Was also thinking "tulip mania." But hey, maybe it's a new virtual collectible good. Various trading cards, CS gun skins, and EVE ships don't have any inherent value either.
These numbers are of little importance. What do people with lots of unoccupied land around them think about net neutrality? That's the most important statistic in American democracy.
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." - John Rogers
Seriously, anything by Ayn Rand is the last thing a teenager should read. It's the terrible advice you could get at an impressionable age from that kid that all the adults agree you shouldn't hang out with, dressed up with big words, bound in a respectable-looking book, and coming from an "adult." It's an old man in a lab coat giving you heroin in a pharmacist's bottle.
Less government power doesn't make crony capitalism less powerful, it just makes it different. Rather than abusing patents and government contracts, companies become more monopolistic, environmentally and socially irresponsible, and exploitative.
Crony capitalism doesn't seem to be any easier to fight back against than communism. Both have been defeated but only one has a habit of repeatedly returning after it appears to have been defeated, like a cancer. Defeating specific instances where a politician that can be voted out is involved means little, it's hardly more of a threat than a revolt under communism. Politicians are far from directly involved in most situations where crony capitalism screws the public - no politician could do anything about Turing Pharmaceuticals' price gouging other than waste an exec's time while he openly mocked the politicians' impotence to their faces.
Crony capitalism is to the free market as totalitarianism is to communism - the former is the seemingly inevitable practical outcome of attempts to establish the latter, to the point that separating the concepts is a purely academic pursuit.
Netflix and cable subscribers are now, almost by definition, people who are too lazy/wealthy/unskilled to pirate things, and they're not going to drop their subscription because they could see one show early for free. Holding a blockbuster movie for ransom, on the other hand, would make a lot of sense.
Angrily posting barely-coherent tweets Committing sexual assault (AKA "grabbin' pussy" without consent) Screwing over small businesses The meaning of "covfefe" How to make casinos go bankrupt
I agree with the concept of increasing taxation on corporations as automation increases to fund UBI, but a "robot tax" seems like an incredibly ham-fisted way to do it. The complexity of it is staggering - every (new?) robot would now be a taxpayer that someone has to do taxes for and the government would have to keep track of. It would also incentivize jurisdiction shopping - country X imposed a robot tax? Move factory to country Y. Maybe just put the factory on a barge and change flags as required.
Just close loopholes and adjust income and corporate taxes to suit. It doesn't have to be complicated.
By itself, no, but it's the first link in a chain of government incentives that ends with subsidies for renewable energy and EVs, and those absolutely do make a difference in people's purchases. Tesla sales aren't going to eat dirt tomorrow, but the effects will eventually hit the consumer, and they will be long-lasting. There will be as much lag as fixing this as there is in breaking it.
So you think a giant wealthy country's reduced demand for renewable energy tech will have no negative effect on their own renewable energy industry? Will Elon personally buy all the solar roofs and electric cars needed to make up the shortfall?
The next President can just opt right back in, and the US has given every other country on Earth a head start on renewable energy tech.
Really, the only downside is increased CO2 emissions hastening the effects of global warming. Oh and I guess job losses and your country being a laughing stock, if you're an American.
I partly agree. I think that there should be a price ceiling for subsidies on electric cars, for example it should only apply to cars under $35k. That way you'd still be subsidising electric cars but not expensive luxury electric cars that rich people don't need help affording.
This is the same DNC that corruptly threw Bernie under the bus to provide a clear path for Hillary. They did everything they could to get her elected. If they deserve any kind of blame for causing her loss, it should be for pushing such an unpopular candidate into the presidential elections in the first place.
This. The BA outage is the second most hilariously inept cause of an outage I've ever seen, after a local government office that was down for over a week because one rackmount server was dropped in transit.
This. The US' decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement will harm all of Earth's countries, but none so much and so soon as the US. They've just given up any chance at leadership in the renewable power industry.
I'll be shocked if he makes it to the end of his term at this point, but impeachment proceedings don't move fast enough for him to be out before Thanksgiving.
Slashdot Mirror
Was also thinking "tulip mania." But hey, maybe it's a new virtual collectible good. Various trading cards, CS gun skins, and EVE ships don't have any inherent value either.
These numbers are of little importance. What do people with lots of unoccupied land around them think about net neutrality? That's the most important statistic in American democracy.
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." - John Rogers
Seriously, anything by Ayn Rand is the last thing a teenager should read. It's the terrible advice you could get at an impressionable age from that kid that all the adults agree you shouldn't hang out with, dressed up with big words, bound in a respectable-looking book, and coming from an "adult." It's an old man in a lab coat giving you heroin in a pharmacist's bottle.
Less government power doesn't make crony capitalism less powerful, it just makes it different. Rather than abusing patents and government contracts, companies become more monopolistic, environmentally and socially irresponsible, and exploitative.
Crony capitalism doesn't seem to be any easier to fight back against than communism. Both have been defeated but only one has a habit of repeatedly returning after it appears to have been defeated, like a cancer. Defeating specific instances where a politician that can be voted out is involved means little, it's hardly more of a threat than a revolt under communism. Politicians are far from directly involved in most situations where crony capitalism screws the public - no politician could do anything about Turing Pharmaceuticals' price gouging other than waste an exec's time while he openly mocked the politicians' impotence to their faces.
A DIY option is the EpiPencil:
https://fourthievesvinegar.org...
Crony capitalism is to the free market as totalitarianism is to communism - the former is the seemingly inevitable practical outcome of attempts to establish the latter, to the point that separating the concepts is a purely academic pursuit.
Netflix and cable subscribers are now, almost by definition, people who are too lazy/wealthy/unskilled to pirate things, and they're not going to drop their subscription because they could see one show early for free. Holding a blockbuster movie for ransom, on the other hand, would make a lot of sense.
I'm guessing Verizon hasn't been doing as well as other ISPs at making shady backroom deals with landlords.
You're wrong, re-read the quote - he said that women let you grab their pussy, when you're famous.
What's the difference? That's committing sexual assault from a position of authority. A position of authority is not consent.
Obama had no say in the running of Solyndra and never claimed to be a great businessman, so that's a pointless red herring.
Things Trump understands:
Angrily posting barely-coherent tweets
Committing sexual assault (AKA "grabbin' pussy" without consent)
Screwing over small businesses
The meaning of "covfefe"
How to make casinos go bankrupt
I agree with the concept of increasing taxation on corporations as automation increases to fund UBI, but a "robot tax" seems like an incredibly ham-fisted way to do it. The complexity of it is staggering - every (new?) robot would now be a taxpayer that someone has to do taxes for and the government would have to keep track of. It would also incentivize jurisdiction shopping - country X imposed a robot tax? Move factory to country Y. Maybe just put the factory on a barge and change flags as required.
Just close loopholes and adjust income and corporate taxes to suit. It doesn't have to be complicated.
Maybe Poe effect. It's damn near impossible to tell anymore.
Foreign aid from US to Mexico per year: $320M
Estimated cost of Trump's useless monument to xenophobia in the desert: $12B~$67B
Estimated increase in wall maintenance costs: $150m/yr
Time foreign aid needs to be withheld: 70~394yrs
What are the odds it would be 70 years before some future President demolishes the wall as a symbolic goodwill gesture?
By itself, no, but it's the first link in a chain of government incentives that ends with subsidies for renewable energy and EVs, and those absolutely do make a difference in people's purchases. Tesla sales aren't going to eat dirt tomorrow, but the effects will eventually hit the consumer, and they will be long-lasting. There will be as much lag as fixing this as there is in breaking it.
Millions? That's at least 2500% growth in coal jobs! Don't you think that's a bit optimistic?
So you think a giant wealthy country's reduced demand for renewable energy tech will have no negative effect on their own renewable energy industry? Will Elon personally buy all the solar roofs and electric cars needed to make up the shortfall?
The next President can just opt right back in, and the US has given every other country on Earth a head start on renewable energy tech.
Really, the only downside is increased CO2 emissions hastening the effects of global warming. Oh and I guess job losses and your country being a laughing stock, if you're an American.
By this logic, the top 3 most productive and best countries to live in on Earth are Qatar, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Netherlands Antilles. Sweden at #74 and France at #65 must be poverty-ridden hellholes.
I partly agree. I think that there should be a price ceiling for subsidies on electric cars, for example it should only apply to cars under $35k. That way you'd still be subsidising electric cars but not expensive luxury electric cars that rich people don't need help affording.
This is the same DNC that corruptly threw Bernie under the bus to provide a clear path for Hillary. They did everything they could to get her elected. If they deserve any kind of blame for causing her loss, it should be for pushing such an unpopular candidate into the presidential elections in the first place.
I can see how they might think that, but coordinated action among the few big ISPs in the US could convince them to think differently...
This. The BA outage is the second most hilariously inept cause of an outage I've ever seen, after a local government office that was down for over a week because one rackmount server was dropped in transit.
This. The US' decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement will harm all of Earth's countries, but none so much and so soon as the US. They've just given up any chance at leadership in the renewable power industry.
I'll be shocked if he makes it to the end of his term at this point, but impeachment proceedings don't move fast enough for him to be out before Thanksgiving.
China races to the technological singularity while the US races to the end-state of capitalism.