One other thing about the US is that they're stubbornly protectionist when it comes to jobs. They're scared to introduce efficiencies such as automating things like manufacturing because some people will lose their jobs in the short-term, even though it's better economically for the long-term. It's ironic that the country run by a Communist Party isn't afraid to embrace innovation like the US is afraid.
America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
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Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#22One other thing about the US is that they're stubbornly protectionist when it comes to jobs. They're scared to introduce efficiencies such as automating things like manufacturing because some people will lose their jobs in the short-term, even though it's better economically for the long-term. It's ironic that the country run by a Communist Party isn't afraid to embrace innovation like the US is afraid.
Do you think strong unions play into this protectionism in the United States vs China?
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#23Once again, partisan politics is holding back progress. Annoys me as a centrist. Democrats should avoid policies that promote central control and increases in national level regulations. They should specifically avoid subsidies and encourage private funding. Republicans should ease off reactionary politics, and work to remove subsidies for entrenched oil/coal/hydrocarbon producers (but only where the cases where the…
You can’t both be against subsidies and say “encourage nuclear”.
Subsidies are the least corrupt way for the government to “encourage something”.
Your comment essentially boils down to “both Dems and Repubs are bad because they support something I don’t”.
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#24America is too stupid and greedy to think past the next quarter. Our culture is so toxic and broken, we deserve to fall behind. Maga will eventually consume itself and it will end. We'll spend the next 20 years rebuilding. That generation, will have the first chance to set us on a better path, becuase the path we are on now is fixed for the time being, and its not progressive or forward thinging in any way.
How do you think MAGA will consume itself? What is the catalyst for MAGA consuming itself?
Since Jan 2nd I am thinking MAGA will be less talking and more doing, up to turning USA into a dictatorship. (Doing things like attacking Venezuela for no reason and providing immunity for ICE agents who murder American citizens)
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#25Once again, partisan politics is holding back progress. Annoys me as a centrist. Democrats should avoid policies that promote central control and increases in national level regulations. They should specifically avoid subsidies and encourage private funding. Republicans should ease off reactionary politics, and work to remove subsidies for entrenched oil/coal/hydrocarbon producers (but only where the cases where the…
You can’t both be against subsidies and say “encourage nuclear”. Subsidies are the least corrupt way for the government to “encourage something”. Your comment essentially boils down to “both Dems and Repubs are bad because they support something I don’t”.
subsidies > tariffs. seriously, injecting money is a pretty darn good shortcut, and you can really target money with agreements about its use. tariffs seem to be abstract theories that you hope work but often don't.
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#26One other thing about the US is that they're stubbornly protectionist when it comes to jobs. They're scared to introduce efficiencies such as automating things like manufacturing because some people will lose their jobs in the short-term, even though it's better economically for the long-term. It's ironic that the country run by a Communist Party isn't afraid to embrace innovation like the US is afraid.
Do you think strong unions play into this protectionism in the United States vs China?
It's a factor but it's also true of non-union jobs. Politicians are against any short-term pain because they're afraid they won't be elected. But it's just a part of the culture, US voters don't like it either (even if they're not the ones facing potential job loss)
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The problem is that American industrial policy is based on quarterly earnings and not long term health of the republic as a whole I think it's even worse than that, the country's industrial policy is based on emotional appeal to the past. Gas cars, coal mines, etc etc, they are as much cultural touchpoints as they are economic factors.
Another big issue is that policy is based on politicians trying to get (re)elected. Their focus is doing things that make them look good, rather than actually doing good. There isn't a ton of long-term planning because elections happen so frequently. Politicians are also often old and not educated about technology.
There isn't a lot of long term planning because American voters do not at all reward long term planning. They also don't reward realism, honesty, generosity, capability, intelligence, etc.
American voters objectively reward hatred, fear, anger, and retribution, lying, false narratives, ignoring the past, ignoring reality, ignoring society.
It's no surprise the politicians we get.
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#28America is too stupid and greedy to think past the next quarter. Our culture is so toxic and broken, we deserve to fall behind. Maga will eventually consume itself and it will end. We'll spend the next 20 years rebuilding. That generation, will have the first chance to set us on a better path, becuase the path we are on now is fixed for the time being, and its not progressive or forward thinging in any way.
How do you think MAGA will consume itself? What is the catalyst for MAGA consuming itself? Since Jan 2nd I am thinking MAGA will be less talking and more doing, up to turning USA into a dictatorship. (Doing things like attacking Venezuela for no reason and providing immunity for ICE agents who murder American citizens)
Theres already a lot of infighting on Epstein files and Israel.
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#29One other thing about the US is that they're stubbornly protectionist when it comes to jobs. They're scared to introduce efficiencies such as automating things like manufacturing because some people will lose their jobs in the short-term, even though it's better economically for the long-term. It's ironic that the country run by a Communist Party isn't afraid to embrace innovation like the US is afraid.
Do you think strong unions play into this protectionism in the United States vs China?
Reading the history of shipping, unions played a huge role in the slower transition from labor-intensive general shipping to containerized shipping.
multiple steps to get goods near a ship in a warehouse, prepared for the ship, manually loaded and packed, and more nonsense became just: drive the containers to the dock and load them when the ship showed up.
Re: America must embrace the Electric Age, or fall behind
#30Is this just a PR piece for Elon Musk? As for the title, we already are going to fall behind, the only question is how far are we going to allow ourselves to fall behind before we change our economic policies. Or alternatively, how far can we fall behind before American hegemony becomes impotent and can be completely ignored by the rest of the world? Unfortunately I think we may just keep blindly worshiping all the w…
American hegemony is already in the process of collapsing. It is not about preventing it any more, only about how quickly America chooses to halt it, or not. I'm betting not.
ever get the feeling all of it is just giant rugpulls, one after the other?