California's Fires

On 10/24/2017 10:44 AM, AMuzi wrote:


an old observation but still true:
Under capitalism, it's man against man.
Under enlightened communism, it's the other way around.

I'd say that under modern American capitalism, it's billion dollar
corporation against man.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 7:23:05 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 5:00:26 AM UTC-7, John B. wrote:

I read you posting that you were making a salary in the top 5%. I also
read that you claim to make more money then a bloke who seems to be a
rather up market Lawyer, at least I see his name on some pleadings
that seem to be rather up market.

I was making that and it is likely I'll be returning to that level pretty soon. But it's been a decade and three years of that I was unconscious to all purposes and I had my bank account go from $88,000 to $10,000. I was a complete sucker for every charity or political group to come down the pike.

Luckily my 401's were in long term investments that Morgan Stanley wouldn't let me get at.

So I do have an income separate from SS but not much.

Then you tell me that me that you have paltry $500 a month 402K
account. And then you tell us that you pay $55 for beef stake....

Your stories just don't seem to match.

Well I believe that I said that I paid that for meat at a meat market. That was two weeks of meat including $28 for skirt steaks if memory serves. Which obviously isn't great.

Actually I handed over my military retirement to my first wife, along
with the house and the car, when I left.

As for money management, I can only comment that I am retired and
don't work any more.

And I might add, I live where I do because I want to live here, not
because of economics.

And a great deal of my money went to my ex-wife as well. She had four kids and I didn't mind making a rather substantial settlement to assure them a home. That's why I didn't have any savings from before 2007 and had to start anew.

She spent all of that they took out a reverse mortgage on her home and spent all of that. But this time the kids were grown and married. They don't realize where the money came from so that they could ride bicycles from coast to coast and to ride from here to the Nationals for several years.

People who cannot handle money cannot handle money. There isn't enough money in the world to satisfy them. My ex now being back keeps trying to spend what I have. "Let's go to Greece" etc. And she cannot understand why I wouldn't blow the little I have.

Jay knows how to handle money I'm sure since his entire business is taking it from others.

Huh, did someone say something? Yes, I charge for my services. Maybe your financial woes stem from not charging for your services. Did you remember to send out bills? That's really, really important. You can work for free, but then you're really, really poor. You want people to pay you for your work, and what is super-cool, people actually expect to pay for your work.. Who knew!

I've been taking money from others since I was 8 years old -- when I went to work in the family drug store. The giant NCR cash register was on a high counter, and I practically got brained every time the cash drawer sprung open. People would buy things, and I would take their money. I also rolled the coins, which was a dirty process. I did the night deposit when I got older. Taking that cloth bag filled with dozens of dollars (and mostly checks) down to the Bank of America in Los Gatos, looking around for criminal types -- swarthy, brown-skinned individuals who clearly did not belong in my town. Oh wait, those are the Italians who started the Bank of America! Never mind. I would then run from the delivery car and drop the bag into the deposit chute -- waiting to bust a Karate move in case anyone tried to get my deposit bag. Anyway, yes, I've been handling money for a very long time and how to do it.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 7:58:23 AM UTC-7, wrote:
1 April, 1971

lacking overview here...Capitalism failed several times leading to the Great Depression with Democratic Socialism, a more analytic not evolutionary economic structure replacing

The current tax cuts No. 3 are evolutionary

writing as a Darwinist

Capitalism had nothing whatsoever to do with the great depression. It was a world wide event. And most of the world was not capitalistic.

The Great Depression went from a stock market crash probably caused by the Federal Reserve Bank fiddling with the economy but from which the world could have recovered rather rapidly. The REAL killer was bad farming practices and drought which destroyed the US agricultural output. At the time the largest portion of the economy was agricultural in nature. When the weather returned to "normal" the great depression ended.

On Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 8:42:44 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/24/2017 10:44 AM, AMuzi wrote:


an old observation but still true:
Under capitalism, it's man against man.
Under enlightened communism, it's the other way around.

I'd say that under modern American capitalism, it's billion dollar
corporation against man.

I find your comments to be a major reason that this country has had so many problems. I bet you made these sorts of comments in front of the children you were teaching because the leftist mutter these same sort of ignorances.

Tell us you stupid ass - where do these "men" get their wages?

On Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 11:45:46 AM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:

Anyway, yes, I've been handling money for a very long time and how to do it.

That wasn't a criticism of you but of those who do not know the worth of money and how difficult it is to earn and then hang on to.

On 10/24/2017 5:31 PM, wrote:
On Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 8:42:44 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/24/2017 10:44 AM, AMuzi wrote:


an old observation but still true:
Under capitalism, it's man against man.
Under enlightened communism, it's the other way around.

I'd say that under modern American capitalism, it's billion dollar
corporation against man.

I find your comments to be a major reason that this country has had so many problems. I bet you made these sorts of comments in front of the children you were teaching because the leftist mutter these same sort of ignorances.

I taught things like statics, dynamics, strength of materials, robotics,
etc. For example, things like stress = M*c/I or like the following*:
D = (64*N*Pa*(K*L)^2/pi^3/E)^.25

But you're right that what I taught was sort of leftist. That's because,
as we've seen, reality has a bias against the right wing. ;-)

(*I admit, I had to look that one up. I no longer have things like that
memorized.)

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:42:41 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/24/2017 10:44 AM, AMuzi wrote:


an old observation but still true:
Under capitalism, it's man against man.
Under enlightened communism, it's the other way around.

I'd say that under modern American capitalism, it's billion dollar
corporation against man.

Probably true. But what is the alternate? Or perhaps, what is a
politically viable alternate?
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 10/24/2017 9:24 PM, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:42:41 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/24/2017 10:44 AM, AMuzi wrote:


an old observation but still true:
Under capitalism, it's man against man.
Under enlightened communism, it's the other way around.

I'd say that under modern American capitalism, it's billion dollar
corporation against man.

Probably true. But what is the alternate? Or perhaps, what is a
politically viable alternate?

It is tough to envision an alternative, especially a near-term one. The
fact is, large corporations have money to affect the election process in
ways that no individuals can hope counter.

Current Ohio example: Issue Two in this next election will involve
prices for pharmaceuticals. The measure is badly written in some ways,
but the essence is that no state agency should pay more for
pharmaceuticals than the prices negotiated by the Veteran's
Administration. (The VA is allowed to negotiate and does, just as do the
medical sytems in Canada, Britain, France, etc. and as a result they pay
FAR less.)

As I said, there are problems with this issue. But it's amazing to watch
the tidal waves of advertising the pharmaceutical companies are funding
to have it defeated. Ads on TV are at least 10 to 1 against it. They are
spending fortunes in their efforts. Why? Because they have the money to
do so, and they want to keep getting that money.

And of course, the ads are very misleading - such as "defeat it because
it doesn't cover 3/4 of Ohioans!" Right, because it applies only to
state agencies, and most don't get their medications that way.

Other examples abound. But when an industry like this has unlimited
money to spend, they can pretty much buy what they want.

Note to non-USians: The USA is one of only two developed nations where
drug companies can, and do, market prescription medications directly to
consumers; as in "Tell your doctor you want THIS prescription drug!" As
a result, TV ads are almost totally dominated by prescription medicine
ads and, of course, motor vehicle ads.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tue, 24 Oct 2017 23:06:22 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/24/2017 9:24 PM, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:42:41 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/24/2017 10:44 AM, AMuzi wrote:


an old observation but still true:
Under capitalism, it's man against man.
Under enlightened communism, it's the other way around.

I'd say that under modern American capitalism, it's billion dollar
corporation against man.

Probably true. But what is the alternate? Or perhaps, what is a
politically viable alternate?

It is tough to envision an alternative, especially a near-term one. The
fact is, large corporations have money to affect the election process in
ways that no individuals can hope counter.

Current Ohio example: Issue Two in this next election will involve
prices for pharmaceuticals. The measure is badly written in some ways,
but the essence is that no state agency should pay more for
pharmaceuticals than the prices negotiated by the Veteran's
Administration. (The VA is allowed to negotiate and does, just as do the
medical sytems in Canada, Britain, France, etc. and as a result they pay
FAR less.)

What I find interesting that in some countries.... (strangely Thailand
comes to mind :-) the price of certain, perhaps most, pharmaceuticals
is lower, sometimes much lower then in other countries. Sometimes very
near by.

I remember, after I retired and living in Thailand, I visited a
doctor in Singapore and mentioned that I could buy medicines in
Thailand cheaper then in Singapore. The doctor replied that I didn't
need to go all the way to Thailand, "just cross the causeway to
Malaysia".

In the U.S. I read about people crossing the border to Canada or
Mexico to buy medicine.

Granted that the cost of doing business is higher in the U.S., but
still.

As I said, there are problems with this issue. But it's amazing to watch
the tidal waves of advertising the pharmaceutical companies are funding
to have it defeated. Ads on TV are at least 10 to 1 against it. They are
spending fortunes in their efforts. Why? Because they have the money to
do so, and they want to keep getting that money.


Of course, but no different then any other company. Everybody knows
that Chevrolet is better then a Ford. Says so, right there on the T.V.
:-)

And of course, the ads are very misleading - such as "defeat it because
it doesn't cover 3/4 of Ohioans!" Right, because it applies only to
state agencies, and most don't get their medications that way.

Other examples abound. But when an industry like this has unlimited
money to spend, they can pretty much buy what they want.

Note to non-USians: The USA is one of only two developed nations where
drug companies can, and do, market prescription medications directly to
consumers; as in "Tell your doctor you want THIS prescription drug!" As
a result, TV ads are almost totally dominated by prescription medicine
ads and, of course, motor vehicle ads.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 10/24/2017 10:06 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 10/24/2017 9:24 PM, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 24 Oct 2017 11:42:41 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/24/2017 10:44 AM, AMuzi wrote:


an old observation but still true:
Under capitalism, it's man against man.
Under enlightened communism, it's the other way around.

I'd say that under modern American capitalism, it's
billion dollar
corporation against man.

Probably true. But what is the alternate? Or perhaps, what
is a
politically viable alternate?

It is tough to envision an alternative, especially a
near-term one. The fact is, large corporations have money to
affect the election process in ways that no individuals can
hope counter.

Current Ohio example: Issue Two in this next election will
involve prices for pharmaceuticals. The measure is badly
written in some ways, but the essence is that no state
agency should pay more for pharmaceuticals than the prices
negotiated by the Veteran's Administration. (The VA is
allowed to negotiate and does, just as do the medical sytems
in Canada, Britain, France, etc. and as a result they pay
FAR less.)

As I said, there are problems with this issue. But it's
amazing to watch the tidal waves of advertising the
pharmaceutical companies are funding to have it defeated.
Ads on TV are at least 10 to 1 against it. They are spending
fortunes in their efforts. Why? Because they have the money
to do so, and they want to keep getting that money.

And of course, the ads are very misleading - such as "defeat
it because it doesn't cover 3/4 of Ohioans!" Right, because
it applies only to state agencies, and most don't get their
medications that way.

Other examples abound. But when an industry like this has
unlimited money to spend, they can pretty much buy what they
want.

Note to non-USians: The USA is one of only two developed
nations where drug companies can, and do, market
prescription medications directly to consumers; as in "Tell
your doctor you want THIS prescription drug!" As a result,
TV ads are almost totally dominated by prescription medicine
ads and, of course, motor vehicle ads.


And as with any other human interaction, you're free to buy
or not buy whatever the hell they're hawking.

For example, I notice a constant series of complaints about
WalMart, product and policy, but I have never been inside
one myself. When I ask, "So why do you shop there?" I just
get a blank stare.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971