Mammon category archive
Misdirection Play, Responsible Fiscals Dept. 0
Sam and his crew look at the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank and at Republicans’ absolutely ridiculous contortions to somehow blame it on “wokeness,” while ignoring what really happened (including Donald Trump’s presiding over a gutting of Dodd-Frank).
The Money Trail 0
Rashmi Rangan and James Angus suggest that the IRS is doing a rather poor job of following the money. Here are a couple of bits from their article:
(snip)
The IRS follows a different strategy for the cash in the cabanas of the fortunate 700,000 club, those filers reporting total positive income of over $1,000,000. Last year for this group, about 687,000 rated nary a bother from the IRS. Apparently the use of multiple schedules for descriptions of enormous sums of money moving in myriad directions through various iterations triggers no corresponding curiosity on the part of the IRS. Too weedy, too slow, too complex.
Aside:
Methinks this disparity may shed some light on the Republican Party’s fervent opposition to President Biden’s desire to fund the IRS at a reasonable level.
A. Because It Had Wealthy, Influential Investors Maybe? 0
Q. Why is the failure of Silicon Valley Bank getting so much news coverage more than the failure of all the banks that went under in the late 2010s.
The New Gilded Age 0
Jim Hightower sees a similarity between then and now.
(snip)
“The Wreck of the Old 97” is a classic bluegrass song recounting a spectacular train crash in 1903, caused by the company’s demand that the engineer speed down a dangerous track to deliver cargo on time.
One hundred twenty years later we have the “Wreck of the Norfolk Southern” — a devastating crash caused by the corporate demand that it be allowed to run an ill-equipped, understaffed, largely unregulated, 1.7-mile train carrying flammable, cancer-causing toxics through communities, putting profit over people and public safety.
Twits Own Twitter 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Ronald Riggio argues forcefully that Elon Musk is something less than a role model for effective leadersip. Riggio makes three main points; follow the link for his discussion of each.
- While Elon Musk has been a successful entrepreneur, his dictatorial behavior suggests that he is not a “good” leader.
- Good leadership is about more than just success. Good leaders develop their followers, and treat them with respect and dignity.
- Successful leaders who misbehave and hurt rather than help those whom they lead should not be role models of leadership.
Aside:
As a corporate trainer for many years, I focused on teaching management, leadership, and communication skills.
When it comes to dealing with people, Musk checks all the boxes for the “don’ts.”
Twits Own Twitter 0
Every time I think that Elon Musk has plumbed the deepest depth, he proves that I am “in error” (as my old boss used to say).
The Crypto Con 0
Michael Graham wonders why so many reputedly responsible fiscals were looking the other way.
It’s All about the Algorithm, the Snaring Economy Dept. 0
Emma talks with Adrian Hon about the “gamification” of the work place in this, the snaring economy.
It’s not a pretty picture.
The Crypto Conundrum 0
If it’s not real in the first place, can you be penalized for stealing it?
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry charges you with being addicted to your phone.
Yes, you (but certainly not me–well at least to the extent that I avoid “social” media like the anti-social plague that it has become). They further argue that this is no accident:
Follow the link for some recommendations on how you can get your life back.
The New Gilded Age 0
Sam and Cory Doctorow discuss the stranglehold of digital monopolies.
The Crypto Con 0
Above the Law’s Joe Patrice reports on a court’s ruling that not only do words have meaning, so too do pictures.
