Posts by ruggedjackal46

restlesssurfer97 said:So you brought up Manchester United. Out of every single franchise on the planet, you chose Manchester United. You had the total freedom to pick any other club in the world to use as a benchmark against Inter Milan.

I honestly can't tell if you're totally missing the point or if... well, I don't even know what else to call it.

We should be looking at whatever is actually working, and frankly, those models work a whole lot better than this absolute mess we've got going on here.

restlesssurfer97 said:Man, honestly, I feel like our perspectives are pretty much aligned on most things anyway, so I don't really see the point in sitting here and breaking down my definition of liberalization for you.

You're totally right that we have to look at everything through the lens of how chaotic this country is, but it's also true that the way things are running right now clearly isn't working, and sticking to the status quo is just a fundamentally broken way to handle it.

Charles Chase4 said:I agree, though I would argue that this cycle remains eternal specifically because the government ensures it stays that way—constantly subsidizing companies that aren't actually capable of surviving on their own.

As for your second point, I’m honestly not sure how to respond; I feel like it’s one of those things that should just be self-evident.🤷

Consider Person A, who launches a tech firm and, ten years later, employs thirty people using revenue generated from clients who actually found their services valuable. Now consider Person B, who holds a press conference to scare an underinformed electorate with tales of foreign threats and old-world radicalism.😁

Who would I rather have deciding whether or not I have a paycheck?🤷

Justin James10 said:I honestly don't get what you're driving at... Is it the implication that America is successful, or are you actually trying to compare Elon Musk's measurable global achievements to the constant bickering of Americans every four years? What on earth is the point?

restlesssurfer97 said:Man, you're totally missing the forest for the trees, because what you're doing is ignoring the whole point of what I've been preaching this entire time, which is basically that we need to stop trying to reinvent the wheel or wait around for some magical new system to drop out of the sky and just look at how Manchester United operates, you know?

restlesssurfer97 said:Man, seriously, ruggedjackal46, what are you even getting at here, like are you trying to tell me that soccer isn't a massive business and that the whole global game basically just survives on government subsidies or something?

And now you're actually expecting me to come up with proof to show you otherwise? You're a real piece of work, 😘

Justin James10 said:Wtf 🤣

Are you seriously suggesting that voting is just another way of exercising market power? 😲

Paul Sanders5 said:Look, the government actually has enough cash to fund the stuff that keeps this country running smoothly. They’re sitting on a mountain of money.

Instead of dumping $33 per person—and I'm just making that number up—into the pockets of Amtrak, they should be pouring it into healthcare, schools, the police, or firefighters. Honestly, just give it to whoever makes the country actually function. I’m not out here begging for a tax cut just so I can pocket an extra few bucks; if that money goes toward essential services, fine by me. But spending it on railroads, massive fuel subsidies, or pro athletes? Give me a break. Let them automate the toll booths on the interstate instead of having some guy sitting there collecting pennies all shift, and so on and so forth.

But since we all know they aren't going to fix any of that, they might as well just leave $33 to me. I'll drink it, eat it, smoke it, whatever. It's mine, and I'll do what I want with it.

restlesssurfer97 said:But look, we aren't even talking about healthcare, utilities, or schools here... that’s just what you guys bring up whenever we mention companies like ExxonMobil or all those other state-run entities and how much the government meddles in every single corner of the economy, stuff like Walmart, shipyards, and all that nonsense.

Are you seriously not seeing that?

Justin James10 said:Why is it the solution? Honestly, I can't even give you a straight answer because it's perfectly normal to you (and about 95% of Americans) to expect the government—meaning the politicians—to run everything. It's like trying to explain to a merchant why abolishing slavery is the answer, or telling a serf that ending feudalism is the way to go. I realize I'm just tilting at windmills here. We've ended up just like Greece, and there's no saving us. In this country, things like free markets, the rule of law, individualism, and those other "Western" ideas just don't seem to take root, do they?

restlesssurfer97 said:Me, getting worked up? 🤣

Man, you're out here theorizing about stuff when there's already actual empirical evidence sitting right in front of us based on decades of real-world experience, so there isn't really anything "hypothetical" about any of this.

Charles Chase4 said:I'm not going to get bogged down in the fine print right now; the core argument is already in bold.

It would fall to someone who actually has to earn that authority through their own merit and market skills, rather than relying on nepotism or handing out a ceremonial turkey to some big shot in a political party who clawed their way to power by campaigning on historical grievances.

Look, we aren't going to magically transform into Japan overnight where this first scenario provides an absolute guarantee, but it feels like a significantly better option to me.

Or, to put it quite simply: when I'm applying for a job at a company, I'd much prefer my employment to be decided by a boss who evaluates whether I'll actually be useful and profitable, rather than some political hack looking to see what color my party registration card is—assuming I even had one, which is usually a prerequisite just to get an interview.

restlesssurfer97 said:I'm not really sure I follow what you're getting at with that question, man.

I mean, you clearly watch the sport, so you already know exactly how things play out once clubs start running on private capital instead of taxpayer money.

So, what's the actual point you're trying to make here?

Paul Sanders5 said:It either pulls its own weight or goes belly up. There isn't a Plan B.🤷

Justin James10 said:That’s the long and short of it.

Sid, the solution is crystal clear: we need to dismantle the state-run monopolies.

restlesssurfer97 said:Let me lay it out simply for you again, you basically have Option A and Option B.

Option A is a proven, absolute fast track to disaster.

Option B—even though it’s been shown to work in plenty of developed nations—doesn't come with a 100% guarantee of being better, let's put it that way, since I can't sit here and mathematically prove to you that Option B results in progress, even though I’m totally convinced it does and it works in most major democracies.

But you keep picking Option A. And honestly, that’s exactly why we’re stuck in this rut, where we all know things are broken, but nobody is actually ready to change, nobody wants to deal with the shifts, and nobody wants to push through the reforms. So we just stay here and rot.

You're choosing Option A. That is precisely why we're stuck in this rut—we recognize things are broken, but we aren't ready for change, we don't want change, and we refuse to embrace reform. So, we just rot.

Charles Chase4 said:So, I suppose the core argument would be stripping power away from those corrupt politicians.

Take Mamić, for example; he built an entire empire using public funds, leveraging deep ties to both local and federal politics alongside the sheer incompetence of inefficient government agencies.🤷 A club with finances as thin as a wafer wouldn't stand a chance in a truly free market without that heavy, blind, and corrupt patronage from the city and the state that allows it to function as it does today.

In my view, this "wholesale privatization" being advocated is precisely about reducing political oversight and minimizing government influence over business and daily life as much as humanly possible.

Look at how Mamić built an entire empire using taxpayer money, leveraging ties to both local and national politics alongside the sheer incompetence of inefficient government agencies. 🤷 A club with finances comparable to a small startup wouldn't stand a chance in a true free market without the blind, corrupt patronage of the city and the state propping it up just like it is now.

In my view, this "general privatization" being pushed is specifically about reducing political patronage and minimizing influence over various sectors of business and daily life as much as possible.

restlesssurfer97 said:So, basically, what you're saying is we're just waiting around for some flawless utopia to arrive, and until then, we'll just keep grinding through this absolute dumpster fire of a system because the one that's actually proven to work better isn't perfect either.

Is that the gist of it?

Charles Chase4 said:If we could somehow dial back the political interference and all the rot that comes with it—and let's be honest, in this country, about 95% of what we deal with in business and daily life is pure nonsense like cronyism, nepotism, and blatant corruption—then even the harshest version of capitalism starts to sound like a more plausible path forward. It feels far more realistic than the alternative, which seems to be sitting around hoping and praying that this society will suddenly grow a conscience, educate itself, and start electing competent, less corrupt leaders on its own. Perhaps in this century, or maybe the next. 🤷

edit: I'm not some hardcore neoliberal extremist or anything; I'm just stating my observations.

Justin James10 said:But what kind of market competition are we even talking about here?

Justin James10 said:Trying to fix a tiny water filter when you’re dealing with a massive, bottomless money pit like Dow Chemical is just a losing game.

I find it absolutely fascinating how most people are fully aware of how broken things are and complain about it constantly, yet they never actually see the system itself as the culprit. Any real attempt to overhaul the structure just triggers this immediate whining about "neoliberal capitalism." In the end, everyone seems perfectly content with the status quo, and the whole conversation just dissolves into ridiculous grumbling. Everyone wants to pin everything on corrupt politicians—as if finding a few sturdy aliens to take over would suddenly make everything perfect! But it won't work that way, will it? The real engine behind the corruption and chronic inefficiency is the system itself, not just some individual actors. Even if the exhausted public finally manages to kick out someone like Milomir Bandić (if that day ever actually comes), someone just like him will step right into the void. They might have a slightly different management style, but at the end of the day, the machinery remains exactly the same.

Mark White11 said:Look, it’s not freaking Deadpool where they can just break the fourth wall and go, "Hey, lol, Americans are playing Russians." In so many movies, characters are Russian but they either speak English with an accent or don't bother with it at all—you don't need to draw attention to it.

Otherwise, though? It’s an awesome movie. Honestly better than 90% of the comedies that drop every year.