So the Don, (Argus, that is), is copping flack for asserting that the only valid measure of a business is dollars.

First off, he's an ex-banker. What did you expect?

But he does have a point. We wouldn't measure a heavyweight boxer's performance by how fast he could run a mile, right. Although, I can imagine times when the skill might come in handy.

Dollars are why businesses are started, bought or operated. Do you know anyone who kicked off a business planning to make a loss? No, neither do I.

And we measure boxers' performance by punches landed, knockouts achieved.

But we humans being the weird creatures that we are, will do pretty much anything to achieve a goal. Especially those of us of the male persuasion. If we didn't have referees at pugilistic events blood would be let. Think gladiators, mangled bodies, thumbs down.

As a society we're - mostly - not crazy about public pain infliction. Unless you count listening to an Alan Jones rant. So we find ways of striking a balance between what matters to us and what matters to the boxers; of containing the, er, excesses. We have referees and strict rules.

Likewise, we need referees for business; referees with enough power to control corporate behavior because ethics go out the door when the smell of big bucks comes in through the window.

Business is in business for money but we live for a few other things. And there will always be conflict between them.

So, inadvertantly, the Dear Old Donald pointed out two things with his comment.

First, he explained exactly why we must have proper, effective regulations in place for all businesses, because the corporate measure, money, will always be in conflict with society's measure, quality of life.

And second, why self regulation never, ever works. Never has, never will, in any industry. Because it sets up a fundamental conflict of interest. And we humans don't do conflict of interests well, especially when one of the interests is money.

I wonder if Don realised what he was admitting to.

Anthony
www.observationpoint.com.au

anthony
its a long tangled post
but i guess they key is..did don know what he was saying

yes he did

as..i cant find much more..to bring up
i will remind..of what don said

""First, he explained exactly why
we must have proper,..effective regulations in place
for all businesses, because the corporate measure, money, will always be in conflict with society's measure, quality of life.""

i will add
that an independant ACCOUNTABLE..oversight..is essential

clearly governance has failed..[allowing the bankers to run the fed is a huge misstake..so too govt lending money from bankers

but worse is gfovt lending nmoney [at intrest]
to bailout bankers..FROM THE BANKS

how come with a govt bond..or govt cash
then banklers lend to govt?

its simply too insane for words
the greece bailout...isnt to 'bailout' greece
its so greece can give back most of it to some bank..holding a greece..govt bond

just like the bailout's allways do
bailout argentina,..argentina gives it to the bankers
the bankers go away..to get a bailout in malasia..then leaves that in a mess

next we go to ireland..greece italy...portugall...and spain
the same old game..bail out them..they bailout the bankers
at ever higgher intrest rate

youd think there would be some rule
against bailing out capitalists/bankers

""And second, why self regulation never, ever works"'

yeah i will add that no bailout ever has worked
cause the extra risk intrest[ursury]..sends the peons broke.

so bankers look for the next big spender
monetuise thweir bonds..then that govt gets a bailout
and bailout..the bankers

its just so clever
youd think no one is watcghing them
cause no one is

no bailout has ever worked
""Never has, never will, in any industry.""

so the dion speaks

why don?

""Because it sets up a fundamental conflict of interest.""

yep we know a bailout comes
cause the govt spend cash they didnt have
conflicty...bankers need money..but need govts to give them EXTRA

""And we humans don't do conflict of interests well,
especially when one of the interests is money.""

or worse control over money supply and credit creation
[and who pays how much,at what rate]

I'm not so sure that Don does fully understand the subtext of his words.
He and most other Corporates are pushing behind the scenes for a reduction in regulation in this country, especially vis a vis our banks.
Yet the evidence is overwhelming that the two factors that were the most effective in protecting Australia and its economy in 2008 were, first, the extent to which our banks are regulated, and so were nowhere nearly as exposed to the subprime as most other countries, and, second the federal stimulus.
We face a problem here that many of our institutions are ultimately controlled by American entities, (parent companies, fund managers, etc) and these people hate our regulation and would dearly love to see a situation here like the US, so that they could rape our economy as they've raped their own.
Prior to quitting the corporate world a few years ago, I was MD of a sizable business in Asia that was owned by an American company and I was shocked when I atteneded board meetings, etc, at the extent to which the board was divorced from reality, both on a national and on a global scale.
I suspect that the same would be true of many companies here.
Memories from that period make me feel quite sympathetic toward the Occupy Wall St demonstrators when they say they are opposed to corporate greed.
But I think they underestimate just how greedy the people they're dealing with really are.
Cheers,
Anthony
www.observationpoint.com.au

AV:

...“Laissez Faire”, is the tenet of Capitalism from which greed swings: The point where “Law v order”. Howard was very successful in discrediting the union movement and reducing its influence to that of an ineffective player at the Capitalist trough. (eg Craig Thompson ALP).

...Another loser is charity; society must not exist outside the realm of plunder, and so arise Sir Galahad, NGO’s. Under the disguise of efficiency these organisations are a vehicle for Capitalist plunder currently under the spotlight.
Private armies are another arm of manipulation designed to avoid regulations applicable to social control allowing “Laissez Faire” to predominate.

...Always the loser is the citizen or” drones” of Capitalist economies.

divers links that back up what diver said
and might help anthony get this topic going

or just inform the uninformed?

The new government..of Iraq has made it clear
they will not grant immunity..for war crimes to American/troops

and any remaining..in Iraq
after Dec 31..(other than embassy guards) are subject to arrest.

In denying immunity,..the new Iraqi government..has shown the US to the door..and handed them their hat, er,..their helmet.

In other words,..the United States
just lost the Iraq war.

1...We never got Saddam's nuclear weapons,
because..they did not have any.

2...We did not revenge 9-11
because Iraq had nothing to do with it.

3. We did not punish Iraq for supporting Al Qaeda
because..Saddam and Al Qaeda were enemies.

4. We did not get all that much oil
because the new government of Iraq..is made up of people the US tortured,..or of people..who know people the US tortured,..and the oil contracts were handed out to everyone else.

and they just told the US to get out,
or face war crimes charges!

There is no real tangible way to claim that this war was a win for the United States. Billions spent, hundreds of thousands dead.

The only real winners are the bankers
to whom both sides are now deeply in debt.

now for ww3

how about gadfly[gladduffy]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuqZfaj34nc&feature=relmfu

THE MARK OF THE SLAVE
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/themarkoftheaslave.php

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, to make all men free.

On December 23rd, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act, to make all men slaves again.

When the dog dies, the fleas merely jump to a new dog."
http://lonestarwatchdog.blogspot.com/2011/10/federal-reserve-bank-is-moral-hazard-to.html

http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/the-real-reason-for-the-uprisings/
http://www.zcommunications.org/a-movement-too-big-to-fail-by-chris-hedges

police realise they too are the 99
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/10/veterans-and-police-officers-support-occupy-wall-street-protesters.html

http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/paul-were-witnessing-failure-of_24.html
http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=23487
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-24/swiss-banks-said-ready-to-pay-billions-disclose-customer-names.html

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45013499

the odious debt bet

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7494
http://dailybail.com/home/paul-volcker-its-time-to-regulate-money-market-funds-and-get.html

http://12160.info/profiles/blogs/2649739:BlogPost:693228
http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/real-reason-why-gadaffi-was-killed-why.html
http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-things-you-may-not-know-about.html
http://weeklyintercept.blogspot.com/2011/10/did-john-bolton-just-admit-all-these.html

http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-would-happen-if-goldman-sachs.html
http://dailybail.com/home/occupy-ireland-make-bank-bondholders-pay-if-they-didnt-share.html
http://usmfreepress.org/2011/10/chemical-bomb-thrown-at-occupy-maine-camp-early-sunday-morning/
http://revolutionarypolitics.tv/video/viewVideo.php?video_id=16436

fed audit
http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3
the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression

http://www.activistpost.com/2011/10/european-union-chiefs-are-drawing-up.html
http://publicbanking.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/state-bank-trifold9-20110807.pdf

prediction?
http://presscore.ca/2011/?p=4808