Stephen King
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Stephen King commented on Re: Do you have a creative process? on February 15, 2008, 5:14 AM
I'm a beginning writer about 2/3d the way through my first short story. While I am drawing on my life experience to develop my fiction, I am constantly amazed at where my imagination takes me. This whole process started with a single thought as an opening line. Though I had an idea where I wanted to go with my story, I had no particular plot in mind and only as the story unfolds on the page am I getting a sense of where my muse is taking me. It is actually thrilling to write what I know nothing about in terms of the final product. I still don't know how this first experiment in writing will turn out but it is a great journey.
Stephen King commented on Should microfinance be commercialized? on February 12, 2008, 10:13 AM
Cost of funds plus 10%. I think most commercial bankers would be very happy with that kind of return over a long period of time. Perhaps Dr Yunus has a different definition of profit but I would think cost of funds plus 7 or maybe 8% would be a reasonable profit.I'm a social capitalist. That is I believe the value of my workers is greater than the value of my money. Given the choice of investing in my workers verses plant and equipment, I would chose investing in my workers. Over a period of time, my return (profit) will be greater. If my workers are more productive their profit will be greater as will be mine. I believe that is particularly true among the poor. When financial resources are scarce as with the poor, there is little opportunity to save. Every stotinki (it is a coin of a country) has a place to go. That fuels what we call consumerism and generates profit that feeds the economic engine that we all need. I have the greatest respect for Dr Yunus and his accomplishments. But I disagree with him on this point. Let's try redefining profit in human terms, not monetary.
Stephen King commented on Should microfinance be commercialized? on February 12, 2008, 5:13 AM
Cost of funds plus 10%. I think most commercial bankers would be very happy with that kind of return over a long period of time. Perhaps Dr Yunus has a different definition of profit but I would think cost of funds plus 7 or maybe 8% would be a reasonable profit. I'm a social capitalist. That is I believe the value of my workers is greater than the value of my money. Given the choice of investing in my workers verses plant and equipment, I would chose investing in my workers. Over a period of time, my return (profit) will be greater. If my workers are more productive their profit will be greater as will be mine. I believe that is particularly true among the poor. When financial resources are scarce as with the poor, there is little opportunity to save. Every stotinki (it is a coin of a country) has a place to go. That fuels what we call consumerism and generates profit that feeds the economic engine that we all need. I have the greatest respect for Dr Yunus and his accomplishments. But I disagree with him on this point. Let's try redefining profit in human terms, not monetary.
Stephen King commented on Paul Krugman's Big Question on January 26, 2008, 10:35 AM
It seems like a silly question. Implied is the idea that we don't like what is happening now and therefore our children won't like it either. That is a given since we teach our children what to like and not like. Humans are unique in our ability to reason and that reasoning by necessity contains an element of historical influence. So we take our history, however flawed by inaccurate opinion, look at what is happening now and project what will happen in the future. Since our recollection of historical events is usually colored by the biases of the historian, our projection of future events is often times just plain wrong. A better question might be "What can we change that we are doing now so that our grandchildren won't hate us in the future?" As long as we continue to draw on our past for projections about the future, the answer will always be "Nothing." Keep doing what we've always done and we will keep getting what we've always got.
Stephen King commented on Re: Do you have a creative process? on February 15, 2008, 10:14 AM
I'm a beginning writer about 2/3d the way through my first short story. While I am drawing on my life experience to develop my fiction, I am constantly amazed at where my imagination takes me. This whole process started with a single thought as an opening line. Though I had an idea where I wanted to go with my story, I had no particular plot in mind and only as the story unfolds on the page am I getting a sense of where my muse is taking me. It is actually thrilling to write what I know nothing about in terms of the final product. I still don't know how this first experiment in writing will turn out but it is a great journey.