Reflections on technology and society

Photo by Visual Stories Micheile on Unsplash
Photo by Visual Stories || Micheile
Economics and Finance / Social Relations of Technology

Economic Growth: The greatest Ponzi scheme of them all

Economic growth has all the earmarks of a Ponzi scheme. The detailed workings vary from place to place and change over time, but certain basic features of the scheme are noteworthy. Each succeeding generation pays into the scheme by undergoing a protracted period of costly education and training. When certified as skilled workers, the rising generation begins to receive ‘interest’ on its ‘investment’ in the form of wages derived from a job, and at the same time continues to contribute to the scheme.

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August 15, 2013
Bread line Dayton
Bread line Dayton: Library of Congress
Economics and Finance / Virtual Feudalism / Virtual Organization

First the workers, then the retirees – victims of the cut-and-paste management of virtual organization

Across the nation, cities and states are watching Detroit's largest-ever municipal bankruptcy filing with great trepidation. Years of underfunded retirement promises to public sector workers, which helped lay Detroit low, could plunge them into a similar and terrifying financial hole. Thanks to a patchwork of accounting practices and rosy investment assumptions, it's not even clear just how big a financial hole many states and cities have dug for themselves.

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August 5, 2013
Read more about the article Downside of virtual staffing
image by Zuza Ritt
Virtual Organization

Downside of virtual staffing

The state of Pennsylvania is killing a contract with IBM because, as of July, the project was $60 million over budget and a whopping 42 months behind schedule, state officials said. It was, by any measure, a huge and complex project. It was to give the state a new computer system to track employee wages, employer taxes and handle unemployment claims, appeals, payments.

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August 3, 2013
Are you Experienced - by Identity Transduction Systems
Are you Experienced - by Identity Transduction Systems
Virtual Organization

The triumph of the virtual corporation

Dell’s (DELL) buyout is the latest in a series of firms leaving the public market. Since 1997, the number of American companies listed on stock markets has dropped by more than half, from more than 8,800 to roughly 4,100. Some firms leave the market due to mergers or going private (Dell), while many are delisted due to bankruptcy or liquidation (Circuit City, Borders, or Eastman Kodak). But Dell's buyout represents something bigger: The triumph of the virtual corporation.

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March 25, 2013