4 ms·

I wonder how much of these kinds of issues that we are told are "complex" and "multi-faceted", "no easy solution" etc could be significantly reduced if there wa

I wonder how much of these kinds of issues that we are told are "complex" and "multi-faceted", "no easy solution" etc could be significantly reduced if there was actual political will to do so. I think a lot.

daveguy 2y ago
Agreed. It seems like billionaires are buying more and more of our means of communication. Makes it easier to control the narrative.
- kjkjadksj 2y ago
  Its harder today than it was. It used to be you had most of america watching Walter Cronkite or otherwise on three channels and a smattering of radio. You control those few levers you have the country. And indeed the country was remarkably well controlled without even being aware of its tight leash up until we saw counter culture emerge, through production of their own media and materials and grassroots distribution outside this existing national system in the 1960s. Many people are captured today by mass media but there are many more people in this space trying to cultivate their own cash crop of passive content cows. Makes it less efficient to break trough with more players to pay off for a unified narrative.
  - daveguy 2y ago
    At least mass media isn't a clown show like the Rogans and twitters. You can pretend that journalistic integrity doesn't exist (or didn't exist) with professional journalists. But it's obvious you're pushing a narrative. So have fun with your algorithmically designed opinions.
    - kjkjadksj 2y ago
      What narrative am I pushing if it is so obvious? If anything it is mere media literacy I am espousing. Is that so controversial a position these days? Scary times if so.
      - daveguy 2y ago
        Like I said, have fun with your algorithmically designed opinions. I'm going to stick with evidence based reporting and fact checking.
clumsysmurf 2y ago
There seems to be political will to ignore it https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-treasury-department-says-it-will-not-enforce-anti-money-laundering-law-2025-03-03/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-treasury-department-says...
decimalenough 2y ago
The politicians and the police get their cut of the money, and the victims are in other countries. There's a reason the scam industry operates out of poor places with dysfunctional government, like Myanmar and Cambodia.
pcthrowaway 2y ago
The political will has to be globally coordinated and needs to mandate a basic standard of living for all. Much like ending the human rights abuses perpetuated abroad by western companies requires political will to exist in multiple countries. When there is money to be made, people will look the other way. And dehumanizing people on the other side of the world is too easy. We are all complicit in supporting companies that are responsible for child slavery and death, to make our consumer products. To pretend that "other people" are the truly heartless ones for running different kinds of exploitative rackets that happen to affect people we see ourselves as closer to, in ways we see as more likely to affect us, is myopic. Until Westerners confront these inevitabilities, the odd person being scammed by people in poorer countries is just the price we will continue to pay for economic supremacy.
- heavymetalpoizn 2y ago
  [dead]
- lazyeye 2y ago
  Groan.....
Gigachad 2y ago
Yep, the gambling / casino industry is largely responsible. And they have their roots deep in the political system.
potato3732842 2y ago
If we had political will we could just kill everyone who disagrees. Hypotheticals where any resources is unlimited are pointless because resources are fungible sometimes if you're ok with conversion inefficiency.

daveguy 2y ago

Agreed. It seems like billionaires are buying more and more of our means of communication. Makes it easier to control the narrative.

kjkjadksj 2y ago
Its harder today than it was. It used to be you had most of america watching Walter Cronkite or otherwise on three channels and a smattering of radio. You control those few levers you have the country. And indeed the country was remarkably well controlled without even being aware of its tight leash up until we saw counter culture emerge, through production of their own media and materials and grassroots distribution outside this existing national system in the 1960s. Many people are captured today by mass media but there are many more people in this space trying to cultivate their own cash crop of passive content cows. Makes it less efficient to break trough with more players to pay off for a unified narrative.
- daveguy 2y ago
  At least mass media isn't a clown show like the Rogans and twitters. You can pretend that journalistic integrity doesn't exist (or didn't exist) with professional journalists. But it's obvious you're pushing a narrative. So have fun with your algorithmically designed opinions.
  - kjkjadksj 2y ago
    What narrative am I pushing if it is so obvious? If anything it is mere media literacy I am espousing. Is that so controversial a position these days? Scary times if so.
    - daveguy 2y ago
      Like I said, have fun with your algorithmically designed opinions. I'm going to stick with evidence based reporting and fact checking.

clumsysmurf 2y ago

There seems to be political will to ignore it https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-treasury-department-says-it-will-not-enforce-anti-money-laundering-law-2025-03-03/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-treasury-department-says...

decimalenough 2y ago

The politicians and the police get their cut of the money, and the victims are in other countries. There's a reason the scam industry operates out of poor places with dysfunctional government, like Myanmar and Cambodia.

pcthrowaway 2y ago

The political will has to be globally coordinated and needs to mandate a basic standard of living for all. Much like ending the human rights abuses perpetuated abroad by western companies requires political will to exist in multiple countries. When there is money to be made, people will look the other way. And dehumanizing people on the other side of the world is too easy. We are all complicit in supporting companies that are responsible for child slavery and death, to make our consumer products. To pretend that "other people" are the truly heartless ones for running different kinds of exploitative rackets that happen to affect people we see ourselves as closer to, in ways we see as more likely to affect us, is myopic. Until Westerners confront these inevitabilities, the odd person being scammed by people in poorer countries is just the price we will continue to pay for economic supremacy.

heavymetalpoizn 2y ago
[dead]
lazyeye 2y ago
Groan.....

Gigachad 2y ago

Yep, the gambling / casino industry is largely responsible. And they have their roots deep in the political system.

potato3732842 2y ago

If we had political will we could just kill everyone who disagrees. Hypotheticals where any resources is unlimited are pointless because resources are fungible sometimes if you're ok with conversion inefficiency.