If it empowers, enriches, or protects the rich and powerful, the consequences to everyone else is just ‘the cost of doing business’ to the people who own and control everything. That’s what happens when every facet of society is reduced to the simple calculus of “The line must go up.” People, their rights and…

Not entirely accurate. But yes, there’s a *BIG* problem with capital gains taxes. Not only that it’s not high enough, but that the system is (deliberately) set up to make it practically impossible to tax capital gains effectively, no matter what rate it’s theoretically taxed at. There’s a reason why Warren Buffet has…

It’s not like this was an easily predictable outcome or anything...

They ‘lose’ that money when the issuing country’s labor force is effectively worthless, because they’re homeless, starving, uneducated masses. And under capitalism, if a population isn’t producing things that can generate profit, that population is worthless. Which is already happening in the US, and why the ‘value’…

Not exactly. Capitalism is the private ownership of a society’s resources. The problem is that the absence of an investor class is temporary at best. Because even if you start off without the ‘investor class’ overstructure (ignoring off the logistical improbability of such a thing), success in a capitalist system…

Employees only ‘need’ to be paid more because the price of everything keeps going up...because the investor class, ie the ‘employers’ who own and control everything, just keeps squeezing harder and harder to take more and more for themselves. You know what that’s called? A FEEDBACK LOOP.

I should also add that there’s never been a capitalist economic system *without* the investor class in control of it. Not now. Not throughout the entirety of the US’s history, both as a nation and as colonies, and before it. Lest you should forget, it was investors who paid for Columbus to sail to the ‘new world.’

It’s more like a part of the progression. “Investor Class” operates like an amplifier to the existing self-destructive feedback loop inherent to capitalism itself, accelerating the spiral into a sort of pseudo-feudal precursor state before full-on feudalism.

Wizards and Hasbro made the catastrophic mistake of putting profits margins and growth ahead of customer engagement and satisfaction. In short, they sold the company’s future for a quick bump in investor portfolios in the present. But being that these companies are run by a bunch of fools, they didn’t realize the bill…

Websites can ask Chrome what categories you’re in, but they won’t be able to figure out exactly who you are...

Then by that ‘logic’ it’s also free speech when someone perjures themselves, slanders someone else, etc, etc....

What value *CAN* they add when the only function they serve is to inhibit or diminish access? Then consider the sheer volume of ‘middlemen’ jobs that make up the American economy, and you’ll start to get a picture of why things are so wildly unstable.

Once again illustrating that Florida Man is a f***ing idiot. It’s called parody and satire, and they’re legally protected concepts. The fact that you’re a walking magnet for parody and satire of your stupidity is your own fault.

...the only ‘snowflakes’ I’ve found in this culture-war bullshit are, oh, right, the ‘anti-woke’ ass clowns like Musk.

Tech-bro billionaires have been a collective disaster for society for everything else. Why would this ‘grand plan’ of theirs be any different? And if you drop the ‘Tech-bro’ part, it’s still just as true — billionaires have been a collective disaster for society.

Yes, but as part of SpaceX’s ongoing reuse R&D. Their previous launch was fully capable of deploying payloads to high orbits, if that had been the intention. So maybe stop missing the forest for the trees, mmm??

Off the back of a truck...

“...but perhaps mods and DLC will change all of that...”

Okay, Sony...but if my ownership of the things I buy isn’t respected and protected by you, then why should I or anyone else respect and protect the ownership of any of your ‘property’? IPs are a social contract, assholes. If you don’t hold up your end, I am under no obligation to hold up mine.

It’s not just a disconnect between people and their leaders. It’s a disconnect between what people say and how they act. Yes, lots of people are concerned and want ‘something’ to be done about climate change. But only if it doesn’t inconvenience them, that they don’t have to change anything about their lifestyles,…