And also the little fact that we no longer manufacture anything that any other country wants to buy. The entire international exchange value of the dollar is based on a more or less explicit threat. Sell oil in any other currency, and the Air Force will bomb your cities and massacre your people. (Obviously that threat doesn't really work against big countries like China...)
You correctly observe the number of dollars in circulation has been steadily increasing. Yet while that was happening the economic basis of the dollar - the real economic activity the fiat currency is meant to represent - has been steadily shrinking.
After a couple decades of this, now we're left with a hollowed out economy that is reverting back to pre-capitalist (neofeudal) forms. Ownership has become the only thing that matters - skill and labor have become comparatively worthless.
And that's what the pious outrage over Airbnb is all about. Landowners are socially enraged that renters - goddamned deplorable plebian *renters* - are able to make money by applying labor to land.
The law is a whore - in Soviet America we have the best justice money can buy. So I fully expect the landowners to win this battle. Airbnb won't be fully killed, it'll just be suppressed like it was in SF. Only landowners will be allowed to have an Airbnb. They'll do a shitty job and charge high prices, as is their nature.
Some day in the future people will look because and fondly remember the golden age of Airbnb, which is/was a sort of golden age for travel. We'll look back, shake our heads, and sigh: "I remember Freedom..."
Dunce. NO ONE outside the ruling class supported the manifestly unpatriotic "Patriot Act". Civil liberties advocates, including gun rights advocates, least of all.
That a universally recognized badlaw easily passed in the legislature - and to this day continues to oppress the people - is but evidence of the rot of our democracy and the decline of the republic.
Alas it seems those who advocate for tyranny are almost never people who have studied the history of previous tyrannies. Let's just say, Beria did not die peacefully in his sleep.
Where I'm living now, in Ho Chi Minh City, motorbikes are the primary form of transport. The bikes are fun, quite fuel efficient, and usually a quick way to get to your destination. Except at rush hour, when a 2 mile trip takes over an hour.
It's not the worst form of transport, but there are major downsides. The air pollution is godawful, riding a motorbike is much more dangerous than driving a car, and rain storms slow the city to a crawl. Then there's the matter of peak capacity mentioned above.
If you've never ridden a tiny motorcycle at 3km/h in a dense crowd of thousands and thousands of commuters - try it! It's a terribly slow, mephitic, dangerous, and unpleasant way to get where you're going. But it's quite an interesting cultural experience.
Slashdot Mirror
Lick those boots!
Please stop talking about Adam Smith if you've never read his book. And it's quite about you (and 95% of people who talk about him) never have.
1318: "Don't worry, God will sort it out."
2018: "Don't worry, the Market will sort it out."
Ahhhhhh, Progress!
And also the little fact that we no longer manufacture anything that any other country wants to buy. The entire international exchange value of the dollar is based on a more or less explicit threat. Sell oil in any other currency, and the Air Force will bomb your cities and massacre your people. (Obviously that threat doesn't really work against big countries like China...)
You correctly observe the number of dollars in circulation has been steadily increasing. Yet while that was happening the economic basis of the dollar - the real economic activity the fiat currency is meant to represent - has been steadily shrinking.
After a couple decades of this, now we're left with a hollowed out economy that is reverting back to pre-capitalist (neofeudal) forms. Ownership has become the only thing that matters - skill and labor have become comparatively worthless.
And that's what the pious outrage over Airbnb is all about. Landowners are socially enraged that renters - goddamned deplorable plebian *renters* - are able to make money by applying labor to land.
The law is a whore - in Soviet America we have the best justice money can buy. So I fully expect the landowners to win this battle. Airbnb won't be fully killed, it'll just be suppressed like it was in SF. Only landowners will be allowed to have an Airbnb. They'll do a shitty job and charge high prices, as is their nature.
Some day in the future people will look because and fondly remember the golden age of Airbnb, which is/was a sort of golden age for travel. We'll look back, shake our heads, and sigh: "I remember Freedom..."
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." - Tacitus
Good morning, Agent Smith! How's the weather in Fort Meade today?
Dunce. NO ONE outside the ruling class supported the manifestly unpatriotic "Patriot Act". Civil liberties advocates, including gun rights advocates, least of all.
That a universally recognized badlaw easily passed in the legislature - and to this day continues to oppress the people - is but evidence of the rot of our democracy and the decline of the republic.
Oh my brother, how right you are.
Alas it seems those who advocate for tyranny are almost never people who have studied the history of previous tyrannies. Let's just say, Beria did not die peacefully in his sleep.
Lick those boots!
You sound like an excellent candidate for censorship!
You either have freedom of speech, or you don't. Germany does not.
If you know any intersectionalists, please tell them I know of a lovely intersection for them to stand in. Ideally at rush hour.
2/3 absolute truth, 1/3 idiotic racism.
Wow, that's creepy as fuck.
left = right = center = authoritarian financialist
People who support censorship of views they dislike do no deserve their own freedom of speech.
Pray tell, where might I find one of these healthy republics?
In Soviet America innocence is proof of guilt!
Where I'm living now, in Ho Chi Minh City, motorbikes are the primary form of transport. The bikes are fun, quite fuel efficient, and usually a quick way to get to your destination. Except at rush hour, when a 2 mile trip takes over an hour.
It's not the worst form of transport, but there are major downsides. The air pollution is godawful, riding a motorbike is much more dangerous than driving a car, and rain storms slow the city to a crawl. Then there's the matter of peak capacity mentioned above.
If you've never ridden a tiny motorcycle at 3km/h in a dense crowd of thousands and thousands of commuters - try it! It's a terribly slow, mephitic, dangerous, and unpleasant way to get where you're going. But it's quite an interesting cultural experience.
Get real. Riding in the slave wagons ("company buses") will be an at-your-own-risk endeavor.
San Francisco is one of the great sewers if humanity. Enjoy all the shit!
It's those goddamned Martians, mostly.
My brother, I have long appreciated your comments. So I can only assume this is meant with... levity.
If not - are you on crack?
Bumpkin. Live in a real city for a while then tell me how that private transport is working for you.
You can't disable it. That's the point.