31–40 of 244 posts
First time i heard about SLS was from this DW documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK68yyrKUOA which i found very good
I'd love to know the rationale for why they geoblock the UK from watching this particular documentary.
This is quite darkly hilarious tbh. And consistent with my experience of Blackpool. I once went there on couple-week-long driving course when I was a teenager, hoping but eventually failing to get my license. I was put up in someone's house that was run as a sort of unlicensed b&b. The entire place, the curtains, the linen, the pillow,.. all smelled of old nicotine and damp. On my first evening I went out by myself t…
This is so weird. Is it another way of saying "being poor is expensive"? Or poor people get sick more? If so then this some next level captain obvious stuff. Or do the authors have such a nice societal experience that this seems very peculiar to them? I mean, this is one if the top reasons people want money right? At least they have NHS in the UK, in most of the world and most of human history people either adapt or…
I hope there comes a day when the rich and influential look for the next money-making venture in which to invest in, see only a sea of machine-generated uncertainty on the stock market, and decide "actually, the most profitable thing I can do to protect my wealth is to invest it in the public" One day maybe.
Ugh. I hope there comes a day when using the money hoarded by the rich and influential to invest in the public, does not depend on the rich and influential choosing to do so out of a desire for maximal profits, or even benevolence. One day maybe.
TBH, I doubt it. Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with your values. Heck, I'm even called 'woke' by most people around me. Yet I understand that in this day in age, thanks to cryptocurrency, money is and will be a private matter. No government will be able to confiscate your wealth, at least to the extent that your wealth doesn't depend on assets related with the government (e.g. real estate is related given that you need to pay taxes to maintain it).
This is so weird. Is it another way of saying "being poor is expensive"? Or poor people get sick more? If so then this some next level captain obvious stuff. Or do the authors have such a nice societal experience that this seems very peculiar to them? I mean, this is one if the top reasons people want money right? At least they have NHS in the UK, in most of the world and most of human history people either adapt or…
What a weird take, we should avoid naming things because checks notes they’re obvious???
> Give the addicts, the hobos and and the mentally unstable cash and good information/guidance on their options.
That’s some next level captain obvious knowledge that you never give cash to hobos and addicts if you want to fix root cause of their problems, how could you not know that?
The UK has typically had the highest levels of income inequality in Europe. A previous Prime Minister had been quoted 'A pound spent in Croydon is far more of value to the country than a pound spent in Strathclyde', Croydon being in London and Strathclyde being an administrative area in West Scotland that ceased to exist in 1975. The quote was from 2012. WFH has allowed me to continue working from rural Scotland, to…
Although Croydon is a London borough, it's quite far outside of central London, to the point that it doesn't really feel part of London. It's also quite a deprived area. So that quote is weird on a number of levels!
"Both Croydon and Strathclyde are shit places, but Croydon is a little less shit. By spending that pound in Croydon we can hopefully avoid it becoming Strathclyde"
I think that poverty really is a state of mind, and so SLS, as a thing separate from mental health, inadequate health care or material deprivation makes a lot of sense to me. Once you start seeing life as shit, something where no good change is possible and no effort is rewarded, you really are stuck in the shit reality. On the other hand, it’s possible to be materially very poor, but totally happy. To see life as fu…
Given that most (if not all) enjoyable things in life involve some kind of a fee (however small), that’s hard to do.
https://www.ft.com/blackpool Seems like it's not paywalled. FWIW Blackpool looks like a heck of a lot of seaside places in the UK. Whatever problems are described in this article are problems all the way around the coast. Visit a seaside town here and it often feels like you're back in the early 90s. There's a certain style that hasn't been updated. Arcades, chip shops, betting shops. Ok the betting shops look modern…
https://www.ft.com/blackpool Seems like it's not paywalled. FWIW Blackpool looks like a heck of a lot of seaside places in the UK. Whatever problems are described in this article are problems all the way around the coast. Visit a seaside town here and it often feels like you're back in the early 90s. There's a certain style that hasn't been updated. Arcades, chip shops, betting shops. Ok the betting shops look modern…
From an Australian perspective the idea that "seaside" towns are especially susceptible to economic decay and being left behind seems quite odd - even in parts of country without year-round beach weather, coastal localities here are usually the desirable places to live with subsequently healthier economies. Are there other countries that have experienced similar patterns of development to the UK?
I hope there comes a day when the rich and influential look for the next money-making venture in which to invest in, see only a sea of machine-generated uncertainty on the stock market, and decide "actually, the most profitable thing I can do to protect my wealth is to invest it in the public" One day maybe.
The uncertainty of the stock market doesn't really matter. The M3 in the UK went up around 25% over the last 3 years. So the major concern when choosing where to invest is whether the assets are optimally positioned to benefit from the growth in the money supply. Physical reality is still a concern of course. Although arguably rich and influential are investing in the public; the UK government spending makes up about…
Rates are actually even higher between 100-122k because although the income tax rate is 40%, ie 5%pts lower, the zero-rate band ("Personal Allowance") is simultaneously withdrawn by 50p for every pound earned - meaning effectively the rate is 60% and employees get to keep just over 33% of each additional pound the employer spends on salary and payroll taxes.
On the other hand, if you can take all of your money in capital gains, you'll be taxed at a top rate of 20% (or 28% for real estate and carried interest), with no payroll taxes. So the system heavily incentivises risk taking.