Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Justin James10 said:Oh, I see how it works... so it's better for the government to irrationally blow through our hard-earned tax dollars than to let us actually decide what to do with our own money? Is that really the logic we're following here?

ruggedjackal46 said:And honestly, he's right. It makes way more sense to pool our income into a collective fund so the government can actually build schools, daycares, hospitals, and proper sewage systems for everyone. Why should we all just sit around waiting for some private entrepreneur to show up offering to dig individual septic tanks in our backyards?

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Oh sure, let’s just hand everything over to the government; I'm sure that always leads to such spectacular results! 👍

In the real world, if an entrepreneur runs a subpar business, they’re going to fail because customers will simply walk away—that's what happens when you actually have competition. The government doesn't care about your success; they hold all the cards, maintain their monopolies, and frankly, they'll screw you over just to line their own pockets.

Justin James10 said:Oh sure, let’s just hand everything over to the government; I'm sure that always leads to such spectacular results! 👍

In the real world, if an entrepreneur runs a subpar business, they’re going to fail because customers will simply walk away—that's what happens when you actually have competition. The government doesn't care about your success; they hold all the cards, maintain their monopolies, and frankly, they'll screw you over just to line their own pockets.

Honestly, thank god we don't have private monopolies running everything. It feels like people are just swinging from one extreme to the other. You don't need to privatize every single thing, but you definitely shouldn't let the state hold all the cards either. The real issue is the mindset here—people steal whenever they can because nobody is held accountable. The real headache is just how broken the systems in this bloated government are. Don't even get me started on how much small business owners get crushed by endless red tape and constant taxes.

Private monopolies only exist when the government steps in to create them. When the state gets involved, corruption becomes an inevitable byproduct, doesn't it?

Justin James10 said:And what exactly should we be aiming for? Venezuela?

I’ve truly never understood this intense anti-American sentiment among people here. We love to poke fun at them, acting like they’re just some foolish, decaying West. But isn't the reality actually quite different? Perhaps we are the ones lacking direction, living in a society that is truly struggling.

We could talk about the U.S. economy, too—it’s the most indebted nation on earth, staying a superpower by leaning heavily on its bonds and the dollar as the global reserve currency. If that falls apart, they'd crash just like Greece did. Plus, it's such a massive market that even the simplest ideas can take off, which can be a bit deceptive. But when it comes to things like culture, social cohesion, the healthcare system, or the obsession with guns... those are all things I’d never want to see in my own backyard. Not to mention playing world police just to protect economic interests—kind of like how big corporations try to dominate local markets back home...

The main thing we need to focus on here is following what brightpilot6 suggested: less regulation, fewer tax burdens, and getting rid of those draconian penalties and predatory taxes hitting small businesses. That would go a long way toward jumpstarting the economy, provided we also fix the legal system...

This whole conspiracy theory about printing dollars is honestly laughable. Why on earth do you think the entire world relies on the USD? Is it really just the result of some grand conspiracy or brute force?

Justin James10 said:This whole conspiracy theory about printing dollars is honestly laughable. Why on earth do you think the entire world relies on the USD? Is it really just the result of some grand conspiracy or brute force?

Why bring up conspiracies when the data is right there for anyone to see?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._external_debt

Just looking at U.S. external debt: $18,624,000,000,000. That makes the States by far the most indebted nation on the planet, followed by the UK at $7,852,460,000,000—and those numbers climb even higher once you factor in domestic debt. By late 2017, they had already topped $20 trillion...

And here is the U.S. M3 money supply, which is basically just a simplified look at how much cash is out there. You can definitely spot a massive jump over the last decade, right?

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MABMM301USM189S

I’m not sure if you're an economics expert or not, but even from a layman's perspective, try to imagine what would happen if the rest of the world suddenly stopped buying U.S. Treasury bonds, or demanded much higher returns because they suddenly viewed the country as too risky. Also, remember how those major rating agencies were handing out top-tier ratings to subprime mortgage bonds right before everything collapsed in 2008? It makes you wonder if the U.S. has a vested interest in making sure the dollar stays the global standard...

Then again, if you watch what's happening with gold markets, you might guess why China and India have been quietly stockpiling reserves for years without saying exactly how much they have, or why Iran threatened to trade oil in Euros instead...

Sure, the American economy isn't completely hollow, but a huge part of its engine is fueled by printing money...

It’s a bit like the economic model used in Israel; people write all sorts of things about them, yet they just signed a $38 billion military aid deal with the U.S. in 2016, despite having received about $34 billion in total economic aid since 1946...

https://www.theatlantic.com/internat...ry-aid/500192/

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf

Of course, I'm not saying we can't learn a thing or two about business from them—there is actually quite a lot to learn, and they are worlds away from us—but every coin has two sides...

Iran keeps making these threats... but if they’re so against it, why are they still selling oil in those hated dollars? Is someone forcing their hand? Honestly, they should just switch to the Euro—then maybe they’ll have something real to worry about, like a labor strike in Greece or some economic shift in a place like Florida...

Nobody buys US Treasury bonds because they're staring down the barrel of a gun; people buy them because the market actually trusts the world's leading superpower. You won't see anyone rushing out to buy bonds from a mid-sized state like Ohio...

graniteheron132 said:Honestly, America could really use some full-scale privatization 🤣 let’s just hand the keys over to our favorite local entrepreneurs... slash the minimum wage in half, privatize the school system, healthcare, even the airlines.

Why just slash it—let's kill the minimum wage entirely 🤣

I can already see the job postings for assembly line workers: three shifts, $500 a month, and plenty of whining because nobody wants to work. 🙂

In China, they do it for $25 an hour 🙂

just so some guy can afford a new car or a yacht—they'll probably just import labor from overseas.

The other day I was driving through Chicago and saw some demolition going on near where an old dealership used to be—reminded me of that story about the worker who shot his boss because the guy bought a luxury car instead of paying wages. That's the kind of "entrepreneur" we're supposed to accommodate here. How many of these types do you think are actually looking to outsource labor?

It's a shame it was just an isolated incident—if more people had gotten what they deserved, maybe things would look different today.

The minimum wage is just plain nonsensical ☕

Yes, launching a business in this swamp is a double-edged sword. Once again, I find myself sounding like a broken record about how this country desperately needs a mental reset...

A quick example from an acquaintance of mine. Imagine you lose a steady job, you have some land, and you decide to start growing produce. You try to make a connection with some mid-level manager at Monsanto and begin the whole dance—the brown-nosing, the networking, all that nonsense required just to secure a decent contract for your harvest. Things actually start looking okay, and you begin considering taking out a loan to reinvest in the farm rather than blowing it on Mercedes cars or other luxury toys...

And then everything goes to hell because incompetent hacks have spent years playing dress-up as big-time entrepreneurs. You have these massive American conglomerates while the actual workers struggle for pennies—just sheer $1000 misery. Who can you even complain to when these people spend years fudging their balance sheets just to line their pockets, or taking out loans they never intended to repay—all with the government's blessing?

These ratings are pure fiction, especially coming out of so-called emerging markets like China or India. I’m not denying those countries have significant growth, but they also love to arbitrarily pad their books with extra zeros—I mean, honestly, who is actually going to verify the true turnover in those places? And they’ll elbow anyone out of the way to grab credit, even if they have to step over bodies to get it...

Justin James10 said:The minimum wage is just plain nonsensical ☕

Honestly, we should just pay people via unemployment checks to jumpstart business. You get your check and boom—your bank account is already in the red. Who gives a damn?

Justin James10 said:Iran keeps making these threats... but if they’re so against it, why are they still selling oil in those hated dollars? Is someone forcing their hand? Honestly, they should just switch to the Euro—then maybe they’ll have something real to worry about, like a labor strike in Greece or some economic shift in a place like Florida...

Nobody buys US Treasury bonds because they're staring down the barrel of a gun; people buy them because the market actually trusts the world's leading superpower. You won't see anyone rushing out to buy bonds from a mid-sized state like Ohio...

Maybe take a closer look at the whole topic first and draw some conclusions on your own... otherwise, if I answer you point by point, we could be debating this for weeks. At any rate, the market just doesn't trust the superpower right now, which is why there's an attempt to move away from US Treasuries—but that doesn't just happen overnight. And let's be real, the US isn't exactly forcing anyone's hand. Even back home, a vulture fund like Knighthead Capital managed to pull in massive profits from companies like Agrokor in record time...

I just saw this news about the potential takeover of Agrokora... looks like things are moving fast with the restructuring...

If you honestly think American politics plays zero role here, you’re being pretty naive... It's just like when we decide which fighter jets to buy, why we buy them, and what they cost. When Americans are out there redrawing borders, running airstrikes, and training foreign militaries, you can't seriously believe it doesn't impact the demand for the dollar. Our entire economy basically hinges on it...

Anthony Jackson2 said:Why just slash it—let's kill the minimum wage entirely 🤣

I can already see the job postings for assembly line workers: three shifts, $500 a month, and plenty of whining because nobody wants to work. 🙂

In China, they do it for $25 an hour 🙂

just so some guy can afford a new car or a yacht—they'll probably just import labor from overseas.

The other day I was driving through Chicago and saw some demolition going on near where an old dealership used to be—reminded me of that story about the worker who shot his boss because the guy bought a luxury car instead of paying wages. That's the kind of "entrepreneur" we're supposed to accommodate here. How many of these types do you think are actually looking to outsource labor?

It's a shame it was just an isolated incident—if more people had gotten what they deserved, maybe things would look different today.

That’s a pretty broad generalization... Under U.S. labor laws, withholding pay is a serious offense that can lead to massive fines or even jail time. Sometimes the issue is just that an employee wasn't properly documented, or maybe the boss prioritized a lease payment on a new truck over payroll—and if those payments fail, the bank takes the vehicle anyway. Technically, there's no excuse for skipping payroll unless the business account is completely frozen, but even then, once funds hit the account, that paycheck becomes the priority to avoid legal trouble. If nothing happens, it usually boilsni down to either a lack of reporting or issues within the local regulatory agencies...

I don't think the answer lies in putting more pressure on business owners like you might suggest. Instead, we should focus on cutting taxes and creating the best possible environment for entrepreneurship... If we do that, any employer who mistreats their staff without cause will face real competition from people who would be more than happy to hire those skilled workers. Just look at how this country treats its small businesses. For example, if you run a tiny LLC and fail to keep perfect time logs for yourself and one employee, you could be slapped with a massive fine of around $10,000...$33Because wasting time managing some useless Excel spreadsheet you don't even need will likely lead a small business owner straight into bankruptcy, debt, or legal trouble over the next decade or two. If that happens, who exactly is that entrepreneur supposed to take their frustrations out on?

And look at public administration—hardly anyone faces consequences for any of the nonsense they pull. You could spend all day staring out a window, stealing office supplies, or calling in fake sick days, and most people won't even get fired. Take that one municipal agency in Chicago, for example; they had an entire crew using fake degrees, but when the employer tried to fire them, they actually sued and got their jobs back without facing any penalties at all...

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/fake-degrees-scandal/

It’s just draining resources from the government and everyone else trying to work a real job, and it's happening everywhere...

Sure, James Anderson5 might be right about political pressure, but there’s just no amount of leverage that could force everyone to switch over to using dollars. At the end of the day, it all boils down to trust in a currency. It’s the exact same story when you look at bonds. Honestly, isn't this starting to sound a bit like a conspiracy theory?

As for those bureaucrats holding onto their cushy jobs—they actually have to work incredibly hard just to get fired, which feels like an impossible mission. I even know a philosophy professor who hasn't taught a class in four years, yet the university can't find a way to let him go. It’s a constant game of cat and mouse! Meanwhile, his paycheck hits his account like clockwork. Don't you think these collective bargaining agreements are just fundamentally broken?

Justin James10, I wouldn't say James Anderson5 is venturing into conspiracy theory territory here. This situation can't be boiled down to anything simple—it’s just too convoluted, with far too many players and conflicting interests involved...

We touched on the Chinese earlier. You should look into how they operate within the banking sector—how they established "their own" financial institutions to funnel investments into critical infrastructure, like energy sectors and major airports, across the UK. Essentially, British state assets have shifted toward Chinese state ownership, while the UK government does nothing to stop Chinese steel from being dumped on their market to undercut and dismantle their own heavy industry.

Take another example—our reliable ally, Germany. In early September 2015, right in the middle of a financial crisis, the German giant VW opened an engine plant in Kaluga, Russia. They poured 250 million euros into a facility capable of churning out 150,000 units a year, creating 400 new jobs for locals—not to mention the secondary boost to small businesses like local bakeries and shops...

And what happens just fourteen days later? A report breaks publicly claiming VW manipulated diesel emissions, lawsuits start flying, and the infamous diesel scandal erupts.

Look at what’s happening with Daimler (Mercedes). Last summer, they opened a plant near Moscow. To welcome them, the Russians granted them tax exemptions for a set period. For weeks, Mercedes denied any involvement in emission manipulation, only to eventually admit they were cutting corners too. Now, they're facing massive lawsuits in the US. It’s worth noting that General Motors pulled out of Russia just before this mess hit the fan...

If you browse any international news portal these days, you'll see reports about Trump wanting to slap tariffs on foreign steel, alloys, and aluminum. Ask yourself why—and specifically who those sanctions are designed to hit.

This isn't just mindless conspiracy theorizing; it is a ruthless struggle within the global capital markets.

Is it time to bring back the era of communism? ☕

Justin James10 said:Is it time to bring back the era of communism? ☕

Man, you really see communism in everything, don't you?

graniteheron132 said:Man, you really see communism in everything, don't you?

But really, how else could one possibly describe the narrative of a decaying West?

Justin James10 said:But really, how else could one possibly describe the narrative of a decaying West?

What are we even talking about here? Amish? Punks? Hippies?

Adam King6 said:What are we even talking about here? Amish? Punks? Hippies?

Honestly, it’s all just noise. It all boils down to the same deep-seated resentment toward capitalism.