I drink your milkshake! a metaphor for capitalism

[Old Man Jingles]

Richard D. Wolff‏Verified account @profwolff Sep 15




Total US consumer debt is up 40% since 2008. The "consumer spending" keeping today's US economy going depends on unsustainable consumer borrowing.

Another debt "bubble" taking us to another crash?

I was thinking about you today ... I was reminiscing back to my days when I was 19 - 24 years old.
I remember it being a period of extreme knowledge gathering and 'assembling' relationships that spread out across all these silos of knowledge that are seemingly link by assumptions and thought processes going on in my head.
I lived through it and hopefully you will as well.
About 25 years of age, one learns that masterful tool 'judgment', and things get much better and 'understandable'.

My suggestion is to stay with your "Hunger of Knowledge" and tell your parents
it's just a phase and you'll snap out of it around 25 years of age.

 

[vantexan]

I was thinking about you today ... I was reminiscing back to my days when I was 19 - 24 years old.
I remember it being a period of extreme knowledge gathering and 'assembling' relationships that spread out across all these silos of knowledge that are seemingly link by assumptions and thought processes going on in my head.
I lived through it and hopefully you will as well.
About 25 years of age, one learns that masterful tool 'judgment', and things get much better and 'understandable'.

My suggestion is to stay with your "Hunger of Knowledge" and tell your parents
it's just a phase and you'll snap out of it around 25 years of age.

Ricky is 42.

 

[BuckyBadger]

this convo reminds me of that religious BC member i think flush or whatever his name is where he thinks things are organized because christianity told him, and meanwhile im reading biology book and they say the universe bends towards disorganization the same way things become a mess.

Christianity teaches exactly what you are saying

 

[rickyb]

Christianity teaches exactly what you are saying

what do you mean?

 

[rickyb]

I was thinking about you today ... I was reminiscing back to my days when I was 19 - 24 years old.
I remember it being a period of extreme knowledge gathering and 'assembling' relationships that spread out across all these silos of knowledge that are seemingly link by assumptions and thought processes going on in my head.
I lived through it and hopefully you will as well.
About 25 years of age, one learns that masterful tool 'judgment', and things get much better and 'understandable'.

My suggestion is to stay with your "Hunger of Knowledge" and tell your parents
it's just a phase and you'll snap out of it around 25 years of age.

i went from knowledge into action. i used to just get knowledge and it didnt translate into anything so it was in another sense a kind of low key consumerism and i was dead weight like everyone else.

right after high school i did a bunch of like stunt plane, paraglide, hangglide, bungee, etc. and then starting paying attention to politics and i got depressed and actually didnt work for a year or do anything besides walk the dog and politics; it was good perspective but not working is not what lifes about probably anymore than working for a capitalist dictatorship where youre told what to do all day. then eventually i started donating like crazy and started eating more morally and sustainably. and now im doing that plus more activities than ever. life aint perfect but its pretty damn good, and its as good as its ever been thats for damn sure.

chick from high school had a bday and she doesnt want to get older, but with me i keep getting better with age so it all evens out or im even better than before.

 

[rickyb]

I was thinking capitalism is so inefficient because for 1 cars don't look good and then the way most ppl dress is really bad. so for me that means I spent more time buying good clothes because I can't easily ask somebody where they got their clothes and i have to go thru the 99% of clothes which are bad.

Actually the system is a huge Matrix because everything is really bad ; Religion sucks mainstream media sucks politics sucks xcetera

 

[rickyb]

"Children playing feet away from open pools of raw sewage; drinking water pumped beside cracked pipes of untreated waste; human faeces flushed back into kitchen sinks and bathtubs whenever the rains come; people testing positive for hookworm, an intestinal parasite that thrives on extreme poverty.

These are the findings of a new study into endemic tropical diseases, not in places usually associated with them in the developing world of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, but in a corner of the richest nation on earth: Alabama.

Scientists in Houston, Texas, have lifted the lid on one of America’s darkest and deepest secrets: that hidden beneath fabulous wealth, the US tolerates poverty-related illness at levels comparable to the world’s poorest countries. More than one in three people sampled in a poor area of Alabama tested positive for traces of hookworm, a gastrointestinal parasite that was thought to have been eradicated from the US decades ago."

Hookworm, a disease of extreme poverty, is thriving in the US south. Why?

 

[BadIdeaGuy]

"Children playing feet away from open pools of raw sewage; drinking water pumped beside cracked pipes of untreated waste; human faeces flushed back into kitchen sinks and bathtubs whenever the rains come; people testing positive for hookworm, an intestinal parasite that thrives on extreme poverty.

These are the findings of a new study into endemic tropical diseases, not in places usually associated with them in the developing world of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, but in a corner of the richest nation on earth: Alabama.

Scientists in Houston, Texas, have lifted the lid on one of America’s darkest and deepest secrets: that hidden beneath fabulous wealth, the US tolerates poverty-related illness at levels comparable to the world’s poorest countries. More than one in three people sampled in a poor area of Alabama tested positive for traces of hookworm, a gastrointestinal parasite that was thought to have been eradicated from the US decades ago."

Hookworm, a disease of extreme poverty, is thriving in the US south. Why?

Ricky, more and more of our impoverished people are obese. How many destitute people in third world nations can say the same?

 

[rickyb]

Ricky, more and more of our impoverished people are obese. How many destitute people in third world nations can say the same?

yea because you possibly put more oils, sodium, and fat in your foods vs other countries.

lets talk about americans who cant afford food. what percent?

 

[Operational needs]

yea because you possibly put more oils, sodium, and fat in your foods vs other countries.

lets talk about americans who cant afford food. what percent?

There are plenty of places poor people can get food. I would bet there is no one starving in this country unless they choose to or they’re children and their parents starve them. There is SNAP from the government and lots of churches and organizations have food pantries.

Not being able to afford food in other countries is a much different beast. In Third World countries if you have no food, you starve.

 

[BrownArmy]

There are plenty of places poor people can get food. I would bet there is no one starving in this country unless they choose to or they’re children and their parents starve them. There is SNAP from the government and lots of churches and organizations have food pantries.

Not being able to afford food in other countries is a much different beast. In Third World countries if you have no food, you starve.

There are plenty of people starving in the USA...

Do some research.

 

[rickyb]

Do some research.

ive learned thats asking alot

 

[Operational needs]

There are plenty of people starving in the USA...

Do some research.

There is a big difference between being “food insecure” or hungry and starving.

When is the last time you saw someone die from total lack of food?

 

[Operational needs]

There are plenty of people starving in the USA...

Do some research.

Oh, and I know about the fancy term “food insecure”. Lived with it as a child. Guess what though? I didn’t die.

 

[rickyb]

There are plenty of places poor people can get food. I would bet there is no one starving in this country unless they choose to or they’re children and their parents starve them. There is SNAP from the government and lots of churches and organizations have food pantries.

Not being able to afford food in other countries is a much different beast. In Third World countries if you have no food, you starve.

i think child hunger in america ranks near the top amongst western countries, if not the top. america is #1 for dept of war spending. its not hard for me to imagine (let alone remember) that america govt doesnt take care of hungry kids because as adults america is also sorely lacking in rights compared to other countries; and i know that bill clinton destroyed welfare for single mothers.

hungry children...you know that period in a persons life where they are not responsible for the situation theyre in because they are just kids.

also if the food banks arent giving out enough food and the person who depends on food banks also uses underdeveloped public transit, then suddenly alot of that persons time will be spent looking for food instead of looking for a job. its like a poverty trap.

 

[rickyb]

There is a big difference between being “food insecure” or hungry and starving.

When is the last time you saw someone die from total lack of food?

im not talking about death to be sure.

 

[rickyb]

I was thinking about you today ... I was reminiscing back to my days when I was 19 - 24 years old.
I remember it being a period of extreme knowledge gathering and 'assembling' relationships that spread out across all these silos of knowledge that are seemingly link by assumptions and thought processes going on in my head.
I lived through it and hopefully you will as well.
About 25 years of age, one learns that masterful tool 'judgment', and things get much better and 'understandable'.

My suggestion is to stay with your "Hunger of Knowledge" and tell your parents
it's just a phase and you'll snap out of it around 25 years of age.

my dad is smart at some things like renting out property, dealing with insurance companies, etc, but hes awful at other things like diet, entertainment, balance, what life is all about, social skills are questionable etc.

how with his age is this possible? he only reads the local paper, and watches corporate news, and tv shows.

so what im saying is lets not give too much credit to older people because they are very likely more ed up than even a preteen noam chomsky.

 

[BrownArmy]

Oh, and I know about the fancy term “food insecure”. Lived with it as a child. Guess what though? I didn’t die.

The USA is the richest country on the planet, it’s unconscionable that 1 in 6 children in America don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

 

[rickyb]

Oh, and I know about the fancy term “food insecure”. Lived with it as a child. Guess what though? I didn’t die.

yea but suffering and not dying are 2 separate things. lets raise our expectations instead of accepting our artificially lowered expectations.

probably not a good idea to go hungry when youre developing.

 

[Operational needs]

i think child hunger in america ranks near the top amongst western countries, if not the top. america is #1 for dept of war spending. its not hard for me to imagine (let alone remember) that america govt doesnt take care of hungry kids because as adults america is also sorely lacking in rights compared to other countries; and i know that bill clinton destroyed welfare for single mothers.

hungry children...you know that period in a persons life where they are not responsible for the situation theyre in because they are just kids.

also if the food banks arent giving out enough food and the person who depends on food banks also uses underdeveloped public transit, then suddenly alot of that persons time will be spent looking for food instead of looking for a job. its like a poverty trap.

The government gives funds to the parents to make sure the children have food. If the parents spend it on other things, what do you propose the government do about that? How did Clinton destroy welfare for single mothers? There are plenty of single mothers on welfare and getting all kinds of government services. What he DID do was make the states responsible for disbursing the money and limiting how long people could stay on welfare, as well as requiring people to get jobs. FYI, as of 2012, 39.2% of aid a month goes for children.