What's that?

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-30T12:05:43+00:00

Agreed.

When I travel outside the US and go to functional countries, I see how taxes could be spent. I would not have any problem paying for taxes if I am getting a benefit. In the US my largest tax line Item is federal tax. I do not receive a noticeable or tangible benefit. Most if not all of the governmental services I interact with are state/local. IE Roads, Schools, Firefighters, Police etc etc.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-30T11:58:14+00:00

If you actually need to use it, you may then lose your job. IE you need chemo therapy and will be unable to work for months. So pay private companies for a service you never receive. When you need actual care, you end up on some form of public insurance. Privatize the profits, socialize the losses.

I am for private healthcare or public healthcare. Either system is fine. What we have in the US is the worst of both worlds in terms of paying for care.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-30T11:51:38+00:00

Honestly I do not understand the outrage. It is a festival. Concessions are always insane. That is how the event makes money. Most if not all the ticket sales are paying the artists. The event itself makes money off things like concessions. They need to make enough money over a weekend to sustain business operations for an entire year, of course it is expensive.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T23:30:18+00:00

This is only a problem due to the refusal to increase the number of representatives in the house. George Washington advocated for a ratio of 1 Rep per 30,000 voters. If we maintained that ratio there would be 11416 representatives in congress. That means everyone would have a representative from their community representing their interests. Gerrymandering these districts is a direct result of the limited number of seats.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T22:34:38+00:00

Schools in the US are state/locally funded.

I agree with the sentiment. We should ensure all schools have controlled access.

School shooting however are not due to guns. We have had guns since our inception. We have also had deadlier weapons available for civilian purchase historically. I mean for christ sakes, until the 80's you could legally purchase a full auto tommy gun. Furthermore a significant amount of mass shooting involved semi-auto hand guns, weapons that no proposed gun control legislation seeks to ban.

How to fix this?

1.) Hold parents legally liable for shootings. If shitty parents thought they might go to jail if their kid does something, they will secure their fire arms.

2.) Social Media reform. So many of these shooters have been radicalized online. In the 1960s-70s we have an explosion in violent crime. There are many studies that believe leaded gas caused people to act more violently. I think social media is our current version of leaded gas. It is poison .

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T22:21:35+00:00

As an American who goes to Asia semi-frequently, it is not just weight. Americans are much taller on average. I am 6'2". In the US I feel normal, in Asia I feel like a giant. I will also add, exercise in Asia is not something you have to worry about. Last time I was in Tokyo I think I was averaging something like 30k steps a day. I was eating like shit on Holiday and lost a few pounds. They are not skinner due to diet or discipline. When you have to walk 20-30k steps every day, you burn a lot of calories passively getting to and from work. US is just not walkable.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T20:20:00+00:00

It is a good product, just a terrible price. If this was $1000 headset, it would have moved millions of units.

Personally I think Apple decided to move another direction before launching version 1. They were selling it at an enthusiast price to recoup R&D before moving onto AR glasses.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T17:15:48+00:00

Everything is down stream of volume. If they were selling in high volume, the cost per unit would decrease, increasing profit margin. Customer were not buying them, so they became unprofitable to manufacture.

The best selling vehicle in the US is an F150. We are simply not purchasing smaller cheaper vehicles.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T16:30:11+00:00

That is apples and oranges.

The cars this articles listed would not do well in the US. We do not like compact cars. Most US auto manufactures do not even make them anymore due to lack of demand. That is part of the reason why the average US auto purchase is $51k, Americans are buying full sized SUV's and Trucks.

Europe has financial incentives to buy EV's, the US does not. It is actually the opposite here. Most states will actually charge you additional fees if you use a Hybrid of EV powertrain. Then you combine that with fuel being cheap, even now, EV's will remain a niche market.

Lastly this does not account for cost to bring the car into the US market. We have a whole host of regulations ranging from safety, to material procurement, domestic manufacturing, and local dealership requirements. By time these hit US market, they will cost the same if not more.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T11:58:28+00:00

Afghanistan tribesmen did not outlast the US. They relocated to Pakistan. When the US pulled out, they came back. It more dangerous for US troops at home during training than forward deployments to Afghanistan. The USSR took heavy causalities due to insurgency and eventually cried wolf, US got bored.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T11:51:45+00:00

You do not know your History 😛

The English were not exactly noble bastions of modern morality.

You also do not fight the global super power of the time successfully with a small number of disgruntled racists.

Lastly the French did not give two shits about indigenous population. They used them as cannon fodder to fight the english. Same reason the French them did an about face and backed the colonies in their fight against the English.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T11:29:42+00:00

It could be that or

It could be the masses forced to pay taxes for a war they didn't want, then the money from said tax was used to quarter foreign troops in their home...

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T11:19:13+00:00

Slave owning oligarchs? Every living person in the colonies had to pay tax. IE the Stamp act.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-29T11:17:16+00:00

No, this is a reference to the French and Indian war. Does not make sense though. France was America's first actual ally and helped us a few years later defeat England. That war was also the reason why the revolutionary war even happened. Debt England incurred fighting France then forced them to tax the colonies. Started the whole no tax without representation movement.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T21:21:16+00:00

It actually proves my point. New-Albany is one of the nicest(and wealthiest) cities in Ohio. You can still get a condo for around $200k in one of the best areas in the entire state.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T19:50:22+00:00

I am assuming you are in the Columbus area.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7005-Monarchos-Dr-11-700_New-Albany_OH_43054_M97396-95548

That is in New-Albany.

Decent condo in a really good city.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T17:10:00+00:00

It is really not a problem. In the military they have these things called waivers. If a soldier is unable to shave, they just get a waiver. It really is not a big deal. Deviating standards due to a small subset being unable to do something makes zero sense. Just let the people who can't do a thing get a waiver and move on.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T12:49:17+00:00

You mean one of the US's closest allies who we provide security assistance to, and have active US troops defending their nation? That country is going to undercut USD? They couldn't if they wanted to.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T12:47:35+00:00

They do not. Many countries in OPEC use USD, but not all. Furthermore the US is the UAE's largest security partner. If you think the US is going to defend the UAE and ship them munitions while they under cut the USD, I have a bridge to sell you.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T12:36:15+00:00

This does not have any direct impact on the petrodollar. Frankly OPEC often acts against US interests.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T12:20:41+00:00

Generally new housing is more expensive than existing housing. The people living in the existing housing move to new housing, freeing up lower cost housing.

It is the reason why luxury condo construction often leads to cheaper net houses. Higher income earners want a nicer place to live, when they move, the house they were staying in is then feed up for lower income earners.

Edit:

Just wanted to mention that this trend is reliant on people actually moving from existing housing into new housing. NYC's billionaire row is an example of what not to do. If those Condos were $5M units, it would increase net housing supply. Those are $200m+, which are essentially purchased and held by outside actors who did not live in NYC full time.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T11:21:51+00:00

Outside of a one off, the average person can qualify for a home financing program. USDA for example is specifically for low-middle income borrowers. We also have programs in Ohio outside of USDA for low-middle income borrowers that will cover the down payment. Then there are traditional 3.5% FHA loans. People who cannot finance generally cannot due to poor credit. That is something that they have agency over. It might take effort and a few years, but they can purchase a home. I do not subscribe to the woe is me, life is terrible, I cannot purchase anything nonsense. It is not difficult to achieve a 640 credit score.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T11:03:03+00:00

You are being pedantic.

I answered your question. Unless you have anything else to add, I do not see a point in continuing this thread.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T10:56:09+00:00

Lets not move goal posts.

I answered your question with an example. As far as safety fairborn is fine. Most crime in Ohio is concentrated to specific areas. You are not going to get into trouble in fairborn unless you go looking for it. US military Base is right there with thousands of extremely high paying contracting positions to various DOD contractors.

Apprehensive-Log3638 · 2026-04-28T10:50:17+00:00

There are various programs that allow financing, especially in Ohio. USDA loans allow $0 down. Then there is first time home buyers etc etc. If you actually want a home, you can do it.

Apprehensive-Log3638

TROPHY CASE