When Can We Start Breaking Things?

[Fragony]

So what if some have so much more. Good for them. I can get by and can still do fun things I don't need that much more, I am satisfied with that.

[a completely inoffensive name]

So what if some have so much more. Good for them. I can get by and can still do fun things I don't need that much more, I am satisfied with that.

I don't think you got the point. Those at the top seem to treat money as a zero sum game and want to walk away holding all of it. You are in the middle class and less people are living your life everyday. Will you say the same when you get kicked out as well?

[Fragony]

I don't think you got the point. Those at the top seem to treat money as a zero sum game and want to walk away holding all of it. You are in the middle class and less people are living your life everyday. Will you say the same when you get kicked out as well?

Economy just isn't doing very fine right now, but I don't mind it that some people are filhy rich, they are not the cause of he problem. People find it unfair that they get tax-cuts but Inthink it's unfair there isn't a cap on the amount of money that can be taxed

[a completely inoffensive name]

Economy just isn't doing very fine right now, but I don't mind it that some people are filhy rich, they are not the cause of he problem. People find it unfair that they get tax-cuts but Inthink it's unfair there isn't a cap on the amount of money that can be taxed

Except they did cause the problem. Rich people looking to sell their bundled up whatevers get other rich people to commit fraud by labeling them as AAA++++ would buy again. Housing meltdown triggering a cascade of other meltdowns as the bubble bursts. Meanwhile the average citizen who never majored in finance doesn't know how to play the stock market and doesn't realize why his bank would give him a loan if he wasn't good for it. All because it's better for the bottom line to have long term debt slavery then for responsible people to get their money, pay it off and be on their way.

[Fragony]

Except they did cause the problem. Rich people looking to sell their bundled up whatevers get other rich people to commit fraud by labeling them as AAA++++ would buy again. Housing meltdown triggering a cascade of other meltdowns as the bubble bursts. Meanwhile the average citizen who never majored in finance doesn't know how to play the stock market and doesn't realize why his bank would give him a loan if he wasn't good for it. All because it's better for the bottom line to have long term debt slavery then for responsible people to get their money, pay it off and be on their way.

Your government is kinds guilty of that, they enforced programs in risky area's, read up on the 'community reinforcement act'. It looked good untill the housing market suddenly collapsed and the banks were stuck with loans they would otherwise never have given. We have a similar bubble here, people live in houses that rised in value fast, and they used that fictional money. When prices will drop they are in trouble because they spend the additional value that was given. Glad I never fell for that I have just payed my debt.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Your government is kinds guilty of that, they enforced programs in risky area's, read up on the 'community reinforcement act'. It looked good untill the housing market suddenly collapsed and the banks were stuck with loans they would otherwise never have given. We have a similar bubble here, people live in houses that rised in value fast, and they used that fictional money. When prices will drop they are in trouble because they spend the additional value that was given. Glad I never fell for that I have just payed my debt.

Yeah our government, which is filled with.....rich people. Guess what percentage of the US Senate is made of millionaires.

[tibilicus]

Economy just isn't doing very fine right now, but I don't mind it that some people are filhy rich, they are not the cause of he problem. People find it unfair that they get tax-cuts but Inthink it's unfair there isn't a cap on the amount of money that can be taxed

They are the exact cause of the problem. They speculate, they gamble and when it all comes crashing down, we foot the bill. Coffee is a naturally produced substance and it has been for millions of years. One day we decided we needed guys to decide how much it's worth though. Guys who could speculate on its wealth and tell us if it was worth more or less. They usually did so for their own gain and if their little game put the price down thus destroying the lives of the suppliers, they didn't care. They were too busy in the City drinking champagne and cheating on their wives who would still adore them like the gods of Mammon we've made them out to be.

As for taxes, it isn't them being taxed too much, its the fact they don't pay tax. This money could have sorted out the budget deficits for this year of numerous nations. The USA only had a deficit of $1.2 trillion whilst the rich hoarded 12 trillion like Smaug the dragon. They expect our stupid consumer society to pay for them. We work jobs we hate so we can buy rubbish we don't need. We give them money and they give us nothing back. They just continue to speculate on our lives. The ultimate aim of any good city boy is to make a heap of money. Not for us but for himself. It is irrelevant how he makes this money. He can lie, cheat, sell his soul, make a pact with the devil and even kill. It doesn't matter. All that matters is he makes money. We are his thralls and we rely on his benevolence as only he can guide our lives to betterment through his economic insights. We sold our souls to morons and they plan to make or lives a misery till we cant give them any more money. Then they'll discard us like their strip club receipts.

[Fragony]

They are the exact cause of the problem. They speculate, they gamble and when it all comes crashing down, we foot the bill. Coffee is a naturally produced substance and it has been for millions of years. One day we decided we needed guys to decide how much it's worth though. Guys who could speculate on its wealth and tell us if it was worth more or less. They usually did so for their own gain and if their little game put the price down thus destroying the lives of the suppliers, they didn't care. They were too busy in the City drinking champagne and cheating on their wives who would still adore them like the gods of Mammon we've made them out to be.

As for taxes, it isn't them being taxed too much, its the fact they don't pay tax. This money could have sorted out the budget deficits for this year of numerous nations. The USA only had a deficit of $1.2 trillion whilst the rich hoarded 12 trillion like Smaug the dragon. They expect our stupid consumer society to pay for them. We work jobs we hate so we can buy rubbish we don't need. We give them money and they give us nothing back. They just continue to speculate on our lives. The ultimate aim of any good city boy is to make a heap of money. Not for us but for himself. It is irrelevant how he makes this money. He can lie, cheat, sell his soul, make a pact with the devil and even kill. It doesn't matter. All that matters is he makes money. We are his thralls and we rely on his benevolence as only he can guide our lives to betterment through his economic insights. We sold our souls to morons and they plan to make or lives a misery till we cant give them any more money. Then they'll discard us like their strip club receipts.

But you do get something back, you have a job there and you get payed for it. I find the notion that their money really belongs to the community becausev hey happen to have more of it rediculous. Aren't we suppsed to have a quid pro quo situation with the state, how does paying a tenfold or thousandfold then others make sense.

[a completely inoffensive name]

But you do get something back, you have a job there and you get payed for it. I find the notion that their money really belongs to the community becausev hey happen to have less of it rediculous. Aren't we suppsed to have a quid pro quo situation with the state, how does paying a tenfold or thousandfold then others make sense.

Every job doesn't stem from wall street. People have harvested coffee, refined coffee, sold coffee and bought coffee long before there was a wall street.

[Fragony]

Every job doesn't stem from wall street. People have harvested coffee, refined coffee, sold coffee and bought coffee long before there was a wall street.

They still do, we call it the 'real economy' here, what people actually buy and move. I am not all that worried about that undercurrent ever failing.

[tibilicus]

So what if some have so much more. Good for them. I can get by and can still do fun things I don't need that much more, I am satisfied with that.

You may be comfortable for now. But good for them? You know the same bank which would love to take your house also probably laundered money for Iran or rigged the entire system. You know, that same system we all need to get by? Riddle me this. What do you think would happen to me if I laundered money for an indvidual from a country my country had an embargo against. Would I be sat here now typing this?

I'm glad you're happy with your place in the grand scheme of things. That happiness will stop you really thinking about the guys who cannot fail. They know they can do what they want and act how they want. They truly are above our laws and care nothing for the common sense of humanity. For them its all a game and money is a key component. They've turned our lives into a literal version of Hasbro's Monopoly and its so perverse and disgusting yet well just accept it. IF we get by on a middle income job that seems like our crowning glory before we sink into the see of mediocrity like everyone else. Any hopes of youth we once had replaced with the ideal model of taking it on the chin and getting by. I hope there's more than this. If this is it then whats the point of it all?

[HopAlongBunny]

...They truly are above our laws and care nothing for the common sense of humanity.

For me this is the crux of the matter. Who was charged for the crime of the century? Not that having a scapegoat or two would have actually fixed anything, but at least one might have felt the system wasn't totally broken.

[Papewaio]

You can freely break that which you can repair.

You can do away with something if by doing so improves the situation.

If your system is broken, then fix it. Don't wait for equality or health or wealth to be given. Don't play their game. Define your game and what the stage of life is to you.

Decide what is happiness to you. You need to pursue it with zest and determination. Do as you please, please as you do.

Your choices, your purpose, your life.

[Strike For The South]

You can freely break that which you can repair.

You can do away with something if by doing so improves the situation.

If your system is broken, then fix it. Don't wait for equality or health or wealth to be given. Don't play their game. Define your game and what the stage of life is to you.

Decide what is happiness to you. You need to pursue it with zest and determination. Do as you please, please as you do.

Your choices, your purpose, your life.

This is nothing but empty rhetoric. We are forced into the game, and the carrot we are given is a middle class exsistance, only attainable by the few the system hasn't absolutely destroyed. Just stupid enough to consume while a select few make off like bandits.

They have us chasing a dream of suburbia that is just plausible enough to make us keep our heads down, just stupid enough to shut up and consume.

I do not want to fix the system, I am not some pre pubescent girl trying to find happiness. This is not some meta-crisis brought on by lack of self esteem. I do not need dime store lines about how I shape my destiny.

I want to bring the Sodom down on its head.

[Noncommunist]

This is nothing but empty rhetoric. We are forced into the game, and the carrot we are given is a middle class exsistance, only attainable by the few the system hasn't absolutely destroyed. Just stupid enough to consume while a select few make off like bandits.

They have us chasing a dream of suburbia that is just plausible enough to make us keep our heads down, just stupid enough to shut up and consume.

I do not want to fix the system, I am not some pre pubescent girl trying to find happiness. This is not some meta-crisis brought on by lack of self esteem. I do not need dime store lines about how I shape my destiny.

I want to bring the Sodom down on its head.

Call in fire from heaven and anyone who turns around turns into a pillar of salt?

[Montmorency]

Well, by international standards even the poorest in the West are middle-class.

I think we can look forward to a middle-class lifestyle for quite a while, depending on how middle-class the rest of the world gets.

[naut]

Don't worry Strike, we're only one major food shortage away from global crisis!

So what if some have so much more. Good for them. I can get by and can still do fun things I don't need that much more, I am satisfied with that.

Like the family dog? Content with table scraps and the occasional pat?

[Fragony]

Like the family dog? Content with table scraps and the occasional pat?

They can keep their scraps and pats, I don't mind inequality. I don't think it's unfair that they can buy a 50 million yaght and I can't.

[Major Robert Dump]

Until our government leadership adopts rules akin to insider trading laws, none of this will ever begin to change. It benefits our leaders and the financial sector for the rest of us to be in financial and social rough waters. It aslo benefits the government machine.

All this money given in the bailouts and we really have nothing to show. Instead of letting the businesses fail, a vacuum form and another business rise to meet the demand ... greased palms handed over trillions to the inept business men and women who could not run their own house to begin with, all under the guise of "saving jobs" and "maintaining sector stability."

To me, social issues take a far back burner to issues like the one mentioned above. This is how you unravel the framework of a nation. The mere existence and financial windfall of the Lobby Industry I think speaks volumes of what we are up against.

This is why I am cashing out, removing every penny I have from the US market, and investing (and eventually moving) to another nation. I'm not going to play this game of pretend capitalism anymore, I will go somewhere where the game is self evident, whatever it may be. I just feel like I cannot compete here anymore, for multiple reasons to include abuse by the financial sector, but also including various social and political realities.

**edit: And no, I am not rich nor does my family enjoy anything above a middle working class lifestyle, I am not like the people in the article.

[Papewaio]

Economies go up and down all the time. The key is to pursue what makes you happy.

I can remember in the 90s unemploment rates of 10% for the general workforce and about double that for young people.

I was working in gold exploration in '99/2000 when 90% of the explorers in WA were laid off. Then I went into web design / IT support for a small stock broker... 6 weeks later the NASDAQ crashed.

Moved to Sydney and 2 years at a contact centre vendor. They made record support income, USA regional sales crashed. So they got rid of South East Asian support including Sydney.

I'm a contractor because I'm a mercenary. I'm a mercenary because I know business only sees numbers and that I'm just one of them. So I might as well get as much as possible and be able to leave and go somewhere else.

I also keep my costs down. My stipend is $60 a week. My place a 2 bedroom villa of 90sqm, an hour commute to work on public transport (bonus of getting a train trip across the Harbour bridge), buy my shoes on specials, eat wheat bix for breakfast, buy 90% of my games months after release etc etc

So stop whining and either fix the system or find another game to play.