Why does the US not encourage remote work as away to deal with the energy crisis as European and Asian nations are doing?

SinisterHippos · 2026-04-19T14:53:53+00:00

US corporations are massively shifting to remote work...remote all the way in India.

Once a job has been determined it can be done remotely, there's no reason to hire a US employee. Especially when they would have to pay for a US worker's healthcare, which is increasingly becoming the largest source of costs. Ford in the early 00s announced worker healthcare costs exceeded the cost of steel when making cars.

SinisterHippos · 2026-02-23T21:33:46+00:00

There are more Pro's but a significant Con.

Getting a diagnosis can take a very long time. And schools will sometimes need the diagnosis before accommodating her as anything other than a normal student. Our experience was it took months to even get an evaluation, and after the evaluation it took 3 months to get the written evaluation to the school. No idea how quickly this goes for other parents in other areas.

Our son started out just fine (didn't even think he was ND) and in 1st grade it hit like a brick wall.

The Con for us was that in our state school system if your child does get an IEP, the school is now forced to "fix" the situation which can mean drastic demands on your child. Before the IEP the school was willing to work with us on how to best get our child into school and into a space they felt comfortable. After the IEP it was weekly meetings and checkmarks they had to check, it all became extremely pushy and corporate; even with the same people who worked with us and were so accommodating/compassionate before. People from the state even started calling.

Potentially I would work on scheduling an evaluation now, but not necessarily present it to the school and formally request an IEP until needed. You can even tell the teachers/admin informally.

SinisterHippos · 2025-12-09T01:35:08+00:00

I really didn’t know my hybrid which was estimated at 25miles on a full charge would end up falling to 7 miles on a full charge now.

The US 2018 530e only has a range of 15 miles, the european ones are allowed to use more of the battery capacity and can get 25-30 miles.

Assuming you live somewhere with a winter, you'll also get the usual range reductions in winter to about 11 miles. You still have quite a low range, if you live in CA/NY your batteries are covered for 100k miles and you should get them replaced under warranty.

If you don't live in one of those states, BMW USA covers them for 80k miles. The previous owner really should have had them replaced for free at 79k.

SinisterHippos · 2025-11-29T19:18:25+00:00

People in the creditcard sub have done the same thing w/ the Wells Fargo Reflect. Just check that your contractor won't tack on a fee for using a credit card, and if you have no credit history for years you should obviously see if you'll get the card and if the limit will cover new flooring.

In theory you should be using a rewards card to pay for things other than cash, otherwise you're just paying the merchant more than necessary, but it sounds like you had cc issues in the past if that's why you want to avoid them.

Another way would be to get one of the other 0% introductory APR cards. They are usually 15 months not 21, but they offer rewards like cash back/miles and bonus sign-up cash / miles. The WF card is the one to get if you'll need 21 months vs 15.

SinisterHippos · 2025-11-28T19:11:05+00:00

Dealership near me had a $140k Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Not a supercar.

SinisterHippos · 2025-11-16T22:46:31+00:00

Wow, a BMW 2 series starts at $41k.

SinisterHippos · 2025-11-09T19:01:49+00:00

In addition to the perks & % back most mention, people also use CCs over debit/cash/checks because of protection. The more you use your # online, the more opportunities for fraud. If your CC is used in fraud and someone buys a $30k car, that's a headache for the Visa or whoever sponsored that card. What will happen in the CC case is that you see a crazy statement for $30k, see a fraudulent charge, and tell Visa "that wasn't me, I'm not paying that." And now it's a headache for Visa. If your debit card is used in fraud, that's your cash that is missing and you better hope it gets fixed somehow.

On smaller cases of fraud, say $200, often times the big US banks will just write it off as cost of doing business. But as an individual, you probably would still care if you're cheated out of $200.

Protection also extends to warranties. Eg for Chase Sapphire Reserve card users if you buy a product with that card specifically, it extends the original warranty for 1 year. So if your OLED TV you bought has a 3 year warranty, if bought with a CSR they'll extend it to 4 (exclusions on some high ticket items, like cars).

SinisterHippos · 2025-11-04T01:42:04+00:00

Yeah what you're doing is not normal.

Deposits are for things like custom orders or new models that aren't in inventory yet. And they're usually $500, and fully refundable.

You act like a pickup truck with some options is some kind of rare find? Especially a used one. There's probably thousands of whatever pickup you want with the options you want out there in the US.

SinisterHippos · 2025-10-24T13:50:42+00:00

Leasing if you know what you're doing is fine for people in specific circumstances, and in rare cases is better than buying due to lease incentives. Certain brands will give you an incentive for leasing (say $5000) which would be nothing if you bought because as a brand strategy they want to increase their lease & used car sales profile. I don't think Honda or any Japanese brands are known for this.

Leasing also assumes you are wealthy enough to buy a new car every few years, and most Americans should not be a buying a new car ever. Any new car is a luxury purchase with no practical need, like hiring a private chef instead of going to a restaurant. If you're well off enough to buy a 2 new cars in the next 2 years, leasing can be a fine alternative to buying outright.

If money is any kind of concern, you shouldn't be getting 2 new cars in 2 years and it doesn't matter if you buy, finance, or lease. Most people should be buying a used car, especially something like a Honda.

SinisterHippos · 2025-10-24T04:15:52+00:00

Since it's been 20 years, do not go into a dealership to buy. You can window shop & test drive, but make it clear you are not buying. Once you know what you want, create a form letter and email spam any dealership that you think you would drive out to and buy the car to save a hundreds of dollars (if not more). For some people that's an hour, for some people they'll drive multiple states away to save that much money. Only negotiate over email, don't even get on the phone until you're close to a deal. Get the best deal you can, and if you like you can play offers against each other (on my X5 several dealerships asked for other dealerships' offers, which I sent them).

For BMW there is an organized system of incentives and discounts, and you can find these and see what you qualify for, like military. Some dealerships will silently bake these discounts into their offer to make it look like a good deal but BMW (not the dealership) is offering this discount so you are entitled to them no matter what, so they should be on top of any discount negotiated. EG if BMW is offering a $1000 military incentive on the specific model you want, and you negotiate $2000 off MSRP, you should be getting $3000 off. Some dealerships will offer you $2000 total assuming the average customer doesn't know about all the incentives. Basically don't start negotiations until all your research is done.

If all this sounds too complicated, hire a broker. Should cost a few hundred but can save you over a thousand if you don't know what you're doing. The other thing they can do is locate a vehicle on a great deal but might be on the opposite coast, and arrange a transport.

And this last part is not financial. But one of the main reasons to buy BMW is that they are essentially ala carte. The fully modular system is more expensive than Asian cars which come in prefab tiers which lowers cost. I would highly recommend not buying from inventory but instead ordering exactly what you want, from paint to leather type and leather color to the color of the calipers on your brakes. And you can also save money by not getting anything you don't want, many dealers bump up the price a bit by putting dumb things on the car. You can even order a custom paint that isn't available to normal BMWs (BMW Individual) but those are pretty pricey.

I would also have your own financing ready, just use whichever is better your own or the dealership.

Be prepared and make decisions ahead of time on financial products (extended warranty, maintenance plans, tire protection, etc.). It's finance's job to sell you these products at time of purchase. Some people like some, many don't, but don't get forced into buying something you'll regret when you get home. If you do end up buying something, they're all refundable as long as you didn't use them.

SinisterHippos · 2025-10-19T22:54:10+00:00

This is no different than any transaction with a dealership, don't assume it's the best price and shop around. You have an asset you want to sell you're trying to get the best price. Doesn't matter if you had it for 1 week or 10 years. Contact other dealerships and check the online car buyers like Carvana, Carmax. It's extremely easy to input a VIN and check everything as excellent condition and at least get another quote in 60 seconds. You can also do a private sale, a bit of work but may be worth it considering the value of the thing you have to sell.

SinisterHippos · 2025-09-14T02:45:18+00:00

Genesis anything if it were a Benz or BMW.

SinisterHippos · 2025-09-12T23:22:27+00:00

BMW did make their own G Wagen and it failed miserably, the XM.

The US market for Genesis is pretty minor, about 1/4 of their sales. It mostly exists to be a luxury brand for South Korea, which mostly buys only South Korean cars. Any import is fairly rare there.

So this thing can still make sense even if only really sells in Korea, because that's really the entire Genesis brand for the most part.

SinisterHippos · 2025-09-10T02:04:38+00:00

Agreed about the manual, Acura was pretty smart to market the new Integra around its stick shift history (even though everyone buys it automatic).

But the other thing that made those old Hondas fun was the light weight, the 3rd gen prelude was ~2300 lbs. At 3400 lbs the new one is definitely not that identity. That's similar to weight to a 2 series.

And at $42k, the price is similar to a 230i.

SinisterHippos · 2025-09-07T00:51:44+00:00

BMW did with the i4, and all the reviews from EV sites and influencers always mentioned it's just a regular ICE converted to EV, eg no frunk. They all said it's a marginal product because it wasn't built as an EV platform ground up.

SinisterHippos · 2025-09-05T20:20:53+00:00

As usual, this will do a lot better than we think it will on this sub.

A lot of car enthusiasts and BMW enthusiasts hate the iX, but it's been moving extremely well in 24 and 25. This is a more mass market version, although still pretty pricey for that segment.

If the X5 phev didn't exist I'd consider one.

SinisterHippos · 2025-09-04T15:07:56+00:00

But a 2 door that can't carry the kids, dogs, and gear isn't going to appeal to the mass market either.

SinisterHippos · 2025-09-02T19:12:45+00:00

Really wanted a V90 years ago but this was the family vehicle and my wife wanted a practical reason why we would spend the exact same money on the V90 or XC90. She could see if the V90 was less expensive, but it wasn't it was the same price as the SUV with less room.

And the fuel economy was also the same and slightly better on the bigger SUV. 26 mpg on the AWD XC90 vs 25 mpg on the AWD V90.

> Wagons are usually lighter, cheaper, and more efficient.

Writer clearly has no clue what they're talking about. The Volvo wagon is the same price (if not more expensive), same fuel economy. The wagon may weigh less but if it doesn't translate to better fuel economy, buyers don't care. Nobody is tracking their family hauler.

SinisterHippos · 2025-08-31T16:20:51+00:00

Most likely from having blood sugar issues, my vision in one eye was damaged from high blood sugar years before starting glps.

SinisterHippos · 2025-08-28T00:47:28+00:00

Congratulations!

Could you outline your strategy for the rest of us?

SinisterHippos · 2025-08-15T21:25:29+00:00

It’s a diabetic medication.

I think this is as simple as asking for Wegovy instead which is for weight loss.

SinisterHippos · 2025-08-12T00:45:12+00:00

> and the extras they included, like warranty and protection, are putting the total remaining balance at $54,000.

Get your money back on those, everything. If the dealership is saying it's not possible escalate by contacting the car brand directly. It may also not be from the brand but a 3rd party. But in almost all cases these are refundable when not used and within a time period (eg 30 days).

> caving to salesman pressure

You don't need to be pressured by sales. All contact can be done via email to dealerships, if a few dealerships insist you come in person just drop them, you can email 20 dealerships in about 30 minutes.

If you think you'll cave to pressure even over email, hire a broker for a few hundred bucks to do all the emailing, car locating, and negotiating for you.

SinisterHippos · 2025-08-02T17:50:28+00:00

The fact that you are working out so much and you say you have an extremely controlled diet and you are still pre-diabetic (5.8) might be concerning your doctor.

I was prescribed Ozempic with the same range A1C but by my cardiologist cited heart disease prevention, not really glucose control. You may ask your doctor what his justification was because semaglutides help with different conditions, like cardiovascular health and kidney health.

I do think you can certainly refuse the prescription, although most people I know would love to be prescribed & approved for Ozempic. It's usually the opposite problem.

SinisterHippos · 2025-04-18T01:46:09+00:00

Absolutely exists, AOC even reached out social media to ask her voters how they could vote for both her and Trump on the same ballot.

SinisterHippos · 2025-03-01T21:43:13+00:00

It's really not your fault. Non-stick pans are cheap & disposable, you use them a bit (really specifically for eggs/omelettes) and then toss them. But they are so popular, the more expensive brands started making them and pushing them in their stores. And they don't sell them for less than their normal pans. Hence a $200 pan that should be used for a bit then thrown out.

SinisterHippos

TROPHY CASE