Core_Models wrote >>
the fall of capitalism
Can you give me a target date for this?
March 14, 2036 at 2:38PM - mark your calendar!





Core_Models wrote >>
the fall of capitalism
Can you give me a target date for this?
OK, you're joking. Cool, but to be serious for a moment, no, I can't give a date. That's obvious. And I can't present a detailed plan for an economic system to replace it. In fact, I don't know if anybody can.
It may be the case that we shouldn't look for one overarching plan to replace capitalism, but instead strive for many local and regional economic arrangements that reject the greed-is-good mentality.
Should we just accept as a given that Margaret Thatcher was right by saying "there is no alternative" (TINA) to capitalism ?
There may come a time when local and regional economies predominate over national and global ones that is quite consistent with free market capitalism. It just isn't today, and won't be for many years yet. That said, even in a world dominated by international commerce, there *is* still significant room for local and regional economies.
"Greed is good" is just a convenient cliche, used as self-deprecating humor by capitalists who understand the truth behind the idiom and as a pejorative by anti-capitalists who think that capitalists actually literally believe that. Notwithstanding that, yes, Thatcher was right when she said that there is no alternative to capitalism--or at least, no good alternative.
Should we just accept as a given that Margaret Thatcher was right by saying "there is no alternative" (TINA) to capitalism ?
Yep.
TomOver wrote >>
Should we just accept as a given that Margaret Thatcher was right by saying "there is no alternative" (TINA) to capitalism ?
I have an alternative. I can't detail it here, but it will be covered in my next book.
---------------
Back on topic. As much as it pains my wallet, I can't see higher gas prices as anything other than a wonderful thing in the larger picture. Clearly we Americans --and I'm as guilty as anyone else on this --aren't going to change our habits until it becomes a financial necessity.
Too much big government ! They told me I can't smoke in the bar 'cuz you sissies cried about second hand smoke! Now they tell me I got to share the road with some commie fag on a bicycle who's getting in my way 'cuz he's too lazy to get a job and buy a car !
TomOver wrote >>
Too much big government ! They told me I can't smoke in the bar 'cuz you sissies cried about second hand smoke! Now they tell me I got to share the road with some commie fag on a bicycle who's getting in my way 'cuz he's too lazy to get a job and buy a car !
oblig
rus wrote >>
Core_Models wrote >>
Should we just accept as a given that Margaret Thatcher was right by saying "there is no alternative" (TINA) to capitalism ?
Yep.
The worst system out there, except for all the others.
Do you advocate regulating or otherwise modifying capitalism ?
Would you like the concentration of economic power in this country to remain or even intensify ?
The other night someone said at a dinner that 'liberals' in this country want to smooth out some of the rough edges to capitalism, whereas (left wing) 'radicals' want to do away with capitalism altogether.
It was at the protest against the G-20 Summit in 2009 that I heard for the first time someone who wasn't a conservative use the term 'liberal' disparagingly.
TomOver wrote >>
Do you advocate regulating or otherwise modifying capitalism ?
You think capitalism in the US is unregulated?
TomOver wrote >>
Would you like the concentration of economic power in this country to remain or even intensify ?
As opposed to what... government confiscating wealth to distribute based on political cronyism?
TomOver wrote >>
It was at the protest against the G-20 Summit in 2009 that I heard for the first time someone who wasn't a conservative use the term 'liberal' disparagingly.
These people at the G-20 summit... what did they call themselves if not 'liberal'?
rus wrote >>
TomOver wrote >>
Do you advocate regulating or otherwise modifying capitalism ?You think capitalism in the US is unregulated?
TomOver wrote >>
Would you like the concentration of economic power in this country to remain or even intensify ?As opposed to what... government confiscating wealth to distribute based on political cronyism?
TomOver wrote >>
It was at the protest against the G-20 Summit in 2009 that I heard for the first time someone who wasn't a conservative use the term 'liberal' disparagingly.These people at the G-20 summit... what did they call themselves if not 'liberal'?
I'm referring to the marginal tax rate, and to tax havens that corporations use. And of course, there are government subsidies that take taxpayer money and puts it into the hands of large corporations whereby they do some unsavory things. Some folk refer to that as 'corporate welfare.'
I don't find many conservatives complaining about that sort of 'socialism for the rich' but perhaps there are libertarians who decry it.
About the term 'liberal,' those not calling themselves 'liberals' tend to refer to themselves as being 'radical.' To my knowledge, what you could perhaps refer to as the 'far left' uses the term 'radical' as something positive.
I don't think right wing folk use the term 'radical' to describe themselves.
Well, anyway, I am done with CU for the night. I am busy cooking. It's perhaps a process that brings this agnostic, non-dualist as close as I'm going to get to channeling my maternal grandparents.
Gas Prices Going Up and Getting You Down?
Gas prices in central Ohio and across the nation have been creeping up. To see how gas price increases impact the cost of driving to work, COTA offers consumers a tool for comparing the costs of driving with taking transit. COTA’s Gas Calculator at http://www.cota.com shows how much commuters can personally save by leaving their car at home and trying transit instead.
It shows that it would cost me $422.80 more per year to take the bus on my 6 mile roundtrip commute (monthly pass, non-express).
I guess if you don't pay parking and have a fuel efficient car this may not be a convincing tool.
The real savings would come if you could actually divorce your car and rely totally on public transportation.
(I think mitigating factors like wear&tear on my car might wash with the extra time spent taking the bus and waiting for the transfer).
cbus11 wrote >>
I guess if you don't pay parking and have a fuel efficient car this may not be a convincing tool.
True, there are a lot of variables to take into consideration, which is why I think this calculator is handy.
I think the really big factor is paying for parking. That can add up for anyone very very quickly.
I've got less than a 2.5 mile roundtrip commute to work, and a pretty fuel efficient car (Honda Fit) but I'd have to pay for parking in the heart of Downtown, which would probably be at the bare minimum $3-$4 per day, or $50-$60/mo if I bought a monthly spot. Not to mention those cheaper lots are still a 2-3 block walk from my office.
So I swing for the $55/mo bus pass that takes me nearly door-to-door in 8-12 minutes and spend my commute reading email, checking newsfeeds or playing Angry Birds. ;)
But again... those are just my sets of variables. Different story for every individual.
Motorists could see $3 gas at pumps by Christmas
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 6, 2010 8:10 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- Barring a steep drop in crude prices, U.S. motorists can expect to see gas prices exceeding $3 per gallon, if they are not seeing such prices already, according to a new survey of filling stations.
The latest Lundberg Survey of cities in the continental United States was conducted Friday. It showed the national average price for a gallon of self-serve unleaded gasoline at $2.91, an increase of 3.9 cents from the last survey two weeks earlier, survey publisher Trilby Lundberg said.
READ MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/12/05/gas.prices/index.html?hpt=T2
By Christmas? I saw it this morning!
I think they meant national average of $3.
But yeah, according to http://www.columbusgasprices.com, we're currently seeing a regional range of $2.77 to $3.02.
I’m up to $3.40 off per gallon @ the Giant Bear-and I probably spend more at the North Market, Weiland’s, Trader Joe’s and Costco than I do @ the Big Eagle. I spend too much money on food if I’m gettin’ free gas...
Gasoline Tops $3 Per Gallon
By MIKE BOWERSOCK
Published: December 21, 2010
There were some gas stations in Central Ohio selling gasoline Monday for $2.64, but one day later, those same gas stations are selling gas for more than $3 per gallon.
It is the season of giving, and this season, we are all giving more at the pumps.
READ MORE: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/dec/21/gasoline-tops-three-dollars-per-gallon-ar-333991/
So where do concerns about peak oil, climate change, air quality, and our oily wars in Iraq and Afghanistan factor into all of this ?
Likely the answers to those questions vary from person to person.
Perhaps those concerns fall under the "other factors" you mentioned Walker when you initiated this thread.
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