@84. venividivici:
By the time period we’re discussing (1980 and forward), urbanization in the US, while not as advanced as Europe, was well-established.
So we ignore population density, natural resources, population growth, demographic factors, monetary factors and initial conditions. That’s quite informative. Regarding your standards for evidence, of course.
Most of the economic growth has been associated with technology and finance, two thing where the intellectual requirements for success are higher than what someone inhabiting most of the IQ bell curve is capable of. One can debate the merits of those intellectual efforts to-date, but one cannot debate that the people in the room are all very close to the top in terms of objective intelligence measures. In a competition where the minimum IQ necessary to succeed is 150+, people of “average” IQs around 100 simply aren’t going to win very often. Add into that globalization of labor markets and my only advice to people is “get smarter”. The old world isn’t coming back.
Oh, I’d be happy to debate you regarding the relative intelligence of our technology and finance ‘experts’. Perhaps a primer on the dot-com bubble? Or the current real-estate and finance collapse? Maybe we should review the S&L scandal? Take your pick. The minimum IQ necessary to succeed is nowhere near 150 points – and when you say the “old world” isn’t coming back, you should know that the statement means absolutely nothing here.
What drives re-investment is the availability of reinvestment opportunities. If a company has a cost of capital of 10% and the only reinvestment opportunities available return 9%, the company should distribute those earnings as a dividend to shareholders. Not doing so would weaken the company. I take it by your position on this you are not a CFO by profession?
I take it by your nonsensical reply that you are not familiar with the english language. Re-investment opportunities are subject to incentives. Tax policy is one such incentive. As a sole proprietor, it would make no sense to raise my personal income if I could reduce my taxation by allowing my capital to continue working as part of my business. This is not difficult to understand, but if you are having trouble, please go ahead and speak to your CFO.
Peace.
DS
