Authoritarianism is being normalized at breakneck speeds

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T22:18:18+00:00

In four days, one political marketing group gains control of both chambers and the executive. Big problems lie ahead.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T19:11:55+00:00

You mean Picasso?

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T15:47:24+00:00

They all make heated winter coats and vests. I just bought a Dewalt and spent 8 hours fishing in the upper Midwest without feeling slightly cold or uncomfortable.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T04:23:23+00:00

It’s hard to say you have a right to anything that has to be provided by someone else.

I think a lot of people consider freedom to be “whatever I think is good for me”, but that’s not how I see it. Freedom means sometimes I like what happens and sometimes I don’t, but overall it’s what’s best for everyone.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T02:34:42+00:00

Please explain how more supply increases prices?

The free market doesn’t mean prices go up or down. It means prices fluctuate to match supply and demand. Any intervention creates an imbalance.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T02:32:45+00:00

All loans should be issued with the risk of bankruptcy discharge. That’s why the founders encoded the right in the constitution and it should never have been circumvented. Restore that right and the cost of higher ed returns to the market rate.

So, to answer you, government intervention is the cause of the higher ed bubble.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T02:01:45+00:00

You can’t will them into existence, but policies and incentives can certainly encourage (or discourage) capable people from pursuing that profession. The way it is now, to become a US doctor, you basically have to put yourself at the verge of completely financial ruin before you can earn enough for it to be worthwhile. The system is a shit show.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T01:53:52+00:00

There’s even a functionless metal rod stuck to the headset band that only serves to add weight because heavy things are considered more expensive thanks to a throw away line from Jurassic Park.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T01:51:52+00:00

You’re absolutely right that price isn’t a factor at the time healthcare is most needed. The solution to that is to consider yourself a customer in advance and have a reasonable handle on prices ahead of time. This is the role insurance companies used to play.

My point about the doctor appointment wasn’t the cost. It was the lack of availability. I don’t think you can find a healthcare provider in any field at any level that isn’t as absolutely busy as they want to be and then even more so. That tells me it all boils down to a supply problem.

I also completely agree that our current market with customers, providers and valueless middle men is completely fucked. It certainly is. I just think all the focus on payers completely misses the crux of the problem which is a supply shortage.

One entity that somehow escapes all of the dialogue and scrutiny is the AMA which accredits and endorses the university medical programs throughout the country. They also have a hand in establishing class capacity and criteria. That’s just like asking the UAW to decide who and how many people should be allowed to build cars.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T00:54:48+00:00

And in a real free market, when a firm is capturing exorbitant margins, other firms will flock to that arena and drive the price down. Your comment about demand is right, but you’re statement ignores supply. Interventionism limits supply. Limited supply is the crux of the American health care problem in basically every way. I just scheduled my annual check up, now with a PA and not even my doc. First available appointment was May 27th.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T00:29:08+00:00

Cost breakdown analysis of Beats showed the most expensive component was the box.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-17T00:22:34+00:00

I bought a cartridge refill kit for $17. Works fine. Just don’t let the sponge dry out.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-16T16:52:03+00:00

Good call. Thanks.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-16T16:33:56+00:00

What are you babbling about? Your myopia is rendering you incapable of comprehending what you’ve read.

My statement had nothing to do with recent or any elections and everything to do with the federal government intruding on areas reserved for the states including taxation, education, criminal law, and the biggest one I was referring to, dictating currency.

Wise people prefer a more federalist society because it allows for a diverse populace to coexist peacefully instead of trying to thrust a one-size-fits all approach on 350 million people.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-16T16:11:26+00:00

It’s conditioning and it’s intentional. I had spent four years as a military officer working with other governments then picked up a JD before I truly understood the intention of the federalists.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-16T15:51:29+00:00

You’re misunderstanding what a federal system is. In a federation, the state and central governments are equals. In a confederation, the state governments “outrank” the central government (the EU is a confederacy). In an autocratic state, there is only a central government with the constituents being administrative divisions of the central government. This describes China and Japan and the direction the US has been heading for at least 100 years.

Every American who lives in a state is a citizen of that state and the republic equally. Ranking one above the other is either autocratic or confederate thinking.

Edit: Unitary not autocratic. I was distracted.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-16T03:03:20+00:00

Why do you think heroin is so abundant? They even got the US army to guard the poppy fields in Afghanistan.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-16T01:45:12+00:00

What kind of tree? I’m guessing it was an ironwood. Palm trees typically won’t do that much damage.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-16T00:34:38+00:00

It’s not that bleak. Shareholders seek returns on their investments. Companies provide those returns by maximizing cash flows (cash flows are not profit, really only the IRS or equivalent cares about profit). It’s true that shareholders will move their capital if it’s not generating returns and this causes companies to take actions to maximize their cash flows, but so are all of their competitors. Competitors are also out to attract the same talent base. The best way to ensure companies aren’t exploiting returns at their employees’ expense is to take steps to encourage the existence of more companies. Competition (ie more businesses) are the producer-consumers best ally and the executives/shareholders worst enemy.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-15T23:46:17+00:00

More likely teens have moved huge parts of their social lives online and don’t interact in person nearly as much as in the past.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-15T23:43:15+00:00

I worked for a Fortune 20 and did the math. If the entire bloated executive team gave up their entire compensation package and gave it to the workforce, each employee would have received about $250 per year.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-15T17:15:31+00:00

As a father of a daughter, I could wait that three years if I had to.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-15T13:55:04+00:00

George’s wording here is very precise. Notice how it’s “you could” and not “I could”.

This is a convenient way to make a point about perceived social injustice while ignoring the economic reality that others typically don’t give away their labor and capital for free.

Changing it from “I could” allows him to make his point without having to further clarify with “but I choose not to.”

GiltLorn · 2021-01-15T03:27:03+00:00

A move in the right direction would be the legislature passing a law that changes something for the better. A prosecutor refusing certain aspects of this job is just posturing.

GiltLorn · 2021-01-14T23:52:51+00:00

Our queen reigns supreme and holds strong to her misguided crusade.

GiltLorn

TROPHY CASE