kingston NY residents win rent DECREASE

[asher2789]

your points on human nature arent accurate either. human nature up until the agricultural age (the majority of human history) relied heavily upon cooperation. we are on the top of the food chain because we are a social species who learned from each other to create and use tools and make fire.

Are you seriously comparing early human societal development to the humans that developed from them? Yes, we are a social species (sometimes way too social - as in tribal) but we are also animals at the most basic level; animals that develop pecking orders, alpha behaviors, etc.

with the introduction of agriculture came the introduction of bean counters, greed and by extension the divine right of kings to enforce it all, which in some form or another was "human nature" up until the enlightenment. during enlightenment capitalism was born, (over)throwing away the divine right of kings and establishing the beginning of liberal representative democracy. the leaders of the enlightenment thought that a form of government could be devised that had checks and balances to prevent corruption, selfishness and greed. but even in the structure of government they made sure to maintain class order and protect class interests (capital) of the upper class - look to the US senate here or the house of lords in england for example. and of course, our longstanding history in this country as seeing black people as less than - at one point, 3/5 of a white person. our very government structure is inherently flawed and designed intentionally this way to keep yesterdays landed gentry and todays billionaires in power.

All of this is part of human development. Greed is human nature. Capitalism is merely the best system we humans have developed (so far) to improve the human condition. It is not perfect as humans are not perfect. We regulate capitalism to limit human greed.

Democracy as a concept developed out of the enlightenment but only really formed here in America as an experiment in self-government, and it is constantly evolving. As a form of government, it does not require the economic system we call capitalism; rather, a capitalist economy eventually requires some form of democracy to succeed and grow. Democracies are not perfect either but they do allow for course correction through the ballot box. Dictatorships have no such ability and eventually fall of their own weight and their inherent corruption.

LOL no they do not offer course correction through the ballot box. between the DNC putting their finger on the scale (how many coin tosses can one win at a caucus before one starts questioning the coin?) for the 2016 primary because it was HER TURN (and then in 2020 all of the primary candidates conveniently quitting and supporting biden ahead of super tuesday with the exception of warren to split the progressive vote - that totally wasnt a coordinated effort to undermine the sanders campaign) to bush and co stealing the election from gore (with multiple brooks brothers rioters presently on the supreme court) to the insane and unconstitutional gerrymandering in many states.. no we do not have the ability to vote our way out of this because the voting itself is rigged and has been for a while. voting at the federal level is essentially pointless and is only moderately representative at the state/local level, and even then if you start digging you realize that most local politicians are real estate investors and have a financial incentive to maintain the status quo. the republicans havent won the popular vote since bush 1... who was president when i was born. NO. we dont have a democracy. we dont have a representative democracy. we have the facade of a democracy and people have been brainwashed for so long they dont even question it.

even if our electoral systems werent rigged it still doesnt matter because we have the choice of capitalist liberals or capitalist conservatives, both of which are pro capital, anti worker, anti libertarian, owned by the banks and corporate conglomerates, pro big government and telling people what they can and cant do with their bodies. if you remove the far right christian fascists from the republican party (which is now probably half the party, with the other half going along with it for power) and you remove the small handful of democratic socialists from the democratic party you would be left with pro capital "moderates" who are virtually indistinguishable from each other on the real issues like workers rights and foreign policy. on the economy they wanna give tax cuts to businesses and raise taxes on working people.

capitalist economies do not need democracy, in fact they eat democracies by capturing regulation. russia's state capitalism is a great example of a non-democracy with capitalist features.

"Dictatorships have no such ability and eventually fall of their own weight and their inherent corruption."
so will this house of cards we have as a country. american exceptionalism at its finest is thinking our government is immune to historical trends like empires collapsing after ~250 years or so. like the divine right of kings the worship of capital will also fall.

you bring up that we are animals, but it is our cooperation with each other for the greater good that separates us from most animals. and from the dawn of time to the agricultural age humans cooperated to survive, and that is still seen in the small nomadic hunter gatherer societies that still exist today around the world. indigenous groups are often less hierarchical in their function than larger society.

[easyrider16]

were not talking about the past when the space programs were government funded against the soviet competitors. we're talking about NOW, which is a mostly privatized system led by dick-rocket launching billionaires with space conquering ambitions. so yeah, billionaire dick suck is an appropriate criticism since you believe in the hopium that technology (built, funded and ran privately by billionaires) is going to save us.

You still don't get it. It is not about who pays for the technological advances, it is about the effect they have on the economy. Such advances enable us to do more with less, and this is something that has been happening for hundreds of years. Yet you have dismissed this concept out of hand because you're too angry and closed-minded to actually try and understand what I'm saying.

Karl Marx created one of the greatest critiques of capitalism because he understood it well, and many of his critiques were heard and heeded by people around the world. It is important to understand the thing you want to criticize, but you don't seem to understand how capitalism works.

and yeah, im angry and i have every right to be. the unchecked greed of previous generations f*** over current and future ones.

It seems to me that most of your economic problems are self-inflicted, and thus your anger is misdirected.

It also seems strange to me that someone who has been so blessed with economic good fortune is this angry. You are able to get regular meals, yes? Afford shelter and clothes? You own a car, probably? And some type of computer or phone with internet access? And you can afford to ski regularly, and probably much moreso than most? By the standards of the world you are rich. That you seem not to be satisfied with these riches makes you appear just as greedy as the people you try to criticize. It seems as if you are looking at those around you with more wealth and you covet it, and are angry that you don't have it. Yet the only difference I see between them and you is that you are not as good at acquiring surplus riches as they are.

[deadheadskier]

It's pretty easy to research what jobs pay and where they're located and what the cost of living is in those locations.

Then it's just a matter of being honest with yourself about where you strengths lie and finding the right fit in life.

IMO, even in this country today, most people who struggle do so because of their own poor choices.

That's you Asher. You mostly have yourself to blame for your struggles. You said you are mid-30s? I went back to school at 37 to change the direction of my life because I was unfulfilled in the work I was doing and what I was being paid. My only regret is not making better choices when I was 20 such that I didn't have to start over. It was MY FAULT that I was where I was requiring a reset. Not society or capitalism. MY CHOICES

You're never going to see improvement in your life until you take some ownership of why you are struggling

[Bubba]

It's pretty easy to research what jobs pay and where they're located and what the cost of living is in those locations.

Then it's just a matter of being honest with yourself about where you strengths lie and finding the right fit in life.

IMO, even in this country today, most people who struggle do so because of their own poor choices.

That's you Asher. You mostly have yourself to blame for your struggles. You said you are mid-30s? I went back to school at 37 to change the direction of my life because I was unfulfilled in the work I was doing and what I was being paid. My only regret is not making better choices when I was 20 such that I didn't have to start over. It was MY FAULT that I was where I was requiring a reset. Not society or capitalism. MY CHOICES

You're never going to see improvement in your life until you take some ownership of why you are struggling

There is only one thing in Asher’s life (at least as described by her on KZone) that is not her choice and that is her sexuality, for which she has been targeted during her younger life. That appears to be the root of her anger. The rest is her choice, including the choice to stay angry.

[deadheadskier]

That's fair. And I'll also admit that as a white male from a middle class family, I am in the demographic that has the easiest path.

That said I have numerous minority friends, gay friends and coworkers who have achieved great success and they did so because of hard work and making the right informed choices

[easyrider16]

There is no doubt that some of Asher's criticisms of our system are well-founded. There definitely are inequities that could and should be addressed, and there are definitely market failures in some areas (like health care, housing, and higher education). But it's equally true that the system we have now has produced the greatest social mobility and economic opportunity for the citizens who live within it than any other in history. It would be foolish to throw all that away just because the system has flaws.

[asher2789]

There is no doubt that some of Asher's criticisms of our system are well-founded. There definitely are inequities that could and should be addressed, and there are definitely market failures in some areas (like health care, housing, and higher education). But it's equally true that the system we have now has produced the greatest social mobility and economic opportunity for the citizenswho live within it than any other in history. It would be foolish to throw all that away just because the system has flaws.

complete f*** lie. the US isnt even in the top 20. (it ranks 27) the system is beyond flawed and is incompatible with earth itself, and im really sick and tired of brainwashed boomers gaslighting the ever loving hell out of people (mainly millennials) who point out FACTS. at least some of my criticisms are well founded. peel back the layers of the onion and maybe youll learn how wrong your assumptions are. everything boils down to capitalism itself. FACTS.

https://www.weforum.org/reports/global- ... inequality

[asher2789]

It's pretty easy to research what jobs pay and where they're located and what the cost of living is in those locations.

Then it's just a matter of being honest with yourself about where you strengths lie and finding the right fit in life.

IMO, even in this country today, most people who struggle do so because of their own poor choices.

That's you Asher. You mostly have yourself to blame for your struggles. You said you are mid-30s? I went back to school at 37 to change the direction of my life because I was unfulfilled in the work I was doing and what I was being paid. My only regret is not making better choices when I was 20 such that I didn't have to start over. It was MY FAULT that I was where I was requiring a reset. Not society or capitalism. MY CHOICES

You're never going to see improvement in your life until you take some ownership of why you are struggling

There is only one thing in Asher’s life (at least as described by her on KZone) that is not her choice and that is her sexuality, for which she has been targeted during her younger life. That appears to be the root of her anger. The rest is her choice, including the choice to stay angry.

being gay has absolutely nothing to do with my anger. my anger stems from capitalism. capitalism killed my father and made my mother and i homeless. capitalism made multiple friends of mine homeless. capitalism turned some friends into early deaths of despair, hooked on opiates sold for a profit and encouraged by doctors who made a profit. capitalism turned a friend from a good republian soldier to a far leftist like myself with PTSD, all on lies and to control iraq's oil fields. CAPITALISM IS THE PROBLEM.


its actually offensive to blame my problems on anger from being gay. f*** laughable. being gay is why i believe in the second amendment, since the fascists arent gonna stop at trans people.

[asher2789]

It's pretty easy to research what jobs pay and where they're located and what the cost of living is in those locations.

Then it's just a matter of being honest with yourself about where you strengths lie and finding the right fit in life.

IMO, even in this country today, most people who struggle do so because of their own poor choices.

That's you Asher. You mostly have yourself to blame for your struggles. You said you are mid-30s? I went back to school at 37 to change the direction of my life because I was unfulfilled in the work I was doing and what I was being paid. My only regret is not making better choices when I was 20 such that I didn't have to start over. It was MY FAULT that I was where I was requiring a reset. Not society or capitalism. MY CHOICES

You're never going to see improvement in your life until you take some ownership of why you are struggling

and thats why EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS in their 20s and 30s is barely getting by right now. dozens of people all making bad decisions, like being friends with me or something. yup. not the system, totally the individuals fault. f*** pathological.

[deadheadskier]

I have numerous friends in VT in that age group. They're teachers, healthcare workers, IT etc. All sorts of occupations. They own homes, have kids and live pretty well.

I also have several friends in VT that struggle.

It's plain as day why some are doing well and others aren't. It's the choices they made.

Someone like you with your attitude is always going to be destined for failure

[easyrider16]

complete f*** lie. the US isnt even in the top 20. (it ranks 27)

Presuming this analysis is accurate, how many of those 26 that rank higher than the U.S. have capitalist systems? Looks like all of them to me.

I think you may have misunderstood what I wrote. I wasn't saying the U.S. version of capitalism produced the most social mobility and economic opportunity in history. I was saying *capitalism* has. The information you cited only seems to prove my point.

[Bubba]

It's pretty easy to research what jobs pay and where they're located and what the cost of living is in those locations.

Then it's just a matter of being honest with yourself about where you strengths lie and finding the right fit in life.

IMO, even in this country today, most people who struggle do so because of their own poor choices.

That's you Asher. You mostly have yourself to blame for your struggles. You said you are mid-30s? I went back to school at 37 to change the direction of my life because I was unfulfilled in the work I was doing and what I was being paid. My only regret is not making better choices when I was 20 such that I didn't have to start over. It was MY FAULT that I was where I was requiring a reset. Not society or capitalism. MY CHOICES

You're never going to see improvement in your life until you take some ownership of why you are struggling

There is only one thing in Asher’s life (at least as described by her on KZone) that is not her choice and that is her sexuality, for which she has been targeted during her younger life. That appears to be the root of her anger. The rest is her choice, including the choice to stay angry.

being gay has absolutely nothing to do with my anger. my anger stems from capitalism. capitalism killed my father and made my mother and i homeless. capitalism made multiple friends of mine homeless. capitalism turned some friends into early deaths of despair, hooked on opiates sold for a profit and encouraged by doctors who made a profit. capitalism turned a friend from a good republian soldier to a far leftist like myself with PTSD, all on lies and to control iraq's oil fields. CAPITALISM IS THE PROBLEM.


its actually offensive to blame my problems on anger from being gay. f*** laughable. being gay is why i believe in the second amendment, since the fascists arent gonna stop at trans people.

I don’t have the time or the interest in looking for the series of posts you made some time ago but you yourself spoke angrily about the troubles you had growing up gay and how that has fueled your anger today.

[asher2789]

complete f*** lie. the US isnt even in the top 20. (it ranks 27)

Presuming this analysis is accurate, how many of those 26 that rank higher than the U.S. have capitalist systems? Looks like all of them to me.

I think you may have misunderstood what I wrote. I wasn't saying the U.S. version of capitalism produced the most social mobility and economic opportunity in history. I was saying *capitalism* has. The information you cited only seems to prove my point.

the higher ones are social democracies, which still regrettably retain capitalism but they just export their exploitation to the global south rather than the imperial core.

marx had great things to say about capitalism, how it lifted many out of poverty. but its over. it needs to be replaced. capitalism can't last forever. adam smith would be horrified at todays capitalism, hed probably be railing against it if he were alive.

The bourgeoisie [the capitalist]… has accomplished wonders, far surpassing Egyptian Pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic Cathedrals… [D]uring its rule of scarce of one hundred years, [it] has created more massive and more colossal productive forces than… all preceding generations together… [W]hat earlier century had even a presentiment that such productive forces slumbered in the lap of social labor? (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Chapter I).

A criminal is a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.Most government is by the rich for the rich. Government comprises a large part of the organized injustice in any society, ancient or modern.Civil government, insofar as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, and for the defence of those who have property against those who have none.
Adam Smith

No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable. It is but equity, besides, that they who feed, clothe and lodge the whole body of the people, should have such a share of the produce of their own labour as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed and lodged.
Adam Smith

But avarice and ambition in the rich, in the poor the hatred of labour and the love of present ease and enjoyment, are the passions which prompt to invade property, passions much more steady in their operation, and much more universal in their influence. Wherever there is great property there is great inequality. For one very rich man there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few supposes the indigence of the many.
Adam Smith

A gardener who cultivates his own garden with his own hands, unites in his own person the three different characters, of landlord, farmer, and labourer. His produce, therefore, should pay him the rent of the first, the profit of the second, and the wages of the third.
Adam Smith

It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.
Adam Smith

the adam smith quotes come from wealth of nations. todays republican party would be screaming about how hes a communist with these viewpoints. the founder of capitalism! my favorite quote is still from lenin, because of how accurate it is:

Fascism is capitalism in decay.
Vladimir Lenin

[asher2789]

It's pretty easy to research what jobs pay and where they're located and what the cost of living is in those locations.

Then it's just a matter of being honest with yourself about where you strengths lie and finding the right fit in life.

IMO, even in this country today, most people who struggle do so because of their own poor choices.

That's you Asher. You mostly have yourself to blame for your struggles. You said you are mid-30s? I went back to school at 37 to change the direction of my life because I was unfulfilled in the work I was doing and what I was being paid. My only regret is not making better choices when I was 20 such that I didn't have to start over. It was MY FAULT that I was where I was requiring a reset. Not society or capitalism. MY CHOICES

You're never going to see improvement in your life until you take some ownership of why you are struggling

There is only one thing in Asher’s life (at least as described by her on KZone) that is not her choice and that is her sexuality, for which she has been targeted during her younger life. That appears to be the root of her anger. The rest is her choice, including the choice to stay angry.

being gay has absolutely nothing to do with my anger. my anger stems from capitalism. capitalism killed my father and made my mother and i homeless. capitalism made multiple friends of mine homeless. capitalism turned some friends into early deaths of despair, hooked on opiates sold for a profit and encouraged by doctors who made a profit. capitalism turned a friend from a good republian soldier to a far leftist like myself with PTSD, all on lies and to control iraq's oil fields. CAPITALISM IS THE PROBLEM.


its actually offensive to blame my problems on anger from being gay. f*** laughable. being gay is why i believe in the second amendment, since the fascists arent gonna stop at trans people.

I don’t have the time or the interest in looking for the series of posts you made some time ago but you yourself spoke angrily about the troubles you had growing up gay and how that has fueled your anger today.

you dont need to. being gay is not the reason why i hate capitalism (although i do hate rainbow capitalism and the virtue signaling of liberals). capitalism literally KILLING the people closest to me is why i hate capitalism.

being gay and growing up in a time where it wasnt acceptable informs me of how fragile the progress made is, and how easily and quickly it can revert back, which we are seeing now. being gay (and being a religious minority) is why i support gun rights 100% and the only gun legislation id support is mandatory waiting periods with a carve out for victims of domestic violence.

[easyrider16]

the higher ones are social democracies, which still regrettably retain capitalism but they just export their exploitation to the global south rather than the imperial core.

marx had great things to say about capitalism, how it lifted many out of poverty. but its over. it needs to be replaced. capitalism can't last forever. adam smith would be horrified at todays capitalism, hed probably be railing against it if he were alive.

It sounds like your quarrel is not with capitalism itself, but how capitalism is implemented in the U.S. Like I said earlier, I'm down for replacing capitalism if you found something better. But you haven't. So I think the best approach is to work with what we have to make it better.