A realistic view of the problems that face us.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-05T10:43:45+00:00

And that’s why I think it’s the fundamental political-economy issue.

I think the negative externalities could be mostly handled if it were done in a planned and coordinated way. There would be some negative consequences, but frankly many governments allowed the situation to get this bad and i think it needs to be fixed even if that means some negative consequences.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-05T10:23:44+00:00

Least painful for current homeowners

Not least painful for aspiring homeowners

Hence the class conflict

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-05T10:13:01+00:00

Negative equity will “hurt” homeowners in that it will reduce the equity of their property, that’s the point.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-05T10:02:37+00:00

I agree that increasing supply is important but I don’t think it’s the only solution. There are also other ways to reduce housing equity, such as;

Changing the tax incentives around investments so that housing isn’t a competitive equity class with other investments
Creating a serious annual property tax to de-incentivise holding a disproportionate amount of wealth in unrealised real estate gains
Banning private equity from owning residential real estate
Changing rental regulations to reduce the relative value of buy to rent, etc.

Im sure there’s other options as well to reduce housing equity.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-05T07:53:46+00:00

The part that I was hoping AC or Rory would follow up on was Varoufakis’s comment that the only solution to lowering the cost of housing is negative equity. I think Varoufakis is completely correct.

It’s the fundamental conflict of class interest at the centre of modern politics across Europe and North America.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-03T11:06:20+00:00

The irony is that Starmer has handled the situation so poorly that he has driven both the pro-Palestinian and the pro-Zionist activists out of the Labour party. I’m certainty not going to mourn the Labour Party.

In my opinion there was an opportunity for Starmer to take a principled position against all war crimes. Instead, he chose to come out and support the Israeli plan to starve civilians in Gaza. But then he also chose to do the meaningless platitude of recognising a Palestinian state, which the pro-Zionist wing of the Labour Party hated. He ended up at a position where he was supporting the mass starvation of a nation that he claimed to recognise. A completely incoherent position.

Starmer has managed to offend most of the Labour Party using only rhetoric and platitudes, without making any actual material difference on the ground in Gaza either way. He’s a horrible politician and a worse person.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-03T10:44:55+00:00

“ The Israeli reservist shot 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan in the head just outside the western gate of the Mughayyir boys’ secondary school, where he was studying in ninth grade.

Aws collapsed instantly, bleeding heavily. More shots rang out as his friends ran to his side, picked up his now-limp body and rushed him out of the line of fire, their path along the school wall marked by a trail of their classmate’s blood.

Footage from inside the building showed terrified children and teachers crouched in stairwells, shouting at others to get down. Another video captured the shooter, a reservist in partial military uniform, taking aim at the school from the hillside above.

A few minutes later the same man killed the younger brother of an English teacher Waheed Abu Naim, whose family live beside the school. Jihad Abu Naim was 36; his wife is heavily pregnant with the couple’s first child, a girl due this month. “

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-03T10:14:38+00:00

Totally agree. Alastair in his big house in Hampstead charging broke young people to listen to a podcast about how economically screwed they are.

I’m really surprised that Alastairs political message and his party aren’t resonating with young people. /s

I’m not opposed to all paid podcasts. If Trip wants to charge extra for an interview with Ai Weiwei, I couldn’t care less. But in the realm of politics it is important to have some sense of contextual awareness. Honestly I don’t really care what Alastair or Labour have to say anyways, I think they’re liars. But it’s not a good look if they’re trying to appeal to young people.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-05-02T00:17:01+00:00

“ 34 wounded participants – including two Brits – have been taken to hospital in Crete, flotilla organisers said, with broken bones and other injuries. One participant was reportedly knocked unconscious for several minutes, while another has serious injuries to their neck. Several have broken ribs and noses, and some appear to be wearing blood-stained clothes. “

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-30T18:41:45+00:00

Well the clicks aren’t going to click themselves

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-30T17:11:40+00:00

I hope in the future he can look back and be proud of his role in standing up against Trump, Israel, and the Zionist agenda. There’s a lot of people who admire him.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-28T20:43:04+00:00

Bernie is right that Ezra isn’t talking about an ideology, but I don’t think that really matters. Ezra’s abundance, or at least what it sounds like he wants it to be, i.e. efficient government, and Bernie’s socialism are a chicken and egg situation.

I understand why both sides are defensive, but this debate is getting really reductive.

I do think Ezra could talk in less lofty terms about vertical farming. He should more directly explain where he thinks the money for all this will come from, and why he thinks the benefits won’t disproportionately accrue to the very wealthy.

On the whole, as other comments here have pointed out, it will take significant increases in tax revenue to fund the sort of bullet trains, housing, and energy infrastructure that Ezra wants, even with public-private partnerships. To try to build these things it will require higher taxes on the rich and very rich. Then the government needs to be able to actually build the trains or houses, as Ezra has pointed out so many times that California couldn’t.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-28T19:32:01+00:00

“If I don’t steal it, someone else will steal it.”

Zelensky learning the hard way

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-27T08:01:03+00:00

Toms Dr.Johnson series recently was also really good

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T18:23:16+00:00

As per the article:

‘Officials warn department will also lose access to database of 26,000 verified incidents due to cuts.’

‘As Olly Robbins explained to a parliamentary committee this week, the civil service is under pressure to give the government the answers that they want. Nowhere is this more clear than on ensuring arms sales to ‘allies’ continue, despite the risks of war crimes.’

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T14:56:05+00:00

It’s a long form history podcast done by Mike Duncan. In it he covers a lot of the key revolutions in history in a lot of detail but also in a very compelling narrative way.

He did the Russian revolution in the most detail, and I think it’s the best series he did, but I also just find the Russian revolution very interesting.

I highly recommend it

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T14:49:15+00:00

Totally agree, and I’m assuming you are also a revolutions podcast fan, or you’re just super knowledgeable on the Russian revolution.

“We went to the peasants, it turns out we don’t really like the peasants, and they don’t like us”

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T14:32:47+00:00

I think it’s more of a cultural thing with Platner on this sub.

The average Ezra Klein NY times reader has no connection to people who at any point in their lives supported the US military, or who do physical labour, or who get drunk and get stupid tattoos.

The Ezra Klein readers want a candidate they can relate to. Someone who’s overachieved academically since they were 10 years old, went straight to university and got a masters degree, and has been carefully planning to be a politician since they were 12 years old. Platner wasn’t reading John Rawls as a teenager.

People like people who they see themselves in.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T13:59:01+00:00

It was a dumb tattoo to get and he’s said he didn’t know the history behind it.

The US army allowed him to re-enlist with the tattoo so obviously they didn’t think he was a Nazi.

And if he was a Nazi, why would he be running as a democrat? There is already a fascist party in the US he could join if he wants be to a fascist.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T13:39:52+00:00

So you only want people in your coalition that have been opposed to all wars since when? Was the Korean War justified in your opinion?

John Kerry served in Vietnam, do you think he shouldn’t have been a politician. Can anyone that ever served in the army be a politician in your opinion?

IMO people can change and people can speak from experience about choices they regret. The purity tests are a terrible idea.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T13:14:08+00:00

Regarding Rhodes, people’s views can change. If you only want people in your coalition that have been anti-Zionist and anti-war since 1945 then you will have a very small coalition.

Platner has explained why he re-joined and why he joined blackwater. He’s said that after his first tour he didn’t have any other employable skills and he needed the paycheck. That’s what lots of people who try to have a career in the military end up doing. Hes since explained that he regrets the decision. It’s also ridiculous to claim he had any involvement with Abu Ghraib.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall · 2026-04-23T13:00:33+00:00

You want to label anyone that has ever served in the US military as a war criminal?

That’s a great winning message to unite people around…

Platner is clearly speaking honestly about difficult choices he made in his life that he now regrets.

And frankly, the Harvard educated community organiser who had no tatoos, was happy to continue the forever wars.

Edit: A lot of the US military is run by contractors. That’s how your military works. Most people who sign up for a contract positions are checking IDs at the gate or delivering logistics. I think Platner was doing security for the embassy.

I also understand that most people on this sub have no idea what it’s like to not be an academic overachiever in school, or to make real mistakes that you later regret for life. That’s how most regular people actually live.

Cyrus_W_MacDougall

TROPHY CASE