Is There a New Dotcom Bubble?

[Ed209]

Resorting to cronyism to get your kids a job is not a "legacy". It is just cronyism and corruption.

We are just polar opposites, buddy. I'd do anything for my kids, and being able to leave them a house or two and some money means a lot to me. I don't see helping protect your family's future as cronyism. It should be what drives people to wake up each morning and do the best they can.

If it were a company, shareholders will fire the CEO, the CFO, and everyone on the board of directors, and replace them with people able to do the job.

Exactly. But why should the value of everybody's hard-earned money lie with the decision of a select few imperfect human beings?

Only consumers can take back the power, ignoring Big Tech, ignoring crypto, not using their services, not purchasing their products.

Stop using their services and devices? The vast majority of members here use their technology every day, including you. You'd have to go off-grid not to. We haven't really got a choice, so they'll continue stealing and monetising our data at our expense. A solution to this problem lies within the crypto community. That's if someone can find a way to truly decentralise the web, and that's what is being worked on right now.

You still did not prove how Jeff Bezos pays a larger percentage of his gross earning than me. I pay 40%. Bezos does NOT pay 40% of his earnings. That's a fact.

You are looking at this all wrong. What you have to ask yourself is what value do people bring to an economy? Do they bring a net value or do they extract value? Most people are in the negative. Go back and watch the lecture by Prof Antony Davies. This is why the public debt is so high.

I'm not Bezos' accountant, so I don't know his tax affairs and I cannot comment if he is being honest or not. However, you cannot take the value of his stock holdings and consider them to be his income because they are unrealised gains. It's ridiculous to even consider his net worth as having anything to do with the tax he owes when all of it is tied up in the stock. That stock can go up or down at a moments notice. I remember when Janet Yellen wanted to bring in a tax on unrealised gains last year and I thought it was the most absurd thing I'd ever heard. She'd bankrupt America doing stupid stuff like that as it's an insane idea.

If you take his income you get this (remember that tax rates change depending on the country you live in):

We learned Jeff Bezos paid $1.4 billion in federal taxes on $6.5 billion in reported income between 2006 and 2018. That's an effective tax rate of 21.5%, which isn't bad. As the same report said, the median American household has lately paid an effective rate of 14%.

I get the feeling that you are somebody that wants to live off the hard work of others instead of making your own way in life. The world owes you nothing. Did you contribute $1.4 billion to your economy? If not, why are you holding your country back and not contributing more? You see how this can work both ways? That's why I hate all this blame culture.

 

[Juan]

We are just polar opposites, buddy. I'd do anything for my kids, and being able to leave them a house or two and some money means a lot to me. I don't see helping protect your family's future as cronyism. It should be what drives people to wake up each morning and do the best they can.

I am starting to get the feeling you are a bit of a sneaky fish, as you are trying to distort my arguments and put in my mouth things I did not say.

I said that most of those Big Tech entrepeneurs are not normal people like any ordinary guy who is living his ordinary life and starts out of scratch. Those "garage entrepreneurs" are in reality the privileged sons and daughter of rich families, who have been raised surrounded by wealth, who went to expensive private schools and private universities and whose parents bought a future for them outside a leveled playfield.

So the whole narrative and myth around the creation of Tech Companies is all false, is a tale for idiots. Those companies were backed from the very beginning by very rich people, and created in an atmosphere of wealth and privilege.

And in hindsight the best proof is that Tech Companies and their lobbies have in fact forced central banks to keep interest rates at zero just to finance their losses for years and years and years.. and now, with official inflation at 7% (real inflation maybe doubles that figure) those lobbies still press for zero interest rates, which is ridiculous, absolutely absurd.

We haven't really got a choice, so they'll continue stealing and monetising our data at our expense.

I have a choice. I do not buy anything in Amazon. I have never used Uber. I have never ordered through a delivery app. I do not use Facebook.

Do you see? I DO HAVE A CHOICE. And others have choices too.

However, you cannot take the value of his stock holdings and consider them to be his income because they are unrealised gains.

I mean dividends. Bezos does not live off air. His roughly 500 million yacht is not bought with food coupons. He buys it with real money for which he does not pay the same tax as I pay on my gross income. I think I made my point very clear like 3 times already.

I get the feeling that you are somebody that wants to live off the hard work of others instead of making your own way in life.

You have to be kidding me. I already stated that I pay 40% income tax on my gross earnings

 

[Ed209]

I am starting to get the feeling you are a bit of a sneaky fish, as you are trying to distort my arguments and put in my mouth things I did not say.

That was a straight answer to your response. I wasn't trying to be sneaky in any way.

And in hindsight the best proof is that Tech Companies and their lobbies have in fact forced central banks to keep interest rates at zero just to finance their losses for years and years and years.. and now, with official inflation at 7% (real inflation maybe doubles that figure) those lobbies still press for zero interest rates, which is ridiculous, absolutely absurd.

This is complete and utter nonsense.

Do you see? I DO HAVE A CHOICE. And others have choices too.

You are online right now, and you're using technology made by them. They own your ass.

I mean dividends. Bezos does not live off air. His roughly 500 million yacht is not bought with food coupons. He buys it with real money for which he does not pay the same tax as I pay on my gross income. I think I made my point very clear like 3 times already.

I haven't got the energy to explain why you're wrong here, but it's explained really well here:



Let me be clear here, though, I'm not defending Jeff Bezos as I don't even know the guy. I'm trying to explain how an economy works because you're understanding misses many major points.

You have to be kidding me. I already stated that I pay 40% income tax on my gross earnings

That doesn't mean a thing. What really matters is one's net value to the economy, plus or minus. You likely take more out of the economy than you put in, as you are living a first-world lifestyle that has been debt funded for decades. We are living through a time of artificial growth because there hasn't been a surplus at the end of a fiscal year for as long as I can remember. So, many countries run a deficit and debt fund themselves in order to allow us all to live to a higher standard than we should based on our productivity. Everything is in a bubble.

Instead of exclusively blaming rich people - who in some cases are the only ones who are net providers - we need to look at ourselves and ask what we can do better. There will never be a perfect system to live by, it's just not possible.

 

[Exit]

 

[Ed209]

 

[Damocles]

Jeff might be a complete prick, I have no idea.

As I said, he might be a prick in real life, but I don't know the guy.

Regarding Jeff, he has paid more effective tax than you'll ever pay in your entire lifetime. That doesn't mean I have to like the guy, but facts are facts.

I'm not Bezos' accountant, so I don't know his tax affairs and I cannot comment if he is being honest or not.

Some friends of mine are in the top 1%

@Ed209 is friends with Jeff Bezos, confirmed.

Perhaps you could ask him to throw some of his pocket change into research for us? I reckon just 1% of the 87% tax Amazon dodged in the UK in 2020 (1% of that being roughly £20,000,000) would get us a real treatment for our condition by the end of this year.

But what I want really want to ask you @Ed209: is one of his eyes robotic?

 

[Ed209]

@Ed209 is friends with Jeff Bezos, confirmed.

Perhaps you could ask him to throw some of his pocket change into research for us? I reckon just 1% of the 87% tax Amazon dodged in the UK in 2020 (1% of that being roughly £20,000,000) would get us a real treatment for our condition by the end of this year.

But what I want really want to ask you @Ed209: is one of his eyes robotic?

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We can barely get people within the tinnitus community to lift a finger and do the slightest of things to contribute and help, and at the same, we frequently see posts demanding that rich people give their money!

It's the freeloading mentality.

 

[Ed209]

The situation in Canada is crazy. You have a mandate to vaccinate people against their will which has led to the truckers blockade protest, but the protest itself is affecting the supply chain. So, they freeze everyone's bank accounts. What a mess. All of this will have a further effect on the rate of inflation.

A government's duty is to serve the people; it's not for the people to serve them. However, it's a complex situation as it depends on how many of their citizens agree with what's going on and whether the government's actions reflect the will of the majority. 40% of the donations that the protesters received were from Canadians which is why they blocked their accounts. This leads me to this statement which I saw last week as it's food for thought:

Hopefully, they can resolve this situation peacefully and with a good outcome for all involved.

 

[Juan]

We can barely get people within the tinnitus community to lift a finger and do the slightest of things to contribute and help, and at the same, we frequently see posts demanding that rich people give their money!

You are wrong again. We just demand rich people to pay the taxes everyone else is paying! The taxes they are avoiding and they are NOT paying.

 

[Ed209]

You are wrong again. We just demand rich people to pay the taxes everyone else is paying! The taxes they are avoiding and they are NOT paying.

It's a random diversion into someone's personal tax affairs that none of us have any clue about. You are comparing yourself to someone who lives in a different country that has different tax rules and are basing your conclusions on income and expense figures that you don't even have access to. What is the point?

I think everyone should pay their fair share of tax as I have always worked and paid mine my entire life. I've always been clear about this on this forum. I can see that the tech giants (and basically every other corporation) get away with murder on their corporate tax bills which I disagree with, but no laws are being broken. It's the system that is broken, but my message doesn't seem to get through.

The situation in Canada highlights the power they have over society with the current financial system. They can take your hard earned money and assets in the blink of an eye, just like the US did with Executive Order 6102 when they confiscated everybody's gold in 1933.

 

[Juan]

I can see that the tech giants (and basically every other corporation) get away with murder on their corporate tax bills which I disagree with, but no laws are being broken.

You are wrong again. Facebook is breaking privacy laws and data protection laws every day. Actually Facebook has been sued in Texas for stealing facial recognition images from users without their knowledge or consent.

And same goes for tax laws. Tech Companies break the law all the time, but they have paid politicians and maybe even judges to get away with it.

The "argument" Big Tech uses for not paying taxes in Spain is just ridiculous. Saying that whatever amount they earned in Spain is offset by some payment to a group company in a tax haven, to offset the benefit and transfer the benefit to the tax haven.

A fish and chips joint could say they are using a recipe owned by a group company in a tax haven and not pay a dime of tax either hahaha... what would be the difference?

So if this sounds ridiculous and absurd in the case of the fish and chips joint, it is equally absurd in the case of Big Tech.

Big Tech should be FORCED to pay tax as everyone else does. The IRS should have teams appointed just to review in detail tax statements (or the absence of those) by Big Tech.

 

[Ed209]

You are wrong again. Facebook is breaking privacy laws and data protection laws every day. Actually Facebook has been sued in Texas for stealing facial recognition images from users without their knowledge or consent.

You're moving all over the place. I've already agreed with you on this point; they steal and monetise everybody's personal data. This is where your paradoxical thinking comes in again, though, as a potential solution to this involves the use of crypto. If we can successfully decentralise the web then we can take sovereignty over our own data. This is why I don't understand why you had crypto above big tech on your list. It makes no objective sense based upon your arguments.

And same goes for tax laws. Tech Companies break the law all the time, but they have paid politicians and maybe even judges to get away with it.

What are your sources for this? How do you know they have paid off judges? The general consensus is that they use the same legal loopholes as all the other big corporations do. It's nothing new. It just highlights how poor the system is in terms of regulation.

I'm sure that people must be thrilled with this back and forth debate as it must be a riveting read for the more discerning individual.

 

[Juan]

The general consensus is that they use the same legal loopholes as all the other big corporations do. It's nothing new.

These are not legal loopholes. It's just tax evasion that is not prosecuted. They have greased and bought the EU politicians in Brussels.

This is not a democracy. The EU has become an economic dictatorship at the service of a few billionaires and Tech Companies.

 

[Ed209]

These are not legal loopholes. It's just tax evasion that is not prosecuted. They have greased and bought the EU politicians in Brussels.

This is not a democracy. The EU has become an economic dictatorship at the service of a few billionaires and Tech Companies.

That's what a legal loophole is, though.

 

[Juan]

That's what a legal loophole is, though.

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There are no legal loopholes regarding taxations. Tax laws are designed for companies to pays their taxes, not to evade taxes.

What Big Tech is doing is illegal. Same as Facebook stealing data from its users: that's illegal.

Governments should punish this behaviour and fine Tech Companies: make them pay what they owe, and fine them.

 

[Ed209]

There are plenty of loopholes that have been used for years. Most savvy business owners know how to legally save a lot on their tax bills.

Governments should punish this behaviour and fine Tech Companies: make them pay what they owe, and fine them.

That's what I'm saying; it's down to regulation.

 

[Ed209]

Does Warren Buffett have tinnitus because he may have been lurking on the stock chat

Buffett's Shocking Bitcoin Bet Supports $1M Bitcoin Price Prediction

Meanwhile, the "Sage of Omaha", Warren Buffett, is quietly coming around to crypto. A recent Berkshire Hathaway filling reveals it dumped shares in legacy financials Visa and Mastercard and sank $1 billion into a crypto-friendly neobank.

For the world's biggest crypto critic, that's a big change of heart. In 2020, he said: "cryptocurrencies basically have no value and they don't produce anything," adding "I don't have any cryptocurrency and I never will."

Buffett's U-turn hints at a critical point in institutional crypto adoption that could put a rocket under crypto demand (and prices) in the coming years.

Moreover, Buffet is not the only big investor to have a change of heart.

For example, Lloyd Blankfein, a former Goldman Sachs CEO who has voiced scepticism about cryptos in the past, recently said that his view on crypto is "evolving."

The fact that these icons have come around to cryptos will likely persuade even the most reluctant of big institutional investors to consider them again, potentially turbocharging demand.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danrun...solana-cardano-xrp-and-ethereum-prices-surge/

 

[Juan]

know how to legally save a lot on their tax bills.

They get too creative. All that is not legal. I have worked with investment banks and top lawyers in Spain and what they do is NOT legal and periodically there is a crack down on this kind of stuff and they get a large tax bill for the amounts due, plus fines...

Companies keep evading tax because even if they are caught, they save more than they pay, so the law should be adapted to this reality.

EU countries have to make Big Tech pay.

 

[Juan]

Bitcoin and NASDAQ keep falling. And people told these were safe investments

 

[Ed209]

Bitcoin and NASDAQ keep falling. And people told these were safe investments

I expected a crash this year and warned people many times to expect one, but nobody could have predicted what's happening with Russia. That's just messed up.

I haven't changed a thing with my longterm portfolio, though. I took a huge amount of profit on the way up and am still getting 12% interest on it, so it's all good. Investing is not a short term thing, so it's ok to average into positions if one sees an opportunity. Holding cash ain't a great option with the rampant inflation.

I think it's a bit silly to proclaim whether an investment is good or bad after a matter of weeks have passed. You need to wait until at least 5-10 years have passed before you can judge if something has been successful or not. I definitely wouldn't want to trade in this environment, though. When there's fear the markets become too unpredictable when looking at shorter time frames and that's because they are driven by human psychology.

 

[Juan]

When there's fear the markets become too unpredictable when looking at shorter time frames and that's because they are driven by human psychology.

This is just the start of a long way down for the stock markets. Just the start.

 

[Ed209]

This is just the start of a long way down for the stock markets. Just the start.

The markets are completely secondary to the state of the world at the moment.

Rising oil and energy prices along with inflation is going to cripple a ton of people. We had a text message yesterday from our energy suppliers to say that our estimated bill on our new tariff will be £320 ($478) per month. When you factor in that it costs me around £90 ($120) a week to put diesel in my car, that's another £360 ($480) a month just to fill my car up. Then the cost of food is skyrocketing as well. Then we have counsel tax, water rates and our mortgage to pay. Many people are going to be homeless at this rate as it's totally unsustainable; especially for those on lower incomes. There's also a looming threat of war for everyone, so it's all doom and gloom out there. I just hope all those in the Ukraine stay as safe as possible, and those in neighbouring countries as well.

The markets don't affect me either way because I don't plan on selling what I have left for years, so I will add to my positions (including what I hold on behalf of Tinnitus Talk) if I see some carnage and panic selling. I reckon we could see up to 60% wiped off the Nasdaq quite easily if the right conditions are met. Nobody will time the bottom, though.

 

[Juan]

Rising oil and energy prices along with inflation is going to cripple a ton of people. We had a text message yesterday from our energy suppliers to say that our estimated bill on our new tariff will be £320 ($478) per month. When you factor in that it costs me around £90 ($120) a week to put diesel in my car, that's another £360 ($480) a month just to fill my car up. Then the cost of food is skyrocketing as well. Then we have counsel tax, water rates and our mortgage to pay. Many people are going to be homeless at this rate as it's totally unsustainable; especially for those on lower incomes.

Governments are putting this load on the shoulders of the rest of taxpayers, as no one expects central banks to do their jobs, for a change.

The irresponsible monetary policy and interest rate policy of the last decade has brought us here. Prices have increased dramatically and now there is a huge global real estate bubble, and a stock market bubble too.

Central bankers must be hold accountable for what is happening. If Lagarde and Powell do not want to do their jobs properly, they have to resign.

I reckon we could see up to 60% wiped off the Nasdaq quite easily if the right conditions are met.

If you want to know who is responsible for something, look at who is profiting from it. Today world stock markets are falling, and the Russian stock market has collapsed.

However, the NASDAQ turned to the green and is now climbing 1%. Those American billionaires are the ones behind what's been going on in the last few years.

The pandemic was an excuse to delay going back to a normal monetary policy and to normal rates. How convenient this Ukraine invasion is! Now those stupid central bankers have more excuses to delay the unavoidable.

This is an economic dictatorship by central banks and corrupt governments greased by a few billionaires, a dictatorship brought upon the normal citizen, who is every day poorer.

 

[Ed209]

Governments are putting this load on the shoulders of the rest of taxpayers, as no one expects central banks to do their jobs, for a change.

We've already been through all this. They have backed themselves into a corner by being irresponsible with their monetary policies for years. If they raise the rates now then everyone will be even more screwed as people will be defaulting left and right. Governments shouldn't have allowed these humongous debts to build up in the first place as we've been living beyond our means for decades.

The irresponsible monetary policy and interest rate policy of the last decade has brought us here. Prices have increased dramatically and now there is a huge global real estate bubble, and a stock market bubble too.

The dollar itself is a bubble. All that extra money is reflected in the charts and the property prices, etc. I've been saying this for years. Humans never learn from history even though we know what happens when you begin to monetise debt.

They will keep inflating the supply to rob peoples savings and attempt to shrink the debt into oblivion. I've already said, there is not enough room to significantly raise the rates without them bankrupting themselves. So, next month, they'll raise them by a poxy 25 to 50 basis points, but they'll delay for as long as possible (and they may not raise them at all knowing the Fed). That's the game they are playing, and everybody can see it.

However, the NASDAQ turned to the green and is now climbing 1%. Those American billionaires are the ones behind what's been going on in the last few years.

The problem is that the money has to flow somewhere, and there's nearly twice as much in circulation now then there was just 2 years ago. This means that nobody wants to hold large sums of cash because it's guaranteed to lose a lot of value, so all this money has to go somewhere. We'll most likely see various bouts of panic selling followed by a recovery of some kind. Basically, there will be a lot of volatility which will make trading much more difficult.

The pandemic was an excuse to delay going back to a normal monetary policy and to normal rates. How convenient this Ukraine invasion is! Now those stupid central bankers have more excuses to delay the unavoidable.

It was never normal! The pandemic just exposed how messed up it all is; we never learned from 2008, at all. We've been living with effective negative rates for ages.

This is an economic dictatorship by central banks and corrupt governments greased by a few billionaires, a dictatorship brought upon the normal citizen, who is every day poorer.

That's why I say fuck the central banks and their bullshit fractal reserve banking model. Decentralised crypto is much fairer and it pays a proper interest rate.

 

[Juan]

The dollar itself is a bubble. All that extra money is reflected in the charts and the property prices, etc. I've been saying this for years. Humans never learn from history even though we know what happens when you begin to monetise debt.

That's why the FED will be forced to raise interest rates in March and reduce its balance sheet.

 

[Ed209]

It's nice to see such a good response from the crypto community.

 

[Juan]

Those Russian money launderers are converting their Rubles to Bitcoin like crazy

Maybe it's time for European politicians and financial supervisors to move their asses for a change and stop all this money laundering and tax evasion.

 

[Ed209]

Those Russian money launderers are converting their Rubles to Bitcoin like crazy

Maybe it's time for European politicians and financial supervisors to move their asses for a change and stop all this money laundering and tax evasion.

I thought this was a bit of an odd response to what I posted above. So far, over $30m has been donated in just a few days for the Ukrainian government which ain't bad.

Both Ukrainians and Russians have been buying cryptos. You can't really blame regular Russian citizens - who are against the war - as their Rubles have become worthless. The US dollar won't be far behind with the way things are going.

Currencies tend to move in 100 year ish cycles, and the dollar is now approaching the final phase of the typical curve (it became the official reserve in 1944).

How many times have we seen this play out?

This gives a rough idea for modern history.

That's why I think major cryptos are a great hedge as they can work like a life raft when the old legacy system begins to crumble. When a currency collapses, the first thing a civilisation is going to do is reach out for something else to sustain them. The value is in the network effect, just the same as it is with fiat. They are both intrinsically worthless, but one can't be manipulated by humans and inflated into oblivion.

 

[Juan]

Cryptocurrencies are being used for money laundering at a great scale and it is about time that EU politicians and supervisors do something about it.

This week we have all seen that it is a bit late for Boris Johnson's government to investigate the origin of funds used by oligarchs to purchase luxury properties in London.

Actually, it is ironic that Boris Johnson was never bothered about those Russians when they were donating money for his political party.

So Boris, you are 20 years late... maybe it is time to resign.

 

[Juan]

Let's hope for the ECB to raise interest rates next week.

Otherwise, companies will have to raise salaries by 10% this year to make up for rampant inflation.