@MintBerryPower@TheLeftIsNutz@beyond_capital There is no economic system that will solve all of society problems. Free market capitalism has come up with the more solutions that has benefited more individuals than any other economic system.
The fatal flaw in that argument is one that history has demonstrated over and over again: private cartels collapse under their own weight because every participant has a powerful incentive to cheat, cut prices, and steal market share from the others. No government is required to make that happen—only the absence of government force to prop them up. As for China, its so-called “cutthroat competition” takes place inside a web of state subsidies, favoritism, and barriers that have nothing to do with a free market. Fantasies about effortless collusion ignore the simplest fact of economics: competition disciplines producers far more effectively than regulators ever have.
Yeah, that’s a great question.
I could only speculate on the reasons for each individuals path to addiction. I am thankful my parents made me play sports growing up and this has led me to handle stress through exercise as well as making friends with fellow athletes. I am sure people handle stress a lot differently and have various outlets on coping with it. I could have easily turned out much different. I was really lucky.
The fantasy that free-market capitalists will effortlessly form unbreakable cartels to starve workers ignores the simplest fact of all: every cartel member has an overwhelming incentive to cheat, cut prices, and grab more business. That is why cartels collapse without government protection. Competition—not regulation—has been the real liberator of workers, turning “work or starve” into the highest wages and living standards in human history.
Todd, your heart is in the right place. I have done many volunteer hours with organizations that try to help people as much as possible that are stuggling. My experiance is that nearly all of the homeless in my area are a result of alcohol/drug/mental illness.
I hope the taxes you pay in your city are helping people stay off the streets.
Unfortunately where I live, no amount of tax dollars would eliminate the reasons people are homeless.
Im complety aware there are different cities with different problems. What are the issues that you see in your area?
In 1992, a 32-year-old historian became Prime Minister of Estonia.
He had read exactly one book on economics: Milton Friedman's Free to Choose.
He used it as a policy manual. Western advisors and Estonian economists told him it would fail. 🧵
“Since this is an era when many people are concerned about ‘fairness’ and ‘social justice,’ what is your ‘fair share’ of what someone else has worked for?”
— Thomas Sowell
Best example of actual teaching and not indoctrination.
Give the students the arguments and let them decide.
I preference lessons with the notion that there are no solutions, there is only trade-offs in economics.
Thomas Sowell describes how he taught students:
“I’d spend a great deal of time putting together a reading list, where I’d find the strongest argument on one side and then the best example of the opposing view.”
“I didn’t test students on which side they believed. I tested them on whether they understood the arguments on both sides.”
I wish it weren’t true Buffett is 100% correct. I used to think I had a an advantage in the market but it’s extremely difficult to beat the market long run.
Even the famous economist John Maynard Keynes tried using his Macroeconomics knowledge to beat the market. He failed. His famous quote. “The market can remain irrational longer then you can remain solvent”
Warren Buffett on economists:
"They don't make a lot of money buying and selling stocks, but people who buy and sell stocks listen to them. I have a little trouble with that."
@opekepe_500mil@yonann You are 100% correct. Professional athletes have a head start. A big problem in the U.S. is many pro athletes are bankrupt after 5 years of retirement despite making 10+ million.
Giannis says buying a $1M Ferrari really costs him $1.1M because of the money he loses by not investing it
"everything that I put my money in has to return value to me back"
"when I give $1,000,000 to a Ferrari Purosangue, I'm not giving $1 million. I'm giving $1,100,000"
"because I'm losing the interest that I'm making from that money"