Food prices

[Matador]

Would the same happen to you if you decided to represent Hunter S. Buyden in his?

If you committed crimes while representing him, then yes.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Individuals behaviour is influenced by circumstances.

Proximity is critical. Family and friends are the dominant influence. My wife was born and raised in the Philippines in what we would consider poverty. She had it better than most there. Filipinos are among the happiest (and I would say friendliest) people you will meet, including those who have immigrated elsewhere. They have strong family values.

So bad parenting can be caused by cyclical more general generational effects (like boomers bringing up a a generation of latchkey children) and the effects of stress and immiseration.

It can also be caused by government incentives that are not pro-family and which degrade fundamental human purpose.

Like JR, my younger brother and I were latchkey kids, as were many of our neighborhood friends. If anything, it taught personal responsibility and taking care of the younger kids. Our families were strong and we ate supper together every evening. Our parents made sure we did our schoolwork and stayed out of trouble.

A nuclear family is not sine qua none for a functioning society, read the book "The Dawn of Everything" demonstrating the broad range of human society over millenia and even larger periods of human history.

I realize that you think this Turchin fellow has figured everything out, but strong family structure is at the foundation of a functioning modern society. It cannot be replaced with government programs or "a village" as some like to think.

We seem to be talking wires crossed here, with you stressing individual responsibility and me illustrating the effects of circumstances and more general trends.

Because individual responsibility is what it takes for free men to self-govern and improve the circumstances around them. People can act to mitigate or worsen external factors (drought, famine, conflict, etc.). Some BS model of cyclical effects has nothing to do with reality.

Individual responsibility is a very useful concept for a working society, but it doesn't have much bearing on explaining long-term causes and effects how societies develop.

I disagree.

The interesting question is why people abdicate or simply loose personal responsibility, and "because of government" isn't an explanation for the phonomenom.

It absolutely can be one of several factors that explain it.

But the fact that people loose their influence because of a society drifting towards inequality and instability due to the lack of negative feedback is an explanation.

The missing negative feedback is the lack of serious consequences (starvation, death) from bad individually made decisions. A temporary safety net is one thing, but a multigenerational lifestyle is something altogether different.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

If you committed crimes while representing him, then yes.

Read what he wrote, man.

 

[Spiritworks]

Given time, Democracy will always end up as Anarchy. Always.

 

[cyrano]

Why?

 

[jabe]

Read what he wrote, man.

They did. Those "targeted lawyers" are being charged with criminally attempting to overturn a DEMOCRATIC election.

Would the same happen to you if you decided to represent Hunter S. Buyden in his?

If Hunter Biden attempted to overturn an election, I would 100% want anyone who assisted him to also be prosecuted. That's a weird theoretical, though.

here let me google that for you. . .

Well, I did ask "name one". I won't deny a few people lost their jobs for espousing horrific views. ("A few?!?" gasped AnalogPackrat in the reply, alluding to "numerous' cases with no evidence.) Richard Spencer, the neo-nazi brought to national attention for Hitler-saluting Trump's 2016 victory, is reportedly also having a tough time finding employment. Boo hoo. If your biggest example of "cancel culture" is "that lady who was on a Disney show for a season" then I can take seriously your statement "If the cancel gun is aimed at you, you are toast on all levels of society. Your professional and personal lives are ruined."

Maybe if the difference were understood it wouldn't have to be reiterated so often. Tyranny of the majority is not better than what we have.

Democracy isn't tyranny simply because you personally don't get your way 100% of the time. Quite the opposite.

 

[Matador]

State worker says he was fired for being a Democrat
...
In a case that questions the boundaries of speech at work, one state worker claims he was retaliated against for speaking about his liberal politics.

It’s a sentiment being echoed by conservative officials in red states across the country. The indefinite academic appointments that come with tenure — the holy grail of university employment — have faced review from lawmakers or state oversight boards in at least half a dozen states, often presented as bids to rein in academics with liberal views.

What remains are 45 cases from 2015 to 2017 where a faculty member was fired, resigned, or demoted/denied promotion due to speech deemed by critics as political. Of these, more than half (26) occurred in 2017, the clear majority (19) being over liberal speech. This disparity persists even after removing terminations occurring in private religious institutions.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

They did. Those "targeted lawyers" are being charged with criminally attempting to overturn a DEMOCRATIC election.

List Trump's current lawyers in GA. That's who was referenced.

If Hunter Biden attempted to overturn an election, I would 100% want anyone who assisted him to also be prosecuted. That's a weird theoretical, though.

You missed the point as usual.

Well, I did ask "name one". I won't deny a few people lost their jobs for espousing horrific views.

Horrific? Really? That's how you characterize people who dare question "The Science?"

("A few?!?" gasped AnalogPackrat in the reply, alluding to "numerous' cases with no evidence.)

Use the search, Luke. I grew up in the age of libraries, card catalogs, and microfiche. Your laziness is noted

Richard Spencer, the neo-nazi brought to national attention for Hitler-saluting Trump's 2016 victory, is reportedly also having a tough time finding employment. Boo hoo.

Did anyone mention this person as an example?

If your biggest example of "cancel culture" is "that lady who was on a Disney show for a season" then I can take seriously your statement "If the cancel gun is aimed at you, you are toast on all levels of society. Your professional and personal lives are ruined."

Plenty of others have suffered undue consequences at the hands of zealots and their mindless followers.

Democracy isn't tyranny simply because you personally don't get your way 100% of the time. Quite the opposite.

And again you prove your abject ignorance of the subject matter and create yet another strawman. Great job!

 

[living sounds]

Promoting class enmity is a well known marxist strategy.
===
Global wealth is not a zero sum game, we have seen trade and rule of law (like property rights) create and expand wealth world wide. This creation and expansion of wealth is not smooth. Millions have been raised out of poverty. At the same time millions have lost cushy low tech jobs.

Since I have been paying attention I have seen the world's low cost factory floor move from Japan, to Korea, and then to China. Now China is getting a little expensive and manufacturing is shifting to places like India and Viet Nam, but these are like a side step. IMO the next frontier for low cost manufacturing is Africa and growth there is challenged by multiple factors, but I doubt they can resist the global economic tide for very long.

That's just the "normal" economy. The gains from the increased productivity due to globalization went primarily to the top of the income/wealth pyramid. "Deregulation", tax cuts for the rich and lot's of lobbying-derived legislation since the late 70s served to help predators at the top take from the bottom.

It is class warfare, waged from the top at the bottom. And people at the bottom know and understand that.

 

[living sounds]

Like JR, my younger brother and I were latchkey kids, as were many of our neighborhood friends. If anything, it taught personal responsibility and taking care of the younger kids. Our families were strong and we ate supper together every evening. Our parents made sure we did our schoolwork and stayed out of trouble.

We were latchkey kids, too, and I prefer that to helicopter parenting.

I realize that you think this Turchin fellow has figured everything out, but strong family structure is at the foundation of a functioning modern society. It cannot be replaced with government programs or "a village" as some like to think.

Different book, different authors.

 

[Spiritworks]

Why?

The powers that be will promise everyone they can get whatever they want, so as to win their vote. The populace demand only what is best for their own self-interests, rather than for the good of the whole. Everyone decides that their demands are the only ones that matter. This eventually leads to jealousy, greed and envy, which results in unrest. Unrest leads to upheaval, riots, etc.. Everyone demanding their way = anarchy. The past few years here in the US have been the perfect example of this. Sadly.

 

[Spiritworks]

That's just the "normal" economy. The gains from the increased productivity due to globalization went primarily to the top of the income/wealth pyramid. "Deregulation", tax cuts for the rich and lot's of lobbying-derived legislation since the late 70s served to help predators at the top take from the bottom.

It is class warfare, waged from the top at the bottom. And people at the bottom know and understand that.

Beware of class warfare and wallet envy. No one is guaranteed the same outcome. It's interesting that so many disparage wealthy businessmen, but not wealthy entertainers or athletes.

 

[Tubetec]

Theres no doubt about it Oliver Anthony's song has struck a chord across the planet for low payed workers and the future their facing into ,

Nothing like having a good holler out in the woods , the trees sing little reverb tails back to you .
Olivers powerful voice you can hear carry off into the distance a long long way ,
Its like the woodsmans chorus , you can hear a pronounced resonant bark-back from the trees on the peaks .

 

[AnalogPackrat]

We were latchkey kids, too, and I prefer that to helicopter parenting.

Yes, and latchkey does not equate to broken family structure. Helicopter parenting is partly responsible for the current wave of "adults" who want gov to protect us with a smothering blanket of safety laws and regulations.

Different book, different authors.

My bad. I've put that book on the "might buy a used copy" list. But I stand by my comments (which were ignored).

 

[jabe]

The populace demand only what is best for their own self-interests, rather than for the good of the whole. Everyone decides that their demands are the only ones that matter. This eventually leads to jealousy, greed and envy, which results in unrest. Unrest leads to upheaval, riots, etc.. Everyone demanding their way = anarchy.

Earlier the conservatives were warning that democracy leads to totalitarianism. Now it also leads to anarchy. Democracy leads to the strongest form of central government and the weakest at the same time! Good thing we're all so precise in our definitions. To sum up what we've learned here:

• Totalitarianism is anarchy
• Republican democracy is not democracy
• Majority rule is tyranny, but minority rule isn't

Use the search, Luke.

I did, Leia. I found a few small-fry bigots and liars crying "reeeeeee!" because their employers didn't want to keep bigots and liars in their employ. I also found many more hate-mongers and liars making a tidy profit with no consequences at all, and a whole ton of conservatives trying their hardest to cancel anyone and anything they don't like.

Relevant to food prices, because what a pile of baloney.

 

[Tubetec]

I very much agree this nannygoat state mentality has gotten out of control ,
social media is being used to drum up anxiety ,which in turn facillitates the slide into dictatorship ,

When we were kids we used build rafts on the eastury , later we sailed boats , we'd go off fishing without adult supervision or take farm labouring work in season .
None of that stuff happens much anymore as far as I can see , there all glued to the phones and afraid to get their hands dirty .

 

[scott2000]

None of that stuff happens much anymore as far as I can see , there all glued to the phones and afraid to get their hands dirty .

I'm sure some hands are still getting dirty...

 

[JohnRoberts]

Beware of class warfare and wallet envy. No one is guaranteed the same outcome. It's interesting that so many disparage wealthy businessmen, but not wealthy entertainers or athletes.

The only systems that deliver equal outcomes make everybody poor.
===
Back on topic, a recent report has blamed President Biden's increased SNAP program spending in part for increasing food price inflation.
Feeding Inflation: How President Biden’s Unlawful Food Stamp Expansion is Costing Taxpayers and Consumers Billions

It appears that the recent huge increase was not approved by congress. There is a ongoing debate about causes of inflation, this shows at least partial correlation.

Harvard university is encouraging graduate students to register for SNAP (food stamps). That is an interesting lesson to teach.

JR

PS: I am not opposed to assistance for the most needy among us, but maybe not Harvard graduate students. At one point back in the late 70s one of my married brothers (now RIP) with two kids was struggling to make ends meet. He briefly used food stamps. To help I hired him to work part time for my kit business (he already had a full time job), and shared my rented house with him and his family. This helped him save enough for a down payment on his own house after only a couple years. I enjoyed spending time with my niece and nephew but young children demand constant attention. I would sometimes take the kids with me on my business errands. One time I made the mistake of trying to get them to sit quietly while I had short meeting at a business I was consulting for... that meeting did not work.

 

[Tubetec]

I wouldnt doubt the need to shovel shite in the country continues Scotty and the kids get stuck in
but in the modern urban jungle kids are more or less completely cut off from the realities of food production .

There selling burgers made of maggots in Lidl now so the woke folk can save the planet from impending doom

John you appear to still be attempting to suspend your own disbelief in reality ,
whats progress really , higher living standards for some with a bleak outlook for many on minimum wage ?

Look at the wisdom in the words of the native Americans ,
Western imperialism went ahead and tried to cancel the lot of it because it spoke of human spirtuality, nature/environment being co dependant .

https://www.oldwest.org/native-american-proverbs/
Seeing as the posts were locked on the other thread I said Id weigh in here on the subject of arguments and thread closures ,
ever play Whack a Mole Johnny Boy ?

“Everything the power does, it does in a circle.”​

from the above link .

 

[JohnRoberts]

I wouldnt doubt the need to shovel shite in the country continues Scotty and the kids get stuck in
but in the modern urban jungle kids are more or less completely cut off from the realities of food production .

There selling burgers made of maggots in Lidl now so the woke folk can save the planet from impending doom

John you appear to still be attempting to suspend your own disbelief in reality ,
whats progress really , higher living standards for some with a bleak outlook for many on minimum wage ?

Look at the wisdom in the words of the native Americans ,
Western imperialism went ahead and tried to cancel the lot of it because it spoke of human spirtuality, nature/environment being co dependant .

https://www.oldwest.org/native-american-proverbs/
Seeing as the posts were locked on the other thread I said Id weigh in here on the subject of arguments and thread closures ,
ever play Whack a Mole Johnny Boy ?



View attachment 113722

Therefore demonstrating my point.

[edit: speaking of whackamole... You guys don't see how many bad actor try to establish forum memberships every day. The improved forum software tracks the known bad actors and flags them so we easily spam clean them with one click. One member who was cancelled just last week for bad behavior tried to open a new account using a different alias... sorry charlie. Now that's whackamole. /edit]

JR

PS: I am getting too much reality these days but I don't have to share my every waking thought.