just the top 10 or 20 thousand humans.
But, hey maybe they think that's not the end of the world. After all, current estimates are that global GDP is running a rather astonishing 16K+ per capita. Even with no economic growth, the vig is "only" about a third of all the planet's output.
But you know, history will just keep on keeping on. Here's the same calculation for the second century from now:
2128 85.7 1713.6
2138 139.6 2791.3
2148 227.3 4546.7
2158 370.3 7406.1
2168 603.2 12063.8
2178 982.5 19650.7
2188 1600.4 32008.9
2198 2607.0 52139.1
2208 4246.5 84929.2
2218 6917.0 138340.6
At this point, all but the most thickwitted of individuals must understand that this system simply Can. Not. Persist. Yes, at the end of 2 centuries the net wealth of just the descendants of today's billionaires will "need" to be almost 140 quadrillion 2018 dollars -- with an annual vigorish of almost 7 quadrillion, or $700K per human on the planet.
I don't need to persuade anybody about the immorality of capitalism -- the mathematics are irrefutable and insuperable. Capitalism will collapse under the weight of this simple calculation. The only question is, when it does, will the general population suffer a return to the economics of feudal Europe -- subsistence for all but the elite, and endless wars fought between them (using their serfs as cannon fodder) in pointless vanity projects to increase their already bloated treasuries?
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Sadly ...
I think the planet will collapse before capitalism does.
Like trying to prevent a star from turning into a black hole
or going supernova by appealing to the gravity guys’ better nature?
“Hey, look, Mr. Billionaire Gravity Guy, your runaway concentration of mass (i.e., capital) is starting to overpower all other forces — keep it up and this whole thing is gonna collapse or blow sky high.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_collapse
But Gravity Guy wasn’t listening. He wanted to be free of electron and neutron degeneracy pressure. Someone had told him that he would only be happy when the radius of the star had shrunk down and become so small he could drown it in the bathtub.
Who Is the Dude Who Does the Exponential Function...
Socialist professor... damn. Can't recall his name.
Did a piece on how the biggest problem with humanity today is our failure to understand the exponential function.
7% growth doubles every 10 years, IIRC. He'd ask the Boulder City Council what a good sized population growth for the City would be. They talk 7-12% or something like that. And in 30-40 years, Boulder has the population of LA.
I believe that economics today has become a zero sum game. Great comment, UR
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Dr. Albert A. Bartlett Professor of Physics, Uni. of Colorado
maybe you are referring to "The Most IMPORTANT Video You'll Ever See", I never forgot about that 7% growth example headline: "Colorado Kid Crime Doubles in Decade."
(part 1 of 8)
"The arithmetic is not very difficult." says the "math scientist".
good luck
edited to add: yet another "air quote".
This is Why Piketty Freaked Me Out So Much.
He reminded me of Bartlett, and totally confirmed for me that at this stage in history, Economics as we know them are a zero sum game. Regular old homo-economicus are almost extinct and it is a zero sum game for us. The scale of growth for the Masters of the Universe is incompatible with any distribution of wealth in the near term.
Two wildly divergent exponential functions. It's terrifying, IMO.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
"homo-economicus"
That's great!
insult to honest casinos
I get -- and agree with -- your point here. As janis b correctly points out, capitalism is unsustainable. As you point out, it's inherently dishonest.
But this paragraph is an insult to honest casinos. Were actual casinos to function like the financial systems of the 0.1%, everyone would have to gamble at the casinos in order to get the money they need to live; and they would never get it, they'd never win. Real, honest casinos are voluntary affairs and they have to pay out winnings once in a while.
"The game never ends when your whole world depends on the turn of a friendly card...."
[video:https://youtu.be/pgY7qYaoMWQ]
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Ludwig von Mises
"The downfall of Ludwig von Mises' 'ideas' is essential for the survival of the human race and the Planet it lives on!" -- me
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
immoral and criminal actions. and inhumane
How can acceptance of such inequality be anything other than sociopathic behavior, i.e., what the fuck kind of human thinks this is OK?
The not yet millionaires and dumb f*cks who believe that socialism will be the ruin of society. How people can be so brainwashed against what other people in countries that have decent lives? Yes their taxes would go up, but then they won't have to pay up to 40% of their income for health insurance that doesn't stop people from having to declare bankruptcy as well as 35 hour work weeks, guaranteed vacation and sick leave as well as the other things that many of us dream of.
Great essay, Big Al
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
It makes no sense.
It's so sad that sense is so lacking in some societies.
They are the same people who believe that unions are bad
They think that they only take their employers' money and their pensions are too generous.
The brainwashing that has gone on for so long here has convinced people to vote against their interests as Obama once stated. The people who are against abortion have no problem with our unending wars and the death penalty.
I have no idea how you can talk to people who see the world in such black and white ways.
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
It is all so backwards.
[video:https://youtu.be/XClvMMxBg1k]
@snoopydawg
Not to mention that taxes are supposed to be assessed on 'ability to pay' for what the society forming the country needs overall to qualify as a sustainable civilization. If only the public wasn't being ripped off at every conceivable angle by those already having most and piling (sh)it so very deep and high...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Mental illness
This insane level of greedy gobbling up money and resources needs to be addressed as a form of mental illness, and that seriously, people do NOT really need that much. BUT with such greed, these wealthy parasites are the cause for so much misery and have paid think tanks to make it seem okay to the people who do not get that they are never getting into the clubhouse ever.
The other part is the idea that socialism is demonized so as to have it never stop this merry-go-round of greed and inequality that helps these select few parasites continue feeding off society and driving costs up, and making laws that hurt all but themselves. They have bought off the career politicians so the insane are truly in charge of the asylum.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
Maybe we need a confrontation between
the 'think tanks' and the residents of the asylum.
[video:https://youtu.be/hcv_EJpQzT4]