carolinerhg: personal finance books

Talk a little bit about your discussion of AT&T in the book.

In the 1910s, AT&T promised the American public that they would do no evil. Their president, Theodore Vail, turned to the government and the American public and he said we are a public utility and our duty is to the American people before profit. In there was the grand bargain that we keep making between the great information monopolists and the American nation. AT&T was the 1910 counterpart to Google’s pledge to do no evil.

When did AT&T become “evil”?

Most monopolists create a golden age that lasts a decade or more, and then slowly they became more interested in being in power. AT&T became dangerous when they began to suppress technologies that might threaten their rule.

Which technologies did AT&T suppress?

In the book I tell the story of tape recording technology, which AT&T itself invented in the late 1920s, and then suppressed because they believed that the recording technology would lead to the abandonment of the telephone.

Do the technology monopolies surrounding the Internet look different than the past?

The question is whether there is something about the Internet that is fundamentally different, or about these times that is intrinsically more dynamic, that we don’t repeat the past. I know the Internet was designed to resist integration, designed to resist centralized control, and that design defeated firms like AOL and Time Warner. But firms today, like Apple, make it unclear if the Internet is something lasting or just another cycle.

What do you think will happen?

My gut tells me that a return to 1950s prime time seems outlandish, but I can imagine a future where we have choices but something will be lost.

Which companies do you fear the most?

Right now, I’d have to say Apple.

What about Facebook?

I think Facebook is looking for a mentor, they are looking for a role model. Right now it is choosing between Apple and Google in this great war between open and closed. It is possible that whatever side Facebook takes will have a lot to do with the future of how we communicate.

What worries you about Apple?

As I discuss in the book, Steve Jobs has the charisma, vision and instincts of every great information emperor. The man who helped create the personal computer 40 years ago is probably the leading candidate to help exterminate it. His vision has an undeniable appeal, but he wants too much control.

Is this book about business or power?

I write about business in the way that writers have traditionally written about war. I’m interested in the quest for dominance, in industrial warfare. I believe that capitalism, by its nature, is about conflict, and ultimately the life and death of firms.

So what makes Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg get up in the morning?

Joseph Schumpeter, the famous economist, wrote about a special breed of men who are motivated not by money or comfort, but the will to found a private kingdom. The men in my book are motivated by power, and the information industries offer possibilities unavailable to people who sell orange juice or rubber boots, a power over people’s minds.

Do these C.E.O.’s make decisions that aren’t in the best interest of the public?

As I show in the book, there’s a similarity to power and great nations. The man who starts as the great reformer often ends his career by becoming increasingly paranoid and abusive. There’s a cycle, and the problems usually shows up when the great leader feels his power is threatened, like a political leader.

What part of these “evil” acts are the C.E.O.’s and what part are the employees?

I think the mogul makes the medium, but it’s also true that once a firm has been in existence long enough, it begins to have a life of its own.

Do you think that will apply to Apple?

Yes.

But who will take over it from Steve Jobs?

I think it may not matter. I think the mark of Steve Jobs is firmly placed on that firm, that it will continue to be him long after he passes from leadership.

– America’s problems are not political party related – both parties have liars representing them at the WhiteHouse for hundreds of years the “progressives” have wanted POWER AND CONTROL – and constituents still don’t consider that they are being treated as stooges – getting used to support reps. that hurt rather than help America. If people want a country that represents them, they must demand to be represented, and not taxed without representation.

- frugal-cafe-com Glenn Beck does the unthinkable: asks what law permits the government to demand AIG bonuses 3 30 2009 :…AIG is a scapegoat. And Congress is doing the “scaping.”…

- youtube-com YouTube Republican Whip Eric Cantor: No One Should Face Tax Increase Under Current Economic Conditions

-Money-cnn.com-2009/09/16-U.S. about to hit debt ceiling – again

-articles.sfgate.com/2010-03-04/Renewable-power stimulus funds spent overseas

-propublic-.org/one-third-of-stimulus-money-spent-february-2010-update Eye on the Stimulus

-heritage.org/January 5, 2010Why Government Spending Does Not Stimulate Economic Growth: Answering the Critics

-washingtonexaminer- com A cure for the federal debt cancer July 19, 2010

-From Bob Latta’s website 10 More Things Every American Should Know About President Obama’s Job-Killing Budget Posted by Staff on February 03, 2010

-examiner-com Sources say smackdown of Obama by Supreme Court may be inevitable! July 9 2010

-pajamasmedia.com-blog-acorns-latest-lawbreaking Why won’t Attorney General Eric Holder file racketeering charges against this criminal enterprise? September 11, 2009

- sickofspending.com/site/mark-levin-and-americans-for-prosperity Mark Levin and Americans for Prosperity have partnered on the Sick of Spending initiative to send a message and give Americans across the nation a voice that will be heard by their elected officials. Mark Levin talks about Sick of Spending on 6/17/2010: click here to download.

- freeenterprise-com “Free enterprise is the best way to create jobs and get America back to work. Does your candidate get it? Find out by sending them five questions-and let their answers help you determine if they understand the critical value of free enterprise…”

- crimes against liberty by David Limbaugh – explains how Obama gets what he wants – c.2010 by Regency Publishing, Inc.

- The Roots of Obama’s Rage Dinesh D’Souza (Author) From the Inside Flap – “… you’ll learn: Why Obama’s economic policies are actually designed to make America poorer compared to the rest of the world Why Obama will welcome a nuclear Iran Why Obama sees America as a rogue nation—worse than North Korea The real reason Obama banished a bust of Winston Churchill from the White House and ordered NASA to praise the scientific contributions of Muslims Why Obama would like to make America’s superpower status a thing of the past.”

eric seiger do

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

personal finance books

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