Do we have capitalist or a centrally managed/ communist country?

a reply to: BrianFlanders

You do yourself a disfavour by retreating into relativism. We can know, we can learn, and we can speak accurately about the world and politics.

Silly answers such as "like this", your refusal to clarify after my misunderstanding, and your deep-seeded relativism, is what lead to several posts of back and forth nonsense.

A government can be authoritarian or not, or a mixture of it. So which is it?

originally posted by: NiNjABackflip
a reply to: BrianFlanders

Or you could have just clicked the link beside my name and clicked on "posts in thread" and saved yourself some time. I guess that's too easy.

I asked a question (how so?). That's it. You couldn't or refused to answer it. And it's my fault because I didn't sift through your piffle for an answer. No thanks.

How is it possible you are unaware that government by its very nature is authoritarian...

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: NiNjABackflip
a reply to: BrianFlanders

Or you could have just clicked the link beside my name and clicked on "posts in thread" and saved yourself some time. I guess that's too easy.

I asked a question (how so?). That's it. You couldn't or refused to answer it. And it's my fault because I didn't sift through your piffle for an answer. No thanks.

How is it possible you are unaware that government by its very nature is authoritarian...

Examples of authoritarian governments include absolute monarchies and fascist dictatorships. Republican governments, for example, are not authoritarian. In political science, authoritarianism has a technical meaning, and not all governments fit the bill.

a reply to: NiNjABackflip

I see, the illusion of freedom can be a potent distraction.

Whatever we have, it is a god damned joke and you are damn right I envy people like CornishCeltGuy and our bretheren from the other wasternized nations that have actually evolved in the past 100 years to taking bettervcare of their people, peasants.

It is shameful really, considering the grand majority of fight for workers rights and outright battles against the establishment in which hundreds of striking workers were murdered by the state and the employers private military forces. Dozens of said battles. They all began and happened here in the USA.

Albeit, that was many decades ago and you would never believe it looking at the rights we have now as American workers as compared to elsewhere. Basically we did a lot of the heavy lifting back in the day when it came to fighting for better living conditions but today it seems we have lost a lot and have failed to progress any since then.

Damn shame.

originally posted by: toysforadults

originally posted by: Azureblue
a reply to: toysforadults

I agree that the bankers are the global govt but I dont think they are capo;s or commies.

I really dont think they give a stuff about either.

All they want is ownership of the world and everything that it contains.

I think they just push one lever forward when it suits them and pull that back and shove the other lever foreward when it suits them and drive their bulldozer over the world.

I reckon seeing people getting all hot under the collar about capoism or commi ism must make the bankers and their other global giant partners laugh their box off all the way home.

I agree I just wanted to bust the myth of a free market

there is a good article on the environmental effects of capitalism on Gumshoe News where they argue that because few corproations pay for encrionmental damage and what they do pay is not much. Eg after 15 years Exxon paid out an equlivent of 3 days worth of profits for the exxon valdes incident.

there are other things they cite as well; good article actually.

a reply to: Lightdhype

If these Damn kids just worked themselves to death for less we wouldnt be in this situation.

originally posted by: Lightdhype
Whatever we have, it is a god damned joke and you are damn right I envy people like CornishCeltGuy and our bretheren from the other wasternized nations that have actually evolved in the past 100 years to taking bettervcare of their people, peasants.

Mate, honestly, it is fantastic being a working peasant in the UK, employed or self employed/business. All the stuff I read on ATS about people working 60 hour weeks to exist, and going bankrupt over medical bills I think WTF?!
I'm anti constitutional monarchy as #, but I love being a peasant here, most people do so it explains the lack of "Freedom!" cries in the UK.
I'd work harder as a US peasant for sure, 'socialist' Britain and all that, # 60 hour weeks off for a laugh, sounds like slavery to me.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Slavery it is, only rebranded. I am glad yourself and others like you can feel for us at least. Let me share my personal story.

Back in 2014 i dropped out of college after completing my first year at a 4 year university (10k a year, could be worse but I should have just went community college for about 5k a year in retrospect). I had my son young, real young. I realized I could not go 3 more years without a real income.

So I used my fathers connections through former coworkers to land an electrician's apprentice position. Commercial high rise electrical construction work. Starting pay 13$ an hour back in 2014 with garunteed 6 month 1$ raises.

I had to commute 120 miles a day on my second project so they bumped me up to 16$ an hour to reimburse travel expenses. Not bad. I also had to attend an independent electrical contractors 'IEC' school for four years. One night a week aprox 4 hours.

All seemed alright, i actually loved the job. Fast forward six months, December 15th 2014. The night before, I am up until about midnight studying and completing homework assignments for my IEC class the next evening. I wake up just before 5 am, leave the house by 5:30 to make it to work by 7am as per usual.

That is where my memory stops. About 4:30 that afternoon, I most likely (i will explain later) fall asleep at the wheel. Going southbound on an Interstate at 81 mph an hour trying to make it to class by 5pm.

I should have died that day. Thank god I did not injure another. I hit the gaurdrail at 81mph, took out over 25 yards of guardrail before zipping back and hitting the rail on the other side of the road. I should have died on impact, but I was buckled and Yahweh or W/E intervened.

A police officer responded and pulled me from the vehicle minutes later. I was concious and begging for help, attempting to crawl out of my seat (recounted from the officers statement). A 'flight for life' chopper was called to airlift me to the hospital as the highway quickly became inpassable after my wreck. My motor functions are normal as of now nerve wise. I begin to have a seizure during the helicopter ride to the nearest level 1 trauma center.

Fast forward two weeks. Both of my femurs are compound fractured. Three seperate blood transfusions. Lacerations are stapled shut from the top of my head, down my neck, and even down my chest. Severe traumatic brain injury. I have permanent nerve damage to my right arm. Nasty potentially termial bacteria contracted while in the hospital that required daily IV treatments into a catheter like thing inserted into my bicep while at home for months, the whole nine yards.

When I awake, I have zero motor function in my dominant arm. My first coherent memory is myself coming to in an ambulance already on the way to a rehab hospital where I would spend another month.

I now have rods in my legs, and about 50% function in my right arm, the hand works. This came back slowly over the past 4 years but I believe I have peaked and this is as much function as I will ever have.

That helicopter ride? 85 thousand dollars. Month+ in the hospital and multiple surgeries? Three quarters of a million dollars. I was still on my parents health insurance, so they were liable. They are making payments to this day and will continue doing so for years. That is WITH health insurance, both my mom and pops seperately.

Fast forward to now? I am absolutely ecstatic to have landed a job which pays me only what I was paid 4 years ago already but hey at least its not physical labor, im lucky right?

In retrospect my parents should have refused to pay and I declare bankruptcy but hindsight is 20/20.

Oh and the earlier part about probably falling asleep at the wheel? A recall was issued for the exact make model and year of the car I was driving. The mechanical issue dealt with steering and the flaw could cause a vehicle to uncontrollably veer off to one side. My father heard this and contacted an attorney and the auto insurer immediately.

Attorney said the vehicle would have to be examined to possibly bring a lawsuit against Pontiac. So he contacts the insurer as the car was obviously totalled. They tell him where the scrap was sent. He calls the yard, they inform him that they buy totaled heaps of metal from insurance companies to scrap them down. Only problem? When that sale is made all rights to the vehicle are also sold to the scrap yard and he legally could not tell my dad a single word about if the vehicle was ever even there.

Apologies for the long story, I just like to share it as it is a good example of #ery in this country and it has taken me 4 years of hard work to even begin to recover from.

I will say that I did get 3 months of full disability pay from my employers insurance and then another 9 months of 60% disability pay which was the max time and then the company officially let me go. At least.

The injury was not 'on the job' per say so I think the only reason they paid was because my dad was friends with the execs plus they feared a lawsuit of some kind.

a reply to: Lightdhype
Wow, that was on e heck of a story to read, 3/4 million dollars?!!!
Your example is exactly why I feel for your countryfolk who don't have universal healthcare like the rest of the developed world. Honestly, I feel for you and every other person who suffers similar when I read their stories.

I just can't get my head around folk who value perceived 'freedom' over paying a small amount of taxes to provide healthcare for everyone. Our helicopter ambulances are free at the point of need as well, they are mostly funded by charities though, and are the most popular organisations which we the people support from our donations.

Some folks definition of 'freedom' seems alien to me. You wouldn't have paid anything in the UK for that accident, and while out of work you'd get your rent paid and cash benefits to live on while recovering.
Give me a 'socialist' state anyday, being a peasant in Britain is fantastic compared to the hearsh reality of US 'freedom'...I genuinely feel for you and your countryfolk who get screwed over and told to fend for themselves.
What a harsh and cruel society in my opinion, and I wish you had the same safeguards that we have here, genuinely.