lazuli16 Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 4 hours ago, Alpinemaps said: Meanwhile, they're telling us prices are going up because of labor and supply chain issues. Somehow the math doesn't add up. 5 Quote
chinothegeeko Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 It's capitalism at work folks. Free market and hence price is just a reflection of supply vs demand. There is no plan to eliminate the middle class, unless that plan is capitalism. Then yeah, let's get rid of capitalism. But the people complaining about the unfair effects of inflation tend to be the biggest proponents of capitalism. It's like Ted Cruz (IIRC) decrying federal handouts and then asking for one as soon as his state gets hit with a national disaster. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Call me a commie, but the best way to protect the middle class is more government-controlled programs such as free healthcare, guaranteed minimum wage, social security that keeps people away from poverty, and with that (unfortunately but necessarily) higher taxes. Flame away ...Trust me I don’t think we need anymore govt control over anything but to think they aren’t eliminating the middle class by forcing small businesses to close and raising wages thus having more people rely on govt to get by is being blind. They want people begging for communism without calling it that. No flaming as it’s just a discussion and pretty sure we agree in most of it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote
chinothegeeko Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 5 hours ago, Alpinemaps said: Do you think that Mr. Baszucki, and his family, are paying a fair share of their tax, compared to us? I'm not talking about making them pay above and beyond a percentage of what you and I pay. But I am asking - do they pay at a same or similar rate of tax compared to their income/worth as you and I? (Spoilers - no). A whole new base tax system would be needed where you can’t hide all your income and I don’t think most people are for that. That’s one of the benefits of a business and rentals etc. real education is needed in this country and not this waste of education offered now. I doubt any of us in here actually pay the % of what we are supposed to once taxes are filed. Quote
Mark Twain Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 52 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said: I'm not a fan of the phrase "higher taxes," but prefer "fairer taxes." https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/28/business/tax-break-qualified-small-business-stock.html Do you think that Mr. Baszucki, and his family, are paying a fair share of their tax, compared to us? I'm not talking about making them pay above and beyond a percentage of what you and I pay. But I am asking - do they pay at a same or similar rate of tax compared to their income/worth as you and I? (Spoilers - no). It's bad. Really bad. Did you see Peter Thiel using a Roth IRA to accumulate $5 billion tax free? https://seekingalpha.com/news/3710024-how-did-peter-thiel-accumulate-5b-in-a-tax-free-roth-ira?gclid=Cj0KCQiAoNWOBhCwARIsAAiHnEjXK0PEX_XwBeQ70l25RDtdMAtqMwEMgirH-lUIEiTqp0cRUeuFLtQaAsqhEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=14049528666&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=137460309828^dsa-1455881688143^^555764444353^^^g I think the bigger issue is societal. You speak to anyone at nearly any wage level and they fundamentally hate paying taxes and feel that they pay more than their share. It's extremely difficult to reform a system that most of the public fundamentally scorns. 2 Quote
Brystheguy Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 53 minutes ago, chinothegeeko said: Trust me I don’t think we need anymore govt control over anything but to think they aren’t eliminating the middle class by forcing small businesses to close and raising wages thus having more people rely on govt to get by is being blind. They want people begging for communism without calling it that. No flaming as it’s just a discussion and pretty sure we agree in most of it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Who is "they?" Quote
chinothegeeko Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 Who is "they?"Who do you think I’m referring to? Not that hard to figure it. Look out worldwide. Think of who attends the world economic forum. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
lodibricks Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 5 hours ago, Alpinemaps said: Record profits. Escalating salaries for CEOs. The rich keep getting richer. That doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t fundamentally care what you make. If you can make $30 instead of $20, good for you! And there the rub. Fattest profits in 7 decades. And we’re worried about whether it’s appropriate to pay a living wage? Just because someone is in high school, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it as well. I hear you on being happy for others. Unfortunately, we'd be in the minority as most coworkers are naturally concerned with getting their cut. Also, most talks seem to assume every company is some huge corporation with a CEO on top raking in the profits. I visualize the mom/pop shops who have an owner holding his own paycheck to make everyone else's payroll and feeling forced to bump his staff of 20-50 (bottom to top) with raises. The doors may close for these small businesses. Quote
Alpinemaps Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 4 minutes ago, lodibricks said: I hear you on being happy for others. Unfortunately, we'd be in the minority as most coworkers are naturally concerned with getting their cut. Also, most talks seem to assume every company is some huge corporation with a CEO on top raking in the profits. I visualize the mom/pop shops who have an owner holding his own paycheck to make everyone else's payroll and feeling forced to bump his staff of 20-50 (bottom to top) with raises. The doors may close for these small businesses. Absolutely. But comparing say a mom and pop shop to Walmart, is like comparing you and me to Musk or Bezos. It's not the mom and pops (or you and me) that are strangling the life out of workers in this country. 2 Quote
$20 on joe vs dan Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 5 hours ago, Phil B said: It's capitalism at work folks. Free market and hence price is just a reflection of supply vs demand. There is no plan to eliminate the middle class, unless that plan is capitalism. Then yeah, let's get rid of capitalism. But the people complaining about the unfair effects of inflation tend to be the biggest proponents of capitalism. It's like Ted Cruz (IIRC) decrying federal handouts and then asking for one as soon as his state gets hit with a national disaster. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Call me a commie, but the best way to protect the middle class is more government-controlled programs such as free healthcare, guaranteed minimum wage, social security that keeps people away from poverty, and with that (unfortunately but necessarily) higher taxes. Flame away ... my issue w/ this post is that pure capitalism is devoid of government programs. so your point is incorrect since the current US conditions include government programs such as minimum wage and social security, etc. 2 Quote
fuzzy_bricks Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 17 minutes ago, $20 on joe vs dan said: my issue w/ this post is that pure capitalism is devoid of government programs. so your point is incorrect since the current US conditions include government programs such as minimum wage and social security, etc. Student loans are a prime example. If they did not exist, or the amount that students could borrow was substantially lower, I believe you would see tuition costs become more reasonable. Schools would have to adapt to make up for the lack of money available. There is a thought that the reason big companies pay low level employees less is that the government basically supplements their incomes with assistance programs. So I agree, it's not truly a free market, and every time they try to correct it, there are unintended consequences. Quote
Alpinemaps Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 Student loans are a prime example. If they did not exist, or the amount that students could borrow was substantially lower, I believe you would see tuition costs become more reasonable. Schools would have to adapt to make up for the lack of money available. There is a thought that the reason big companies pay low level employees less is that the government basically supplements their incomes with assistance programs. So I agree, it's not truly a free market, and every time they try to correct it, there are unintended consequences.Student loans have gotten just out of hand. Interest rates are much higher than home interest rates. People are spending years making payments and barely making a dent in the principal. If the government is giving loans for school, then they need to be simple interest, easy to pay off, so people can be productive! The government really shouldn’t be making bank on loan repayments. Quote
fuzzy_bricks Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 3 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said: Student loans have gotten just out of hand. Interest rates are much higher than home interest rates. People are spending years making payments and barely making a dent in the principal. If the government is giving loans for school, then they need to be simple interest, easy to pay off, so people can be productive! The government really shouldn’t be making bank on loan repayments. Tuition being so high is the problem, and as I said, I believe it's so high because money (student loans) is easily available to go to school. The program for my degree was five years when I was in college. This degree wasn't available elsewhere in the state or some of the neighboring states. It is now more widely available and the school revised the program to four years. So what used to take five years to teach now only takes four? I call BS and gladly throw every alumni mailer I receive in the trash. It's a racket and people need to stop buying into it. 1 Quote
Pseudoty Posted January 5, 2022 Posted January 5, 2022 That Home Alone is back in stock and on SD for several hours but no notification email from Lego. Added to cart but still no GWP so will pass and hopefully it is available on 1/28. Quote
cladner Posted January 6, 2022 Posted January 6, 2022 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Mathew said: Amazon price gouging? pretty mild compared to when they were selling treehouse for $344. so many sets amazon sells for over msrp i stopped counting them a while ago. even better is when they start selling retired sets for over msrp like when they were selling 75248 for $38 a few months ago. Edited January 6, 2022 by cladner Quote
Mark Twain Posted January 10, 2022 Posted January 10, 2022 RIP Bob Saget. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 8 Quote
KvHulk Posted January 10, 2022 Posted January 10, 2022 Dexter: New Blood - What a colossal waste of time. Quote
exciter1 Posted January 10, 2022 Posted January 10, 2022 Just now, KvHulk said: Dexter: New Blood - What a colossal waste of time. I was thinking about this show today and thought I might need to start it sometime. I finished the original series, but I know some who didn't. Now I'm moving it out of my mind again. Quote
Alpinemaps Posted January 10, 2022 Posted January 10, 2022 Just finished listening to Ronan Farrow’s 7 episode Podcast “Catch and Kill” that goes into his reporting on Harvey Weinstein My complaint is Harvey. He is filthy. He is a disgusting human being. 80+ woman came forward to detail the assaults and rapes committed against them. He is vile and my anxiety shot through the roof just listening to it. It’s a fantastic podcast. But Harvey himself can just die. 4 Quote
BrickLegacy Posted January 11, 2022 Posted January 11, 2022 This SEC championship game is a drag Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
BricksBrotha Posted January 11, 2022 Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) I'd like to start a movement that we start calling people like Harvey, a raper. Rapist is too closely related to distinguished words like Artist, Scientist, Psychologist, Dentist, Phlebotomist, Ophthalmologist, etc.. It should be more closely related to words like murderer, killer, abuser, cheater, etc. I will be using the term Raper from now on to help the movement. Harvey is nothing but a sicko raper. 💩 Edited January 11, 2022 by BricksBrotha typo 3 Quote
KShine Posted January 11, 2022 Posted January 11, 2022 19 hours ago, Alpinemaps said: My complaint is Harvey. He is filthy. He is a disgusting human being. 80+ woman came forward to detail the assaults and rapes committed against them. He is vile and my anxiety shot through the roof just listening to it. What is amazing is that everyone knew, and would simply laugh about it openly (while continuing to show him honor/respect). Weinstein was/is a truly sick monster. But this movement has grouped every powerful man who pursued sexual encounters into monsters, which much more often than not was not the reality of what took place. Quote
Darth_Raichu Posted January 11, 2022 Posted January 11, 2022 19 minutes ago, KShine said: What is amazing is that everyone knew, and would simply laugh about it openly (while continuing to show him honor/respect). Weinstein was/is a truly sick monster. But this movement has grouped every powerful man who pursued sexual encounters into monsters, which much more often than not was not the reality of what took place. Worse, they profited over the situation by getting more money, fame, and/or power. From Meryl Streep to Kevin Smith and everyone in that sick industry Quote
Darth_Raichu Posted January 11, 2022 Posted January 11, 2022 On 1/9/2022 at 7:12 PM, Mark Twain said: RIP Bob Saget. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Sad, just a few months after his best friend, Norm Macdonald (RIP). His eulogy for Norm was heartbreaking. It is somewhere on Youtube. Little known fact (or is it widely known?), his potrayal of calm mannered Danny Tanner on Full House was complete 180 from his stand ups. I listened to 1 of his specials a while back and it was filthy AF. 2 Quote
fuzzy_bricks Posted January 11, 2022 Posted January 11, 2022 1 hour ago, BricksBrotha said: I'd like to start a movement that we start calling people like Harvey, a raper. Rapist is too closely related to distinguished words like Artist, Scientist, Psychologist, Dentist, Phlebotomist, Ophthalmologist, etc.. It should be more closely related to words like murderer, killer, abuser, cheater, etc. I will be using the term Raper from now on to help the movement. Harvey is nothing but a sicko raper. 💩 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.