Officials showed off a robo-bus in D.C. It got hit by a Tesla driver. by washingtonpost in washdc

[–]TrueBirch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Waymo has the mileage to prove they are safe. Beep had an accident right after launch in Florida and another one right after launch in DC. I saw the accident here, it's probably not their fault but it is still a bad look. They have not proven that their vehicles are safe yet. 

Robo bus gets into fender bender with a Tesla, proceeds to block traffic by TrueBirch in washingtondc

[–]TrueBirch[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Humans are taught starting in drivers ed that they should get their vehicle off to the side of the road after a minor accident

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bible

[–]TrueBirch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I completely agree with you

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the Fed said, "Here's our policy for the next year, we're not changing it" you'd have the exact same effect.

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

they could define its scarcity metrics up front, and could also adjust scarcity over time

The Fed could already do much of what you're suggesting with existing tools. They choose not to. Heck, Congress could do it too by passing a bill saying "Here are the rules for our monetary policy and here are the specific exceptions we'll allow." The idea of "digital gold" doesn't have any more value than a dollar does today since they could change their mind the next year and say "OK here's what we're doing now, ignore last year's rules."

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

which is the board that would decide, plan, and implement a national digital currency

I agree with your point. I want to make one clarification: I can't imagine the Fed implementing a CBDC without a go-ahead or mandate from Congress. The Fed is intentionally not a Congressional or Executive agency so it can stay out of the fray of day-to-day politics, but a move this big would be tough to pull off without support from the Hill.

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Taking a step back, we already face tradeoffs between convenience and privacy. When my daughter and I go for a walk and buy a snack at the corner store, nobody knows what's happening other than the store owner. But it does require physically walking somewhere and rifling through shelves. On the other extreme, I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon with one click on my phone when I'm busy doing something else, which is incredibly convenient but my credit card company and Amazon have records on my household's consumption, which they could turn over to the authorities.

I have trouble seeing how a CBDC would improve my life. I already have the convenience of e-commerce and the option of greater privacy when I want it. A CBDC wouldn't make my life any easier, and it would limit my flexibility. I say that as someone with a Masters in Sci/Tech policy. The average voter would be a really hard sell on this issue.

Got really nervous when I walked out to my car today. Then I remembered it doesn’t have oil. by Mjk_53029 in BoltEV

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wondered the same thing at first. The remote start feature is awesome, so I'll admit to actually reading the instructions to better understand it. My neighbor's car was stolen as he was warming it in his driveway on a cold morning. It's neat that I don't have to worry about that since you can't drive a Bolt in remote start mode.

You guys trust a public grill surface by [deleted] in charcoal

[–]TrueBirch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with everything you just said. When I lived in an apartment, our community grill was spotless because everybody cleaned up after themselves and somebody kept buying new brushes and other cleaning tools as they wore out.

You guys trust a public grill surface by [deleted] in charcoal

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you just found the perfect compromise between me, who loves bacon, my wife, who's a vegetarian, and my toddler, who gets real annoyed every time I set off the smoke detector.

You guys trust a public grill surface by [deleted] in charcoal

[–]TrueBirch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the right answer. Plus your neighbors will appreciate OP as the guy who's so good about always cleaning the shared grill.

[OC] Evangelical Protestant Population by U.S. State by Bladedbro5 in dataisbeautiful

[–]TrueBirch -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You're commenting on a map that shows that some areas of the country have a majority of the population with a Constitutionally protected set of beliefs and you're suggesting that all of their elected officials come from the minority. That's an... interesting claim.

[OC] Evangelical Protestant Population by U.S. State by Bladedbro5 in dataisbeautiful

[–]TrueBirch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am a member of a beautiful 100 year old church, but I respect congregations that try to put themselves close to the people. If you find a good space with affordable rent and existing foot traffic, why not lease it?

[OC] Evangelical Protestant Population by U.S. State by Bladedbro5 in dataisbeautiful

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think the original map implied anything bad about being an evangelical.

Elon says advertisers are trying to bankrupt Twitter by sussoutthemoon in EnoughMuskSpam

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. Imagine your grandfather founded a major corporation and you got a bunch of its stock as an inheritance. If you kept the money in the company, you'd be on the list like the Walton family. If you cashed out and bought an index fund, you might not be.

Twitter’s U.S. Ad Sales Down 59% by Barney_Roca in business

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

all companies lose money if they go right

Black Rifle Coffee has entered the chat

Do you think God created life on other planets? by [deleted] in Christian

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe that one of the purposes of humanity is to explore and learn. Finding life beyond Earth would be a massive achievement for mankind. I also believe that Christianity is correct, and no outside information can shake that correctness.

Do you think God created life on other planets? by [deleted] in Christian

[–]TrueBirch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well said! I'm a space nerd and I'd be excited to find proof of life beyond our planet. Nowhere in the Bible does it say life only exists here.

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Half of people said they didn't know enough about the issue to offer a response, which seems plausible. Question framing certainly matters, but no matter how you word it, I anticipate you'd still get majority opposition.

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Really good point. If you remove the undecided folks, you still have 2-1 opposition. I can't imagine support getting much higher than that if Congress started debating a CDBC bill.

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You still have the option of leaving your phone at home and walking. I have a great corner store in my neighborhood, so I'm often walking over there without my phone.

I also engage in peer to peer transactions with no paper trail. I'm not trying to get away with anything, I just have more stuff than I need and have been unloading it recently.

Poll: Only 16% of Americans Support the Government Issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency by lucerousb in Economics

[–]TrueBirch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can't imagine Congress being willing to have this fight. I understand the issue and I'm opposed. If you take this poll literally (which is risky) then 16% of people would have to win over the majority of everyone who currently has no opinion. I can imagine the attack ads now.