#you can't have the bottom rung pay for bottom rung

[reshirfuse]

"pay the poor more" must be accompanied with "pay the rich less" otherwise all you get is inflation and small business unable to deal with new costs. every time I hear a law passed that raises minimum wage without the money coming from the top, i get so frustrated cause it won't fix anything and it allows large chains and monopolies to further replace small local establishments

[partyanimal167]

A companion fic to "Self-Indulgent," but can be mostly read on its own. A reader on AO3 asked some important follow up questions, and I was like "damn, I could write more." Plus, there's something naughty about some pinning competition between Doffy and Croc.

Decisions, decisions. Damn, a girl wouldn't mind getting used to this kind of attention, really.

You fidgeted under the lustful stare you were under-- blushing and scratching your cheek awkwardly. You were really trying to stay under the radar, but when that deep rumble summoned you to the office, you knew there was no way you were going to stay hidden.

"Fufufufu, did my princess have a good weekend?" you blushed at the comment. You had an idea why he asked that, but there was still a chance for you to play dumb though.

"Ye-yes, sir. I jus-," you were going to start some ridiculous rant about shopping and what not.

"Seems I need to pay Croc a visit; tell him to be more gentle in bed."

Your eyes grew large and shot up to meet those tinted sunglasses. You couldn't ignore the deep blush on your face, how the room suddenly grew hotter. "Excus-," you quickly shut yourself up as your boss stood up and walked around to you. He lifted your chin before caressing your bottom lip. So softly, he trailed down before tapping a darkened spot on your neck.

"It's unprofessional to come to work with a hickey, doll. Someone might get jealous." he chuckled, but you knew that could be interpreted as a warning.

You continued to blush but twirled a lock of hair and batted your eyelashes. "Oh I'm sorry, Doffy." your fingers danced on his arm. "I'll be sure to make it up to you."

He grinned and kissed your cheek. "I'm sure you will."

~~~

Even knowing that for now Crocodile just wanted you to sit pretty during business meetings and lunches, you still were reluctant about attempting to leave the generous care and protection of that notorious Donquixote. If you could play your cards right, maybe you could bask in the riches and attention of both men. Crocodile wasn't pressuring you too much about becoming an actual worker. You still had your information network and allies as well as the pirate common sense to spot a rat when necessary. You proved your value for sure, but that didn't alleviate all your problems. For instance, there wasn't really a way to work yourself out of this specific situation.

You chuckled nervously as those dark eyes peered down at you unamusingly. You had been avoiding that look for the last couple hours, but here you were. Your attention shifted as you were pulled closer to your host. "Why the long face, Croc? I'm sure the meeting wasn't that bad." Doflamingo laughed. You blushed and eyes wandered aimlessly trying to pretend to be anywhere but here.

"I normally don't mind your usual eccentric behavior, but this is a little much even for you." He drawled out--not bothering to blow his smoke far from where you two sat. "You're trying to show off."

"Fufufufu, I'm just bringing along some nice company for this fine lunch. Surely, you would do the same."

"Of course, you don't come across company as lovely as Y/N."

You nearly melted and finally allowed yourself to look up. There was something dark yet intrigued in Crocodile's eyes. You fought a shiver as your hand was brought to his lips. "It'll be my pleasure to see you home."

"She's coming-,"

"Why relax, sir, you can't have a lady waiting. I'm sure those gentlemen have a lot to talk to you about still." Crocodile immediately shut down and gestured to the group of men chatting away nearby. He lifted you up then wrapped an arm around your waist, hook lightly running along your side. "I'll be gentle with her."

...

He was not gentle with you.

You moaned as you were flipped onto your stomach and felt two fingers shoved into your cunt. Squelching rung in your ears as you gushed onto Crocodile's fingers. "I don't think that spanking did anything if you're still being a brat. I asked you a question, doll. Who's dick are you begging for every night?"

You clenched the sheets, and your hips rocked along. "Uh fuck, yours- yours, sir." you sobbed. You sunk further into your plush bed as he loomed over you.

It was not your best idea to tease Crocodile on the way to your place. He only sat and listened to your rambles about how your outfit was sent to you, limo picked you up, that everyone was captivated by your entrance, that you didn't mind feeling how strong Doflamingo felt just by sitting next to you. Once you two were inside, you were getting pushed off the floor and kissed breathlessly. Your clothes now in shreds below. "Don't go wearing another man's clothes in front of me."

Crocodile bit your ear and kept fingering you. "That's right, dear. I know you're smart. You knew what would happen if I caught you clinging to that bird. Want me to send you off to him just like his? I'm sure you wouldn't mind. Want to handle the both of us? I know how to fulfill a whore's needs."

Oh those words were tempting, but you were too distracted to go off daydreaming about a bed-breaking threesome. Crocodile smirked feeling how you clenched onto him. Suddenly, he pulled his fingers out. You groaned and slammed a fist into the mattress. "No sir, please! I wanna cum!"

"Hehe, who said you could? You hurt my feelings," he faked a painful tone. He chuckled as he sucked his fingers. "It's not nice watching you flaunt yourself in front of him. I know he's still being used in your shows." He started rubbing himself at your entrance. "I think I'm being generous with you." He let out a deep breath in order to keep himself restrained. He wanted you sobbing and begging for his dick first.

You looked up at him and panted. "Yes, so nice sir, please. I'll be good I promise."

Crocodile chuckled darkly. "Oh, I'm not that easy, love." he only gave you an inch. "I don't like sharing." he pulled back. He quieted his pant that escaped. He wanted that hot soft feeling around him, but there was still a lesson to be taught. "You like playing around with me; you'll get hurt." he gave you a little more. "Ugh, not that you'd mind I'm sure." he grunted. He slapped your thigh to try to ground himself. "Maybe you don't deserve this after all-,"

You threw yourself back and groaned feeling most of him inside. You rocked forward then back again. "Stop being mean daddy," you moaned at the fullness and didn't mind the slight drool out of your mouth. "I want it now!" you whined.

Lesson be damned at this point. Crocodile grabbed your hips and started setting a heavy pace. "Fucking brat," he bit his lip. His hair was starting to become a disheveled mess. He remained barely aware of his hook as he continued to use you to get off. You didn't want to be a good girl, then that was fine. He wasn't going to play nice anymore.

Your eyes started to roll back as he bullied your cunt. So good, so good.

"I'll make sure you remember who's pussy this is." Crocodile grinned. "I'll get it to stick in that brain of yours."

~~~

Doflamingo frowned as he watched you continue to clean tables and sweep without so much as a glance in his direction the entire night. The staff fluttered around him with the usual praises and compliments. He knew he didn't want Crocodile leaving with you those nights ago, but he couldn't have gotten out of that discussion even if he really wanted to. The sacrifices necessary for business.

He finally got you alone in his office after closing. He wished he was amused by how you fidgeted and avoided his tinted gaze. After a minute of so of silence, he lifted his head from his wrist and sighed. "Oh princess, don't give me that attitude. I have something important to tell you."

You pouted and reluctantly looked up. "I got in trouble because of you." you huffed.

Doflamingo closed his mouth then chuckled. "Because of me?" there was some amusement now.

You nodded before folding your arms and turning away. "Yes, daddy was very mean to me. So I have to be on my best behavior." you explained.

There was a spark under Doflamingo's skin from that little peek into your bedroom business. He still liked how that word rolled off your tongue though. He grinned. "I see. Well, I'm sorry princess. I have some more bad news for you though." you looked up at him confused. "I'm afraid I have to let you go. Can't have so many on the wait staff especially one that attracts so much attention."

Your heart dropped for a moment. Of course, you had considered leaving Doflamingo's shadow, but you were still putting that plan together. It was a backup really. You didn't think that you would need to go running to Crocodile so soon especially after tiptoeing between the two men. It seemed as if Crocodile was right about you being tossed to the side by Doflamingo. It sped your anxiety up knowing that there were challenges coming your way.

"Wait, Mr. Donquixote! I can't go yet- I," you stopped after his hand was held up. You turned your head slightly as the man stood before you. Even leaning onto his desk, he was still quite tall and loomed over you.

He grinned as he ran his gaze up your body. "Fufufu, no need to fret little one. I just have a more important assignment for you is all."

You processed his words for a moment before slowly nodding. "What's the assignment?"

~~~

"A spy?" Robin chuckled.

You rolled your eyes and laughed. "Oh my gosh, you're so dramatic! I'm not a spy. I'm just going to be confirming some information for him." you held up a button-up in front of yourself. "How does this look?"

Robin smiled. "Great!" You beamed before tossing it to the sales rep who was following you two around. "I can't believe Croco-san is letting you go."

"I'm not."

You simply laughed as you stood on your tippy-toes and kissed him on the cheek. "You said you were happy I wasn't going to parading around 'that bird.'" you mimicked his voice.

"That doesn't mean you get to work for him still. You work for-,"

"I," you interrupted "am a freelance worker. You agreed to that." Crocodile exhaled a puff of smoke, annoyed. "Besides, Robin-chan is going to be helping me out. It's nothing shady. It's work for the business you three own."

"It's Doflamingo; there's always something." Crocodile mumbled. He shook his head as he reached into his suit coat for his wallet. "As long as he knows who you come home to."

You did a twirl and beamed. "Yay, I have the best bosses." you joked.

Crocodile's jaw twitched. This woman...

~~~

I want to work for both of them. I want to be spoiled (crying emoji)

I don't know how much I like this add-on tbh, but thank you for reading! I hope the Crocodile fans enjoy at least. He's so yummy!

[360degreesasthecrowflies]

BEYOND FRUSTRATED today with my mum's attitude (& briefly wondering if it's just her or anyone else has experienced similar)

Recently when I've told my mum about things hard in my life or personal specific difficulties (or challenges in light of my achievements, efforts etc.) she's come back with responses like "things are for sure harder for your generation, I know".

Mum!

I'm not talking to you to represent my generation speaking to yours like some kind of diplomat!

I'm sharing my actual life with you so that a) you're aware and b) maybe you can offer some specific advice or encouragement. Or at least listen to me!

I come out of these conversations feeling like I've just been pushed aside as just another symptom of generation gap.

The point of that generation gap or even general difficulties someone in their 20s or 30s might have nowadays that one 30 or 40 years ago might not have had is that these challenges are coming despite our absolute best efforts to plan for, anticipate, and mitigate them or ride them out. I feel like the sheer scale of what is happening as we lurch from one 'once in a lifetime' crisis to the next is that despite our best efforts those of us who still have the energy to try are never getting out of the storm and are only barely keeping our heads above the water.

Others in our generation have already given up and are just making the most of playing with the fishes while they still can, before they sink completely out of sight. Not because of a lack of confidence which is what I see older people constantly claiming, but because the chances of actually making it work are so low nowadays even for people who've done everything, at every stage - school, work, volunteering, paying for extra courses etc. even when that's a huge sacrifice - to give themselves the best possible chances of success available to those not born into families of extreme wealth. And then as soon as that gets close to paying off, boom! The government moves the goalposts again.

I don't understand how my mum can't recognise that (not my intention to brag) I'm an outlier here and I'm still fucked.

Salary triple what I had 5 years ago. A position of responsibility and influence just into my 30s, that I got through sheer grift with no relevant qualifications while suffering from chronic illnesses. And despite that, despite that I pay near a grand a month for rent, the bank won't lend me more than double my salary to get a mortgage. For which I couldn't even buy the shittiest apartment in a dangerous neighbourhood.

Yeah mum, positive thinking and being sure of myself is really going to help me get out of that one. Really feels some days like its a general failure of some older adults to actually accept the reality that 'things are more difficult nowadays' doesn't mean just a little bit for only the poorest or those who are lazy or chose to fuck about when they were younger, some hypothetical abstract 'those poor people' who aren't 'us'. It means that your adult children who might have gone above and beyond to succeed or even just to get a secure and safe lifestyle when older are also struggling right at the absolute bottom rung through no fault of their own - not because, as is sometimes implied, we WANTED to try and play at being worse off like some kind of sick poverty cosplay safari - and no amount of positive reframing or "but what if" is going to change that. We need systemic change from the top to make any dent in that reality and under this government? No chance.

[lunarsilkscreen]

What lessons did we learn from Covid?

That the unemployment metrics are wrong.

Most people are picking up money from Uber and Door Dash. Even for people with jobs already, these are like job 2,3, or 4. There's already a problem; these services are *losing* money. And the stock *gurus* have said that they are all overvalued.

Which means they're going to have to start cutting payments in some places. It also suggests that they're already overpaying drivers compared to what their model can support. (A premium to entice drivers would be logical in order to get a large enough foothold in the market.)

The U.S. Unemployment metrics which say like *0%* or as much as *4%* are likely overinflated by these numbers. This suggests that there isn't a lazy person in the U.S. as much as conservative pundits want to proclaim. I. Fact, if anything; Americans continue to overwork themselves on the coattails of a pandemic!

And they still can't afford a vacation. Lucky everybody had that forced vacation time, right?

The next biggest employment group is what you'd expect; service industry like food workers, and grocery and department stores. These aren't just the bottom rung, we're looking at their shift leads and management required for every store as well.

Then agriculture, public services like schools and the DMV, then *maybe* public health.

This is the Google search I'm pulling data from

I said it that way because the results from each page change based on how they combine or not combine certain industries. Retail Stores that feed everybody including restaurants are what I would think go together, and for this analysis, it means that most people are all working in a specific industry.

Supplying, Cooking, and Delivering food.

Agriculture I put after that because of those previous things were separate, agriculture would be king. (Agriculture is separated from the previous category by the production of food stuffs. Farming, Cattle, etc...)

Everything after doesn't compete by a *wide* margin.

What's that tell me?

We could afford to replace those workers with AI and Robots. And then keep them at home, while feeding them, and still make record profits in those two sectors.

And it also means we could afford to employ a lot of people in other areas like Science, Technology, and Research. Something that we as a country tend to shy away from doing, in fear that if too many people can't farm or cook food out country would fall apart at the seems.

Tell that to your underemployed contractors. Or your small town business men litigating other start-ups just so they don't have to compete. (I don't know if that reddit story is true, but resonance tells me everybody hears some story like that.)

So. The unemployment metrics are wrong, We aren't suffering from a lack of food or goods, we don't need more people in the food service and agriculture industry. If anything we need less. And, we don't have enough ability for people to work on science, technology, and research jobs.

But because people are hurting for money to pay rent and utilities, they have to get a job somewhere and the easiest place to get it? Food Service.

So the question I ask to landlords is; what're we doing here? Where do you expect to get money from if Congress won't raise the debt ceiling, and you won't pay more or make things more affordable?

We also learned that people value getting paid more than they value their own health. (Some for valid reasons, others not so much.)

We also learned that, even the people who are higher up on the food chain would rather other people work so they can make an income that doesn't cost so much of their own free time.

And that we're more worried about having menial jobs with which to pay laborers than we are about improving the quality of life for said laborers. Or using that labor in positions that actually mean something, instead of just having a job available so it's available.

[hexpea]

Ch. 14 - Spouses

Nanami, who had left you speechless, dismissed himself and got lost in the crowd. Meanwhile, Suguru found his way back to you, placing a concerned hand on your shoulder to capture your currently frozen attention.

"Hey," his voice was soft, "you okay?" 

"Yeah," you shook your head to get yourself back on track, "Kento just confessed to me."

"That's..." he gave a single, pitiful laugh, "an intense thing to do on your wedding day."

"Hey," you turned to him aggressively, lying through your confident teeth, "don't get the wrong idea here." You hardly cared about your volume, though the commoners around you were too busy celebrating to pay any attention to begin with. You wanted to defend your friend. "I have a duty to my country. That's what this is."

"Spicy," he scrunched up his lips to hold back his tongue. 

"And you've got some secrets to spill," you pointed at him sternly. His expression softened with your request, nay - your command.

"That's strictly confidential," he shook his head, "you can't assist, so you don't need to know. The less that you know the better."

You squinted your eyes at him out of suspicion. "I don't like that answer, Suguru. I'm going to find out one way or another. And who says I can't help?" 

"We'll see," he charmed and grabbed your hands once more, "but for now, let's enjoy our night."

You gave your notorious pout and allowed him to whisk you away in yet another dance. The idea of whatever these strange creatures were stayed on your mind for a majority of the night. Suguru easily noticed your lack of ability to focus but chose to ignore it. He wasn't going to give into your pouts that easily.

The evening was completely wild and wonderful even despite the things you had on your mind. The night was spent dancing, drinking, eating, and mingling with not just your friends and family back home but with many new folks from neighboring towns. You heard many times how refreshing it was to have someone with your background now in leadership. It was hard to believe that just two, short weeks ago you were just a baker's daughter now only to be crowned queen.  The next event on your agenda was the dual coronation ceremony in another two weeks, where you'd officially be rung in as royalty. 

You and Suguru found your way back through the castle doors with the streets clearing out and the sunset lowering even further than it already had.  Castle staff were busy cleaning up in nearly every room and hallway that you passed through. It was honestly quite exhausting at that point. Though you were usually more outgoing, not having a break from any public eyes was absolutely draining. 

"I'm going to black out the minute I hit the mattress," you chuckled through a yawn as the two of you approached split hallway. One hallway lead to your chambers and the other to Suguru's. 

He held tight to your hand that he had been holding since entering the building. You released the pressure on your fingers as a signal to let go but he continued to hold tight.

"Listen," his face turned a bit pink as he looked away from you, "there's a lot still going on around the castle and they'll think it's...strange for a newlywed couple to sleep in separate chambers on their wedding night." His voice was relatively quiet as a few servants scuttled past.

"Right," you bit on your bottom lip, already knowing where this was going. "That makes sense."

"You...don't have to, but would you like to sleep in my chambers tonight?" He offered and then paused a moment for your answer. "You absolutely don't have to, and if you do - I can sleep elsewhere in the room. We don't have to share a bed." 

You rolled your eyes and smiled. "Sure, I'll join you. Let me just grab some things from my room and I'll come in."

He gave a single nod and an excited smile. "See you soon, then. Feel free to just walk in, no need to knock." His voice continued in its soft tone as he gave a small bow, turned on his heel, and continued down the hall to his room.

There was something in particular you wanted to share with him, something you'd been working on the most since moving into the castle. You originally thought that you'd be able to share it later, but what better time than your first night married?

When you arrived back to your room, you undressed - calling for your attendant to help with all of the laces, of course - bathed, and put on what you considered your finest nightgown. Just before leaving, you stopped at your nightstand to grab the small book you had hidden in its top drawer.  The book itself was practically palm-sized and well-worn, a compilation of childhood fables. When you had chosen it, you figured that because of it's wear and tear it might have been one of Suguru's favorites. The primary challenge for you as a new reader was how tiny the font was, but you had put much of your passion into learning over these past two weeks in order to surprise him. 

In order to hide the book, you slipped it under your skirt and hid it in the waistband of your underwear just on the side of your hip. It was a bit awkward, but you successfully made your way to the Great Chamber. Just as he mentioned, instead of knocking, you simply walked in. 

The room was dark with the now set sun, the oil lamp the only thing going in the large room just like the night prior. Your face flushed with the very thought of what had happened between you two, the unexpected affection. 

It took a minute for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, your body softly closing the set of double doors behind you.  With the outside noise of the hallway now shut away, you could suddenly make out the sounds of soft breathing. Eyes following the sound, you found your king fast asleep on the bedroom bench at the end of the bed. 

His lanky legs were much too long and hung over the end. His hands were folded and resting on his abdomen and his mouth was slightly ajar as he snoozed away. You couldn't help but smile to yourself for a moment.  He had fully made himself comfortable while you were back in your own room. He, too, looked freshly bathed and wearing a soft tunic with loose, cotton bottoms. His hair, now down, was splayed a bit in all directions as he rested his head on one end of the bench.

And not only was he saving the bed for you, the covers were already pulled back and pillows fluffed for your arrival. There was even a glass of water on the nightstand nearby as if he had thought of everything before you'd come.  You rolled your eyes to yourself with a smirk. You felt as if showing your appreciation would be admitting defeat somehow, but he was making it increasingly hard to resist. He was much more charming than you had anticipated a spoiled prince, no, king to be.

Considering his unconscious state, you were in the clear to snag the book from under your dress. You held it tightly to your chest as you slunk over and knelt by his side, letting it finally rest in your lap once you were sat.

He looked so peaceful while asleep. His under-eye bags were much more prominent with his eyes closed, likely from those late nights doing who knows what to keep the kingdom safe - or at least that was what he told you. 

Completely alone, you were able to be yourself completely. Like anyone would, you had to wear a mask around others. You had a mask for your parents, a mask for Nanami and other friends, and even a mask for Suguru - even though all were similar to a certain extent. Being quiet and all alone gave you a moment to relax.  You no longer had to wear the facade to hide your growing feelings for the man in front of you.

Growing a bit in confidence, you allowed your hand to carefully come up and caress the softness of his cheek with your knuckles. Besides the very slight stubble on his cheeks, his skin was silky smooth.  It gave you butterflies as you continued to lightly stroke his face. His breathing remained steady with only the slight twitch of his eyelids as you continued.

You smiled to yourself before leaning forward onto the soft bench, resting your head beside his and being careful not to accidentally lay on his long hair. 

You remained that way for a few more minutes, only to completely stop as soon as his eyes fluttered open and he looked in your direction. 

"Well, hello there," he grinned. His pupils were incredibly wide in the darkness, his teeth the brightest thing in the room. 

You quickly gasped and pulled away at his sudden waking. In almost the same instance, you wound up a fist and punched his upper arm with much force. 

"What the hell, Suguru?!" You whined and came to a stand after the hit. 

"I should be asking you that!" He groaned and rubbed his upper arm, sitting up on the bench. His hair quickly draped over his shoulders, the tunic he wore barely covering his collarbone. 

"I thought you were sleeping!" You grumbled, holding the book that was originally in your lap behind your back.

"I was," he smiled and continued to look up at you. "That'll probably bruise, you know."

"Sorry," your voice was small and you looked away, feeling guilty. "You just looked...really peaceful." He gave a low chuckle to your compliment. "You...don't have to sleep on the bench if you don't want to. We can share."

"No, no," he shook his head, "I don't want to impose more than I already have with this whole marriage thing."

You sighed and smirked. "We've kissed before. Sharing a bed isn't that big of a deal." Your voice spoke confidence, but deep down it was a big deal for you. "Besides," you switched gears, "I have something I want to show you."

"Show me?" He was fully intrigued at this point, raising a single eyebrow out of curiosity. "And to show me, we have to share the bed?"

You furrowed your brow and resisted the urge to punch him again. "Please, just come on," you insisted, walking over to the side of the bed with the covers peeled back and crawling in.

"Alright, alright," he agreed and maneuvered to the opposite side. "What do you have there?" He asked as he adjusted himself against the pillows. The two of you were now sitting up against the headboard, the room falling awkwardly quiet after his question.

"A book," you mumbled, suddenly unable to hide the shy feelings building in your chest. 

"Well I can see that," he giggled, "why?"

"I've been working hard these past two weeks," you started quietly. "I went to the library earlier today and grabbed this. It looks like you've read it a lot." You were quiet for a moment, but based on your facial expression, Suguru knew there was more you wanted to say. "I figured with the type of book it is, and what I know about your mother...this was probably your book."

"That's the one with all the fables in it, huh?" He inquired, almost immediately recognizing the cover. "Are you telling me you'd like to read to me?" You nodded silently, feeling like some kind of little kid who needed coaxing. "I'd love that."

Just as you opened the book to its first page, Suguru snuggled himself further under the covers and looked up at you. You stared at the words but felt incredibly hesitant to start with his eyes on you so intently. 

"Take your time," he encouraged, realizing the nervous look on your face, "I'm just happy to sit here with you."

You pinched your lips together to hide your smile and chose to clear your throat. The words came at a steady pace when you began to read. He listened carefully, eventually closing his eyes to envision the story you were telling. 

Eventually, as the night continued on and you made your way to about halfway through the book, Suguru's body became heavier. With sleepiness really starting to overtake him, he scooted a bit closer to you - your body still sitting up straight against the headboard.  He let his cheek rest against your forearm as you continued reading on with the small light of the oil lamp. When his breathing became heavier and he turned to his opposite side, you knew it was time to stop and slide under the covers yourself. 

Day one down, a lifetime to go.

[kemregik]

I think the problem here is you're trying to induce better results without fixing the cause.

You can't raise the minimum wage not because it's bad for businesses but because increasing the amount you pay someone doesn't increase the purchasing power of that money. You're only inflating the currency, which increases cost of living. When minimum wage goes up, prices go up, because the individual dollars lose value as they become less scarce. Food becomes more expensive, gas becomes more expensive, rent goes up, and you're back at Square 1 with the minimum wage not covering cost of living.

You also can't artificially limit the costs of things, because you will eventually force businesses to close up and leave when they can't cover operating overhead. By capping rent at an arbitrary number, you disincentivize people from engaging in that business, which reduces competition and leaves only the most predatory participants in the market without supervision. Rich people can afford to lose money on an investment like apartment buildings in the short term because they have pockets that will last them until the business turns a profit, but individual property owners often do not, and so when Bill who you rent your house from can't afford to keep renting it out, he'll sell the house to Blackrock, who will kick you out, renovate the house, rent it at a loss for a time, and flip it once they've gentrified the rest of the neighborhood.

The key here is incentivizing businesses to rebuild the bottom set of rungs on the socioeconomic ladder. Minimum wage positions should be entry-level positions, a temporary place where you sit until you build or are taught skills that are worth more in the market. On-The-Job training shouldn't be just a thing seen in trades, but in white-collar industries too. This is why we see brain-drain in large cities, because nobody wants to spend the time and money to train people. We should use tax breaks to incentivize companies to create upward mobility in their structures, not force them to spend money arbitrarily or price-gouge them out of the competition.

I feel like a good shorthand for a lot of economics arguments is "if you want people to work minimum wage jobs in your city, you need to allow minimum wage apartments for them to live in."

"These jobs are just for teenagers on the weekends." Okay, so you'll use minimum wage services only on the weekends and after school. No McDonald's or Starbucks on your lunch break.

"They can get a roommate." For a one bedroom? A roommate for a one bedroom? Or a studio? Do you have a roommate to get a middle-wage apartment for your middle-wage job? No? Why should they?

"They can live farther from city center and just commute." Are there ways for them to commute that don't equate to that rent? Living in an outer borough might work in NYC, where public transport is a flat rate, but a city in Texas requires a car. Does the money saved in rent equal the money spent on the car loan, the insurance, the gas? Remember, if you want people to take the bus or a bike, the bus needs to be reliable and the bike lanes survivable.

If you want minimum wage workers to be around for you to rely on, then those minimum wage workers need a place to stay.

You either raise the minimum wage, or you drop the rent. There's only so long you can keep rents high and wages low before your workforce leaves for cheaper pastures.

"Nobody wants to work anymore" doesn't hold water if the reason nobody applies is because the commute is impossible at the wage you provide.

[vitani-carnis]

Can't play Cyberpunk to do Vitani's canon ending of PL (helping Songbird and feeling betrayed despite feeling it on the horizon). So just giving my thoughts on siding with Reed or whatev! TW: for suicide in this (this is such a doomed timeline, but it's not real, it's not real and it can't hurt me)

And firstly, the ending for Vitani devastated me. It's not canon, it's not real, no one can make it real!! (But for the V I did give this ending too, she'd be okay with it, just not my bbygrl). To have her basically become nothing again? To have the cycle of wanting to be stronger so that she wouldn't be so terrified of the city, the world in general, to so desperately not be at the bottom rung of people in NC... To only become it after losing not only Johnny, but her children (pets), her things, her seemingly friends, her ability to protect herself (which tbh the cyberware would've been something they could live with if they only had a few of the other things). There is nothing, except to become an NUSA dog. And despite everything, they can't go back on their ideals. In fact, the only way out, despite everyone telling them to move on, is to die; because Vitani is just incapable of moving on from such sudden changes (In their canon end, if they never found Johnny beyond the Blackwall, which they'd spend years on, it'd take even more years to stop that longing, and they'd never be the same, always haunted).

And speaking of??? The helicopter???? Omg, firstly, as soon as V realized that whatever this surgery was would wipe their boy, they would call off everything, for the record. But in the .000000001 percent chance, in the scarcest of timelines to exist where they did? Every time they'd feel so guilty for it, because they can't be the cause of another friend's death, this time willingly ignoring their requests about it too. This is preventable, and they aren't preventing it (in all options given, V asks 'could things have been different?' because they are sweetheart, dw). And him saying V's name? V saying they'd do anything for him (and they still can't do it, sadly, it's a tragedy that despite everything he wants for V, it's asking too much of them), how the doc knocks V out after reading an emotional spike? I know for a fact Vitani's last emotion felt, was fear, because they'd never see him again.

And speaking of another person V will never see again (because they killed her), Songbird! Before my game crashed and junk I did the option where you kill her, and I know, this is really depressing and suicide heavy (it's kinda built into Vitani's character to be so mournful and ready to die); but holy shit they would've been so enraged at Myers and Reed.

Before that though, I want to say, this is the second time V would be requesting someone's sui request essentially. First Joshua, whom they cried at Jill's grave (Jill, is a character essential to V's backstory, and was someone they viewed as a 'good person', and V is mourning about how she'd be disgusted with them, how they did change, and change for the worst), and now Songbird. They cried just a little more for Song too than Joshua, because it was like looking in a mirror.

Now obviously they are made that way narratively, same thing with Reed and Johnny (really love how that run is where they both acknowledge it basically, not technically in canon, but in Vitani's canon). But V saw themself in Songbird as a young adult just chilling in her house, hanging with friends (not that V knows what that's like), getting in too deep and paying the price. But no moment did they see themself than when So Mi was begging for death, how she said that she tried, and she was just too weak. And it reminded Vitani of when Jill first died, and all seemed hopeless and... They couldn't do it. They couldn't kill off the one human thing about them, survival instincts. And sometimes V wonders about it at this point narratively, how they wished they could've, things never would've gotten to this point.

And so they agree, because how could they not? In reality Songbird would never get the help promised from Myers and Reed, she'd be some prisoner, slowly losing herself every day. It's a fate worse than death to Vitani.

Which is why they're so pissed when Reed and Myers can so easily say they could've convinced Song otherwise, that she should've lived. Partially because she knows Myer's plans and Reed's loyalty, but also because they've had the luxury of never feeling so hopeless. At least, that's what Vitani thinks.

Also I HATED that fucking robot. This is just me talking. Cynosure? More like sayonara, never playing that section again. (It wasn't particularly scary tbh, I like horror elements, and don't get me wrong, it was cool, I just hated that it wasn't always clear on where to go so I'd get stuck and frustrated for a minute.)

Okay that's all! If you read all this, love you, bye!

[raccoonshinobi]

As a feminist, wouldn't it be anti-feminist to tell a woman what she should and shouldn't do with her life - as is the talking point regarding the patriarchy?

Both garner expectations… And it's not 'gaining and protecting agency and inclusion' by having strangers stockpile and demand expectations on other strangers under threats and slander.

You know what that's called? Tyranny. The fear of volatile people is just as bad as the fear of a single dictator - both possess a death toll one way or the other, either by mass murder or suicide by excommunication and ostracization. And both are weak without asserting power over others.

The Greeks called it 'Ochlocracy' - Government by Mob Rule.

The sad part is this form of mob mentality isn't new. It just adapts in the worst form of people when they realize they share a common goal of literally bullying others to death and coming together to do just that.

We never evolved. We just have better opportunities.

Evolution operates on global survival, not personal desire.

Evolution can't fully be controlled; it develops what you *need*, not what you want. Artificially changing anything can do more harm than good.

And as it happens, the ancient Greeks celebrated a LOT of what the louder and violent 'woke' lgbt proclaim and the result would just be the same - complete utter resistance and the changing tide that follows deep into obscurity. History has repeated itself just at a large enough sale to be acknowledge due to social media.

And this weaponized peer pressure - online or offline - has long since overstayed its welcome. Some folks can't mentally get out of childhood and high school…

Even sadder is that the game plan never changed: Tyrants Weaponize Mobs.

Tyrants and Shills NEED mobs to beat the opposition and the silent majority for them, And they always attract those who can't think for themselves or those who refuse to think for themselves.

It's worse than a hive-mind; at least a hive-mind has clear standards and above all else a working system. Structure.

The only coherent rule the woke/lgbt/radfem movements has is 'Worship everything I demand beyond all reason or actually die mad about it."

There IS no system behind these movements, there are no standards, only grade-school-level bullying from incredibly miserable folks who hate others (straight, bi, gay, etc) for having any shred of joy that has nothing to do with said miserable folks.

Being a malicious center of attention is not how you make friends, it's how you make lackeys.

Miserable people do not know the difference between friends and lackeys. Both required loyalty; only one require mutual love - and miserable people are devoid of mutual love by all means.

Either THEY OR THEIR VIEWS matter at all times -or- no one else and their views should matter at all; that's the only setting they run by.

For the record, I don't accept nor trust the left or the right. I'm not even centrist - They're ALL shit. I'm as apolitical as they come.

Not anarchist. I believe a form of rulership is necessary for humankind. I just don't believe in people… It's easy to bullshit your way to the top when you're privileged enough.

When was the last time we had someone from the bottom rung of society - or who cared for the bottom rung - speak out against the hypocrisy of current-day politics on either side who wasn't silenced, or vanished without a trace? Those kinds of people have little use for both sides but can damage a lot of good faith… That's why they're kept in their places.

I'll take benefits from either side and pay what's due - but I spare zero loyalty for any of either side's rancid bullshit.

The violent (and practically mainstream) portion of LGBT/Woke/Inclusivity/Feminism don't truly want justice and equality. They want worship.

And before anyone calls me a weirdo for 'making this religious'… Definitions:

A feeling of profound love and admiration

Love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol

When you have a problem with ANYTHING less than this, even mild indifference or avoidance and it manages to piss you off and want NO ONE to question you on anything remotely concerning, you're craving worship and nothing less than that.

[lemon-boy-stan]

Could you do a Steve Harrington request set during second half of his and the Henderson!reader’s senior year (aka after season 2) where he finds out she likes him when he asks to borrow her notes for a class without her realizing inside are notes between her and her best friend about her crush on him?

hiii anon! tysm for requesting this, it was so adorable i loved it so much! hope you like it 😌

“LOVE LETTERS”

summary: steve asks to borrow your notes for the lesson. you give them to him, forgetting about the messages you and your best friend jamie wrote about your feelings for a certain someone. genre: fluff, bit of angst if you squint. warnings: swearing? pairing: steve harrington x reader (sorry, i didn’t see the henderson part!) an: this request was so cute i loved it so much!

Ms. Stacy entered the class ten minutes after the morning bell had rung, and addressed the class as soon as she sat down at the teacher's desk, "please take out your notebooks and ensure that you have the notes written from yesterday's class."

There was shuffling as the class took their notebooks, and Ms. Stacy took out the text you were studying for English. Next to you, your best friend grinned, nodding her head over to the left side of the table. "Guess who still hasn't read the chapters." and you rolled your eyes as Rebecca Hill shuffled through her papers nervously.

There was a tap on your shoulder, and you jumped before turning around. You tried not to blush as Steve smiled at you sheepishly. "Hey, Y/N? Is it okay if I borrowed your notes? Just to copy them down. I just haven't had enough time because of basketball." and you rolled your eyes again, "right. Because of basketball. Seriously, Steve. It's senior year!"

Steve grinned, "yeah, and senior year's for having fun. And I know you had fun at the party last night. The whole group did. So... could you please just give them to me? Pretty please." he pouted his bottom lip and you sighed, taking your notebook, "fine, but only because it was a good party. But that basketball shit is BS, Harrington." Steve grinned again, "thank you," pushing back his hair. Your heart fluttered.

Jamie spoke from the corner of her mouth, "geez, Y/N. Drool much?" and you kicked her roughly in the shin, "shut the fuck up. He's stupid, not deaf." and you turned around hastily to see if Steve showed any recognition of hearing your conversation, but he was too busy scribbling down the notes.

Steve loved your notes. He didn't pay much attention in class himself, but he always remembered things because he liked your handwriting, it was cute, just like you, no matter how much you tried to convince him you were scary. It actually made you even more cute than you already were.

Steve turned to the next page to see if there were any other notes he needed to copy before stopping. At first, Steve thought they were just scribbles, but then he realised they were messages passed between friends, between Y/N and Jamie.

And Steve was about to close the notebook and give it back to Y/N, but then he saw his name written in the deep blue ink.

Steve's breath hitched in his throat. First he checked to see that no one was looking. Y/N was busy writing today's notes in another notebook, and Jamie was doodling in her diary. Good.

Heart thudding like a drum, Steve opened it so he could see the other messages.

He recognised your handwriting immediately, next to Jamie's.

stop drooling!

I can't help it!

Steve knew he shouldn't be reading them, they were obviously private between Y/N and her best friend, but he couldn't help it. His curiosity took over, it was one of his many strengths and liabilities.

don't you think Steve's hair is kind of sexy?

No, I'm more of a Billy girl myself

yeah, but you don't even know billy, and he's a total dick! have you seen the way he treats his little sister?

yeah, but he's so charismatic and sexy

Steve's sexy too!

girl, what are you on? he's one of your best friends!

yeah but like. he's so tall. and he's so cute. plus he's always so sweet.

only because you're friends! seriously Y/N, stop drooling and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

no

do it or ill tell him myself!

no!

do it.

And that was where you'd stopped passing notes. Steve closed the notebook, wishing he'd never read it, his heart beating unnaturally fast. He tapped your shoulder again and you turned back around. Steve smiled, "thank you." handing over the notebook, but making sure to trace his fingers along and under your wrist before taking his hand away. Your breath hitched and he had to look away to hide his smirk.

The rest of the lesson surprisingly flew by. Steve was too busy thinking about you to count down the seconds until break, and when break came, he waited for you and Jamie to get your things before meeting with the rest of your friends.

Steve was restless the whole time through break, and halfway through, he tapped your arm. You turned to him, "yeah, what's up?" god, he loved your smile. No, stay focused. Steve smiled too, "can you come with me to go get something from my locker?" you smiled again, nodding. "Yeah, sure!"

Jamie grinned, but you kicked her roughly in the shin. You and Steve always escorted each other places. It didn't mean anything.

Steve opened his locker before sighing, "ah, shit. I just realised I already have the notebook I need for next class. Sorry, Y/N. We can go back. I swear I left my brain at home."

You giggled softly before shrugging, "it's okay. We can just go back, come on -" slinging your bag over your shoulder, you began walking back towards the hallway, but Steve grabbed your arm. "Y/N, wait."

You turned back around, "yeah? What is it?" Steve pushed his hair back, "uhhh, nothing. Do you think I should cut my hair?" and you blinked, "what?" not expecting him to say that. Steve spoke slowly this time, "do you think I should cut my hair?" and you shook your head, "no, I got what you said. I just... um, no?"

Steve grinned, "yeah? Why not?" and you hoped he couldn't see your blush, "I don't know. I guess... it just looks good like that, you know. I don't know, Steve! It's your hair!" You didn't know why you were stuttering, and you didn't know why Steve was smirking, either. "Is it because you think it's sexy?"

And you coughed, "what?" Steve was still smirking, "is it my hair that makes me sexy, Y/N? Or is it because I'm tall?" you blinked again before freezing in your place. There was only one way he could have heard that... read it.

"How did you..." Steve cocked his head, "is it because I'm sweet?" moving closer. You backed away, face flushing red. "You shouldn't have read that!" Steve put his hand on his hip, "you shouldn't have written it right next to the notes I was copying, sweetheart."

Your heart was beating insanely fast as Steve moved even closer, reaching out with his hand. You flinched away, but instantly regretted it once you saw the injured look on his face, even though he was the one who asked, "what's wrong?" and you sighed, "I just. I like you, Steve. Like, a lot. And I just. That was really embarrassing, especially because I know you don't like me back, just as a friend you casually like to make fun of, so let's just go back to the table, okay? We can forget it never happened just let's go back -"

You interrupted yourself with a soft squeak. Steve's hand manoeuvred around your neck, and he pulled you so close that there was barely a breathing distance between the two of you.

And Steve closed the gap; pulling you even closer, pressing his lips, his soft, warm lips roughly on yours with such a gentle force that you never wanted him to stop. He groaned softly into it, fingers tangled in the strands of the hair that fell behind your neck. It was like time stopped, like time had stopped for the kiss because it didn't want the kiss to stop.

But he had to stop sometime, and when he did, he stopped properly, although he looked like he didn't want to stop at all. Steve smiled softly, kissing you again. "Who said I didn't like you back?"

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[xhannahbananax03]

Meeting Him

Summary: Dean Winchester arrives in a small town to accompany his best friend, Jake to a high school graduation. He meets Jake’s cousin and instantly takes a liking to her. But when the girls ex boyfriend shows up, things take a turn.

Words: 2.2k

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, slight angst, jealousy, mentions of sexual acts

A/N: This was my first fic ever, so be gentle.

MASTERLIST

It was like any other day.  Get up, get ready for school,  eat breakfast,  and get on the bus.  The only difference of today,  was this was the day your cousin, Jake,  was coming home. 

You and Jake have always been best friends,  you grew up together.  He was 2 years older than you,  but that didn't matter.  You two were always together.  You'd wake up every morning and go straight over to his house,  which wasn't hard because he lived right next door to you.  You both shared so many adventures,  and special moments together.  Like the day his little sister was born.  After Kayla was born you and Jake would always play with her,  whether it be dress up,  or playing in the sandbox.  You couldn't do to much with her though,  considering she was 4 years younger than you,  and 6 years younger than Jake.

  Everything was perfect,  that was until Jake went to high school and you stayed in the junior high.  It wasn't so bad though,  right?  You and Jake still lived so close,  you could still hang out whenever,  right?  Wrong.  Jake started making new friends,  and girlfriends...  It shouldn't have bothered you as much as it had,  but you still got jealous,  when he would say you couldn't come over because Madison,  his girlfriend,  was over,  or because his other friends were over.  It upset you,  and hurt you.  So instead of being in pain,  you decided to distance yourself from Jake. Not asking to come over so much,  going to other people's houses.  It was getting easy to not think about Jake so much.  You made a lot of new friends,  and grew to love them over the two years of junior high. Jake was still pretty happy,  though he missed you too,  but both of you were branching out from each other,  that is until your first year of high school,  he was starting his third year,  him and Madison had already broken up, but he was moving.   Him and his family were moving to Kansas.  Jakes dad got a special,  one time,  job offer that he couldn't turn down.  And you couldn't blame him.  Jake told you that once he gets out of high school he's going to start working with his dad. But he would call and text you whenever he could,  and he would visit as soon as possible. 

So here you were,  getting ready for school.  You only had a couple days left,  and Jake had already graduated,  so he was coming home for the first month of summer.  What you didn't know was he was bringing his best friend. "(y/n),  sweetheart,  breakfast is ready! " Your mom shouted from the bottom of the stairs.  "Ok mom,  give me 5! " You shouted back.   You were standing in front of your closet looking at two outfits you had prepared,  it wasn't to terribly hot,  but it wasn't cold either.  So you decided to go with,

     You did a simple natural make up look,  and lightly curled your (h/l),  (h/c)  hair to give it a beach wave effect. As you came downstairs you got a text, from Jake.

Jake:  Hey (y/nn),  so I know you hate surprises,  but I'm bringing one home with me.  So try not to look like a piece of trash!

You:  Geez,  thanks Jake.  I will try my best not to look like garbage!

Jake:  Thank you,  Madame.

You:  lol,  ❤ you Jake!  Can't wait to see you.  I have some fun stuff planned!

Jake:  ❤ you too, and so do I!  😈

After texting you noticed the time,  "Crap! " You booked it down the stairs,  grabbed your bag,  and a piece of toast.  After shoveling the toast into your mouth you ran outside only to see the bus drive past your house.  "Fuck... " Man you wished you had a car right about now.

~Time Skip to Last Period of the Day~

School went OK today,  you went through all your classes without,  trouble,  hung out with your friends,  which was difficult,  because the kept looking out for this guy in a, "shiny black car ". So they didn't pay much attention to you,  but you were entertained hearing them gawk over this,  " Beautiful mystery man". At one point your best friend,  started talking about what her first date with him would be like,  which had you doubling over in laughter.  

The end of the last period came,  and you couldn't wait to be out of there,  Jake texted you during lunch saying he was picking you up after school and taking you out to eat at the diner,  that was basically your second home.  You were so excited that you were focusing on the clock and only the clock, bouncing you knee up and down.  It got to a point where your friend reached over and placed her hand on your knee. 

"(y/n),  are you alright? " Your friend Sarah asked you,  you just nodded while keeping your eyes on the clock,  "what has you so anxious today? " She asked you trying to look you in the eyes.

. "Jake is coming home today. " You said completely ignoring her face,  but you were able to see a slight blush creep up her face. She had always had a thing for Jake,  but was too scared to tell him.  Right then the bell rung,  and you were up out of your seat before anyone else. 

Grabbing your things you made your way to your locker,  Jake new what your locker number was so when you didn't see him standing there,  you were slightly disappointed.  "Maybe he's just running late"  You thought to yourself.  As you were putting your stuff in your locker,  you grabbed your bag,  and when you closed your locker door,  he was standing right there.  You were so happy you could barely contain it,  you squealed and dropped your bag,  before literally jumping into his arms,  it wasn't an easy task considering he was considerably taller then you,  but you managed.  He held onto you tight and spun you around making you giggle,  once he sat you down, you both smiled at each other,  before he had to go and ruin the moment,  "I got to hand it to you,  (y/n),  you've gotten a lot prettier,  and you don't look like trash! " This made you widen your eyes in mock hurt,  before slugging him in his arm.  Before he had time to grab you,  you were running out of the door,  the one downside,  was you didn't know what car was his,  so you had no where to go.  Before you had time to even turn around he was there and punched you,  actually pretty hard,  well hard enough to knock you on your butt. 

He felt a little bad so he helped you up,  mumbling something about how much that hurt,  you took his hand and stood up.  "Thanks Jake,  now my pants are all dirty. " You said following him to a car.

  "Aww your welcome! " He said enthusiastically. 

Out in the parking lot you could see this beautiful Chevy Impala. "Jake is that your car? " You asked pointing towards your dream car.  "Hmm?  Oh,  that's actually part of the surprise. " You could see a tall man standing at the drivers side door,  talking to the most popular girl in school,  Megan. 

  Megan was a perky blonde.  She was curvy,  but still really skinny, she was so bubbly but still such a bully,  to anyone who she didn't like,  including you.  And she didn't like you because when you came to the high school,  you became one of the most liked girls there,  and not just by guys but by everyone,  because you were sweet,  and caring,  and everyone felt like they could trust you.  Megan was one year ahead of you,  because she skipped a grade.  But you firmly believe that's because she took some,  "extra credit ". And it wasn't just you who thought that,  but that's the kind of girl she is.

  Jake stopped you from walking because he could tell something was wrong,  " Hey you ok? " He asked stepping in front of you,  looking down at you,  you look up and smiled slightly,  "yeah,  but anyways,  who's that guy? " You asked pointing to the guy who was now being pinned to his car by Megan,  it was such a sight to see,  it made you shutter,  Jake saw this and looked over to him,  chuckling a bit,  "always a ladies man, " He chuckled,  "That's dean,  my best friend,  the one i'm always talking about. "

"Oh." Was all you could say, Dean was way more attractive than you thought he'd be, he was probably the one all the girls were talking about,  "Yeah,  he was a hit with the ladies today. " You said starting to walk towards the car again. "Was he a hit with you? " Jake asked surprising you a bit,  "Not particularly. No" You said still walking now a little ahead Jake. 

Finally you reached the car.  And when Megan saw you she gave you a look of pure disgust,  before moving her eyes onto Jake,  she always did have a thing for older guys,  "Hi Jake... " She said biting her lip,  trying to act sexy.   "Hey Megan,  how are you? " Jake never really liked Megan either,  I mean he thought she was hot,  who didn't.  But he just hated her personality,  and the way she treated you.  

"I'm fine,  but would be a lot better if I was in the back of his car tight now. " She giggled,  looking at Dean with predatory eyes,  which for some reason made you jealous,  maybe it was just the fact that she always got what she wanted,  and you did not want have to walk to the diner right now.  Dean looked at Jake with a bit of shock,  but you weren't shocked at all. 

"So,  (y/n),  what are you doing here? " She asked moving her eyes to you,  she was taller than you,  and it wasn't because she was tall,  it was because you were short,  you were probably the shortest girl in the school,  and Megan always wore these high heels. 

"Did you forget that Jakes my cousin? " You asked raising an eyebrow at her.  She just scoffed while rolling her eyes,  "No,  I didn't forget,  I mean what are you doing here,  " She said while pointing to the ground,  "by this car? " "Well if I'm not mistaken,  this is my ride,  right Jake? " You looked to Jake, and so did everyone else,  waiting for an answer,  once he nodded.  You looked back to Megan. She just scoffed before whispering something to Dean before walking off smirking.  He looked a little dazed,  and a bit shocked.  Jake finally cleared his throat also clearing the silence,  that's when Dean really noticed you were there,  which made you a little upset, but whatever.  Reaching out his hand,  he finally spoke,  "oh,  you must be (y/n).  Hi I'm Dean. " You reached for his hand,  and shook it.  Once he realised that he had been holding you hand for a bit too long,  and staring at you,  he retracted before opening the back door for you to get in,  noticing a slight blush on his neck you giggled a little before getting into the beautiful car,  noticing the wonderful leather interior,  running you hands across the seat,  you smiled.  Once you looked up,  you saw Dean was staring at you though the rear view mirror,  you looked down from his intense gaze, blushing.  

"Do you like her?  She's beautiful isn't she? "He asked starting up the car,  which cause a low rumbling feeling through the your whole body.  " Like her?  It's my dream car,  this exact model and everything! " You said a bit excited which made him chuckle a bit.  Jake was just enjoying that fact that he two best friends were getting along.  Once Dean started driving you saw how well he handled the car,  before he left,  you'd definitely have to see if you could drive this car.   "Do you mind if I turn on some music? " He asked looking at you while reaching for a box full of cassettes.  "Not at all, go for it. " You told him smiling hoping he had a somewhat similar music taste to yours.  He then handed you the box full of tapes before saying,  "choose one. " Which for some reason surprised Jake,  but you just shrugged it off.  

Once you saw the tapes you become even more happy,  if that's possible.  He had the same music taste as you!  You were really starting to like this Dean guy. Grabbing an AC DC tape and handing it to him,  you saw his smile grow wider,  "You've got good taste." He said,  which made you smile even more. He popped the tape in before turning up up the volume,  and blasting AC DC through the speakers.  This was going to be fun!

[hunnyuwu]

Connected // Pt.1 || NCT 127

Summary: Humanity has reduced down to a dystopian wasteland. Women disappear daily, civilians now rely on physical modifications and nodes to feel alive, and the concept of civilization is a far cry from their current state. While the one who reigns supreme is the puppeteer of societal affairs, will a small group of men be able to regain the humanity they once held so dearly when they were young? Or were the doomed for an eternal state of dreary, impoverished slums?

Genre: dystopian, cyberpunk, futuristic, angst, romance

WC: 2k

~ ~ ~

Part I : 008

"How are you feeling, 008?"

A small woman regained her consciousness as she was shaken from her delusional state. She always hated these examinations.

"I'm fine." She stated, wanting to do nothing more than pull the dumb wires and circuits out of her sore limbs. She waited patiently as the examiner in all white, wrote down a few bullet points on a small clipboard.

"You are done for the day, 008. Except, for visiting the girls and the head master, of course. Who will you visit first?"

The examiner assisted the girl with long, wavy black locks out of the machine's system, pulling out about a hundred thick and thin wires that were attached to separate areas of her small frame. The girl became impatient as the process was taking too long.

"I'll visit the girls first, then visit the head master. Thank you for your assistance, 375." 008 started ripping cords out, even if they did sting like no tomorrow, but she was finally free of her mechanical restraints, so that was a win in her book.

"Before you go, 008. I have a question for you."

008 started walking out of the room, but halted when 375 piqued her attention.

"What is it?"

"How have you lasted... here so long? When the others haven't?"

008 thought for a second before a simple little smirk grazed her lips, an odd sight to say the least.

"I think that is a question I will have to answer another day. See you tomorrow, 375." 008 gave a little bow to her companion, leaving the examination facility hastily. She always hated that place. Her 'skin' crawled every time she heard the place even mentioned, never forgetting her first experience in that wretched room.

"How are you, trainees?"

008 entered a large room within a smaller, pristine white building a little further away from the main compound. Why did everything have to be so white? It almost made her sick at the bleakness of it all.

"Good!" The girls all replied, turning their attention to the respected woman on the grounds. They all looked up to her, not only was she a top tier, but she has also maintained her position for years, a feat that only belonged to her. It's not like they wanted to be there, but if they wanted to hang onto a sliver of their lives, they might as well do what they do with dignity.

"What has been the progress for today? Any new recruits among you?" 008 stated sharply, picking up a pile of clean cut white papers, quickly grazing through reports of treatments, part changes, the usual business.

"Today, we have started weapons training, starting with the pulverizers."

008 quickly cut off the lead trainer of the recruits, her eyebrow quirking into a confused frown, "You started with the pulverizers? And how is that working out?" She stated lowly, a threatening growl laced through her simple question.

The trainer visibly gulped, nervous by 008's unrelenting strictness, "It's been..." She trailed off, her body freezing under 008's glare. There was no point in even continuing her report as 008 already knew the answer.

"We start with every day objects, 489. If these ladies can't defend or attack with the bare minimum, then there is no chance of survival for them outside of the barriers. In our world, high tech gadgets are nice, but sometimes there's no time for that. Now, get back to work. I know I've taught you better than this, 489."

489 nervously bowed to 008. Her cold, militarism attitude left her shuddering every time they interacted. She nonetheless had nothing but respect for 008, if you didn't respect her, she would make you do so.

"Good, I'll be leaving. I would like to hear better news tomorrow. Have a productive training, Ladies." 008 ducked, a ton of 'thank you's' and 'yes ma'am's' rung from around the room. 008 went to her next destination within the heart of the main complex. She knocked on a large golden door, a soft 'come in' allowed her to enter the large, gadget laced office.

008 came face to face with the back of a sleek, high-tech office chair, only allowing her to see the top of the head master’s balding scalp.

"Hello, Head Master. I have gone through my examinations and the check in with the girls. Was there something else you would like me to complete today?" She stated softly, her hands instinctively tucked in front of her torso as a courteous way of addressing him. His chair slowly spun around so that she could see the man that she has known for far too long now. The man she wanted to bury into the soil of the earth herself. That day would have to wait.

"Hello to you too, Dear. Please have a seat. You have had a long day." He purred, gesturing to the mini couch in front of his extravagant desk. 008 tucked her bottom lip under her teeth, complying to his wishes. She gently and gracefully took a seat in front of him, sitting exactly like she was taught so long ago.

He simply examined her physique as she stared at the ground. One of the most basic rules of interacting with the Head Master was to never look at him unless asked to do so.

"So, tell me. How have I been dealing with the resistance?"

"Is that something you would like my opinion on, Sir?" 008 stated gently as her back stiffened. He always asked her questions like these that she was afraid he was going to kill her for one of these days. It was only a matter of time she stepped out of line.

"I have always trusted your opinion, Dasom. That is why you have served me for so many years now."

008 gulped, hearing her name being spoken by the Head Master. A name he only allowed himself to call her. Was it endearment? Did he want to feel special to her? Was she particularly special to him? Yes, yes, and yes. She didn't know what his obsession was with her, but whenever he reminded her of her sheer withstanding permanence within the force, it made her heart drop to the floor. When would he finally pull the plug out of her?

She hummed, pondering his serious question, carefully plucking and choosing the precise words she would present to him, "Well, as you have heard, the resistance becomes larger and stronger, slowly but surely. I believe that you have deployed more units recently, Sir?"

He nodded, concentrating on every word she said, "Well, I believe that the increased influx of violence and push back is causing the resistance to attract more attention and following. I think it would benefit with you if you would not deploy more units, but instead, spy on their movements, waiting for the perfect moment to exterminate those who are discovered. They all have one another's backs, Sir, so spying on them would be beneficial to you." She sighed silently after spewing her thoughts. She always regretted giving him her strategic thoughts, she was simply too intelligent. While it helped her live this long, it also came with a great price.

He gave her an endearing smile, folding his aged hands down onto the table.

"Why won't you let me designate you as the tactician, Dasom?"

Dasom forced a smile, gritting her perfectly shaped teeth. She received this offer so long ago, but politely declined ever time, even though he continued to persist with the offer thereafter. She was lucky enough that he gave her a choice to begin with; others never, ever get choices around here.

"That position is above me, Sir. I am very grateful to continue assisting the new recruits through their training."

"Do you intend on betraying me, Dasom?" He said wistfully, walking over to the fully-glass wall that gave a perfect view of the whole city. The neon lights permanently illuminating his enormous accommodation on the highest floor of his personal skyscraper.

Dasom sucked air through her nose, eyes shooting wide. She didn't dare look over at him, not even with his back facing her.

"Never, Sir. I intend on staying loyal to you until the end of time."

"I've never trusted anyone as long as I have with you, and here you are, still beside me. You will continue to follow me until my empire crashes and burns, won't you Dasom?" He cooed, every word dripping with honey, but in actuality, was a constant threat that he inflicted on everyone who worked beneath him.

Dasom felt fear course her body for once, a feeling that she rarely felt. The Head Master simply trusted her too much in such an untrusting, back-stabbing world.

Dasom must survive at any cost.

"Yes, Sir. I will follow you until the very end of time itself."

~~~

"The streets are too quiet today."

"You didn't have to state something so obvious. Stop wasting your breath, Mark."

"Damn, okay then."

The shorter of the two mimicked the older by scrunching up her face and quietly restating what the other said. The two bickered for a little while, scoping their district from the top of a skyscraper with cameras and binoculars.

"Why do you think Taeyong has been so uptight lately?" The younger, Mark, lazily asked while bringing his binoculars up to his eyes, scanning the other side of the block.

"I'm not sure, but I sure as hell wouldn't ask him whatever you do. You know how he is whenever he is upset about something."

"Which is always."

The older gave a strict glare at Mark, but he payed no mind to it. The two were like brothers, but they could barely acted like it anymore; everything was becoming so tense so fast nowadays.

"Ah, he texted us to come back. Ready to go, Johnny?"

"Yep, lemme quickly pack up my shit real fast."

The two headed back to their underground compound, disguised as a zap shop above them. (will be explained later)

"S'up boys."

Mark said while throwing up an awkward peace sign, gaining the attention of a few who were doing various tasks within their underground mole hole. None of them gave a response.

"Oooookay then." Mark puckered his lips into a pout, going to the kitchen to look through their little to nonexistent food supply. They were become flesh and bone fast, so they were going to have to make a supply run soon.

"The streets are clear tonight." Johnny reported to Taeyong, who was going through some documents on his small table in the corner. He didn't believe in private offices, so they had one large common area where most of them did their work.

"Intriguing..." Taeyong muttered to himself, setting down a file that he had been going over and over. He ran a hand through his silver hair, biting his lip as he ushered Johnny to leave him alone.

"Taeyong, I have a letter for you."

Jungwoo happily walked over to the tired male, making said man always wonder how the younger could be so happy during such miserable circumstances they lived in.

"Thank you, Jungwoo." He sent him off before opening the small envelope.

“Who sends physical mail in this day and age?” Tarting whispered as he smoothed out the creases of the paper.

I miss you. I miss you to the point that I wish I could simply forget what you did to me. The hell that you couldn't even bother to save me from. But it's fine; it is easy to live and forget, right?

Love you to the end of time,

BD

No, no it couldn’t be.

Taeyong threw the letter, hands quivering as he rolled his chair as far away from his desk as possible. The members in the common area were startled by Taeyong’s harsh reaction, jumping up in their spots respectively.

Taeyong shot up from his chair, body pin straight as he sneered down at the clean piece of paper limply sitting over his laptop keyboard. Emotions that he hadn’t felt in awhile flooded his system like a tidal wave and he didn’t know how to digest it at all.

He took one look at his members before bolting out of their grounds.

Doyoung was the first to react, cautiously walking over to the slip of paper that had their leader shaken up to the point that he literally left their site.

“What did Taeyong do?” Doyoung whispered to himself, feeling strangely upset by the letter of someone who he didn’t even know.

“And more importantly, who’s BD?”

~ ~ ~

Prologue || Part I || Part II

[indyscot1]

>>> COMMON SENSE VALUES <<<

I'm a socialist, I believe in the common good, in a belief that there's plenty to go around and that inequality is what holds society back and creates many of the societal ills that we see.

Everyone knows the simple argument that proclaims, "You are poor because they are rich". We can't solve these problems by communism, the fact that we have a wide range of incomes throughout society will, certainly for my lifetime, continue to be the case. However, if we can bring everyone up a few rungs then those that stand at the bottom of society's ladder wouldn't suffer so much.

So. what's the problem? The problem is greed. We have a section of society that simply think of themselves and don't give a toss about anyone else. They don't make the connection between low living standards and poor health, crime statistics, drug and alcohol abuse and a whole range of factors that actually have a profound effect on their lives. That's because no one has ever bothered to explain it to them.

The message that cuts through is the old "I'm alright Jack" mantra that seems to give people who are doing okay the excuse to accept the poverty, starvation and deaths that are going to happen as "just one of those things".

As a society we need to grow up and value those at the bottom of the ladder. Even the person who sweeps the street does an extremely valuable job for each of us.

I have no problem with someone who owns or runs a company having a decent income but for some considerable time now we've been seeing people in that position who couldn't spend what they've got in several lifetimes.

I ask how a CEO can take hundreds of thousands from a company when over a third of their staff is on minimum wage. What's wrong with taking a little less and paying those staff that their company relies on a boost of a few hundred pounds which will make a massive difference in their lives whilst leaving the CEO still able to enjoy the lifestyle they already have?

When we run through the problems of our society, greed is normally at the core.

Brexit is about greed, the cost of living crisis is about greed, the huge increase in the fuel we use for our cars, vans and lorries is about greed. Hence the cost of everything goes upward and eventually only those who have been the greediest survive.

We have a tax system that is presently run by the tories who always cornered the market in greed so there's little chance that they would bring in a progressive tax system that helped balance the whole of society. It's just not in their DNA to do such a thing.

Without a proper solution to this, we're heading into a storm which will rip our society apart. If we in Scotland remain as part of the UK then we will suffer the same fate as other parts of the UK.

If we disconnect the economic and political links to Westminster then we'll be free to create a society based on equality by having a truly progressive tax system. You can't control greed, that's impossible, but you can at least remove the fruits of greed and redirect that fruit to those who need it.

I can just hear the cries of those who would say, "I've worked hard for my money and object to that money being given to those who do nothing". The truth is that many of the people who say that haven't put in a decent hard days work in years. They don't know what real hard work is and should have to spend a month whilst at school sweeping the streets or emptying the bins to teach them what a real days hard work is all about.

If we continue on the road we're on then the problems that we're witnessing are just going to get much worse. Independence on the other hand would force a much needed hard reset and a change in the attitudes that have caused the problems.

Always yours for Scotland,

David Milligan

[the-blacksmithing-boy]

Okay wait...

Now that I've made my political beliefs well known on here I just wanna know why the FUCK people believe the government is a good thing? I'd like to concede that I believe that government will always exist in one form or another within society; However, that in no way means I believe Government should be in control of ANYTHING. if you want to take a look back on all of the ways our country has gotten fucked up, it's through the abuse and leveraging of the government. It's a club that power hungry people use to oppress the masses and take whatever they want.

When you bring up corporations taking over America, they are allowed to do that by whom? The government. They lobby Year round to pass laws and regulations so that smaller businesses cannot compete.

You talk about how the minimum wage is too low, I think the fact there is a minimum wage is fucking bonkers! People should get paid not what can sustain them, but what can allow them to thrive! The minimum wage is a classist idea that uses the idea on a bottom rung of the ladder to give people the idea that some jobs are better than others. You should get paid what each job is able to pay out to it's workers, this would increase the minimum average wage ACROSS THE FUCKING COUNTRY. This doesn't mean the government imposes laws on businesses, it means that people seek the job with the highest pay forcing other jobs to raise their own pay rates!

Almost everything that government intervenes on turns sour. Just because some small country that's been indoctrinated into socialist ideals like Sweden can pull it off does not mean America can. In fact, the beauty of America is that it CAN'T. There's too much diversity of opinion.

I've ranted for too long here, but if you have a differing opinion, please let me know. I'm more than happy to hear you out. And if you think you can change my mind, please, be my guest.

[stopkingobama]

Here are 10 ways free markets can do what socialism can't

From time to time, I see lists on the internet that propose to solve the problems of intergenerational poverty in America.

Unfortunately, most of the time, these lists recommend massive transfers of wealth from rich people to poorer people, or suggest the creation of new “poverty-fighting” government bureaucracies, in spite of the fact that neither of these approaches is likely to solve the underlying problems.

The Decline and Flatline of Poverty

The fact is that in the 25 years before Lyndon Johnson’s  “War on Poverty” began, the poverty rate in America was on the decline.

But now, decades after we’ve created numerous Federal bureaucracies formally dedicated to eradicating the problem for good and over $22 trillion spent, our poverty rates have flat-lined instead. Worse, many of the programs designed to benefit the poorest members of our society have actually created dependency traps that make it nearly impossible for people who grow up in impoverished conditions to escape.

And as for the idea that the problem of poverty could be solved if only rich people were forced to give their wealth to poorer people? That sounds plausible enough until you realize that it wouldn’t make a significant difference to poverty anyway.

For example, if you combine the entire net worth of Forbes’ list of the world’s 400 richest people, you’d come out with about $2.4 trillion. Yes, it’s an enormous number, but it’s not exactly what you might think.

This is not money all piled up in a grain silo somewhere, waiting for some rich guy to dive in and roll around. Instead, it’s the estimated monetary value of all the assets they own. That means all the office buildings, furniture, computers, telephone lines and other capital infrastructure of their various businesses; the value of their employee salaries, payroll, and pensions; and the on-paper economic value of the businesses themselves.

For example, Amazon reportedly holds $83.4 billion in assets. That includes all their warehouses, trucks, servers, and the actual stuff they keep in stock for people to purchase. And that money is what’s rolled into Jeff Bezos’ supposedly $89 billion net worth. Bezos can’t just cash out to the tune of tens of billions of dollars without liquidating the inventory his company holds, selling all of his buildings, and divesting himself from Amazon entirely – and he could only do that in a world where there are other rich guys ready to buy.

So, that $2.4 trillion isn’t a real number in any sense that can be converted into a transfer of income.

But let’s imagine that it was, even if we could just magically grab $2.4 trillion in cash from the world’s billionaires, when divided amongst the rest of us 99%ers in the United States (about 319,000,000 people), we’d all walk away with a one-time-payment of just $7,500.

Even if we just limited the transfer from the richest 1% to the bottom 20%; each person would get $37,151.70 – or basically a one-time payment of considerably less than the median salary in the US.

Not that we wouldn’t all like the extra cash, but let’s be honest… After that money is gone and we’ve sent a clear signal to the most successful businessmen & women in the world that the reward for building a company like Google or Apple is to have all your assets taken from you and your business destroyed, then what?

Neither long-term government dependency or wrecking the economy for a short-term payout is the answer.

So what should we do instead?

First, we should understand that poverty is the natural state of the world and the big mystery of human history is not how people become poor (that’s easy, do nothing), but how people get rich. Once we recognize that fact, we have to shift our way of thinking about poverty and start seeing growing wealth as a consequence of people’s ability to create and exchange goods and services with each other.

In the end, wealth is not just dollars in a bank account. It’s our very standard of living and quality of life. The money is just a measurement tool.

So what we need is to create a world where it’s incredibly easy for people from every conceivable starting point to enter the market and create their own success. To that end, I’d like to offer 10 actually effective ways to reduce poverty and inequality in America and around the world.

Here we go:

Eliminate most occupational licensing restrictions and lower barriers to entry to getting jobs and starting businesses.

It’s an issue that people often know little about, but roughly 1 in 3 occupations in the United States require a government-granted license before people can even begin to earn a living. And while it’s common to believe that these licenses are protecting the public from bad doctors, dentists, and lawyers, the truth is that most of these licenses are for barbers & hairdressers, florists, landscapers, and gym class instructors. The Institute for Justice maintains an annual report on the state of occupational licensing in America.

According to IJ:

“The report documents the license requirements for 102 low- and moderate-income occupations—such as barber, massage therapist and preschool teacher—across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It finds that occupational licensing is not only widespread, but also overly burdensome and frequently irrational.

On average, these licenses force aspiring workers to spend nine months in education or training, pass one exam and pay more than $200 in fees. One-third of the licenses take more than a year to earn. At least one exam is required for 79 of the occupations.”

These licenses are often insurmountable barriers to entry for low-income people not only to finding employment but also to starting their own businesses. In 2014, I made a documentary chronicling the story of one such entrepreneur, Melony Armstrong, and her battle against occupational licensing in Mississippi:

Eliminate current zoning rules in most cities, and allow for mixed use residential/commercial occupation (ie. let people run businesses from their homes and neighborhoods legally).

Zoning regulations have a long and sometimes shady history of pushing low-income people out of areas where opportunities are widely available, and into areas that concentrate poverty into specific sections of a city. Especially in urban areas like New York City, these regulations can make it impossible for poorer individuals to find employment or start their own businesses where they actually live, and as a result, they’re often forced to commute sometimes over two hours per day just to get to and from their place of employment.

The Brookings Institution calls zoning and land-use regulation a form of “Opportunity Hoarding“.

With these kinds of restrictions, children who grow up in impoverished conditions are surrounded exclusively by other poor people and often go their whole lives without ever interacting with middle class or even wealthier people. This can mean fewer opportunities to learn about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, the value of education, or get employment tips from middle class or wealthy role models. That can certainly contribute to a sense of hopelessness and prolong intergenerational poverty.

End welfare dependency by eliminating most social welfare programs and replace them with more charity and means-tested vouchers for specific services that phase out as people’s income increases.

This suggestion is much more politically challenging, but welfare dependency is an enormous problem in America, largely created by the War on Poverty itself. The way most social welfare programs have been constructed actually punishes people for working and increasing their income, creating a much stronger incentive to continue to collect welfare and avoid working (or at least, avoid legal employment) as long as possible.

For an in-depth look at what creates the Welfare Trap, check out Charles Hughes’ article: The Welfare Trap: Maze of Programs Punishes Work

Of course, we don’t want to leave people in desperate need without any help, so it may be the case that we still need some form of assistance to people who are in genuine need.

However, instead of creating a new government program with the same problems as the older ones, we should look at market-oriented solutions such as vouchers for food, transportation, child services, or health care (ie. WIC, Food Stamps, etc.) that the poorest members of our society can use to buy goods and services from providers of their own choosing. Access to these vouchers would need to be means-tested, and instead of dropping off the minute someone gets a job, the assistance should decrease gradually.

Eventually, along with the other reforms I propose here, we should be able to get to a point where private charity alone would be enough to care for those who were truly unable to earn an income, but in the meantime anything that reduces the Welfare Trap and dependency on the government is a step in the right direction.

End minimum wage restrictions that take out the bottom rungs of the economic ladder and prevent younger poor and frequently minority people from getting their first jobs and gaining necessary experience.

It may seem counter-intuitive to a lot of people, but the minimum wage isn’t actually a magic bullet that helps poor people get paid more.

To the contrary, most evidence actually suggests that significant increases in the minimum wage result in fewer hours worked and often higher unemployment rates – particularly among the lowest skilled or experienced parts of our society, which unfortunately tends to mean poor people and minorities. The Foundation for Economic Education has a fairly large archive of supporting articles and evidence for this problem which you can find HERE.

Nobel-prize-winning Economist, Milton Friedman called minimum wage laws the most “anti-black law in the land”:

55% of minimum wage workers are under 25. They are predominantly teenagers and college-aged students working in their first jobs, gaining experience that they will use throughout their lives. Minimum wage laws are effectively a barrier to those experiences, because they create incentives for employers to only ever hire people they are fairly certain in advance will be worth more than their wages.

And unfortunately, the labor of people with limited skills, limited education, and limited job experience isn’t likely to be valuable enough.

Allowing people to offer and accept jobs at whatever rates they voluntarily agree to would blow open the doors of opportunity to millions of people looking for employment. Once employed, those workers will gain more experience and skills. And as they become more specialized, more productive, and more valuable to employers, their incomes will go up.

My own story fits this pattern, as I suspect is true for most people.

When I was in college, I charmed my way into my first job in video production by offering to work for a day for free, and to work after that for just $6.00 an hour, which was below the local minimum wage at the time. It was probably illegal, but I worked for that company for almost a year and in that time developed a ton of skills and experience that I used to get my next job – which was also in video production.

That experience has led me to the position I’m in today, and without those first opportunities, I don’t think I could do what I do now.

End the drug war, which disproportionately affects impoverished and minority areas and often results in unnecessarily fatherless children and the multi-generational problems that flows from single-parent families.

This one would be huge. The American Civil Liberties Union calls the Drug War “The New Jim Crow“, and it’s easy to understand why.

It’s led to a boom in incarceration that has ended with around 2.2 million Americans in prison. It’s also eroded protections of property rights and civil liberties throughout the country. It’s given enormous powers to prosecutors and police, and that power has been used mainly against the poorest segments of our society.

One of the most soul-crushing stories I’ve encountered after many years of working with people pushing for reform is that of Barbra Scrivner.

In 1992, Barbra’s ex-husband was embroiled in a criminal drug investigation, and prosecutors used Barbra to get to him by accusing her of conspiracy. Barbra had no knowledge of the crime because she’d spent the previous 2 years separated from her ex-husband, getting sober and taking care of her infant daughter. In spite of little evidence, Barbra was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

After 20 years, two suicide attempts, and numerous appeals, she was eventually granted clemency by President Obama. Unfortunately, it was too late, and Barbra’s daughter Alannah – who Barbra originally left her husband to protect – grew up without a mother, ultimately continuing the cycle of substance abuse and poverty.

Yahoo featured Barbra in a video about the struggles she experienced after being released from prison, and I also produced a short video for Families Against Mandatory Minimums with her that gets to the heart of how these incarcerations can affect families.

Radically overhaul our prison system towards restorative justice as opposed to punishment, and end mandatory minimum sentencing.

Not only are we sending too many people to prison for offenses that shouldn’t be crimes, we’re also failing to create opportunities and incentives for people to turn their lives around once they’re in prison.

As a result, poor people go into prison with few opportunities and leave prison with even fewer, often leaving them with the options of either becoming homeless or turning back towards a life of crime. It’s no surprise that the recidivism rate for inmates within 5 years of release from state prisons are an average of 76.6%. This doesn’t help anyone.

Sending people to jail and building our prison system around punishing them for their crimes may be cathartic for some segments of the population, but it does little to improve the lives of the victims of those crimes. And evidence suggests that it may often make the perpetrators more likely to commit crimes in the future. Most of our criminal justice system should be focused on making sure that victims of crime are compensated for their losses, and prisons should mainly be reserved for people we’re actually afraid of – violent and dangerous criminals. Their focus should be on helping those people turn their lives around and become flourishing and productive members of society.

A couple years ago, I spent some time in a prison in Texas shooting a documentary on a program that does just that:

Radically overhaul our criminal code and eliminate any laws that create crimes where there are no actual victims.

Admittedly, this one is also going to be a little tricky, but we currently have a criminal code that is so complex and overly broad that even the people who write and enforce the laws have no clue what it says. The most disturbing consequence of overcriminalization is that it enables police and prosecutors to use the law as a weapon – to extract cash from citizens, make headlines, and support their election bids for Sheriff or DA.

No one is actually immune from this problem, but poor people – who lack the resources in money and time to defend themselves or hire competent attorneys – are particularly vulnerable.

According to noted criminal defense attorney Harvey Silverglate, because of the massive size and complexity of our criminal code, the average American is likely to commit as many as three felonies a day – often without knowing they’re doing anything wrong.

And as Radley Balko explains:

“…these sorts of laws give police more excuses to make pretext stops when profiling for drug couriers. Once they have you, they can take your cash, car, jewelry or other possessions based only on the flimsiest evidence that it might be connected to drugs. They’re opportunities for harassment. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that even a crime as petty as a seat belt violation is justification for an arrest — and all of the life disruptions that come with a trip to jail. (Don’t forget that no matter what the offense, a trip to jail can also include a strip search.) Heavy enforcement of these sorts of crimes can breed distrust between police and the communities they serve, and creates more interactions that carry the risk of escalation.

But even assuming that all of these stops, fines, and citations are always legitimate, they’re always going to have a disproportionate effect on the poor, because the poor are the people who can least afford to pay them.”

Solving our overcriminalization problem would go a very long way to reducing burdens on the poor and ending cycles of intergenerational poverty.

Stop subsidizing and encouraging university degrees at the expense of any other kind of education. It makes higher education considerably more expensive (thus taking it farther out of reach for many poor people) and is not a good fit for everyone; whereas many great careers and ways out of poverty do not come from a university program.

We know that Federal student loan programs have caused an enormous increase in the cost of higher education.

Even though most of these subsidies have been created with the idea that they would help low-income people gain access to college degrees, the reality is that they’re doing this at the expense of burdening people with extraordinary debts that can’t even be escaped through bankruptcy.

Fortunately, there are better alternatives available all over the country right now that offer a range of options for people with diverse interests and needs. Trade-schools, apprenticeships, affordable (or free!) online or distance learning courses, and programs like Praxis or Vocatio can be a positive way to skip college and succeed in life.

Everybody needs an education, but not everyone needs to get a four-year degree.

Making more options available and reducing the subsidies, incentives to take on unsustainable debts, and constant pressure to push everyone into a single educational box would benefit poor and low-income individuals most of all.

End corporate welfare across the board, allowing businesses to compete on a level playing field, based on the value they add to their customers not on their ability to benefit from political favoritism.

If it’s important to end the bad incentives created by costly welfare programs for poor people, it is equally, or perhaps even more important to end welfare for the rich.

Corporate welfare is a huge problem, and it pervades every city and state. Taxpayers are on the hook for professional football, basketball, or baseball stadiums; new opera houses; theme parks; shopping malls; pharmaceutical companies; and on and on. Poorer people are frequently forced to pay for direct subsidies to giant businesses that promise jobs and long-term tax revenue that never seem to materialize. And all of this happens at the expense of smaller businesses and local entrepreneurs.

I recently made a new documentary for the Beacon Center of Tennessee on this topic

Allow school choice as the norm. People should never be stuck in a terrible school district just because of their income bracket or because they were born in a certain part of town.

Finally, we must allow school choice.

Currently, low-income people In America – zoned into poorer and more dangerous areas, restricted from economic opportunities, and burdened by a criminal justice system that often treats them as cash machines with little recourse – are also unable to even move their children to better schools where they might have a chance at a decent education and high-quality educational role models.

There’s a reason why charter school lotteries are flooded with applicants from poor communities every year.

Parents are desperate for options, and an awful lot of the time, those options are much better than the existing alternatives.

Antony Davies & James R. Harrigan, hosts of FEE’s “Words & Numbers” Podcast recently tackled this issue and note that school choice is always an option to wealthy people who can afford to move to better school districts or even send their kids to private schools, so it shouldn’t be such a shocking or politicized struggle to expand those opportunities to the poor through tax-reductions and voucher programs:

Sean Malone

Sean Malone is the Director of Media at FEE. His films have been featured in the mainstream media and throughout the free-market educational community.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.

[unterwaesche]

Reminds me of that post, can't even remember what the OP was talking about, but all the commie sociopaths were posting guillotine pictures and such because it was mentioned that they own a horse. Bunch of urbanites thinking owning a horse meant someone is rich, and that somehow qualifies them for jokes about killing them.

Or the types who saw that article about CEOs who are buckling under the pressure and hide in the bathroom to cry and saying "Well they aren't special, that's just Tuesday for me" like their bottom-rung retail job is in any way comparable.

Or acting like the rich folks who get therapists to try to deal with the sheer amount of people who casually talk about killing them for their money and property are just making up problems to have. But really, how freaky it must be for economically illiterate people to say to your face that they want you dead so that your net worth will somehow get divided among the populace, fixed assets and all. With, like, pixie dust or something I guess.

But faced with their lack of knowledge on the matter, they'll just default to "Hope Bezos is paying you to say that."

I often find guillotine jokes amusing, especially in response to some slumlord adding another wing to his fifty bathroom mansion, but they kind of only work because they exist in a liminal space that has awkward discourse implications.

If you made a joke about murdering Jeff Bezos and the next morning the police came to your door to have a serious chat with you and you were placed on a watch list and your social media accounts were terminated and you lost your job or were kicked out of school then that would seem like a horrendous injustice, I mean it was just a joke! What happened to free speech! It wasn’t supposed to be taken seriously!

…or was it? I mean, was it? Do you actually want to kill the guy? And if you do, what do you expect him, and the rest of society, to do about it once you start proudly boasting about the fact on a public forum?

We know from recent experience that executing the rich is followed by executing other enemies of the people, sympathisers, hangers on, people of the wrong ethnicity, people who have a university education, and so on. If you’re calling for that, why wouldn’t you expect to be considered a threat to society?

Ultimately making guillotine jokes requires committing to the idea that you’re just having a laugh, and that edgy (ha!) humour is never grounds for official sanction, even humour that you don’t personally agree with, or it requires commitment to the idea of heightening the contradictions by forcing society to repress you, inviting the same response that you’d get in China if you publicly encouraged the slaughter of billionaires: a friendly visit, followed by a not-so-friendly visit if you did it again.

[americanlibertypac]

Here are 10 ways free markets can do what socialism can't

From time to time, I see lists on the internet that propose to solve the problems of intergenerational poverty in America.

Unfortunately, most of the time, these lists recommend massive transfers of wealth from rich people to poorer people, or suggest the creation of new “poverty-fighting” government bureaucracies, in spite of the fact that neither of these approaches is likely to solve the underlying problems.

The Decline and Flatline of Poverty

The fact is that in the 25 years before Lyndon Johnson’s  “War on Poverty” began, the poverty rate in America was on the decline.

But now, decades after we’ve created numerous Federal bureaucracies formally dedicated to eradicating the problem for good and over $22 trillion spent, our poverty rates have flat-lined instead. Worse, many of the programs designed to benefit the poorest members of our society have actually created dependency traps that make it nearly impossible for people who grow up in impoverished conditions to escape.

And as for the idea that the problem of poverty could be solved if only rich people were forced to give their wealth to poorer people? That sounds plausible enough until you realize that it wouldn’t make a significant difference to poverty anyway.

For example, if you combine the entire net worth of Forbes’ list of the world’s 400 richest people, you’d come out with about $2.4 trillion. Yes, it’s an enormous number, but it’s not exactly what you might think.

This is not money all piled up in a grain silo somewhere, waiting for some rich guy to dive in and roll around. Instead, it’s the estimated monetary value of all the assets they own. That means all the office buildings, furniture, computers, telephone lines and other capital infrastructure of their various businesses; the value of their employee salaries, payroll, and pensions; and the on-paper economic value of the businesses themselves.

For example, Amazon reportedly holds $83.4 billion in assets. That includes all their warehouses, trucks, servers, and the actual stuff they keep in stock for people to purchase. And that money is what’s rolled into Jeff Bezos’ supposedly $89 billion net worth. Bezos can’t just cash out to the tune of tens of billions of dollars without liquidating the inventory his company holds, selling all of his buildings, and divesting himself from Amazon entirely – and he could only do that in a world where there are other rich guys ready to buy.

So, that $2.4 trillion isn’t a real number in any sense that can be converted into a transfer of income.

But let’s imagine that it was, even if we could just magically grab $2.4 trillion in cash from the world’s billionaires, when divided amongst the rest of us 99%ers in the United States (about 319,000,000 people), we’d all walk away with a one-time-payment of just $7,500.

Even if we just limited the transfer from the richest 1% to the bottom 20%; each person would get $37,151.70 – or basically a one-time payment of considerably less than the median salary in the US.

Not that we wouldn’t all like the extra cash, but let’s be honest… After that money is gone and we’ve sent a clear signal to the most successful businessmen & women in the world that the reward for building a company like Google or Apple is to have all your assets taken from you and your business destroyed, then what?

Neither long-term government dependency or wrecking the economy for a short-term payout is the answer.

So what should we do instead?

First, we should understand that poverty is the natural state of the world and the big mystery of human history is not how people become poor (that’s easy, do nothing), but how people get rich. Once we recognize that fact, we have to shift our way of thinking about poverty and start seeing growing wealth as a consequence of people’s ability to create and exchange goods and services with each other.

In the end, wealth is not just dollars in a bank account. It’s our very standard of living and quality of life. The money is just a measurement tool.

So what we need is to create a world where it’s incredibly easy for people from every conceivable starting point to enter the market and create their own success. To that end, I’d like to offer 10 actually effective ways to reduce poverty and inequality in America and around the world.

Here we go:

Eliminate most occupational licensing restrictions and lower barriers to entry to getting jobs and starting businesses.

It’s an issue that people often know little about, but roughly 1 in 3 occupations in the United States require a government-granted license before people can even begin to earn a living. And while it’s common to believe that these licenses are protecting the public from bad doctors, dentists, and lawyers, the truth is that most of these licenses are for barbers & hairdressers, florists, landscapers, and gym class instructors. The Institute for Justice maintains an annual report on the state of occupational licensing in America.

According to IJ:

“The report documents the license requirements for 102 low- and moderate-income occupations—such as barber, massage therapist and preschool teacher—across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It finds that occupational licensing is not only widespread, but also overly burdensome and frequently irrational.

On average, these licenses force aspiring workers to spend nine months in education or training, pass one exam and pay more than $200 in fees. One-third of the licenses take more than a year to earn. At least one exam is required for 79 of the occupations.”

These licenses are often insurmountable barriers to entry for low-income people not only to finding employment but also to starting their own businesses. In 2014, I made a documentary chronicling the story of one such entrepreneur, Melony Armstrong, and her battle against occupational licensing in Mississippi:

Eliminate current zoning rules in most cities, and allow for mixed use residential/commercial occupation (ie. let people run businesses from their homes and neighborhoods legally).

Zoning regulations have a long and sometimes shady history of pushing low-income people out of areas where opportunities are widely available, and into areas that concentrate poverty into specific sections of a city. Especially in urban areas like New York City, these regulations can make it impossible for poorer individuals to find employment or start their own businesses where they actually live, and as a result, they’re often forced to commute sometimes over two hours per day just to get to and from their place of employment.

The Brookings Institution calls zoning and land-use regulation a form of “Opportunity Hoarding“.

With these kinds of restrictions, children who grow up in impoverished conditions are surrounded exclusively by other poor people and often go their whole lives without ever interacting with middle class or even wealthier people. This can mean fewer opportunities to learn about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, the value of education, or get employment tips from middle class or wealthy role models. That can certainly contribute to a sense of hopelessness and prolong intergenerational poverty.

End welfare dependency by eliminating most social welfare programs and replace them with more charity and means-tested vouchers for specific services that phase out as people’s income increases.

This suggestion is much more politically challenging, but welfare dependency is an enormous problem in America, largely created by the War on Poverty itself. The way most social welfare programs have been constructed actually punishes people for working and increasing their income, creating a much stronger incentive to continue to collect welfare and avoid working (or at least, avoid legal employment) as long as possible.

For an in-depth look at what creates the Welfare Trap, check out Charles Hughes’ article: The Welfare Trap: Maze of Programs Punishes Work

Of course, we don’t want to leave people in desperate need without any help, so it may be the case that we still need some form of assistance to people who are in genuine need.

However, instead of creating a new government program with the same problems as the older ones, we should look at market-oriented solutions such as vouchers for food, transportation, child services, or health care (ie. WIC, Food Stamps, etc.) that the poorest members of our society can use to buy goods and services from providers of their own choosing. Access to these vouchers would need to be means-tested, and instead of dropping off the minute someone gets a job, the assistance should decrease gradually.

Eventually, along with the other reforms I propose here, we should be able to get to a point where private charity alone would be enough to care for those who were truly unable to earn an income, but in the meantime anything that reduces the Welfare Trap and dependency on the government is a step in the right direction.

End minimum wage restrictions that take out the bottom rungs of the economic ladder and prevent younger poor and frequently minority people from getting their first jobs and gaining necessary experience.

It may seem counter-intuitive to a lot of people, but the minimum wage isn’t actually a magic bullet that helps poor people get paid more.

To the contrary, most evidence actually suggests that significant increases in the minimum wage result in fewer hours worked and often higher unemployment rates – particularly among the lowest skilled or experienced parts of our society, which unfortunately tends to mean poor people and minorities. The Foundation for Economic Education has a fairly large archive of supporting articles and evidence for this problem which you can find HERE.

Nobel-prize-winning Economist, Milton Friedman called minimum wage laws the most “anti-black law in the land”:

55% of minimum wage workers are under 25. They are predominantly teenagers and college-aged students working in their first jobs, gaining experience that they will use throughout their lives. Minimum wage laws are effectively a barrier to those experiences, because they create incentives for employers to only ever hire people they are fairly certain in advance will be worth more than their wages.

And unfortunately, the labor of people with limited skills, limited education, and limited job experience isn’t likely to be valuable enough.

Allowing people to offer and accept jobs at whatever rates they voluntarily agree to would blow open the doors of opportunity to millions of people looking for employment. Once employed, those workers will gain more experience and skills. And as they become more specialized, more productive, and more valuable to employers, their incomes will go up.

My own story fits this pattern, as I suspect is true for most people.

When I was in college, I charmed my way into my first job in video production by offering to work for a day for free, and to work after that for just $6.00 an hour, which was below the local minimum wage at the time. It was probably illegal, but I worked for that company for almost a year and in that time developed a ton of skills and experience that I used to get my next job – which was also in video production.

That experience has led me to the position I’m in today, and without those first opportunities, I don’t think I could do what I do now.

End the drug war, which disproportionately affects impoverished and minority areas and often results in unnecessarily fatherless children and the multi-generational problems that flows from single-parent families.

This one would be huge. The American Civil Liberties Union calls the Drug War “The New Jim Crow“, and it’s easy to understand why.

It’s led to a boom in incarceration that has ended with around 2.2 million Americans in prison. It’s also eroded protections of property rights and civil liberties throughout the country. It’s given enormous powers to prosecutors and police, and that power has been used mainly against the poorest segments of our society.

One of the most soul-crushing stories I’ve encountered after many years of working with people pushing for reform is that of Barbra Scrivner.

In 1992, Barbra’s ex-husband was embroiled in a criminal drug investigation, and prosecutors used Barbra to get to him by accusing her of conspiracy. Barbra had no knowledge of the crime because she’d spent the previous 2 years separated from her ex-husband, getting sober and taking care of her infant daughter. In spite of little evidence, Barbra was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

After 20 years, two suicide attempts, and numerous appeals, she was eventually granted clemency by President Obama. Unfortunately, it was too late, and Barbra’s daughter Alannah – who Barbra originally left her husband to protect – grew up without a mother, ultimately continuing the cycle of substance abuse and poverty.

Yahoo featured Barbra in a video about the struggles she experienced after being released from prison, and I also produced a short video for Families Against Mandatory Minimums with her that gets to the heart of how these incarcerations can affect families.

Radically overhaul our prison system towards restorative justice as opposed to punishment, and end mandatory minimum sentencing.

Not only are we sending too many people to prison for offenses that shouldn’t be crimes, we’re also failing to create opportunities and incentives for people to turn their lives around once they’re in prison.

As a result, poor people go into prison with few opportunities and leave prison with even fewer, often leaving them with the options of either becoming homeless or turning back towards a life of crime. It’s no surprise that the recidivism rate for inmates within 5 years of release from state prisons are an average of 76.6%. This doesn’t help anyone.

Sending people to jail and building our prison system around punishing them for their crimes may be cathartic for some segments of the population, but it does little to improve the lives of the victims of those crimes. And evidence suggests that it may often make the perpetrators more likely to commit crimes in the future. Most of our criminal justice system should be focused on making sure that victims of crime are compensated for their losses, and prisons should mainly be reserved for people we’re actually afraid of – violent and dangerous criminals. Their focus should be on helping those people turn their lives around and become flourishing and productive members of society.

A couple years ago, I spent some time in a prison in Texas shooting a documentary on a program that does just that:

Radically overhaul our criminal code and eliminate any laws that create crimes where there are no actual victims.

Admittedly, this one is also going to be a little tricky, but we currently have a criminal code that is so complex and overly broad that even the people who write and enforce the laws have no clue what it says. The most disturbing consequence of overcriminalization is that it enables police and prosecutors to use the law as a weapon – to extract cash from citizens, make headlines, and support their election bids for Sheriff or DA.

No one is actually immune from this problem, but poor people – who lack the resources in money and time to defend themselves or hire competent attorneys – are particularly vulnerable.

According to noted criminal defense attorney Harvey Silverglate, because of the massive size and complexity of our criminal code, the average American is likely to commit as many as three felonies a day – often without knowing they’re doing anything wrong.

And as Radley Balko explains:

“…these sorts of laws give police more excuses to make pretext stops when profiling for drug couriers. Once they have you, they can take your cash, car, jewelry or other possessions based only on the flimsiest evidence that it might be connected to drugs. They’re opportunities for harassment. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that even a crime as petty as a seat belt violation is justification for an arrest — and all of the life disruptions that come with a trip to jail. (Don’t forget that no matter what the offense, a trip to jail can also include a strip search.) Heavy enforcement of these sorts of crimes can breed distrust between police and the communities they serve, and creates more interactions that carry the risk of escalation.

But even assuming that all of these stops, fines, and citations are always legitimate, they’re always going to have a disproportionate effect on the poor, because the poor are the people who can least afford to pay them.”

Solving our overcriminalization problem would go a very long way to reducing burdens on the poor and ending cycles of intergenerational poverty.

Stop subsidizing and encouraging university degrees at the expense of any other kind of education. It makes higher education considerably more expensive (thus taking it farther out of reach for many poor people) and is not a good fit for everyone; whereas many great careers and ways out of poverty do not come from a university program.

We know that Federal student loan programs have caused an enormous increase in the cost of higher education.

Even though most of these subsidies have been created with the idea that they would help low-income people gain access to college degrees, the reality is that they’re doing this at the expense of burdening people with extraordinary debts that can’t even be escaped through bankruptcy.

Fortunately, there are better alternatives available all over the country right now that offer a range of options for people with diverse interests and needs. Trade-schools, apprenticeships, affordable (or free!) online or distance learning courses, and programs like Praxis or Vocatio can be a positive way to skip college and succeed in life.

Everybody needs an education, but not everyone needs to get a four-year degree.

Making more options available and reducing the subsidies, incentives to take on unsustainable debts, and constant pressure to push everyone into a single educational box would benefit poor and low-income individuals most of all.

End corporate welfare across the board, allowing businesses to compete on a level playing field, based on the value they add to their customers not on their ability to benefit from political favoritism.

If it’s important to end the bad incentives created by costly welfare programs for poor people, it is equally, or perhaps even more important to end welfare for the rich.

Corporate welfare is a huge problem, and it pervades every city and state. Taxpayers are on the hook for professional football, basketball, or baseball stadiums; new opera houses; theme parks; shopping malls; pharmaceutical companies; and on and on. Poorer people are frequently forced to pay for direct subsidies to giant businesses that promise jobs and long-term tax revenue that never seem to materialize. And all of this happens at the expense of smaller businesses and local entrepreneurs.

I recently made a new documentary for the Beacon Center of Tennessee on this topic

Allow school choice as the norm. People should never be stuck in a terrible school district just because of their income bracket or because they were born in a certain part of town.

Finally, we must allow school choice.

Currently, low-income people In America – zoned into poorer and more dangerous areas, restricted from economic opportunities, and burdened by a criminal justice system that often treats them as cash machines with little recourse – are also unable to even move their children to better schools where they might have a chance at a decent education and high-quality educational role models.

There’s a reason why charter school lotteries are flooded with applicants from poor communities every year.

Parents are desperate for options, and an awful lot of the time, those options are much better than the existing alternatives.

Antony Davies & James R. Harrigan, hosts of FEE’s “Words & Numbers” Podcast recently tackled this issue and note that school choice is always an option to wealthy people who can afford to move to better school districts or even send their kids to private schools, so it shouldn’t be such a shocking or politicized struggle to expand those opportunities to the poor through tax-reductions and voucher programs:

Sean Malone

Sean Malone is the Director of Media at FEE. His films have been featured in the mainstream media and throughout the free-market educational community.

This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.