• DaddleDew@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    If by “value” you mean income it isn’t even tied to individual productivity. It’s tied to how much power or leverage you have to demand more.

    • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      The only way to make money is to convince people to give you money. If you wanna do it by acting like it’s because of some skill you have, that can work.

      • exasperation@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        Producing value gives leverage. A salesman who brings in lots of revenue and profit can negotiate a pretty high commission, because controlling that level of revenue/profit represents some leverage.

          • exasperation@lemm.ee
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            3 days ago

            To the person he exercises leverage over, who makes money on each sale made, and pays his wages/commissions? Isn’t that obvious? He agrees to sell some stuff, in exchange for money that comes from the sale.

  • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Imagine a society where those setting the regulations are wealthy in such a way that they face no money related consequences. If they stuff up, or get into a tight spot with money, they’ll be a subsidy, or bailout, or sweet deal with a bank loan, or a wealthy relative, or they sell a property or a stock holding, or a mega yatch, or they’ll just declare that shell company bankrupt. They’ll never have a monetary problem that can’t be immediately resolved.

    …this class of people - those with essentially no financial consequences in life, are expected to make empathetic and caring laws, systems, and regulations for the rest of us, for whom money is behind literally everything consequential. For whom a small or temporary lack of money drastically changes us and our quality of life immediately and often with no real resolution.

    We have all the consequences they do not, they have all the power we do not. Nothing about this system makes sense, and it’s enough to say we live in a kind of Capitalist Monarchy, posing as a democracy of, by, and for the people.

      • djsoren19@yiffit.net
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        4 days ago

        Voting alone is insufficient, because in captive systems where a limited number of parties hold all political capital, you can only vote for complicit parties.

        Individual people have to run for office, and there has to be movements to get them elected, and those movements need to be more powerful than the existing parties who will attempt to suppress them.

        Honestly, at the level of organization that would be required, you’d probably just be better off ignoring the democratic process entirely, because it would take tens of millions.

        • nonailsleft@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          It does take tens of millions, that’s the point

          I’m not saying you should only vote, but rioting while letting your opposition win every election sure isn’t going to work

      • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Here’s a whole video about why that doesn’t work:

        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs&list=PLrttDbiWQ1XO1iHAszAsPobYSoR0uQg_1&pp=iAQB

        Basically all governments are required to keep certain groups happy to even consider getting into power, and some of that involves… Certain kinds of payoffs and deals being made.

        You can only vote for people who have already acquised to the system in order to get on the ballot.

        You can vote for people who promise some slightly more progressive version of the status quo, but that’s as radical as the system is allowed to get by design.

        • nonailsleft@lemm.ee
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          4 days ago

          Videos like these are meant to keep you down, or in your couch

          You can get on a ballot. You just need enough people to support you

          Not voting or voting against those who would change the system is what keeps these dorks in power

      • Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Maybe support causes that oppose it?

        Think about all the money we funnel to twitch streamers and other influencers.

        I remember back in like 2010s people trying to crowd source their election and it just falls flat.

        Then you hear about pewdiepie buying his own private island or some shit and it’s dumb founding.

        It’s so gross when I spit piss at the DNC I get heckled to hell but if we took the time dismantle that machine we could effectively build something that easily out preforms it.

      • ebolapie@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Voting is the least we can do besides doing nothing. Which makes it pretty disappointing that so many people will be all like “oh voting doesn’t do anything, we should tear down the government instead” and then they proceed to do neither of those things.

    • milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee
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      4 days ago

      The trouble is, many people are in the machine and get crushed when the wrench breaks the machinery.

      And that’s not even a joke. Helping people in this situation, without harming other innocent people, is possible - but it’s hard work!

  • atro_city@fedia.io
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    5 days ago

    Breeders: I don’t want to be alone in the soul-crushing machine. Let me add another soul to it.

  • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Is it really that soulcrushing? The system itself isn’t problematic, its our stupid primal brains and intellectual lessers who vote against their own interests and refuse to join peaceful organizations to acquire pay raises, breaks, sick leave, etc.

    It could all work but we’re our own worst enemies.

    • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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      4 days ago

      “The system isn’t bad, it’s just that the natural reactions of everyone in the system are wrong”

      Yeah, that is a sign of a bad system. If it only works for 1% of the people in it, you can’t say it is generally a good system.

      A good and robust system would deal with the bumpy parts of life. Including human stupidity and our ability to easily fall for propaganda.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        The natural reactions of everyone to everything are bad. Greed is a primary motivating factor for all humans, period.

        Thats why we created a system. You’re not going to get to your idea of a good system by tearing the current one down, ever.

        • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          The natural reactions of everyone to everything are bad

          All of them? Some of them? How much humanity will be left if we get rid of everything that doesn’t fit into the system?

          You’re not going to get to your idea of a good system by tearing the current one down, ever.

          I never implied I was intending to tear down the system. Well as long as it remains democratic anyways. A system that can’t change has a shelf life one way or another.

          All I implied is that the current system isn’t good. Not that small changes couldn’t make it better.

          • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            My message was about reforming the system and your response was

            “The system isn’t bad, it’s just that the natural reactions of everyone in the system are wrong”

            It’s hard to see that as anything but advocacy of tearing down the system, which is something far too many people unironically believe.

            • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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              3 days ago

              You: “I smell great!”

              Me: “I think you smell bad”

              You: “You think an aspect of me is bad, this must mean you think everything about me is bad. You must hate me the most”

              Me: “No… you just need to take a shower.”

              You: “I can’t see how telling me that I am smelly doesn’t mean you hate me.”

              I don’t what to tell you, it’s not that hard to get.

              • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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                3 days ago

                Me: “The system needs a shower.”

                You: “This entire system is bad.”

                Me: “You’re an idiot to think the system is unshowerable.”

                You: “I was the first person to suggest a shower!”

                You’re a fucking loon, mate.

                • deaf_fish@lemm.ee
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                  3 days ago

                  Why don’t you just take a day and re-read your reply and see if it still makes sense to you in the context of our conversation.

    • Belgdore@lemm.ee
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      4 days ago

      Publicly traded corporations are the system that is the most problematic. they comprise the entirety of the stock market and the majority of the economy.

      The fact that some guy running a hedge fund out of some economic center in a major city elects a c-suite who will actively harm people in any given locality America by dumping pollutants, tying up water rights, raising prices without a corresponding cost for production, or whatever other unethical business practice you want to fill the blank in with, just because it marginally increases profits is the problem. That hedge fund manager is actually required to do that or he will be fired, sued, or held criminally liable.

      Greed is the primary motivating factor in this country and it is killing us.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        87% of US companies who make more than $100M revenue (not net, gross) are private according to Advisorpedia.

        But yes, ending Citizens United and enforcing maximum political donations would be a huge step forward and fix so many problems.

        • Belgdore@lemm.ee
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          4 days ago

          That says nothing about the amount of money passing through public companies.

          Political donations suck, but the real issue is the absolute fiduciary duty of company runners.

              • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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                3 days ago

                Kind of weird that I should even be bothered to ask at this point, but…

                Alright, ignoring the number of employed workers and other economic indicators like actual product, whats your statistics on money/capital of private vs public firms?

    • Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      It’s like the last election. We are all talking about 100 different things that all matter tangentially but couldn’t focus on the one thing that would probably solve a lot of it.

      Americans want financial independence. No one wants to tackle that issue head on, though. They will skirt around it saying, if we had this or that social program but won’t ever commit to making it their platform.

      Think of all the children being bullied that could be counseled if parents had time away from work to counsel them. Think of all the children getting pregnant that could be taught about safe sex and responsible relationships if parents had time away from work to parent them. Think of the long term health effects of being constantly stressed about work. Think of all the communities you could build if people had time away from work to build them.

      Financial freedom = actual freedom. The GOP and DNC both want you to be wage slaves so that they can place themselves at the top of the hierarchy creating the problems you want them to fix.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Oh look, Mr. Both Sides is here to ignore that GOP keeps giving tax breaks for the rich and raising them for everyone else, here to ignore that Kamala Harris promised all kinds of tax reforms like unrealized gains tax for people with more than 1M USD in holdings, return of child tax credits, return of student tax credits, and forgiveness of student loans, and here to ignore that the DNC wants to end Citizens United and make unfair election maps illegal.

        Fuck off, Mr. Both sides. You’re who I was referring to as our intellectual lessers.

        • Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          This is absolute bullshit. The DNC made zero effort to address the finical instability of working class people and you’re perpetuating a lie. I was told 100x that the biden economy was a successful economy while inflation wreaked havoc. This was in 2021, 2022, 2023. Was it bidens fault? No. At the same time don’t lie to my face and tell me I should be grateful for this economic environment. Shit could have been worse but tell me you recognize it is bad and give me a platform to believe in.

          The DNC won’t, they rely just as much as the GOP, on the economy only serving their needs.

          Don’t make me pull out the fucking graph of popular policy passed vs policy passed that benefits the wealthy.

          TL:DR you’re full of shit.

          Edit:

          https://act.represent.us/sign/problempoll-fba