
Charlie Munger warns 'lots of troubles coming' due to 'too much wretched excess' - toomuchtodo
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/12/charlie-munger-warns-there-are-lots-of-troubles-coming-because-of-too-much-wretched-excess.html
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econcon
I'd like to know where is that "wretched excess"

Last time I read lots of people opting out of workforce, people rejecting
promotions to get more time to play video games at home. People not pursing
relationships, marriage rate declining. Where is the excess?

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csb6
The excess is in the growing income inequality of the world. Productivity has
soared, the rich have gotten richer, and since growth is always necessary for
businesses, they try to monetize everything they can. It’s no wonder people
feel alienated and unmotivated. If they could, corporations would sell the air
we breathe. Why invent things or improve the productivity of your employer
when the net result is more money going to shareholders and billionaires like
Munger and Buffett? Capitalism is alienating and the end result is the perfect
extraction of all energy and value out of the entire population in order to
enrich the wealthy class. Until this changes, no one is going to want to
increase their productivity.

On another note, it’s a little rich to hear a multi-billionaire complain about
excess. I mean seriously; he is worth more than one order of magnitude more
than probably 50% or more of all human beings. Most Americans live paycheck to
paycheck, and many Americans have to ration medication in order to afford
food. The world of finance exists in a bubble. The economy does not work for
the vast majority of human beings (or organisms), and sooner or later the
financial sector will find that out.

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rogerkirkness
There is more capital than there are good startups. Supply and demand.

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pedalpete
I doubt Munger's reference has anything to do with the startup ecosystem. He's
talking about the public markets and fiscal policy.

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JimTheMan
Yes, he's famously risk averse when it comes about talking things he's not
familiar with. Like the tech sector.

