A New Gilded Age
To learn more about Epsilon Theory and be notified when we release new content sign up here. You’ll receive an email every week and your information will never be shared with anyone else.
Continue the discussion at the Epsilon Theory Forum
The Latest From Epsilon Theory
This commentary is being provided to you as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. The opinions expressed in these materials represent the personal views of the author(s). It is not investment research or a research recommendation, as it does not constitute substantive research or analysis. Any action that you take as a result of information contained in this document is ultimately your responsibility. Epsilon Theory will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information. Consult your investment advisor before making any investment decisions. It must be noted, that no one can accurately predict the future of the market with certainty or guarantee future investment performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Statements in this communication are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and other views expressed herein are as of the date of this publication. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, and there is no guarantee that any predictions will come to pass. The views expressed herein are subject to change at any time, due to numerous market and other factors. Epsilon Theory disclaims any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or views expressed herein. This information is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities. This commentary has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it. Epsilon Theory recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a financial advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives.
I’m never going to wear a Tuxedo again, except to the Crematorium
The University degree is the symbol that perfectly represents our Gilded Age.
Yes, among the most powerful, I agree.
I recall after vacationing in Dubai for a week having this weird, confusing feeling about everything there. I compared it to Vegas. In Vegas, everything is fake, and everyone knows it’s fake and they don’t care. In Dubai, everything is fake, but everyone pretends it’s real, and there was a sadness to it. But yeah, this article could easily be written about Dubai.
One of the most amazing things about Epsilon Theory is that Rusty is every bit the writer and thinker as Ben. Well done.
I had exactly the same feeling about Dubai.
Fact check: TRUE
Tuxedo Park reminds me of the Goose Creek section of Baytown, Texas where I was raised. There was a very strict dress code, “No shirt, no shoes, no service”.
I see your point. I couldn’t stand the place. The thought that people vacation there is beyond me.
It could easily be written about my home town of Louisville Ky. We have a handful of families that run the city behind the scenes. They have kept professional sports out of our city , they kept a bridge from being built for about 30 years because the didn’t want the “wrong type” of people from Indiana wondering too close to their neighborhood.
Anyway great tie in with current state of markets and politics I always feel that time reading espsilon theory is time well speant?
um, really? when 1/3 of americans, and 2/3 of people under 30 have one?
Yea, Singapore is kinda that way too…not as bad as Dubai though…
I spent one day (no overnight) in Vegas and found that was all I could take. I’m glad I saw it; I understand the kitsch and have no issue at all with those who enjoy it (hey, I’m not releasing my Netflix viewing activity), but it felt so fake, so contrived that I took no inherent enjoyment from it. And, as noted, everyone knows it’s fake and still many love it. To each his own. But a great example of people not caring if something isn’t real.
Rusty, you have a career as a published author if you want one. I’m sure there are many options, but one I see is as the next popular historian in the mode of Stephen Ambrose or David McCullough. Not that you couldn’t do serious academic work (I’m sure you’d excel), but you have such a talent for telling history in a way that speaks to the average person (me), that the opportunity is screaming out at you.
As a Louisville resident I find your statement to be all too true. I’ve been here for almost 20 years (I grew up in central Indiana) and the “families” run the show. I doubt it’s all that different in most towns this size, however.
It seemed like a dream place to go for a structural engineer… oh well.
Most likely referring to degrees from specific Universities which we needn’t name but all know about. . Graduates from the University of Northern Vermont may feel differently.
Very interesting - I hadn’t known that in particular about Louisville. Wife’s family is from New Albany.
That’s really kind of you to say, Mark! Thank you.
“Nothing is real, everything is fake. Bizarrely, most people like it that way.”
J.G. Ballard interviewed by Hans-Ulrich Obrist, published in the catalogue for the Beck’s Futures art exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 2003.
Very good piece. But “real capitalism” and “real democracy” aren’t compatible, because under “real democracy” the majority can vote against capitalism. The founding fathers knew that, so they built a republic based on individual rights.
“Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself.” ~ John Adams
I grew up in this area and learned a lot from this. All of our local history was focused on events around the Revolutionary War.