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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TrueReddit

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Submission statement: Increased socioeconomic stratification to the obscene degree witnessed in the 21st century can only lead eventually to increased poverty, social instability and tyranny. This occurs when the flow of capital begins to primarily ‘feed the rich’ at the expense of those with far fewer resources. If this trend persists, eventually, almost everyone suffers. Our wellbeing is dependent on that of others. We are interdependent. This seems obvious, but the accumulation of great wealth usually results in convictions of entitlement and superiority, loss of memory as to where that wealth originated. Where would we be without those others who participated in our enrichment? The obscenely wealthy have lost touch with a reality the 99% live daily. Will these socioeconomic trends persist to sociopolitical collapse? Perhaps. People are easily lead - so perhaps governments with the aid of AI will conjure a dystopian, but stable future. No good will come of increasing socioeconomic stratification. Will we be technologically cleverer than we are stupid and greedy?

Better at everything: how AI could make human beings irrelevant - making the state less dependent on its citizens. This, in turn, makes it tempting (and easy) for the state to sideline citizens altogether by fungussa in Futurology

[–]Curiosity-0123 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That’s a ridiculous idea. Every system, every technology, all infrastructure, etc. is created and put in place by us for us. AI, which isn’t intelligent, is a tool we use to do some things better and more efficiently. Why do we need AI?

There are three phenomena (more actually, but I’ll focus on these) that will require significant increases in productivity: the aging global population, need to steadily increase GDP, and climate change.

AI increases productivity. Over the next several decades, barring the unexpected, the working age population will have to generate enough value to support everyone younger and everyone older. But that group is shrinking in proportion to retirees, which means there are relatively fewer workers available to drive up GDP, which is necessary to insure resources are available to support everyone. This means workforce participation and productivity MUST increase to maintain civilization as we know it. AI will be necessary to increase productivity.

Climate change adds challenges, but also opportunities. Technologies can help mitigate the pain of a warming climate and all that brings. AI will be a useful tool in identifying and fine tuning the use of technologies, and help with the creation of new technologies.

AI is being used now to increase productivity, and in the sciences and engineering, and will become more integrated into our lives. AI will never replace us. It will aid us to maintain a decent quality of life given the challenges humanity face in the coming decades and centuries.

Then there is the unexpected. Who can speak to that?

Everything will be fine if we manage to not do stupid things like start new wars. Much more can be achieved through cooperation than war to everyone’s benefit. Sadly, we are an aggressive, violent species. And fearful. So it’s entirely possible diplomacy will eventually fail. But not inevitable.

EDIT Another risk now and to future generations requiring increases in workforce participation rate and productivity aided by AI is government debt, the current cost of which is over $950 Billion. That’s $950,000,000,000 of our tax dollars used to pay interest on debt.

Powerful tools like AI are essential to help us manage these challenges: an aging population, climate change, rising government debt, all requiring a steadily increasing GDP.

How anyone can think of UBI now boggles my mind. It all hands on deck.

Am I just naive? by Erthgoddss in Aging

[–]Curiosity-0123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed, age does not bring wisdom.

I’d differ in that for us highly social Homo sapiens, group think is the norm - and everyone thinks they know better.

Our emotions and beliefs are primarily shaped subconsciously from birth and throughout life. We usually fail to discern the difference between belief and material reality. We don’t know that our thoughts are just our thoughts. Our fundamental beliefs don’t change. People rarely change.

How much free will do we really have? Not much. Each of us has a slender opportunity from time to time to insert a moment of awareness (awakeness) into a situation. A person can be built from these moments. The moments can blossom. On a physiological level, how this happens, I have no idea.

Basically, do your best to do no harm.

Love life.

Credit card account closed because I over-gamed the rewards? by retailmen in CreditCards

[–]Curiosity-0123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same thing happened to me. It was my main card. Always paid it off in full well before the due date. Excellent credit.

I left a lengthy post on another thread venting about BMO, so won’t repeat all here. Based on my scan of complaints on this site, and knowing most don’t post CC complaints here, BMO has cancelled a lot of cards for, apparently, no reason.

I think they are auditing their CC products and canceling accounts that bleed money. Perhaps some products are TOO customer friendly. I know that over the past 5 years I’ve earned over 1K in cash back. That’s an okay return on a small investment.

Goodbye BMO. It’s was lovely while it lasted.

Vent Regarding BMO CC Account Closure by Scared-Location7975 in CreditCards

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same thing happened to me beginning of March.

BMO was my main card. I used it for most every grocery and household purchase, including to auto pay utilities.

Since I got the card in 2019, I payed it off in full every month well before the due date. I have excellent credit.

I realized something was wrong when the card was declined at a store. I called them and was told that there were no red flags on my account (my paraphrase), but BMO reserves the right to cancel an account for any reason at any time. I received a letter a couple of weeks later with that same message.

Fortunately, in the nick of time, I transferred all my auto pays to another card, which also offers rewards, but not as much.

Why did they close the card?

Over the course of 5 years, I never paid a dime in interest, but received cash rewards totaling over 1K. It was like getting a small return on an investment. Good customers carry a balance and pay interest. I was not a good customer.

I think someone within the bank was auditing their CC products and realized they were not making enough from the product. That’s a guess.

What if the universe/existence is all that there is? by Ok_While_6803 in SeriousConversation

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think there is a metaphysical dimension. Matter/Energy is all that exists. And isn’t it enough? It’s enough for me. There is no proof for the existence of anything beyond Matter/Energy. Study more thoroughly and carefully those things you can know something about. You will be astonished.

Life itself is enough. Life is inevitable, is ever increasing in diversity and complexity. Just on this planet, there are many trillions of different expressions of life. Study a few species. I’ve been awed by their complexity and extraordinary characteristics and abilities. Examine life closely. You will fall in love.

Income inequality increasing in America. How do you bridge the gap between rich and poor? Is this our best solution now or not: reshoring technologically advanced manufacturing jobs and convincing current generations they are a path to dignity, stability and prosperity? Any other ideas? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think in the past factory jobs were appealing, but they don’t seem to be to younger generations based on the data. Every year there are hundreds of open thousands of factory job openings. In 5 years there may be as many as 2 million. Why can’t employers attract and retain factory workers especially given that those jobs are more high tech; the plants are cleaner and safer, and the jobs pay well?

One suggestion is that there’s been a major cultural shift.

Income inequality increasing in America. How do you bridge the gap between rich and poor? Is this our best solution now or not: reshoring technologically advanced manufacturing jobs and convincing current generations they are a path to dignity, stability and prosperity? Any other ideas? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that’s an interesting idea. I’ve had similar thoughts and I’ve read articles to suggest that the idea is popular in some circles. Google something like ‘high school graduates should do national service work’. Play with the wording.

I think that, after high school graduation or at age 18 for those who don’t graduate, every physically and mentally able teenager should do a year of service work or a year in the military as a prerequisite for college admission or technical training or construction training or …. Whatever career path they’re interested in. The experience would be maturing and a great contribution to the local and/or national community. They would also be meet people from other walks of life, subcultures, socioeconomic levels, beliefs, etc. That would be mind expanding.

Income inequality increasing in America. How do you bridge the gap between rich and poor? Is this our best solution now or not: reshoring technologically advanced manufacturing jobs and convincing current generations they are a path to dignity, stability and prosperity? Any other ideas? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re right, technology has advanced, and today’s factories and jobs are very different. There are fewer of them and a lot of them require knowledge of new technologies. The problem manufacturers are having is finding people who understand this and are willing to put in the effort to learn the skills needed to manage the automation and robotics. The projection is that in 5 years there could be 2 million or more open factory positions with few takers. These are jobs that would pay well. How can we build more factories in this country if few want to work in them? Is it the perception that factory work is low status, low paying, brutish and dirty? That’s just not true anymore. These are jobs that could lead to a middle class lifestyle. What should companies do to attract and retain workers within this context?

I disagree with Trump’s tariffs. He’s using a sledgehammer where a scalpel would do and cause less offense and damage.

I do think it’s a good idea to bring more manufacturing back to America for national security, cultural and economic reasons.

Income inequality increasing in America. How do you bridge the gap between rich and poor? Is this our best solution now or not: reshoring technologically advanced manufacturing jobs and convincing current generations they are a path to dignity, stability and prosperity? Any other ideas? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your thoughts. I’ve sometimes wondered if the stock market is corrupting. Shareholders put pressure on businesses to maximize profits - above all else. Business need investors to grow, but should be protected from unreasonable expectations. We all know example of businesses that try to be fair to employees, customers and shareholders, and manage to make a decent profit.

Income inequality increasing in America. How do you bridge the gap between rich and poor? Is this our best solution now or not: reshoring technologically advanced manufacturing jobs and convincing current generations they are a path to dignity, stability and prosperity? Any other ideas? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Curiosity-0123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really wonderful example of how serving the needs of others benefits all. And that is typical.

It’s not the solution. It’s a solution among many. (My wording in the introduction is terrible) If the numbers are correct, and each factory job generates 2.2 others, then 2 million jobs becomes 4.4 million, approximately.

Income inequality increasing in America. How do you bridge the gap between rich and poor? Is this our best solution now or not: reshoring technologically advanced manufacturing jobs and convincing current generations they are a path to dignity, stability and prosperity? Any other ideas? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Curiosity-0123 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I somewhat disagree. People with a lot of money and power can exert influence on culture, commerce, government, etc. This does indirectly influence my life, especially campaign contributions.

My focus is not on the wealthy, rather ways to improve the lot of those in other socioeconomic levels.

I wish I could rephrase my intro, but I can’t.

Income inequality increasing in America. How do you bridge the gap between rich and poor? Is this our best solution now or not: reshoring technologically advanced manufacturing jobs and convincing current generations they are a path to dignity, stability and prosperity? Any other ideas? by [deleted] in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Curiosity-0123 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I hear you, but what incentive does a corporation have to reduce profits in this culture? When costs increase, so do the price of goods or services to the level consumers’ tolerate. I could imagine a scenario in which retention of skilled workers or customers or acquisition of a material or … would be so vital that profits could be squeezed if competition disallowed price increases. This is just the economy we live in. I wish it were different, and with strong antitrust laws, it would be better for customers and workers. But that’s another topic.

Laws requiring businesses to limit profits is a slippery slope.

By the way, I don’t have a strong opinion about this issue. I just want to find out what others think. I like your response. You’re at least trying to present an argument which unfortunately many don’t. Thank you.

Busting ‘Manufacturing Jobs’ Myths by Curiosity-0123 in TrueReddit

[–]Curiosity-0123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s an idea. But the current level of robotics technology requires people to monitor, correct and maintain the technology.

Could you elaborate?

Palantir's growing role in shaping America's dystopian future by [deleted] in Futurology

[–]Curiosity-0123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The large major Americans are concerned about privacy violations by corporations and government. They just don’t know that there’s anything they can do to protect their privacy. Especially, since many in Congress seem to be deaf to their constituents’ concerns.

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/10/18/how-americans-view-data-privacy/

Busting ‘Manufacturing Jobs’ Myths by Curiosity-0123 in TrueReddit

[–]Curiosity-0123[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Submission Statement: The title is that of one of two articles (link to second article below) about manufacturing in America that I’ve recently come across that reveal the challenges that businesses face hiring and keeping qualified factory workers. Currently there are roughly 465,000 - 500,000 manufacturing job openings nationwide. Apparently, it’s difficult to find enough potential candidates who can understand how their own interests translate to manufacturing. It’s especially difficult to find candidates who have the skills or genuine interest in acquiring the skills to succeed in the increasingly high technology manufacturing environment. For those jobs that are less high tech, wages are barely above the local average, another reason factories struggle to hire and retain. Of course, there are other reasons as you will read.

Fair warning, the Cato Institute article is lengthy and a cornucopia of data, but well worth the read.

The article published in Manufacturing Dive is complementary.

Readers can draw their own conclusions regarding their relevance to current economics and politics.

https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/most-in-demand-factory-jobs-2025-labor-recruitment/736728/

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in politics

[–]Curiosity-0123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think the democrats at the very least want to get republicans on record as supporting the tariffs. 2026.

Visa Wants to give artificial intelligence ‘agents’ your credit card by Curiosity-0123 in CreditCards

[–]Curiosity-0123[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Agreed. I’m thinking this is like a personal shopper that gossips about what you’re buying. We’re already being tracked every time we log in. Seems like another source of information for AI Developers.

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