http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1724
Here are some one liners...
The Royal Bank of Scotland and the Wonders of Overdraft Protection -- I talk about how banks in Scotland were formed and how the Subprime mortgage collapse was in part due to an implied guarantee that the government would not let the banks fail.
The Escape Artist and the Invention of Scandal Journalism -- Before Gentleman Jack is hanged he publishes his autobiography on his short life of debauchery and crime. It is scandal journalism.
Don't Tread on My Birthday -- The guy who designed the flag with the snake on it is born.
The Royal Bank of Scotland and the Wonders of Overdraft Protection
The Scotland Company is a merchant company that has become a lender. It is taking a long time to develop its markets in Africa and the Indies, so they have a lot of money sitting around doing nothing. In Scotland, banking is wide open. (It is a freakin' Libertarian dream.) They set up "The Equivalent Company" to lend out their idle money. When the Bank of Scotland is suspected of harboring disloyal thoughts about King George, the Scottish Parliament will grant a charter to the Equivalent Company in 1727 as a public bank (that is, a limited liability bank with implied government guarantees). They rename the company "The Royal Bank of Scotland," to emphasize their support for the Protestant King George the 1st. Their mission will be to attract more depositors and do better business than the Old Bank of Scotland. By 1728, the Royal Bank of Scotland will introduce a banking innovation: the overdraft... an instant loan. William Hog, a merchant, will immediately withdraw the equivalent of over $100,000 more than he will have on deposit in the bank. (And the crowd roars.) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Scottish chartered banks, such as the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the British Linen Company, were more successful than non-chartered banks... success being measured as: remaining in business. The limited liability of the chartered banks allowed you, as a depositor, not to lose everything you owned if the bank made a bad investment. Your risk was limited to your deposit. With non-chartered banks, if your bank made a bad investment, you, as a depositor, were at risk of losing your deposit, your house and the clothes on your back. Thus non-chartered banks took fewer risks and had fewer depositors. Limited liability banks took more risks because of risk-tolerant depositors and they were supported with government deposits or privileges, thus implying a sort of government guarantee. When the Subprime Lending bubble burst in 2008, a major cause of the problem was the implied promise that the government would protect certain financial institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and save their investors no matter how badly those financial institutions did. They were too big to fail. In my opinion, if an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. [7] [8] [9]
Scottish chartered banks, such as the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the British Linen Company, were more successful than non-chartered banks... success being measured as: remaining in business. The limited liability of the chartered banks allowed you, as a depositor, not to lose everything you owned if the bank made a bad investment. Your risk was limited to your deposit. With non-chartered banks, if your bank made a bad investment, you, as a depositor, were at risk of losing your deposit, your house and the clothes on your back. Thus non-chartered banks took fewer risks and had fewer depositors. Limited liability banks took more risks because of risk-tolerant depositors and they were supported with government deposits or privileges, thus implying a sort of government guarantee. When the Subprime Lending bubble burst in 2008, a major cause of the problem was the implied promise that the government would protect certain financial institutions such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and save their investors no matter how badly those financial institutions did. They were too big to fail. In my opinion, if an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. [7] [8] [9]
The Escape Artist and the Invention of Scandal Journalism
Jack Sheppard, otherwise known as "Gentleman Jack", has escaped from prison 4 times this year alone. The fifth time is the charm, but not for Jack. After several years of a successful apprenticeship to a carpenter, he was led to drink, and debauchery under the ministrations of the prostitute, Edgewood Bess. He was also taught pickpocketing and highway robbery by his partner in crime, Joseph "Blueskin" Blake. "Gentleman Jack" has been on a two year crime spree, and it is all coming to an end. Sheppard has been caught dead drunk after spending time with two women of negotiable virtue. It is such a scandal that before Jack Sheppard is executed he publishes his autobiography entitled "The History of the Remarkable Life of John Sheppard". It is probably ghostwritten by Daniel Defoe, the author of "Robinson Caruso". It sells like hotcakes.... especially at the hanging. Government officials are dismayed by Sheppard's popularity even after his death, so they ban all plays with the name "Jack Sheppard" in the title. The ban will remain in effect for the next 40 years. [10] [11] [12] [13]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Regarding scandals making the news, this is all about ratings, so if a pretty girl is kidnapped, it is wall-to-wall coverage. If an ugly guy is kidnapped, no coverage. Why the difference? It has to do with the attitude of the people consuming news entertainment. We say that news has become entertainment, but when has it ever NOT been entertainment? News is an on-going reality show. The first newspapers began as gossip pages. By the time of the American Revolution, news had become political as well. Eric Burns called it "... the gutter age of American Journalism." What exactly was the inalienable right of the press that the Bill of Rights was protecting? "Free speech" was already listed. Was it free speech in written form, especially political speech? [14] [15]
Regarding scandals making the news, this is all about ratings, so if a pretty girl is kidnapped, it is wall-to-wall coverage. If an ugly guy is kidnapped, no coverage. Why the difference? It has to do with the attitude of the people consuming news entertainment. We say that news has become entertainment, but when has it ever NOT been entertainment? News is an on-going reality show. The first newspapers began as gossip pages. By the time of the American Revolution, news had become political as well. Eric Burns called it "... the gutter age of American Journalism." What exactly was the inalienable right of the press that the Bill of Rights was protecting? "Free speech" was already listed. Was it free speech in written form, especially political speech? [14] [15]
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -- Amendment 1, The Bill of Rights.
Don't Tread on My Birthday
- * Christopher Gadsden - The designer of the Don't Tread on Me flag is born in Charleston, South Carolina. [16]
- * Immanuel Kant - Born in Prussia, he is one of the greatest of philosophers of all time. [17]
This Year in Wikipedia
Year 1724, Wikipedia.
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