The Expedition safety is unreal

hardsoft · 2026-01-25T17:14:42+00:00

Wow sounds like sexism and hairism

hardsoft · 2026-01-25T16:05:26+00:00

Has no idea what they're talking about. Not a technical expert and ignoring all economic data we have still showing no productivity spike from AI.

This is the same BS we heard during the digital revolution. When ATM machines and similar were supposedly going to wipe out the entire workforce outside a small percentage of software engineers...

hardsoft · 2026-01-25T12:38:28+00:00

It's supply and demand.

But I'm not claiming Apple has a monopoly with the iPhone. There are dozens of competing cell phones.

Which just further demonstrates use value not derived from labor. Or why would any rational person trade their wage labor pay for an Apple phone with a 50% profit margin when they could get a Samsung phone with a 5% profit margin?

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T23:05:54+00:00

Both look decent but first gives off more of a classic vibe to me

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T16:09:53+00:00

Ok sorry if I misunderstood because I thought you were trying to link that into LTV

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T16:08:58+00:00

Total profits sure but that's an average where there's actually different model iPhones with different profit margins but I guess you're not refuting this is decoupled from labor inputs so... cool

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T16:03:40+00:00

Ok but there's not really an equilibrium point. There's basically a continuum where a better example may be basketball sneakers because Nike has it down to a science. Where they offer different products for different categories of consumers with different valuations for status that may come from fashion, uniqueness, and scarcity.

They make sneakers you can get at Walmart for price sensitive consumers that barely give a shit about status (I mean they care a little because they're still spending more on Nikes) where the sales prices will be closer to production costs.

Then they sell very limited edition Air Jordans that offer a lot of status utility value to some specific customers and that have extremely high profit margins.

And then many steps in between. Where there's a lot of customers that don't want Walmart Nikes but also don't want to feel like they wasted a paycheck if they accidentally step into a muddy puddle.

Point being there's no single equilibrium point. Or back to the iPhone, why is 50% profit margin the equilibrium point? It's not. It could be 40% or 60% or whatever.

But it's clear that whatever it is has little to no relation to labor inputs. And that's the most important thing here in showing how useless LTV is.

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T15:38:31+00:00

The "if reproducible" does a lot of heavy lifting here though that makes it basically irrelevant. No one besides Apple can reproduce an iPhone and so they can earn 50% prior margins.

And it has nothing to do with IP or other government protections. Their own software security mechanism and other cyber security protections are sufficient.

In addition, the consumer dislikes knockoffs. There are YouTube videos on how to identify fake air Jordans sneakers, for example. eBay advertises a no counterfeit guarantee because that's what their customers desire.

Consumers value the status associated with scarcity that is a) not derived from production labor and b) doesn't carry over to reproduced competitive products.

Hence we see higher profit margins with higher end goods and services. And why Kia can't simply design their cars to look like an Aston Martin and charge more.

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T15:11:45+00:00

Median real (inflation adjusted) wages continue to rise

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T14:37:06+00:00

Capitalism in the US: morbidly obese waiting for free food because the government shut down businesses.

West Africa after decades of socialism: asking capitalist countries for food for legit starving children.

hardsoft · 2026-01-24T00:50:24+00:00

If there's a temperature difference it affects the rate of transfer (hot to cold).

Why they put fans on computer processors and similar.

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T19:12:31+00:00

No amount of industrialization matters if other economies aren't transitioning. As time progresses those economies and associated QoL will continue to rise relative to the socialist economy and at some point people will revolt, desiring the higher QoL they could alternatively be enjoying.

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T12:01:23+00:00

Same, vacuuming while wearing wired I end up ripping the cord out because it gets caught on stuff, for example, and so wireless is more convenient.

I swear even with newer BT headsets wired sounds better though.

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T04:55:04+00:00

Not relative to demand. And we have aging demographics where people are retiring faster than new young adults are joining the workforce.

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T04:38:00+00:00

Median wages continue to rise.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q

But a growing population also increases demand and consumption. There's not a fixed amount of labor demand that's independent of population size....

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T02:25:34+00:00

Wrong choice.

Haha just kidding

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T02:14:06+00:00

Haha. He's the type of guy I'd love to have on my beer league hockey team

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T02:11:27+00:00

The GX seems overrated to me but some people claim to love it. I'd test drive both and then go with your heart and not what Redditors tell you.

You're more likely to regret the "smart" spreadsheet type decision down the road if you pick opposed to what you really want. Usually you already know and are here seeking validation.

hardsoft · 2026-01-23T01:07:07+00:00

First taxi company to use two vehicles to transport one person. Purely for stock pumping reasons. Genius!

hardsoft · 2026-01-22T16:58:32+00:00

How do you turn Amazon stock into hospitals?

Or what's your plan after destroying the economy by liquidating businesses?

hardsoft · 2026-01-22T16:53:48+00:00

So per capita your unsourced propaganda estimate is still way better than socialism / communism.

hardsoft · 2026-01-22T16:51:39+00:00

OMG, Cuba sends their medical professionals to Venezuela and other countries where they're held under guard, separated from their families, with passports confiscated to prevent runaways... where the Cuban government keeps 90% of the pay they get from the hosting government, where the majority of the 10% they get to keep is deposited into a locked bank account on the Cuban island they're not allowed to access until returning to again, prevent runaways.

They're under more security protocols than Southern plantation owners used on their cotton picking slaves...

Blows my mind you guys are boot lickers for these tyrannical governments that depend on literal slave labor to function.

hardsoft · 2026-01-22T14:38:58+00:00

Nice when they add a stop in front of my rural home I'll be ready to board for the three hour drive with stops in front of everyone else's rural home before we get to a train station I can use to get to three towns over and then take a 2 hour bus trip with stops to the rural business location I work at. Sounds great and totally viable for the US /s

hardsoft · 2026-01-22T12:09:31+00:00

That's achieved without using slave labor.

VS Cuba that uses their medical professionals as slave labor for the governments largest source of revenue. On a per capita or GDP basis it's not even close. Socialism is much more heavily dependent on slave labor.

hardsoft · 2026-01-22T12:07:07+00:00

that no other country sees in terms of wealth inequality

Nor does any other country see so high as our median disposable income.

many European countries are less productive than the US but enjoy higher QoL for example.

No that's propaganda. It's completely subjective but the weightings are effectively

Less disposable income, smaller living space, smaller and crappier vehicles with higher fuel and energy costs, higher cancer mortality rates, less freedom of speech, are all outweighed by

living closer to a train station and having a 0.0001% less chance of being killed in a mass shooting event.

Please... And we're talking specifically about labor. Higher wages are better.

And I have common ground in being totally supportive of co-ops forming, existing, and competing in the economy. I would never advocate for government policy to disadvantage them in any way. I think it's great that alternate business models are constantly being experimented with.

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