If more people than usual are having to rely on food banks in order to survive I think we can toss out the idea that the market is operating efficiently. Unless you have some silly definition of "efficiency" that makes no sense to me.
Is income inequality unjust, and if so, where is the injustice?
- Thread starter strawman
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Not really, since the market is as amoral as nature, so killing people off because they couldn't afford food isn't something it wouldn't do by definition, even if there was no price fixing.
That's why the notion of no one interfering in it at all is stupid.
You know what, I never thought of it that way, but @@Li3n has a point. A food bank/soup kitchen/whatever is just as much an "unnatural influence/interference" on the Free Market "supply-and-demand" dynamic as a billionaire's political donation(s). Maybe not to the same degree, of course, but both definitively are attempts to insulate at least some segment of the population from the effects of those aforementioned "Free Market forces."
One of these groups certainly seems to have it better than the other, though.
--Patrick
One of these groups certainly seems to have it better than the other, though.
--Patrick
No, no, no, you got it all wrong... that's just billionaire using their capital to trade for the supply of violence on the free market.
The only thing you could argue is not free market enough is the monopoly on violence the state has, but even then, why would it's monopoly not be counted as just a result of the competition between random warlords and the socio-political idea of statehood etc.
Now, the non-aggression principle... that's "unnatural influence/interference" for sure. Because even libertarians know that lettting it run wild won't work out for lots of people...
Was trying to meet TommiR where he’s at since he probably believes fuck the poor at all times and he’s trying to justify why it’s not price gouging that’s starving people this time.
Let's be honest here, those are just excuses used to make the position of "fuck the poor" seem more palpable. If he's fine with them being fucked over because they're just not good enough at capitalism, why would he care if they're more fucked because the winners at capitalism can use their position to win even more at it?
figmentPez
Staff member
This is being presented as a "force people to make healthier choices" type of moralism, but that doesn't hold up. Canned meat is not healthier than fresh. There's no nutritional difference between cubed cheese and block. There's no way these restrictions are actually about health, and I suspect it's not just about punishing poor people, either. This stinks of lobbying by some company that thinks they can increase their profits by forcing people to buy one product over another.
--
And in another story that's not directly related to the poor, but is about a large company abusing it's power:
Post (the Brand) Sues OK Go (the Band)
"Why an indie rock group is locked in a legal battle with a cereal manufacturer."
OK Go was formed in 1998 and released their first album in 2000. More than 20 years later Post is releasing a cereal product called OK Go! and is suing the band over the name.
Clearly this is a lawsuit that should be thrown out immediately, but the American legal system is so fucked up can anyone really say that Post won't win?
I'm guessing that whoever came up with this thinks "fresh meat" means T-bones and filet mignon. They have no clue that chuck steak and bottom round exist.
And you can probably buy 2-3 loaves of store-brand white sandwich bread for one loaf of the truly healthy whole-grain. Are they going to increase SNAP payments to account for that? (*crickets chirping*) Yeah, didn't think so. And here's a thing I learned when I was first trying to eat healthier: the cheaper "whole wheat" bread really isn't much better than white bread, it has about the same amount of fiber, still has added sugar, and they often put caramel color in it to make it look "healthy" (which makes it taste kind of terrible, probably why they have to add sugar).
Not to mention that some low income areas don’t have a fully stocked grocery store that has all these alternatives.
If those poor people wouldn't steal so much to feed their babies we'd be able to keep a shop open nearby with healthy stuff they can't afford!
The richest 1% of people amassed almost two-thirds of new wealth created in the last two years, Oxfam says
Since 2020, the richest 1% of people have accumulated close to two-thirds of all new wealth created around the world, according to a new report from Oxfam.
I mean, it's right there in the headline.
--Patrick
figmentPez
Staff member
Since lower incomes are disproportionately represented in prison, I felt this was the best thread for:
Dystopian Bill Offers Inmates a Year off Their Sentences if They Donate Organs
The Representative who proposed the bill claims, according to the article, that "the intent of the bill was to provide inmates with the opportunity to save the life or a family member or friend, the same right as any individual in the state."
Which is a nice sounding defense, but I'm really skeptical and find it more likely that this is just a way to turn prisons into organ farms.
Dystopian Bill Offers Inmates a Year off Their Sentences if They Donate Organs
The Representative who proposed the bill claims, according to the article, that "the intent of the bill was to provide inmates with the opportunity to save the life or a family member or friend, the same right as any individual in the state."
Which is a nice sounding defense, but I'm really skeptical and find it more likely that this is just a way to turn prisons into organ farms.
Legendary SciFi author Larry Niven wrote a short story fifty-five years ago titled "The Jigsaw Man" which essentially predicted this very topic.
--Patrick
figmentPez
Staff member
figmentPez
Staff member
In a tight labor market, some states look to another type of worker: Children *paywalled*
"A bill advancing in the Iowa state Senate would relax child labor protections to allow 14 year-olds to work in industrial freezers and meat coolers."
Children are going to die because of this.
Non-paywall alternative: The good and the bad of Iowa's bill that would bring big changes to child labor laws
"In an entirely new section, however, the bill would allow the Iowa Workforce Development and state Department of Education heads to make exceptions to any of the prohibited jobs for teens 14-17 'participating in work-based learning or a school or employer-administered, work-related program.' "
"The bill exempts businesses from civil liability if a student is sickened, injured or killed due to the company's negligence. A business also would be free of civil liability if a student is hurt because of the teen's negligence on the job — or is injured traveling to or from work."
They're even allowing some 14 year old workers to get special drivers licenses so they can drive themselves to work.
Legislators and businesses know that children are going to die because of this, and they're setting up the system so that they won't be held accountable.
"A bill advancing in the Iowa state Senate would relax child labor protections to allow 14 year-olds to work in industrial freezers and meat coolers."
Children are going to die because of this.
Non-paywall alternative: The good and the bad of Iowa's bill that would bring big changes to child labor laws
"In an entirely new section, however, the bill would allow the Iowa Workforce Development and state Department of Education heads to make exceptions to any of the prohibited jobs for teens 14-17 'participating in work-based learning or a school or employer-administered, work-related program.' "
"The bill exempts businesses from civil liability if a student is sickened, injured or killed due to the company's negligence. A business also would be free of civil liability if a student is hurt because of the teen's negligence on the job — or is injured traveling to or from work."
They're even allowing some 14 year old workers to get special drivers licenses so they can drive themselves to work.
Legislators and businesses know that children are going to die because of this, and they're setting up the system so that they won't be held accountable.
Adam Conover once again dropping some damn good truth bombs.
A rare case of a group of fanatics being pointed in the right direction.
From The Atlantic: The Problem With the Retirement Age Is That It's Too High
figmentPez
Staff member
Another store closing under bullshit pretenses after workers try to unionize.
figmentPez
Staff member
As someone else put it "Here's your fucking retail theft crime wave."
Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits
Some companies might have been raising prices faster than their costs have increased, making it harder for inflation to fall, economists say.
www.wsj.com
--Patrick
McDonald's thinks child labor is cool, I guess.
figmentPez
Staff member
And you're saying this didn't happen at a drag club?
GasBandit
Staff member
figmentPez
Staff member
Do you want the business to fail? The other workers would be out of jobs, too. Property values would go down, people would lose a place to eat, the whole neighborhood would suffer if McDonald's didn't enslave children!