Live free

@AHomelyHouse @AgroNationalism Just do it.

I believe young people and the nation as a whole would be better served if they disregarded the housing market completely and returned to building their own micro-homestead cabins and tiny houses wherever possible. We need to recolonize this land from the commerce wilderness.

@Save_1A_Now @MegEBrock @larissaphillip In other words- no man is an island. Do we have free will? Yes, sort of. If you can’t think clearly, are scared to go against the crowd, and or are so programmed that you can’t even entertain certain ideas because your worldview would shatter, you’re not in the drivers seat.

@Save_1A_Now @MegEBrock @larissaphillip Exactly. It permeates the entire culture. Most people can’t resist this level of programming. We are naturally influenced by the people in our area, the culture, media we consume, etc.

I feel so disgusted with the generational vibe that told us that having kids wasn’t a priority and that being a mom was kind of a lesser path. Dealing right now with someone close to me who completely missed the life she should have had, which would have made her very happy— as a mom of a bunch of kids. She believed the social justice messages and made other choices. Materialistic superficial choices btw. She’s traveled extensively and has fancy appliances and a nice (huge, empty) house — and a bunch of social justice bona fides. She was misled. This isn’t someone who was always a bit salty and never wanted kids. She wanted them, but it seemed lame and selfish and not as important as her SJW pursuits. (Which amounted to what? Nothing. The whole thing was a vibe.) I have the same life advice.

@larissaphillip @EtTuAnyhoo @0Beanie05923291 Oh wow is right.

@EtTuAnyhoo @0Beanie05923291 Oh wow.

@MegEBrock @larissaphillip If an individual is indoctrinated, are they truly capable of exercising their own free will?

By definition, you can’t be a victim of your own choice. You can be victimized by someone or something else—not yourself. And yes—age and reflection bring us wisdom on our own choices, mistakes, and what we might have done differently with the knowledge we have today. That’s life and hindsight is 20/20. Yes—we should absolutely be sharing that wisdom with younger generations. I’m a mom and a huge fan of motherhood. I would encourage any young women to embrace having children. But I absolutely disagree with victim narratives—including the emerging narrative where women view themselves as victims of their own choices, as much as I empathize for anyone disappointed with choices they’ve made, particularly in regrets over choosing to not have kids. That is very sad.

@123itsmeMary So true.

@RAHarrisonPA @Her_Nonymous_D It happened in 1999 when you could fill a tank for $20

I witnessed something at a gas station that’s stuck with me. A teenage girl was at the pump, counting change over and over. She had three dollars but needed five just to get enough gas to make it home. You could see the panic setting in. She started crying and tried calling someone, no answer. She was stranded, alone, and scared. A man at the next pump noticed and asked, “How much are you short?” She hesitated, then said, “$3.” He pulled out…

@drgurner Huge stacks of cash solve all problems. Well, not all, but most.

There is a weird myth that making more money doesn't make you happier. I assure you it does. It makes your entire life easier. It takes away many concerns. It gives you options. No basic need is a concern, and with specialized needs you have choices.

@SydneyLWatson What happens if you say you can’t pay and offer them $1000?

I will add - if my bill had come back and been something more normal, I'd just grumble, pay it and move on. But 8k is absurd. And I'm not gonna be scalped.

Seen a lot of conversation about how predatory the American medical system is. So I will weigh in. I ended up going to the ER about 2 weeks ago for crippling pain. Turned out to be a ruptured ovarian cyst. I was there for MAYBE 4 hours. My bill? $13,500 dollars. Because I'm uninsured (by choice, that shit is a SCAM), the hospital dropped my bill down to $8,100 and some change as an "uninsured" discount. For starters, $13,500 for a 4 hour hospital visit is insane as it is. But the fact the hospital can wipe $5,000 off the bill "just because" should show you how utterly fucked this system is. And to be clear - $8,000 is still an absolutely insane sum of money when all these people did was scan my stomach and give me some pain killers. On my itemized bill, my CT scan was 7k. The iodine they used was $900. Just being in the ER room alone was $2,500. We phoned the hospital to haggle. They dropped the price by $20. Normal people can't survive this shit. I do okay and $8,000 is still an INSANE chunk of money out of my savings. Anyone who argues this isn't a disgusting, predatory system is crazy. And it is even crazier that Americans accept this. And for those of you who argue this is the free market, I need you to be quiet. There can never be a true free market here when government and insurance have their creepy little fingers in this pie. People shouldn't go bankrupt trying to pay medical bills. This has to change.

@TumakMusic @yonann Right. This is ladder pulling. What is the alternative to owning? Renting? Don’t you think the landlord has to account for expenses too and incorporate them into rent? The reason people rent is mostly because they can’t afford to buy. Rents will go up exponentially.

I’m starting to think this is a concerted effort to discourage the new generation from investing in real estate. Interests decrease as you pay your principal off and build equity, firstly. Secondly, if you don’t buy your home, then you rent it… And after 10 years, that money is dead and you still own nothing.

Grant Cardone says a $500,000 house can cost $320,000 in interest before taxes or maintenance “Bank of America is gonna charge you 8% for 10 years. You put 8% on $400,000, that’s 32K a year, times 10 is 320K” “So you need to sell your house for 500K plus 320K to break even, and you haven’t paid property taxes, maintenance, or counted the fact that your 100K was dead”

@ericgkrehbiel @yonann Truly. It’s not easy and not everyone is suited to coding. In fact, AI can code. Perhaps not as well as the best coder, but be real, but good enough. Maybe stick with something long enough to make it work like you suggested.

@yonann The idea that a major career pivot is good blanket advice for millions of people is completely asinine

Dave Ramsey says a $600 pressure washing job can be the first step to making 150K a year "You don’t want to be 63 years old still pressure washing. But to get through this week, you can do a lot of pressure washing" "Use the pressure washing money to pay $10,000 for code school, then go make 150K a year coding, every move should be a step toward where you want to be in 10 years"

@Dinker711 @PenIsland2 @epaleezeldin @rosadelauro Term limits for Congress would be great. While we’re at it, an upper age limit for our presidents would probably also help.

@PenIsland2 @epaleezeldin @rosadelauro There have to be many better democrats to represent Connecticut. I am not saying flip parties, I am suggesting it might be time for her to retire. 30 plus years is far too long to be on the hill for anyone or any party member.

Nothing infuriates an uninformed Congressional Dem more than when they realize they voluntarily triggered a debate with someone who actually knows what they are talking about, reads federal statute and adheres to Supreme Court precedent. Today’s self-implosion by @rosadelauro was quite remarkable to witness. Without apology or regret, I will always adhere to the best available reading of federal statute pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright.

@johnricard @FiatLuxGenesis Yes! Decentralization would help so much.

I really, really wish we’d stop using left/right labels. They confound the situation. Almost as bad, but at least anachronistic, are the labels liberal and conservative. The problems won’t be fixed by centralized policies and economy. Decentralization and encouraging more freedom and innovation, however, will be a good start.

It's not only left wing young people who are angry with the state of the economy, government, and the world. The right wing young people are as well. They aren't communists, but they talk about seeing a fraudulent system that determines so much about our lives. And when they try to plan for an uncertain future they find few opportunities to improve their lives. I talk to them and they are furious, too. And it's understandable.

@J__K94 @gronko63 @Handre It destroyed abundance.

@gronko63 @Handre That boils my blood. Can you imagine how many parts we'd be sitting on right now?!??!! Warehouses full!!

Cash for Clunkers destroyed 690,000 functional vehicles in 2009, creating an artificial scarcity that rippled through used car markets for over a decade. The Obama administration sold this $3 billion program as environmental salvation and economic stimulus, but any free market economist could predict the real outcome: massive wealth destruction disguised as progress. The program forced dealers to pour sodium silicate into engines, permanently destroying cars that poor families could have afforded. Politicians eliminated the bottom tier of the used car market overnight. Suddenly, a reliable $3,000 Honda Civic became a $7,000 Honda Civic (if you could find one). The supposed beneficiaries — working-class Americans who needed affordable transportation — got priced out entirely. Government intervention always creates unseen victims, and Cash for Clunkers delivered them by the millions. Single mothers, college students, and minimum-wage workers watched their mobility options vanish as used car prices soared 30% between 2009 and 2014. The environmental gains proved negligible too: most clunkers averaged 15-17 MPG while replacements hit 24-25 MPG. Destroying half a million cars to improve average fuel economy by 8 MPG represents the kind of central planning that would give Soviet bureaucrats a hard-on. The wealth destruction extended beyond sticker prices. Higher transportation costs forced people into longer payment terms, creating a debt cycle that persists today. Cash for Clunkers normalized 84-month auto loans, turning cars from depreciating assets into multi-year financial anchors. Bureaucrats congratulated themselves for moving inventory off dealer lots while condemning an entire generation to transportation poverty.

@gronko63 @Handre Yeah- mandating the destruction of resources is the opposite of frugality. It is incredibly wasteful.

@Handre The program mandated destruction of the vehicle.. no pulling useable parts either. Insane program.

@Handre This is so messed up. And it was bad for the environment by essentially destroying cars that could have lasted for years.

@aibytekat Ping pong table is not a form of compensation.

3. The "Total Compensation" Distraction Situation: They try to sell you on a massive "total compensation" package, heavily emphasizing free office lunches, unlimited PTO, a ping-pong table, and a "family culture" to offset the heavily discounted base pay. System: Assign a strict, mathematical $0 value to any corporate perk you cannot immediately deposit into your personal checking account. Why it works: A great culture does not pay your mortgage. "Unlimited PTO" is statistically proven to result in employees taking fewer days off. Cash is the only unmanipulated, objective metric of your actual worth to the company.

When you get the email: "We are thrilled to offer you the role. The base salary is $85,000." (And you know the market rate is $120k). USE THE GOLDEN COUNTER-OFFER:

@GustiloGreg @TheCatholicEngr That was a bad period too. But I am talking about the sense of disorder that seemed to emerge in the last six years. You don’t know me or my situation so don’t make assumptions. Never.

@nettle_heavy @TheCatholicEngr Compared to the contrast of when all the steel mills, manufacturing, small tool and dies, entire neighborhoods, wiped out, because govt sold us out in the 70s/80s? I watched entire neighborhoods turned to dust in a decade.Y'all are living a life of comfort.

Maybe you're so exhausted all the time because America went from a high-trust society to you having to constantly monitor whether you're being scammed in every single monetary transaction Cars, homes, medical, dental, food, mechanics, practically every business

@larissaphillip Future generations will look back and think we were barbarians for how we use plastic in everything.

The collapse of the wool industry because environmentalists like wearing microplastics is one of the saddest things.

@SMB_Attorney Make a sandwich at home

What the actual f—k? 🤯 The future is here and it’s coming soon to a city near you to deliver overpriced sandwiches