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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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Private equity plunderers want to buy Simon & Schuster

Going to Defcon this weekend? I'm giving a keynote, "An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse," on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

Last November, publishing got some excellent news: the planned merger of Penguin Random House (the largest publisher in the history of human civilization) with its immediate competitor Simon & Schuster would not be permitted, thanks to the DOJ's deftly argued case against the deal:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/07/random-penguins/#if-you-wanted-to-get-there-i-wouldnt-start-from-here

When I was a baby writer, there were dozens of large NY publishers. Today, there are five - and it was almost four. A publishing sector with five giant companies is bad news for writers (as Stephen King said at the trial, the idea that PRH and S&S would bid against each other for books was as absurd as the idea that he and his wife would bid against each other for their next family home).

But it's also bad news for publishing workers, a historically exploited and undervalued workforce whose labor conditions have only declined as the number of employers in the sector dwindled, leading to mass resignations:

https://lithub.com/unlivable-and-untenable-molly-mcghee-on-the-punishing-life-of-junior-publishing-employees/

It should go without saying that workers in sectors with few employers get worse deals from their bosses (see, e.g., the writers' strike and actors' strike). And yup, right on time, PRH, a wildly profitable publisher, fired a bunch of its most senior (and therefore hardest to push around) workers:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/books/penguin-random-house-layoffs-buyouts.html

But publishing's contraction into a five-company cartel didn't occur in a vacuum. It was a normal response to monopolization elsewhere in its supply chain. First it was bookselling collapsing into two major chains. Then it was distribution going from 300 companies to three. Today, it's Amazon, a monopolist with unlimited access to the capital markets and a track record of treating publishers "the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/31/seize-the-means-of-computation/#the-internet-con

Monopolies are like Pringles (owned by the consumer packaged goods monopolist Procter & Gamble): you can't have just one. As soon as you get a monopoly in one part of the supply chain, every other part of that chain has to monopolize in self-defense.

Think of healthcare. Consolidation in pharma lead to price-gouging, where hospitals were suddenly paying 1,000% more for routine drugs. Hospitals formed regional monopolies and boycotted pharma companies unless they lowered their prices - and then turned around and screwed insurers, jacking up the price of care. Health insurers gobbled each other up in an orgy of mergers and fought the hospitals.

Now the health care system is composed of a series of gigantic, abusive monopolists - pharma, hospitals, medical equipment, pharmacy benefit managers, insurers - and they all conspire to wreck the lives of only two parts of the system who can't fight back: patients and health care workers. Patients pay more for worse care, and medical workers get paid less for worse working conditions.

So while there was no question that a PRH takeover of Simon & Schuster would be bad for writers and readers, it was also clear that S&S - and indeed, all of the Big Five publishers - would be under pressure from the monopolies in their own supply chain. What's more, it was clear that S&S couldn't remain tethered to Paramount, its current owner.

Last week, Paramount announced that it was going to flip S&S to KKR, one of the world's most notorious private equity companies. KKR has a long, long track record of ghastly behavior, and its portfolio currently includes other publishing industry firms, including one rotten monopolist, raising similar concerns to the ones that scuttled the PRH takeover last year:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/books/booksupdate/paramount-simon-and-schuster-kkr-sale.html

Let's review a little of KKR's track record, shall we? Most spectacularly, they are known for buying and destroying Toys R Us in a deal that saw them extract $200m from the company, leaving it bankrupt, with lifetime employees getting $0 in severance even as its executives paid themselves tens of millions in "performance bonuses":

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/06/03/private-equity-bosses-took-200m-out-of-toys-r-us-and-crashed-the-company-lifetime-employees-got-0-in-severance/

The pillaging of Toys R Us isn't the worst thing KKR did, but it was the most brazen. KKR lit a beloved national chain on fire and then walked away, hands in pockets, whistling. They didn't even bother to clear their former employees' sensitive personnel records out of the unlocked filing cabinets before they scarpered:

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/09/23/exploring-the-ruins-of-a-toys-r-us-discovering-a-trove-of-sensitive-employee-data/

But as flashy as the Toys R Us caper was, it wasn't the worst. Private equity funds specialize in buying up businesses, loading them with debts, paying themselves, and then leaving them to collapse. They're sometimes called vulture capitalists, but they're really vampire capitalists:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/05/private-equity-buyout-kkr-houdaille/

Given a choice, PE companies don't want to prey on sick businesses - they preferentially drain off value from thriving ones, preferably ones that we must use, which is why PE - and KKR in particular - loves to buy health care companies.

Heard of the "surprise billing epidemic"? That's where you go to a hospital that's covered by your insurer, only to discover - after the fact - that the emergency room is operated by a separate, PE-backed company that charges you thousands for junk fees. KKR and Blackstone invented this scam, then funneled millions into fighting the No Surprises Act, which more-or-less killed it:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/21/all-in-it-together/#doctor-patient-unity

KKR took one of the nation's largest healthcare providers, Envision, hostage to surprise billing, making it dependent on these fraudulent payments. When Congress finally acted to end this scam, KKR was able to take to the nation's editorial pages and damn Congress for recklessly endangering all the patients who relied on it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/14/unhealthy-finances/#steins-law

Like any smart vampire, KKR doesn't drain its victim in one go. They find all kinds of ways to stretch out the blood supply. During the pandemic, KKR was front of the line to get massive bailouts for its health-care holdings, even as it fired health-care workers, increasing the workload and decreasing the pay of the survivors of its indiscriminate cuts:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/11/socialized-losses/#socialized-losses

It's not just emergency rooms. KKR bought and looted homes for people with disabilities, slashed wages, cut staff, and then feigned surprise at the deaths, abuse and misery that followed:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kendalltaggart/kkr-brightspring-disability-private-equity-abuse

Workers' wages went down to $8/hour, and they were given 36 hour shifts, and then KKR threatened to have any worker who walked off the job criminally charged with patient abandonment:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

For KKR, people with disabilities and patients make great victims - disempowered and atomized, unable to fight back. No surprise, then, that so many of KKR's scams target poor people - another group that struggles to get justice when wronged. KKR took over Dollar General in 2007 and embarked on a nationwide expansion campaign, using abusive preferential distributor contracts and targeting community-owned grocers to trap poor people into buying the most heavily processed, least nutritious, most profitable food available:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/27/walmarts-jackals/#cheater-sizes

94.5% of the Paycheck Protection Program - designed to help small businesses keep their workers payrolled during lockdown - went to giant businesses, fraudulently siphoned off by companies like Longview Power, 40% owned by KKR:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/20/great-danes/#ppp

KKR also helped engineer a loophole in the Trump tax cuts, convincing Justin Muzinich to carve out taxes for C-Corporations, which let KKR save billions in taxes:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/06/02/broken-windows/#Justin-Muzinich

KKR sinks its fangs in every part of the economy, thanks to the vast fortunes it amassed from its investors, ripped off from its customers, and fraudulently obtained from the public purse. After the pandemic, KKR scooped up hundreds of companies at firesale prices:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/30/medtronic-stole-your-ventilator/#blackstone-kkr

Ironically, the investors in KKR funds are also its victims - especially giant public pension funds, whom KKR has systematically defrauded for years:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/22/stimpank/#kentucky

And now KKR has come for Simon & Schuster. The buyout was trumpeted to the press as a done deal, but it's far from a fait accompli. Before the deal can close, the FTC will have to bless it. That blessing is far from a foregone conclusion. KKR also owns Overdrive, the monopoly supplier of e-lending software to libraries.

Overdrive has a host of predatory practices, loathed by both libraries and publishers (indeed, much of the publishing sector's outrage at library e-lending is really displaced anger at Overdrive). There's a plausible case that the merger of one of the Big Five publishers with the e-lending monopoly will present competition issues every bit as deal-breaking as the PRH/S&S merger posed.

(Image: Sefa Tekin/Pexels, modified)

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/08/vampire-capitalism/#kkr

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misfitwashere · 3 months ago

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We thank you, Joe

Tonight is for you

Robert Reich

Aug 19, 2024

Friends,

Tonight’s opening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago will be an opportunity for the Democratic Party and the nation to take stock of Joe Biden’s term of office and thank him for his service.

He still has five months to go as president, of course, but the baton has been passed.

Biden’s singular achievement has been to change the economic paradigm that reigned since Reagan and return to one that dominated public life between 1933 and 1980 — and is far superior to the one that has prevailed since.

Biden’s democratic capitalism is neither socialism nor “big government.” It is, rather, a return to an era when government organized the market for the greater good.

The Great Crash of 1929 followed by the Great Depression taught the nation a crucial lesson that we forgot after Reagan’s presidency: markets are human creations. The economy that collapsed in 1929 was the consequence of allowing nearly unlimited borrowing, encouraging people to gamble on Wall Street, and permitting the Street to take huge risks with other people’s money.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration reversed this. They stopped the looting of America. They also gave Americans a modicum of economic security. During World War II, they put almost every American to work.

Subsequent Democratic and Republican administrations enlarged and extended democratic capitalism. Wall Street was regulated, as were television networks, airlines, railroads, and other common carriers. CEO pay was modest. Taxes on the highest earners financed public investments in infrastructure (such as the national highway system) and higher education.

America’s postwar industrial policy spurred innovation. The Department of Defense and its Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration developed satellite communications, container ships, and the internet. The National Institutes of Health did trailblazing basic research in biochemistry, DNA, and infectious diseases.

Public spending rose during economic downturns to encourage hiring. Antitrust enforcers broke up AT&T and other monopolies. Small businesses were protected from giant chain stores. Labor unions thrived. By the 1960s, a third of all private-sector workers were unionized. Large corporations sought to be responsive to all their stakeholders.

But then America took a giant U-turn. The OPEC oil embargo of the 1970s brought double-digit inflation followed by Fed Chair Paul Volcker’s effort to “break the back” of it by raising interest rates so high that the economy fell into deep recession.

All of which prepared the ground for Reagan’s war on democratic capitalism. From 1981 onward, a new bipartisan orthodoxy emerged that markets functioned well only if the government got out of the way.

The goal of economic policy thereby shifted from the common good to economic growth, even though Americans already well-off gained most from that growth. And the means shifted from public oversight of the market to deregulation, free trade, privatization, “trickle-down” tax cuts, and deficit reduction — all of which helped the monied interests make even more money.

The economy grew for the next 40 years, but median wages stagnated, and inequalities of income and wealth surged. In sum, after Reagan’s presidency, democratic capitalism — organized to serve public purposes — all but disappeared. It was replaced by corporate capitalism, organized to serve the monied interests.

Joe Biden revived democratic capitalism. He learned from the Obama administration’s mistake of spending too little to pull the economy out of the Great Recession that the pandemic required substantially greater spending, which would also give working families a cushion against adversity. So he pushed for and got the giant $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

This was followed by a $550 billion initiative to rebuild the nation’s bridges, roads, public transit, broadband, water, and energy systems. He championed the biggest investment in clean energy sources in American history — expanding wind and solar power, electric vehicles, carbon capture and sequestration, and hydrogen and small nuclear reactors. He then led the largest public investment ever made in semiconductors, the building blocks of the next economy. Notably, these initiatives were targeted to companies that employ American workers.

Biden also embarked on altering the balance of power between capital and labor, as had FDR. Biden put trustbusters at the head of the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department. And he remade the National Labor Relations Board into a strong advocate for labor unions.

Unlike his Democratic predecessors Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Biden did not reduce all trade barriers. He targeted them to industries that were crucial to America’s future — semiconductors, electric batteries, electric vehicles. Unlike Trump, Biden did not give a huge tax cut to corporations and the wealthy.

It’s also worth noting that, in contrast with every president since Reagan, Biden did not fill his White House with former Wall Street executives. Not one of his economic advisers — not even his treasury secretary — is from the Street.

The one large blot on Biden’s record is Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden should have been tougher on him — refusing to provide him offensive weapons unless Netanyahu stopped his massacre in Gaza. Yes, I know: Hamas began the bloodbath. But that is no excuse for Netanyahu’s disproportionate response, which has made Israel a pariah and endangered its future. Nor an excuse for our complicity.

***

One more thing needs to be said in praise of Joe Biden. He did something Donald Trump could never do: He put his country over ego, ambition, and pride. He bowed out with grace and dignity. He gave us Kamala Harris.

Presidents don’t want to bow out. Both Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson had to be shoved out of office. Biden was not forced out. He did nothing wrong. His problem is that he was old and losing some of the capacities that dwindle with old age.

Even among people who are not president, old age inevitably triggers denial. How many elderly people do you know who accept that they can’t do the things they used to do or think they should be able to do? How many willingly give up the keys to their car? It’s not surprising he resisted.

Yet Biden cares about America and was aware of the damage a second Trump administration could do to this nation, and to the world. Biden’s patriotism won out over any denial or wounded pride or false sense of infallibility or paranoia.

For this and much else, we thank you, Joe.

#robert reich

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dailyanarchistposts · 8 months ago

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Chapter 5. Crime

Prison is the institution that most concretely symbolizes domination. Anarchists wish to create a society that can protect itself and resolve internal problems without police, judges, or prisons; a society that does not view its problems in terms of good and evil, permitted and prohibited, law-abiders and criminals.

Who will protect us without police?

In our society, police benefit from a tremendous amount of hype, whether it’s biased and fear-mongering media coverage of crime or the flood of movies and television shows featuring cops as heroes and protectors. Yet many people’s experiences with police contrast starkly with this heavy-handed propaganda.

In a hierarchical society, whom do police protect? Who has more to fear from crime, and who has more to fear from police? In some communities, the police are like an occupying force; police and crime form the interlocking jaws of a trap that prevents people from escaping oppressive situations or rescuing their communities from violence, poverty, and fragmentation.

Historically, police did not develop out of a social necessity to protect people from rising crime. In the United States, modern police forces arose at a time when crime was already diminishing. Rather, the institution of police emerged as a means to give the ruling class greater control over the population and expand the state’s monopoly on the resolution of social conflict. This was not a response to crime or an attempt to solve it; on the contrary, it coincided with the creation of new forms of crime. At the same time police forces were being expanded and modernized, the ruling class began to criminalize predominantly lower class behaviors that had previously been acceptable such as vagrancy, gambling, and public drunkenness.[70] Those in authority define “criminal activity” according to their own needs, then present their definitions as neutral and timeless. For example, many more people may be killed by pollution and work-related accidents than by drugs, but drug dealers are branded a threat to society, not factory owners. And even when factory owners break the law in a way that kills people, they are not sent to prison.[71]

Today, over two-thirds of prisoners in the US are locked up for nonviolent offenses. It is no surprise that the majority of prisoners are poor people and people of color, given the criminalization of drugs and immigration, the disproportionately harsh penalties for the drugs typically used by poor people, and the greater chance people of color have of being convicted or sentenced more harshly for the same crimes.[72] Likewise, the intense presence of militarized police in ghettos and poor neighborhoods is connected to the fact that crime stays high in those neighborhoods while rates of incarceration increase. The police and prisons are systems of control that preserve social inequalities, spread fear and resentment, exclude and alienate whole communities, and exercise extreme violence against the most oppressed sectors of society.

Those who can organize their own lives within their communities are better equipped to protect themselves. Some societies and communities that have won autonomy from the state organize volunteer patrols to help people in need and discourage aggressions. Unlike the police, these groups generally do not have coercive authority or a closed, bureaucratic structure, and are more likely to be made up of volunteers from within the neighborhood. They focus on protecting people rather than property or privilege, and in the absence of a legal code they respond to people’s needs rather than inflexible protocol. Other societies organize against social harm without setting up specific institutions. Instead they utilize diffuse sanctions — responses and attitudes spread throughout the society and propagated in the culture — to promote a safe environment.

Anarchists take an entirely different view of the problems that authoritarian societies place within the framework of crime and punishment. A crime is the violation of a written law, and laws are imposed by elite bodies. In the final instance, the question is not whether someone is hurting others but whether she is disobeying the orders of the elite. As a response to crime, punishment creates hierarchies of morality and power between the criminal and the dispensers of justice. It denies the criminal the resources he may need to reintegrate into the community and to stop hurting others.

In an empowered society, people do not need written laws; they have the power to determine whether someone is preventing them from fulfilling their needs, and can call on their peers for help resolving conflicts. In this view, the problem is not crime, but social harm — actions such as assault and drunk driving that actually hurt other people. This paradigm does away with the category of victimless crime, and reveals the absurdity of protecting the property rights of privileged people over the survival needs of others. The outrages typical of capitalist justice, such as arresting the hungry for stealing from the wealthy, would not be possible in a needs-based paradigm.

During the February 1919 general strike in Seattle, workers took over the city. Commercially, Seattle was shut down, but the workers did not allow it to fall into disarray. On the contrary, they kept all vital services running, but organized by the workers without the management of the bosses. The workers were the ones running the city every other day of the year, anyway, and during the strike they proved that they knew how to conduct their work without managerial interference. They coordinated citywide organization through the General Strike Committee, made up of rank and file workers from every local union; the structure was similar to, and perhaps inspired by, the Paris Commune. Union locals and specific groups of workers retained autonomy over their jobs without management or interference from the Committee or any other body. Workers were free to take initiative at the local level. Milk wagon drivers, for example, set up a neighborhood milk distribution system the bosses, restricted by profit motives, would never have allowed.

The striking workers collected the garbage, set up public cafeterias, distributed free food, and maintained fire department services. They also provided protection against anti-social behavior — robberies, assaults, murders, rapes: the crime wave authoritarians always forecast. A city guard comprised of unarmed military veterans walked the streets to keep watch and respond to calls for help, though they were authorized to use warnings and persuasion only. Aided by the feelings of solidarity that created a stronger social fabric during the strike, the volunteer guard were able to maintain a peaceful environment, accomplishing what the state itself could not.

This context of solidarity, free food, and empowerment of the common person played a role in drying up crime at its source. Marginalized people gained opportunities for community involvement, decision-making, and social inclusion that were denied to them by the capitalist regime. The absence of the police, whose presence emphasizes class tensions and creates a hostile environment, may have actually decreased lower-class crime. Even the authorities remarked on how organized the city was: Major General John F. Morrison, stationed in Seattle, claimed that he had never seen “a city so quiet and so orderly.” The strike was ultimately shut down by the invasion of thousands of troops and police deputies, coupled with pressure from the union leadership.[73]

In Oaxaca City in 2006, during the five months of autonomy at the height of the revolt, the APPO, the popular assembly organized by the striking teachers and other activists to coordinate their resistance and organize life in Oaxaca City, established a volunteer watch that helped keep things peaceful in especially violent and divisive circumstances. For their part, the police and paramilitaries killed over ten people — this was the only bloodbath in the absence of state power.

The popular movement in Oaxaca was able to maintain relative peace despite all the violence imposed by the state. They accomplished this by modifying an indigenous custom for the new situation: they used topiles, rotating watches that maintain security in indigenous communities. The teacher’s union already used topiles as security volunteers during the encampment, before the APPO was formed, and the APPO quickly extended the practice as part of a security commission to protect the city against police and paramilitaries. A large part of the topiles’ duty included occupying government buildings and defending barricades and occupations. This meant they often had to fight armed police and paramilitaries with nothing but rocks and firecrackers.

Some of the worst attacks happened in front of the occupied buildings. We were guarding the Secretary of the Economy building, when we realized that somewhere inside the building there was a group of people preparing to attack us. We knocked on the door and no one responded. Five minutes later, an armed group drove out from behind the building and started shooting at us. We tried to find cover, but we knew if we backed away, all the people at the barricade in front of the building — there must have been around forty people — would be in serious danger. So we decided to hold our position, and defended ourselves with rocks. They kept firing at us until their bullets ran out and drove away, because they saw that we weren’t going anywhere. Several of us were wounded. One guy took a bullet in his leg and the other got shot in the back. Later, some reinforcements arrived, but the hit men had already retreated. We didn’t have any guns. At the Office of the Economy, we defended ourselves with stones. As time went on and we found ourselves under attack by gunfire more and more frequently, so we started making things to defend ourselves with: firecrackers, homemade bottle-rocket launchers, molotov cocktails; all of us had something. And if we didn’t have any of those things, we defended people with our bodies or bare hands.[74]

After such attacks, the topiles would help take the wounded to first aid centers.

The security volunteers also responded to common crime. If someone was being robbed or assaulted, the neighbors would raise the alarm and the neighborhood topiles would come; if the assailant was on drugs he would be tied up in the central plaza for the night, and the next day made to pick up garbage or perform another type of community service. Different people had different ideas on what long-term solutions to institute, and as the rebellion in Oaxaca was politically very diverse, not all these ideas were revolutionary; some people wanted to hand robbers or assaulters over to the courts, though it was widely believed that the government released all law-breakers and encouraged them to go back and commit more anti-social crimes.

The history of Exarchia, a neighborhood in central Athens, shows throughout the years that the police do not protect us, they endanger us. For years, Exarchia has been the stronghold of the anarchist movement and the counterculture. The neighborhood has protected itself from gentrification and policing through a variety of means. Luxury cars are regularly burned if they are parked there overnight. After being targeted with property destruction and social pressure, shop and restaurant owners no longer try to remove political posters from their walls, kick out vagrants, or otherwise create a commercial atmosphere in the streets; they have conceded that the streets belong to the people. Undercover cops who enter Exarchia have been brutally beaten on a number of occasions. During the run-up to the Olympics the city tried to renovate Exarchia Square to turn it into a tourist spot rather than a local hangout. The new plan, for example, included a large fountain and no benches. Neighbors began meeting, came up with their own renovation plan, and informed the construction company that they would use the local plan rather than the city government’s plan. Repeated destruction of the construction equipment finally convinced the company who was boss. The renovated park today has more green space, no touristy fountain, and nice, new benches.

Attacks against police in Exarchia are frequent, and armed riot police are always stationed nearby. Over the past years, police have gone back and forth between trying to occupy Exarchia by force, or maintaining a guard around the borders of the neighborhood with armed groups of riot cops constantly ready for an attack. At no point have the police been able to carry out normal policing activities. Police do not patrol the neighborhood on foot, and rarely drive through. When they enter, they come prepared to fight and defend themselves. People spray graffiti and put up posters in broad daylight. It is to a large extent a lawless zone, and people commit crimes with an astonishing frequency and openness. However, it is not a dangerous neighborhood. The crimes of choice are political or at least victimless, like smoking weed. It is safe to walk there alone at night, unless you are a cop, people in the streets are relaxed and friendly, and personal property faces no great threat, with the exception of luxury cars and the like. The police are not welcome here, and they are not needed here.

And it is exactly in this situation that they demonstrate their true character. They are not an institution that responds to crime or social need, they are an institution that asserts social control. In past years, police tried to flood the area, and the anarchist movement in particular, with addictive drugs like heroin, and they have directly encouraged junkies to hang out in Exarchia Square. It was up to anarchists and other neighbors to defend themselves from these forms of police violence and stop the spread of addictive drugs. Unable to break the rebellious spirit of the neighborhood, police have resorted to more aggressive tactics, taking on the characteristics of a military occupation. On December 6, 2008, this approach produced its inevitable conclusion when two cops shot 15-year-old anarchist Alexis Grigoropoulos to death in the middle of Exarchia. Within a few hours, the counterattacks began, and for days the police throughout Greece were pummeled with clubs, rocks, molotov cocktails, and in a couple of incidents, gunfire. The liberated zones of Athens and other Greek cities are expanding, and the police are afraid to evict these new occupations because the people have proven themselves to be stronger. Currently, the media is waging a campaign of fear, increasing coverage of antisocial crime and trying to conflate these crimes with the presence of autonomous areas. Crime is a tool of the state, used to scare people, isolate people, and make government seem necessary. But government is nothing but a protection racket. The state is a mafia that has won control over society, and the law is the codification of everything they have stolen from us.

The Rotuman are a traditionally stateless people who live on the island of Rotuma in the South Pacific, north of Fiji. According to anthropologist Alan Howard, members of this sedentary society are socialized not to be violent. Cultural norms promote respectful and gentle behavior towards children. Physical punishment is extremely rare, and almost never intended to actually hurt the misbehaving child. Instead, Rotuman adults use shame instead of punishment, a strategy that raises children with a high degree of social sensitivity. Adults will especially shame children who act like bullies, and in their own conflicts adults try very hard not to make others angry. From Howard’s perspective as an outsider from the more authoritarian West, children are given “an astonishing degree of autonomy” and the principle of personal autonomy extends throughout the society: “Not only do individuals exercise autonomy within their households and communities, but villages are also autonomous in relation to one another, and districts are essentially autonomous political units.”[75] The Rotuman themselves probably describe their situation with different words, though we could find no insider accounts. Perhaps they might emphasize the horizontal relationships that connect households and villages, but to observers raised in a Euro/American culture and trained in the belief that a society is only held together by authority, what stands out most is the autonomy of the different households and villages.

Though the Rotuman currently exist under an imposed government, they avoid contact with it and dependence on it. It is probably no coincidence that the Rotuman murder rate stands at the low level of 2.02 per 100,000 people per year, three times lower than in the US. Howard describe the Rotuman view of crime as being similar to that of many other stateless peoples: not as the violation of a code or statute, but as something causing harm or hurting social bonds. Accordingly, mediation is important to solving disputes peacefully. Chiefs and sub-chiefs act as mediators, though distinguished elders may intervene in that role as well. Chiefs are not judges, and if they do not appear impartial they will lose their followers, as households are free to switch between groups. The most important conflict resolution mechanism is the public apology. The public apology has great weight attached to it; depending on the seriousness of the offense, it may be accompanied by ritual peace offerings as well. Apologizing properly is honorable, while denying an apology is dishonorable. Members maintain their standing and status in the group by being accountable, being sensitive to group opinion, and resolving conflicts. If some people acted in a way that we might expect in a society based on police and punishment, they would isolate themselves and thus limit their harmful influence.

For two months in 1973, maximum-security prisoners in Massachusetts showed that supposed criminals may be less responsible for the violence in our society than their guards. After the prison massacre at Attica in 1971 focused national attention on the dramatic failure of the prison system to correct or rehabilitate people convicted of crimes, the governor of Massachusetts appointed a reformist commissioner to the Department of Corrections. Meanwhile, the inmates of Walpole state prison had formed a prisoners’ union. Their goals included protecting themselves from the guards, blocking the attempts of prison administrators to institute behavioral modification programs, and organizing prisoners’ programs for education, empowerment, and healing. They sought more visitation rights, work or volunteer assignments outside the prison, and the ability to earn money to send to their families. Ultimately, they hoped to end recidivism — ex-prisoners getting convicted again and returning to prison — and to abolish the prison system itself.

Black prisoners had formed a Black Power education and cultural group to create unity and counter the racism of the white majority, and this proved instrumental in the formation of the union in the face of repression from guards. First of all, they had to end the race war between the prisoners, a war that was encouraged by the guards. Leaders from all groups of prisoners brokered a general truce which they guaranteed with the promise to kill any inmate who broke it. The prison union was supported by an outside group of media-savvy civil rights and religious activists, though communication between the two groups was sometimes hampered by the latter’s service-provider mentality and orthodox commitment to nonviolence. It helped that the Corrections commissioner supported the idea of a prisoners’ union, rather than opposing it outright as most prison administrators would have.

Early on in the life of the Walpole prisoners’ union, the prison superintendent attempted to divide the prisoners by putting the prison under an arbitrary lockdown just as the black prisoners were preparing their Kwanzaa celebration. The white prisoners had already had their Christmas celebrations undisturbed, and the black prisoners had spent all day cooking, eagerly anticipating family visits. In an amazing display of solidarity, all the prisoners went on strike, refusing to work or leave their cells. For three months, they suffered beatings, solitary confinement, starvation, denial of medical care, addiction to tranquilizers handed out by the guards, and disgusting conditions as excrement and refuse piled up in and around their cells. But the prisoners refused to be broken or divided. Eventually the state had to negotiate; they were running out of the license plates Walpole prisoners normally produced and they were getting bad press over the crisis.

The prisoners won their first demand: the prison superintendent was forced to resign. Quickly they won additional demands for expanded visiting rights, furlough, self-organized programs, review and release of those in segregation, and civilian observers inside the prison. In exchange, they cleaned up the prison, and brought what the guards never had: peace.

In protest of their loss of control, the guards walked off the job. They thought this act would prove how necessary they were, but embarrassingly for them, it had the exact opposite effect. For two months, the prisoners ran the prison themselves. For much of that time, the guards were not present within the cell blocks, though state police controlled the prison perimeter to prevent escapes. Civilian observers were inside the prison twenty-four hours a day, but they were trained not to intervene; their role was to document the situation, talk with prisoners, and prevent violence from guards who sometimes entered the prison. One observer recounted:

The atmosphere was so relaxed — not at all what I expected. I find that my own thinking has been so conditioned by society and the media. These men are not animals, they are not dangerous maniacs. I found my own fears were really groundless.

Another observer insisted “It is imperative that none of the personnel formerly in Block 9 [a segregation block] ever return. It’s worth paying them to retire. The guards are the security problem.”[76]

Walpole had been one of the most violent prisons in the country, but while the prisoners were in control, recidivism dropped dramatically and murders and rapes fell to zero. The prisoners had disproved two fundamental myths of the criminal justice system: that people who commit crimes should be isolated, and that they should be recipients of enforced rehabilitation rather than the ones who control their own healing.

The guards were eager to end this embarrassing experiment in prison abolition. The guards’ union was powerful enough to provoke a political crisis, and the Corrections commissioner could not fire any of them, even those who engaged in torture or made racist statements to the press. To keep his job, the commissioner had to bring the guards back into the prison, and he eventually sold out the prisoners. Major elements of the power structure including the police, guards, prosecutors, politicians, and media opposed the prison reforms and made them impossible to achieve within democratic channels. The civilian observers unanimously agreed that the guards brought chaos and violence back to the prison, and that they intentionally disrupted the peaceful results of prisoner self-organization. In the end, to crush the prisoners’ union, the guards staged a riot and the state police were called in, shooting several prisoners and torturing key organizers. The most recognizable leader of the black prisoners only saved his life through armed self-defense.

Many of the civilian observers and the Corrections commissioner, who was soon forced out of his job, ultimately came to favor prison abolition. The prisoners who took over Walpole continued to fight for their freedom and dignity, but the guards’ union ended up with greater power than before, the media ceased talking about prison reform, and as of this writing Walpole prison, now MCI Cedar Junction, still warehouses, tortures, and kills people who deserve to be in their communities, working towards a safer society.

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basicsofislam · 5 months ago

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ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN ISLAM: Part 1

Balance in Society

Islam avoids extremes in order to maintain social balance and order. Therefore, monopoly and cut-throat competition are disapproved. Islam’s essence is justice for all, which enables people to lead a good and happy life while, at the same time, strengthens the bonds of human brotherhood and the social fabric.

The social framework prevalent today in most Muslim countries is not Islamic. Many places are characterized by monstrous and oppressive conditions for the poor, rampant corruption, poverty, and need. A few people have acquired substantial wealth and thus enjoy the numerous amenities and luxuries of life, whereas the majority do not even receive two square meals a day. An Islamic social order stresses simple and austere efforts that are free from ostentation. The Messenger strove to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, the high and the low. He advocated a society in which one sector would not exploit another, for Islam seeks a balanced life that represents the equilibrium of social forces.

The fullest development of humanity’s potential can be achieved through the implementation of Islamic principles. The optimum level of civilization, which embodies the maximum well-being, can never be possible without spiritual and moral development. All Islamic principles, which descend from Divinity, are perfect and absolute. The Islamic approach is therefore just, natural, humane, and perfectly balanced and rational. Abu’l-Fazl Ezzati outlines the Islamic economic system as follows:

Islam represents a complete way of life. There is no compartmentalization of human activity in Islam. Its economic policy is, therefore, an integral part of the religion of Islam.

Islamic economic system is based on equality, justice, moderation, and collective self-sufficiency.

Man’s spiritual development is fundamental but his physical welfare is instrumental.

Islam is based on faith in God, Who has given man the capability to choose between good and evil and assume full responsibility for his conduct. “Man has only that for which he makes effort, and this effort will be seen.” (53:39-40)

Islam is a universal system embodying eternal values that safeguard man’s rights while constantly reminding him of his obligation to himself and society.

Islam forbids exploitation and monopoly in all forms and strictly prohibits unearned interest such as usury, gambling, betting, etc.

Islam honors labor and contracts, enjoins work and toil, encourages man to earn his own living by honest means and to spread his earnings.

Islam encourages mutual helping and never likes “wealth to circulate among the rich only” (59:7). Every member of the Muslim community feels obliged to help his poor brother while he is equally entitled to live a private life and to own property.36

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rcmantorchwick-a · 2 years ago

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𝔇𝔬𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔢𝔯

BASICS

Name: Roman Torchwick Aliases: Will-O-Wisp, The Wisp Age: 33 Height: 6’3” Date of Birth: October 30th (Mischief Night) Zodiac: Scorpio Hometown: Motostoke, Galar Current Location: Constantly moving between Paldea, Galar and Kalos. Occupation: Owner of Torchwick Industries, a collection of businesses dedicated to mining Dynamax Crystals, Tera Shards, and other rare minerals such as evolutionary stones; Torchwick Industries is a direct competitor to Macro Cosmos in Galar, specifically their energy and rail sector; the company’s largest presence is in Galar, and in Paldea, where a smaller sect of his company helps produce the Tera Orbs necessary for Terastilization.

Roman Torchwick also has business connections in Kalos, specifically Lysandre Labs, where he takes on research and development jobs for numerous technological projects, and assists in studying the connection between Dynamax Crystals, Tera Shards and Mega Stones.

Behind closed doors, he has sworn allegiance to Team Flare, in support of The Beautiful Tomorrow.

Pokémon Team: Chandelure (Shiny), Gourgeist, Talonflame, Coalossal Favorite Type: Fire Gym Experience: Obtained 5 badges in the Galar League while attending school.

TRAITS

Positive: Charismatic, confident, good at conversation, sharp minded, problem solver, witty. Negative: Cruel, manipulative, aggressive, arrogant, judgmental, addictive personality, snarky.

Likes: Expensive cigars, gambling, art, fashion, Pokémon bred for perfect IVs and pedigree, the thrill of danger and high stakes. Dislikes: . . . A lot of things lol, but especially politicians.

MBTI: ESTP (The Entrepreneur) Alignment: Neutral/Chaotic Evil

MISC: Wears fireproof clothing; he is missing his right eye; always has his cane on him— which also plays the role of weapon— it stores fire tera shards that detonate into small projectile explosives.

BACKGROUND

Something had always been a little off about Roman Torchwick— always a little more rough to play, seemingly cruel, and awfully manipulative even as a boy— curious to see the reactions he can get out of someone by pushing them to an emotional extreme; born into a family of mining tycoons, Roman watched his father’s business suffer due to the monopoly that Macro Cosmos had over Galar. After watching the company fall into complete shambles during an economic crash, Roman’s parents went through a bitter divorce when he was 10 years old. Through a series of unfortunate events, his father took his own life, and his mother became practically catatonic. Torchwick Industries was handed off to a group of Galarian oligarchs.

Roman was sent to attend a boarding school in Wyndon, where he became proficient at Pokémon battling, and studied various sciences and business models. During this time, however, his mental health suffered. He became a workaholic, and began to find stress relief in unhealthy ways by pushing his mental limitations instead of exercising self-care. He graduated from the school with impressive grades, but it took a toll on psyche. And though Roman had bright opportunities in front of him, he turned to self-destructive habits to help numb his internal stress. By the time he was 19, he had already gotten his hands dirty with petty theft, public assault charges, and arson.

An incident where he was experimenting with Dynamax crystals and flammable chemicals would result in Roman causing an explosion in one of his academic labs, leaving his arms and torso covered in 3rd degree burns. He was arrested and charged with illegally building explosives, criminal endangerment, and tampering with illegally obtained, hazardous chemicals; upon arrest, several warrants for assault and theft were brought to light as well. Roman would spend 5 years in prison, where he endured a series of unusual, and questionable psychiatric treatments to try and quell his distemper and erratic behavior.

Upon release, he seemed like a model citizen! The treatment had worked, he was reformed, and he even managed to get himself a foot in the door of his family’s old mining company. Many years of hard work and high profits, and Roman Torchwick would eventually sign the papers and buy back Torchwick Industries in its entirety. On the outside, he’s a successful businessman, living a life of success and luxury, albeit appearing judgmental and sly.

But behind closed doors. . . He still enjoys a bit of the ole ultraviolence. Roman finds pure joy and entertainment out of causing harm to those that give him problems— and even those who aren’t particularly causing him issues, but have been deemed irritating. It’s not unusual for insubordinate employees to be “sent overseas for work placement��, only to never be seen again. And while killing off problematic people is something he’s completely fine with— those abused by Torchwick aren’t always guilty.

His current business focus? Improving the Tera Orbs in Paldea. Torchwick Industries has assisted in developing the perfect tool for terastilization, optimizing its energy output and assuring a perfect melding of the crystals with the target Pokémon; cooperative work with Director Clavell and Professors Sada & Turo have made this possible. While he is NOT responsible for the invention of these orbs (that honor goes to the Paldean professors), his company manufactures several different high quality lines of them. Torchwick wishes to better understand the connection between the Kalosian, Galarian and Paldean crystal phenomenas, in the hopes of seeing their full potential— and turning a VERY generous profit.

Roman Torchwick has a strong personal vendetta towards Macro Cosmos and Chairman Rose, and would love to be the one to wipe him AND his company off of the map. He’d very much like to muscle his way further into the Galar Mines.

What is a TOTAL secret to anybody unaffiliated with Team Flare, is that Roman’s alliance and loyalty to Lysandre and Flare played a major part in his ability to buy back his family’s company; by lending his charisma, cunning mind and manipulative ways, bowing his head to the King, and paying the PRICE, he received the funding needed to make those purchases. Roman proved his usefulness, and now, he owes his life to the man who propped him up; Torchwick Industries shares every last bit of their scientific discoveries and resources with Lysandre Labs, and moves massive amounts of minerals to Kalos under the guise of research— but in reality, it is meant to power the Ultimate Weapon, and assist in achieving Lysandre’s vision.

As a part of Team Flare, he handles many of the business affairs on the side, and runs the disciplinary department.

Torchwick believes that the majority of humanity is ugly, and undeserving of the Eden that Lysandre promises to create. He delights in the idea of razing the earth with fire, and eliminating those deemed unworthy.

#DOSSIER.#Death CW #Suicide CW #Violence CW

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stampy-offical · 1 month ago

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Mod comming at you with more trivia! For the overlord AU.

Stampy is often called the union Overlord because his factories have unions. Look he may he a sinner scrooge mcduck but he knows a safe workplace means more profits.

Stampy only has 3 sinners on his payroll. All three are simply the accountants.

He treats soul deals like work contracts. So pyu can get your freedom back you just need to buy out of it or make enough money to meet the qutoa.

Almost all his workers are hellborn or imps. He has a pack of hellhounds but they're security.

He has 5 factories. One does metal works 3 do glass stuff and the last one is a wood carving business.

He's considered nuteral territory. Basically Noone is allowed to attack him. He's the one of the few ways Alastor rosie or Zesteail gets mail. Also he has a partnership with Carmella and husk (husk didn't loose his title in this au.) It's only the vees that don't have business with him. And he dosent like them seeing them as either failed jesters or whining children.

Stampy's partnership with Carmella was originally her trying to buy his metal work factory and he managed to make a partnership. She makes parts for both their businesses and he provides her with supplies and extra man power.

Vox hates him cause of his relationship with Alastor and Val can't take no for an answer when he tried to force a partnership with him. Ended with the moth being slammed face first into a door.

He dosent like monopolies so there are other factories and stores in his sector. His sector also does gambling a healty fight ring and occasional hit jobs. His main source of income is the goods his factory makes. Which is just part peices and tools for hell. Unsurprisingly people cause violent conflicts so he has people make the materials to remake places to his standards and with his own way of skimming some profits.

There IS a jail in hell. Noone but him knows where it is and he has had a hand in it.

Rosie is his best customer due to their friendship.

His sector his called the safest part of hell for children because he still hasn't gotten over the trauma of his past so he'd rather not be reminded of it.

Give him any reason too and he will make a machine to kill Valentino.

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bideo-gaming · 10 months ago

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Exploring themes - Capitalism

Capitalism is a socio-economic state where trade and industry is controlled and maintained by private interests. Everyone for themselves, as it were.

Thematic Link - Greed

The endgame of capitalism [Monopoly - the game and state] is a state whereby all trade is controlled by a single person or conglomerate for maximised profit. Here, the few have unchecked and unrestrained greed. Capitalism encourages greed as a result of lessened taxation and social support, allowing a few to make their fortune and the majority to live in squalor. It is often criticised in slightly unusual films such as American Psycho and Fight Club [I have watched both but couldn't tell you a single thing about either]

Thematic Link - Control

In capitalism, a comparitive few control the majority of industry. As a result, they have a strangle hold on their sectors and can shut down dissent, whether directly or subtly. For instance, the 'carbon footprint' idea was a marketing ploy by the goddamn oil industry to focus the discussion on personal responsibility, rather than that 100 companies produce 70% of all carbon emissions. It worked, too. This can be seen in games such as Democracy 3 where your wealth and political status can be used to shut down journalism [Watergate].

Thematic Link - Gambling

As long as gambling can be rigged, the house will always win. This will provide financial income for the house which is effectively uncontrollable except by strict regulation. In Las Vegas, for instance, the gambling halls hold millions [and even money in the vaults too] and will protect it as needed, whether by rigging, expelling you for card-counting [or winning] or by lobbying for political legsislation changes. For instance, in THE BEST FALLOUT GAME [i will die on this hill], Mr House has been alive and kept New Vegas strong despite a nuclear war with the magic power of capitalism, autocracy and friendship.

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years ago

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Inflation or price-gouging?

You can’t turn around these days without bumping into scary inflation talk, and with good reason: asset bubbles, supply chain shocks and energy geopolitics are on their way to wiping out most or all of the wage gains eked out by low-waged workers during the pandemic’s labor shortage.

The underlying message of this scare-talk is that we’ve been too generous with “essential workers,” by allowing them to inch a little closer to a living wage, and now it’s time to roll that back, for their own good. What’s the point of making $0.50/h more if it costs you $1/h more just to eat, sleep and breathe?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/15/inflation-its-past-time-team-transitory-stand-down/

The last time this happened, finance ghouls like Larry Summers made the call to sacrifice Americans’ savings and homes to keep the finance sector fat an happy. Today, he’s a major player in the Manchin Synematic Universe, insisting that we can’t save the planet or the people who do the essential work of keeping us alive. No one should listen to anything Larry Summers says. To (mis)quote Mary McCarthy, “Every word he writes is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the’.”

And yet, prices are going up, and people are feeling the pain. If it’s not being caused by giving essential workers a minuscule raise after 40 years of wage-stagnation, what’s really going on?

In a word: Profiteering. Giant companies are hiking prices because they know that they have a monopoly, and because they know that their customers will accept higher prices because “everyone knows we have an inflation problem.”

That’s not a conspiracy theory. Corporate execs are bragging about this stuff on their earnings calls, as Dominick Reuter and Andy Kiersz write for Insider.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/corporations-using-inflation-as-excuse-to-reap-fatter-profits-reich-2021-11

Colgate-Palmolive CEO Noel Wallace: “What we are very good at is pricing. Whether it’s foreign exchange inflation or raw and packing material inflation, we have found ways over time to recover that in our margin line.”

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2021/10/29/colgate-palmolive-company-cl-q3-2021-earnings-call/

“Good at pricing” is my new favorite euphemism for profiteering.

Unilever CFO Graeme Pitkethly: “Consumer-facing price is the last lever we normally use to manage inflation. We find that taking several small price increases is more effective than one large price jump.”

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2021/10/30/unilever-plc-ul-q3-2021-earnings-call-transcript/

Unilever was already staggeringly profitable before the pandemic; it has increased its profits by 4–5% since.

Its archrival, Proctor and Gamble, has also figured out how to raise prices rather than taking a narrower margin, as CFO Andre Schulten puts it: “We have not seen any material reaction from consumers, so that makes us feel good about our relative position.”

Retailers are getting in on the act. Kroger CFO Gary Millerchip: “We’ve been very comfortable with our ability to pass on the increases that we’ve seen at this point, and we would expect that to continue to be the case.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-companies-bet-shoppers-will-keep-paying-higher-prices-11635067802

In other words, we don’t face higher prices because of supply shocks or labor demands — supply shocks and labor demands are the pretense that corporate America is using to hike prices. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/big-companies-keep-bragging-to-investors-about-price-hikes-2021-11

Corporate America has a lot of room to absorb prices; across the board, the historically unprecedented fat margins these firms extracted before the crisis have grown. Two thirds of US public companies have increased their profits since 2019. 100 of the top US companies have grown their profits by 50%.

There’s a simple reason companies are able to pass these price hikes onto us: they face no competition. Most industries are dominated by five or fewer companies:

https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/learn/monopoly-by-the-numbers

As Reuter and Kiersz write, when an industry is dominated by just a few companies, they don’t have to explicitly collude to prices — Coke and Pepsi don’t need to meet in a smoke-filled room to coordinate their price-hikes. Their C-suites are filled with people who used to work for their arch-rivals. They see each other at dinner parties and weddings and funerals. They’re executors of each others’ estates and godparents to each others’ kids.

A lot of people were horrified by the sight of all the tech leaders gathered around a table at the top of Trump Tower for a 2017 meeting and photo-op. They wanted to know why the leaders of these companies were all meeting with a racist compulsive liar and authoritarian like Trump.

Fair question, but if you want to ask a more important question, you should wonder how it is that all the tech leaders fit around a single table. Once an industry is concentrated enough that all its leaders will fit around a table, it’s inevitable that they will gather around a table, somewhere.

We treat the leaders of these concentrated industries like they’re archrivals, separated by unbridgeable gulfs. My grandmother used to say, “Does Macy’s tell Gimbal’s?” The implication being that these two bitter enemies couldn’t even exchange a polite word, much less collude on a combined commercial strategy.

But then you get Sheryl Sandberg walking out of Google’s executive row and into a top role at Facebook. If the storied rivalry between the ad-tech duopoly was real, that would be like the CEO of Perdue Farms quitting his job to run PETA. But no one batted an eye.

Or take the Disney-Fox merger. As I wrote in my July Locus column: “From their longstanding rivalry, you’d think they were the Montagues and Capulets, but if that’s so, then that means Rupert Murdoch and Bob Iger were Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers whose desire for one another was so deep and sincere that they brought peace between their warring great houses.”

“Or, you know, maybe it was all bullshit.”

https://locusmag.com/2021/07/cory-doctorow-tech-monopolies-and-the-insufficient-necessity-of-interoperability/

I know which one I believe.

Inflation scare-talk is a whip that corporations and corporate leaders use to justify falling wages, rising mortality, and the race to the bottom in public services. As Bernie Sanders said when he voted against giving the fraud-riddled, bloated US military another $778b in public money, no one talks about inflation or budget constraint when we’re talking about the Pentagon’s baby-killer budget.

https://vermontbiz.com/news/2021/november/16/sanders-statement-778-billion-defense-spending-bill

To understand the real relationship between monetary policy, fiscal policy and inflation, you need to understand where money comes from (governments spend it into existence) and what taxes do (annihilate money to create fiscal space for public programs). Modern Monetary Theory, in other words.

One of the best MMT explainers is Stephanie Kelton, and she just did a superb hour-long podcast on this with Michael Moore:

https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/an-inflated-sense-of-inflation-w

#pluralistic

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irrfahrer · 4 years ago

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Wookiepedia on Wood that could be used for Lightsaberhilts

Original Text can be read Here, Here, Here and Here!

After the descriptions it is only mentioned that Greel-Wood and Brylark Tree are used for Lightsaber Hilts, but when it comes to the hardness of the wood Metalwood is just as hard as Brylark. So Metalwood might could be used in Lightsaberhilts as well. Greel Wood might only be used as adornment on the Lightsaber Hilts due to its scarlet colour.

Brylark Tree The Brylark tree was a type of tree. During the Clone Wars, Jedi Initiate Gungi was asked by Professor Huyang what he envisioned his future lightsaber to be made. The Wookiee explained to the Architect droid he felt it through the Force as wood. Huyang responded that the only wood sturdy enough to make a saber would be from a Brylark tree. Huyang had a pre-carved Brylark wood casing in his collection of lightsaber parts, which Gungi used for his lightsaber hilt. Huyang said that it was a very rare choice among hilts, just like Wookiees like Gungi are rare among Jedi. Greel Tree A greel tree was a type of tree native to Pii III and Pii IV, the only planets with the proper ecosystem to support the fastidious trees. The Greel Wood Logging Corporation, based in the Pii system, maintained a monopoly on harvesting them. The crimson timber—greel wood—was in great demand as a luxury item. Industrial Automaton designed a logging droid to specifications for the Greel Wood Logging Corporation, which used them on the rolling hillsides of Pii III. They were apparently very expensive. History: During the final decades of the Galactic Republic, entrepreneur Meysen Kayson bought the rights to develop Pii III and Pii IV as a bi-planetary nature reserve. While clearing space for the first buildings, a species of greel tree was discovered. Although the bark was rough and of no use, the wood below was found to be smooth and a deep scarlet-violet in color. After consultation with xenobiologists and xenoarborists, Kayson found that the specific species had an amazing fast growth rate; if the stump was left intact, it would grow back to its original height within five years. Kayson abandoned his plans for the nature reserve and established the Greel Wood Logging Corporation. By instituting a careful program of logging and allowing harvested trees time to regenerate, Kayson laid the foundation for a successful company.The Greel Wood Logging Corporation was responsible for harvesting greel wood from the worlds of Pii III and Pii IV in the Arkanis sector. Greel trees were harvested on both Pii III and Pii IV, and the differences in the planetary weather conditions led to planet produce a different variety of greel wood. Pii III's greel wood was known as the "grassland scarlet greel wood." The greel wood from Pii IV was known as the "band crimson greel wood." The bushland scarlet was bushier, denser, and lighter in color. The band crimson was lighter, but darker in color. It commanded a higher price due to the elaborate and ornate spirals, waves and bands in the near-black flaws.With Industrial Automaton, the Greel Wood Logging Corporation developed the FLR "Lumberdroid" for its tree-felling operations. As a teenager, Tirs Maladane spent a summer on Pii III working in the greel wood industry to earn some money. Uses: Some models of groundcoach including the Ubrikkian Transports LuxurPort Zisparanza, utilized greel wood in both interior and exterior paneling. Greel wood was also used in the construction of furniture, high-end jewelry, and ornamental products. The walls of the Aspre Plunge casino were paneled in highly polished greel wood,as were the luxurious gambling rooms of the undersea passenger liner Coral Vanda. During the Battle of Endor, Tycho Celchu flew an RZ-1 A-wing interceptor that featured greel wood paneling in its cockpit.Greel wood was used in furniture and in some lightsaber hilts. Darth Vader's Palace contained spartan chairs and tables made from greel wood. Platt Okeefe had a greel wood wardrobe onboard her ship, the Last Chance. The Bothan crime lord Akris Ur'etu had a desk made from Greel wood inside one of his Skar'kla Consortium bases. Pok Nar-Ten of the Klatooinian Trade Guild had furniture made of Greel wood.

Metalwood Metalwoods were huge trees native to the planet Kuras III that grew to a height of thirty to forty meters. The trunk was smooth and dark gray, with metallic gray leaves. They grew where ore deposits were found. The tree's roots sunk into the planet's crust, tapping the ore for sustenance. The energy from the Kuras system's white dwarf star allowed the tree to refine the ore and convert it into layers of bark.

#lightsaber #I LOVE WOOKIEPEDIA #BLESS IT #BLESS WOOKIEPEDIA #inspiration #Zivs ightsaber is mostly made of wood so THIS IS IMPORTANT!

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basicsofislam · 4 years ago

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ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN ISLAM: Balance in Society

Abu’l-Fazl Ezzati outlines the Islamic economic system as follows:

Islam represents a complete way of life. There is no compartmentalization of human activity is Islam. Its economic policy is, therefore, an integral part of the religion of Islam.

Islamic economic system is based on equality, justice, moderation, and collective self-sufficiency.

Man’s piritual development is fundamental but his physical welfare is instrumental.

Islam is based on faith in God, Who has given man the capability to choose between good and evil, and assume full responsibility for his conduct. “Man has only that for which he makes effort, and and this effort will be seen.” (53:39-40)

Islam is a universal system embodying eternal values which safeguard man’s rights while constantly reminding him of his obligation to himself and society.

Islam forbids exploitation and monopoly in all forms and strictly prohibits unearned interest such as usury, gambling, betting, etc.

Islam honors labor and contracts, enjoins work and toil, encourages man to earn his own living by honest means and to spread his earnings.

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sepublic · 4 years ago

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Zakaz

Weapons manufacturing and the war industry is Xia’s most lucrative source of profits, so it stands to reason; Once materials are gathered in Voymari, crafted into weapons in Tametru, and shipped from Stelt… Where do they go?

While many of them are shipped out to various crimelords, smaller governments in Xia’s more developed districts, and so on and so forth, the vast bulk of destructive machinery has one common destination in mind; The chaotic desert wasteland, home to various developing countries and nations, the designated district of Zakaz.

A generally arid region with varying levels of heat intensity and dryness, the Zakaz District lagged behind the rest of Xia due to its poor, brutal conditions making development both difficult and ‘nonproductive’ in the eyes of various Xian corporations and nobles. As a result, while areas such as Voymari or Artidax were sought out for their environmental conditions that assisted the sectors that’d be built within them, the scattered clans, tribes, and kingdoms of Zakaz were left on their own to continue fighting. As other parts of Xia readily participated in its industrial revolution, willingly or otherwise, the people of Zakaz were left behind and left mostly ignorant of the new progress, busy fighting over what few resources were present in Zakaz.

Inevitably, Xian weapons manufacturers, including the esteemed Vortixx Industries, recognized that a wartime economy was incredibly profitable to them. Massive sales were made towards various groups in Zakaz, who were eager to get any advantage they could over their enemies; In turn, the powerful weapons they used further devastated Zakaz, throwing back any attempts to develop the region to the urban and technological standards of the rest of Xia. This vicious cycle continued, and because many Xian corporations found it in their best interests for Zakaz to remain war-torn, wanting to sell weapons, the conflict would continue.

Many nations in the Zakaz District are hosted by puppet leaders with corporate ties, while others remain independent. Because Xian weapons manufacturers desired the continued existence of war for profits, any attempts to organize Zakaz’s nations into a tense equilibrium and ceasefire have ended, deliberately fueled by corporate sabotage, political assassinations, and of course the nationalism, prejudices, and attitudes found in the Zakaz District.

Whereas the rest of Xia’s districts are mostly cohesive (or were in Nynrah’s case), Zakaz is viewed as the back-water, third-world region where the ‘barbarians’ of Xia reside, although such a perspective fails to capture the socioeconomic reasons behind Zakaz’s conflicted state. Regardless, Zakaz consists of various, scattered groups, ranging from nomadic tribes and clans, to bandit gangs, mercenary groups, cults, small nations and kingdoms, and so on and so forth. The intense, dry desert heat has evaporated almost all water, save for Lake Tajun; Xia’s primary source of clean, untouched water.

Because clean water is both so rare and so precious for Xians, everyone on the island has come to the mutual, ceasefire agreement to regard Lake Tajun and its shores as a place of neutrality. No destruction or warfare is to happen here, because it is in everyone’s best interests for Lake Tajun to remain pure and pristine. The shores along Lake Tajun are pristine oasises, and many Xian nobles travel to luxury resorts on vacation there. A few cities and villages have been built along the shore of Lake Tajun, harvesting water and selling it across Zakaz to the needy and thirsty. It is not uncommon to find ‘Water Merchants’ travelling across the Zakaz desert, selling their wares while also being armed against potential bandits, such as the roaming Bone Hunters.

Aside from Lake Tajun, Zakaz is not an entirely homogenous desert; While its arid conditions somewhat vary, the effects of various Xian Hearts and their destructive capabilities can be felt. Areas where a Xian Heart of Fire has been detonated are scorched, burning plains of glass that can blind at a glance; A Xian Heart of Water mixed with sand has resulted in a hazardous Sea of Quicksand that seems to be spreading at a slow, yet definite rate.

Because Lake Tajun is neutral ground where peace treaties and other agreements are signed, all other sources of water and fertile soil are brutally fought over. Nations and clans will fight not only over resources, but also ideological disputes related to Nationalism, with upstart dictators promising order and a new law, but only if citizens devote their minds, bodies, and lives to expanding their cause. Most countries in Zakaz usually last shortly before they either collapse, or undergo a radical change of leadership, either due to corporate interests, rebellion, or some other coup or the victory of a superior nation. Many leaders have sold out their own nation and its precious resources, from Thornax crops to oil fields, to corporate interests who will pay the dictators themselves much and the citizens very little.

Travelling across brutal areas of Zakaz, such as the Baran Desert, travelers may sight an oasis and even a tavern beside it, although sometimes these are illusions, mirages from impending heatstroke and the scorching light. Sandstorms and hazardous wildlife, such as the massive Sand Bat, are constant threats, amidst the risk of heatstroke, starvation, and thirst. Bone Hunters will stalk after victims amidst their Rock Steeds, often hiding within the cover of sandstorms to ambush prey.

Zakaz’s politically unstable nature means that Dume and other Powers That Be have little hold and authority there, and Vahki presence is practically minimal. As a result, many upstart tyrants and power-hungry warlords and criminals escape to Zakaz to flee the repercussions of the law, or to conduct business that would be seen as ‘suspicious’ and shut down quickly by the Vahki. Cults are common, such as the Sisters, a group of enigmatic telepaths who worship a figure named ‘Annona’; Or the Kraahl, a mysterious coven of cloaked, masked figures who have been sighted at one moment, only to suddenly disappear at the next.

Besides bandits, there are also mad inventors, political dissidents fleeing other districts (or Zakaz itself), refugees, etc. Slavers frequently roam Zakaz, picking off travelers or refugees and selling them off to brutal owners. Zakaz is Xia’s primary source of slaves. Many Bioweapons are deployed in combat within the Zakaz District, with some becoming free of their masters and roaming the wastes. While some inevitably die, others continue to thrive, with one notable example being the Tesara, a massive carnivorous plant that lives in symbiosis with a village of Xians within the Baran Desert.

In spite of Zakaz’s wartorn state –or perhaps BECAUSE of it- the district is also Xia’s primary form of ‘entertainment’. In a more developed region near Lake Tajun is a series of film studios and theaters, most owned by the famous Kratakal, where shows, big-budget movies, and plays are performed, filmed, and broadcast to the rest of Xia. Tickets are frequently sold out, with packed audiences eagerly watching Kratakal’s various performances and programs as Xia’s primary, beloved form of escapism. Luxurious casinos promise massive gains but only provide losses, with many becoming indebted thanks to their own gambling addictions and sold into slavery as punishment, or forced on the run to avoid consequence.

Elsewhere across Zakaz are various arenas where gladiators brutally fight, often to the death. Fighters can consist of just about anything, from regular Xians, slaves, outlaws, animals, and even outright Bioweapons. With Gladiator fights of so much entertainment to disenfranchised Xians, the sport is broadcast to other districts, and has spread to them as well; However, Zakaz has the most gladiator fights of all. Particularly famous fighters with a long streak of victories can even be rewarded with the title of ‘Glatorian’ to honor their legendary prowess. Particularly famous Glatorian who garner many views will even be invited to participate at the Atero Magna, the massive coliseum deep within the heart of Xia itself. Bets are held, often with dire consequences for losers, and mercenaries will enforce these bets at the betting offices.

In some areas of Zakaz, such as the Baran Desert, gladiator matches aren’t just used for sport and entertainment, but also to settle conflicts and disputes; With some tribes not wanting to be blown into oblivion by conflict, nor further scar the environment, they resort to proxy individuals to settle disputes in favor of actual armies. Started by the legendary Glatorian known as Certavus, this regional system of gladiator matches is closely regulated and has many laws, but such rules are not always strictly followed. Tribes arguing over claims to a resource can send forth their best fighter –or a hired gladiator- to fight and win on their behalf.

While many of these gladiators get benefits, others are given the short end of the stick, especially slaves sold into combat. Unsurprisingly, some gladiators, unhappy with their end of the deal, have begun to conspire with one another, forming a network of connections and alliances. Such alliances involve deals from intentionally losing matches for personal gain, recommending one another and new recruits to be used, and so forth. Growing gladiator alliances will agree to set higher prices for one another, and brutally defeat and out-compete others who aren’t with them. The former slave Tuma is rumored to be at the heart of this emerging ‘Glatorian Monopoly’ that seeks to put the power into the hands of the fighters themselves; Those wary of Tuma have sent in Baterra model Exo-Toa to spy on him, just in case.

Aside from duels and death-matches, there are also brutal death-races. Zakaz races are poorly regulated and often impromptu, not necessarily done by official organizations, but nevertheless used as a means of entertainment, prize-money, fame, and occasionally to settle disputes. Famous racers include Kirbraz, Scodonius, Reidak, Perditus, Crotesisus, etc. Sabotage and violent crashes are of course, common. And if racing isn’t one’s personal cup of tea, there are also other sports, such as Akilini, a disk-throwing sport with far too few safety regulations.

Many groups vie for power and control in Zakaz. There is the Skakdi Clan, led by Nektann and consisting of Xians modified by the rogue Nynrah Ghost Spiriah; or the mad inventor Telluris, who sees just about anyone and everything as an enemy, frequently rampages around mindlessly on his Skopio XV-1. The Iconox Clan is located within the frosty ruins of a Xian Heart of Ice, and frequently competes with the Vulcanus and Agori clans. Paramilitary death squads are often put into conflict with rebel cells in guerilla warfare. But despite all of this conflict, Zakaz has yet to see a clear, definitive ‘winner’.

#bionicle #Bionicle RaE #zakaz #xia #glatorian #skakdi #nektann #bone hunters #agori #bara magna #worldbuilding #lore

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newstfionline · 5 years ago

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Headlines

Fiery disagreements as Trump impeachment hearing opens (AP) The House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing quickly burst into partisan infighting Wednesday as Democrats charged that President Donald Trump must be removed from office for enlisting foreign interference in U.S. elections and Republicans angrily retorted there were no grounds for such drastic action.

DHS may require US citizens be photographed at airports (AP) Federal officials are considering requiring that all travelers--including American citizens--be photographed as they enter or leave the country as part of an identification system using facial-recognition technology. The Department of Homeland Security says it expects to publish a proposed rule next July. Officials did not respond to requests for more details.

In Haiti, protests wane, some schools open but crisis far from over (Reuters) Anti-government protests in Haiti are waning, with schools and businesses trying to re-open in the face of political gridlock and heightened violence in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.

A corruption scandal for Venezuela’s opposition (Foreign Policy) A new challenge is tripping up Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s opposition-held congress investigates alleged corruption within its ranks. Though he is not involved, the probe could undermine Guaidó. Many Venezuelans believe the opposition leader may have missed his chance to oust President Nicolás Maduro.

Colombia on strike (Foreign Policy) Despite last-minute talks with the government, Colombia’s unions and student groups are moving ahead with another national strike today--the third in three weeks. Since Nov. 21, the protests have at times drawn hundreds of thousands of Colombians to the streets against President Iván Duque’s social and economic policies.

Brazilian Slum Residents Protest After 9 Die in Police Raid (AP) Hundreds of people in Sao Paulo’s Paraisopolis slums have taken to the streets to protest against local police three days after nine young people died in a stampede during a police operation at a funk music party.

Melania Trump hands out Christmas presents to London children (Reuters) U.S. First Lady Melania Trump was greeted by dozens of school children in northeast London on Wednesday when she attended a Salvation Army event to hand out Christmas presents and decorate the tree.

Long focused on Russia, NATO widens gaze toward China (Reuters) Seventy years since its Cold War-era founding as a transatlantic alliance focused on Moscow, NATO is expanding its gaze toward the increasingly muscular challenge posed by China. The United States is leading the charge for a greater focus on China and is confident in a receptive audience in much of Europe, where concerns are mounting about Beijing’s growing economic leverage, in particular.

A domestic Huawei scandal (Foreign Policy) While those beyond China’s borders worry about Huawei being a backdoor for intelligence, the Chinese public is angry at the telecommunications firm for another reason. Despite authorities’ efforts to control the story, the case of Li Hongyuan, a Huawei programmer jailed for 251 days after demanding severance pay from the company after he was fired, went viral last week. Li’s tale struck a chord with the Chinese public for two reasons. With no real trade unions, Chinese workers are frequently cheated, and companies have enlisted the police as an enforcement tool against those who complain. China’s tech sector is also known for its abusive “996” work culture: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

Macao’s GDP (Foreign Policy) Macao has long been a gambling haven, but the island’s economy didn’t take off until 2002, when a previous casino monopoly was broken. That, combined with growing wealth in mainland China (where gambling is illegal, though common), has contributed to a sharp rise in Macao’s GDP. Despite a bump in 2015 during anti-corruption purges under President Xi Jinping, Macao is still projected to become the richest place on earth per capita in 2020.

Iran’s financial crisis (WSJ) While Iran’s sanction-battered economy has sparked protests across the nation, U.S. officials cite new intelligence suggesting Tehran’s finances are more dire than previously thought and bringing it closer to a financial crisis. Tehran’s sophisticated sanction-evasion efforts have offset some of the losses from plummeting oil exports due to global U.S. sanctions pressure. But according to new U.S. financial intelligence, the government is scraping the barrel on foreign-exchange reserves, a critical indicator of the country’s ability to control economic forces and to import equipment and supplies.

North Korean ski resort (Foreign Policy) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inaugurated a pet project: a modern ski resort in the snowy town of Samjiyon, near the Chinese border. The town sits beneath the mountain Paektusan, which according to propaganda is the birthplace of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il. Tourism--mainly from China--has been a source of cash for Pyongyang under U.N. sanctions.

Up to 57 dead after migrant boat sinks off Mauritanian coast: U.N. agency (Reuters) Up to 57 people have died after a ship from Gambia carrying around 150 migrants sank off the coast of Mauritania on Wednesday, the U.N. migration agency said.

#headlines #news

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the-funtime-autocrat · 6 years ago

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Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs in European history. Though internationally known for his marriage to American actress Grace Kelly, he was also responsible for reforms to Monaco's constitution and for expanding the principality's economy beyond its traditional casino gambling base.

Rainier became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco on the death of Louis II on 9 May 1949.[2]

After ascending the throne, Rainier worked assiduously to recoup Monaco's lustre, which had become tarnished through neglect (especially financial) and scandal (his mother, Princess Charlotte, took a noted jewel thief known as René the Cane as her lover). According to numerous obituaries, the prince was faced upon his ascension with a treasury that was practically empty.

The small nation's traditional gambling clientele, largely European aristocrats, found themselves with reduced funds after World War II. Other gambling centers had opened to compete with Monaco, many of them successfully. To compensate for this loss of income, Rainier decided to promote Monaco as a tax haven, commercial center, real-estate development opportunity, and international tourist attraction. The early years of his reign saw the overweening involvement of the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, who took control of the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) and envisioned Monaco as solely a gambling resort. Prince Rainier regained control of SBM in 1964, effectively ensuring that his vision of Monaco would be implemented. In addition, the Societé Monégasque de Banques et de Métaux Précieux, a bank which held a significant amount of Monaco's capital, was bankrupted by its investments in a media company in 1955, leading to the resignation of Monaco's cabinet.

Monaco is not formally a part of the European Union (EU), but it participates in certain EU policies, including customs and border controls. Through its relationship with France, Monaco uses the euro as its sole currency (prior to this it used the Monégasque franc). Monaco joined the Council of Europe in 2004. It is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

As Prince of Monaco, Rainier was also responsible for the principality's new constitution in 1962 which significantly reduced the power of the sovereign. (He suspended the previous constitution in 1959, saying that it "has hindered the administrative and political life of the country.") The changes ended autocratic rule, placing power with the prince and a National Council of eighteen elected members.

Monaco has the world's second-highest GDP nominal per capita at US$153,177, GDP PPP per capita at $132,571 and GNI per capita at $183,150.[7][107][108] It also has an unemployment rate of 2%,[109] with over 48,000 workers who commute from France and Italy each day.[73]According to the CIA World Factbook, Monaco has the world's lowest poverty rate[110] and the highest number of millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world.[111][112] For the fourth year in a row, Monaco in 2012 had the world's most expensive real estate market, at $58,300 per square metre.[113][114][115]

One of Monaco's main sources of income is tourism. Each year many foreigners are attracted to its casino and pleasant climate.[85][116] It has also become a major banking center, holding over €100 billion worth of funds.[117] Banks in Monaco specialize in providing private banking, asset and wealth management services.[118] The principality has successfully sought to diversify its economic base into services and small, high-value-added, non-polluting industries, such as cosmetics and biothermics.[110]

The state retains monopolies in numerous sectors, including tobacco and the postal service. The telephone network (Monaco Telecom) used to be fully owned by the state; it now owns only 45%, while the remaining 55% is owned by both Cable & Wireless Communications (49%) and Compagnie Monégasque de Banque(6%). It is still, however, a monopoly. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas.[119]

Monaco is not a member of the European Union. However, it is very closely linked via a customs union with France and, as such, its currency is the same as that of France, the euro. Before 2002, Monaco minted its own coins, the Monegasque franc. Monaco has acquired the right to mint euro coins with Monegasque designs on its national side.

Monaco levies no income tax on individuals. The absence of a personal income tax in the principality, has attracted to it a considerable number of wealthy "tax refugee" residents from European countries who derive the majority of their income from activity outside Monaco; celebrities such as Formula One drivers attract most of the attention, but the vast majority of them are less well-known business people.

After a year-long courtship described as containing "a good deal of rational appraisal on both sides" (The Times, 7 April 2005, page 59), Prince Rainier married Oscar-winning American actress Grace Kelly (1929–1982)[4] in 1956. The ceremonies in Monaco were on 18 April 1956 (civil) and 19 April 1956 (religious). Their children are:

Princess Caroline, born 23 January 1957 and now the Princess of Hanover;

Albert II, Prince of Monaco, born 14 March 1958, inherited the throne of Monaco;

Princess Stéphanie, born 1 February 1965.

After Grace's death, Rainier refused to remarry.[8]

Prince Rainier smoked 60 cigarettes a day.[12] In the last years of his life his health progressively declined. He underwent surgery in late 1999 and 2000, and was hospitalized in November 2002 for a chest infection. He spent three weeks in hospital in January 2004 for what was described as general fatigue.[13] In February 2004, he was hospitalized with a coronary lesion and a damaged blood vessel.[14] In October he was again in hospital with a lung infection. In November of that year, Prince Albert appeared on CNN's Larry King Live and told Larry Kingthat his father was fine, though he was suffering from bronchitis.

On April 6th, Prince Rainier died at the Cardiothoracic Center of Monacoat 6:35 AM local time at the age of 81. He was succeeded by his only son, who became Prince Albert II.[19]

He was buried on 15 April 2005, beside his wife, Princess Grace, at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate, the resting place of previous sovereign princes of Monaco and several of their wives,[20] and the place where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace had been married in 1956.[21]

On 31 March 2005, following consultation with the Crown Council of Monaco, the Palais Princier announced that Rainier's son, Hereditary Prince Albert, would take over the duties of his father as regent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his royal functions.

@artist-tyrant

#Monaco #Prince of Monaco #House of Grimaldi #Monarchy #Constitutional Monarch #Constitutional Monarchy #Prince Rainier #Prince Rainier of Monaco

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antoine-roquentin · 6 years ago

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The logic of outsourcing is that market-based production is better than public production because the governance of private organisations is more transparent, flexible, efficiency focused and disciplined by owners. But this idea is problematic on two fronts. In the first place the presumption of market superiority is an artefact of public choice theory; it’s not rooted in historical assessment of which regime, public or private, has better produced public goods. In the second, this logic is dependent on ‘first-best-world’ economic theorising: it assumes an efficient market for simple goods, or for goods that can be somehow simplified. Hence for outsourcing to work those archetypal conditions have to exist. While they typically can exist for simple goods and services (the NHS doesn’t grow its own food), the outsourcing markets for complex goods and services characteristically fulfil none of the necessary conditions.

The neoclassical microeconomic logic behind outsourcing operates according to purely deductive-theoretic reasoning: i.e. in chains of logical reasoning that flow from explicit axioms to necessary outcomes, like Pythagoras’s theorem.This method allows for the valuable modelling of ‘small-world’, repetitive and simple transactions but around the essential, complex and interdependent services of the state it introduces some heinous sins of analytical omission. This is a form of argument that does not calibrate itself against observable reality as in other social sciences, including more critical neoclassical economics, but with the axiomatic reasoning or maths that ‘proves’ it. Around complex goods and services, however, reality conspires to render an efficient market impossible....

The negative spillovers from incomplete contracts in public service outsourcing are exceptionally socially damaging. The hard to codify tasks often intrinsic to a given public service – like ‘care’ – are rationally sloughed off by private providers and left to families, volunteers, charities and other public services to answer. As interdependent services come under satisficing corporate performance, systemic failures become inevitable.

The almost completely compromised nature of the marketplace for services is not the only problem, however. As Accounting Professor Adam Lever and Gil Plimmer’s coverage at the Financial Times have shown, large public service industry (PSI) firms are a particularly striking example of ‘financialised’ corporations: they are not the productive innovators of the neoclassical imaginary. Rather than reinvesting their profits, these quoted companies redirect earnings into ever increasing dividend payouts and share buybacks to further hike share prices, and debt-funded mergers and acquisitions are relied on to create new income streams. On the verge of bankruptcy in 2013, the new CEO of Serco found it had no single coherent register documenting its 700 businesses, suggesting the operating values of a Ponzi scheme more than a value-creating corporate strategy.

With few tangible assets and high borrowing against intangible assets, (like brand recognition and, presumably, the financial market expectation of an ever-expanding non-competitive sector under doctrinaire governments) these firms carry no residual value if the business fails. Failure is also hard to anticipate since due diligence is hampered by major conflicts of interest in the ‘Big Four’ accountancy companies, KPMG, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deloitte and Ernst and Young. Leaver describes the standard financial model as “leveraged gambling on future income flows”. The policy is thus booby-trapped against governments keen to reverse it.

When it comes to prevailing incentives public service industry firms as ‘firms’ bear an uncanny resemblance to Soviet state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and why wouldn’t they? As within planning for the Soviet SOEs, the outsourcing contract operates as a form of planning instruction and as an imperative to be realised, not as a forecast or ‘indicative plan’ to be considered; prices are predominantly administrative and ‘soft’ (i.e. negotiable); contracts are typically long, incomplete and exit is punitively expensive financially, organisationally and politically; the continuation of production is essential, hence government operates under risks of a chronically ‘soft’ budget per contract (so-called ‘soft budget constraints’).

The relationship is intrinsically and institutionally politicised: in the UK case, following repeated failures, the Cabinet Office operates as the direct interface with major outsourcing companies. Demand for the good or service is typically guaranteed (disabled citizens seeking their independence allowance aren’t shopping for a handbag). Like Soviet SOEs then, public service industry firms operate in a doom loop of low incentives for consummate performance, high incentives for satisficing performance, plus a lack of effective disciplinary mechanisms.

As a result the typical multinational PSI firm looks more like the separated-at-birth twin of the Soviet ‘Kombinat’ business group than either a prizewinning public corporation like the BBC or an archetypal plucky, innovative, value-creating enterprise (characteristic of actual small and medium sized enterprises far more than today’s financialised quoted companies). As of 2016 the vast majority of UK outsourcing contracts had nevertheless been awarded to large public service industry multinational firms – some 73% of procurement spending. Under doctrinaire governments, PSI firms, like Soviet SOEs, benefit from an increasingly all-embracing nomenclature of commodities to be produced. In contrast to the Soviet system, however, money is anything but passive within the outsourcing production regime.

From the taxpayer’s point of view the contemporary outsourcing architecture is more dysfunctional in framing corporate incentives than the Soviet system. Soviet SOEs had poor incentives to fulfil targets because wages were flat and target fulfilment prompted an increased target in the following year for no additional reward. PSI firms are incentivised by their stock-holding executive pay and financing structures and by the incompleteness of contractual specifications to actively ‘sweat’ a contract, since beyond creative accounting measures, their profit margins originate in its strictly legal, plain text reading.

The tougher any government tries to be in contract pricing within incomplete contracts the more damaging the consequences of margin-seeking by the firm are likely to prove. The risk under austerity is of chronic adverse selection. Given the objective difficulty of establishing accurate pricing under incomplete contracting, only the most reckless firms with least regard for service quality and those most determined to deploy later strategies of ‘hold up’ will rationally underbid for contracts with no guarantee they can stay within the initial margins. The collapsed Carillion was just such a repeat ‘winner’. Carillion’s management acted rationally under prevailing incentive structures: they were aberrant only in misjudging the moment when the financial markets would baulk at the unsustainability of their value extraction.

The standard counter-argument to ‘the problem of monopoly’ is that the reputational effect on dominant firms acts as a disciplining guarantee against poor contractual behaviour. But in monopoly/duopoly public service industry markets with high barriers to entry under doctrinaire governments who are increasingly structurally dependent on the survival of the dominant firms, the reputational damage to even atrocious providers is apparently nil. A Public Accounts Select Committee investigation found that Serco and G4S were awarded fourteen new contracts by five Departments worth £350 million even as they were being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office for defrauding the Ministry of Justice and after the then Justice Minister, Chris Grayling, publicly committed to withhold awards until the case was resolved: the MoJ was among the five.

The current UK government nevertheless continues to drive outsourcing into the state’s most complex and socially essential service domains. It’s enough to make Leonid Brezhnev blush.

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