patrick.net

Debt is slavery

Like, they wanted the money and spent it, didn't they?

If you don't have debt, don't worry: your government is borrowing in your name.

How is is "slavery" when you can walk away from it at any moment? Try to walk away from real chains and feel the fucking difference.

OccasionalCortex says

When even the most spendthrift person gets penalized when trying to compete in a market with jumped-up prices fueled overwhelmingly by excessive financialization? That person can't walk away. This includes autos, houses, rents, and medical care, haven't you noticed?

Nobody is forced to live, drive, get medical care where debt is necessary to do so. Racking up debt is a choice. Unlike real slavery which is not.

Moreover, paying down already racked debt is also a choice: walking away from it is entirely feasible and not at all dangerous*. Again, unlike real slavery.

*) Unless borrowed from some mafia type, of course. In this case it IS slavery.

jazz_music says

The company town has simply become larger, encompassing an entire nation

Move to some other nation, duh. Real slaves don't have this option.

Earning your keep is not slavery. Not getting everything you need for free is not slavery.

No, "the rent is too damn high" is not FUCKING SLAVERY either! Not even in the same zipcode.

STOP FUCKING CHEAPENING THE FUCKING CONCEPT OF FUCKING SLAVERY!!!

The Thirteenth Amendment has expanded to include anybody who has of their own free will taken out a loan.

Home prices are too damned high because of stupid density and land use restrictions and codes that go beyond safety.

Seriously, it should be impossible to regulate square footage beyond 300 on rural properties.

"Oh, you can't build in this rural area unless it's 2000+ sq Ft even though it's the middle of nowhere and a 45-minute drive to the nearest city of over 50,000 people!" BS.
When I saw SFHs just 2-3 blocks from Disney/Anaheim Convention Center was, I immediately found California's problem. Nowhere in the nation is such a high-attraction area surrounded by SFH immediately in all directions. Which is why nowhere has California's housing problem.

Is it safe? Yep.
Is it large enough not to have the bed at least 4 feet from the toilet and oven? Yep.
Then build it.

Places like Florida get a lot of flak, but you can buy and build anything 800+ square feet pretty much anywhere without too much bullshit.

NoCoupForYou says

Home prices are too damned high because of stupid density and land use restrictions and codes that go beyond safety.

Seriously, it should be impossible to regulate square footage beyond 300 on rural properties.

"Oh, you can't build in this rural area unless it's 2000+ sq Ft even though it's the middle of nowhere and a 45-minute drive to the nearest city of over 50,000 people!" BS.
When I saw SFHs just 2-3 blocks from Disney/Anaheim Convention Center was, I immediately found California's problem. Nowhere in the nation is such a high-attraction area surrounded by SFH immediately in all directions. Which is why nowhere has California's housing problem.

Is it safe? Yep.
Is it large enough not to have the bed at least 4 feet from the toilet and oven? Yep.
Then build it.

Places like Florida get a lot of flak, but you can buy and build anything 800+ square feet pretty much anywhere without too much bullshit.

Well many CA areas have shitty infrastructure, also Stanford is buying many homes around Palo Alto leaving them empty for years for possible employee housing who lease/buy the property while the land always stays in Stanford's possession. There's so much borderline criminal activity and racketeering going on in the housing market in CA that nobody should be surprised about the sky high prices. Try getting permits after purchasing land and get ready to wait for years. Corrupt to the core.

OccasionalCortex says

Liberal_in_blackface says

Nobody is forced to live, drive, get medical care where debt is necessary to do so

Right...on Planet What The Fuck World Do You Live On?

Planet Earth, why? I live in SFBA and there are plenty of places on planet Earth where I can live, drive and get medical care for the fraction of the costs I pay here. I'm where I am by choice, I borrow money by choice and if I choose to not pay them back one day - I'll do so. For now I choose to make payments though. I have my freedom to borrow, not borrow, pay back or not pay back, live here or there. How is it even remotely similar to being put in chains and whipped to work somebody else's fields? Or being bought and sold as a piece of property? Words have meanings. Saying something like "cats are modern dogs" is just silly.

NoCoupForYou says

When I saw SFHs just 2-3 blocks from Disney/Anaheim Convention Center was, I immediately found California's problem. Nowhere in the nation is such a high-attraction area surrounded by SFH immediately in all directions. Which is why nowhere has California's housing problem.

I noticed that too, but didn't think about it at the time. In hindsight, it really is weird/stupid. I want to say on the West side of the park where we entered, it was literally single family homes across the street from Disneyland property. Not having been there before, I was just focused on getting into the god damn money suck that is known as Disney.

I’d argue the modern day slave is the illegal farm worker out in the fields or the Chinese assembly line worker at foxcon making your iPhone. Sure, they can quit but I don’t see much practical difference.

1. They can’t quit, they are from extreme poverty, if they don’t work they starve. The employers treat them just well enough and pay them just enough to keep them working.

2. Today employers just lease instead of buy their slaves. This works great because the global economy provides lots of shithole countries from which to draw labor.

3. At least with slavery owners paid large upfront costs to acquire the slave. They had incentive to keep him healthy. Nowadays when your slave gets sick you just fire him and get another, nice!

4. Funny how the party of slavery still is today!

ignoreme says

3. At least with slavery owners paid large upfront costs to acquire the slave. They had incentive to keep him healthy. Nowadays when your slave gets sick you just fire him and get another, nice!

Very interesting thought.

Actually, some modern slaves are still in chains: