Comment

Comment by Brandon Blaze on February 15, 2012 at 2:14pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1RCplpVaQ0

meant to add this before...

Comment by Brandon Blaze on February 14, 2012 at 8:06pm

Well Damn, i was sure the first Thing Korey was going to talk about was Metlife Commerical/Cartoon Nostalgia Trip and have THIS reaction LoL...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l4JSUmpbXI&list=UUngMw0G2y2YFLP...

Comment by Frank on February 12, 2012 at 11:03am

Comment by Mr. Plainview on February 9, 2012 at 2:12pm

A very valid argument, however the whole of human history is full of most people acting colossally stupid almost 24/7 so this most certainly is evidence that it is not a current nor local phenomenon.  As such our education system is not the cause but rather an institution that has to at every turn struggle to the idiot masses. 

Though I do agree I find the educational system a joke, but not the blame.  Cultural most humans I've met show very little sign of wishing to learn anything.  No matter how great the system you can teach someone who doesn't wish to learn.

Comment by Silent Protagonist on February 8, 2012 at 8:54pm

@Mr.Plainview I am fine with agreeing to disagree, but let me just throw a crazy idea out there.

Since you are starting out the premace evryone is stupid, lets not right out assume that this is human nature, maybe it has something to do with our absurdly shity educational system , but let me ask you this who is that is responsable for their education?Who has a agency that determines both private and public schools curriculum?Because maybe they have a part of the blame on evryone being stupid.

Comment by Mr. Plainview on February 8, 2012 at 6:30pm

@Silent Protagonist

**Sigh** Of course smoking is my fault, never said it wasn't.  I knew it was bad when I started (much like everyone knows cheese and red meat is bad but they still choose to shovel it in) but you seem to have missed read the point I was trying to make, ah well.

"History is littered with tons of instances in which there was no competition for the consumer to go and no regulation to ensure the companies weren't taking advantage of employees or consumers."

Nice of you to provide a example for me than

Basically I just told you the metaphorical equivalent of people die in wars and you asked me to point out an example.  Where to begin.  Read a book for starters, any history book will do.  Seriously any single one.

I think you're missing the point that in concept I agree with you, however the "free market" much like Communism, Capitalism, and various other ideas look fantastic on paper in reality however the world is full of asshats.  Asshats will always use the system and seek power, then use that power to set up a new system designed to screw over everyone else and stack the deck so much in their favor that it's near impossible for anyone to do anything about it.

There is a good reason that some of the largest proponents for deregulation and a free market are the very same "businessmen" that had a great hand in running their businesses into the ground, tanking that stock market, receiving huge government bailouts, and all the while giving themselves multimillion dollar bonuses.  This reason is because these people understand economics very well and realize that in a deregulated free market they wouldn't have to spend boatloads of cash to lobby the government about various regulations.  Because they wouldn't have any regulations to worry about, and as such would be free to do as they wish. 

Free to do what you ask?  Oh I don't know set up a monopoly for one.  What is stopping the oil companies from merging and setting a fixed price of $6 a gallon across the board.  Why nothing but regulation that prevents monopolies.  How about Coke and Pepsi doing the same, or any other companies doing the same?  Competition contrary to popular belief isn't that great for business.  What is great for business is price fixing.  However regulations stop price fixing and leave companies with no other option except competition.

The majority of people are stupid.  Really really really stupid.  A free market is set up so the rich do as they wish and it's up to the consumer to watch dog them and do something about it when they are being exploited.  So Free market = regulation not by government laws but by the consumer.  As we've stated however the majority are stupid.  So Free market = regulated by stupid.  Which equates to nothing less than the rich getting richer, the consumer standing around drooling on themselves, and the few intelligent individuals getting gang raped by corporations because they weren't wealthy enough to overcome a system that's set up for the wealthy to succeed and everyone else to fail and they weren't numerous enough to change anything.

I would say I guess we'll have to agree to disagree sir, but as I've said before in concept I agree with you, however it seems you have more faith in humanity and believe they actually inherently wish to do what is right or have some sort of intelligence that permits them to get off their ass and try to change things that are broken.  Nothing I've seen in all my days has led me to believe either and frankly it pisses me off.

Comment by Silent Protagonist on February 8, 2012 at 4:17pm

@Mr.Plainview My point is: a true free market will allways be subjugaded to consumer demand, no matter how stupid that demand is, one of my biggest pet peeves is things that the market can do to kids, for example religous parents can take the kids to fundamentalist runed schools where kids will be indoctrinated to beliving in god, but do I believe that we shoudl force the parents into raising their kids in a way I find acceptable? NO!, we need to is do is , do our best to educate the parents or the kids.

Comment by Silent Protagonist on February 8, 2012 at 3:34pm

@Mr.Plainview Let me ask you this, you know all the bad things that smoking is bad for you, do you still smoke?

If yes ,its interily your fault.

The problem with the so-called "pro active regulation" is that only come about after we know the problem, and because of that it becomes useless .

As far as the energy , we use different sources of energy today because they are more effective, not because they are more green, you are completely miss guided in the idea that free markets dont have the incentive to be more environmental pro active, because it has the incentive to consumes less resources.Less resources =cheaper, Cheaper = more consumer demand.

Good example of this is the iPad, people dont buy books and read on it because they are saving trees by doing so, they do it because its cheaper.

"Especially if it's a product that everyone needs and they know they can use their vast finance to control and eliminate the competition."

The only way they can do this, is by using regulations what you are supporting , large oil companies lobby the government and regulatory agencies to not allow, alternatives sources of energy.AKA not a free market.

Now the idea that they will just buy the companies directly, is another topic and it will inevitably fail because the companies will buy off the business but there still people that worked on that tecnology that wont benefit from that sale that will either start their own bussines or migrate to a diffirent one, they canot supress knwoledge without the help of the government, to use acual violent force to do so.

"History is littered with tons of instances in which there was no competition for the consumer to go and no regulation to ensure the companies weren't taking advantage of employees or consumers."

Nice of you to provide a example for me than, because the way I see it if there is no competion is either because the government is regulating it away, or the tecnology is simply not there yet.

Comment by Mr. Plainview on February 8, 2012 at 2:40pm

@Silent Protagonist

No I understood the point clearly.  However I just find the argument a little too, hmmm how do I put this?  "Everything will work out fine unless there are greedy bastards in the world then it crumbles due to the confines of reality and human nature."

When Asbestos companies first starting putting that crap into everything their own studies showed it was harmful to people but the people in charge didn't care nor informed the public.  Due to this many consumers died of mesothelioma.  By your logic it was the consumers fault for not going unduly out of their way to become away of each and every product they use to determine if it could be harmful.  Let's not forget after all that smoking (something I've quite enjoyed since I was thirteen) was at one time thought to be harmless by the consumer however the manufacturer knew the truth at the time.

Calling out companies for putting harmful chemicals in their product because regulations don't make them do otherwise isn't fear-mongering or playing on emotions it's bringing facts to an argument.  If it wasn't for regulations we would still be using old high pollution yielding coal power plants to provide power to our cities, and I sincerely doubt there would be any alternative cleaner sources for the consumer to choose to use.

Over regulation is wrong, regulation however is a necessity, because let's face it the world is full of greedy assholes who don't give a shit about anyone and are always looking to sell you a bad product.  Especially if it's a product that everyone needs and they know they can use their vast finance to control and eliminate the competition.  It's the consumers job to speak with their dollar and not buy product they don't want or deem harmful, however if no one provides regulation so there are guaranteed alternatives what then?

History is littered with tons of instances in which there was no competition for the consumer to go and no regulation to ensure the companies weren't taking advantage of employees or consumers.

Comment by Sucker for Twilight on February 8, 2012 at 11:30am

Andrew at the end of Chronicle scared me more than the Woman in Black!! Both were good movies, but Chronicle was great.

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