Tuesday 23 June 2015

Free markets or subsidy junkies?

From Business Insider:

European markets rocketed upwards today on some sudden and positive hints of a Greek bailout deal at today's emergency European summit.

The Greek government is trying to negotiate a billions of euros in bailout money, and for the first time in weeks there are genuine signs of positive developments today. Athens stocks led the way — the index recorded a dramatic rise of 9% on Monday...


And so on and so forth.

So basically, share prices depend to a large extent on the continuation of the massive subsidies which somehow trickle their way from ordinary taxpayers and ordinary bank customers, via the Greek government and ultimately back to various large European banks (for whose benefit this whole show is being organised).

So while the stock exchange as such is a free market (anybody can buy or sell), a large part of what is being bought and sold is corporatist welfare.

5 comments:

Robin Smith said...

And the policy - as expected - is to raise taxes higher than before. It didnt work last time, and the time before, let's try again.

But why? Because taxation is protection for the value of property in land. While hard work and enterprise are taxed, property remains untaxed to that extent.

But why??? Are they so ignorant. Because they treat everything with logic and reason and science. And the world of people are by no means rational. So until these questions are investigated fully incorporating a psychoanlaysis... nothing will ever change.

Looking around, that is never going to happen. So the best thing to do is make the best of it in the hope that one day people will find the courage for it finally.

Lola said...

Hmm. Yes, without any doubt all the funny money made and distributed by government finds its way into 'asset prices'.
But relatively big swings in market prices over a short time are driven by the manic depressive nature of stock markets. It's the uncertainty they don't like - and that's not the uncertainty of continuing bail out.
In any even I am pretty sure that the Greek (aka Euro) debacle is already 'in the price' of the market.

Lola said...

One other point, I totally agree that none of this is a 'bail out for Greece'. It's a rescue of the banks and governments that have leant money to Greece for which the Greeks are being made to pay. Overall I hold that people must pay their debts. In this case the lenders and the EU encouraged Greece to borrow, almost coercively.

Robin Smith said...

Yes it's all priced in and the inside track has already reaped its reward. Whats left over are the pennies gambled in the same way as a fruit machine. If you are on the inside you have a monopoly in free income. If not you are a gambler. The stock market only has a different veil that makes it look like a skill. Funny.

Robin Smith said...

One other point the same bail out happened in Germany prior to the war, American banks supplying the credit to Germany. Not saying there will be a war. It's just that this is how the system everyone votes for works. It's probably time to stop blaming a specific class and start looking in the mirror else one is appearing neurotic.