{"id":6035,"date":"2014-06-03T14:09:07","date_gmt":"2014-06-03T18:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?p=6035"},"modified":"2014-06-03T14:09:07","modified_gmt":"2014-06-03T18:09:07","slug":"if-piketty-is-right-about-rich-people-getting-high-returns-why-do-banks-lend-at-low-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/03\/if-piketty-is-right-about-rich-people-getting-high-returns-why-do-banks-lend-at-low-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"If Piketty is right about rich people getting high returns, why do banks lend at low rates?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A critical assumption in\u00a0Thomas Piketty’s\u00a0Capital in the Twenty-First Century<\/a>\u00a0is that rich people get a better return on investment than average S&P 500 buy-and-hold idiots. This assumption leads to runaway wealth inequality and the necessity for a new worldwide tax on wealth.<\/p>\n

Why do rich people get such a great return, according to Piketty? They have access to brilliant financial managers and investments that the rest of us can’t find.<\/p>\n

What about big banks then? With billions in assets they are unarguably rich. Their office towers are\u00a0stuffed full of the best financial managers that $500k-$20 million\/year salaries can buy. They sit in the biggest cities and have access to every conceivable business idea. Big Banks\u00a0should have ever better investment opportunities than Mr. Generic Rich Bastard. Yet they are happy to lend out money right now for a return of about 2 percent (e.g., margin interest on stock holdings, best adjustable mortgage rates for the first five years). If there are such great investment opportunities out there for the sufficiently rich and sufficiently connected, why would a big international bank want to lend out money at 2%?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A critical assumption in\u00a0Thomas Piketty’s\u00a0Capital in the Twenty-First Century\u00a0is that rich people get a better return on investment than average S&P 500 buy-and-hold idiots. 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