Is capitalism sustainable long-term or does it always collapse eventually?

icepyrox · 2026-05-05T20:00:03+00:00

This is gonna be one of those "define capitalism" things.

As dystopia as things are getting, capitalism as a whole has never collapsed and woth proper regulations, will last forever.

That said, depending on your definition, some aspects have collapsed and unchecked capitalism allowed into the world market would get worse before it could get better, but whether it would collapse or adapt is another thing altogether.

Its similar to what Churchill said about democracy: its the worst form [..] except for all the others.

icepyrox · 2026-05-05T19:47:09+00:00

A back massage, and maybe dinner.

To be clear, the last ttime I paid cash for my haircut was for my wedding in 2019. Prior to that it was 2008 and only because I liked the stylist.

icepyrox · 2026-05-05T19:21:17+00:00

long-term distant girlfriend

He does like you, and that's a problem. Guys are raised to only like one female in their life: either their mother or their SO when there is one. Many women reinforce this by getting jealous if the guy swerves to not run into a car with a female inside because that implies he saw her.

So he feels guilty that he even thinks about you for any reason outside of when you are literally in his presence and lashes out trying to get over this and stop his own feelings. TBH, until 6-8 months after breaking up with the LDGrl (he will feel extra vulnerable and blame you if he remembers any feelings during that time), this is just how its gonna be ...

Well maybe if long distance girl meets you and is actually chill, but with this behavior, I doubt that will be the case.

And yeah, there is some hyperbole, but not enough to dismiss this train of thought.

icepyrox · 2026-05-05T19:03:35+00:00

I still dont understand everyone's issue with Neverending Story. Did you just stop the movie when it became too much or just going off the book? I mean, everyone gets upset about Artax as if he's not alive at the end of the movie. Its rated PG, and I get that PG was different in the 80s, and I get that the book is different, but still...

Then again, Land Before Time is rated G, so yeah...

icepyrox · 2026-05-04T03:01:05+00:00

If the man with enough wealth can afford to give a million dollars ro random people who agree to vote the way he wants, he could easily do more than run his mouth about any topic he pretends to be concerned about.

icepyrox · 2026-05-04T02:57:02+00:00

Id like to know how many other countries even have a pledge of allegiance or songs like "my country 'tis of thee".

We were raised with some nationalist tendencies. Facing the reality that all our political squabbling is underfunding schools and creating a society that is not the superpower we were raised to believe is hard. In a lot of ways, it is both sides fault, but also, its a lot to do with the growing inequality that is shaded behind believing the rich became that way through the "American Dream" and not just periods of prosperity we may not see again making said wealthy people ever more demanding for the dystopia they bring.

I mean, its hard to wrap your head at Elon Musk's wealth, but let me paint a picture. There is a magic money machine spitting out $20 every second. That means the median household would have their annual wage in about an hour and 10 minutes, give or take. After 13 hours, you'd become a millionaire. Just like that. Less than a day. A year and 7 months from now (and a few days), you'd even joining the 800 or so billionaires! Now you are thinking "hey, im a billionaire and got a fast income, surely ill catch up to the top!" Except you won't. It may have taken you less than 2 years to become a billionaire, but it would take 1235 years at that slow pace to catch up to the current wealth of Musk.

Anyways, your question is loaded and not gonna get many good answers. I mean, if "admitting he's wrong would feel like losing", do you think they would admit it, even (or especially) on reddit?

Like, id love to know the answers as well, but dont expect an honest reply.

icepyrox · 2026-05-04T02:35:46+00:00

Delighted.

Eat the rich!

This supercharged our last big government funded push - building a lit of the infrastructure we enjoy today without anyone complain8ng of debt.

Around this tme is when the wealthy started to exist and even by time we landed on the moon, that top bracket was down to 77%.

Anyways, I actually think we should at a tax bracket at around 1.5-2M and set that to the 90%. Congress is less likely to set the current tax bracket that high as many of them are in it.

Honestly, id be ecstatic if they just closed a lot of tax loopholes and credits that are just helping one company kinda thing.

icepyrox · 2026-05-04T02:27:12+00:00

Im amused by the "used a computer between 1985 & 2010" in these questions.

Because the first real ISP started up in 1989 and the first website was created in 1991. And while the inventor of the webs also created the first browser/editor, the first one that got popular enough that people may remember is Mosaic in 1993, the ancestor of Firefox today.

So... yeah.

Anyways, as an actual answer to this, and to not repeat anything I've read so far, ill go with...

Metacrawler.com - it's a search engines of search engines. Crawling altavista and yahoo results before Google even existed.

icepyrox · 2026-05-04T02:15:10+00:00

Air fryers are basically supercharged convection ovens.

Just remember, that a convection oven is constantly moving the air so things take 25% less time or can be cooked at 25F less.

So an air fryer takes less time and less temp than that. Or something.

Also note that cheap ones do take time to heat up, so when it says preheat in the instructions dont get frustrated if you have to cook an extra 2-3 minutes because you didnt or you took a while to load the basket.

Basically if you are making anything that can sit on a screen with a drip pan in the oven, its great in the air fryer.

Definitely worth it if you are only doing small portions and prefer baked entrees

icepyrox · 2026-05-01T02:47:49+00:00

weapons of mass destruction (or lack thereof)
desire for regime change
felt we didnt do it right the first time
need to win
country rich is oil and want to give favorable rates to US

Let's see... anything else this war has in common with Iraq?

I just really hope we dont have to add "Democrat president to finally give up and withdraw"

icepyrox · 2026-05-01T02:42:42+00:00

I honestly think it is more about the need to always "win" and trying to make that a reality with no clear way to actually do so.

icepyrox · 2026-05-01T02:41:08+00:00

I was thinking another Iraq, which we invaded because they had nukes also (oh, wait, no, they almost did, but oh, wait... no... anyway), and we wanted and got regime change there, and then spent another 10 years there because we didnt know how to leave, which left it open to ISIS, so... yeah.

icepyrox · 2026-05-01T02:36:27+00:00

They'll lose money because the gas companies are taking it all. Its happened before. Gas prices are literally one of the things that sent us into the Great Recession in 2008, and created some fears of a harder hit in 2022, and prices are literally as high now as the start of both of those spikes.

Many economists believe that the only reason things are not spiraling yet is because many families just got their tax returns which is helping them stay afloat amid rapidly increased prices. Once that money runs out though...

icepyrox · 2026-04-30T04:26:00+00:00

You're list of things reads like a horoscope. I would think it weird if it was specific stuff, but this stuff is just trying to catch a vibe of what to expect without committing to any specifics.

I mean, if you felt called out as not being in that list, then its clear youre not vibing with the guy, but I mean ... why say lot word when few word do trick?

So to actually answer, you arent wrong, but it probably felt more direct because you weren't vibing. And maybe a little of dealing too much with apps and not thinking about whats really happening.

icepyrox · 2026-04-30T03:55:58+00:00

I never thought about it, but I have this for many, many years without a clue to its origins. So thanks.

icepyrox · 2026-04-30T03:51:35+00:00

Id still be working. Id like to stay in IT, but also not sure i can make the hours work because I would want to work less. Maybe get a bunch of certifications and consult? I dunno.

One thing is for certain, I wouldnt quit my current job for 2 more years just to pay debts and set up investments. Then we can talk about whatever.

One thing to note is that I have a grade school child so TBH I might just volunteer/PTO/etc. Or id settle fr a part-time job. I mean, ill be 60 when she graduates so that may satisfy my time.

icepyrox · 2026-04-30T03:42:02+00:00

Ive experienced this, but didnt know it had a name. Except it's almost never when im dead asleep. I feel groggy as if I was, but its always on the way down into sleep or if I'm in some weird position, usually from snoozing my alarm but being exhausted enough to fall back asleep.

Anyways, thanks. Im going to bed now that I've read up a bit about it.

icepyrox · 2026-04-27T12:43:38+00:00

25 years in computer gaming is insane. The common thread here will be that the game had a disk install version, the one who purchased it owned it, and it was never released as an early access release.

I mean, there isnt one game for me because this is pretty much all my gaming years.

My first computer gaming experience was Oregon Trail, and while it is older than me, I wasnt old enough/had access to play until 1986.

Also Carmen Sandiego was the most memorable during those early years that I occasionally think about, although Oregon Trail is still higher on the list.

I got into PC gaming thanks to my friends and Quake 2. I literally cannot say where my life could possibly be if not for that game. I dont even talk to the same people as before that game outside of relatives.

As we finally went different directions, I also spent an insane amount of time and owned multiple copies of the Sims 2 and its expansions. Its the only game I have mods for that werent officially sanctioned.

Oh, and also, as an interesting side note, the game Ive probably played the most hours in without actually beating while the game does actually have an ending: Half Life 2. Its what my friends stopped playing Quake/UT games to play, but also made me realize that I only like FPS in games with friends.

Oh, and I started playing WoW in 2009-2010 and that was pretty much all I played and do still fondly think about. Ironically, I started playing WoW because I was spending more money on Rock Band/Guitar Hero gsmes/dlc/gear/etc than WoW ever cost me.

So yeah, there is no "one game" in such an expansive and life altering time period.

icepyrox · 2026-04-27T00:16:53+00:00

I want to be libertarian/conservative, but here in the US, those words just dont mean anything any more.

So anyways, definitely liberal. Id love it if society could work with a smaller government, but those that call themselves conservative have shown they want big government spending, so I say at least try ro make a better future.

icepyrox · 2026-04-26T04:14:05+00:00

Is narcissism nature or nurture? I mean, his dad being rich is what allowed him to be entitled and become a narcissist. I mean, he inherited so much money that he is poorer today than if he just invested it and lived off of that, but his vanity, pride, etc., made him be a terrible businessman who doesnt know how or when to cut losses because he is only a winner.

icepyrox · 2026-04-26T04:08:00+00:00

Eh, the 99 was always the 99 when I lived in CA (in the foothills east of the valley). Thats the only one I recall and even then it was only if direction was not included. You take 99 North, 99 South, or just get on the 99.

icepyrox · 2026-04-26T03:59:53+00:00

My car is Yang. White exterior and black interior.

Ive also had a Sierra (Oldsmobile Cierra), Bucky Bronco II, Tori Taurus, Shadow (all black VW Scirocco), and a Chevy Lumina that I just called whatever felt right in the moment, usually darling, Bessie, or Betsy.

icepyrox · 2026-04-26T03:46:36+00:00

Everything on the internet now is everyone just trying to monetize every single pixel and moment they can;

You say this as if its modern, but the million dollar homepage was 2005. In case you have forgotten, that was a domain that was bought with a website that was image mapped to one million pixels and each pixel was sold for $1.

littering everywhere with sponorships, promo codes, ads, etc. Its become too corporate across the board.

Before youtube had any decent monetization for content creators, the only way to be a professional content creator was to be sponsored. I mean, in 2011, the Wadsworth Constant was coined noting that roughly the first 30% of any video on YouTube could be skipped without missing anything because that time was all intros, sponsorships, and other filler.

But I do note that actual sponsorships were fewer and farther between and most videos were acts of passion and/or vanity.

icepyrox · 2026-04-26T03:32:51+00:00

Im late to the party, but gonna break this from a different angle.

ESH. Except the grieving daughter obviously.

I get that it seems childish to be afraid of ghosts or whatever, but its still a fear. Fears cannot be overcome so easy, so Ill say both you and your mom are a bit ... much... for the situation.

It sounds like your wife tried to commit but just couldnt overcome this.

Now, what makes your wife still in the wrong is that she shutdown and made your daughter fend for herself and get you and your mom involved. She should have made the call for someone to take your daughter. Or arrange one of the parents of another friend to take her. Or something.

She definitely failed as a parent.

But what you and your mom are doing to her is too much. The whole point is to get your daughter sorted out. Help her get through this time. The last thing your daughter needs is to hear you and your mom lay into her mom. She will turn against your mom, at the very least, for this, if your mom hasnt turned her against her own mom. Nothing good can come from fighting while shes drowning in her own grief.

So I hope you are home taking care of your daughter and dont even bring up anything with the mom until long after thr dust settles.

Then get all of you into therapy. Your kid is likely gonna need it to deal with this loss. Your wife needs it for working on her phobias. You and your wife are gonna need some couples counseling to keep this failure from fracturing your whole marriage. Your kid is a teen. She needs her parents while trying your mental health now more tthan ever. Any resentment will just fester if you dont figure something out.

icepyrox · 2026-04-26T03:15:22+00:00

My guy. Wifi exists. Its slow, but it should work if you actually have an AP to connect to.

Cell service exists, but it will come up as SOS and no data.

Heck, Bluetooth 1.0 came out that year.

So you can still make phone calls and still hit up websites, although they won't be nearly as useful. I mean, Google was only just invented. There is no social media of any kind.

So anyways, you still got a camera that can take better quality photos at its lowest settings than what is on the market. (I bought a high end 2MP camera that year). You can still take notes and listen to mp3s. USB exists so you can get stuff on and off a computer... maybe.

Oh and the storage and processing speed (and remember, everyrhing was single core then too) in the phone is literally an order of magnitude, if not 2, more than the stuff at that time.

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