I was curious to find out if my phone - which is always on silent mode - would make a noise. It did.

I have an anecdote, albeit a little old. Circa 2010 I was living in the US (WI). Traded an old bar fridge I didn't need to a friend for a 30-06 rifle. It was the first firearm I owned while living there. I then went to my local police and asked if there was any kind of registration process I should go through and they said nope, we don't care. Not saying you're wrong, just one experience I had.

When I bought a shotgun from a store after that I did have to wait 3 days, I presumed at the time because I wasn't a citizen.

Man that's some bullshit. I imported my wife in 2015 and we thought we were getting screwed because it had recently gone from $3kish to $4kish.

In competitive markets that's how it worked. What we have now are mega corporations who build monopolies by buying out the competition or sending them broke by brute force. Then once the corporation has a stranglehold they are free to cheapen their products and services and/or jack up prices knowing they have no competition. That's why formerly quality brands are constantly becoming poor quality trash.

Inherited wealth leads to spoiled, privileged idiots who have grown up thinking they earned their lives through talent and hard work, when in reality they've just been failing upwards while the family money and connections have been covering their asses.

In late stage capitalism, those idiots have amassed enough wealth and power to make them a genuine threat to all of us. If you can't see that happening already then I have to assume you're one of the many people who are just beyond help.

We had the demand shock, now we're heading into the supply shock. This one is going to last much longer.

I wasn't the one making the statement, just offering an interpretation. I think a good case could be made that the US IS a shining example of mature capitalism.

The problem with capitalism is the high prices needed to pay for shareholder profits and executive bonuses. The key is to adopt some capitalistic programs but not so much that prices increase while quality of goods and services decrease in perpetuity.

Oh, and also end inherited wealth, because it's antithetical to an egalitarian society.

I don't think it's the capitalism part they were disputing, it was the shining example part.

And the "don't tread on me" crowd will gleefully sign up to join his gestapo so they can tread on their fellow citizens.

just say it makes you feel powerful.

The way god must feel when he's holding a gun! (Old Simpsons quote 🤣 ) I've always said my favourite thing about guns is the brandishing. They sure are fun to brandish.

This privatisation lunacy has to end, and then be wound back. Services don't need to - and shouldn't be - profitable. Profit motivation inherently leads to poorer outcomes. They're things that benefit all of us, so we all chip in to pay for them. That's the whole point of government. It seems we need constant reminders of that.

Poverty affects every part of life. I've never been wealthy, but for most of my life I could afford little luxuries for my family, like Dominos on cheap Tuesday, drives in the country, days at the beach, and weekend camping trips. I could even save a little money here and there.

In the last few years I've started making more money than I ever have, but all those little things that made life worthwhile have simultaneously become out of reach. The only time we've splurged on eating out in the last year was Hungry Jack's for my daughters birthday dinner. We don't drive anywhere unnecessarily because we don't have excess fuel money. We can't afford to maintain the camping gear we have, let alone replace it as it wears out and breaks.

Despite working a "professional" job and receiving numerous pay raises over the last 5 years, my quality of life has gotten significantly worse, and I suspect there are plenty of others around who feel the same way I do. Every year I'm a little bit worse off than I was the year before. Owning a house is off the table. The idea of a comfortable retirement is laughable. Travel is a dream I used to have. Hobbies aren't even worth considering unless they're completely free.

I basically can't afford to life anymore. It affects everything. I no longer work to improve my life, because that doesn't seem possible. I work to avoid the terrible consequences of not working. My hopes and dreams have transitioned from working towards something better, to merely trying to stop things from getting worse.

And the worst part is, I don't legitimately see any way that things are going to get better for people like me, with no real wealth and no inheritance on the way. We're in the late stages of the monopoly game. All the properties have been bought, houses and hotels built, and the dice never quite worked out for me. All I can do is keep passing go until I land on a square that's going to put me out of the game for good. It's time to flip the board and start again.

That came out a bit whiny I guess. At least I have a wife who loves me, my health, and for now I can afford my landlord's mortgage. I know there are people out there far worse off than I am. But it baffles me that we have enough for everyone, but so many continue to live in poverty while a handful suck up so much despite contributing so little. If you consider our capitalist system for just a minute without resorting to those indoctrinated taglines, it's completely bizarre and illogical, and antithetical to that egalitarian society so many used to like to brag about.