patrick.net

don't believe everything your hear

^^^

Someone edited my anonymous post above, weird

Analogy: Wall St insiders get to buy the IPO, but regular people have to wait until trading starts in the stock market.

justme says

Analogy: Wall St insiders get to buy the IPO, but regular people have to wait until trading starts in the stock market.

Spot on sir

Isn't socialism great?

Used house are more expensive than new houses here in “Capitalist” lol USA

Not the first time I’ve heard this. That is a Trabant pictured by the way. It was a plastic car that symbolized Eastern Bloc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant
The stories my parents tell of living in communist Poland never get old.

^^^ my anonymous post #1 appeared as #8 a day later.

Patrick, what’s going on :-)

That cars name is TRABANT. I remember them being everywhere in former Czechoslovakia where I grew up. My father bought a new car in communist era. I am not sure this story is valid.

errc says

Used house are more expensive than new houses here in “Capitalist” lol USA

Not trying to be a dick, but where is that taking place? I don't think I've seen a resale of a home go for higher than an equal (at least square footage) new construction home. This does not include low income housing. I'd be genuinely interested if this is going on somewhere.

BayArea says

^^^

Someone edited my anonymous post above, weird

Woah, that may be a bug with anonymous comments.

Patrick says

Communist

When people rhapsodize about communism, this is what I want to know: where are communism's T-Birds, Rivieras, Wildcats, Chrysler 300's, everyday Chevrolets and Fords, "a car for every purse and purpose" as Alfred P. Sloan expressed it, that capitalism can churn out by the millions and are so ubiquitous they're taken for granted? Who cares about dialectical materialism when the lumpenproletariat can buy an inexpensive convertible on the used car lot and let the top down.

I have visited several of the eastern block countries in the 80's with my family (I was a kid then). My parents had friends in one of these countries and we have stayed at their place several times and gone to the seaside together. They were not communist members. They were living very comfortable and had a car. In fact almost every house on the street had a garage and a car (mostly Russian Lada or Moskvits, or Czech Skoda). I remember conversations about waiting time to buy a new car. Apparently it depended on the type of car. Some of them (like trabant) you could get almost immediately. For others (Lada) there was a longer wait.

I know that Poland had rough time in the 80's but doubt it was that different from the other soviet block countries. Being a regular member of the communist party was not such a big deal. In some countries they were about 20% of the adult population.

FP here (can't bother to log in)

It is amusing observing the hatred that some folks here display towards the Soviet-era socialism.

First, because if is usually accompanied by a display of embarrassing ignorance.

Second, because for all practical purposes that system has been dead for 28 years.

Instead of knee jerk cold war era virtue signaling, try to see through the propaganda that has been poured into your heads. Maybe your learn something.

FP