Is the nation state structure part of our current problems?
techstepgenr8tion
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Incentives where the goal is to improve life for as many people as possible and simultaneously aiming at planetary stability in terms of resource use.
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The loneliest part of life: it's not just that no one is on your cloud, few can even see your cloud.
If you're referencing how small businesses almost have to cheat these days to stay alive then yeah, when people can't earn a livelihood by honest means or at best break even it's pretty sick, and that ripples through society.
I find myself being someone who can listen to Ed Dutton / Jolly Heretic, Aaron Clarey, and then just as easily pick up what Chris Hedges or Noam Chomsky are saying about current situations (before I even start trying to bring up GameB or IDW). The trouble is you have people right across the political spectrum making sense but it's the noise in the middle that we're having a hard time sorting through and each person sees the problem in an incomplete manner, to where where you can rely on different people for different pieces, some people most pieces but they're hard to come by.
I've heard some say that it would be great if people just started treating each other decently but for me that falls along the same line of logic as 'if your aunt had balls she'd be your uncle', there's probably nothing anyone's going to be able to do manually to fix that (the being nice part). The only thing I can think of is better and perhaps willfully win-win incentive structures would help reduce the amount of zero-sum and negative-sum competition. With that we might be able to better clear some of the 'buzz' that's causing as much stress and distorting reality for people as they try to dance to the tune of someone else's mental illness.
I wish the government would really deregulate small businesses and give mom-and-pop companies a huge tax cut.I think the gov works with the big corps to squash competition.
techstepgenr8tion
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Yep, classic corporatism or 'crony' capitalism.
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The loneliest part of life: it's not just that no one is on your cloud, few can even see your cloud.
If Mom and Pop stores remained open 24 hours, and had merchandise available in an emergency, like Amazon does, then I would patronize these places, rather than Amazon. I have a sentimental feeling about these places....but when they're open reduced hours on Saturday, I'm sort of left in the lurch when I need a suit jacket for a special occasion. On Amazon, I could order a suit jacket a couple of days in advance, and get it in time for the occasion.
Many times, I've needed something in a pinch. In the old days, it was just "tough luck." Nowadays, Amazon usually comes to the rescue.
Many times, I've needed something in a pinch. In the old days, it was just "tough luck." Nowadays, Amazon usually comes to the rescue.
It certainly is helpful, and I've used Amazon myself in similar situations. However, Amazon's strength isn't necessarily beneficial to society as a whole. Starting your own business is already a risky venture, and it only gets more difficult when there are massive companies like Amazon.
These days I usually try to find alternatives to Amazon, but sometimes they just don't exist. And I'll admit I'm selfish enough that I'll periodically cave in and buy.
techstepgenr8tion
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Joined: 6 Feb 2005
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Many times, I've needed something in a pinch. In the old days, it was just "tough luck." Nowadays, Amazon usually comes to the rescue.
To my understanding it's less to do with Amazon, although that's a factor, and more to do with fees, taxes, overhead, etc.. My friend's wife is Palestinian, her brothers own cellphone shops, and they're running into this.
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The loneliest part of life: it's not just that no one is on your cloud, few can even see your cloud.
Many times, I've needed something in a pinch. In the old days, it was just "tough luck." Nowadays, Amazon usually comes to the rescue.
To my understanding it's less to do with Amazon, although that's a factor, and more to do with fees, taxes, overhead, etc.. My friend's wife is Palestinian, her brothers own cellphone shops, and they're running into this.
It is a big problem. I think there needs to be some more leeway for small businesses (though exactly how you define "small" might be contentious).
Shrinkage.....! Big chains can afford it , Smaller places not so much so , At least along the line of grocery and hardware stores . Have even seen big chain stores pull out if shrinkage got to be too much to deal with.
Gotta praise the little guy , mom & pop stores that are still surviving ....! ![]()
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