Alex James

Engineer. Politics enthusiast.

[The Undercurrent @NotTheirScript]

One of the reasons I don’t like socialism is public bathrooms.

A public bathroom is about as basic a shared resource as you can get. Everyone gets to use it, and everyone is expected to show a little consideration for the next person. The rules aren’t particularly complicated.

And yet, a shocking number of adults can’t even manage to throw their paper towels in the trash. Some will pee all over a toilet seat and leave it for the next person. And the next person, who didn’t make the mess, certainly isn’t going to clean it up either.

Now imagine trusting these same people to collectively manage an entire economy.

We can’t even get everyone to agree that cleaning up their own pee is a personal responsibility, but somehow we’re supposed to believe everyone will become hardworking, responsible, and considerate when we’re sharing the fruits of each other’s labor.

Now, compare your average public restroom to a Buc-ee’s bathroom.

Buc-ee’s figured something out. Clean bathrooms attract customers. Customers spend money. So the company has a financial incentive to keep those bathrooms spotless. They hire people to maintain them, hold employees accountable, and compete for your business.

And people will literally plan their road trips around stopping there.

That’s capitalism. Someone recognized a problem, found a way to solve it, and made money because people valued the result.

Of course, not everyone contributes equally to society. Some people work harder, make better decisions, and take more responsibility. Others seem perfectly content making life more difficult for everyone around them.

I believe people should have the freedom to live however they choose. I also believe in helping people who genuinely need it.

But I have a hard time accepting an economic philosophy that expects me to trust everyone to act in the collective interest when some people can’t be bothered to clean up after themselves.

Buc-ee’s figured out how to get people to willingly pay for a better experience.

Socialism wants me to believe the people leaving paper towels on the floor will suddenly become responsible stewards of everyone else’s resources.

I’m going with the beaver.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@DigitalEU Wtf?

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@Josephat44 @Sovereign_Matt @FatimaJojiSnp Self-preservation has to kick in. You can't have infinite tolerance for those who don't give a shit about your culture. You'd both be more at home somewhere else.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@Josephat44 @Sovereign_Matt @FatimaJojiSnp You don’t integrate by wearing a hijab. Piss off.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@Kappaemmedev Lol ofc not

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@savanQadir @metpoliceuk Deport.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@TakoTreba What is the trade-off? Shifting these risks on employers mean they pay less as they have to price the risk, spend on compliance, etc. This is far more damaging to small companies, hence very few European unicorns relative to US/Asia.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@AnthropicAI Pathetic.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@vonderleyen Turns out net zero was a trillion EUR wasted on nonsense instead of resiliency.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@itsjawdan @ScottFranc64406 @annavanpraagh Their small mind cannot comprehend the amount of value one has to produce consistently to demand a high wage.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@JavierSanz @Iberia La aerolínea no es tu madre. Contrata un seguro.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@chad_mizelle Your client sucks Russian cocks.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@DawnButlerBrent Publish the letter.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@duff91 @GamesGoneS0ft @sm63_63 Only someone with no grasp, ambition or having a anywhere near what it takes to earn £300k a year would be so dismissive. Sad state of affairs. Glad I left.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@r0bre @LevyAntoine Wait until they find out what governments have been up to: https://t.co/B3TiZy9ZDl

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@EU_Commission We did it lads, we regulated

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@DavidJFoord @MittRomney You can always avoid war by surrendering to your enemy. Often that is worse than the war itself.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@Architect9991 @emmafildes You’ll see.

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@itsbaonx @emmafildes Who provides homes for those who don't want to buy?

[Alex James @AlexBachII]

@Architect9991 @emmafildes Property prices drop, rents go up and become even scarcer. Existing tenants win at the expense of mobility and new, would-be tenants. This will only damage the economy further.