Newbie comment on rant

[SolarPrep]

I've been reading/watching Wills' videos since he started. Some good material in there. But I'm really glad he made the video he calls the "rant" It is way overdue. Frankly, I've been saying this for many years while I've watched our competitive edge being taken away by people with more desire. In the engineered products industry I worked in, companies would not invest in improvements, and instead just relied on cheap migrant labor. Even with products that had a pay back period of less than 1 year, they would often not improve their lines. Meanwhile, our jobs were shipped overseas, and all they cared about was short term profits. Now, a large portion of Americans want to keep these workers out of our country, because they feel they are taking jobs away from Americans.

I don't know a single business owner who can hire the people he needs. The available work force doesn't want to work, and a lot of them don't seem to care about anything but playing video games. Meanwhile, like Will said, we blame everything on everyone else.

I don't know where the story will end for the USA, but if we follow the same path that other great nations did prior, we are going to suffer immensely more than we are now. We Americans can not even agree to disagree anymore....

Meanwhile, I'm building and installing my own solar, to have power available when the SHTF.

 

[Bob B]

I think there a several things in play.

Part of it is that Americans DO have it too easy ..... but, that is part of the intent of those who know America must be destroyed from within. They have taken leadership roles in all areas of society... most importantly being the news media, education, District attorneys, and politics.
I mean who really thinks that "universal basic income" is a good idea .... but it is being pushed by very powerful people. Who really believes that requiring an ID to vote is somehow racist .... I think those espousing that kind of view are the actual racists.

Another destructive trend is self important, narcissistic, almost sociopathic CEO's who move from one company to another with a trail of ruined companies behind them.
They make radical changes in the company that show short term profit .... then move to another company with a glowing resume that seems to show how much they improved profitability of the company they are leaving ... and then after a few years the company crumbles .... OH, it must have been that CEO who took over who mis-managed things.
A large fortune 100 company I used to work for had that happen .... the CEO achieved the nickname neutron Jim (The buildings were all still standing but the people were gone) .... but the word went out that anyone caught saying that nickname was to be fired on the spot. Our branch office, over a period of about 4 years went from a thriving business employing about 50 people locally to 7 or 8 of us that were still left ... All the result of this insane CEO's policy's ..... then I just couldn't stand to be part of a failing company any more, so I left and went to another large company who was doing the same business .... successfully and growing. That CEO then went to another company with a briefcase full of spreadsheets that proved how great a job he had done.
The same thing is happening to GE .... the long time successful CEO who made the company a powerhouse retired .... the new CEO has all but destroyed the company.

The social pressures today are just insane and when I watch what is happening I am amazed by the number of people who actually seem to believe some of this stuff .... and I can't understand how all these people were somehow brainwashed into believing pure BS.
Self important CEO's of these social media companies actually think it is their job to control what we see and hear.

We've got a lot of work to do to get things back on track .... better get busy.

Yeah, this post is probably over the edge of the posting rules of this forum .... but Will started it LOL .....we all need to wake up and figure out what we can do to correct the trajectory we are on.

 

[bladetoyshop]

I don't know a single business owner who can hire the people he needs. The available work force doesn't want to work, and a lot of them don't seem to care about anything but playing video games. Meanwhile, like Will said, we blame everything on everyone else.

I have seen the same thing over the past 20+ years. Some folks out there make the excuse that if businesses really wanted to hire people, they would pay them more, but ignore the realities of what those businesses have to deal with when it comes to expenses. Not to mention that most of those people pushing for a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage don't realize that forcing a company to pay new workers that is quite likely to highly irritate long-term employees that are making less than that.

 

[robby]

I think there a several things in play.

Part of it is that Americans DO have it too easy ..... but, that is part of the intent of those who know America must be destroyed from within. They have taken leadership roles in all areas of society... most importantly being the news media, education, District attorneys, and politics.
I mean who really thinks that "universal basic income" is a good idea .... but it is being pushed by very powerful people. Who really believes that requiring an ID to vote is somehow racist .... I think those espousing that kind of view are the actual racists.

Yes but one can also say that redistricting is also a political tactic to disenfranchise millions of people.
Also the constitution is flawed in that it makes no sense that a state like California with 40 million people has two Senate representatives, the same as Alabama which has 5 million people. In any sane country California would have eight senators. Texas would have six and so on and so on so that the will of the people in the Senate is also truly balanced. We do not have equal representation in this country, a person in a small states wields much more power than a person living in a big state. While typically a person in a small state pays much lower taxes than a person living in a big state.

Another destructive trend is self important, narcissistic, almost sociopathic CEO's who move from one company to another with a trail of ruined companies behind them.
They make radical changes in the company that show short term profit .... then move to another company with a glowing resume that seems to show how much they improved profitability of the company they are leaving ... and then after a few years the company crumbles .... OH, it must have been that CEO who took over who mis-managed things.

Yep 100% agree, this is the stock market and Investor effect. We now expect all companies to turn a bigger profit each year versus the last one. CEO's are picked not based on any knowledge of the product or how to run that particular company, they are often times picked for their ability to deliver more gains for the investors. If that means juicing the company to death in two years, then they do it.

A large fortune 100 company I used to work for had that happen .... the CEO achieved the nickname neutron Jim (The buildings were all still standing but the people were gone) .... but the word went out that anyone caught saying that nickname was to be fired on the spot. Our branch office, over a period of about 4 years went from a thriving business employing about 50 people locally to 7 or 8 of us that were still left ... All the result of this insane CEO's policy's ..... then I just couldn't stand to be part of a failing company any more, so I left and went to another large company who was doing the same business .... successfully and growing. That CEO then went to another company with a briefcase full of spreadsheets that proved how great a job he had done.
The same thing is happening to GE .... the long time successful CEO who made the company a powerhouse retired .... the new CEO has all but destroyed the company.

The social pressures today are just insane and when I watch what is happening I am amazed by the number of people who actually seem to believe some of this stuff .... and I can't understand how all these people were somehow brainwashed into believing pure BS.
Self important CEO's of these social media companies actually think it is their job to control what we see and hear.

Yep seen the same thing also

We've got a lot of work to do to get things back on track .... better get busy.

Yeah, this post is probably over the edge of the posting rules of this forum .... but Will started it LOL .....we all need to wake up and figure out what we can do to correct the trajectory we are on.

Unfortunately I don't see how it's going to get any better until it has gotten a whole lot worst. The system is broken and the Baby Boomers in my generation do not care! They are not satisfied with having a few million dollars, they want to have hundreds of millions and they are willing to milk the country to get it.
It was an eye opener to me the other day to meet a fellow engineer that worked for a couple of years with me at the same company. During our conversation I mentioned to him that next week I would be driving 150 miles to do some business in another town. He looked at me like I was a Mad Man. He asked me why don't I just take my private jet to get there. I said I don't have a private jet! He looked at me again as though he thought I needed a Hand out.

 

[bladetoyshop]

.
Also the constitution is flawed in that it makes no sense that a state like California with 40 million people has two Senate representatives, the same as Alabama which has 5 million people. In any sane country California would have eight senators. Texas would have six and so on and so on so that the will of the people in the Senate is also truly balanced.

It's my understanding that the House was supposed to be representative of "We the People" as individuals and that the Senate was supposed to be representative of the States; that's why originally they were selected by the government of the individual states, not through an election like the House was. Remember that the smaller states back then wanted equal representation and the big ones wanted it to be based on population.

 

[Bob B]

Yes but one can also say that redistricting is also a political tactic to disenfranchise millions of people.
Also the constitution is flawed in that it makes no sense that a state like California with 40 million people has two Senate representatives, the same as Alabama which has 5 million people. In any sane country California would have eight senators. Texas would have six and so on and so on so that the will of the people in the Senate is also truly balanced. We do not have equal representation in this country, a person in a small states wields much more power than a person living in a big state. While typically a person in a small state pays much lower taxes than a person living in a big state.

Sorry, but I disagree on that one ..... 2 senators per state is for the same reason as the electoral college ..... Otherwise, large population centers would control everything and their interests don't have much to do with the vast majority of the country. The needs of farming and other rural areas would have virtually no representation.

That scenario is alive and well in Illinois where I live.
Illinois is mostly rural and farming communities and those areas should have a say in state policies, otherwise agriculture could actually fail because of policies that might negatively affect them .... but, Chicago controls the state and Chicago voting has been corrupt for decades.
We had a governor who was known to be under serious investigation by the FBI .... many of his underlings already had convictions ...... when the elections came around, he was re-elected in spite of the fact that he lost every county in the state by a wide margin except for 2.
A little while later, he was convicted and put in prison .... one of a bunch of Illinois governors who have gone to jail. You've probably heard of Rod Blagojevich.

 

[robby]

Sorry, but I disagree on that one ..... 2 senators per state is for the same reason as the electoral college ..... Otherwise, large population centers would control everything and their interests don't have much to do with the vast majority of the country. The needs of farming and other rural areas would have virtually no representation.

That scenario is alive and well in Illinois where I live.
Illinois is mostly rural and farming communities and those areas should have a say in state policies, otherwise agriculture could actually fail because of policies that might negatively affect them .... but, Chicago controls the state and Chicago voting has been corrupt for decades.
We had a governor who was known to be under serious investigation by the FBI .... many of his underlings already had convictions ...... when the elections came around, he was re-elected in spite of the fact that he lost every county in the state by a wide margin except for 2.
A little while later, he was convicted and put in prison .... one of a bunch of Illinois governors who have gone to jail. You've probably heard of Rod Blagojevich.

So the State having equal Representation is more important to you than the People having equal Representation, yet the people are the ones paying the Taxes!
I wonder how well this would play out with the GOP if Puerto Rico, The Virgin Island and America Samoa were suddenly added into the mix, I wonder if the tune would be the same if six more Senators from tiny Islands were suddenly added to the Senate. Add the Hawaiin vote to the mix and you would have eight votes that would almost always guarantee the Direction the country would take.

 

[robby]

It's my understanding that the House was supposed to be representative of "We the People" as individuals and that the Senate was supposed to be representative of the States; that's why originally they were selected by the government of the individual states, not through an election like the House was. Remember that the smaller states back then wanted equal representation and the big ones wanted it to be based on population.

Yes it was and how well is that system working out for us today? Our failure to adapt is just another item that is killing us when it comes to dealing with other countries.

 

[Bob B]

So the State having equal Representation is more important to you than the People having equal Representation, yet the people are the ones paying the Taxes!
I wonder how well this would play out with the GOP if Puerto Rico, The Virgin Island and America Samoa were suddenly added into the mix, I wonder if the tune would be the same if six more Senators from tiny Islands were suddenly added to the Senate. Add the Hawaiin vote to the mix and you would have eight votes that would almost always guarantee the Direction that country would take.

In my experience, the ones paying the taxes aren't the ones in the large population centers. Large population centers seem to me to be almost always corrupt.

I had a lot more of a response, but decided we are already WAY too far into politics so I deleted it before posting ..... and won't make any further responses to a political argument.

 

[robby]

Yeah I agree the Politics thing is going to far, but I will leave you with one clarification.
Federal Tax Income By State

 

[Bob B]

Yeah I agree the Politics thing is going to far, but I will leave you with one clarification.
Federal Tax Income By State

Ok ... last one and done ..... so, if someone is poor and pays $1000 in taxes and someone else pays $100,000 dollars in taxes .... should the rich guy get 100 votes and the poor guy gets 1?
The amount of taxes paid is irrelevant in my mind.

 

[robby]

Ok ... last one and done ..... so, if someone is poor and pays $1000 in taxes and someone else pays $100,000 dollars in taxes .... should the rich guy get 100 votes and the poor guy gets 1?
The amount of taxes paid is irrelevant in my mind.

It's not about the money, I was just correcting your statement.
It's about the tax payer head count and each one of them having an equal say in how the country is run. As it stands right now a voter in Wyoming has 68 times more influence in the Senate than a Vote from an individual in California! A Voter in Vermont has 48 times more influence than a person in Texas. This is why both parties have been targeting small states so much. It's a whole lot easier to personally reach out and influence 650,000 people than it is for 40 million people. This kind of manipulation was not something the forefathers could have ever predicted when they drew up the constitution.

 

[Woody]

America Is a Republic, Not a Democracy
Well really a little of both. Here’s some thoughts on this.

Is the United States a Republic?

A republic is when the people who live in the country hold the power. However, in the US, elected representatives are chosen to exercise power.

constitutionus.com

The U.S. is a Democratic Constitutional Republic, and Yes, It Matters

Blurring of the terms democracy and republic fosters ignorance of the crucial reasons why the founders of the US structured the government as they did

www.intellectualtakeout.org

https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/FP-80.pdf

If you understand how America was formed it makes perfect sense. It was a balancing act between the populated colonies/areas verse the sparsely populated colonies/areas. This implementation allows those sparsely populated areas to have a voice / say in how things are done.

Today some want only a democracy. One person one vote sounds great until you realize that the population centers will call all the shots. In the US, those vast flyover states will have virtually no say. This would result in the dismantling of the union. The urban centers could impose their goals/beliefs on them since there’s more of them. An example of this is playing out in California. Ever hear of the state of Jefferson? The inland counties vote/think/look at things very differently than the costal cities. But the cities have the population so they control the state. As such, there’s talk about breaking up California into 3 or more states.

As for the rant…it’s good that people have the ability to express themselves. When one no longer can express themselves, good or bad, one can’t learn or evolve, or change their opinion. Stifle/suppress others and refuse to see/hear them leads only to turmoil and upheaval in the end.

 

[hidiyguy]

America Is a Republic, Not a Democracy
Well really a little of both. Here’s some thoughts on this.

Is the United States a Republic?

A republic is when the people who live in the country hold the power. However, in the US, elected representatives are chosen to exercise power.

constitutionus.com

The U.S. is a Democratic Constitutional Republic, and Yes, It Matters

Blurring of the terms democracy and republic fosters ignorance of the crucial reasons why the founders of the US structured the government as they did

www.intellectualtakeout.org

https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/FP-80.pdf

If you understand how America was formed it makes perfect sense. It was a balancing act between the populated colonies/areas verse the sparsely populated colonies/areas. This implementation allows those sparsely populated areas to have a voice / say in how things are done.

Today some want only a democracy. One person one vote sounds great until you realize that the population centers will call all the shots. In the US, those vast flyover states will have virtually no say. This would result in the dismantling of the union. The urban centers could impose their goals/beliefs on them since there’s more of them. An example of this is playing out in California. Ever hear of the state of Jefferson? The inland counties vote/think/look at things very differently than the costal cities. But the cities have the population so they control the state. As such, there’s talk about breaking up California into 3 or more states.

As for the rant…it’s good that people have the ability to express themselves. When one no longer can express themselves, good or bad, one can’t learn or evolve, or change their opinion. Stifle/suppress others and refuse to see/hear them leads only to turmoil and upheaval in the end.

Exactly. We wouldn't have a United States if Congress wasn't set up this way. It was a compromise to ensure the small states would not be dominated by the larger states with more population, and thus not have a say in federal government...just like major population centers dominate state politics.

 

[toms]

If it’s any consolation- it’s not just the USA. Australia has exactly the same issues, and for the same reasons.

Having a universal basic income is basically saying you are owned by a corporation. Sad thing is that people understand this and still want it.

 

[bladetoyshop]

If you understand how America was formed it makes perfect sense. It was a balancing act between the populated colonies/areas verse the sparsely populated colonies/areas. This implementation allows those sparsely populated areas to have a voice / say in how things are done.

Correct, and as I pointed out, the Senate was actually intended to represent the will of the individual states as a whole, rather than the voters themselves. The same is actually true of the President, whether most people realize it or not.

 

[Hedges]

It all got messed up when the Constitution was amended giving federal government power to levy income tax. Apparently done so alcohol could be banned; it was 2/3 of federal revenue.

Now, Congress gets to take our money and spend it.

Greatest weakness of the Constitution is that it grants Supreme Court power to determine what the constitution means. They decided that "Interstate Commerce" was affected (although not involved) if a farmer grew corn on his own field and fed it to his own pigs. Therefore, the government could forbid him to grow as much corn as he wanted. Now Congress is given authority to regulate everything we do, despite the clause, "All powers not explicitly granted to congress by this constitution shall be reserved for the States, or the people."

As for votes, there is a 1 in 1,000,000,000 my vote determines who becomes president. For somebody in one county of Florida one year, I think it was 1 in 100.

 

[Woody]

Now, Congress gets to take our money and spend it.

Appears that’s becoming less of an issue for them. They can now take our money by not not actually taking it directly from us (inflation & devaluation). The Federal government just makes money out of thin air. Lately our last three administrations felt free to spend a Trillion or two here, there, everywhere. No worries, America doesn’t have a money problem….America just does not spend enough! Well that’s what some think. Good to be the worlds reserve currency. So spend, spend, spend! Be damned about paying your debts. Let the next couple of generations pay for today’s good times.

As countries move away from using dollars to settle international transactions (Russia, China, Iran, etc.) the dollar will loose its world reserve currency status. At that time America/Americans are going to have a very rude awakening. Debts will be due! No one will want to finance our spending/debts. Isolation, third world decay, … no one knows how far America could crumble. But as always the one way out for most country’s problems….blame someone else. War! Then build fresh.

So all good reasons why we need to build our own power systems. Buy the solar items today because they are not going to get cheaper for those in the US.

Funny how I hear more and more people at the hardware store say “need one, buy two”. Seems that with reduced product inventory on the shelves and prices going up, people are starting to realize change is in the air and not for the good. Maybe the new slogan should be “Got Spares?”

 

[Sanwizard]

I've been reading/watching Wills' videos since he started. Some good material in there. But I'm really glad he made the video he calls the "rant" It is way overdue. Frankly, I've been saying this for many years while I've watched our competitive edge being taken away by people with more desire. In the engineered products industry I worked in, companies would not invest in improvements, and instead just relied on cheap migrant labor. Even with products that had a pay back period of less than 1 year, they would often not improve their lines. Meanwhile, our jobs were shipped overseas, and all they cared about was short term profits. Now, a large portion of Americans want to keep these workers out of our country, because they feel they are taking jobs away from Americans.

I don't know a single business owner who can hire the people he needs. The available work force doesn't want to work, and a lot of them don't seem to care about anything but playing video games. Meanwhile, like Will said, we blame everything on everyone else.

I don't know where the story will end for the USA, but if we follow the same path that other great nations did prior, we are going to suffer immensely more than we are now. We Americans can not even agree to disagree anymore....

Meanwhile, I'm building and installing my own solar, to have power available when the SHTF.

Major thumbs up.

 

[Sanwizard]

It all got messed up when the Constitution was amended giving federal government power to levy income tax. Apparently done so alcohol could be banned; it was 2/3 of federal revenue.

Now, Congress gets to take our money and spend it.

Greatest weakness of the Constitution is that it grants Supreme Court power to determine what the constitution means. They decided that "Interstate Commerce" was affected (although not involved) if a farmer grew corn on his own field and fed it to his own pigs. Therefore, the government could forbid him to grow as much corn as he wanted. Now Congress is given authority to regulate everything we do, despite the clause, "All powers not explicitly granted to congress by this constitution shall be reserved for the States, or the people."

As for votes, there is a 1 in 1,000,000,000 my vote determines who becomes president. For somebody in one county of Florida one year, I think it was 1 in 100.

Uh, Congress is trying to pass a bill so your vote never matters anymore. They have found thousands of fake ballots that were counted twice in Arizona alone.
That would require MANY in the entire process broke laws and knew they could get away with it because the fix was in.
Like Hunter Biden, they are all above the law, cause they make and enforce the law. Dominion is known to be corrupted, so anything but an in person vote, on paper, with ID, is invalid. We need to do what we forced the Iraqi's to do. Vote in person, and put your finger in ink so you can only vote once. No more electronics. We did it manually for hundreds of years in ONE DAY. We can do it again. The idea that ID is racist is actually racist.