Contrary Brin: Gingrich, Asimov, and the "Flash" Computer-Trading...

Check out the new post by David Brin over on his blog. It starts out being about Newt Gingrich but ends up in very interesting territory. He goes into the pros and cons of a trading transaction tax currently being proposed in the EU. I think his argument in favor of the tax is compelling and think it would help on balancing the budget and making trading fairer for the individual investor.


Contrary Brin: Gingrich, Asimov, and the "Flash" Computer-Trading...: Both Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Nobel prize winning Keynsian economist Paul Krugman have a trait in common.  They grew up fervent science fiction fans, especially transfixed by the future-historical speculations of Isaac Asimov.  Gingrich wrote about this influence that helped to shape his life.

“While Toynbee was impressing me with the history of civilizations, Isaac Asimov was shaping my view of the future in equally profound ways….For a high school student who loved history, Asimov’s most exhilarating invention was the ‘psychohistorian’ Hari Seldon.  The term does not refer to Freudian analysis but to a kind of probabilistic forecasting of the future of whole civilizations.  The premise was that, while you cannot predict individual behavior, you can develop a pretty accurate sense of mass behavior.  Pollsters and advertisers now make a good living off the same theory.”

See the rest of this post here >>> http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/12/gingrich-asimov-and-computer-trading.html


Comments

Paul Sojka said…
The Idea of a miniscule transaction fee attached to all stock trades is a brilliant idea. As Brin mentions the fee would not even be noticeable to most. This money could be applied directly towards the deficit if it was so chosen. We could (or it could) also as he says put some control on Wall Street with such a system removing the incentives to invest in these super fast computer trading programs. His likening or analogy to Sky-net and the Terminator is a good one. It’s a great article worth reading.
At the beginning of this article he talks about Newt Gingrich for a moment. I find Newt Gingrich something of an enigma. He is a rebel in his own party and has yet to gain its support in his run for president. He is an extremely intelligent man. He has shown that as new information comes to light he is not above changing his mind. He is still capable of growth at his age! He saw and predicted our current economic situation that this country no faces. I like some of his beliefs and find him a kindred spirit when it comes to the topic of this blog. What has shaped his life helped in my own. Embracing science fiction at an early age seems to help you think outside the box later in life when solving real problems. I did not mean to get off on a pro Newt Gingrich campaign speech here. On the contrary he has his share of faults and skeletons to still explain. But he also has many qualities, opinions and ideas that I find very appealing in a potential leader of this country. There are no perfect candidates, plans of action or set of ideals that will fit everyone but Newt deserves further consideration.

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