The Electric Car
in [Design]
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From: Rich Grise on 9 Oct 2007 15:02 On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:27:07 -0700, John Larkin wrote: > On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:29:44 GMT, Glen Walpert <gwalpert(a)notaxs.com> >>Yep, those are some big pumps with a lot of parts subject to corrosion, >>erosion and wear. Rather different tradeoffs from the rocket feed >>pumps. >> I have done some work on these too, including the defunct Clinch River >>Fast Breeder Reactor primary sodium pump seal. Hot liquid sodium >>qualifies as a fairly nasty fluid - but only if it leaks :-). > > Speaking of nasty, in the 50's roughly, some power plants were built > using mercury as the working fluid. > Once, in one of the engineering buildings at U of MN, there was sort of a display - some guy had built an MHD device, which used about a liter of mercury. This was in 1968 or so, before they made mercury all toxic and stuff. ;-) Cheers! Rich
From: Rich Grise on 9 Oct 2007 15:04 On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:18:32 +0000, Willie.Mookie wrote: >> I've known a few people who were very good at making money, in the sense >> of making money for its own sake, without actually creating anything. > > Sounds like you have issues about money. Its impossible to make money and > not create value. That's what it means to make money. If you end up with > a lot of money in your pocket and have not created value, then you are not > a business person, you are a crook. Either that or a lucky gambler. Ever heard of the "stock market"? Cheers! Rich
From: Richard Henry on 9 Oct 2007 15:05 On Oct 9, 10:18 am, Willie.Moo...(a)gmail.com wrote: > > Sounds like you have issues about money. Its impossible to make money > and not create value. That's what it means to make money. Have you never heard of Kevin Trudeau? > If you end > up with a lot of money in your pocket and have not created value, then > you are not a business person, you are a crook. Oh, never mind, you have heard of him.
From: Willie.Mookie on 9 Oct 2007 17:41 On Oct 9, 3:04 pm, Rich Grise <r...(a)example.net> wrote: > On Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:18:32 +0000, Willie.Mookie wrote: > >> I've known a few people who were very good at making money, in the sense > >> of making money for its own sake, without actually creating anything. > > > Sounds like you have issues about money. Its impossible to make money and > > not create value. That's what it means to make money. If you end up with > > a lot of money in your pocket and have not created value, then you are not > > a business person, you are a crook. > > Either that or a lucky gambler. Ever heard of the "stock market"? > > Cheers! > Rich One may be lucky in the stock market certainly, but by far the greatest amount of wealth is held by those who actually contribute value. Here is one descrition of the function of the stock market and its value; The stock market is one of the most important sources for companies to raise money. This allows businesses to go public, or raise additional capital for expansion. The liquidity that an exchange provides affords investors the ability to quickly and easily sell securities. This is an attractive feature of investing in stocks, compared to other less liquid investments such as real estate. History has shown that the price of shares and other assets is an important part of the dynamics of economic activity, and can influence or be an indicator of social mood. Rising share prices, for instance, tend to be associated with increased business investment and vice versa. Share prices also affect the wealth of households and their consumption. Therefore, central banks tend to keep an eye on the control and behavior of the stock market and, in general, on the smooth operation of financial system functions. Financial stability is the raison d'être of central banks. Exchanges also act as the clearinghouse for each transaction, meaning that they collect and deliver the shares, and guarantee payment to the seller of a security. This eliminates the risk to an individual buyer or seller that the counterparty could default on the transaction. The smooth functioning of all these activities facilitates economic growth in that lower costs and enterprise risks promote the production of goods and services as well as employment. In this way the financial system contributes to increased prosperity.
From: Willie.Mookie on 9 Oct 2007 17:48
On Oct 9, 3:05 pm, Richard Henry <pomer...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > On Oct 9, 10:18 am, Willie.Moo...(a)gmail.com wrote: > > > > > Sounds like you have issues about money. Its impossible to make money > > and not create value. That's what it means to make money. > > Have you never heard of Kevin Trudeau? > > > If you end > > up with a lot of money in your pocket and have not created value, then > > you are not a business person, you are a crook. > > Oh, never mind, you have heard of him. Anecdotal reports of notable exceptions to the rule doesn't change the rule. Given the low rate of capital formation and the high rate of taxes, if any more than 1/2% of the total profits earned in business were ill-gotten (and thereby subtracted from the economic engine, perhaps with a multiplier if the subtraction involved huge destruction of wealth) then the market would quickly collapse of its own weight. Consider, the effect of Enron's accounting lies on the market and on the economy as a whole. It had a huge impact for an extended period of time. So, can't you see that if more than half a percent of the wealth earned in the marketplace were ill gotten, that didn't truly contribute to the creation of wealth generally, the whole system would collapse. This is the true cost of crime in places like the former Soviet Union and other nations that are struggling with crime. Huge amounts of cash flow through the Columbian economy due to the drug trade, and flow through Afghanistan for the same reason. But is the Columbian or Aghani economy a sterling example of wealth formation and progress? No! They're all cluster fucks mired in poverty and violence. True wealth comes from another source altogether - one that understands the distinction between CREATING WEALTH and touching money that doesn't stay in your hands. .. |