this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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politics

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If only we had invented and built some sort of alternative mode of collective transportation. Maybe it could be in tunnels and ride on metallic rails. It would serve many people and make periodic stops to the same locations instead of the highway clusterf- we have today. Sad that we don't, but a man can dream though. A man can dream.

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[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 53 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Reported as not really being politics, and I could see it as being more !news@lemmy.world or even !business@lemmy.world

But pocket book issues like this impact politics.

"It's the economy, stupid!" and all that.

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 53 points 1 week ago (3 children)
[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The only way you can escape politics is to live alone on an uninhabited planet.

Even then, I'm sure someone would figure out a way to have conflicting ideas that need to be argued out. There's a reason Tom Hanks invented Wilson (and the real-life stories such concepts are based on), we NEED other people to engage with, to debate with, to argue with, for validation and support and to negotiate with in order for our ideas to sharpen and for our minds to stay stable. Without this, we lose our minds or even die.

So not only is everything politics, we can't live without it.

I think about this every time I see someone whinging about politics in entertainment.

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[–] Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Politics underpins finance at every level

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

https://xkcd.com/435/

I feel most of the mod decisions are arbitrary, but there's also a good reason we don't all just post everything in an "everything" com.

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[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That's the funny thing about it all: the ruling class couldn't give less of a shit about the wellbeing of the people. But they care about their companies' revenue, and that is threatened if people have no money to spend. That is why we need Universal Basic Income in the near future.

[–] MrMakabar@slrpnk.net 2 points 6 days ago

UBI is a great idea, but it allows people to take risks. Including the risk of forming a union, protesting in a larger way and so forth. That sort of happened with the Hippies in the US. It was easy to get a job, so people used that to earn some money, quit and enjoy themself for a longer period.

That is why the social safety net is as crappy as it is. Fear is the only way to keep the general population in line.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

What if Wall Street failed and collapsed? I feel like that would be good

[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Every time they face consequences for their actions, we are robbed to save them, so be careful what you wish for

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Maybe we should stop passively watching them commit crimes. French style revolution is the only solution.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago (2 children)

For every 1% increase in unemployment, 40,000 people die.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The status quo of poverty caused by wealth inequality results in around 183,000 deaths every year.

https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2023/04/17/poverty-4th-greatest-cause-us-deaths

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)
[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 192 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Have they Tried RAISING Prices while DROPPING Wages? That might help!

[–] klammeraffe@lemmy.cafe 51 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Just stop importing avocados and toast

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[–] Death__BySnuSnu@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Why not just finance the unaffordable cars for 10-15 years? That'll solve the problem.

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[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago

WHAT??? HOW WOULD THAT POSSIBLY HE----oh. I see what you did there. I ate the lemon.

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 84 points 1 week ago (1 children)

maybe if dealers would actually tell you the price of the car instead of spinniing it as a monthly expense

[–] PancakesCantKillMe@lemmy.world 38 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes, but how can that poor salesman possibly get you into the most expensive car for the longest terms that way? They've got a commission to max out!

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 week ago

There is a dealership local to me that pays their sales staff annual salaries with benefits rather than working on commission. It’s the only place anybody in my family will buy a car now.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 58 points 1 week ago

America had a public rail system already...

We nationalized rail during WW1, and then after giving it back they all went broke in the 60s

So then Amtrak was created (there's a push to privatize it right now) and when that was going to put private rail out of business, Jimmy Carter de-regulated rail so private companies could cut corners and not be replaced nationwide by Amtrak

We'll never get nationalized rail on a good scale with neoliberals, they'll never fix any problem where money is involved, because they'll take the offered money to change their minds.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 49 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Uh oh

In August, the share of subprime auto loans where borrowers had missed payments for 60 days or more was 6.43pc, according to Fitch Ratings. Bar a 6.45pc reading in January, this was the highest level recorded since Fitch’s data began in 1993 (back then, the rate was just 0.12pc) and far above the financial crisis peak of 5.04pc.

[–] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Woah

I'll tell you what though, I'm glad I have a paid off car.

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[–] Feyd@programming.dev 47 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Are the millennials killing car ownership!?

[–] don@lemmy.ca 28 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Boomers told me millennials kill everything. Which by its own nature means millennials killed killing everything.

But that means they also killed killing killing everything

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 34 points 1 week ago

Not long ago I could buy a used van for 5000. Now I had to pay like 13k for a used one after our typical accident caused by another person had an insurance that wouldn't pay up.

That's such a shit business going around telling people they're covered but then in the end not actually covering anything. I get it cars depreciate.... Well great, why doesn't my insurance premium deprecate? I would gladly maintain the same level of payment if it means my car will be replaced. Similarly, if they won't actually replace my car, they should just tell me..you're going to need $5000 to make up the difference if you get into accident.

[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 29 points 1 week ago (28 children)

Buying a new vehicle hasn't made sense for about 30 years now.

I've been driving for about 30 years and in all that time, I've never owned a new vehicle. I kept buying used vehicles for about $2,000 - $3,000 per vehicle. The oldest one I've ever had is a 2004 Volvo station wagon and I still maintain it and it's still running as one of my main vehicles. My other main vehicle is a 2010 GMC Truck which I also maintain. They don't look new, they show a bit of rust around the edges, but they are still very good vehicles that will last several more years.

Once they break down enough ... I'll buy another used vehicle. In all, over the past 30 years, I've spent about $30,000 on multiple vehicles (I think I've gone through 8 or 9 in that time).

It has never made sense to me to buy a brand new $40,000 car that will only be used for about five years before you buy the next one.

[–] MinFapper@startrek.website 23 points 1 week ago (4 children)

That's going to become more and more difficult to do over time.

Cars are being designed to be difficult to repair and to fall apart in less and less time.

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[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 27 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Once living in your car became a viable housing alternative, they had to take that away, too.

Wait until they figure out we need food to live.

[–] Scurouno@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 days ago

They already have. Why do you think grocery prices have been a major political talking point? Since most people don't have enough money to buy property where they can grow/raise their own food, and many municipalities explicitly ban the raising of animals to "protect" the agriculture industry, most people are stuck. Your only option is the monopolistic grocery chains.

[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Do you know what Henry Ford himself did?

Increased the wages so his own workers would buy his cars...

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[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (7 children)

Fake News. All my homies can’t wait to go sixty goddamn thousand dollars in debt to by a house-sized . . I wanna say . . truck?

Me though, been pulling extra shifts - got my eye on that $90,000 volvo EV. Mmmm! You basically can’t afford NOT to buy it!

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[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Trump is bankrupting Americans and America so they can install a technocratic dictatorship

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