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where is the "Hell No!" option? n/t PowerToThePeople Mar 2015 #1
Sorry about that el_bryanto Mar 2015 #3
choice #2. n/t PowerToThePeople Mar 2015 #7
Of course they do. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #2
I don't know about 60 years; rather more money would have to be set aside up front el_bryanto Mar 2015 #8
Bond issuance is precisely the method Investment Banks perform ... A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #15
Bond proceeds - when you issue a bond for a public project el_bryanto Mar 2015 #20
That is partially true. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #25
I'm more familiar with it on the investment side el_bryanto Mar 2015 #26
This message was self-deleted by its author A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #28
Oh, really? Care to elaborate? It only took the USSR about 15 years to put the first man into space KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #32
OK...I really have only one response to that completely absurd comparison. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #33
Typical . . . resort to insults and invective when you can't respond to KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #36
that is a good point treestar Mar 2015 #51
I meant only to note that the institution(s) of Wall Street and the investment banking KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #57
But are we sure they did not treestar Mar 2015 #59
Using the USSR as a paragon might be the greatest vindication of private capital imaginable. nt Dreamer Tatum Mar 2015 #64
Ah, the obligatory red-baiting. Refreshing, it is. - nt KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #66
The USSR: so efficient in its central planning that it doesn't exist anymore. Dreamer Tatum Mar 2015 #67
I'll bet you're all down with 10% of this country owning 80% of its KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #69
No, I'm down with 8 guys in a Politburo owning 100% of it. nt Dreamer Tatum Mar 2015 #70
Like I say, good old-fashioned red-baiting. Been around since at least KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #71
You trumpet the USSR and then accuse me of preferring wealth concentration. Dreamer Tatum Mar 2015 #73
It wasn't efficient in its planning. It did what we are doing now, in a slightly different way. sabrina 1 Mar 2015 #94
Slapping my forhead or banging it against the wall is not an insult. (Edited) A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #53
The USSR managed to construct an enormous number of public works projects at the local and KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #62
The Trabant. nt Dreamer Tatum Mar 2015 #68
First of all, nowhere in this thread did I say investment banks were "absolutely necessary" A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #74
The USSR was operating under a command economy at that point, weren't they? el_bryanto Mar 2015 #55
I meant only to note that there is no writ in Holy Scripture for the institutions KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #58
Two votes oldandhappy Mar 2015 #4
Nothing that credit unions couldn't manage. moondust Mar 2015 #5
I think there are a small number of functions hughee99 Mar 2015 #6
I guess the concept of starting a business, building it up, Nye Bevan Mar 2015 #9
Is the roll of wall street/investment bankers necessary to accomplish that however? el_bryanto Mar 2015 #11
Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Kickstarter. Nye Bevan Mar 2015 #17
I'm not saying as it exists now it could replace them; but it could grow to fill that roll. nt el_bryanto Mar 2015 #18
I hear what you are saying, but that "new" entity would essentially be an investment banker. Hoyt Mar 2015 #37
Because Henry Ford was a banker. closeupready Mar 2015 #13
They do, but they've gone too far. jeff47 Mar 2015 #10
This is where I'm at. Xyzse Mar 2015 #16
What do you mean by "providing savings"? n/t A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #21
A place to put savings so that it can grow more than stuffing it in a mattress. (nt) jeff47 Mar 2015 #72
OK...fair enough. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #75
The interest comes from work. jeff47 Mar 2015 #78
I would add a couple words to the sentence in your title line; A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #91
They don't make capital, they are just a point of organization treestar Mar 2015 #45
Didn't say they made capital. They make capital available. jeff47 Mar 2015 #76
If charging a fee to move money from point A to point B serves a social purpose, then I suppose. closeupready Mar 2015 #12
How do you feel about truckers charging a fee to move food from the fields/packaging plants el_bryanto Mar 2015 #14
Because cash is edible and sustaining nutrition. closeupready Mar 2015 #22
OK - but the truckers are paid cash right? Or do you favor a cashless economy? nt el_bryanto Mar 2015 #24
Look. I get it. You're in banking. Check. And you disagree with me. closeupready Mar 2015 #30
Why are you so dismissive? I asked a follow up question and you responded with an eye roll el_bryanto Mar 2015 #31
Sorry. I apologize for my tone. closeupready Mar 2015 #41
I'm not in banking but I do use banks treestar Mar 2015 #43
Do I use banks? Yes, but if there were a viable alternative, I'd use it. closeupready Mar 2015 #49
It would be interesting to try to imagine those forms treestar Mar 2015 #60
Not a jibe at you, but I believe you demonstrate a lack of imagination here - closeupready Mar 2015 #65
What are those functioning members of the world economy treestar Mar 2015 #83
No offense, but I think I'm done here. I answered the OP's question, closeupready Mar 2015 #90
Do you like paved roads? A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #27
Because cash makes good asphalt - just add water! closeupready Mar 2015 #29
I know you're trying to be clever with your rapier wit and all..... A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #35
Your analogy is flawed. My response to you illustrated how. closeupready Mar 2015 #44
How is it flawed? A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #46
Your post illustrates why (as I responded to el bryanto) I didn't want to get into this. closeupready Mar 2015 #52
And you too. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #54
No. Just part of the pyramid scheme that is capitalism - TBF Mar 2015 #19
pyramid. PowerToThePeople Mar 2015 #23
^ this right here is perfect. nt TBF Mar 2015 #88
Not really. Or, the societal purpose they serve (allocating resources) could be KingCharlemagne Mar 2015 #34
Sadly, many retirement plans are dependent on them. So I said "yes" but could be better served Coventina Mar 2015 #38
That's the key point. Our economic system and standard of living right now are dependent on them Hoyt Mar 2015 #48
They are necessary as long as we are going to be a modern, complex society treestar Mar 2015 #39
Our "modern, complex society" sucks rotten eggs in so many ways. I'm certain we could do better. hunter Mar 2015 #42
We'd have to organize big things in some way though treestar Mar 2015 #61
The interstate highway system connects things up pretty well. hunter Mar 2015 #95
I'm a Socialist and my economics are radical. hunter Mar 2015 #40
imo, your economics are not radical PowerToThePeople Mar 2015 #50
of course - at least under any system that is going to be in place for the foreseeable future Douglas Carpenter Mar 2015 #47
Without investment bankers etc how many people would be able to afford homes until they Thinkingabout Mar 2015 #56
Yeah, let's make the world a million times less liquid and see how that works for you. Dreamer Tatum Mar 2015 #63
Well said and spot on. A HERETIC I AM Mar 2015 #87
They existed under FDR. They just have to be controlled and taxed like he did. n/t pampango Mar 2015 #77
But Kickstarter wasn't around back then (nt) Nye Bevan Mar 2015 #81
Does everything need a purpose? randome Mar 2015 #79
Yes having a hobby does serve a purpose el_bryanto Mar 2015 #84
With more than 300 million people in this country... randome Mar 2015 #92
Even under communist rules, Russia had a Central bank that exists to this day. Agnosticsherbet Mar 2015 #80
the poll is about investment banks and stock market. PowerToThePeople Mar 2015 #82
Yes, they serve a critical purpose in our economic system. Agnosticsherbet Mar 2015 #97
The only purpose they serve is to keep the rich rich. WDIM Mar 2015 #85
Of course-- particularly the commodities markets. Marr Mar 2015 #86
Yes, but they need to be adequately regulated. subterranean Mar 2015 #89
Nods - I don't know if many people here believe they shouldn't be more tightly regulated and el_bryanto Mar 2015 #98
Sorry, but that is two seperate questions. Does Wall Street serve a societal purpose? Rex Mar 2015 #93
Business ownership puts billions of $$ into society and makes many of the things listed in cbdo2007 Mar 2015 #96
Yes, unfortunately they favor concentrated wealth and power rather PufPuf23 Mar 2015 #99
Yes, but their reach and power have become so overgrown and distorted that TheKentuckian Mar 2015 #100
Yes, but they're overly centralized. Nuclear Unicorn Mar 2015 #101
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