Merv's Politically Incorrect Audio Blog

Discussion in 'SBAF Blogs' started by purr1n, Dec 26, 2018.

  1. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    In NL there is this thing called "V.O.G.", verklaring omtrent gedrag in Dutch and in simple terms: it is a printed confirmation that you have never committed an serious crime, thus you are not considered a safety risk in any profession or sector.

    For almost any job in NL, if you do not have this thingy you can be rejected. Why? Just a security for your future employer.

    Last year our minister of Justice & Safety breached his own Covid-19 rule and nearly received a "note" on his criminal record of sorts, which would make him ineligible and unfit to do his job. He had to change his own law to not f**k himself over.

    Yes this happened in NL.

    17 million Dutch citizens were staring daggers at him. They still do. He makes one more mistake like that and riots break out. Riots have already broken out, but not very big ones yet. (Some people, like me for instance prefer going to work and paying the bills first. Being unemployed right now is bad, not joking.)

    This "V.O.G.", everybody in NL wants to keep a clean record because without it access to jobs becomes more difficult. Even people in the police and the military need this little document.

    Apply this to everyone, maintain the rule and people high and low on the societal hierarchy will watch their own steps. The Dutch minister of Justice & Safety is one mistake away from a doomed life. Our prime minister had to save him or a political crisis would have followed with dire consequences.

    Either way, when reality becomes a farce try to stay out of the joke.
     
  2. wormcycle

    wormcycle Friend

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    How is it good? If someone actually commits a serious crime, although if breaching Covid -19 rules is a serious crime I do not know what is not, and becomes unemployable after that? How is it good for any chances of rehabilitation or for the society? I automatically assumes reoffending, and it probably causes reoffending.
    For some jobs employers are allowed to conduct security check but to have everyone walking around with a certificate "I am innocent" is pretty Orwellian.
     
  3. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    Welcome to the Netherlands. Once you know what we curious Dutchies know, you really start to cringe.

    I no longer care about what is ethically and/or morally good in general. I have to look out for myself and the people I care for. Staying calm requires a stoïc attitude.

    Now on the flipside rehabilitation is still mostly possible and you can still appeal and/or object in many cases. There are still many people (thus also employers) with enough life experience that know how sometimes silly things can cost you your "V.O.G." Second and third chances are still there.

    Either way, there are some pretty Orwellian systems in the Netherlands and nobody likes it but The Hague loves them. Systems, systems and more systems...
     
  4. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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  5. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Why can’t we do this without defunding the police? Improve police training and invest in the betterment of our society. Honestly fighting poverty, mental illness, homelessness, drug addiction and more go way beyond police brutality. It’s something we should want to do as a nation regardless of political party.

    And btw no, giving to your f'ing church does not help these systemic problems (the right wing talking point against programs like this is “let people decide how to spend their money blah blah”)
     
  6. HHS

    HHS Almost "Made"

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    I'd be fine with investing in our society more without defunding the police as long as police reform was part of that. Of course that would likely mean higher taxes, and even if we're only discussing raising taxes on the rich that seems to get people in as much of an uproar as the idea of defunding the police.
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The best way to fight poverty is for government to encourage and enable businesses that can pay their employees a living wage. Ahem, manufacturing...
     
  8. wormcycle

    wormcycle Friend

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    You are talking about poor people getting less poor or not poor at all. That is entirely different from "fighting poverty" which simply means allocating more money to government programs that are supposed to fight poverty. That creates more jobs with pension plans. At some point the poor may appear in this picture but that's not really necessary.
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Handouts don't work. They are idiot compassion. Absolutely nothing wrong with that as I don't mind giving a panhandler a buck of two so he can buy some wine or lottery tickets to at least get a fleeting moment of temporary happiness.

    Lots of job positions cannot be filled right now. This is because the government is giving people $3600-$3800 a month for sitting on their asses. Yes, I get that there are people in a tough spot because some teachers refuse to return to work and thus people need to stay at home for young kids. But there are also a lot of bums.

    What government needs to do is stop enabling bums, and reward people who work hard. I know at least two people who work two jobs here in TX. (Stuff like leave work at 4:30pm and go to the other job until 10:30pm.) One for taking care of their kids and the other for their parent. I'm like holy shit... That's amazing. They carry this burden out of the joy of serving others. These are the people government should help.

    What about this: no taxes on anything earned after 8 hours of work per day for hourly workers?
     
  10. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    Not a bad idea on it's own level. Thing is working class and below workers are not really significantly taxed through FICA/State, but through sales, gas, property/business tax passed on to them through rent, etc. etc.
     
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  11. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    There is a reason why FL has the lowest unemployment benefits in the country: The politicians + the population do believe that Unemployment benefits is wrong and if you lost your job without doing anything wrong (laid off) then they still blame you for it.

    Don't expect the state to help others who have work...since we believe if you have a job (regardless if it pays your bills or not) then that is your reward.

    Can't blame the population, who a good chunk came from NY/NJ where they pay a lot into public benefits through taxes.
     
  12. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Eh come on they’re not handouts nor is it idiot compassion. It’s very difficult to get out of poverty in this country. It’s even more difficult to get out of extreme poverty. Sure, some people abuse it. Widespread abuse is a right wing myth/talking point that has taken hold.

    every single person on this forum has had an extremely lucky life. To be able to spend time fretting about audio gear and spending money on this stuff means a lot of things have simply gone your way in life. It has not for some people. Sometimes things go the wrong way and it is no fault of the person.

    The whole right wing “personal responsibility” schtik is bullshit. We are interconnected. Things happen beyond are control.

    givjng to those in need is meant to give people a chance at not only living in less dire circumstances and create a minimum quality of life in America (something I firmly believe in) but also give people who have had a shit string of bad luck a chance to get back a life, job, home, etc.

    Right now our government gives true handouts to the people who need it least. Corporations pay zero taxes. Why are people not outraged by that? Why is giving to poor people a “handout” and giving to a rich person an “investment”? The opposite is true. That’s what is idiotic. Tax the bloody corporations and give the money to people who are barely scraping by so they can climb back up out of the hole they are in.

    and yes also make it so people working hard make a living wage. I agree with just raising the minimum wage and I think all arguments against it are fear mongering from the rich right wing propaganda machine. Rich people who don’t want to pay employees more but easily could. No, the cost of everything won’t go up and the sky won’t fall.

    it’s time for some trickle up economics in this country.
     
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  13. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

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    I don't understand why poor are seen as exploiting gov't handouts while the ultra wealthy are not. Through offshore accounts, measly taxes (if they even pay any), gov't bailouts etc, they pass their costs for military (the biggest chunk of taxes), farm payrolls, infrastructure, etc. onto the middle class. Just look at the siphoning of wealth from the middle class to the top 0.1% since the 80s. And everybody wonders why the middle class is getting it up the ass. But mention taxation on the ultra rich and everybody's up in arms.

    I have no issue with saying "the poor are lazy and live off govt handouts. it has to stop". But the same should be said of the ultra rich.

    Honestly I don't care what the laws/rules/benefits are as long as they're the same for everyone.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Eliminating poverty is not possible and against the laws of the universe - unless one wants to go Pol Pot or Mao's Cultural Confusion.

    Human existence by definition entails some level of suffering, greater or some, less for others. There are certain problems that cannot be fixed. There's a reason why the folks on those Home Makeover shows go bankrupt a year later. Even Bill Gates thinks it's such a bad bet that he won't bother helping domestic poor but rather concentrate on toilets and clean water in Africa.

    Note poverty rate is a little bit higher than Germany than in the USA.

    It's easier to escape poverty in the USA than any other country. The class system isn't so stratified. This is why Koreans immigrate here and work their asses off. This is why Mexicans cross the border and work their asses off. This is why Americans, who have the gumption, and there are still plenty of them, work their asses off. This is why my dad moved us from Taiwan to Canada to the USA. Four of us lived in a shitty two bedroom apartment, the kind with the shaggy green carpet, in Sunnyvale, when we first arrived.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2021
  15. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    I don't know anything about who's behind this video, but I hope we see more of this from both the left and the right:

     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    You are still living four years ago. The wind is blowing the other way now. I thought if anyone was going to do it, it would have been Obama, in his first term, first Congress. Remember the whole "redistribution" thing during the debates vs. McCain?

    Obviously the folks who funded Obama convinced him not to reverse the tax breaks for the rich enacted during the W era. Hey, at least Biden is doing what Obama promised, and people for the most part are behind him. I admire Biden for having the balls that Obama didn't have. Heck, Biden and Congress even partially enacted Andrew Yang's universal income idea, at least for people with kids.

    Kanye and other billionaires got ripped for taking millions and milions in PPP loans handouts. As I said, the wind is blowing the other way now. I'm somewhat surprised it took this long.
     
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  17. crenca

    crenca Friend

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  18. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    The crazy thing about Nike is they use exploitive (at best) labor practices overseas but are still outrageously expensive. I’m not a sneaker head but saw a video where Tony Hawk went to some specialty sneaker store to buy shoes and five pair of shoes totaled $2.5k. The look on his face when the girl ringing him up told him the damage.



    So if you wonder why you see shoe stores getting looted, think about popular culture selling a lifestyle (and shoes are just part of it) to a demographic that can’t possibly afford it.
     
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  19. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Exploitation is one of the laws of the universe? I can get that capitalism is, because eat and grow or die seems to be a fact of life.

    But how far does one take that? Slavery is according to the laws of the universe?

    I am beginning to feel like I am supporting slavery every time I buy from Amazon. But I have no moral high ground on this, because I'm still buying from Amazon.
     
  20. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    There are those who feel that their political goals are served by making you feel this way. And about as many in diametric opposition to that view. It seems that the definition of "slavery" has been expanded considerably, but last I heard Amazon was not buying and selling people. Yet(?)
     

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