The Comedians Get It

[SleepyHead]

Where Did All the Money Go?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038jkx6

Rory Bremner's new weekly satirical comedy takes one big contemporary question each week and attempts to answer it. Regular panellists Nick Doody, Andy Zaltzman and Kate O'Sullivan are joined this week by Gillian Tett, of the Financial Times and the financial journalist Max Keiser.

Rory's mantra is that it's as important to make sense out of things as it is to make fun of them. He believes only then will people laugh at the truth. This deconstructed "quiz" has only one question each week, because that question is so big, there's no time for anything else: expect a mix of stand-up and sketch combined with investigative satire and incisive interviews with a diverse range of characters who really know what they're talking about.

[campervanman]

Where Did All the Money Go?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038jkx6

Rory Bremner's new weekly satirical comedy takes one big contemporary question each week and attempts to answer it. Regular panellists Nick Doody, Andy Zaltzman and Kate O'Sullivan are joined this week by Gillian Tett, of the Financial Times and the financial journalist Max Keiser.

Rory's mantra is that it's as important to make sense out of things as it is to make fun of them. He believes only then will people laugh at the truth. This deconstructed "quiz" has only one question each week, because that question is so big, there's no time for anything else: expect a mix of stand-up and sketch combined with investigative satire and incisive interviews with a diverse range of characters who really know what they're talking about.

But will it appeal to the average Eastenders viewer? Satire changed politics in the 1960's but i'm not sure it can in the 2010's.

[LiveinHope]

I was surprised and pleased to listen to the first episode - mention of the gold standard, leverage and chanting money doesn't exist (IIRC), and a banker dies every time you say it (not condoning that, but a boost to funeral directors - every cloud has a silver lining etc) and the audience joining in enthusiastically in its repetition

I think I am hearing much more skepticism and understanding portrayed on the media, although my only exposure is Radio 4 as I don't have a TV - I only occasionally listen to R2 between 19.00 and 20.00.

My other exposure is here, when newspaper articles are highlighted, although that is going to be a biased representation.

So I think a small revolution is starting against materialism, living on credit and HPI. All grist to the mill.

Edited August 24, 2013 by LiveinHope

[SleepyHead]

[winkie]

This is worth a listen by Gillian Tett.......kind of connected in more ways than one......shadow banking, the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036tz9w

[Guest unfunded_liability]

In case you haven't already seen this:

or this:

Edited August 24, 2013 by unfunded_liability

[billybong]

The video on QE painted a picture mentioning that the printed money exits via an open window - as if it's generally distributed to everyone and anyone.

It should have emphasized that the money doesn't just sort of blow about to be picked up by the general public but it's the banks at the window and it's directed towards them and they get to either keep it or to spend/ "invest" it first.

That they get it first and when spending/"investing" it then benefit from it at lower prices which then pushes up prices for later recipients (further down the line) and generally the poorest last is one of the most important points about QE.

Both good videos though.

Edited August 24, 2013 by billybong

[neon tetra]

There was a great line something like

"With bankers, sometimes it's not enough to earn £4M a year before and after tax"...

[weaker]

Very simplistic, but nice explanation of fractional reserve banking at 25m00s. BUT they did not explain that when money is created with a loan, that money is spent, redeposited, and more loans are created on the back of that original loan.

Of course, the US money velocity is fiddling around historic lows (see link), so this is NOT happening right now, but that money created will eventually be loaned, deposited, reloaned, redeposited, re-reloaned,... and ... zimbabwe?

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/M2V?cid=32242

[“Nasty Piece of work”]

Rory Bremner's new show was sooo very bad, I had to turn the radio off. It was painful and forced, usually, other "Gardener's Question time", I can leave it on and retreat to another room, or do something that negates me hearing it. But this was as bad as "Quote Unquote" or "GQT" - smug, self-centred, vomit.

[Ah-so]

Very simplistic, but nice explanation of fractional reserve banking at 25m00s. BUT they did not explain that when money is created with a loan, that money is spent, redeposited, and more loans are created on the back of that original loan.

FRB is the process of money being created by being spent, redeposited and borrowed again. They did not explain that, but claimed that a bank invents the money when it loans it out, which is inaccurate.

Presumably they knew this was not correct, but they used the line anyway as short hand. I know at the end of the day the effect is much the same, but it still annoys me

[gf3]

FRB is the process of money being created by being spent, redeposited and borrowed again. They did not explain that, but claimed that a bank invents the money when it loans it out, which is inaccurate.

Presumably they knew this was not correct, but they used the line anyway as short hand. I know at the end of the day the effect is much the same, but it still annoys me

If we truly have FRB wouldn't a day come when the banks couldn't lend out any more money?

Have you ever heard of that happening?

Central bank would always supply more cash if it happened. Fictional reserve banking is what we've got.

[alexw]

If we truly have FRB wouldn't a day come when the banks couldn't lend out any more money?

Have you ever heard of that happening?

Central bank would always supply more cash if it happened. Fictional reserve banking is what we've got.

Yup exactly. The way Ah-so is portraying FRB is the way the banking sector loves to portray/pretend it works. But it's just pure fiction.

If the money loaned is solely a fraction of previous loans, then eventually loan growth ends or becomes so insignificant as to appear to end

E.g. for a fractional reserve ratio of 10%

100

90

81

72.9

65.6

59

etc

etc

Fact is though the creation of new money is limitless, and has been occurring not a continually slowing rate but rather an exponential one. That fact shows how much the portrayal of FRB as above is pure BS.

Basically a bank makes a loan whenever it wants to in the amounts it wants to make. There is zero limit to this process. Then after the money is created from nothing as a loan, the BOE credits the lender whatever reserves is needed.

[Guest TheBlueCat]

FRB is the process of money being created by being spent, redeposited and borrowed again. They did not explain that, but claimed that a bank invents the money when it loans it out, which is inaccurate.

Presumably they knew this was not correct, but they used the line anyway as short hand. I know at the end of the day the effect is much the same, but it still annoys me

Yes, annoying. I know that Rory Bremner understands exactly how it really works so it's a shame that got through.

[wonderpup]

If we truly have FRB wouldn't a day come when the banks couldn't lend out any more money?

Have you ever heard of that happening?

Central bank would always supply more cash if it happened. Fictional reserve banking is what we've got.

It did happen- and they did supply more cash- trillions in fact. The 'credit crunch' was the test of FRB's limitations- the banks ran out of road in terms of their lending capacity and what did the Central Banks do in response?

They came through with the cash in terms of QE, funding for lending, ect ect.

So in reality FRB works backwards- the private credit creators in the banking sector issue credit and it's down to the CB's to ensure that there is enough money in the system to keep the game going.

To big to fail is just another way of saying that FRB is fiction- the only real limit on the ability of banks and 'bank like' entities to create credit is their ability to find people to lend money to.

[Austin Allegro]

At least it's an attempt to get serious contemporary stuff across in a funny way. Most of the supposedly 'radical' comedians on the BBC haven't moved on from the days when all you needed to do was say 'Thatcher' and 'Tories' to get a laugh. (Yes I'm looking at YOU Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Steel, Mark Thomas, etc etc).

[chronyx]

I bet all those involved are mortified at the sound of people laughing at the millions they've made and gotten away with.

Yes

[“Nasty Piece of work”]

"They" have got clean away with it. If their Mother was mugged in the Streets to this degree they would break out the noose. Instead, they will vote them in on the basis that they have done "the right thing" - the Opposition is broken, in reality the public should be doing a Greek.

[winkie]

[douggggy]

At least it's an attempt to get serious contemporary stuff across in a funny way. Most of the supposedly 'radical' comedians on the BBC haven't moved on from the days when all you needed to do was say 'Thatcher' and 'Tories' to get a laugh. (Yes I'm looking at YOU Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Steel, Mark Thomas, etc etc).

`

`actually` what you needed to do was stand strark bollac naked in front of an audience with a lighted firework up your bum.. Malcom Hardee you are sadly missed in the not so brave new world of corporate sellouts that don`t allow hecklers..