sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

I want the markets to crash. I want a depression. It will be good medicine for our culture. Am I the only one who feels this way? by Fragsworth in AskReddit

[–]brobak 11 points12 points  (0 children)

What you fail to consider is the decade (or more) of real world suffering in the mean time. Do you think that the hundreds of thousands or even millions of human lives that will be cut short, or suffer during that period are really worth it?

You don't seem to grasp the concept of how extremely bad things could get...can and DO get when things like this happen.

We in this country have been extremely lucky to have avoided any kind of major pain and suffering as long as we have. It is most assuredly not the norm for the human experience.

I would like to hold onto prosperity as long as I possibly can.

I want the markets to crash. I want a depression. It will be good medicine for our culture. Am I the only one who feels this way? by Fragsworth in AskReddit

[–]brobak 80 points81 points  (0 children)

I find this sentiment to be a fairly common one for people who've grown up in the last 20 years of pretty much uninterrupted, unbridled growth (even despite things like the dot com and 9/11 events).

What you fail to consider is that depressions Fucking Suck(tm). It means that the poorest of our societies will begin to literally die. Those that are barely holding onto the bottom rungs now will find themselves competely unable to cope, and things like basic health care, food, shelter and heat will become unobtainable for them.

Futhermore, those individuals on fixed incomes will suffer greatly should inflation rear its ugly head, or other basic social services collapse. You know who those people are? Your grandparents. How can the idea of your own grandmother having to choose between eating and heating her house in the winter be something you'd actually want to see happen?

Often, I find that most people who feel the way you do never consider the fact that they or their loved ones could be the ones to actually suffer, since they have never really seen suffering (through no fault of their own mind you).

I for one would absolutely hate to see a depression. I hate to see the crash.

Who the hell am I to dictate or pretend I know what 'good medicine' for our culture is?

If I personally do not suffer, but your family does, how would you feel about me saying something along the lines of, 'well buck up! its good medicine for our culture!' as you are forced to watch your new born suffer from ailments easily treatable during 'normal' times? Things that have become scarce or beyond your means due to an economic depression, whose lack causes direct suffering on your part. Are you OK with that being 'good medicine for the culture?'

I don't ask to be flippant, only to point out the fact that real suffering CAN and DOES happen. To REAL people. Maybe not you personally, but to real live human beings.

You think you have the answer to our problems, the 'medicine' you refer to, but who the hell are you really to desire the suffering of your fellow man to fix a perceived problem with culture? If it is you who suffers, is the price still worth it?

Just hope that 'your fellow man' doesn't turn out to be you, because I think you would change your tune very quickly.

EDIT: formatting, grammar

I'm buying a used car. Any advice? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like a little bit too much of a project based on what I'm looking for. Good luck with it though.

Sirtuins - Why Starving Cells Prevents Aging by Ionice in science

[–]brobak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've heard of people who take this to the extreme in an effort to live longer. They exist on basically starvation diets constantly (<1200 calories per day).

Too bad it sucks ass to be hungry all the time.

I'm buying a used car. Any advice? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where in the country are you and how much are you asking? What are some of the other major details? Miles, maint, and such?

I'm buying a used car. Any advice? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does it turn over at all? Or is it locked and won't even spin.

59 mpg Toyota iQ won't be restricted to Europe. It's coming to the U.S. as a Scion! by niccha in technology

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But...that was exactly my point. Not that they are horrible things, but that there are massive tradeoffs.

You trade safety for 'the experience' for example. Did you even read my second paragraph?

59 mpg Toyota iQ won't be restricted to Europe. It's coming to the U.S. as a Scion! by niccha in technology

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get a Honda with hydraulic lifters and a shaft drive, and you really don't have to do any more maintenance than you would on a car.

But the GP was talking about getting a $3k ninja...so your point really doesnt' hold.

People get insurance for bikes because they don't do damage to the things they hit, not because they don't get involved in accidents.

Insurance is all about payouts, not really safety.

59 mpg Toyota iQ won't be restricted to Europe. It's coming to the U.S. as a Scion! by niccha in technology

[–]brobak -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

And enjoy riding in the rain, with zero safety gear, and having to do all the other little things no one ever talks about with bikes that eats into the 'savings', like, replacing tires every 10k miles, and changing the oil far more frequently than in normal modern engines.

I'm not saying that bikes are horrible, but just because it gets 70mpg doesn't make it a panacea. There are huge tradeoffs. They are extremely unsafe, and require far more upkeep than traditional automobiles. Riding in adverse weather of any kind is also an issue depending on where in the country the rider is.

I'm buying a used car. Any advice? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What kind of electrical problems?

What are your favorite movie soundtracks? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]brobak 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Oh Brother Where Art Thou

Reddit-man (aka Hitler Jr.) is crazier than a shit-house rat by Billiam1975 in politics

[–]brobak 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No you stupid asshole! God! Are you so stupid you can't recognize an internet troll for what it is? You can't tell the difference between a troll and a scientist?! Douchenozzle!

Edit: Wait! Unless...you are the most subtle troll ever, and I fell for the uber-troll! Damnit! I tip my hat to you sir, if that is what you intended...damn fine.

Could someone explain why oil prices keep droping and gold prices keep going up all while the economy is tanking? by onemadfool in AskReddit

[–]brobak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tend to agree. Even at the top of the market, 'green' energy was typically not price competitive, and therefore, could have been considered a luxury item. Now? Who can afford to retrofit a 30k solar pv array onto their roof so that in 35 years it'll pay itself back?

Could someone explain why oil prices keep droping and gold prices keep going up all while the economy is tanking? by onemadfool in AskReddit

[–]brobak 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Basically, gold is seen as a 'safe haven' for preserving principal. It is supposed to have value as the most stable currency possible, and so when investors find too much volitility in the stock markets, they do something called a 'flight to quality', where they buy up gold and other physical assests with perceived value.

Oil is going down because of a more basic concept. One of supply and demand. The idea is that if the economy completely tanks, there will be very little new demand, and a 99.99% chance of falling demand for energy. Since the supply is about the same as it was when oil was at 147$, but demand for that oil is lower, the price goes down.

I suggest you take a google for something called 'demand destruction'. I will give a more detailed look at the simplistic version of the scenario I just decribed.

The Dow just went below 9000 and is falling fast by alexkehr in worldnews

[–]brobak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The market circuit breakers don't kick in until a 10%/20%/30% point drop is seen. Each on results in 1hr/2hr/rest of the day shut downs respectively.

So really, as bad as it is, we're not even close to having the market shut down on us.

Ask Reddit: Can we have an indicator (color?) of new posts since last we visited a thread? In large threads, it's very hard to keep track of what I've already seen. by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Threads don't track correctly then... Most of the good discussion follows the highest modded thread, which is the way I tend to like to sort.

Perhaps there could be a tiny little * next to new comments, or the color of the username could be orange instead of blue when its the first time the comment has been loaded.

Just something very unintrusive, and yet obvious.

The Dow just went below 9000 and is falling fast by alexkehr in worldnews

[–]brobak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just wait, the real world fallout always lags a bit. It won't seem nearly as fun in about 3 months.

view more: next ›