[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 9 points 11 hours ago

A large number of us CAN be millionaires.

It's actually technically correct that we all can be millionaires, at least on a household basis. The mean household wealth in the US was $1.06 million as of 2022, by now it's undoubtedly higher. So with a full redistribution of wealth every household would have over $1 million.

In reality though the median household wealth is just under $200k as of 2022, and doesn't rise as consistently so who knows where it is now.

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 15 points 11 hours ago

In my experience:

  • A lot of people do this with 401ks and such because many times there aren't many other options.
  • People I know who are serious investors with a lot of money tend to not invest much in the S&P 500 because they think of themselves as superior investors, but I don't know of anyone for whom this is actually true based on past performance.
  • I invest some 20% of my money in the S&P 500, which is probably not as much as I should. It's some combination of the above hubris, which is natural, wanting to be diversified, and enjoying gambling on individual stocks.
[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

That's because the death rate for these sorts of problems is very low and at best is a very weak evolutionary pressure which won't yield results for many generations. Additionally, the heritability of medical stupidity is very questionable.

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 9 points 12 hours ago

Not enough innuendo, a lot of missed opportunities. I mean you have cookies and milk, totally unused. Like "fill my stocking with a duplex" could easily have been "fill my stocking with gifts from your sack". Is she even trying?

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 13 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

I know someone with moderate substance abuse issues and diagnosed severe mental illness - basically as bad as it gets if left untreated. But she also lives independently and holds down a solid middle class desk job. How? She has rich parents who pay for treatment (individualized psychiatry) and care (housekeeping mostly), as well as an array of friends who help oversee her.

Homelessness is not necessary, even in the most desperate cases. It's just a question of what we're willing to pay and how much we're willing to care.

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

Trump is an actual reality TV star though. He's one of the most skilled people on Earth at appealing to low-effort thinkers. Others like him in the crime/depravity department (Herschel Walker, George Santos) haven't done as well electorally.

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

There's still a lot of Democratic politicians sadly Xitting about how Elon has too much power while helping keep his media platform afloat while the boosted right wing blue checkmarks get all the top replies.

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

This just in: Trump just un-pardoned Steve Bannon (SCOTUS immediately says that's allowed now).

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Our media is so stupid. The world's richest man just bought the whole federal government and the MSM reaction is "Ooh, maybe there's gonna be drama!"

Sane-washing was the wrong word for what the media does with Trump. It's more like reality-TV-washing. It makes everything he does seem like a TV show that's not real, and they never talk to or about the real people who are harmed by poorly run government. When was the last time the MSM talked to or about the struggles of a homeless person, someone living in the ghetto, or an immigrant trapped in a broken system? But they talk to and about Elon Musk every fucking day. They've spoken more to Elon Musk about immigration than to all (other) immigrants combined.

The media isn't right-wing or left-wing, it's entertainment-wing. It's just a reality TV soap opera focused on characters and personalities, not informing people. We should stop pretending it's a source of information, the MSM is a source of entertainment.

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Not quite, in America we always think of the sacrificed as belonging to the other tribe.

[-] rational_lib@lemmy.world 236 points 1 month ago

Politically-motivated tea tax, what could go wrong?

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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by rational_lib@lemmy.world to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

Yes I know, your least-favorite idea goes here. But seriously, someone must have come up with the concept before. Like a bad get-rich-quick scheme could fall into this category, where joining the scheme makes people lose money and become more desperate, so they become more likely to do desperate things like invest more in the scheme. But it can apply to a number of other bad ideas.

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rational_lib

joined 1 month ago