Has the cost of HiFi gotten a bit too much?

We think the same...

In a time crisis, there is no more a natural reequilibration of forces, this is why it is called a crisis......

For a rare moment in time history we live through multiple crisis at the same time on different level...

For example in the last two world wars there was no global climate change problems at the same time, or an acute global economical crisis world wide at the same time and a sudden INCREASING of a global scale of the wide disparities of income between people, and no gobal water crisis at the same time, no global energy crisis at the same time , and no global agricultural landmasses lost by destruction of the soil at the same time etc ....No decreasing conservation of the natural untouched part of the earth like antartica, the tropical forests, etc

And the irrationality of our banking system and money conception was NOT SO MUCH EVIDENT at this time either ...Now it is evident for all people not only for a few economists and is a part of the global crisis...There is also a global lost of confidence and trust crisis...Religions did not play anymore the same role and cannot by itself alone maintain the "sanity " of the mass or keep them in some controlled state...

For example between 1900 and 1960 there was a decreasing in poverty world wide... This trend was maintained stable after that for some deecades... Now it is the reverse there is an increasing poverty...And the reason are multiple... This is the occurrence of this many problems at all levels that constituted the crisis...

Man is deracinated from the tree of life, it is now only a machine whose parts we can recreate or sell....It is also a part of the global crisis...Transhumanism is a symptom of the excessive pride of some part of the " elite" of humanity, the rich one for sure, a new specialized cult for the lucky few...

There was a general improvement on many count in the last century, yes, in spite of all obstacles, but it is on a halt now, it is why it is called a global crisis....

Gates think we are too much people, i think that the disparity between poor and rich is the world problem, not demography itself... With education demography is no more a problem....Then instead of global vaccination it is perhaps better to pay for bread and water and education...But it does not give any return profit for sure to the "benefactor"...

I am optimist for AFTER this passing testing crisis for humanity....I am not optimist for now.... 😁😊

Mahjister, normalcy and consistency do not necessarily mean “ never changing”. Things can clearly get out of balance and require corrections. Full disclosure- I fear the uber-wealthy may fight against recalibration- but haven’t they always? As long as the masses can organize their collective thoughts and mobilize for change it can happen.

@mahgister The youtube link featuring Geoffrey Bloom is a good example of why a little bit of knowledge is dangerous. Fractional reserve banking is a given and serves society exceptionally well, but it is not criminal.

In many Western countries central banks are not part of the political system - they are deliberately independent. When politicians or their advisors of any political persuasion seek to meddle, they get a Will Smith slap.

Donald Trump attempted to in his early days of Presidency, and more recently Janet Yellen as head honcho of Treasury - her comments were swiftly deleted from the record.

Quantitative easing is was often called unconventional policy, but it is not counterfeiting nor is it criminal. It is central banks buying bonds in the open market.

Central banks charters specifically direct them to manage interest rates through a variety of methods - it is not manipulation, although I can understand why some may draw that conclusion. It is rare that a central bank anticipates - they normally follow what has already happened in the economy.

Certain individuals in the retail banking sector did manipulate LIBOR, and that was criminal and they knew it. To extrapolate that conduct to those tasked with setting interest rates is incorrect.

Moral hazard is a real issue as was demonstrated in the global financial crisis, but it has more to do not with retail guarantees (he was confusing different issues) but with the private institutional bankers knowing that they will be bailed out with a slap should things go awry, or if not, jail is only a very remote possibility.   This was a combination of government policy and what was known as the "Greenspan put" in a more general macro sense.  That may be googled.

And he begins with "you do not understand the concept of banking" - what follows is a fine example of an embarrassing non sequitur.

@ghdprentice + 1

You are right ...BUT....

Fractional reserve banking is a given and serves society exceptionally well, but it is not criminal.

When fractional reserve banking was rational and not influenced by financial powers behind banking activity ...And there is many type of fractional banking of money, for example one backed by gold, one backed by energy, one backed by nothing ....

And something could be motivated by greed and power WITHOUT being criminal but being irrational or being an illegitame attempt to comply with greed demand in financial circle... like in the case of the repeal of the Glass-Steagal act by Clinton policy...

For exemple the abolition of the separation between investment bank and commercial bank and his link to the financial crisis of 2008...

I cite wikipedia here : «Weissman agrees with Stiglitz that the "most important effect" of Glass–Steagall "repeal" was to "change the culture of commercial banking to emulate Wall Street’s high-risk speculative betting approach. »

And Goethe in his analysis of John Law concept of money in the Second Faust, was not an accusation about "criminality" but about blind irrationality of a fractional money concept back by the wind...

And it is impossible to understand central bank complex system  without reading about their history...

@mahgister When fractional reserve banking was rational and not influenced by financial powers behind banking activity ...And there is many type of fractional banking of money, for example one backed by gold, one backed by energy, one backed by nothing .... blind  irrationality of a fractional money concept back by the wind...

I speak only of the fractional reserve banking currently practiced by retail banks which are subject to independent and prudent financial regulations. Even in China.

That this not understood and is embellished is a deliberate attempt to go in circles. Small steps..