MooPig Trend Spotter :: "Who has all the Money?"

Watch and Think
youtube capture by Pat Darnell | Nov 13, 2013 | Bryan TX

http://youtu.be/QPKKQnijnsM

TRANSCRIPT
0:00there's a chart SR recently that I can't get out of my head
0:03Harvard Business professor and economist ass more than 5,000 Americans
0:08how they thought well was distributed in the United States
0:12this is what they said they thought it was dividing the country into five rough
0:15group at the top bottom
0:17and middle 3 20 percent group they asked people
0:21how they thought the wealth in this country was divided NES them
0:25what they thought was the ideal distribution and ninety-two percent
0:29that at least nine outta 10 a.m. said it should be more like this
0:33in other words more equitable than they think it is
0:37now that fact is telling admittedly the notion that most Americans know that the
0:41system is
0:42already skewed unfairly to what's most interesting to me
0:46is the reality compared to our perception the ideal
0:50is as far removed from our perception is reality
0:54as the actual distribution is from what we think
0:57exists in this country so ignore the ideal for a moment
1:01here's what we think it is again and here
1:04is the actual distributional shockingly skewed
1:08not only to the bottom 20 percent and the next 20 percent
1:12the bottom forty percent of Americans barely have
1:16any the wealth I mean it's hard even see them on the chart
1:20but the top one percent has more of the country's wealth
1:24then nine out of 10 Americans believe the entire top 20 percent should have
1:29mind-blowing but let's look at it another way because
1:33I find this chart kinda difficult to wrap my head around instead let's reduce
1:37the 311 million Americans to
1:40just a representative 100 people make it simple
1:44here they are teachers coaches firefighters construction workers
1:49engineers doctors lawyers some investment bankers the CEO
1:53may be a celebrity culture now let's line him up according to their wealth
1:57poorest people on the left wealthiest on the right just a steady row folks based
2:02on their net worth
2:03color coding like we did before based on which 20 percent quintile they volunteer
2:09now let's reduce the total wealth the United States
2:12which was roughly fifty four trillion dollars in 2009
2:16to this symbolic pi love cash and let's distributed
2:21among our 100 Americans well appear socialism
2:25all the wealth of the country distributed equally we all know that
2:28will work
2:29we need to encourage people to work can work hard to achieve that goal American
2:33Dream and keep our country moving forward
2:36so hears that night deal
2:39we asked everyone about something like this occur
2:42this isn't to bed we've got some incentive as the wealthiest folks are
2:46now about
2:4710 to 20 times better off in the poorest Americans
2:51but hey even the poor folks aren't actually poor
2:54since the poverty line is stated almost entirely off the chart
2:58we have a super healthy middle-class with a smooth transition into wealth
3:03and yes Republicans and Democrats alike chose this curve nine out of 10 people
3:09ninety-two percent said this was a nice ideal distribution of America's wealth
3:14the let's move on this is what people think
3:18America's wealth distribution actually looks like not as equitable clearly
3:23but for me even this still looks pretty great
3:26yes the poorest 20 to 30 percent are starting to suffer quite a lot compared
3:31to the ideal
3:33in the middle class is certainly struggling more than they were
3:36while the rich in wealthier making roughly a hundred times that of the
3:40poorest Americans
3:41in about ten times that if the still healthy middle-class
3:44sadly this isn't even close to the reality
3:48here is the actual distribution of wealth in America
3:52the poorest Americans don't even register
3:56they're down to pocket change and the middle class
4:00is barely distinguishable from the poor in fact
4:03even the rich between the top 10 in 20 percentile
4:07are worse off only the top 10 percent or better off
4:10and how much better off so much better off the top
4:14to 25 percent were actually of the chart
4:17at this scale and the top one percent
4:20this can were his stack of money stretch is ten times higher than we can show
4:27here's his stack of cash re stacked all by itself
4:31this is the top one percent we've been hearing so much about
4:34so much green in his pockets that I have to give him a whole new column his own
4:39because he won't fit on my chart 1 percent of America has
4:43forty percent of all the nation's wealth
4:46the bottom eighty percent 8 out of every 10 people
4:50work a Dr these 100 only has
4:53seven-percent between them in this
4:56only gotten worse in the last twenty to thirty years
4:59while the richest 1 percent take home almost a quarter
5:03the national income today in 1976
5:06they took home only nine percent meaning their share of income has nearly tripled
5:10in the last thirty years
5:13the top one percent own half the country stocks bonds and mutual funds
5:18the bottom 50 percent of Americans only
5:21half a percent these investments which means
5:25P aren't investing they're just scraping by I'm sure many of these wealthy people
5:29have worked very hard for their money
5:31but do you really believe that the CEO was working
5:34380 times harder his average
5:38employees not as lowest-paid employees not the janitor
5:42but the average earner in his company the average worker needs to work more
5:46than a month
5:47turn with the CEO makes in one our
5:51we certainly don't have to go all the way to socialism to find something that
5:55is fair
5:56for hard-working Americans we don't even have to achieve what most of us consider
6:00might be
6:01ideal all we need to do is wake up
6:04in reliance that the reality in this country
6:08is not it all what we think it is
6:11gone

MooPig's Report from the Middle :: "Network of Global Corporate Control"

PLOS ONE: The Network of Global Corporate Control: "We present the first investigation of the architecture of the international ownership network, along with the computation of the control held by each global player. We find that transnational corporations form a giant bow-tie structure and that a large portion of control flows to a small tightly-knit core of financial institutions. This core can be seen as an economic “super-entity” that raises new important issues both for researchers and policy makers."

" ... A common intuition among scholars and in the media sees the global economy as being dominated by a handful of powerful transnational corporations (TNCs). However, this has not been confirmed or rejected with explicit numbers. A quantitative investigation is not a trivial task because firms may exert control over other firms via a web of direct and indirect ownership relations which extends over many countries. Therefore, a complex network analysis [1] is needed in order to uncover the structure of control and its implications. Recently, economic networks have attracted growing attention [2], e.g., networks of trade [3], products [4], credit [5], [6], stock prices [7] and boards of directors [8], [9]. This literature has also analyzed ownership networks [10], [11], but has neglected the structure of control at a global level.

" ... The TNC [transnational corporations] network has a bow-tie structure [21] (see Figure 2 A ...). Its peculiarity is that the strongly connected component, or core, is very small compared to the other sections of the bow-tie, and that the out-section is significantly larger than the in-section and the tubes and tendrils (Figure 2 B ...). The core is also very densely connected, with members having, on average, ties to 20 other members (Figure 2 C, D). As a result, about 3/4 of the ownership of firms in the core remains in the hands of firms of the core itself. In other words, this is a tightly-knit group of corporations that cumulatively hold the majority share of each other.

'via Blog this'

"... The top holders within the core can thus be thought of as an economic “super-entity” in the global network of corporations. A relevant additional fact at this point is that of the core are financial intermediaries. Figure 2 D shows a small subset of well-known financial players and their links, providing an idea of the level of entanglement of the entire core.

" ... Thus, in the hypothesis that the structure of the ownership network is a good proxy for that of the financial network, this implies that the global financial network is also very intricate. Recent works have shown that when a financial network is very densely connected it is prone to systemic risk [16], [24]. Indeed, while in good times the network is seemingly robust, in bad times firms go into distress simultaneously. This knife-edge property [25], [26] was witnessed during the recent financial turmoil.

CONCLUSION
It turns out that "global players" are all sitting on each other's Board of Directors, and have inside knowledge of operations. It is interesting to see that they all react simultaneously when a "crisis" occurs, and it causes a "knife edge" financial environment -- such as three hundred years of boom bust cycles. Throughout our financial history the "global players" of the "super entity" must after all prefer "financial entanglement of the entire core."

Much like a social structure of betters at horse racing tracks, three out of four are distressed losers, and winners restart the betting cycle with old money. And they all go along with those odds, knowing that they may be one in four next time. But few believe they "never will" win, whether that is wishful thinking or human nature, it seems to be the structure in all financial groups large or small.

That concludes our Report from the Middle where we can't seem to hold on to our money, but the women are strong, the men are good-looking and all the children are above average.


___________________Reference
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MooPig Financial Trends Department :: "Money Laundering and Fraud"

Indictment, arrest of virtual currency founder targets alleged “financial hub of the cybercrime world.”
Aired out by Pat Darnell | May 28, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

When we say we are going to do a series of money related posts, we think we are onto something of a trend. Because we all know that MooPig is a financial trendsetter, and therefore a trend-spotter. HA! We attempted to meddle through the muddle of financial stuff HERE. We thought to interfere in and busy ourselves unduly with something that is not usually our concern.

This report in USAToday is the kind of report that makes me want to get on the phone with old friends. This kind of report makes me want to hide in a cave like a wounded cougar, and lick my wounds. This kind of report makes me want to gather my little family together in a safe and cozy room. It is the kind of report that makes me stifle myself.

Alleged $6 billion money-laundering network busted: "Detailing what federal authorities termed the largest international money-laundering case in history, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the suspects and company were indicted for allegedly facilitating 55 million transactions that concealed the proceeds of credit card fraud, identity theft, computer hacking, child pornography, narcotics trafficking and other crimes."

'via Blog this'

So, let's see, it turns out the major cyber-crimes involve:

• credit card fraud
• identity theft
• computer hacking
• child pornography
• narcotics trafficking
• all the above in money laundering

Nope ... none of those key activities come up on a search of MooPig Wisdom. But, that is where the money goes to be "recirculated." And, there were 1-million signed up with Liberty Reserve. It does prove that if you want to know where's the money, you will have to wade through some pretty debased information, photos, videos, and acid trips to find out.

Original story:

" ... The papers cited Costa Rican prosecutor José Pablo González saying that Budovsky, a Costa Rican citizen of Ukrainian origin, has been under investigation since 2011 for money laundering using Liberty Reserve, a company he created in Costa Rica. “Local investigations began after a request from a prosecutor’s office in New York,” Tico Times reporter L. Arias wrote. “On Friday, San José prosecutors conducted raids in Budovsky’s house and offices in Escazá, Santa Ana, southwest of San José, and in the province of Heredia, north of the capital. Budovsky’s businesses in Costa Rica apparently were financed by using money from child pornography websites and drug trafficking. (25.May.2013. krebsonsecurity. LINK)... ”

CONCLUSION
If you own a Jet-Ski, a helicopter, or a tank, then you are at the top of the money chain.

__________________________Reference
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/05/28/ny-indictment-filed-money-laundering-case/2366237/?csp=fbfanpage
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-new-fed-thought-for-too-big-to-fail.html
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2012/11/moopig-financial-tricky-business.html
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43656
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/washington/2012/10/cbo-reports-federal-deficit-dipped-to-11-trillion-in-fiscal-2012.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/06/1141002/-More-Good-News-CBO-Reports-Deficit-is-down-another-200-Million
http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/archive/federal_tax_issues/federal_budget/
http://www.fedupusa.org/2012/10/08/
http://www.fedupusa.org/2012/10/the-worlds-largest-money-laundering-machine-the-federal-reserve/
http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/archive/federal_tax_issues/federal_budget/
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/laundrycycle.html

MooPig Merger Watch Department :: "Jim Hightower"

There is no Safe Harbor for the Common Person
Scooped by Pat Darnell  |  Mar 7, 2013  |  Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Introduction
Financial types, and they definitely are a subset of humanity, do things through sleight of hand. The reason they sneak around is because they foretell futures of money as it flows through society. They have formulas that tell them when tomorrow will be a winner or a loser. And this propriety, they think, gives them the right to lurk about. Just like a diamond dealer won't tell you where the diamonds are stashed, right?

The rest of us, in context of work-a-day, go about our business mostly ignoring the financial types. They seem to be doing nothing, and that seems foreign to one who works.

I did an experiment ten years ago. I got jobs working as an insurance agent, first with Farmers Insurance, then second with Western Southern Enterprises. I did okay in the application processes until they gave me a psychological evaluation type test. I was border line, as I was told later. But I worked in the financial industry for six years.

You see, there is no right or wrong answer to psychological test of that kind. My answers were "compared" to answers from other applicants, and/or, successful financial types. The comparisons told the company if I fell in the zone of successful financial types, or not.

Having been in Construction Management, and having grown up through the trades, my answers were "not" in the zone, but rather on the edge of that bell curve.

You, see, financial groups, like insurance companies are pyramids, only they are built out of playing cards. It may surprise you to learn that a regional manager at Farmers Insurance makes about $3 million a year; yes, that's right, and it is hardly ever publicized. The guy at the top of the heap gets the biggest check. His money is made off the backs of others.

When a bunch of financial guys get together they try to act like normal people, but their inherent hatred of anything "not financial" makes them play their hand.

I find these financial types intriguing; like being at a Cabaret, I sometimes imagine. A group of men usually who wear facades, and talk percentages, but just below the facade is a regular smelly, old wool, metallic scented pile of protoplasm that will shrivel up if it has to find common ground with a common person. Or, if you stare at their hairpiece too long they will try everything to turn your gaze from it.

"Oh, I jog three miles every morning," he'll say. This is supposed to fit into his gimmick world. Misdirection is the whole story, the only story, and the way of financial types out there.

So, when Jim Hightower reports on the sweeps of the financial district, that means we are right now in a national state of intentional "mis-direction," and maybe it is time to WAKE THE HELL UP!

Jim Hightower | Wall Street gets giddy over the urge to merge: "One Wall Street economist says, giddily, that today's urge to merge is "a sign that corporate America believes that the [economic] expansion is going to accelerate." Yeah, and run right over us.

"Confidence on Upswing, Mergers Make Comeback," The New York Times, February 15, 2013. 

"A Job-Hacking Fed Policy," Austin American Statesman, February 24, 2013.

"Buyouts a boon to investors," Austin American Statesman, February 18, 2013.

"From ketchup to computers, companies are buying each other again. Is a flurry of LBOs next?" www.washingtonpost.com, February 15, 2013."

'via Blog this'

[Read Entire Article HERE]



__________________________Reference
http://jimhightower.com/node/7975#.UTjFahyzeSo
http://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2013/01/16/dell-the-return-of-the-prodigal-lbo-2/

MooPig's Home Schooling Department :: "Tips for Avoiding Student Debt ..."

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | 3.27.2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]
Tips for Avoiding Student Debt | Coupons and Deals Blog - Coupon Mountain:

• Take General Education classes at a community college.
• Save some cash for extra expenses.
• Explore all scholarship opportunities.
• Make sure you received the most financial aid possible from your school.
• Know what you're getting into.

Read Article HERE ::

Sound advice? We don't know. but we have learned that courses online are as good as general education courses at your big ass universities. You'll see.

'via Blog this'

_____________________Reference
http://www.couponmountain.com/blog/10911/tips-for-avoiding-student-debt
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2012/02/moopigs-home-schooling-department.html

Ireland

EUROZONE, RED Zone.....
Retrieved for Ed Purposes by Pat Darnell  |  EXCERPT

" ... Many argue that Ireland has ineptly sacrificed to Washington and Brussels the gains of ancestors who fought over centuries for independence.
[SOURCE]

"This is not a rescue plan. It is the longest ransom note in history: do what we tell you and you may, in time, get your country back," wrote Irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole, author of Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic Tiger.

"In economic history it's very hard to find examples of countries pulling off the kind of fiscal adjustment Ireland is currently trying to do," Tilford said.

"I cannot see a happy ending."  © Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Irish parliament to vote on bitter financial pill
BY PETER O'NEIL, EUROPE CORRESPONDENT, POSTMEDIA NEWS DECEMBER 6, 2010

" ... In Dublin, Prime Minister Brian Cowen is counting on the votes of two independent MPs in parliament to pass the austerity program required to secure the $90-billion "rescue" loans provided late last month by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

FWD::FWD Email Department -- Message from the President

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain." by Chet Roi, DUSTOFF, SO OTHERS MAY LIVE | Retrieved from email by PD


In an Info-news-mercial Conference yesterday, GM -- Government Motors -- announced its new LOGObamma concept car...



The NEW and Compact 2010 Barry-Z-Outobammobile, supposed to be pictured here with Special Guest Reverend Wright.

Here are notes from the conference:

This Z model has a carbon footprint of "smudge" -- that's when a GMC Duelie runs over it.

And that is not all; the car runs on hot air.

It has only three wheels -- that only turn left.

It comes with two Teleprompters and Touch programming to give driver and occupants Easy-speak, warm-chatter to ease their ways out of violations.

We Love It! Is it free to everyone who has an income of less than, but not more than, $634,000 a year? Not hardly. But purchaser gets a $20 off coupon for an iPod Shuffle. How about that Cow Pokes?

But you will have to test drive it to believe it: GM -- Government Motors -- sales tax, excise tax, sewer tax, liability insurance, or Tee-Shirt not included... may cause drowsiness, liver cramping, bleeding gums, stiffness in the colon, and fatal crash dummy results, not to be used when genuflecting Saudi Kings, or postulating the Postulate, or Pontificating epistology's... call your doctor, and seek medical help if erection exceeds four weeks, and gender is in fact in question.

This one sent in by Wendy Ballard, freewolfsprit1@yahoo.com, thanks WendyBob.

COMMUNIST !!!

Madoff's RoloDex: It's Still the Economy
Retrieved by Pat Darnell and the CEO's

MooPig's "Behavioral Economists on Staff" suggest this reminder: "Don't try this at home. Every CEO and boat owner knows this is an ideal time to trim the sails; cull the herd... you know, get rid of some of the whining around the place... no?"


[SOURCE]



DIY stimulus: CEO gives workers $1000 each from his own pocket
Bruce Watson | Apr 3rd 2009

Jack Windolf, the CEO of Bollinger Insurance, recently gave his 434 employees a surprise gift: out of his own pocket, he paid each of them $1000. The bonuses, which Windolf called "a mini economic stimulus package," came from $500,000 in deferred compensation that he received when he sold 51 percent of the company last year. Rather than spend the money on himself, he chose to share it with his workers.

CEOs have had a rough time of it lately. With outrage brewing about the scandalous bonuses that went out to executives at Lehman, AIG, Merrill Lynch and other huge companies, it's become increasingly lonely at the top. And for good reason.

After all, even a cursory analysis of the evolution of executive compensation over the past few decades is enough to bring out one's inner Karl Marx. By now, the statistics are pretty well-known, but let's review them one more time: in 1982, the average CEO made 42 times as much as the average worker; by 1990, they were making 107 times as much as their employees, and by 2007, 275 times as much. This meant, incidentally, that the average CEO made more in one workday than the average employee made all year.

Some studies have suggested that employees don't begrudge their bosses the extra pay as long as the company is doing well. However, even by that metric, CEO compensation has grown out of control. With companies lining up to take government bailouts, it is worth asking exactly what companies are getting for their money. One can only imagine the feelings of AIG's rank-and-file employees, and the attitude among low-level workers at Merrill Lynch must be downright mutinous.

Comments:
4-05-2009 @ 11:51AM
Manuel said...
What made those 400+ deserve an extra $1000. They should be taxed at 90%. Mob envy took over in the French Revolution. Mike "45cal. or 9mm bonus" would have fit in well there. In fact, he should move to France.
4-05-2009 @ 11:43AM
robtheblogger6 said...
People can bitch and moan about CEOs but guess what : they don't give a sh*t what you think. Why? Because you can't do a damn thing about it. There's no rioting and i haven't hard of any CEOs being 'taken out'. The "common " people take it up the ass like good little sheep.
4-05-2009 @ 1:34PM
Rupert said...

They should all be chased by mobs with pitch forks and torches!

I've heard radio commentators argue that government shouldn't be involved as when the President asked GM's chairmen to step down.

Well, that's fine. No bailouts either. Let the market sort it out. If you want OUR money- you should be accountable!!

If you ran the company into the ground you DO NOT deserve a bonus! Another employee gets a pink slip for a poor job, why not them? ANY exec who askes for CORPORATE WELFARE, should be fired and stripped of HIS parachute!

We need to all wake up and tell congress that WE AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE. Let the CEOs go to food banks and see how degrading it feels. Be outraged!

Why Ikki Peed Ya

An appeal from Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales | or just another Bailout?

PHOTO: Jimmy "Appeal" Wales

Dear Reader,

Today I am going to ask you to support Wikipedia with a donation. This might sound unusual: Why does one of the world's five most popular web properties ask for financial support from its users?

Wikipedia is built differently from almost every other top 50 website. We have a small number of paid staff, just twenty-three. Wikipedia content is free to use by anyone for any purpose. Our annual expenses are less than six million dollars. Wikipedia is run by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, which I founded in 2003.

At its core, Wikipedia is driven by a global community of more than 150,000 volunteers - all dedicated to sharing knowledge freely. Over almost eight years, these volunteers have contributed more than 11 million articles in 265 languages. More than 275 million people come to our website every month to access information, free of charge and free of advertising.

But Wikipedia is more than a website. We share a common cause: Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's our commitment.

Your donation helps us in several ways. Most importantly, you will help us cover the increasing cost of managing global traffic to one of the most popular websites on the Internet. Funds also help us improve the software that runs Wikipedia -- making it easier to search, easier to read, and easier to write for. We are committed to growing the free knowledge movement world-wide, by recruiting new volunteers, and building strategic partnerships with institutions of culture and learning.

Wikipedia is different. It's the largest encyclopedia in history, written by volunteers. Like a national park or a school, we don't believe advertising should have a place in Wikipedia. We want to keep it free and strong, but we need the support of thousands of people like you.

I invite you to join us: Your donation will help keep Wikipedia free for the whole world.

Thank you,

Jimmy Wales

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber is worth $750 Million

Satire and Review by Pat Darnell

MooPig is interested to know how Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's wealth stands up to the recent USA financial bailout...
British Pounds 750, 000,000 [that's million] divided by British Pounds 388,888,888,888 [that's billion] is 0.0019

Wow; that's not very much!

If our math is right, Andy's kids should be spitting and cursing their dad for being such a light weight in the earnings department!! Why? HE could have bought the whole USA, if he had just written more songs!!! Too late now; and royalties are just dripping in like a leaky faucet in Phoenix.

"Only 750 million? Mother Mary and sweet Joseph, Dad, we were counting on you...."

...if I were Madeliene, I'd dump him.

When your dad is worth 750 million, you might expect to never have to worry about money again. But Andrew Lloyd Webber's kids aren't getting a free pass from their dad. In a recent interview Webber revealed that he doesn't plan on giving his fortune to his kids when he dies.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's kids won't inherit his money
by Bethany Sanders | Oct 12th 2008 1:00PM

Instead, the king of musicals will likely be donating the money toward helping kids around the world succeed in the arts. "(A will) is one thing you do start to think about when you get to my age. I don't think it should be about having a whole load of rich children and grandchildren. I think it should be used as a way to encourage the arts."

Webber acknowledges that since his wife Madeleine will likely outlive him, it'll be up to her to decide exactly how the money is spent and the company is run. And while kids Imogen, 31, Nicholas, 29, Alastair, 16, William, 15, and Isabella, 12, won't be inheriting their dad's giant fortune, Webber says they'll be taken care of nonetheless.
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I suppose we could call him Lord of Lloydon "Lowdown"... or Dan for short... Please send donations to Webber's kids and [one day his] widow...Satire Review by Pat Darnell