They used to make fun of us…

[GuyV]

Wait till you get to the chapter on Property taxes, death tax, medicare tax and so on that you can’t get out of. But you have to get through @Outdoors university econ 101 first.

Y'all might try consulting the work of some real economists. It's delusional to imagine oil markets are anything at all like free markets. We are living in a plutocracy pure and simple. Owning a Cybertruck and supporting the petroleum industry is kinda...

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[CyberGus]

We are living in a plutocracy pure and simple.

 

[GuyV]

And your solution is more power to the politicians and even less free market. Your argument just collapsed on itself.

My solution is more power to the voters. We don't have to allow the .1% to dominate with their gigabucks. This is supposed to be a democracy. The rest of us just have to wake up and take back control while we still have the right to vote. We've done it before you know.

 

[devdrone6]

We aren't a democracy. Thank god for that.

I don't know what you think the CT is made of, but without oil, it wouldn't exist. Nor the thing you are using to have this discussion.

 

[devdrone6]

Don't be making fun of us short kings man. (Pluto is now a dwarf planet)

 

[soonerdy]

My solution is more power to the voters. We don't have to allow the .1% to dominate with their gigabucks. This is supposed to be a democracy. The rest of us just have to wake up and take back control while we still have the right to vote. We've done it before you know.

nice slight of hand. How do you propose more power to the people? That's the same way people argue for communism, more power to the "worker" as they grant the government power to take over industry.

 

[Eka]

We aren't a democracy. Thank god for that.

I don't know what you think the CT is made of, but without oil, it wouldn't exist. Nor the thing you are using to have this discussion.

For now we have to burn some oil to make the EVs, solar, wind turbines, batteries, etc needed to get totally off fossil fuels in the future. One by one, two by two, four by four, , , we'll switch over.

It's interesting how much Pluto was misunderstood until it was visited. I suspect many severely misunderstand plutocracy too.

 

[GuyV]

nice slight of hand. How do you propose more power to the people? That's the same way people argue for communism, more power to the "worker" as they grant the government power to take over industry.

A democratic republic IS a democracy. We have one, as Frankling said, if we can keep it. Industry has NO rights other than those granted to them by the people through government authorization. They are constructs of the state, in the US, actually of the individual states where they are chartered. Mighty and powerful corporations have been taken down before and can be again any time the majority wishes.

 

[soonerdy]

A democratic republic IS a democracy. We have one, as Frankling said, if we can keep it. Industry has NO rights other than those granted to them by the people through government authorization. They are constructs of the state, in the US, actually of the individual states where they are chartered. Mighty and powerful corporations have been taken down before and can be again any time the majority wishes.

And there you have it, you want to give the government more power. Somehow you think the government is more noble than the free market... well, except for earlier in the thread. Both entities are comprised of men, but one entity has significantly more power (essentially monopolized power) than the other and that's the one you place more trust in. Your proposals welcome crony capitalism, which is the very thing you complained about earlier.

 

[GuyV]

And there you have it, you want to give the government more power. Somehow you think the government is more noble than the free market... well, except for earlier in the thread. Both entities are comprised of men, but one entity has significantly more power (essentially monopolized power) than the other and that's the one you place more trust in. Your proposals welcome crony capitalism, which is the very thing you complained about earlier.

Putting the power in the hands of the people is the opposite of monopoly. Letting it slide into the control of .1 percent because the system allowed them to accumulate great wealth is exactly that. This is class warfare, and as Warren Buffet says, his class is winning. Clearly, you've chosen a side, but is it really your own side, or are you just another gullible victim?

 

[CyberGus]

 

[HaulingAss]

Putting the power in the hands of the people is the opposite of monopoly.

Our system already puts the power in the hands of the people. The power to elect our representatives and the power to provide for ourselves and families any way we see fit, as long as we don't violate the laws our representatives have enacted.

Clearly, you've chosen a side, but is it really your own side, or are you just another gullible victim?

The side I've chosen is the one that incentivizes people to create plentiful goods and services at the lowest cost possible. That's how you get ahead in our system, and that's why we have a relatively high standard of living.

Taking from the wealthy to give to people who haven't figured out how to make themselves useful to others disincentivizes productivity, the source of all of our wealth. Worse, destroying corporations that are operating within the law destroys productivity. Remember, they are large and profitable because they are providing goods and services their customers are demanding, and they are doing it better than everyone else or they wouldn't be getting so much business to be profitable in the first place.

The system isn't perfect, the regulation of all this economic activity constantly needs to be adjusted. The biggest flaws are the bad actors who break the rules in order to create wealth without providing value. For example, people who defraud government programs, people who provide for their families by stealing other peoples things, people who sell goods or services that are not what they are claimed to be, etc.

There are many problems with the system, highly successful individuals and corporations are not a problem, they are a feature, unless that wealth was ill-gotten. That's why we have laws and regulations. You can chose not to do business with just about any private business (and you can chose which business you start and operate, or not), the same cannot be said about government. You generally have no choice but to do business with the government elected, not by you, but by all Americans (or by the people of whatever country you live in). That's why it's important to keep government only as small as it needs to be, because a smaller government subjects individuals to less coercion (which equals more freedom to provide for you and your family).

The biggest problem lies with the number of people who are able, but unwilling, to be productive. These people either create schemes to defraud individuals, groups or even the government, while providing nothing useful in return. The easier it is to do that, and get away with it, the poorer everyone else becomes. The solution is never to take more from the wealthy and give it to the less productive because that removes the incentive to be productive in the first place. I'm all for helping those in need but it has to be done in a manner that doesn't incentivize non-productivity.

Taking down large corporations that are following the laws? That's just crazy talk.

 

[shurley1975]

Always the same reactions:
1. YOU'RE a nazi!!
2. Can I see inside?
3. Omg it's a real truck!

 

[EasternSP]

Putting the power in the hands of the people is the opposite of monopoly. Letting it slide into the control of .1 percent because the system allowed them to accumulate great wealth is exactly that. This is class warfare, and as Warren Buffet says, his class is winning. Clearly, you've chosen a side, but is it really your own side, or are you just another gullible victim?

You have been making quite a few statements about the oil industry that could have only come from meetings within the big oil industry meetings. Do you have any meeting minutes or directives from within any of the oil corporations to corroborate your claims?

 

[EasternSP]

Back on the main topic though, people tell me, or warn me that Cybertrucks usually catch fire. I usually tell em there's a good possibility but Tesla is working on a system to provide fire extinguishers for those instances so a cross country trip won't be interrupted to bad.

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