Richard gives a good rant.  A strange title, but Richard did not make the video.  The audio was likely ripped from Democracy at Work on Richards Economic Update show.  https://www.youtube.com/@democracyatwrk

The ripped off audio was then paired with stock footage.  My take-away is that people are clueless.  I already know it.  My clulelessness is that I forget that people are clueless.  I underestimate the magnitude of the problem.

Here is a video from Economic Update:


Worsening Economic Inequality Yields Worsening Social Conditions

In 2009, the bestselling and award winning book, The Spirit Level, sounded the alarm on the corrosive effects of economic injustice. At a time when few academics were exploring this issue the book provided a comprehensive analysis linking the negative effects of inequality to a wide range of social ills – from higher rates of imprisonment and mental health issues to eroded trust within society. It revolutionised the way we looked at, measured and understood the impacts of inequality.

I have been beating the same drum for decades.  Inequality ruins normal human relations.  It is one of the pillars on which my socialism is built.

Quote from: K-Dog on Dec 17, 2024, 02:33 PM

QuoteThey are rich because they worked hard, in a different way then you, better than you in that they found an angle, and worked it, and leveraged it, and presto! Became exactly like you...except they did it better.

And now...no one had better touch my German taxi cabs because by God my boss at the big box store knows I am DA MAN when it comes to success above his hourly rate once upon a time!

Insulting me gets you three days in the cooler.  Enjoy it.

If by "insulting" you mean pointing out a personally touchy subject of the "working man" ethos and your place in it, I don't understand why you shouldn't be proud of and wear on your sleeve the idea of being an honestly rich American communist. Seriously, how many of those can there be in the country?

But does it really take TWO luxury cars to make sure the other neighborhood millionaires notice that you are like them, and not grubby "less equal" working folks in the neighborhood?

I'm far more comfortable avoiding the type of ..... scenario.... I've just described. Comes from having grown up differently I imagine, and not having anything in me that demands I be recognized for my success. Except that one ego-stroking thing though (don't we all have at least one?  )

Why the personal sensitivity? This is a microscopic website with nobody here, it makes sense that if you are looking for attention in a flashy way IRL it doesn't matter at all here among the geriatic league, or defending yourself for liking said attention IRL either.

Drive, enjoy, (just don't get too far from a Benz dealer), wave at the neighbors while doing so to make sure they know who is DA-DOG when it comes to neighborhood status, and enjoy! No need to be prickly about it here in the least.

Quotejust don't get too far from a Benz dealer

I'm confined to the West Coast.  It cost me $500 to have it shipped from Missoula to have it fixed in Seattle when the transmission went into 'limp home' mode.  I was stuck in second gear.

Quote from: K-Dog on Dec 21, 2024, 10:13 PM

Quotejust don't get too far from a Benz dealer

I'm confined to the West Coast.

See, that idea would just make me crazy. If my cage with naught much more than a new oil change can't do Key West to Prudhoe Bay and back, or Chula Vista California to Goose Bay Labrador, it wouldn't be of value for anything to me. I have a car like that, I use it as a snowmobile in winter, and it does its job admirably. If its breaks, I have it towed to my mechanic and he does whatever, and back in action it goes.  But all the rest (except the EV, it doesn't have the range) are North American capable, north-south, east-west, with an oil change.

My current machine is a record holder for the lowest Miles Driven / $CapX Invested metric. Analog car, built in the last century, fixable in any repair shop in the country should some quarter century old part crap out, remanufactured engines and transmissions available from multiple companies, has a decent tow capacity and a Class III hitch to do it with, gets excellent mileage for a V8, holds as much crap as I can load in it, is smooth and quiet on the road, sits right at peak torque in overdrive at 85-90 mph, and the only downside is it doesn't do snow. Big deal, I have no intention of roaming the West or much of any other place in North America in winter.

Bought it to do a job. It does it. Wife hates it. Who cares. She says it makes us look poor in the neighborhood. Who cares. It smells like old dead people she says (prior owner must have been in her 80's when she was car jacked in it). I fumigated it. Body on frame construction, old school style, frame is fully boxed and came from a truck, it doesn't crumple on impact...it does the crumpling.

I'm only confined to non snowy roads.

Quote from: K-DogIt cost me $500 to have it shipped from Missoula to have it fixed in Seattle when the transmission went into 'limp home' mode.  I was stuck in second gear.

A modern car, doing exactly what it was taught to do.