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No this is a false choice. We can fight for equality at home and for better living standards abroad. The boomers are behaving disgustingly by ramping land pric

No this is a false choice. We can fight for equality at home and for better living standards abroad. The boomers are behaving disgustingly by ramping land prices in hock with the banks. It has sent living standards into free-fall for the young.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago
I guess its the free market that 'disgusting'? Confused. Economic systems work a certain way. Demonizing a group that participates like everybody else is a curious notion. And probably not a route to a solution. I always find it a curious approach, taken by so many activists, to start by disaffecting the group that they claim is in power. How can it help to piss of and blame the actual people than are in a position to help?
- icebraining 11y ago
  Housing is a free market? The mortgage interest deduction alone is the third largest tax break overall, costing $100 billion per year. Similarly, zoning regulations are rampant, preventing new housing from being built and therefore keeping house values higher for existing homeowners. Calling the US housing market "free" is a sad joke.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    Huh. They're building a lot of housing around here, like a carpet spreading over the land. Nobody who wants a house has to go without. Maybe we're talking apples and oranges. City centers and highly urbanized areas will work very differently. But is it a civil right to have cheap housing downtown?
    - branchless 11y ago
      We have a system that ensures all our surplus labour after essentials will be taken up by rent. The banks provide credit as required. It costs nothing to make. As productivity increases (or as we work longer) more credit is created to absorb the surplus via interest.
- branchless 11y ago
  It's not a free market - you are confused.
vmorgulis 11y ago
> The boomers are behaving disgustingly by ramping land prices in hock with the banks. It has sent living standards into free-fall for the young. It's not them. You would do the same if you had properties and kids. Realestate is a market. It's inside the money. Some regimes tried to change that by force but it doesn't work. Even if you kill all the richs, they are replaced by another group (lawyers or bureaucrats): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution I think it's not a fatality. It's just a lack of knowledge. We don't know enough of human group behaviour.
- branchless 11y ago
  No I wouldn't because I'm not a scumbag. I understand the system, I have funds to participate yet I do not. I will also vote for a brighter tomorrow by trying to support land value tax. Boomers want "me me me" in the main.
  - vmorgulis 11y ago
    It's not a problem of Will. If you think that, you might become a victim of "bad" people. Most people are not bad and do what they can. Even the wealthy do their best. Most of them have a family or friends to take care. Vote is useless. Big changes happens even during economic crisis or after wars.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago

I guess its the free market that 'disgusting'? Confused. Economic systems work a certain way. Demonizing a group that participates like everybody else is a curious notion. And probably not a route to a solution. I always find it a curious approach, taken by so many activists, to start by disaffecting the group that they claim is in power. How can it help to piss of and blame the actual people than are in a position to help?

icebraining 11y ago
Housing is a free market? The mortgage interest deduction alone is the third largest tax break overall, costing $100 billion per year. Similarly, zoning regulations are rampant, preventing new housing from being built and therefore keeping house values higher for existing homeowners. Calling the US housing market "free" is a sad joke.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  Huh. They're building a lot of housing around here, like a carpet spreading over the land. Nobody who wants a house has to go without. Maybe we're talking apples and oranges. City centers and highly urbanized areas will work very differently. But is it a civil right to have cheap housing downtown?
  - branchless 11y ago
    We have a system that ensures all our surplus labour after essentials will be taken up by rent. The banks provide credit as required. It costs nothing to make. As productivity increases (or as we work longer) more credit is created to absorb the surplus via interest.
branchless 11y ago
It's not a free market - you are confused.

vmorgulis 11y ago

> The boomers are behaving disgustingly by ramping land prices in hock with the banks. It has sent living standards into free-fall for the young. It's not them. You would do the same if you had properties and kids. Realestate is a market. It's inside the money. Some regimes tried to change that by force but it doesn't work. Even if you kill all the richs, they are replaced by another group (lawyers or bureaucrats): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution I think it's not a fatality. It's just a lack of knowledge. We don't know enough of human group behaviour.

branchless 11y ago
No I wouldn't because I'm not a scumbag. I understand the system, I have funds to participate yet I do not. I will also vote for a brighter tomorrow by trying to support land value tax. Boomers want "me me me" in the main.
- vmorgulis 11y ago
  It's not a problem of Will. If you think that, you might become a victim of "bad" people. Most people are not bad and do what they can. Even the wealthy do their best. Most of them have a family or friends to take care. Vote is useless. Big changes happens even during economic crisis or after wars.