[quote who="Turchany" reply="93" id="3421795"] It's like democracy, many know it is not the best, but there is no better choice currently.[/quote] By definition if there are no better choices, then the one you have made is the best.
[quote who="Turchany" reply="93" id="3421795"] It's partially true. I don't really think the third world countries agree with you that their life got better when capitalism reached their territories. They were fine before the arrival of Europeans.. Just like native Americans. [/quote] Capitalism has done more to improve the quality of life of 3rd world nations than anything else in history. I guess you can dispute it, but let's see some facts and figu
[quote who="Borg999" reply="91" id="3421786"] Capitalism is the most effective system. But it is a tool, and a tool can be abused. The solution isn't to eliminate capitalism, but to identify and remove the abusers. However, our current political system either ignores or rewards abusive behavior. And therein lies the problem.[/quote] This may be the first time we've ever agreed. The problem is that we won't agree on the root cause of the problem, who is
[quote who="Jafo" reply="78" id="3421672"] Quoting Kantok, reply 74There's at least 8 things that beat out starvation. Why aren't we fighting those first? Just FYI....reread my comments. I never said it was easy...I said it was IMPOSSIBLE thanks to the mechanics of economy. Those 8 things you list.... onset due to the reality of the 9th. It's about as arguable as saying...100% of deaths are caused by people who stop breathing.<br
[quote who="GeomanNL" reply="85" id="3421772"] In the Netherlands there are many rules to protect people. It's a matter of organization - if people in Bangla Desh would organize and demand better working conditions, then they will get the better conditions (employers have no choice). Of course they risk getting fired, because maybe the cheap factories will move elsewhere. Whether they want to take that risk or not, I think that is their own responsibility and n
[quote who="Turchany" reply="81" id="3421732"] I think there is a solution (there must be..), but not in this neoliberal globalized capitalistic world, where money is the new religion and people don't give a f*ck about the others (the majority of developed world society members). Everyhing that matters today are money, money, and more interestingly, money. Noone cares how many millions die each day, because they don't really influence the financial world. [/quote] Th
[quote who="Borg999" reply="84" id="3421769"] It is vital for passive investment income shareholders to get every last red (white and blue) cent due to them! Therefore Factory owners should be under no obligation to keep their facilities safe and in working order. Any money spent on such frivoluos safety requirements takes money away from the shareholders. If a factory ceiling falls on your head it's you own darn fault! You shouldn't have been in the buildi
[quote who="Ekko_Tek" reply="1266" id="3421691"] Actually, for the 2012 season the NOAA (as well as the roughly 1 dozen other organizations that prepare forecasts/predictions) under predicted the activity fairly significantly. Skill is determined in averages over decades though, not single year forecasts. Hopefully they'll get more accurate over time - it's definitely a complex thing to be attempting to predict. I'm not sure how you make the leap from predicting the fut
[quote who="Ekko_Tek" reply="1264" id="3421683"] To be more specific, for the 2013 season, the NOAA predicted 13-17 named storms (13 were actual) and 7-10 hurricanes (2 were actual). So? [/quote] Actually the predictions (actual) were 13-20 (13), 7-11 (2), 3-6 (0) - Named Storms, Hurricanes, Major Hurricanes. So we had essentially the average number of named storms and significantly below the average for both hurricanes and major hurricanes. This after NOA
[quote who="jecy99" reply="75" id="3421659"] Cutting subsidies to factory farms, and going back to local growers, in local economies would reduce strain on nature resources, (water mainly) along with reducing the toxic effects of modern mass farming. This will need to change and change soon. the question is will it be quick enough before things really bad start to happen. btw, i'm not anti corporate, i am anti bad corporate, which can be really hard ot figure out these days. We
[quote who="Borg999" reply="73" id="3421647"] The solution is really quite simple. Give all the money and resources to the wealthy and allow them to do with it what ever they want, however they want, and to who ever they want. They must be able to operate with complete impunity, So deregulate everything. No consumer protection, no employee safety standards, no environmental protections, heck just no gov't to get in the way of profi
[quote who="Jafo" reply="72" id="3421635"] While such bullshit economics is allowed to continue....people will be allowed to starve. The bottom line is simply that. The bottom line.[/quote] Sure, let us, the "West", dedicate ourselves to preventing starvation everywhere. Including voluntarily incurring all of the costs that idea brings and all of the fighting it would entail to ensure safe delivery of the food everywhere that starvation exists. Questi
[quote who="Daiwa" reply="1262" id="3421651"] It's now official.[/quote] Bah! It's a Tea Party conspiracy funded by Koch brothers money and given cover by Fox News. It can't possibly be that the "experts" and their "models" got it completely wrong, can it? For reference: NOAA Prediction <a href="http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/sto
Is this being set up as an active fund that openly looks for investment opportunities that meets its goals (furthering indie gaming, TBS gaming or whatever) or is it a more passive vehicle where you'll direct investment as you see things that catch your interest? Disclaimer: I'm not looking to pitch an idea or anything. Just curious how you plan to run the fund beyond what was available in the article and the few announcements that have been made.  
[quote who="Jafo" reply="72" id="3421631"] Thanks, guys...the last several comments raised a smile.... I have a feeling many of you should hop on a plane to Oz and see what you're missing out on. No, we don't have Roos as pets....and Drop Bears may or may not be real.....you don't need magnetic boots to cling to the underside of the planet....[/quote] Spent over a month there and loved it. Would like to take my wife at some point. <
[quote who="Ekko_Tek" reply="70" id="3421622"] Really? In what way did the American Revolution make a big difference. Or rather, "a big difference" in what way? It sounds like you are trying to say a constitution born of revolution is superior to a democratic constitution that arose from non-violent means. Is that what you are saying?[/quote] If I had to guess, and I'm sure that DrGuy will correct me if he disagrees, he means that societies that fought and died for their righ
[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="67" id="3421573"] How's that free speech of yours? Can you talk about the carbon tax yet?[/quote] I'm not sure about carbon tax but I'm pretty sure they still can't play Saints Row 4 because the "expert" masters of society decided cartoon anal probe weapons were a threat. I guess once they solved guns that was next on the existential threats to society list.
[quote who="Jafo" reply="64" id="3421418"] The ONLY reason it won't work/isn't happening...is that it is more economically viable to landfill it than to transport it. There IS NO other logistical reason.[/quote] While I agree with your underlying sentiment about helping other nations or people in need, there are other factors at play. If you don't believe me, we can all chip in and buy you a large shipment of food, fly you to Somolia, and give you a
[quote who="smeagolheart" reply="67" id="3421548"] Way way back in the day, tribes of people lived by hunting and gathering their food. Once food was able to be mass produced and stored they could focus their lives on other things. These farmers will get other jobs and develop new skills.[/quote] So when this discussion comes back around to free trade agreements and the evil destruction of American manufacturing we should expect you to be on the side
[quote who="smeagolheart" reply="58" id="3421093"] Quoting Kantok, reply 50 If the CEO in your company isn't legitimately among the hardest workers in the company, get out and find a new job because the place is going downhill. Any CEO worth a damn works harder than just about anyone else at the company. I set up the examples for a scenario. I never claimed to be speaking for the average factory worker or the average
[quote who="smeagolheart" reply="47" id="3420700"] I don't agree with the entirety of the first paragraph there. CEO's aren't some villain but hardest working person in the company is something I'd like to explore. If factory worker X works 80 hours a week on minimum wage polishing widgits to meet quota is he working less hard than the CEO of the company who works 80 hours a week? Should his salary be 1026 times the salary of the factory
[quote who="smeagolheart" reply="45" id="3420668"] That's why it's refreshing to hear about Costco and their refusal to pay their workers only minimum wage despite repeated shareholder requests in order to maximize profits. Even though their competitors are paying minimum wage for the type of work that employees at Costco are doing. So you know, despite the market's labor rate. [/quote] That's great (legitimately, I mean that),
[quote who="smeagolheart" reply="41" id="3420597"] The CEO can justify working your minimum wage staff over thanksgiving while you enjoy the holidays because everyone else out there is doing it. [/quote] A few things. 1. The CEO doesn't determine your labor rate, the market does. The CEO (or really the company he works for) must pay something close to the market rate to attract you to do that particular job. 2. The
[quote who="Chasbo" reply="40" id="3420587"] Take Detroit for example. The media would lead you to believe that the problems there are all the fault of greedy workers but in reality the city got involved with a few big banks that fleeced everybody blind [/quote] Actually, Detroit's problems stem from twenty year rule by a racist thug mayor who did everything possible to drive white people, who were predominantly middle class, out of the city. Combine th
Just to expound on Friedman's negative income tax for those who don't know it. There are several versions, but this is the simplest. The idea is that you figure out a poverty limit per person. The government then ensures that everyone reaches that limit every year. If it's $25,000 per person and you only make $12,000, then you get a check from the government for $13,000 (either annually or split up quarterly). If you are above the poverty lim