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JasSmith

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JasSmith ,

That's not quite the situation here. The EU is preventing price discrimination within the EU. Price discrimination is generally disallowed in the EU single market. This is intended to foster greater synergies and efficiencies of scale, as opposed to current international trade agreements which are slow to form, and even slower to update as necessary. Part of the single market is the requirement that products and services not discriminate solely on the basis of nationality. Companies are permitted to charge differing amounts based on location and channel, but every consumer in the EU must have the right to purchase that product or service at that location or channel for the same price.

The single market has been one of the major economic drivers for success in the EU, ensuring poor countries have been able to quickly catch up with developed nations. Poor nations can charge developed nation prices for their products and services without risk of systemic barriers or anti-competitive arbitrage. Software is no different. Harmonised access maximises competition, promotes growth, and keeps aggregate prices low. The cost is that prices will rise in some EU nations, as they fall in others.

JasSmith ,

I look forward to Johnny the Walrus in all California schools.

JasSmith ,

Those stores left because of crime. Instead of fixing the root cause of major social issues, their Band-Aid is taxpayer funded stores? Why not just skip the middle man and send food to people directly? Or just set up taxpayer funded food banks. That’s effectively what these “stores” will turn into anyway. This just seems like performative nonsense, not intended to solve anything.

JasSmith ,

I agree. I don’t think people realise how many “food deserts” there were even a hundred years ago, let alone further back. They certainly don’t realise how many food deserts there are in countries which don’t practise capitalism, or have not in the past.

JasSmith ,

Why do you think these examples are analogous? The stores in the towns described in the articles you linked didn’t shut down because of poverty or crime. In the examples you provided, collective supermarkets seem to be a good fit. Contrast this with the Chicago mayor, who cites poverty. If people can’t afford food anyway, and the business is going to face sky high theft, the plan doesn’t make sense. Cut out the middle man and just send poor people food. It would cost far less than trying to set up supermarkets from scratch and running them at a loss in perpetuity. Plus it means helping poor people, rather than forcing them to shop lift if they’re hungry.

JasSmith ,

Or, like, get on a bus. Or walk. Or cycle. Or get food delivered from any one of many cheap delivery options. Or even a food bank or church. Or neighbour. Or family. Or friends. You think people without a car who don’t have a supermarket next door just die? I can’t even imagine the level of learned helplessness you seem to possess.

JasSmith ,

Buses take money.

So does food from the supermarket. That’s why we give poor people money. We should, IMHO, give them even more. Either way, with that money, they get on the bus.

Half of the world’s population walk miles for food and water. That’s certainly not a big ask on a bicycle. I commute six miles each way to work on a bike, every day. For millennia, humans roamed hundreds of miles on foot hunting for game. Yet you’re arguing someone today can’t cycle a few miles?? Lordy.

Delivery is often cheaper than the time and commute, so I’m not sure what you’re arguing there. Amazon offers free delivery, and you can buy every staple you need.

JasSmith ,

Wow. You’re actually asking poor Americans to live like they’re in third-world countries? I thought America was the richest nation?

That’s some spicy classism. Walking and cycling isn’t the domain of the unwashed masses. It’s a clean, healthy source of transport which more cities should encourage. Furthermore, should one choose to use the less healthy and polluting forms of transport, they can: the bus. Using the money they are given for not working at all. They don’t get that in developing nations.

And food delivery is not cheap. That’s just a lie.

Amazon.com. Free delivery. Try it out.

JasSmith ,

Do you have some examples? IMHO, few shareholders are willing to weather decades of losses like that in the hope that one day their investment pays off. I’m not buying it. No one buys property and then intentionally devalues it.

JasSmith ,

I don’t expect them to walk miles for water. I expect them to take a bus for food. I don’t think you are reading what I’m writing.

And you have to pay for Prime for “free” delivery. Which poor people can’t afford.

No you don’t. Prime offers free fast shipping. There’s still free shipping on millions of products without Prime. It just won’t come the same/next day.

JasSmith ,

You cannot use SNAP for bus fare. You also cannot get delivery using SNAP

This is a good argument for giving people money, not food stamps.

You’re asking people, in America a supposedly developed nation, to do the same things people in developing nations have to do to get food.

I don’t get this revulsion to walking. Most people walk every day for commutes, food, and errands. Walking does not mean your life is irredeemably terrible. In fact, data shows you will live longer and be happier. Ditto for cycling.

You live in a little town far away from civilisation. I think it’s unreasonable to expect city amenities in such places. There’s no logistical way to get supermarkets close to every home. Not when people have built homes so far away from everyone else.

JasSmith ,

If the stores are government run, there is no profit motive. That means lower prices, which means more accessibility for the people who need it.

If these stores are going to be run at a loss anyway, why waste enormous sums of money on premises and other costs when they could just start food banks and give people the food directly? Or, as I suggest above, the government could send people food directly.

I’m suggesting that we give people free food and I’m the boot licker? Okay Bezos.

JasSmith ,

No, you’re just pushing the tired old, “religious groups and charities should be feeding people, leave the government out of it”

I’m literally saying the government should give people free food. You’re arguing with a straw man.

JasSmith ,

So now we have global cooling to look forward to?

JasSmith ,

Iceland is not the one made of ice. Confusingly, that’s Greenland. According to this data, Iceland would get colder over the centuries. They won’t disappear.

JasSmith ,

While true, I consider the issue very minor compared to getting people clean drinking water. There are no perfect solutions in society. Just a series of trade-offs, maximising benefits and minimising costs.

JasSmith ,

So glad he’s focusing on the things that really matter.

JasSmith , (edited )

I’ve never met anyone who hates communism more than the colleagues of mine who grew up under communism. Their neighbours disappeared for saying the wrong things. They were hungry and cold as children every day. Sometimes they didn’t have any shoes. They weren’t allowed to leave their country for holidays. They couldn’t afford it, even if they were allowed. They couldn’t study what they wanted. Their entire educational system was political propaganda. Freedom of religion didn’t exist.

It always amazes me how the most vocal proponents of communism come from the most sheltered, most privileged people alive who would retch from learning about the atrocities committed in the name of communism. If they only spent a few minutes on Google.

JasSmith ,

If communism devolves into authoritarianism every time it is attempted, I don’t see the practical distinction.

JasSmith ,

If communism becomes authoritarian every time it is attempted, I don’t see the practical distinction.

JasSmith ,

How many times has capitalism become dictatorships or fascists?

A handful of times. Most capitalist nations are not authoritarian. Purely by the numbers, it has a much better track record. Of course, “it’s not real capitalism/communism” always derails this discussion.

I think you outline why communism inevitably fails. Marx advocated for violent revolution to overthrow the “bourgeois” democracy. The moment democracy is gone, the strong take and retain power. This is why, no matter the system, democracy must be the bottom line. It ensures that power is distributed. It’s not perfect, but it’s much better than the alternatives.

JasSmith ,

There are definitely people advocating for actual communism. Social programs in a democracy are worlds away from communism. We have universal healthcare in Europe without communism.

JasSmith ,

It turns out it's every time as we're seeing with late-stage capitalism.

I’m sorry I don’t understand what you’re arguing. Are you claiming that all Western nations are authoritarian? I emphatically disagree.

JasSmith ,

Classifying democracies as dictatorships is histrionic in the extreme, and specious at best. It doesn’t even make sense. The concepts are antithetical.

JasSmith ,

My colleagues are mostly from Eastern Europe.

JasSmith ,

This is the best job market in my lifetime. This must have been what it was like for boomers when they were younger. The economy continues to grow, and at the same time, boomers and gen x continue to retire in ever greater numbers. Demand for labour is sky high. The only risk is leaders jacking up immigration to suppress wages and worker bargaining power.

JasSmith ,

Yes comrade, I, too, welcome bread lines.

JasSmith ,

Definitely agree with that, but the tech is definitely not there to handle all situations, and as long as that’s the case, a human should be there.

I disagree. I think the bar should be "safer than a human." If our bar were "perfect," self driving would never be permitted without a human at the wheel.

JasSmith ,

Gotcha. These companies have teams of support personnel which are despatched when accidents and issues occur.

Even China's 1.4 billion population can't fill all its vacant homes, former official says (www.reuters.com)

Even China’s population of 1.4 billion would not be enough to fill all the empty apartments littered across the country, a former official said on Saturday, in a rare public critique of the country’s crisis-hit property market....

JasSmith ,

I agree. I don't think we had or have anything to fear. The Chinese educational system is built around obedience, cultural homogeneity, and rote learning. Sure, there are fewer protests, and there is less crime, but also a SEVERE lack of innovation. I can count on one hand the number of innovations China has exported to the world in the last decade. Everything they build of note is based on stolen IP and figurative and literal slave labour. The world is finally clamping down on the former, and China's social progression to a service-based economy is putting an end to the latter. Their comparative competitive advantages are eroding by the day.

JasSmith ,

I agree with him. If you want tax payers to pay for your higher education, in whole or part, they should expect some kind of measurable benefit to the state. Data shows poor benefits for the courses listed. You can still study those degrees. Just pay for it yourself. My taxes aren’t there for you to go on a personal journey of self exploration.

JasSmith , (edited )

Americans pay on average 24.5% of their income on tax, plus state taxes, CGT, estate tax, fuel tax, etc. All in all, Americans pay a little under $5 trillion per year in taxes. On top of this, the government is projected to borrow an additional $2 trillion this year alone to pay for the ballooning national expenditure.

Someone is making a lot of money on the backs of taxpayers. Since it’s not going to healthcare, it bears some scrutiny.

JasSmith ,

That’s a solved problem. Reputable universities only allow competent people to graduate. Ideally they only allow qualified candidates to enter the programs at all.

JasSmith ,

As well as the EV transition is going, we’re still decades away from them becoming the dominant consumer vehicle worldwide. Even further away for commercial vehicles, and further away still for shipping and planes. These countries are making hay while the sun is shining. If the West had any balls it would sanction the shit out of cartels like OPEC. Problem is, voters punish politicians who allow gas prices to rise, and OPEC knows this. We’re not willing to trigger a price war by enacting sanctions.

JasSmith , (edited )

Renewables are highly volatile and storage technology isn’t there yet for most large grids. Right now that stability must come from coal, LNG, or nuclear, with some exceptions like geothermal. Pick your poison. China is building 5-10 giant new coal plants per year to satisfy this demand, despite being one of the cheapest places in the world to manufacture solar panels and turbines. If we care about the environment, we’ll choose nuclear. Germany’s “green” party has successfully lobbied to effectively end nuclear support in the country, and now they have to significantly increase coal and lignite consumption following the Russian LNG embargo.

I don’t understand why nuclear has to be a dirty word. Modern reactors are clean and safe. Far better for the environment than coal and LNG.

JasSmith ,

It’s actually pretty well correlated once you remove state taxes, which have increased significantly in some states like California. Mississippi gas, for example, is cheaper now than 2010, with respect to crude prices and discounted for inflation.

JasSmith ,

High interest rates and inflation hurt people with money and help people with debt. As interest rates rise, the value of assets decreases. The inverse relationship is strong and well tested. Debt, on the other hand, loses value with inflation. Inflation paid off 20% of my mortgage over the last few years.

No one likes high inflation. It’s definitely not a scheme to transfer wealth. That’s the status quo with 2% inflation and cheap debt for the wealthy to use.

JasSmith ,

Which state? $2 in 2001 is worth $3.46 today thanks to inflation.

JasSmith ,

I fully agree.

JasSmith ,

Tasmania has some great geography for hydro power, generating 90% of their power. Most places in the world don’t have such geography. Pointing to goldilocks locations as though they’re replicable everywhere isn’t well informed. Further, while hydro is less volatile than wind and solar, it still requires a reliable grid fallback during droughts. Tasmania has this with the Basslink. Without it, they would also require quick-fire coal and LNG plants on standby. Or, more likely, running permanently as the spool-up cost is very high.

No one is claiming nuclear is cheap and instant. We’re arguing that neglecting nuclear keeps coal and LNG consumption unnecessarily high.

JasSmith ,

But if you th8nknthats goldilocks, let’s look at France. It’s the most successful and pervasive nuclear power. And they are currently moving away from nuclear. Ouch.

“In February 2022 France announced plans to build six new reactors and to consider building a further eight.”

JasSmith ,

Why do you think gas isn’t affected by inflation? Costs go up with inflation. This increases the price. Remember that the cost of the commodity itself is effectively zero. The cost is all in exploration, extraction, refinement, transport, and sale. All of that goes up with inflation.

JasSmith ,

I don’t understand what you’re arguing. There has been no maintenance failure. They delayed maintenance during the recent energy crisis, but the reactors remain perfectly safe. Do you think pointing out the fact that reactors require maintenance is an argument against nuclear? Do you have any idea how much maintenance is required for wind and solar?

Albania, Iceland, and Paraguay rely on primarily hydro power. The same as Tasmania. You appear to be using the same argument as above, refusing to acknowledge that most countries are unable to utilise hydro power generation. Give me the case for how every other country in the world is able to rely on hydro. Show me your working. Provide some citations.

JasSmith ,

The price per barrel includes almost all those expenses, so inflation should be reflected there.

Right, which means that the inflation adjusted price of oil today is significantly lower than it was in 2008.

JasSmith ,

I agree. I could live with it if it were merely a way to defer taxes, but the U.S. has something called the stepped-up basis. This allows people to inherit stocks without paying tax on the capital gains. The wealthy can live their whole lives without paying any tax. Both stock buy-backs and the stepped-up basis severely undermine the stock market and tax system.

JasSmith ,

The other reply is correct regarding the macro effects of the practise. The more immediate issue is that it allows shareholders to avoid paying dividend taxes. So they can effectively defer paying taxes until they realise any capital gains. This is a huge benefit, as the present value of money is worth much more than the future value of money. However there is an even larger benefit in the U.S. Dependents can inherit stocks at the current price and avoid paying any capital gains tax. This is called the “stepped-up basis.” It’s an insane tax loophole. Together stock buy-backs and the stepped-up basis allow the ultra wealthy to pay little to no tax, ever. They take out perpetual loans to pay for living expenses, guaranteed against their holdings.

Whole Foods argues it can ban BLM masks because the Supreme Court let a Christian business owner refuse same-sex couples (fortune.com)

Amazon.com’s Whole Foods Market doesn’t want to be forced to let workers wear “Black Lives Matter” masks and is pointing to the recent US Supreme Court ruling permitting a business owner to refuse services to same-sex couples to get federal regulators to back off....

JasSmith ,

But if I can’t wear my rainbow onesie to work it’s literally genocide.

JasSmith ,

Except BLM and LGBTQ isn’t political. It’s Civil Rights.

I’m sorry but you just sound naive. These are not mutually exclusive. Civil rights are part of politics. All you’re arguing is that you think the politics you like should be allowed in the work place, and the politics you don’t like should not. That’s the hottest take in the entire post.

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