patrick.net

Dan8267 says

Call it Crazy says

The level of sloth, laziness and apathy that we are witnessing in this country is absolutely mind-numbing.

The grunt worker knows the system is rigged and no matter how much he wealth he produces, he won't get ahead. What did you expect to happen?

Capitalism rewards only one thing: bargaining power. It does not reward wealth production. If you want to be rich, don't do anything productive. Get real good at playing zero-sum games, especially with other people's money. That's the way America works, so why should Americans actually do work?

Three points for Dan.

indigenous says

The point is that we need a smaller government

I was going to argue, but a ~$17,000 per-capita gov't expense is somewhat ridiculous.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=vHT

real per-capita total govt expense

Well, I still argue I guess, for without government redistribution I think the 99% is totally fucked in this country going forward.

Conservatives want to neuter "government", but by doing so they neuter democracy and thereby empower wealth -- "privilege" -- even more.

The wealthy of the UK, Sweden, etc did not like the outright punitive taxation levels of the 1960s and 70s.

Plenty of mistakes were made by the leftists running these socialist experiments (confiscatory taxation was one), but even as it stands now the average guy in UK and Sweden has a better deal than here, now.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/may/28/worlds-happiest-countries-oecd-australia

We don't need more government per se, but we do need better government. For what our government is spending on healthcare we could have the Canadian or Swedish systems for free -- their per-capita expenses are less than half ours.

It'd be good to cut the DOD in half, too, but we can't do that in isolation, not that democratic governance will ever be able to cut back a gravy train (so critical to local economies) like that.

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

Fast food and delivery gigs aren't good examples. Every four dollar an hour job is exactly the same in a country in which the housing market is rigged to make everything unaffordable to everyone except people who can live work in City and vacation in Monte Carlo. It's just a source of humiliation. Hey, must suck to live in a dumpster, huh? At least the food's better.

USPS? Every time I turn on the TV or web, there's some howling psychopath demanding it be disbanded and its pensions looted. Hard to get motivated when half the congress personally lives and breathes to doom you to homelessness.

Please Mr. Shostakovich, I beg you to spare the life of Dan, Jazz and Corntrollio. They deserve to survive the apocalypse. Everyone else, I will volunteer my River Tam like skills to your quest for carnage. Thank you, HRH

Bellingham Bill says

Well, I still argue I guess, for without government redistribution I think the 99% is totally fucked in this country going forward.

Not really, what the left fails to realize is that the inequality is exacerbated by FED spending and the ensuing inflation. This is the very cause of inequality.

Bellingham Bill says

Plenty of mistakes were made by the leftists running these socialist experiments (confiscatory taxation was one), but even as it stands now the average guy in UK and Sweden has a better deal than here, now.

Sweden is more myth than reality. All socialist countries are borrowing from tomorrow to pay for today. Not to mention that both them and Switzerland do not have any defense expense.

Bellingham Bill says

For what our government is spending on healthcare we could have the Canadian or Swedish systems for free -- their per-capita expenses are less than half ours.

Healthcare is complex, but the core of the problem is that government spending through medicare has inflated the cost while simultaneously limiting the competition within the states.

Bellingham Bill says

It'd be good to cut the DOD in half,

Crony capitalism of the worst kind.

Fed employees get double their private sector counterparts, almost half of all jobs are for the government, public employee unions with 90% pensions in Calif.

The government has to be shrunk it is the only effective way to do it.

"Fort Hood shooter...Lopez, 34, killed three people, wounded 16 -- before fatally shooting himself... Lopez suffered from depression, anxiety and other psychiatric complaints and was receiving treatment and medication."

"...was taking anti-depressants...."

No brand names yet, but it's most likely he was on an Rx SSRI/SNRI.

The platinum shitting Chindian Billionaires don't have to buy real estate any more, they can buy the politicians directly and get Dianne Fenstein to sell them plush National and State Park properties at a discount (with a wee commission for her hubby)!

Does this mean that California real estate is going to crash?

Impossible, buy now or be priced out forever, we don't need no stinkin' Chindian Billionaires!

I sort of figured when I came back online and saw this post much of the same sort of armchair medical discussions would be ongoing.

I'm going to conclude my involvement with this because just like most things in life, unless you yourself are involved directly with a medical treatment then you have absolutely no clue what its really like and by making generalized statements merely pulled from a google search doesn't automatically make you an expert or correct.

This sort of discussion has morphed into the same kind of discussion akin to the ones made concerning vaccines and the supposed links to autism. The reports that were initially made out as "expert" medical opinion later turned out to lack any ties to real medical reality. Yet as we see now with even some links on this forum there are now occurrences of measles and other totally preventable diseases afflicting children across the country. All because people read something on the Internet.Everyone has become an "expert".

Anyone could pick any subject- whether it be political, medical, science, or religion and easily find a number of links to studies made by experts of every field which would support any opinion they might have and use this as 'proof' of their beliefs. Its easy to forget that those experts, statisticians, and reporters are actually not really all that different from anyone else. They have an opinion and we all know what we say about opinions...

I find it especially troubling that more and more, people seem to be using the Internet to either self-diagnose themselves or to scare the crap out of themselves over anything. They do so and believe they now have the expertise to make a call. You could easily find the very worst outcome of anything related to a medical procedure out there. If you want to find horror stories, you can. Its easy because its all out there floating around with no shortage of studies, opinions, and so on.

At the end of the day we are all different- both mentally and physically. There are no magic cure-all drugs or medical procedures. Every person reacts differently to medications, procedures, and operations. Just because someone here and there has an adverse reaction to one thing doesn't mean EVERYONE will have the same reaction. The best way to deal with medical problems is to see your doctor and build a relationship with him or her. There is a big difference between someone who viewed a couple of medical papers from their cubicle compared to a doctor who spent a decade or more in school before even getting into their profession.

In closing, there seems to be a lot of ignorance in general concerning mental issues. Even as of today mental issues are stigmatized and swept under the carpet as one of those things to be hidden from society as a sort of shameful thing. This attitude alone is reason why so many people who probably should seek treatment don't. I have no problem mentioning my situation. To me its like anything else. If you have a heart condition then you can do something about it much in the same way as a mental condition. Finally doing something about my issues changed my life and I am a better person for it. And so I encourage others who might be suffering to seek help.

That's really all I have to about this.

Call it Crazy says

So when you see that older guy working the cashier at Wal-Mart and wonder to yourself how he is surviving, the answer may increasingly be a reverse mortgage.

Obligatory:

The message should still ring true, JUST SAY NO, TO DRUGS

There are so many undesirable outcomes that have manifested over the recent decades that can be linked to the Standard American Diet. You still are what you eat, and your outputs often come from your inputs. Most people could likely remedy whatever it is that is bothering them, by doing an elimination diet experiment on themselves. Anecdotally, all the people I've met, and forums I've read and participated in, the greatest results are yielded by righting ones diet.

Americans comfort level to taking drugs, and "solving" their "problems" via drugs (especially the ones they see advertised on tv), should scare any one of sound mind. The SAD (standard american diet) is loaded with toxins and short on nutrients. armed with proper knowledge of nutrition, one could likely avoid the doctor, dentist, and optimoligist, indefinitely

Reverse mortgages are a wonderful product.
Imagine a retired couple with a ton of equity but not enough income to provide for their basic needs...they would either have to sell, or end up getting ripped off by unscrupulous lenders when they try to borrow. The reverse mortgage allows them to continue living in their home, while providing an extra cash flow to help make ends meet.

Lowest levels in "19 months" includes all of last Winter.

This is actually good news for housing: it means they have massive equity to borrow against!

ha ha - check this out.

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2014/04/02/man-stages-burglary-avoid-work/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl26%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D460349

errc says

armed with proper knowledge of nutrition, one could likely avoid the doctor, dentist, and optimoligist, indefinitely

Amazing. Just absolutely amazing. So are you trying to tell us all that you've miraculously discovered that all ya' gotta' do is eat right and you'll somehow always be free of cancer, heart disease, alzheimer's disease, and all the other diseases that in many cases have nothing to do with anything other than hereditary factors?

I recall that we had this very same conversation several months ago and even so, I'm still baffled that anyone living in modern society would suddenly proclaim that modern medicine is a big waste of time. That is such awful advice.

Secondly, why are you demonizing drugs? Its not like drugs are this new thing that is veiled in conspiracy. For example if you went in for an operation. Back in the "good old days", the general way of operating on a person was to get them wasted drunk, have several strong men hold them down, and put a stick in the patient's mouth to bite down on. Surely that can't be better than general or localized anesthesia, right?

Now- I will agree with your comment about food. Most Americans eat diets that are horrific. Lots and lots of sweet, salty, fatty foods with hordes of chemicals, preservatives, and processing. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and a host of other medical problems are tied to obesity and poor diet. But diet alone is not what causes people to get sick. Diet alone- a good one- is not a substitute for avoiding the doctor's office or even routine medical care. I just find this interesting because its not like this idea is new. Back in the 1800's there was a movement towards "the waters" where many believed fervently that "taking to the waters", which were natural hot springs and mineral baths were the cure-all for all ailments and that one could avoid the bothersome trips to the doctor as a result. So its ironic that here we are, in 2014 with a suggestion that's not all that different- that by simply eating right one could avoid the doctor. Eating right will certainly make you healthy. But its not going to prevent you from having to see the doctor or any other number of medical professionals over the course of a lifetime of unforeseen medical issues, of which food alone will not sure...

The Professor says

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

Hard to get motivated when half the congress personally lives and breathes to doom you to homelessness.

Amen

There was a great post the other day I read.

Imagine you have a population of restaurant critics reviewing a new BBQ joint. Half of them believe meat is murder, half do not. One half will write a normal spread based on practical assesment of actually eating a meal there. The other half will start from meat is murder, and do everything they can to write an article that has it closed down.

The point being that the GOTP and "libruls" are not just polar opposites of their opinions. Most liberals base themselves more on the facts and practical matters of whether something works for and benefits them, than on ideology and purity tests.

Thus the facts about USPS operation are entirely irrelevant. GOTP cripple it with onerous pension requirements, requiring them to prefund all future premiums for retiree health benefits. Not because they believe in good pensions and want to IMPROVE USPS or the lives of it's workers, but because ideology drives them to torpedo it from any angle they can. When a bill came up to reduce the pension obligations, the GOP unanimously blocked it.

I used to work with a guy, who WOULD NOT DRIVE ON GEORGIA 400. He used to say "there is no GA 400 inside Atlanta". This was because of his ideology about not paying tolls to corrupt state entities, so he would drive way the hell out of his way and sacrifice time and gas to avoid a small toll. Crazy hostility, and doubly strange considering his often "Galt" speeches to the rest of us, occcurred while we were collecting state paychecks.

Housing doesn't follow inflation. Housing IS inflation, and you're either already on the train or it passed you by a long time ago.

errc says

The SAD (standard american diet) is loaded with toxins and short on nutrients. armed with proper knowledge of nutrition, one could likely avoid the doctor, dentist, and optimoligist, indefinitely

Good diet is important but if you think it will totally negate the effects of genetics, aging, daily exposure to carcinigens (natural and man made), daily exposure to radiation (also natural and man made), etc., etc., etc. then you are in for some very sad disappointments later in life.

bob2356 says

Good diet is important but if you think it will totally negate the effects of genetics, aging, daily exposure to carcinigens (natural and man made), daily exposure to radiation (also natural and man made), etc., etc., etc. then you are in for some very sad disappointments later in life.

Indeed and perhaps the single biggest reason why a suggestion that somehow XXX sort of action will avoid one from having to use medical procedures.

Truth be known the majority of cancers are caused by man made materials as well as natural sources of radiation, particulate matter, and so on. None of these can be avoided as they are in the air, soil, water, and food.

edvard2 says

I'm still baffled that anyone living in modern society would suddenly proclaim that modern medicine is a big waste of time.

This Mayo study indicates that 40-60% of it is exactly that.
Best estimates for iatrogenic harm indicate that it can be much more tragic than just a waste of time. It may be the third leading cause of death.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iatrogenesis#Incidence_and_importance

You gals are putting a lot of words in my mouth.

Oddly enough, you both went on to agree with me anyways.

The point is, without fixing ones diet, its more or less impossible to fix ones health.

Now, I'm certain we will disagree as to what proper nutrition looks like, but my position is still the same.

That more than half of all instances and occurances of adverse health can be resolved thru proper nutrtion.

What % of health care related events do you suppose are rooted in malnutrition?

Here's one to rile the posters:
Severe libido decline of tricyclics isn't a bug, it's a feature, meant to slow the procreation of the mentally unfit.

Robert Sproul says

edvard2 says

I'm still baffled that anyone living in modern society would suddenly proclaim that modern medicine is a big waste of time.

This Mayo study indicates that 40-60% of it is exactly that.

Best estimates for iatrogenic harm indicate that it can be much more tragic than just a waste of time. It may be the third leading cause of death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iatrogenesis#Incidence_and_importance

Obviously you didn't read the article and/or didn't comprehend the concept of latrogenesis. A wikipedia entry isn't a mayo study btw.

errc says

You gals are putting a lot of words in my mouth.

errc says

armed with proper knowledge of nutrition, one could likely avoid the doctor, dentist, and optimoligist, indefinitely

These aren't your words?

Robert Sproul says

This Mayo study indicates that 40-60% of it is exactly that.

Best estimates for iatrogenic harm indicate that it can be much more tragic than just a waste of time. It may be the third leading cause of death.

Again- you want to play armchair doctor, go for it. Be my guest. That doesn't mean you are right. I can't wait for the direction this topic will likely go. Next thing I am sure will come will be that it turns out we were wrong about oxygen all along. Turns out we actually breathe carbon dioxide.... I read it in a medical journal so it must be true and hence I am a genius now.

The housing market isn't local anymore, though.

Residents rent.

Old news, this is very obvious here in Southern California. However, homeowners will be in denial like they always are and chant that this runup is the "recovery" when it clearly is a speculative bubble.

errc says

You gals are putting a lot of words in my mouth.

Oddly enough, you both went on to agree with me anyways.

The point is, without fixing ones diet, its more or less impossible to fix ones health.

Now, I'm certain we will disagree as to what proper nutrition looks like, but my position is still the same.

That more than half of all instances and occurances of adverse health can be resolved thru proper nutrtion.

What % of health care related events do you suppose are rooted in malnutrition?

No.... but if it makes you feel better to think that way, go for it. Your position seems to be- and you have the opportunity to correct us if we're wrong- is that nutrition can prevent people from having to go to the doctor. I recall an earlier post where this same general commentary was being made and in that case too you seemed to be suggesting that people didn't actually really need medical care... was that correct or was I imagining things?

Now- addressing your comments about nutrition and health. Sure- diet plays a part in health and the increase or decrease in the need for medical care. But its not the one and only contributing factor. As was previously mentioned, a significant factor to future health issues are tied to environmental exposures to chemicals, radiation, and so on, none of which a diet will prevent that exposure.

Link appears to be dead now, even though you get the same URL if you search Google for "1 in 3 homes is unaffordable" -- Housing Wire must have changed the URL. Even Housing Wire's own search engine sends you do a dead link:

http://www.housingwire.com/search?q=homes+unaffordable

Vicente says

I used to work with a guy, who WOULD NOT DRIVE ON GEORGIA 400. He used to say "there is no GA 400 inside Atlanta". This was because of his ideology about not paying tolls to corrupt state entities, so he would drive way the hell out of his way and sacrifice time and gas to avoid a small toll. Crazy hostility, and doubly strange considering his often "Galt" speeches to the rest of us, occcurred while we were collecting state paychecks.

I've found that people who get government benefits, regardless of what they are -- paycheck from the government, VA benefits, FHA benefits, disability, pensions, etc. -- quite frequently rail against the government. They typically have a weird self-centered opinion that they "earned" their shit, whereas everyone else is a bunch of freeloaders.

Hence the morons with the "keep your government hands off my Medicare" signs I saw at rallies against the Affordable Care Act several years ago.

One could likely avoid,,,,

To clarify, I'm claiming that we could halve our "need" for health care services with proper nutrition. That over half of all the instances where someone thinks they need the doctor, could be solved simply with proper nutrition and diet.

The crap people consume really does wreak that much havoc on the body, the mind and mental health, included.

How many people attempt an elimination diet , prior to succumbing to the doctor and begging for drugs as remedy?

True, but the government will bail them out. Anything to save their own behinds and the banks who support them. I'm so sick of it all.

The president is pushing to raise the minimum wage, this should help the housing affordability.

corntrollio says

Link appears to be dead now

Just like the housing recovery.....................

Strategist says

ha ha - check this out.

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2014/04/02/man-stages-burglary-avoid-work/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl26%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D460349

This one is even worse:

http://patrick.net/?p=1240616

The Los Angeles-class submarine was damaged at the hands of a shipyard worker who set a fire in May 2012 while the submarine was undergoing a 20-month overhaul.

It took 12 hours and the efforts of more than 100 firefighters to save the vessel. The fire severely damaged living quarters, the command and control center and a torpedo room, but it did not reach the nuclear propulsion components at the sub's rear. Seven people were hurt dousing the flames.

I'm hoping those 17 years are spent in and out of a wedding dress.

Rin says

What are you drinking?

Bud, Miller, Sam Adams, Guinness, etc. All taste bad to me. Beer is bitter and it does a lousy job of covering the taste of alcohol. The only reason beer is popular in America is because American culture was based on English culture, and it's too damn cold in England to grow grapes. As a result, beer became popular in England and the founding fathers and English settlers brought beer culture to America.

In the Middle Ages during an unusual warm period, England could grow grapes and they promptly started producing wine instead of ale, much to the chagrin of France. Wine does a far better job of masking the alcoholic taste.

Again, as with all opinions, there is no right or wrong. I'm sure some people have become so accustom to drinking beer that they actually enjoy that piss. Same for sardines.

As long as lenders don't get too soft, this isn't a problem.

errc says

To clarify, I'm claiming that we could halve our "need" for health care services with proper nutrition. That over half of all the instances where someone thinks they need the doctor, could be solved simply with proper nutrition and diet.

The crap people consume really does wreak that much havoc on the body, the mind and mental health, included.

How many people attempt an elimination diet , prior to succumbing to the doctor and begging for drugs as remedy?

Ok, understood. But this is simply your opinion, which is fine. That said, could the need for healthcare be halved by proper nutrition? That's a sort of pie-in-the-sky statement. There are some ethnic groups in third world countries who actually have crappy diets ( lot of fat via dairy and meat) who have longer life expectancies than the US for example)

But as far as "begging for drugs", I think that's a rather generalized statement. If a person is sick, has a medical abnormality, is in need of a procedure or whatnot, then they should go see a doctor. Does that mean they're begging for drugs? Most people have no clue about medications, which is why you see a doctor to begin with. The doctor will make a call- most of the time a call that doesn't require medication. But if there is a medication that serves to correct whatever ailment that person has then there's nothing wrong with prescribing to that. More often then not a doctor would likely recommend something like lifestyle changes- like avoiding stress, eating better, quitting smoking and whatnot. But sometimes medication is a useful tool just as other forms of treatment.

spydah_hh says

like I said if you continue to call our economy a capitalist economy you clearly don't know what capitalism is.

Honey, you're debating nomenclature, not economic systems.

1. The economic system we use today is referred to as "capitalism" by 99+% of the population of this planet as well as the press and economic professors. Sure, you might strongly hold the opinion that we should use a different word for our economic system and that capitalism should refer to something else, but that doesn't make my statement wrong, nor does it mean I used non-standard diction.

2. Fine. I don't give a rat's ass. Let's call America's economic system Americanism and let you define capitalism as what America did in the 1800s. I don't give a flying fuck as it's immaterial. All my statements are still 100% correct using your nomenclature.

So let's use YOUR nomenclature. Happy? Got a diction boner? Enjoy it. It doesn't change this conversation.

What you call Americanism still sucks and still is the empirical end result of every capitalist economy. There is not a single capitalist society in the world today as every capitalist economy has turned into either Americanism or Chinaism, neither of which meets your definition of capitalism.

The only conclusion one can reasonable reach from the overwhelming historical record is that capitalism is unstable and immediately deteriorates into Americanism upon the creation of corporations. This means that you can never sustain capitalism if any corporations exist in the economic system. Try running a modern, global economy without corporations. Capitalism, by your definition, died as a result of not being able to scale to national, nonetheless, global trade.

I don't care what you call the economic system of 19th century America or the economic system of 21st century America. They both suck. They are both obsolete. Neither is sustainable. And the first inevitably collapsed into the second everywhere on this planet.

People who look only to the past for solutions to today's problems are limited to what primitive man could accomplish. Look to the future and to the infinite number of possible economic models for fixing our economy. There are new things under the sun. They are created every day.

In contrast, the 19th century sucked ass. Child labor and death, old people in destitute, and people ruthlessly exploiting each other. Today is better than that century. Good riddance to it.

P.S.

Just because a person doesn't use your nomenclature, doesn't make him ignorant of a subject. That's just being pompous. There is no reason you've given why your nomenclature is superior to the industry's standard terms.

rooemoore says

As long as lenders don't get to soft [sic], this isn't a problem.

That's what she said.

Analyzer says

The president is pushing to raise the minimum wage, this should help the
housing affordability.

Seriously????