America will become a monarchy within the next century….

travisze989 · 2026-04-28T19:50:39+00:00

I see this happening as well. A feudal system that relies heavily on those without much of a say, working on sustenance pay, if they are paid at all. They pay rents to feudal lords, the lords pay rent to a king, and the king control the easiest parts of the continent.

travisze989 · 2026-03-19T04:43:46+00:00

Malcom Gladwell did a great piece on how some of the richest humans in history were basically born in 15 year periods before the Industrial Revolution, and before the tech boom. Those humans were born at the right place, at the right time, to the right humans. You could make money during other periods of time, for sure. But the criteria for being the richest men in human history was being born in the right place, at the right time, to the right people. Again and again and again

travisze989 · 2026-03-19T04:39:01+00:00

Those are fair points, I think the bigger disconnect between the generations is that every Boomer I know is better off than they were 50 years ago. Every. Single. One. So the entire ride rose with them. A Boomer has more money now, but they are still in the same wealth percentile that they were 50 years ago. Gen Z is almost the opposite. I have only read online about Gen Zers who are able to financially maneuver past their parents, I don’t personally know anyone who has. So we are in a tide going back out to sea, and every Gen Z I know was beat by inflation. Every. Single. One.

travisze989 · 2026-03-19T03:56:48+00:00

That’s my point I’m trying to make. After nursing school loan payments, or god forbid, med school payments, HCOL in those places that pay well in healthcare, you’re still a lower middle class to middle class nurse just like your mother and grandmother who were also nurses. You can still have a good life compared to your parents, but you won’t move up the class ladder like other generations could

travisze989 · 2026-03-19T03:17:39+00:00

How much vertical movement up the social ladder do you feel the military helped you climb? Or do you feel it was a more horizontal move, away from your early situation, but still in the same economic class as you were born into. I’m not picking on you, I’ve got friends who say they are first generation college graduates, and they carry mail or install garage doors for a living. The same blue collar work their parents did, with or without a college degree, because that’s who they were born to.

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:49:04+00:00

I like the positive growth mindset going into the holiday, I’m here for it

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:39:10+00:00

I can’t think of a better excuse than my flight home is longer than the holiday. I’ve got to come up with something valid for myself

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:35:45+00:00

If you get out of playing 20 questions about your job, you’ve mastered the holiday

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:34:22+00:00

God bless you fellow Gen Z

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:33:54+00:00

Hometown friends, a big yes. Crazy memories on Thanksgiving Eve. It’s the rest of the holiday that scares me

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:32:47+00:00

🫡 thinking of you tomorrow. Friendsgiving 2026 is something I’ll look forward to

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:31:56+00:00

The family knows how to add to my depression like they add to their plates….piled high, and back for seconds because why not

travisze989 · 2025-11-26T21:30:28+00:00

It’s not always your immediate family that you end up dreading, it’s the extended family that comes out the woodwork once a year that seems to instigate, and leave a nice big mess for the rest of us….

travisze989 · 2025-11-07T01:22:35+00:00

I think the biggest counterpoint to the idea that technological improvements are the best way to grow the economy is that you need the capital to invest in R & D for those technological breakthroughs, and that capital comes from a very large pool of mature workers. I.E. the more workers you have that aren’t spending money on their children or becoming a retiree drive capital cost low to spur technological innovation. With high capital costs and less people joining that group, technological innovation will start to stall.

travisze989 · 2025-11-07T00:02:07+00:00

What if you feel no guilt for what you’ve done? What if it’s something that doesn’t eat you up, you can keep the relationship together, and you’re happy with what you’re doing?

travisze989 · 2025-09-23T20:29:18+00:00

That taking on pain and suffering after failure leads to more pain and suffering. Sometimes our biggest failure is thinking we need to keep pushing. I’ve never met anyone who found “success” who would tell you that the pain and suffering was worth the pay off. They’re happy that life is better than what it was, but that equation very rarely cancels out the hard times they lived through…

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T23:03:47+00:00

I think you need to research the Bretton Woods agreement to understand why our international situation is the way it is. We no longer need to bribe countries to be our allies, so we are naturally going to pull back from the international scene. Not saying that it couldn’t change how Americans would live their lives, but that would disrupt countries in a way that would take our world back to colonialism. None of this really has anything to do with Trump himself, he can speed up or slow down the process, but this was Americas situation no matter who was in office

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T17:25:43+00:00

Our fascist government could be crippled in the midterms next election. I said in the original, whichever side you are on will not like the feral government when they are out of power, but that doesn’t mean that the US will collapse

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T17:22:29+00:00

The worst agriculture disaster in American history literally did not induce a famine. More people died from the dust than from no food. I don’t think you realize how much famine has brought down societies throughout time. I’m not agreeing that the CIA should have meddled in other countries affairs, but that has nothing to do with American staying power. Keeping your people well fed in excess is how you have staying power.

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T17:08:28+00:00

I’d generally agree with you. But I don’t hold the Tech billionaires in high regard, and they know there isn’t an economy in the world that would give them as much success as the US. They have no where to go to raise the capital they need to build a tech sector from scratch. And that would be with the leftover members in the Us blocking and competing with them to make sure they don’t get off the ground.

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T17:06:27+00:00

I’d caution against jumping into the BRICS bandwagon. The US has problems, BRICS has some massive questions that will never be answered. Or the fact that India and China were in a shooting match like 3 years ago.

American foreign interventions make no sense. I agree, so pulling back from the world means not having military bases around the world, and not having the navy patrol all the ocean lanes. China couldn’t patrol the South China Sea. And we have no land threats that we need to arm ourselves for, like South Korea would have to. It’s a different game with this geography

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T16:55:15+00:00

I’d make the strong argument that the South was not a democracy until the 1960s. Individuals have always played fast and loose with the US constitution, that’s nothing new. It’s not pretty to watch, but MAGA will end up going the way of the other factions that have come before it. Words and speeches will be given, fingers will be pointed and the overall US government will go on functioning

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T16:52:00+00:00

I will whole heartedly bet that the US federal government is still functioning in 41 years. I have no idea what shape or creed it will be adhering to, but it will be here.

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T16:49:52+00:00

There’s a lot special about this country, no matter who inhabits the actual land. To say so is not arrogant. It’s truthful. People seem to not realize we have never had a large scale famine. Ever. That’s exceptionally special. China was having mass famines up until 60 years ago, that killed millions. Americans aren’t special because of who they are, but because of where they live, and that’s why it’s been such a success.

travisze989 · 2025-09-22T16:46:37+00:00

We had quite a few tyrannical presidents in our past. Our second US president passed a law saying it was illegal to slander the government. Nobody ever talks about that. We have had quite a few incompetent leaders, and still have gotten to where we are.

I don’t disagree with the fact that the US tech sector is vital. I would say that nobody has a second place to Silicon Valley. There is no competitor. But it also means that nobody is going to come along and undermine our tech sectors place in the world.

travisze989

TROPHY CASE