also those suffering poverty in the US these days generally have a color tv, cell phone, car and are overweight. maybe that is why people think we are the richest country ever, because our impoverished live the lives of aristocrats in other countries.
I-i 1-7 O-o Hello, From the lyrics of this great song ( that isn't anymore on youtube saddly ) : Lyrics to Better Days : this said it all : It's because we've lost All regards about what we care... Nice title We can all agree that in prices all is relative
This reminds me of something a man said when I was very young. He said "Lord, we so poor my boy has to sleep in the box the color tv came in". :eek:
wooww, your English is way better than the average college graduate and yet you are homeless??? You must be mentally ill or close to it. Otherwise I can not explain why you are homeless. doubling down and averaging in???? averaging into losers.???? what does that mean anyway?
different generation......there was pride in work then. Now it is something to be avoided if possible.
I have thought something strangely similar: Basically, few people make a distinction between the theoretical notion of a free market, and how capitalism (or any economic system?) actually functions. In the real world elites and coelitions of "others" attempt to extract economic rents from others via the political process. For example: The supposed solution to "climate change" is a huge racket called "carbon credit trading" which is of course an enormous rent that will be paid to governments and in particular elites by the rest of the population. The game of being wealthy, as in real wealth, is largely a game of collecting more in rents than you pay, which almost always involves collusion with the government. The thing is every single one of these rents is sold as "in the public interest". If you want an eye opening example of how this works, look into what has happened to Patent law in recent years. Now rather than aiding progress, patent law is used to create economic roadblocks and toles so that lawsuits can be filed when an operating business attempts to create a similar product (and many other tactics for this extortion exist as well). The huge lottery ticket risk of a lawsuit forces many companies to settle. The number one source of these long lasting economic rents is the state. If you want to be truly rich, learn how to make the government work for you, rather than against you. The people creating real value independent of the state are the ones who get the worst deal.
LOL, so much true shit in there, the world is coming down to this; a big ass cluster fuck. By studying America both from the inside and the outside, I have compiled 'the three laws of America': 1. Outside of the corporate world, America is shit (this includes the government, the society, the American life style, the American dream, the American mentality and etc) 2. The core advantage of America over other countries, is the pay (in comparison to the cost of living) the average white-collar worker and average skilled worker receives. 3. The pay stated in the second law is directly proportional to Americas innovative and technological progress (which usually has been due to the high amount of investment made into the Military-industry). What do these laws tell us? Well, let's see; In the last decade, the speed of technological progress has been very slow, even in America (if you compare it with the decades before that). Thus the income inequality the average American white-collar worker enjoyed over that of other countries' is diminishing. Over time, this will result in the corporate world turning into shit like the rest of America. That's it. Then you have a country that is nothing but shit.
I reread my original post and I left untied ends. My point about OJ and how it ties to rent is that people will pay for something not so much based on value, but on psychology. I know it is obvious, but it amazes me how it plays out on a daily basis! Listen to Secretary of Treasure T Geithner, and countless others, continually espouse that without the housing market, the economy can't really ever pick up again. I throw my hands up in desperation at the lack of critical thinking of these people! Further, it suggests where the biggest abuses are pretreated on a people. Who are you selling these homes to? The cost of building a house has skyrocketed to the point where only people with decent wages can afford them. The real unemployment rate is 17%, and newborns in this country has decreased drastically. Coupled with a shit education system that teaches how to be a dullard to go work for a corporation, oh yeah, they'll be lining up to buy houses in record numbers. With states hungry for your money, buying a house is a trap. Your real estate taxes could triple, making your home no longer affordable. If this happens to you in one of the US cyclical downturns, and yep, welcome to foreclosure. The "American Dream" is not bad in itself. But the real American Dream should be steady employment with decent jobs. Everything else falls into place if you put your dreams in the right order.
I like your thinking and examples very much. I don't know where I stand on carbon credits. Something has to be done in order to rein in the relentless polluting of the world. Anyway, that is a different kind of rent. Charge corporation all the rent you want within limits so they can continue to profit. But the relentless rise of individuals rent, with no increase in wages, with an aging population, jobs disappearing, is a disaster that will play out in the next ten years in full force. We will see 10 million people on the streets protesting in the US soon... Like I suggested, keep everything else the same in the US, EVERYTHING, except there could be no private land and home ownership. What would happen? I would love to run the experiment.