We are all Slave now.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Adder

GGG says the secondary market prices are always higher than the primary market. If that's true (and it's almost certainly not), then his complaint is not about the monopolist, who is leaving money on the table.

You may want to scroll up a couple posts from where you are. Just so you get your facts right.

Are you really trying to argue that Baseball isn't an anti-trust problem? You know they have a special exception just for baseball?

[Hank Chinaski]

California people- looking at vacation ideas something within an hour or two north of LAX (or another airport north?).

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

You may want to scroll up a couple posts from where you are. Just so you get your facts right.

Your amended complaint is more coherent than your initial complaint. Congrats.

Are you really trying to argue that Baseball isn't an anti-trust problem? You know they have a special exception just for baseball?

Define "problem?" I'm really not overly concerned about the unilateral pricing practices of sports entertainment providers. Yeah, ticket, food, beverage and merch prices in the stadium are uncompetitive. Sure, you could try to regulate them. Just doesn't seem like a super high priority.

The market power inherent in being the one (or two) team in town is not why they have an exemption.

Also, don't hyphenate antitrust unless you want to look like it's unfamiliar to you.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Adder

GGG says the secondary market prices are always higher than the primary market.

No he didn't. He was just reminding everyone that the Sox have been good lately.

eta: Unrelatedly, David Moyes's six-year contract with Manchester United is not up yet.

eta: This wins the internet.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Adder

Your amended complaint is more coherent than your initial complaint. Congrats.

Go back and read.

And if you're going to be an ass-hole, try to be better at it.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

How to do depositions now:

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Go back and read.

And if you're going to be an ass-hole, try to be better at it.

I'd like to certify this comment.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Sebby, icymi: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-wealthy-elite

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

Sebby, icymi: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-wealthy-elite

I love that guy. My only quibble with him would be his suggestion that this problem stems from greed as much or more than incompetence.

"Smart" is quite cheap. (I was in all the gifted programs, went to private high school, and was admitted to top tier universities. What did I learn there? I'm not sure. Ya think I'm elite? I've no STEM degree, so I'm inclined to view it all as nothing more than finishing school.)

I think a lot of the crowd Giridharadas targets is actually incompetent rather than malicious. They're convinced they're smart because they're part of a self-reinforcing system. Everyone around them agrees with them, and what results (which he notes in the book) is a circle jerk of self-aggrandizing "yes" people.

We all work with loads of MBAs. It seems almost half of all clients are owned by private equity these days. There was a time I'd see the bean counting MBAs as vicious deal junkies. I'd understand their obsession with efficiency and cost cutting, often damaging the company's business and long term future, as Gordon Gekko style behavior. But with more exposure to them, one realizes, they just don't know any other way to behave. They can't think beyond financials, charts, models. They're sort of autistic, armed with a higher than average bit of grey matter and assured They Know Best. (Giridharadas crushes this in the book.)

But we've told them they're smart, and they tell themselves they're smart, and since they judge themselves using their own measures of what's smart and successful, this feedback loop persists. All shall be done as the "smart" say it shall be done because They Know Best. The problem is their "intelligence" is short term, IBGYBG. As Giridharadas explains in the book, they never consider that what they're doing is creating long term harm to the businesses they're running (Giridharadas shares Nick Hanauers' view that current business management trends are robbing these businesses of their own domestic customer bases... Unfortunately he does not address the argument that these managers might not care about domestic consumers, as those can be replaced with foreign consumers).

I think Giridharadas should write another book exploring the cocooning or siloing of alleged "smart" people, and how this impacts us economically. The problems he focuses on aren't as much "elites" running things badly. It's "elites" who aren't really elite in any regard running things badly. A misapplication of the term "elite."

By dumb luck, I've been fortunate enough to mingle on a few occasions with people involved in some of the biggest policy decisions in recent history. And I think I'm a fairly solid judge of native intelligence. These people did not strike me as uniquely wise. More experienced, yes. But not scary-smart, like some research scientists or doctors one might meet. In law, in business, I've only happened across maybe a handful of people who truly fit the term "elite." Most of the people who seem to run the gears near the tops of organizations are pretty average, tenacious, and a bit lucky. (It's not genius level toil.) I think an assessment of whether the alleged "elites" are actually competent to offer suggestions on complex policies would create some scary results. Giridharadas should do that.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Interesting moment right now with Mattis resigning and Trump telling Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster, something McConnell and others have said they won't do. Mattis leaving will make everyone concerned, and I have to think that will make Senate Republicans less likely to cave, even if they won't connect the two explicitly.

[Replaced_Texan]

My meter on such things is very off, but has this week under Trump been more chaotic than most? I kinda sorta maybe feel this is the beginning of the end, but I've thought that a lot of things were so beyond the pale no one would stand for it.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

My meter on such things is very off, but has this week under Trump been more chaotic than most? I kinda sorta maybe feel this is the beginning of the end, but I've thought that a lot of things were so beyond the pale no one would stand for it.

David Graham agrees.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

My meter on such things is very off, but has this week under Trump been more chaotic than most? I kinda sorta maybe feel this is the beginning of the end, but I've thought that a lot of things were so beyond the pale no one would stand for it.

I don't see him resigning*, or being impeached. I think the best we can hope for is: " Since I have already fixed America in my 4 years I am not running for re-election. I only ask that the next President take a lesson and not ruin what I have done."

*Wild card being if he thinks there are actually scary crimes, he could resign the last few weeks of his Presidency to let Pence pardon him?

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

I don't see him resigning*, or being impeached. I think the best we can hope for is: " Since I have already fixed America in my 4 years I am not running for re-election. I only ask that the next President take a lesson and not ruin what I have done."

*Wild card being if he thinks there are actually scary crimes, he could resign the last few weeks of his Presidency to let Pence pardon him?

I always figured it was going to be a "health event" that would take him out.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

I always figured it was going to be a "health event" that would take him out.

To quote Pulp Fiction, “let’s not start sucking each other’s dicks just yet.” Ex-Pres leaving a still functioning country is not yet assured.