Bernie is always worth listening to, and here he has a wide-ranging conversation with Trevor Noah on the current political climate, supporting Zohran Mamdani, the curious non-response of the...
Bernie is always worth listening to, and here he has a wide-ranging conversation with Trevor Noah on the current political climate, supporting Zohran Mamdani, the curious non-response of the Democratic Party to Mamdani's grassroots support, the way forward for progressives, the real impact of the billionaire class on US society, healthcare, the current push for AI, and more besides.
The book that he refers to every so often during their sit-down is his latest, Fight Oligarchy.
when he claims that "Vanguard, State Street, Blackrock" being majority stockholders in almost all corps means the US is an oligarchy without addressing the fact that that's because they are index...
when he claims that "Vanguard, State Street, Blackrock" being majority stockholders in almost all corps means the US is an oligarchy without addressing the fact that that's because they are index funds for the pensions of almost all americans, and that these funds in general give fairly little guidance to corps they control shares in (btw they were pro-ESG as an exception to this), made me feel that his arguments should not be treated seriously. Vanguard is literally owned by its customers, that's not very oligarchic! also, I think calling the US an oligarchy shows a serious lack of understanding at what real oligarchies look like, this article was quite instructive on that front
Yep. My 401K is set to have a majority of stock and a minority of bonds, since I'm in my 30s and more aggressive growth is better. That just means they dump the money put into the account into...
Yep. My 401K is set to have a majority of stock and a minority of bonds, since I'm in my 30s and more aggressive growth is better. That just means they dump the money put into the account into Vanguard and other index funds, balanced to minimize risk somewhat.
Millions of people owning a small slice of a company that owns shares of other companies is about as far from oligarchy as you can get. It's getting suspiciously close to the thinking behind a co-op...
Now multibillionaires who can just straight up buy social and traditional media venues to shape public perception...then we're talking oligarchy.
I do think there's a difference between ownership and control, though. You dont get any personal control over your fragment of the index funds, beyond potentially choosing which onea to invest in....
I do think there's a difference between ownership and control, though. You dont get any personal control over your fragment of the index funds, beyond potentially choosing which onea to invest in. Distributed ownership doesn't imply distributed control, and so the people who guide the investment firms have significant influence without needing to have the money themselves.
This is like saying "Facebook relies on its users, that's not a monopoly!". You're semantically right, but a lot of oligarchical power runs on the fact that most people will be too lazy to wield...
Vanguard is literally owned by its customers, that's not very oligarchic!
This is like saying "Facebook relies on its users, that's not a monopoly!".
You're semantically right, but a lot of oligarchical power runs on the fact that most people will be too lazy to wield their power. Or perhaps unaware they have that power to begin with. We may see boycotts for Disney, but no one's digging into their 401k and switching their investments for a true revolt.
Bernie is always worth listening to, and here he has a wide-ranging conversation with Trevor Noah on the current political climate, supporting Zohran Mamdani, the curious non-response of the Democratic Party to Mamdani's grassroots support, the way forward for progressives, the real impact of the billionaire class on US society, healthcare, the current push for AI, and more besides.
The book that he refers to every so often during their sit-down is his latest, Fight Oligarchy.
when he claims that "Vanguard, State Street, Blackrock" being majority stockholders in almost all corps means the US is an oligarchy without addressing the fact that that's because they are index funds for the pensions of almost all americans, and that these funds in general give fairly little guidance to corps they control shares in (btw they were pro-ESG as an exception to this), made me feel that his arguments should not be treated seriously. Vanguard is literally owned by its customers, that's not very oligarchic! also, I think calling the US an oligarchy shows a serious lack of understanding at what real oligarchies look like, this article was quite instructive on that front
Yep. My 401K is set to have a majority of stock and a minority of bonds, since I'm in my 30s and more aggressive growth is better. That just means they dump the money put into the account into Vanguard and other index funds, balanced to minimize risk somewhat.
Millions of people owning a small slice of a company that owns shares of other companies is about as far from oligarchy as you can get. It's getting suspiciously close to the thinking behind a co-op...
Now multibillionaires who can just straight up buy social and traditional media venues to shape public perception...then we're talking oligarchy.
I do think there's a difference between ownership and control, though. You dont get any personal control over your fragment of the index funds, beyond potentially choosing which onea to invest in. Distributed ownership doesn't imply distributed control, and so the people who guide the investment firms have significant influence without needing to have the money themselves.
This is like saying "Facebook relies on its users, that's not a monopoly!".
You're semantically right, but a lot of oligarchical power runs on the fact that most people will be too lazy to wield their power. Or perhaps unaware they have that power to begin with. We may see boycotts for Disney, but no one's digging into their 401k and switching their investments for a true revolt.
Can someone please tag this video as video in addition to podcast.
@cfabbro
👍