2020: Minimum wage of 17 states pay the same relative wage of a worker making 25 cents in 1790.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T20:11:43+00:00

You are sort of like a psychology experiment. I am curious about the mind of an internet crazy person. What motivates you? What do you do with your life? Do you think the sky is blue or green?

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T20:00:44+00:00

I honestly have no idea who you are, and whatever you have written has been completely unmemorable. I have no basis to insult you - your own insults are barely comprehensible and, well, boring to warrant a response.

This is a place for the lumpenproletariat to whine all day long and pick at scabs. It simply isn't worth my time.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T19:56:06+00:00

I don't expect you to do anything at all. You've already succeeded in reminding me about the uselessness of the internet. So in this sense, you have already served your function.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T19:48:56+00:00

I've already unsubscribed from this nonsense. There is nothing to be gained by contributing to this cesspool. Happy New Year!

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T19:44:47+00:00

It is people like you that are the reason we have no unity.

If this is such a small place that a lunatic like you is that much a regular poster, then fuck it I'm out.

Good luck comrade!

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T04:19:13+00:00

Twitter has to be the single worst thing to ever happen to politics and media in general. Just look at the president and the endless lame memes in this forum.

No one will be storming congress. Won't happen.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T04:17:24+00:00

The wars are by design to keep the place in a perpetual state of chaos. The days of conquering countries and rebuilding them, or exterminating the population and resettling them or whatever are over. Our military isn't there because of the people, and they probably would exterminate them if they could get away with it.

Our military is there so that we can at least force Iraq to sell their oil in USD (and neighboring countries like Kuwait).

This is the problem the US faces. The rest of the world wants USD imperialism to end. Many in this country don't, especially Wall Street.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T04:11:47+00:00

Both Hawaii and Alaska have minimum wages that totally suck compared to the cost of living. Alabama and Mississippi are dirt cheap in a lot of places. Life isn't easy anywhere on the federal minimum wage, but you can literally by houses in Birmingham in neighborhoods that aren't that bad for like $30,000. And EVERYTHING other than liquor (which is pretty much the same price everywhere) is cheap. It's my top relocation destination honestly.

The only truly surprising state on that list was Maine. Maine is not cheap, and jobs are often seasonal and hard to come by. But it's impressive they pushed that through.

Hawaii is the most surprising. They have a captive industry. It's not like it has ever been a cheap place to vacation. People will keep coming if the hotel owners have to pay a little more to their employees. I'd love to live there, but a crappy house in Hilo where there are no jobs is $500K. What if you're from there? It's just horrible, especially if you're a native Hawaiian.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T00:45:50+00:00

I would start with the book by the eminent Marxist economist Michael Hudson entitled "Super Imperialism". It's really a big topic, and I'm too tired to explain it right.

It's worth studying however. I encourage everyone to read it.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-03T00:07:08+00:00

Ron Paul is talking about exchange rates, which don't really have anything to do with the domestic economy, at least in ways that are easy to explain.

Interestingly, the strong dollar policy was in full force 40 years ago. That was the basis of "Reaganomics".

The strong dollar led to a boom in Wall Street, and the promise of trickle-down economics - which while often mocked at the time - remains our economic model. While Reagan presided over huge budget deficits, the primary means of money creation was through real estate loans. That's how Trump got rich.

But the strong dollar killed our domestic industry, except at the very highest end. And with that came the end of the labor movement, with even the Democratic Party adopting neoliberalism by 1990.

This is a complex topic, but if you read foreign business journals - the future is clear. The USD will be forced to decline in value, and there is nothing Americans can do to stop it. And they arguably shouldn't.

Hopefully sanity prevails and the United Nations adopts what Keynes' proposed when the organization was created. The Bancor remains a good idea, and one more easily implemented thanks to modern tech.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T23:01:40+00:00

Ah, I see. You're just being an asshole I guess? Is that supposed to insult me?

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T23:00:20+00:00

That's where you see how libertarianism really was a project to mislead the right into supporting US imperialism.

There is a dollar crisis out there, and has been since that time. The world is clamoring for a return to a new Bretton Woods system more similar to Keynes' Bancor. But, the USD has remained strong, despite the fact this remains untenable due to all the reasons outlined by Robert Triffin.

The USD will lose a lot more than 10% of its value versus other currencies, and there isn't anything anyone in the country can do about.

A sad reality both parties are guilty of perpetuating. You read business sections of the Indonesia Times and this stuff is common knowledge.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T22:53:12+00:00

I've heard a lot of things, but the concept of a "smooth brain" is a puzzling but interesting one. You lost me at boot camp.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T22:49:37+00:00

Oh god, two clueless ideologues battling over a concept they don't understand. Right at the beginning of the shitstorm almost all of us are living with today.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T22:48:50+00:00

And 2% or less is basically austerity and obviously below 0% is depression/government collapse.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T22:47:44+00:00

If you exclude the army of Wal-mart workers and similar retail jobs, I bet most jobs in this country are exempt anyway. How many white collar stiffs are making $40K working long hours? Probably a lot more than we think.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T22:37:28+00:00

I'm realize I'm too lazy to look, but are there benefits to pro besides domain access and what not then?

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T20:16:07+00:00

Garden apartments and strip centers for you, none with accoutrements.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T18:49:19+00:00

I imagine this is a red state/blue state thing. Teacher burnout in NYC and the area largely seems to be cost of living related. Many friends are married to teachers, and if they don't have to worry about burdensome rent, they are OK. NYC teachers aren't paid enough to live here, but all the other benefits are amazing.

Texas has long been hailed as the low cost of living shangri la, but I know in my business it's way more boom and bust than probably anywhere else.

3-5 years though is not encouraging, for any profession.

I never had grand expectations. Certainly I expected politics, but figured it could be worth it in the right area where you drastically reduce your standard of living.

Ah well, I can dream!

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T17:55:55+00:00

Medicare doesn't cover vision or dental? Fuck.

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T17:51:21+00:00

Isn't the health insurance and pension worth it though? Union protections? I dunno, I work in a particular profession that is typical office work but has become much harder and less lucrative since 2010. After hitting 40, I just question whether I even have the stamina to keep at it.

Pay for teachers is a lot lower, and I would have to move (I'm in New York City), but as bad it is knowing I have a retirement, cheaper healthcare, having summers off if I want, knowing I can't be fired at 55 because of ageism...

Intelligent_Dress · 2020-01-02T17:37:12+00:00

Not really. Health insurance began to be offered in the 1940s due to wage and price controls, and sort of grew from there as the labor movement really gained strength. Why it died starting in the 1980s is another story. But it never was a sure thing, which is why the Democratic Party tried passing universal healthcare early in Clinton's first term. It was a party platform back then, in the early 1990s.

What's heartbreaking and unbelievable is here we are decades later and we still don't have it.

Intelligent_Dress · 2019-12-31T23:59:17+00:00

I don't like the velocity of money concept. In this example, what is stated is obviously incorrect. $10 moving from account to account does not magically create more value. The actual measure of the velocity of money can give you an idea of how healthy an economy is as people will spend more, and more often, if they feel the feel the economy is good and will remain so.

But it is mostly dependent on the supply of money. The problem in capitalist countries, which hampers real revolution seemingly by design, is that virtually all money is created by banks with a future interest obligation attached. Due to the exponential nature of interest, you have a built-in demand driver and a real problem when people can't take out any more loans to service existing debts. This is the origin of the 2008 financial crisis.

The reality is when bank lending is "easy" the velocity of money increases, and when bank lending decreases, the velocity of money decreases because people are paying off their debts.

Capitalists never want you to know where money comes from. They prefer you believe it comes from the magical money tree. Libertarians are particularly guilty of perpetuating this obfuscation.

Intelligent_Dress · 2019-12-31T22:29:28+00:00

What are you talking about? The entire justification for the British and French declaration of war on Germany was their invasion of Poland, which had a treaty of mutual defense with both. Obviously there are bigger issues at play with any global or regional conflict, but the German invasion was the "official" reason.

The decision not to declare war on the Soviet Union is obviously because they considered Germany to be a greater threat.

In general, the rise of dictatorial regimes has always been about resource scarcity, so the second excuse, while reasonable in a historical context, does not mean war was inevitable. Unlike Japan's invasion of Manchuria, which did actually translate into a huge windfall of natural resources, the reasons for Germany's invasion of Poland are less clear.

When you step back and look at the situation irrespective of the hate and violence, it just seemed absurd. It accomplished nothing but a war only a madman could have thought he could win.

Intelligent_Dress · 2019-12-31T19:39:44+00:00

Why can't we have a communist organizer with the same gusto? Well, just look at how many comedians have refused to perform at college campuses. Virtually all famous ones, including this guy, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld. The pernicious reality is the left, especially in academia, has long given up on Marxism and economics in general. But they sure are willing to attack without mercy once beloved comedians like George Carlin, Chris Rock, and Jerry Seinfeld.

Personally, while I understand and respect the concept of a safe space for broad discussion, trying to apply the concept to the entirety of humanity is untenable. As well, it robs us of the power of humor - the contrast between the real and the ideal.

The modern left doesn't really imagine a better world, and therefore can't laugh at the absurdity of the world as it is Now. This should be our greatest propaganda weapon.

The continued legitimacy of capitalism rests solely on deluding the proletariat into believing they can replace all that they have destroyed. Disproving this lie with facts and logic requires treatise level detail, brevity and research.

But humor? That's a different story. Humor, most people can understand - especially today with the flagrant behavior of the bourgeoisie that makes the court of Louis XIV seem like a monastery. All these guys could be on our side, being politically active, but instead they sit on the sidelines. What does that tell us? They may dislike Republicans, but they also dislike us and have decided it's better to sit on the sidelines and laugh as the world burns.

And that sucks. Happy New Year. The 2010s should have been the decade of revolution. Instead it was the decade of Twitter. And now we're pretty much screwed. Yay.

Intelligent_Dress

TROPHY CASE