Tag Archives: Davos

Davos Man – Misbegotten Progeny of Keynesian Central Bankers, by David Stockman

Posted on January 24, 2020 | 1 comment

The Davos men and women confabbing in Davos don’t have a clue as to what’s really going on in the world. From David Stockman at davidstockmanscontracorner.com via lewrockwell.com:

There are a reported 119 billionaires attending the Davos confab this year – plus (allegedly) the Donald, who took a day off from Impeachment to address this august gathering of the world’s movers and shakers.

There is also 1500 private jets crowding the surrounding airports – plus the notable train-traveling 17-year old expert on planetary climate science, Greta Thunberg.

Also, among the 10 billionaires in attendance from communist China is Ren Zhenfei, founder of Huawei and father of its CFO, Meng Wanzhou. Even as dad courts the rich and famous on the slopes, daughter languishes in a Canadian jail waiting extradition to the US because she had the audacity to do business with Iran against Washington’s instructions and Trump’s latest fatwa against the Tehran government.

These odd juxtapositions plus countless more got us to thinking about Davos Man himself and the ultimate juxtaposition of our times.

To wit, the combined net worth of the world’s billionaires in the year 2000 was $1 trillion, according to Forbes, but at this bublicious moment that number is reckoned at just under $10 trillion. So the 2,150 members of the Billionaires Club now have more net worth than 60% of the world’s population combined. That’s 4.6 billion people!

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Debt, Economics, Economy, Governments

Tagged ,

Political Nightmares Multiply for Europe Ahead of Davos, by Tom Luongo

Posted on January 11, 2019 | Leave a comment

The globalist-inspired European integration dream is crumbling. From Tom Luongo at tomluongo.me:

Europe’s dreams of integration are slipping away as the people wake up from the nightmare erected for them.

As we approach Act IX of the Yellow Vest protests in France and the threats of creating bank runs we get the news that both Presidents Trump and Macron will not be attending the convocation of globalists known as the World Economic Forum at Davos.

Trump’s not attending because it’s clear he’s no longer a member of The Davos Crowd and Macron isn’t because any public appearance by him will double the number of people donning high visibility safety gear and taking to the streets.

It almost feels like we’ve reached Peak Davos, with these announcements. But, clearly neither of these men are invited because in the minds of The Davos Crowd they no longer figure in their long-term plans.

Macron not attending is also a sign his government will be sacrificed on the altar of the Yellow Vests in the near future.

The Yellow Vest protests will have to be dealt with in a substantive manner that goes far beyond a few temporary injunctions against higher taxes. They are now vandalizing another symbol of middle class oppression in France, speed cameras.

All of the governments of Europe are broke. And the speed camera is simply another in a long line of instances of them trying to squeeze blood from the now impoverished and shrinking middle class.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Banking, Business, Debt, Economy, Geopolitics, Governments, History, Insurrection, Labor, Politics

Tagged , , ,

Davos Dumbbells, by Bill Bonner

Posted on January 26, 2018 | 1 comment

Bill Bonner captures perfectly SLL’s feelings on the annual conclave of the world’s “elite” at Davos, Switzerland. From Bonner at bonnerandpartners.com:

BALTIMORE – What is it about Davos?

Great… powerful… smart people go there…

…and turn into knuckleheads.

We would be there, too. But yet again, the invitation committee seems to have lost our address.

Instead, Donald J. Trump will have to represent us. Maybe he’ll break the evil spell.

Maybe not.

Citadel of Globalism

In the Financial Times is a photo of a smiling Christine Lagarde.

The former French finance minister… former partner at multinational law firm Baker McKenzie… former student at the Holton-Arms School for girls in Bethesda, Maryland… and permanent member of the international Deep State Establishment… is now head of the IMF.

Writing in the newspaper, preparatory to her visit to the Swiss citadel of globalism, elitism, and good-intentions-gone-bad, Ms. Lagarde seemed to be picking up on our theme from yesterday’s Diary:

Despite the improved economic outlook, there are still far too many people left out. There is still too much inequality and still a great deal of uncertainty about the future.

How she knows what is “too much” or “too many” was not disclosed. But in the public space, there’s no check on BS.

In private life, “too much” means something… and you pay for it. When you mouth off “too much” to some big guy in a low-bred bar, for example, he will sock you in the jaw.

BS checked. “Too much” clarified. End of story.

But Ms. Lagarde faces no such reality check. “Too much” can be whatever she wants it to be. The BS continues forever.

“In Japan, for example, estimates show that if women participated in the workforce at a similar rate as men, GDP would rise 9%,” Ms. Lagarde goes on.

Would that be a good thing?

We don’t know… and neither does she. People make decisions on what to do with their lives based on private information and personal aspirations, not public GDP BS.

To continue reading: Davos Dumbbells

1 Comment

Posted in Cronyism, Economics, Governments

Tagged

The 2017 “Davos Consensus”—More Welfare and Warfare, by Nick Giambruno

Posted on January 26, 2017 | 2 comments

Our betters convened in Davos, Switzerland to decide what they’re going to do with our unruly selves. From Nick Giambruno at internationalman.com:

“It’s a big club and you ain’t in it!”

I often think of these words, spoken by the great comedian George Carlin, when I read about the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Every year, global elites descend on Davos to discuss the big issues of the day in a Bilderberg-like conclave. This year, George Soros was there. So was Bill Gates.

The most important world leaders go. As do CEOs of the world’s largest companies, mainstream media bigwigs, and prominent academics. Central bankers attend, too.

In short, it’s a bunch of out-of-touch, self-anointed elites meeting to hand down from above their uniformly bad “solutions” to the world’s problems. Then they pat each other on the back for all the good they’re doing.

No matter the problem, their prescription is always more welfare, more warfare, more money printing, more taxes, and of course, more centralization of power into global institutions.

Interestingly, Donald Trump has never been invited to Davos. But his many opponents surely have.

This year, former Vice President Joe Biden gave a provocative speech. He accused Russia of trying to “collapse the liberal international order.” It was basically a call to arms and only increased tensions.

Rising populism was another hot topic. The Davos crowd sees it as a huge threat.

One professional academic there claimed: “We have to pay for the social cohesion that we need to keep our societies advancing, and accept that this may be a higher tax burden on people.”

Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), struck a similar tone: “It probably means more redistribution than we have in place at the moment.”

To continue reading: The 2017 “Davos Consensus”—More Welfare and Warfare

 

2 Comments

Posted in Business, Cronyism, Economy, Government, Horseshit, Uncategorized

Tagged

He Said That? 1/23/15

Posted on January 23, 2015 | 1 comment

From billionaire Jeff Greene, at the Davos Glitterati Mental Masturbation and Other Forms of Self-Gratification and Self-Glorification Forum:

America’s lifestyle expectations are far too high and need to be adjusted so we have less things and a smaller, better existence. We need to reinvent our whole system of life.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-22/billionaire-lectures-serfs-davos-americas-lifestyle-expectations-are-far-too-high

Mr. Greene is setting an admirable example. He and his wife brought only two nannies for their precious—and undoubtedly precocious—children on their private jet. He’s also trying to sell his California estate for $195 million, a price he believes is quite reasonable, presumably to adjust his lifestyle to less expensive digs. His sentiments are undoubtedly the prevailing view among the Davos worthies, which can only make the rest of us hope for a calamitous Alpine avalanche that will leave them buried in 20 feet of snow in addition to the massive mounds of their own bullshit.

1 Comment

Posted in Culture

Tagged , ,

1,700 PRIVATE JETS FLY TO DAVOS TO DISCUSS GLOBAL WARMING, from Breitbart

Posted on January 21, 2015 | 1 comment

From Breitbart:

A squadron of 1,700 private jets are rumbling into Davos, Switzerland, this week to discuss global warming and other issues as the annual World Economic Forum gets underway.

The influx of private jets is so great, the Swiss Armed Forces has been forced to open up a military air base for the first time ever to absorb all the super rich flying their private jets into the event, reports Newsweek.

“Decision-makers meeting in Davos must focus on ways to reduce climate risk while building more efficient, cleaner, and lower-carbon economies,” former Mexican president Felipe Calderon told USA Today.

Davos, which has become a playground of sorts for the global elite, is expected to feature at least 40 heads of state and 2,500 top business executives. Former Vice President-turned-carbon billionaire Al Gore and rapper Pharrell Williams will be there as well; each plans to discuss global warming and recycling respectively.

Another big theme of the mega-rich confab will be combating “income inequality” and how the world’s rich can pay their fair share to reduce the gap between top earners and the lower class. Admission price for Davos: roughly $40,000 a ticket.

The World Economic Forum will also feature discussions on gender equality and opportunities for women. According to the World Economic Forum’s own statistics, just 17% of all 2015 participants are women.

The 45th World Economic Forum meeting begins on Wednesday and runs through Saturday.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/01/20/1700-private-jets-fly-to-davos-to-discuss-global-warming/

See also “Deep Diving in the Moral Cesspool,” SLL, 1/20/15

1 Comment

Posted in Politics

Tagged ,