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does anybody else know the truth about global warming

PB Forum :: Social / Political Issues
does anybody else know the truth about global warming
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flag ezekiel
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 17:59 Quote
ledzeppie wrote:
I think the only thing wrong with public transit is that its shittily executed in some areas. With proper execution people will use it. You cant just throw a few busses into a city and call it transit.

I agree with this, ridership could definitely be improved in most areas with a little more tinkering to the system. Around here the government dropped a couple million on some hybrid buses, posed for some pictures but didn't actually adjust the system so the buses still run every hour, making it completely inconvenient.
flag ajsngklsagkjsdag
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 18:01 Quote
S'all about skytrains

Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://www.urbanrail.net/am/vanc/vanc-skytrain042-near-stadium1.jpg
flag gibson19
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 19:30 Quote
I've read that article by Buffet before. While I may not agree completely with him. I'm sure that taxing the hell out of the rich is not a sentiment held by most people with money.

I think the thing that Buffet forgets is that the free market is better at allocating resources to those who need it. Buffet has pledged to give 99 percent of his wealth. He clearly believes that the free market can do better with his money than the government ever could. Ya we could tax the rich more, but we'd just end up blowing it on more wars, to satisfy more special interest groups and to spend more in areas the government shouldn't be involved in. (*cough post office for starters*)

My grandparents are pretty big philanthropists and I can guarantee they'd be giving more money to charities and organizations that do good if they weren't taxed so highly (they live in Canada).

Was gonna include this list of terribly wealthy people that people like to demonize. http://givingpledge.org
flag ajsngklsagkjsdag
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 19:41 Quote
Pretty sure buffet knows his shit.

And im pretty sure he wouldnt ask to be taxed more when he wouldnt want to be taxed more.

And it could also be argued that charity organizations blow half of their money on advertising and stupid shit anyways.
flag gibson19
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 19:51 Quote
There are charities that don't though. The point is an individual has a choice to donate to who you think will do the most good. I know the non-profit my mom volunteers with only pays one persons salary, the rest goes towards supplies and whatever else it is they do. There are hundreds and hundreds of charities that you've never heard of and many that don't have advertisements (just google all the ones in your area and I doubt you'll have heard of any of them).

There are all sorts of websites that rate charities and how much they spend on actually helping people, the environment, what have you.

Not implying buffet doesn't know his shit, just because I disagree with him doesn't mean either I'm wrong or he's wrong. Its a matter of opinion. If the government had a track record of actual results and not just waste I'd have no problem paying higher taxes too.
flag bonfire
Posted: Sep 10, 2011 at 4:13 Quote
Public transit would work better if we were in more dense living.

Calgary for instance is the biggest city corner to corner (excluding surrounding area) in the country, how exactly do you cover that much land and all those little suburbs, and shit? You don't.

Also I hate transit, I hate being on it, I being apart of it. Always full of people I don't want to be near, or talk to, or be forced to smell their stench, or hear their music, or stand because all the seats are taken. My drive to work is 20 minutes, to bus there would be about 40 minutes travel time, not including the walking I would have to do on top of that.

Instead, I can get in my car when I want to, snag a coffee, and roll into work. It is more costly, but I value my time so much more.

Also the US needs more than to tax the rich, the few most recent generations need an attitude adjustment.
flag gibson19
Posted: Sep 10, 2011 at 6:50 Quote
Would you define attitude adjustment.

I agree that they do. For me I think they need to stop feeling like they are entitled to everything. Another thing is patience. Kids who grew up on the internet expect everything instantly. It's turning them into douches. Kids these days are being coddled with 8th place trophies and always being told they did great, even when they didn't. When I was a kid and got bad grades in school I'd get punished. Kids are brats and if I ever acted up I'd get beat.

However I don't think the attitude adjustment needs to be one that is against capitalism and the free market. Lack of competition breeds complacency and that is never a good thing


Also, ya public transportation sucks. There was a year I took the winnipeg buses to school. It added about 20 minutes to my commute. Cost about 4 dollars a trip (so it was cheaper to buy the gas and drive) and I'd still have to get dropped off at a bus station because there wasn't one where I lived in the suburbs. Waiting for 10 minutes for a bus in -20 weather is f*cking lame. Then there's the fact that you can't blast your own music, you can't stop for a slurpee or whatever, and I actually enjoy driving.
flag ezekiel
Posted: Sep 10, 2011 at 8:46 Quote
gibson19 wrote:
However I don't think the attitude adjustment needs to be one that is against capitalism and the free market. Lack of competition breeds complacency and that is never a good thing.

Capitalism itself doesn't have to end but it does have to change, free market capitalism is not sustainable.
flag gibson19
Posted: Sep 10, 2011 at 9:02 Quote
What economic system is stable though?
flag ezekiel
Posted: Sep 11, 2011 at 6:50 Quote
Capitalism isn't the problem, its the attitude of those at the top that is what's going to cause the problems. Too many industries are too focused on the shareholders rather than the employees and are purely driven by maximizing profit margins. As we see a generational shift in the work force from the hard working Baby Boomers to the much lazier Y Generation, unless a lot of companies relax profit margins and start making the idea of employment more appealing, I see bad things coming in the near future.
flag bonfire
Posted: Sep 11, 2011 at 12:03 Quote
Precisely.

Uncontrolled greed has ruined Capitalism.
flag gibson19
Posted: Sep 11, 2011 at 12:49 Quote
But who controls the greed? The government.

There is this illusion that politicians really are in it for the better of the people, but they aren't. They are just as greedy. They vote themselves and their districts money all the time. Money they don't even have. The worst part is they then have the power to adjust the laws, control money supply.

I just don't trust them anymore than I trust a businessman. At least the businessman doesn't pretend like he isn't trying to make good money.
flag ezekiel
Posted: Sep 11, 2011 at 14:09 Quote
gibson19 wrote:
But who controls the greed? The government.

Anyone who is in the business of making money controls their own personal level of greed.

Where I work is a great example. They could do like all the other companies around here and pay us a few bucks over minimum wage, have a high turnover rate and a bunch of people who genuinely don't care about their jobs.

Instead they pay us a wage that we can survive on at the expense of their profits. Not only does this make for a happy and loyal workforce, it gives us money to buy houses, to buy cars and to spend on the stuff that makes the economy grow. If you give your workers just enough money to cover the basics, don't be surprised that your economy becomes stagnant.

As for the "illusion" that you speak of, that's not much of an illusion at all. I don't think anyone under the age of 50 believes that a politician is a righteous person who is only in it for the good of the people. That's why young people have such a high level of voter apathy, because most have accepted the fact that they're all just a bunch of crooked bastards.

 


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