Many have misunderstood this post. It's about how people are going into debt buying stuff they don't need. In the second post of this thread MJ DeMarco posted a nice visual of what I try (and fail) to explain below. I see these people suffering and it makes me sad (I'm not suffering personally. It's not about me. I'm financially free). The corporations need to keep brainwashing the middle class to keep spending money. I have no power over these people. They're going to buy the Range Rover regardless. Still, I feel for them. Misunderstood--yet unedited--essay remains below:
Daily I notice brand-new $60k pickup trucks speeding past me going 90 on the highway, rushing home to their 3-car garages in $450k McMansions, as their owners slave away for 40 years, >40 hours a week, just to pay for these things.* They blindly believe they're getting 25 MPG.** I work with these people. I used to use them as a reminder of what not to do. Now, I feel sorry for them when they can't afford to go out to lunch on Fridays. In the 60s, a man with a normal job was able to provide for a family of 4, in a normal neighborhood, owning a normal car, with a color TV. Today, the same is not possible, due to several factors. We are slaves. I'm doing ok, but I'm depressed because I know most people don't have the entrepreneur mindset.
First, let's look at how we got here. I'll use General Motors and Telsa as examples, as I'm in the industry. GM went bankrupt in 2009. The middle class is still paying for that bailout in the form of price inflation (the US Fed just created the money out of thin air). Why did the government agree to bail out GM? Because GM is legally able to bribe government officials.# These officials are not public servants in a capitalist economy: they are employees of the giant corporations (corporatocracy: a society controlled by corporations). And, our current monetary system, championed by the likes of Bernie Sanders, is Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). This says that the government can just print as much money without repercussions. Tesla: the company is not profitable on its own. However, since saving the planet is now political, Tesla is given carbon credits from the government, which Tesla then sells to Ford, who is basically buying the privilege to pollute (making Tesla profitable).## But Ford need not worry about spending this money or, doing anything right, because, just like all the big lenders who failed (Fannie Mae, Leeman Brothers, etc) and were bailed out by the middle class in 2009, Ford has an implied government bailout guarantee.
Conclusion 1: the above is the government's fault for letting the corporations takeover. We cannot 100% blame the corporations for trying to make a profit. If the product they are making is dangerous and kills people, but if it's legal to sell, then we need to blame regulators. But the regulators are essentially employees of these same corporations.
Individuals of the middle class are the ones struggling, yet I feel we need to take some responsibility for ourselves here:
So, buy silver. Buy Bitcoin. Start a business. Move to Thailand. Don't be depressed. Don't start a revolt (though I think someone will in our lifetimes). But definitely, get the word out that corporations control the middle class like this: middle class spends money > corporation gets rich > corporation buys politician > politician lies to get votes > middle class votes for politician > politician prints money and gives to corporation > middle class pays for it through inflation and pollution > middle class continues spending money at the same corporations that stole from us (yes, you driving that Chrysler Grand Cherokee are part of the problem!!). And for God's sake, remind people of the dangers of the phrase: "Buying that will save me money." Buying anything will almost never save you money. Especially status items. Don't be a part of the system!
* Contrary to common belief, most people driving $50k+ vehicles are not wealthy
** Most pickup trucks, even if they're new and V6, don't average more than 18-19 MPG
# Thanks, Reagan
## Electric cars cost double, use more rare earth elements, require mining in countries that abuse child labor and pollute the area, run >80% on fossil fuels anyway, don't pay road tax like gas cars do, have horrible resale value, have no one who can fix (Tesla won't release the data to mechanics), weight 25-100% more, burn through tires faster, require $5000-20,000 battery replacements eventually, only get 75% of the stated range because of lying, only get 75% of that range because you're not supposed to charge past 90% and not let go below 20%
Daily I notice brand-new $60k pickup trucks speeding past me going 90 on the highway, rushing home to their 3-car garages in $450k McMansions, as their owners slave away for 40 years, >40 hours a week, just to pay for these things.* They blindly believe they're getting 25 MPG.** I work with these people. I used to use them as a reminder of what not to do. Now, I feel sorry for them when they can't afford to go out to lunch on Fridays. In the 60s, a man with a normal job was able to provide for a family of 4, in a normal neighborhood, owning a normal car, with a color TV. Today, the same is not possible, due to several factors. We are slaves. I'm doing ok, but I'm depressed because I know most people don't have the entrepreneur mindset.
First, let's look at how we got here. I'll use General Motors and Telsa as examples, as I'm in the industry. GM went bankrupt in 2009. The middle class is still paying for that bailout in the form of price inflation (the US Fed just created the money out of thin air). Why did the government agree to bail out GM? Because GM is legally able to bribe government officials.# These officials are not public servants in a capitalist economy: they are employees of the giant corporations (corporatocracy: a society controlled by corporations). And, our current monetary system, championed by the likes of Bernie Sanders, is Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). This says that the government can just print as much money without repercussions. Tesla: the company is not profitable on its own. However, since saving the planet is now political, Tesla is given carbon credits from the government, which Tesla then sells to Ford, who is basically buying the privilege to pollute (making Tesla profitable).## But Ford need not worry about spending this money or, doing anything right, because, just like all the big lenders who failed (Fannie Mae, Leeman Brothers, etc) and were bailed out by the middle class in 2009, Ford has an implied government bailout guarantee.
Conclusion 1: the above is the government's fault for letting the corporations takeover. We cannot 100% blame the corporations for trying to make a profit. If the product they are making is dangerous and kills people, but if it's legal to sell, then we need to blame regulators. But the regulators are essentially employees of these same corporations.
Individuals of the middle class are the ones struggling, yet I feel we need to take some responsibility for ourselves here:
- Ignorance - the corporations/government want us to work 40 hours a week and drive 1 hour back and forth to work to a house that costs only $300k where we can afford to live on our $80k salary. Why? Because we stay ignorant. But, how can we study economics and politics when we're gone 12 hours a day?
- Inflation - Most people think prices are going up because of shipping shortages, COVID, etc. Wrong: the currency supply has been inflated. That's the ONLY reason, by definition. 90% of this money went to the giant corporations. Yet, due to ignorance, we were all so happy with our stimulus checks, which, since everyone got the same amount, means that everyone got exactly $0.00. (US govt reports 7% inflation but they don't include the extra appx 7% increase on food and energy.)
- Status - From my own studies, I believe that status-seeking is driving approximately 50% of our economy. Don't believe me? Add up the sales of Cadillac, Lincoln, Audi, Lexus, Infinity, Acura and compare to those of Chevy, Ford, VW, Toyota, Nissan, Honda. Add up the cost of money spent on median priced houses (varies by city) vs the average price of houses minus median. Around here, you can live in a nice house for $150k only 45 min from the outskirts of the city and drive a $23k Honda Civic to get there. But no, we want to live 20 min away in a $400k house and drive a $50k car to get there. And we want the $1800 Apple computer, not the $500 one at Best Buy.
- Influence - the big corporations run the media. Why do you think you see the Kardashians and other flashy things all over TV? It's advertising! You think celebrities went out and bought that iWatch? No, companies send them that stuff for free. And here we are thinking we need to have that $1200 phone too; and a new one each year! And they totally have us convinced on housing too. Interest rates used to be around 13% in the 80s, so people could only afford 1200 sq ft. Now rates are 3-4%, so we can all buy 5000 sq ft homes. And we did! With a camper and jetski to match. Bought on credit, of course. Now we must really slave away and not get fired to be able to afford those payments.
So, buy silver. Buy Bitcoin. Start a business. Move to Thailand. Don't be depressed. Don't start a revolt (though I think someone will in our lifetimes). But definitely, get the word out that corporations control the middle class like this: middle class spends money > corporation gets rich > corporation buys politician > politician lies to get votes > middle class votes for politician > politician prints money and gives to corporation > middle class pays for it through inflation and pollution > middle class continues spending money at the same corporations that stole from us (yes, you driving that Chrysler Grand Cherokee are part of the problem!!). And for God's sake, remind people of the dangers of the phrase: "Buying that will save me money." Buying anything will almost never save you money. Especially status items. Don't be a part of the system!
* Contrary to common belief, most people driving $50k+ vehicles are not wealthy
** Most pickup trucks, even if they're new and V6, don't average more than 18-19 MPG
# Thanks, Reagan
## Electric cars cost double, use more rare earth elements, require mining in countries that abuse child labor and pollute the area, run >80% on fossil fuels anyway, don't pay road tax like gas cars do, have horrible resale value, have no one who can fix (Tesla won't release the data to mechanics), weight 25-100% more, burn through tires faster, require $5000-20,000 battery replacements eventually, only get 75% of the stated range because of lying, only get 75% of that range because you're not supposed to charge past 90% and not let go below 20%
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