argentum @argentum@mastodon.online

Thank you, everyone, for the book recommendations. I purchased the Kindle edition of every one!

I'll be updating you on my thoughts over the next few weeks!

In addition to those already mentioned and recommended in this thread, the list now includes:

The Unabomber Manifesto and Other Essays (Theodore Kaczynski)

A Planet for the President (Alistair Beaton)

Keep 'em coming!

So far the list includes:

The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence (Carl Sagan)

We (Yevgeny Zamyatin)

Anatomy of the State (Murray N. Rothbard)

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan)

Cosmos (Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan)

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 (Hunter S. Thompson)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Bill Bryson)

Any others? I'm loading my kindle up!

Looking for book recommendations! Wide open, just tell me why you recommend it.

All levers of state power exist to serve Trump's personal goals, the business of the country be damned.

Easily the most nakedly corrupt President in living memory.

https://nyti.ms/2CCSJDz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ii4tj7uuVE

London is crazy. £210,000 for a parking spot!

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/50952591

"House Bill Would Require Feds to Identify Themselves"

I mean, it's a start.

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/aoc-bill-federal-identification/

I think it's because they've made such an emotional commitment to a narrative. The potential costs of their unwinding that are simply unbearable.

LOL oh man, the coronavirus-deniers are so sensitive!

After a short debate about masking efficacy, I'm blocked.

You can't fix stupid.

😂

The only logical recourse for these businesses in this scenario, as distasteful as it is, is to seek the same advantages given to their rivals.

This is obviously not ideal, but this is what these businesses will effectively be forced to do every time. We shouldn't be surprised by it.

And from a pure free market perspective, it's hard to argue they don't have just as much of a right to it as their rivals do. Especially at the current scale of stimulus measures.

Now, those uncompetitive rivals who were over-leveraged or financially unprepared for even a minor loss of revenue were being given loans under very favorable terms.

From the perspective of a healthy, successful business, this is an unfair subsidy that not only hurts their competitiveness, it distorts the entire market in favor of the uncompetitive rivals. In other words, it's also hurting consumers.

It's a bit romantic, but in a healthy market (and not all are), competition is thriving and businesses fight to survive. Make a wrong move and your competition eats your lunch.

If you're smart, invest (in talented people, ideas) wisely, work hard -- and get lucky -- you're rewarded at the expense of your rivals. You eat their lunch.

This is how it's supposed to work!

But, bailouts change that.

"Some government contractors took out loans from the Paycheck Protection Program even as they were paid for government work during the pandemic"
https://www.wsj.com/articles/some-companies-got-both-government-contracts-and-ppp-loans-11595163601

The same thing happened during the housing crisis bailouts of 2009: perfectly healthy businesses, who had plenty of cash on-hand and were operating profitably, took bailout loans.

The same public anger erupted then. But then, as now, they missed something important.

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/20/892948034/uae-joins-growing-list-of-nations-that-have-sent-spacecraft-to-mars