All Purpose Coronavirus Discussion Part IX: [READ SITE RULE IN OP] Monorail Business Is A Boomin

[LegionOfDoom91]

I think Lemieux was ahead in PPG when Wayne retired in 1999 but then Mario fell behind him after coming back out of retirement.

Yeah Lemieux is at 1.88 while Gretzky is at 1.92 as of today. Lemieux first retired with a 2.01 average in 96-97.

Lemieux still had 1.35 average in his second stint as a 35+ year old but it dropped his career number to the 1.88 by the time he retired again in 05-06.

 

[FlyerNutter]

Exactly...states are going to be cutting tons of social services...but you know it's ain't the fault of the corporations we got biologically attacked but apparently it will be the fault of the regular Joe when they impose austerity measures because the creditors gots to get paid and made whole. Again....swiss cheese bailout...big fish get all the cheese...little guy gets all the holes.

Right. When things are “good” (and they aren’t for many), those at the top hoard like pigs.

When things are bad? We the peasants will pay for the losses. Austerity for the masses.

Those protesting in front of the hospitals are imbeciles that need to look at the real issue. I actually feel for the small businesses. They seem to have been screwed.

 

[Embiid]

Right. When things are “good” (and they aren’t for many), those at the top hoard like pigs.

When things are bad? We the peasants will pay for the losses. Austerity for the masses.

Those protesting in front of the hospitals are imbeciles that need to look at the real issue.

The funny thing is that they print the money and helicopter it all over the oligarchs so they can roll around naked in it while everybody is left in tatters...yet no conditions are imposed in return by Congress...like stopping them from creating tax havens on the Isle of Mann or PO Box in Ireland or ceasing stock buybacks or absurd corporate bonuses to CEO's. Business as usual guys....thanks to the crony gangsta in the White House.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

The people in Harrisburg were apparently bitching about gay marriage & other irrelevant shit at that gathering today too.

 

[FlyerNutter]

The funny thing is that they print the money and helicopter it all over the oligarchs so they can roll around naked in it while everybody is left in tatters...yet no conditions are imposed in return by Congress...like stopping them from creating tax havens on the Isle of Mann or PO Box in Ireland or ceasing stop buybacks or absurd corporate bonuses. Business as usual guys....thanks to the crony gangsta in the White House.

The hospital protests got me a bit fired, so let’s unleash a bit.

What incompetent dumbass ever thought it was a good idea to privatize something like drug manufacturing or honestly anything to do with healthcare? It should be run by the state, with no thought of profits in mind. Someone getting rich off illness is despicable. Some of these stories about states having to compete for supplies is disgusting.

V for Vendetta is one of my all time favourite movies. There is a reason why.

 

[deadhead]

These are loans, to be forgiven only if used to pay employees.
Basically, it's printing money to keep income for workers to sustain demand and keep the economy from cratering.

I see no problem with that, but I do see a problem with still another program that favors employees of large companies over small business employees - what this does is both benefit employees of large companies (the same way companies deducting health insurance from their taxable income is a subsidy, if you have to buy your own insurance you do so with after tax dollars for the most part) and create barriers to exit (i.e. the employee won't be tempted to go to a smaller company or start their own firm).

We need, as John Galbraith pointed out a half century ago, for the government to be a counter-balance to the large corporation, and not a corporate state where there's an unholy partnership between politicians and big companies (not just the Koch brothers lobbying for the right to pollute, but also the lack of antitrust action to keep Google and Facebook from swallowing potential competitors).

There's a happy medium between Republican oligarch policies and Sanders "blow it all up."
But it requires accepting the necessity of strong, efficient government, higher taxes, a stronger safety net, aggressive antitrust action against monopolists and monopsony, and rational regulation guided by science and economics, not political favoritism.

We should be looking at Germany and the North Sea countries as our role models - but to emulate them we also need to develop a stronger sense of both community and personal responsibility, we need to drop the "rights" rhetoric of the left and the punitive "pull yourself up by your bootstraps even if you don't have shoes" rhetoric of the right. No rights without duties, no self-reliance without an even playing field and compassion for those left behind.

However, I'm pessimistic Americans can do so, the primary storyline seems to be victimization, everyone wants and nobody wants to sacrifice. Even the armed forces seem corrupted these days at the upper levels, where careerism seems to be more important than duty to country and your men.

 

[FlyerNutter]

These are loans, to be forgiven only if used to pay employees.
Basically, it's printing money to keep income for workers to sustain demand and keep the economy from cratering.

I see no problem with that, but I do see a problem with still another program that favors employees of large companies over small business employees - what this does is both benefit employees of large companies (the same way companies deducting health insurance from their taxable income is a subsidy, if you have to buy your own insurance you do so with after tax dollars for the most part) and create barriers to exit (i.e. the employee won't be tempted to go to a smaller company or start their own firm).

We need, as John Galbraith pointed out a half century ago, for the government to be a counter-balance to the large corporation, and not a corporate state where there's an unholy partnership between politicians and big companies (not just the Koch brothers lobbying for the right to pollute, but also the lack of antitrust action to keep Google and Facebook from swallowing potential competitors).

There's a happy medium between Republican oligarch policies and Sanders "blow it all up."
But it requires accepting the necessity of strong, efficient government, higher taxes, a stronger safety net, aggressive antitrust action against monopolists and monopsony, and rational regulation guided by science and economics, not political favoritism.

We should be looking at Germany and the North Sea countries as our role models - but to emulate them we also need to develop a stronger sense of both community and personal responsibility, we need to drop the "rights" rhetoric of the left and the punitive "pull yourself up by your bootstraps even if you don't have shoes" rhetoric of the right. No rights without duties, no self-reliance without an even playing field and compassion for those left behind.

However, I'm pessimistic Americans can do so, the primary storyline seems to be victimization, everyone wants and nobody wants to sacrifice. Even the armed forces seem corrupted these days at the upper levels, where careerism seems to be more important than duty to country and your men.

In keeping with a pessimistic although I’d say realistic state of mind - the change you advocate for is unlikely to happen. There is likely to be far too much pushback, distraction and propaganda to divert attention/drive. Occupy movements weren’t given attention. They were demonized very quickly.

I love sports, but why do you believe there is such a push by the current head of the US to start up various sporting leagues?

Like in the times of Rome at her glory, bread and games are a wonderful thing to keep a populace distracted and placated.

 

[Hollywood Cannon]

The small business fund ran out of money because of big businesses like Ruth's Chris. And they didn't even keep paying their employees.

A raw deal

I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle with Ruth's Chris and how they're handling it. They're required to use the money to pay employees or it stays a loan. Maybe they're taking the opportunity to use it as a short term loan and that's wrong. However, when applying for the PPP loan you need to certify a bunch of stuff regarding how the money will be used and that you required the money in order to continue operating under penalty of law.

They have eight weeks from when they received the money to spend it. At least 75% of the loan must be spent on payroll and essentially the only other forgiven expense is rent, but again that number needs to be less than 25% of the total money spent.

As with everything there is a grey area. Are the Ruth's Chris' of the world the devil? Probably not. Are they taking advantage of a poorly thought out government program? Probably. This program isn't really a large benefit for the employers (especially ones that aren't operating) but just a way to funnel the cost of unemployment through businesses.

The Harvard's of the world receiving $9M from government aid despite having a $40B endowment is where most of my ire goes with this situation. Especially when they made some financial decisions that don't look too great just a couple weeks ago. They also operated at a $300M surplus last year.

 

[Striiker]

The hospital protests got me a bit fired, so let’s unleash a bit.

What incompetent dumbass ever thought it was a good idea to privatize something like drug manufacturing or honestly anything to do with healthcare? It should be run by the state, with no thought of profits in mind. Someone getting rich off illness is despicable. Some of these stories about states having to compete for supplies is disgusting.

Because competition and the pursuit of profit is what drives innovation.

It's the same as any company... they spend money to try to create a better product than their competitors, in order to sell that product to gain more money.

 

[FlyerNutter]

Because competition and the pursuit of profit is what drives innovation.

It's the same as any company... they spend money to try to create a better product than their competitors, in order to sell that product to gain more money.

In fairness I don’t disagree fully.

I’d also however say that the drive isn’t always for innovation for the sake of improvement. It’s often competition for who can make something cheaper. Which in turn isn’t always the better product.

 

[Asnito]

The people in Harrisburg were apparently bitching about gay marriage & other irrelevant shit at that gathering today too.

As bad as our system is now it's vital to have a strong Republican Party. The way things are going in a decade that could be in doubt unless the moderates stand up.

 

[FlyerNutter]

I need the animal gifs damnit.

We need a bat signal of some sort.

 

[Beef Invictus]

I need the animal gifs damnit.

We need a bat signal of some sort.

You want bat gifs, you've got it.

 

[Rebels57]

The people in Harrisburg were apparently bitching about gay marriage & other irrelevant shit at that gathering today too.

Of course they were. They are the absolute worst people in the country.

 

[Striiker]

In fairness I don’t disagree fully.

I’d also however say that the drive isn’t always for innovation for the sake of improvement. It’s often competition for who can make something cheaper. Which in turn isn’t always the better product.

True but in some situations that helps too because it can reduce the price for the consumer.

And if the cheaper product doesn't do the job then the consumer won't buy it and will turn to the competitions option, so there's still an incentive for companies to not cut costs too much at the expense of effectiveness.

 

[Rebels57]

In case anyone is wondering how I am handling my rage right now, I just ran 40 minutes on the treadmill, hopped off and ran down to my basement, put on my boxing gloves, and beat the shit out of my bag until I snapped it off the ceiling bracket. It felt good, but I am still full of rage.

 

[Appleyard]

In case anyone is wondering how I am handling my rage right now, I just ran 40 minutes on the treadmill, hopped off and ran down to my basement, put on my boxing gloves, and beat the shit out of my bag until I snapped it off the ceiling bracket. It felt good.View attachment 342862

I have mine in my parents basement while back due to coronavirus... but the issue is that it is a 100lb bag that when hung is ~5'9 from ceiling down including tethers... and the basement is like 5'10... and I am 5'11.

And really nowhere outside to hang it. It makes a pretty awkward weight to have to move around to get to anything down there though.

 

[Embiid]

Surprise...

Some small-business owners got $0 — while lenders got billions in fees

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

As bad as our system is now it's vital to have a strong Republican Party. The way things are going in a decade that could be in doubt unless the moderates stand up.

To be fair I think the internet really ramps up the vocal minority of both parties. In reality there’s probably far more people who don’t really give a shit about all this stuff. Even this dumb rally/protest its probably a couple hundred people at most & that might be generous. Most people have better shit to do even in lockdowns than that stuff.

 

[TB87]

Kemp is into human sacrifice.

How macabre

 

[Rebels57]

I have mine in my parents basement while back due to coronavirus... but the issue is that it is a 100lb bag that when hung is ~5'9 from ceiling down including tethers... and the basement is like 5'10... and I am 5'11.

And really nowhere outside to hang it. It makes a pretty awkward weight to have to move around to get to anything down there though.

They make those floor standing brackets but they are overpriced.

I'm only 5'8 and my basement ceiling has to be about 6'4 (my 6'5 friend has to crouch just a tiny bit when standing) so im all good lol.

 

[deadhead]

True but in some situations that helps too because it can reduce the price for the consumer.

And if the cheaper product doesn't do the job then the consumer won't buy it and will turn to the competitions option, so there's still an incentive for companies to not cut costs too much at the expense of effectiveness.

Unfortunately, it's never that simple.

Example, when appliance standards were first implemented, the industry cried that it would raise prices to consumers and reduce options. Same with CAFE standards in cars.

What actually happened is the drive to meet standards shifted investment from marketing to performance, so refrigerators became more energy efficient, with more capacity for the same footprint and cheaper in real dollars.

Cars also showed tremendous improvements, my Infinti (bought 16 years ago) gets the same gas mileage with a 270 HP engine as my Celica from the late 1970s with half the power. I have AWD, a kick ass stereo, anti-lock brakes, etc., and the quality is much higher. Once the focus shifted from frills to performance, pushed by government regulation (both mileage and safety rules), car manufacturers competed on those qualities.

 

[Striiker]

To be fair I think the internet really ramps up the vocal minority of both parties. In reality there’s probably far more people who don’t really give a shit about all this stuff. Even this dumb rally/protest its probably a couple hundred people at most & that might be generous. Most people have better shit to do even in lockdowns than that stuff.

Exactly. It's a small group of idiots, out looking for attention... and they're getting it.

 

[deadhead]

Exactly. It's a small group of idiots, out looking for attention... and they're getting it.

It's also being aided by POTUS tweets and FOX News cheerleading, as well as WSJ editorials.

 

[Appleyard]

They make those floor standing brackets but they are overpriced.

I'm only 5'8 and my basement ceiling has to be about 6'4 (my 6'5 friend has to crouch just a tiny bit when standing) so im all good lol.

Yeh... not worth it for what is hopefully only another ~6 weeks or so. Fingers crossed. I guess that is about best case scenario for anything to start being lifted and things even beginning to get back to normal.

I am the smallest (and oldest haha) of four brothers, and my Dad is 6'1. I am the only one who can really utilise the basement while standing and be semi-comfortable. I just have to slouch a bit.

But if tried to do any semblance of punch throwing would split my head open. Have already cut it open down there twice over the last few years haha. (I think I have some relation to the Schenn brothers, as like them I think my skull is made of concrete given the blows it has taken over the years and been fine.)