investments

There are days when I run from a dance studio to catch a train, and I'm unable to really stretch out.
Then, cramped in the narrow confines of the luxurious trains provided for the public in Central Europe, I do, occasionally, get awful cramps in my legs.

Knowing that, during a recent ride on a train, sitting in the most rear seat of the wagon, with the least generous leg room, I found myself forced to elevate my feet by stretching both legs up toward the ceiling.

This might have produced stares from my fellow-passengers, but I don't think anyone actually imagined I was doing something dangerous.

However, the two black-uniformed private police (a private police hired by a public company, mind you) seemed to think otherwise---Or, at least one of them did.

I hasten to add that these unintelligent guard-dogs are a frequent appearance on Czech trains.  They wander the aisles engaging in boisterous conversation with one another (itself very unprofessional, when you get right down to it) staring into compartments, and staring at people, and generally looking for something to do.........Very unfriendly, and they don't make me feel at all safe.

So, the one guard told me that I should sit in a "normal" position. I told him what I was doing---that
I didn't want painful cramps, and he left me alone.

I should have told him that the so-called "normal" sitting position has nothing normal about it. Public transportation seems to be designed by sadists who ignore the fact that human beings have two legs.

In any case, this all lead to a brief conversation with a rather more intelligent (than these guard dogs) woman sitting to my right.

We happened to hit upon the topic of the investment tax......and how it would solve many budget shortfalls.

But, she asked, would investors stop investing?

I neglected to point out that what we have today is an investment strike. Investors are not investing today, so they could hardly stop doing so.

And if there were more money coming into government coffers, and they spent it, that would, quite possibly mean money for new businesses. 

Maybe.

But what sort of "investments" do we have in the real world?  Should I really thank the investors for creating an electronic spying system?  Do I really think the IPad or any other Apple product has made my life better?

No, I don't.

There were books, music, friendships, etc. before there was Apple, and the quality of my life has NOT been improved by Apple.  Indeed, many of the problems in the world are connected to the system that makes Apple possible.

Indeed, there is a capitalist myth, a bit of fantasy that "investment" is some sort of gift to mankind, like Prometheus' fire, but that is pure bullshit.

People who invest want profits; they don't give a damn about human goodness.  If they ever do benefit me, that's an unintended side-effect.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot:  the poor businessman only gives us what we want.  So, it's all OUR fault!---Yeah, right:  after they have manipulated the hell out of us with billions of dollars of advertising, we know what we want.  What a pathetic lie.  Some call it information asymmetry.  I call it pathetic narcissistic infantile lust for the crudest sort of power.