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Collective Hierarchy and Free Cooperation

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Posted by PunkJohnnyCash on Apr 26, 2011 in Anarchism, Labour | 2 comments

Leviathan is more than a state. It is society as a whole. Far too have become complacent in what is. We interact in society to assist each other in meeting needs. The farmer, the carpenter and the tailor all depend on one another. When all the farmers and carpenters are a part of the system it is difficult for the tailor to make and exchange his clothes out of the system. We cooperate within the boundaries of the system. When we begin to cooperate out of these boundless with one another we can make large steps to throwing off the shackles of the system.

The great joke is the debate between most citizens of the U.S. of changing the system. They claim it is either capitalist or socialist. It is hierarchical and statist. It matters not what title we attach to the state and the system as a whole it will not change the reality of what it is. The top down organizing and micromanaging of humanity by the state and corporations is not working, nor will it ever work. It will continue to redistribute wealth from the poor and working classes to the ruling classes.

I was told by a community organizer whose opinion I trust greatly that ‘those with the solution to the problem are those closest to the problem.’ The board rooms of banks, Wall-Street and Capital Hill are those who are the furthest removed from the problems. They live off the wealth they have redistributed from the fruit of our labor to themselves. This is a negative collective. There will always be a form of collectivism, I say this as a self declared individualist. As human beings we create collective systems to meet our needs. We currently live under collective associations of hierarchy. I seek to end the hierarchical elements of the areas we collectively collaborate within. The goal to be regaining the power for each individual from rulers who are removed from the solutions to our problems.

Every corporation, business and state is a collective. They are collectives ruled by the rich and powerful, by those who have exploited the very systems they have had a hand in creating. It is now time for us to create our own systems denying their systems of rule and exploitation of our labor. It is time the farmer and carpenter begin to seek to work outside of the system with the tailor.

Groupon Stock Plunges On Net Loss

St. Joseph News-Press February 8, 2012 | Julianne Pepitone NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Welcome to the big leagues, Groupon. Shareholders punished the stock in after-hours trading Wednesday after the daily deals site posted a surprise loss for its first quarter as a public company. grouponnycnow.com groupon nyc

Groupon reported a net fourth-quarter loss of $42.7 million, or 8 cents a share, on sales of $506.5 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 3 cents a share on sales of $475 million. For the full 2011 fiscal year, Groupon lost $350.8 million on sales of $1.6 billion.

Investors ignored the strong revenue and focused on the earnings loss, sending Groupon shares down almost 15% after hours.

The famously oddball Groupon CEO, Andrew Mason, spoke on a post- earnings conference call with analysts. But Mason stayed within the lines for his first earnings call, maintaining a serious tone throughout the discussion.

1,600% tax rate: Analysts jumped on an eye-popping figure in Groupon’s report: a tax expense of $34.8 million in the fourth quarter, which the company said is an effective tax rate of approximately 1,600%.

That massive tax rate was the result of profits in “certain international countries,” as well as income tax laws related to Groupon’s new international headquarters in Switzerland.

“It makes us a good corporate citizen,” joked Groupon CFO Jason Child, who added that the company expects its effective tax rate should plunge to “the low 30s, over time.” Technology spending: Groupon’s financial report revealed that its technical staff — engineering and product development — more than quadrupled in 2011.

That growth included an expansion into new office space in Palo Alto, Calif., the heart of Silicon Valley. Mason said that type of spending will continue.

The execs also hyped new Groupon products including Getaways and holiday-gift offering Grouponicus.

Mason said he was “shocked” by how many customers made Getaways purchases through their mobile devices the first week of launch.

“They’re spending $300, $400 based on little pictures on hotels on their phones,” Mason said, proclaiming it evidence of “the trust that they have in the Groupon brand.” Customers can expect more “occasional themed campaigns” like Grouponicus, Child said. this web site groupon nyc

All in all, it was a routine and sober call from a usually feisty company.

Groupon’s rocky road to the stock market: Groupon began trading publicly on November 4 after an IPO process filled with controversy.

As soon as Groupon disclosed its financials in its June 2011 IPO filing, critics slammed the company for its unorthodox accounting measures. That led to several downward revisions of Groupon’s financials. Those restatements effectively cut Groupon’s reported sales in half to $688 million for the first half of 2011, down from the $1.5 billion it initially claimed.

Despite all that, Groupon shares soared about 31% on their debut day, at one point topping $31 a share.

But the end of 2011 proved turbulent for the Internet sector. Shares of Pandora, Zillow, LinkedIn and Angie’s List all suffered steep double-digit losses for November. Groupon posted a streak of declines late that month that sent shares tumbling below their IPO price.

But most of the newly public Internet companies began to rebound at least a bit in December or January. Groupon pulled out of its slump too. Its shares are up 19% for 2012 so far, trading at about $25 a share — up from its $20 IPO price.

Last week, Facebook rocked the Internet IPO world by filing for its own $5 billion offering.

Julianne Pepitone

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  • http://twitter.com/thisisnotariot Ben Murdock Jackson

    ‘They claim it is either capitalist or socialist. It is hierarchical and statist.’

    Insightful. I think you’re bang on the money with this one.

  • http://twitter.com/ReThePeople Jehu

    Good stuff