Look at all that potable water, just sitting out there. Somebody call Nestle so they can bottle it up!
Trumps record breaking Presidency
- Thread starter Xavier
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Look at all that potable water, just sitting out there. Somebody call Nestle so they can bottle it up!
Concerning America's national parks...
You guys don't agree with lithy, and I don't either, but I can empathize with his view.
What he said about national parks and rich people's vacations is the first time I've ever heard that. It leans into conspiracy theory-territory but not entirely kookey.
At the end of the day, really, and this counts for everybody - it really is all about money. I can see how people don't agree with the idea of national parks and not having any kind of business on them, because there is a ton of money to be made there and that isn't being utilized at all. Of course that is what is unique about America's national parks, that there is no commercialization.
Some years ago the picture of a Pizza Hut being within distance of the Pyramids went viral. A lot of people were miffed that, heaven forbid, a popular restaurant was within viewing distance of the pyramids. As Poppy said, sacrosanct. And on the other hand, people's livelihoods and capitalism that gives people a chance to live comfortably.
I'm just ranting aimlessly at this point and just want to say I like lithy and his unorthodox views, even if I don't agree with him always I like the guy.
You guys don't agree with lithy, and I don't either, but I can empathize with his view.
What he said about national parks and rich people's vacations is the first time I've ever heard that. It leans into conspiracy theory-territory but not entirely kookey.
At the end of the day, really, and this counts for everybody - it really is all about money. I can see how people don't agree with the idea of national parks and not having any kind of business on them, because there is a ton of money to be made there and that isn't being utilized at all. Of course that is what is unique about America's national parks, that there is no commercialization.
Some years ago the picture of a Pizza Hut being within distance of the Pyramids went viral. A lot of people were miffed that, heaven forbid, a popular restaurant was within viewing distance of the pyramids. As Poppy said, sacrosanct. And on the other hand, people's livelihoods and capitalism that gives people a chance to live comfortably.
I'm just ranting aimlessly at this point and just want to say I like lithy and his unorthodox views, even if I don't agree with him always I like the guy.
You’re embarrassing. Ignorant and unrepentant even when shown the truth. Later.
I don't think a Pizza Hut is giving any employee in Gaza the ability to live comfortably. There is no minimum wage in Egypt, and the vast majority of the profits generated by that location aren't going to the people who work in that location.
I don't see how maintaining the bits of remarkable nature we have left vs. commercializing them or paving them into offices is even a conversation. It's really not that far removed from an argument defending pharma companies' Shkreli-style price hikes. It's a non-starter unless you jack off nightly to a photo of Ayn Rand you've taped to your ceiling.
I don't see how maintaining the bits of remarkable nature we have left vs. commercializing them or paving them into offices is even a conversation. It's really not that far removed from an argument defending pharma companies' Shkreli-style price hikes. It's a non-starter unless you jack off nightly to a photo of Ayn Rand you've taped to your ceiling.
You would be surprised how low-class American restaurants can provide for people in developing countries.
Again, I don't agree with lithy but can understand his viewpoint - because, well, he's not wrong. Money makes the world go round, and if national parks were privatized the quality would go down considerably but the comfortabiliity (not a word) would rise considerably for patrons.
You know a salary means you could be working 6 or 7 days a week frequently, right?
^
Would Trump really have been able to get the support needed for the funding of his wall prior to the mid terms? I'm surprised such an opportunistic asshole didn't make it happen considering his followers aren't exactly in on his 'grand strategy' and really do want that stupid wall. This is a high risk situation, shut down government for a record length over a campaign promise and then blame the opposing side for the fallout? I wonder how we'll all feel about this in a decades time.
Would Trump really have been able to get the support needed for the funding of his wall prior to the mid terms? I'm surprised such an opportunistic asshole didn't make it happen considering his followers aren't exactly in on his 'grand strategy' and really do want that stupid wall. This is a high risk situation, shut down government for a record length over a campaign promise and then blame the opposing side for the fallout? I wonder how we'll all feel about this in a decades time.
Watch out for the multi-quote!
C'mon Joseph, that can't be the best example you can come up with. For profit prisons are created by the government and then grant a market monopoly to a contractor. Everyone thinks that is somehow the fault of the contractor because your elected officials do a good job of deflecting responsibility. THE GOV'T MAKES THE LAWS THAT GET PEOPLE LOCKED UP. ffs, please try again.
That's purdy, why would anyone put go-karts there? Maybe a park owner would sell it to visitors as...I dunno, a park? An undisturbed natural experience.
lol. I somehow completely overlooked this post the first time. Don't worry, they'll get back pay. And now, we don't even have to vote on it for any future shutdowns! Back pay is now codified and guaranteed into perpetuity.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/...-pay-for-federal-workers-affected-by-shutdown
Oh, maybe you're talking about furloughed workers that are currently not working. Why should they get back pay? They haven't been working. Do laid off private sector employees get back pay when called back to work?
If I wasn't clear, and rereading my post, maybe I wasn't. I have no sympathy for federal contractors. Doing business with the government should be fickle, yet somehow contractors become de facto government employees. Again, if that is uncomfortable for some, maybe reconsider working as a federal contractor.
Not sure what truth I was shown though, I'd like to know.
A few things here.
Are you suggesting that because there is no minimum wage (I'll take your word for it, I don't know), that people who voluntarily work at a Pizza Hut in the shadow of the Pyramids of Giza are somehow worse off than if that Pizza Hut didn't exist at all?
Next, despite what the reactionary would like you to believe, suggesting that national parks be sold is not the same as suggested with backfill the Grand Canyon to build a shopping mall on top of it.
Last, like the private prison example above, do a little reading into how the drug approval process creates artificial monopolies enforced by the government which allowed Shkreli to raise prices like he did. It is a poor example of 'the market at work'.
*whoosh*
I have a post above that details why he didn't push for it prior to the mid terms. He had party control in Congress, he could have gotten the support, but that wasn't the goal. The goal was to start a 2020 strategy on the heels of the midterms.
C'mon Joseph, that can't be the best example you can come up with. For profit prisons are created by the government and then grant a market monopoly to a contractor. Everyone thinks that is somehow the fault of the contractor because your elected officials do a good job of deflecting responsibility. THE GOV'T MAKES THE LAWS THAT GET PEOPLE LOCKED UP. ffs, please try again.
I mean seriously.
WOULDN'T THIS BE BETTER WITH GO KARTS?!?!
That's purdy, why would anyone put go-karts there? Maybe a park owner would sell it to visitors as...I dunno, a park? An undisturbed natural experience.
lol. I somehow completely overlooked this post the first time. Don't worry, they'll get back pay. And now, we don't even have to vote on it for any future shutdowns! Back pay is now codified and guaranteed into perpetuity.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/...-pay-for-federal-workers-affected-by-shutdown
Oh, maybe you're talking about furloughed workers that are currently not working. Why should they get back pay? They haven't been working. Do laid off private sector employees get back pay when called back to work?
If I wasn't clear, and rereading my post, maybe I wasn't. I have no sympathy for federal contractors. Doing business with the government should be fickle, yet somehow contractors become de facto government employees. Again, if that is uncomfortable for some, maybe reconsider working as a federal contractor.
Not sure what truth I was shown though, I'd like to know.
A few things here.
Are you suggesting that because there is no minimum wage (I'll take your word for it, I don't know), that people who voluntarily work at a Pizza Hut in the shadow of the Pyramids of Giza are somehow worse off than if that Pizza Hut didn't exist at all?
Next, despite what the reactionary would like you to believe, suggesting that national parks be sold is not the same as suggested with backfill the Grand Canyon to build a shopping mall on top of it.
Last, like the private prison example above, do a little reading into how the drug approval process creates artificial monopolies enforced by the government which allowed Shkreli to raise prices like he did. It is a poor example of 'the market at work'.
*whoosh*
^
Would Trump really have been able to get the support needed for the funding of his wall prior to the mid terms? I'm surprised such an opportunistic asshole didn't make it happen considering his followers aren't exactly in on his 'grand strategy' and really do want that stupid wall. This is a high risk situation, shut down government for a record length over a campaign promise and then blame the opposing side for the fallout? I wonder how we'll all feel about this in a decades time.
I have a post above that details why he didn't push for it prior to the mid terms. He had party control in Congress, he could have gotten the support, but that wasn't the goal. The goal was to start a 2020 strategy on the heels of the midterms.
I'm suggesting that they're only marginally more well off. Do you think that working at Pizza Hut is going to pay your rent unless you're one of the two or three managers? Is that worth the tradeoff of having a Pizza Hut next to the pyramids? I think people like you would lose their goddamn minds if it were a Starbucks or some sort of "hipster" establishment.
So you're saying they should just charge admission to offset maintenance costs? Why does that sound familiar. Oh...
Actual prices for Yosemite, Grand Canyon, etc.:
Cars & trucks = $30
Motorcycles = $25
On foot or bikes = $15
Really? It's a poor example of the market at work? The government's patent rules are fine. In the society we live in, the inventor of a drug should have the head start they need to recover the R&D costs. But after that, they abuse the system. How about "pay-to-delay" deals? How about "citizen petitions" filed by corporations (over 90%) that request the FDA to delay approving a generic? How about "authorized" generics? How about the fact that the original corps who create a drug often refuse to sell examples to generic makers so they can't reverse engineer them? How about the fact that generics often aren't equivalent to the originals and are recalled, yet Republicans want to nerf the FDA? Sounds like the open market to me. If someone mentioned regulation, we'd hear a million autistic screeches suddenly crying out in terror. Maybe you're the one that has to do a little reading.
Well at least in your world they don't have to worry about making that decision themselves since you have decided that there isn't enough of a marginal benefit to them.
I honestly think you misunderstand me with your Starbucks comment, so I won't address it other than to say you're wrong.
Do you think those fees cover the entire cost of operating the park? Right now they are subsidized by every American whether or not they want to visit a particular park.
Wow, your SECOND example is about a company petitioning the government to reduce or eliminate their competition. Stop making my points for me.
lithy here is your problem.
You are a guy who lives comfortably making beer and gratuitously self indulges in hypotheticals.
That you can casually dismiss the private prison issue because its the pols fault for having bad laws is completely insulting to those of us who live in reality as opposed to your libertarian bubble world.
From one alcoholic to another, you sound like a bitter crazy drunk asshole. You're quite intelligent, but you're a cynical fuck who revels in hypotheticals and, as such, has very little to contribute to rational conversation on these topics beyond "BURN IT TO THE FUCKING GROUND"
You are a guy who lives comfortably making beer and gratuitously self indulges in hypotheticals.
That you can casually dismiss the private prison issue because its the pols fault for having bad laws is completely insulting to those of us who live in reality as opposed to your libertarian bubble world.
From one alcoholic to another, you sound like a bitter crazy drunk asshole. You're quite intelligent, but you're a cynical fuck who revels in hypotheticals and, as such, has very little to contribute to rational conversation on these topics beyond "BURN IT TO THE FUCKING GROUND"
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So people should only pay taxes on the things they use? People without children shouldn't pay taxes that fund public schools? Sounds like a great plan.
Let's take the Grand Canyon for example and say half the visitors are in cars and half are on foot, for an average ticket price of $22, rounded down. 5 million people visit each year. That's $110,000,000. And that's just admission prices. Factoring in everything else, the Grand Canyon brings in nearly $500,000,000 annually. I don't know how much it costs to maintain, but I think that's a pretty good number, don't you? How much of your own taxes do you think are going to the Grand Canyon each year? A dollar? Maybe?This just shows that you're either ignorant or a conspiracy theorist (and I mean the bad kind). Pharma is misusing a system that was meant to protect citizens. Do you really think the government created this expansive conspiracy through antitrust law, patent law, state drug laws, and the Hatch-Waxman Act so that their corpo buddies could get richer? Get real, man. I don't trust the government on a lot of fronts, but this is red yarn and corkboard shit.
They do not necessarily need to be privatized, but that doesn't mean that they can only be maintained by the Federal government. Could not a State or County government handle them as they already do with the parcels they already maintain?
I do not think there are enough private companies to take over all of the Federal park land, even not enough local organizations that do want such responsibilities. At least in my area and the orgs that I have dealt with, it is usually the government that stands in the way of fixing problems within Federal lands... which extend way beyond mowing lawns and picking up garbage.
YEAH BUT THATS MY FUCKING DOLLAR AND I HAVE LOTS OF OPINIONS ABOUT WHY I AM OUTRAGED THAT I KUST SPEND A FUCKING DOLLAR ON SOMETHING I DONT CARE ABOUT! IF ONLY EVERYTHING COULD BE PRIVATIZED AND GOVERNMENT DIDNT EXIST!!!!!
lithy isnt trolling. These are his actual beliefs.
Who said i was doing something different? Certainly not I.
lithy isnt a sesnsitive faggot like RAZO. He can take it.
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?276303-I-m-over-it&highlight=
From that I got the impression you were tired of fighting with people who you'll never meet in real life.
Edit: Not trying to be a dick. Just would rather see the old laid back Poppy instead of seeing you so angry so much.
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When I see a problem that I believe the government created, it is frustrating to see people insist that the government is the only one that can fix it.
Good to hear that I am living comfortably though.
So people should only pay taxes on the things they use? People without children shouldn't pay taxes that fund public schools? Sounds like a great plan.
Yes, service based government is the best government. The problem you and Poppy have is that you have decided that the Grand Canyon is worth it to you. but instead of saying, ok, I will pay whatever the costs are for me to visit, you instead are saying that EVERYONE needs to contribute to something you want to visit.
You have decided for everyone that the Grand Canyon is worth it, when if they were as sacrosanct as you two want to believe, you could get that same participation voluntarily. The problem is that whether you can admit it to yourself or not, you know that you wouldn't get universal participation and costs would rise. So you want a handout, a subsidy, a coupon paid for by others. At least don't be so proud and admit it.
And I know this isn't where you thought your example would go, but yes, no public education would be fine. As is they aren't truly equitable anyway.
Ignoring the pharma stuff because we will just talk past each other again.
These things absolutely can and should be done on a state and local level. The level of government that is technically authorized with these powers since the federal government is not. The problem is when states or local munis can't afford the upkeep, instead of realizing that no one wants what they are providing they turn it over to the feds so that they can get tax support from everyone instead of the people most likely to use it.
Is lithy back to pretending to be a libertarian again?
i would vote for all of you if you all ran for office