i've seen it at all kinds of levels, from classroom debate to community organizing to union organizing to city council to mayoral & state elections to arts management to novel writing etc etc etc-- so many "progressives" that much rather bitch than build unless it's all kinds of "the white man/ the rich man made me do it" excuse-making.

here's a funny (funny curious not funny haha) thing i heard from a black libertarian economist: before the minimum wage, black unemployment was nearly non-existent. since the establishment of the minimum wage, black unemployment began to grow.

now, there may be all kinds of arguments for and against the minimum wage, but a black libertarian economist saying those kinds of things is contrary to everything the stereotypical left will teach you. the same guy saying that affirmative action hurts rather than help blacks will be labeled as "he's not really black". anything that makes you think "hey, maybe everything i knew is wrong" is instantly labeled and suppressed. "uncle tom" "sellout" "house negro" etc. etc.

i'm not agreeing with the guy necessarily, i'm saying that any questioning of the same old shit will be suppressed by those who profit from things as they are-- the politics of the oppressed victim.

as a "minority" myself, married to another "minority" person, i'm sick and tired of bullshit minority pandering and bullcaca that gets nothing done except perpetuate a toxic ideology of resentment that harms people's outlook, aspirations, and relations with others. fuck that bullshit. it's self-ghettoization. culture doesn't have to be limited by genetics-- ideas have no skin color-- everybody needs to open their thick skulls, grow, and look past the mindset that created the old problems because that is the same mindset that perpetuates them.

You make some interesting points, however, I think you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater here. Just because some folks take race politics to various hypocritical extremes, doesn't negate its value or aptness. I loath sycophants within contemporary politics as well, trust that. Further, I've heard the minimum wage debate, but I think that analysts who argue that reducing the minimum wage increases employment aren't looking at the bigger picture, because at what cost? Sure. There have always been exploitative jobs, but as progressive policies in the work place increase, that is canceled out in the long arc. The pro-Walmartization crowd also argue that Walmart does more to benefit the poor than anything else. True, but poor people only benefit from cheap goods at Walmart because they work at Walmart wages and can't afford to pay more. If wages increase, so does purchasing power and business improves. Cut-throat capitalism is too short sighted. It doesn't examine the long-arc. Neither does those analyses which minimize or negate the effect and impact of race on our society, our politics, and our economy. Racism is deeply embedded in our mutual history, and simply put, 40 years isn't long enough to suddenly negate the legacy and impact of the 350 years that preceded it.

and yet an individual human life is way shorter than 350 years, so i personally have no time to keep moaning about oppression, imperialism, genocide and other crimes against "my people" while (i'm paraphrasing a great poet here) there is sooooo much fucking work to do.

Yes, but !@#$%!, the history is built into this society, culture, economy and politics. Some folks have a disproportionate share of the previous generations wealth and resources, not necessarily out of spite or personal racism, but the inherent racial divided structure. So this generational poverty is inescapable without more direct, affirmative action. (pun intended). There is indeed a shitload of work to do, but a lot of involved disentangling the baggage from the past, but working directly in the present towards the future. However and again, just because we are upset, frustrated, or jaded by the almost cliched reality of it, reality is what it is. This is not ancient history, this is today. That map of generational poverty in 2013 America I posted from today's NY Times headlines demonstrates even casually how modernly relevant this issue remains. If you are not tripping, that is cool, but stop throwing salt on those of us who remain passionate in the struggle. It makes you at times come across as sympathetic with assholes like this dude..



Or this mercilessly weak-hearted sell-out of a woman.

i don't have a time machine to go back and kill the cavalry, all i can do is work with what i have today and not worry about who has more than me or why did they inherit or how many generations went to harvard when i didn't bla bla bla. the present-- it's all we have. and the ideology of resentment squanders that present.

i'm not saying not to recognize racism, mind you-- i'm saying recognize it, deal with it, and move on instead of being single-mindedly stuck in it like flypaper. IT'S BAD MENTAL HEALTH.

If you ain't part of the solution, you're inherently part of the problem, like it or not. So if you want to take a passive approach to this, cool, but stop pissing on reality. Don't veil your jaded apathy behind supposed ideology. You know the struggle remains, if you aren't interested in keeping with it, cool, but again, stop throwing salt on those who remain in the work.

pffffffftttt

there is nothing "passive" about doing work that needs to be done. what's passive and defeating is all the constant blaming of someone else for your personal problems. yes, personal problems are also political but if you never believe you have a choice then you'll never have it.

you confuse my rejection of inept toxic ideologies with "apathy". there is nothing apathetic about thinking critically about the effect of regurgitated ideologies and saying "fuck off."

there is nothing apathetic about working in the present rather than sitting on one's ass crying about the past wrongs our grandparents suffered.

there is nothing apathetic about working to do what needs doing instead of crying all day that "it's the white man's fault" or that "the rich people have rigged the game".

it's the loser talk that's killing people right now-- people who have been brainwashed with the idea that "the world rejects me because i'm black/native/mixblood so why even try". oh shit, i see so much of that.

whereas the world needs people who can show up on time and get the job done and solve problems and doesn't really give a shit about your ancestry or your last name. but do they teach you that at ideology camp? no they don't. instead they teach you how to continue to be oppressed and make excuses. ridiculous.

alright, i gotta get off the internet. you can have the last word.

well, no. let thomas sowell have the last word. haa haaa haaa haaa.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/2...2/0/politics06

Already did ;)

The average pensioner in Detroit gets 18K a year. for all the moaning about unions, they end up with 18K a year.

the only people who truly moan about Unions are the ones who have to pay their "demands." Those demands got us a 5 day work week, an 8 hour work day, health insurance, maternity leave, paid sick time, pensions, etc.

fuck anti-union idiots.

Anti-union people also see the idiots who take advantage of privileges.

"Compromise and tolerance are not the hallmarks of true believers. What they believe in goes to the heart of what they are. As far as true believers are concerned, you are either one of Us or one of Them."

the whole of existence is populated by a few people who "take advantage" of whatever situation is at hand. That is no reason to stop unions. That is more reason to be vigilant.

should we cancel all police forces because there are a few cops that "take advantage" of being cops?

That is stupid.

Other than pensions.....it seems that the government can handle the rest...Should the workers have to pay ANOTHER person to govern their dickhead bosses?

that's the problem with trusting government or any other bloated institution with your retirement. fuckers can't deliver.

better to buy into an index fund and sit on it.

ps- social security has a negative rate of return

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to tesla69 again.

indeed! im starting to try and learn about all this stuff.

low end dividend is supposedly the place to start investing.

fuck the government. The government was forced to enact everything I stated BY THE UNIONS. Otherwise the government does whatever the rich fuck who owns the companies says to do.

The Fed Government sucks the balls of the insurance companies.
US government has more than enough money to fund Medicare fully for every single citizen. They use Medicare for Representatives and Senators health care.

Instead we send billions of dollars annually to multinational defense contractors to build machinery that is outdated before it comes off the assembly line. This guarantees more contracts.

BULLSHIT

But rob, those contracts create jobs ;)

in China!

an index fund is different, it simply tracks the stock market or a particular index (eg the dow). the thing is to find one with low fees (e.g, in america, vanguard) because the buying and selling have a cost and for people who trade frequently it's what kills earnings.

a better explanation can be found here:
http://www.fool.com/60second/indexfund.htm

but dividends are another path to go. there is a guy called jakob fiskar who managed to "retire" from his mad scientist job (he was a physicist) in 7 years... he wrote a little crazy tract on "early retirement extreme" where he explains how to live with little and be financially independent quickly--- he did it with dividend stocks.

now this isn't for the faint of heart and it fits more the ascetic approach to life but he had a forum here:

http://earlyretirementextreme.com/

and his book can be found here:

https://www.createspace.com/3457832

very smart guy, very DIY, has since gone back to work in the financial sector as a mathematician, but if you figure out his method you could be free from serfdom/potential serfdom very quickly. i'm not interested in "retirement" per se (i do what i like and i have no master), but having the flexibility to have no financial hurdles would be awesome.

anyway, enjoy.

wow, it must suck to be a racist stereotype

meanwhile, the functionally literate can proceed here:




http://www.michellesingletary.com/

thanks man, another addition to my expanding armoury of anti homelessness weapons.

happy to share

also for a broader look at investing check out the boggleheads wiki and forum

http://www.bogleheads.org/

best wishes

ps- oh! lastly, whether you agree or not with this guy's political thinking (i do in part, in others i draw a question mark), this guy makes microeconomics crystal-clear and hilariously mind-blowing (his discussion of price controls for example goes against everything i ever believed before). and then he gets into macroeconomics a bit also but-- no graphs, no charts. a fun read all-around.

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0465022529

economics is right up there with phrenology

right, because supply and demand are medieval fantasies with no bearing upon the real world

--

ps- also, i might add, neouroscience is going back to the phrenological model... not in the silly and arbitrary interpretation of cranial shapes of course, but in showing that functions of the brain are locally distributed and more or less developed in individual brains. the visual cortex is in the back, language in the left parietal, motor cortex on the top, etc. and people with injuries in those areas will suffer correspondingly but also people with more development in those areas will show a greater capacity for language/motor skills/ visual perception/ etc. when people tal about "talent" they aren't talking about magical gifts from an invisible man in the sky but rather portions of the brain with above-average functionality.

economics is a "soft" science. You cannot do empirical tests. You cannot make predictions based on observable phenomena. It is more like theology than phrenology.

phrenology is not about the brain, but about the random bumps and shape of our skulls, which has nothing to do with brain function.

rab and tulsa

i cant even

you know what todays prole needs? not paranoia or theology, which both of you offer in spades while you level your accusations at economics - todays low income or no income person needs MORE FINANCIALIZATION - they need safe reputable companies making investment packages available to them. they need this more than almost anything else.

how it works today is that ANYONE involved in the finance sector - despite the myriad scams, liars, hucksters and max kiesers - who makes a living, and has to abide by the law and can be sued if they do the wrong thing - and who is involved in investing - has zero time or interest in low income people because the commission they get off helping them invest is so tiny as to make taking them as clients nearly impossible.

the financial sector has abandoned the poor to the drugs sector and junk food and entertainment sectors which just harvest their bodies for profit and addiction.

finance and economics could be the greatest weapon a poor person today could find to better themselves and their families and by extension society. mysticism, religion and everything else is just entertainment.

Old story. Banks have been fucking those with less than $10,000 in their savings account for decades. The stock market is legalized gambling, and it is rigged to steal from the lower 90% and pay out to the top 10% with the most money already.

free enterprise is not the same thing as economics.

ok - but it is still possible to make money if you are sensible and not a raging douche who believes fiat currency will collapse and glenn beck sponsored gold coins will save you.

its just confusing, difficult and doesnt give the I WANT MONEY NOW LOL GIMME! people a good return. its set up to take from suckers like that. greedy short attention spans who want to win and think sneering or working out the con is the shortest route to success.

the fact is, its an inhuman game and we have human brains and a psychology set up to make us fail. but the fact is you CAN make money by investing and it is a sensible thing to do, provided you follow sound advice, and take a lot of time and effort to carefully consider every step.

we're in a zero sum game, you might aswell game the system that games your body since there is no other choice. retreat is no longer possible.

also, cynicism today functions as the purest conformity (havent you read zizek and all those twats?)

my credit union gives me free everything as long as i keep a minimum balance of $250 across all accounts (LOL).

it's a non-profit owned by members and it has no reason to "be fucking" with any of us.


you misunderstand risk. risk is unavoidable. there is no place that is not gambling.


those ignorant of economics are incapable of successful free enterprise

i mean, the ignorant are fucked in every possible way, not just in business-- they spend money they don't have in things they don't need, they get into debt without end and pay interest through the nose, they pay fees for everything from cashing checks to late-payment credit/utility fees, and when they purchase financial products they purchase the worst kind of them (e.g. whole life insurance).

ignorance is an illness and it needs to be cured b,ut as long as people keep blaming some invisible power for their ignorance they will never be able to take charge of their own finances. and they will die in misery.

i know next to nothing about economics, because i like most people have never been taught ANYTHING on the subject. in the uk there are NO economics classes until it becomes an option at age 16. the government is introducing finance classes for all which IMO is an excellent idea.

you cannot opt out of this game, im sorry if you dont like that fact, but it is a fact. you cant retreat to nature and get out of the system. the answer is not to reject it because you are too confused, daunted and ignorant and fear being scammed, the answer is to think and do research.

there is NOTHING wrong with trying to better yourself in this way. none of us chose the system we live in. the bullshit myth of the free individual who coasts on his cultural capital and posturing is the biggest lie the entertainment industry ever sold us. people really need education on money management and understanding about how the system works, or else they are doomed to get scammed or left in the dark anyway.

most people i know dont get that its a zero sum game and that chanting this ideology to themselves about working harder and thinking more positively wont turn them into a celebrity. they are convinced that its entirely subjective, because all the figures in the media that they imagine are rich present this constructed lie convincing them of precisely that, because thats what they want and what sells.

there's nothing wrong with instrumental reason, in fact, i think at this point its more ethical than anything else. try using it on yourself and everyone you know! see if getting realistic in those terms about what people will actually do, how long they'll live and what the future will actually hold doesn't help you out more than any of the vacuous narcissism that's sold as the key to freedom.

thats my (largely ignorant) advice anyway

same here. i had to learn the hard way and do the research on my own. pointing fingers at "the man" never did a single thing for me except absolve me of any and all personal responsibility-- clearly not a good way to operate in the world.