noddy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:21 am
Simple Minded wrote: ↑Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:35 am
stories of price fixing in the US are legion. tune in to the Victor Davis Hanson video that I posted a week or so ago.
it does sound very similar to what is occurring in many parts of the US. the dems used to be seen as supporting the blue collar types, the union types, by restricting immigration. the repubs used to be seen as fiscally conservative types who favored big business. the roles have flipped as they seem to do every 20 years or so, with the exception of there have been no fiscally responsible or even conservative types to be found in govt for the last 30 years or more.
the other day I noted to my wife, "there is a 20 foot long section of the sidewalk that is torn up for repair, huge signs saying SIDEWALK CLOSED, and an orange plastic barrel on both sides of the repair area every 50 feet for a quarter mile in both directions. This type of make work insanity did not exist 30-40 years ago. I can recall when the cost of repairing the sidewalk would have been less than the cost of transporting dozens of plastic barrels."
yeh its crazy.
it seems to be part of human nature, even well organized sane societies can go bat-lavender crazy for a couple generations. persecution of witches, Tulip bulb mania, German high society turning into Nazi's, etc.
Thinking back 40+ years, I can remember seeing sidewalk repair in a nearby town. 20' long section of sidewalk torn up, and maybe, maybe there was a wooden sawhorse with some orange paint 15 feet from each end of the torn up section. if not, the powers that be figured if you weren't paying attention and fell on your face, it would be a good learning experience for you.
reminds me of the pictures you see coming out of Asia with the guy crossing a raging river with a bicycle on his shoulder on a bridge made out of two strands of rope. the West isn't winning that multi-generational battle.
on the other hand the US's main strength as well as weakness is 300+ million people with 200+ million cultures. hopefully, none will dominate, and the good ole saying of "Huh? That's interesting! Why don't you go f**k yourself!!" will come back into favor.
only thing we know for sure is the most devastating Assault Weapon man has ever created is a computer/smart phone/tablet hooked up to the internet.
saw a great tee-shirt the other day
"IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY MY OPINION, YOU SHOULD HEAR WHAT I KEEP TO MYSELF!"
nothing is worse than when everyone cares and everyone wants to help! (tm)