ap0r's recent activity
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Comment on ‘It’s shameful’: New York’s elite lash out at Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax in ~finance
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Comment on ‘It’s shameful’: New York’s elite lash out at Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax in ~finance
ap0r Link ParentFirst of all, thankfully inflation is much lower now, we had a near hyperinflation in 2024. With that said, what you do with money depends on your sophistication level. In my personal case, I make...First of all, thankfully inflation is much lower now, we had a near hyperinflation in 2024.
With that said, what you do with money depends on your sophistication level. In my personal case, I make my money outside the country as a freelancer and only bring in what I need to spend on daily necessities. For savings, crypto (Stable coins and staking, not speculation on poopcoins) and the S&P500 serve me well.
Older people usually hide 100 USD bills at home (There was a confiscation of USD deposits in 2001, so people either were personally screwed or had close family and friends who were screwed). Younger people have crypto, or USD in virtual wallets.
Many people overstock themselves in goods ("saving in cans"); a large pantry and large monthly or bimonthly purchases of everything you need are not uncommon. It is common to buy in bulk. A freezer full of meat is not a rarity.
Others buy construction materials that are durable ("saving in bricks"). The idea is to build a brick and concrete house that you can make money from in your retirement, and avoid the dilution of savings.
A minority "die of nominality" and will consider a car or motorcycle an investment, because they can sell it 5 years later for more pesos than they bought it for, but they do not bother comparing then vs now prices in the calculation. This has the unintended side effect of pushing used car and motorcycle prices through the roof. For reference, my 1998 Yamaha RX-100 is valued at about $1200 USD here; for the same price you can get a brand new 250cc in other countries.
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Comment on ‘It’s shameful’: New York’s elite lash out at Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax in ~finance
ap0r Link ParentHello! Maybe something is lost in translation as I am not a native speaker, forgive me if that is the case. I was not espousing an extreme view, such as an anarcho-capitalist one of no State and...Hello! Maybe something is lost in translation as I am not a native speaker, forgive me if that is the case.
I was not espousing an extreme view, such as an anarcho-capitalist one of no State and no Tax. I am not of the opinion that taxation is theft; I do believe the social contract is "reasonable tax for services that the private sector is not able or willing to provide", such as some of the examples you mention (Except for internet, that's private here, but that's just a nitpick).
I was positing that there exists a slippery slope. For every new tax, there is a job created in the inefficient public sector, as a tax dollar will not be spent by the owner (See Thomas Sowell, who frequently argues that "spending other people's money"—specifically government spending—is inherently inefficient because individuals and bureaucrats lack the incentives to use funds as carefully as they would their own money). Keep adding taxes, limiting freedoms, and spending like there is no tomorrow, and then when tomorrow arrives you get the ills of a bloated State - chronic deficit, inflation, anemic growth or stanflation, elevated fiscal pressure, capital flight, etc -.
New taxes must be fought, because they are always "temporary" "for the rich" and they end up being "permanent" and "for everyone exceeding a very low bar". It is the nature of the politician to seek to spend money, because no politician will be reeelected on a "didn't overspend, did not add new taxes" platform. This taxation is just another cut on the death by thousand cuts that kills prosperity and economic freedom.
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Comment on ‘It’s shameful’: New York’s elite lash out at Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax in ~finance
ap0r Link ParentThank you for your polite disagreement, it is much valued on this Internet. You are 100% correct in assuming I am a libertarian. Re: Argentina's Problem: Capital flight is a consequence of the...Thank you for your polite disagreement, it is much valued on this Internet.
You are 100% correct in assuming I am a libertarian.
Re: Argentina's Problem: Capital flight is a consequence of the root issue: Chronic deficitary spending, either highly deficitary or ruinously deficitary. For over 120 years the "solution" has been to print more money (inflation) or ask for loans and default on them. Patch over patch over patch, and every administration adds more ministries, more public employees, more and more pork, and of course it ends up blowing up eventually.
Re: Nordic Countries - There are 2 models of societal organization that work well: Low taxes and minimal state services, high taxes and many public goods. The problem in Argentina is that you have insane taxes + inflation caused by deficitary spending and overprinting of currency (Look this up because it sounds like I am making stuff up, the fiscal pressure on businesses was 106% before Milei; i.e. if you had a shop you were evading taxes, period) with the public services of subsaharian Africa. Mr. Mamdani proposes to tax people who own two homes. The money then goes to the black hole of Mr. Mamdani's municipality and gets spent on what the politician decides, in the most inefficient manner possible, instead of being kept where it belongs, in the pockets of the people who made the money in the first place by serving society with better goods and services at a lower price.
I do agree that I went on a mini-rant; I can't help myself when I see the ever-growing State taking away liberty to spend what you earn on what you want.
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Comment on ‘It’s shameful’: New York’s elite lash out at Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax in ~finance
ap0r LinkLike the old joke goes: Two Communists are talking, and boasting of their loyalism to the Party. The first friend asks: "Comrade, if you had two houses, would you give one of them to the Party?"...Like the old joke goes:
Two Communists are talking, and boasting of their loyalism to the Party.
The first friend asks: "Comrade, if you had two houses, would you give one of them to the Party?"
The second friend replies, "Of course, Comrade!"The first friend then asked, "If you had two cars, would you give one of them to me?"
"Of course, I should help the rest of society with my wealth!" replied the second friend.
Overjoyed, the first friend then asked, "If you had two chickens, would you give one of them to me?"
"No, comrade!" The second friend said.The first friend becomes surprised and puzzled, and asks, "Why not, Comrade?"
"Well, I do have two chickens!" The second friend said.It is always easy to decide on what to do with the things of others. And every populist politician proposes taxing the millonaries, until they become millonaries, then they start proposing taxing the billonaries.
I come from Argentina, a country where we tried dividing an ever-shrinking cake in different, more "just ways". Always the poverty increased, the freedoms became restricted, the foreign currency more desirable. Let's add a little government spending here and there. Let's print a little currency. Let's add a little more fiscal pressure. Repeat, and repeat, until everyone is equally poor.
I do not know what you guys were thinking when you elected Mr. Mamdani. What more evidence do you need? Everywhere it has been tried the "let's take things from people and give them to others at the discretion of the elected politician or unelected dictator du jour" has failed spectacularly.
Why must humanity insist on doing the superficially good thing ("giving more to others") instead of doing the correct, long term thing, which is "get out of the way of people, tax them as little as possible, and watch the country prosper"?
Because no politician will get credit for "keeping their nose out of people's business", that's why.
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Comment on Fitness Weekly Discussion in ~health
ap0r LinkI started walking to get groceries. It ain't much, but it is better than riding the giant motorized wheelchair.I started walking to get groceries.
It ain't much, but it is better than riding the giant motorized wheelchair.
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Comment on USA to mandate surveillance tech for new cars also determing fitness to drive by 2027 in ~transport
ap0r LinkBoy, I sure do feel lucky that I have tools and knowledge to keep my old junker motorcycle driving for decades to come. Possibly preaching to the choir here, since this is Tildes and most of us...- Exemplary
Boy, I sure do feel lucky that I have tools and knowledge to keep my old junker motorcycle driving for decades to come.
Possibly preaching to the choir here, since this is Tildes and most of us are former Redditors disgruntled with its enshittification. But this needs said:
The world does not heed the powerless. However, you do have power. The greatest power, the power that builds and destroy businesses. The power of your choice to spend here or there.
Keep buying used vehicles that you can maintain yourself. Keep refusing to pay for subscriptions. Own your games. Own your media. Own your vehicle. Own your computer. Refuse to patronize businesses that engage in anticonsumerist practices. Refuse to consume enshittified slop. Do support mom and pop shops. Do support big businesses, but only if the deal is fair and square. Run open source, free software when a good alternative that meets your needs is available.
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Comment on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate price drops to $22.99 USD/month in ~games
ap0r LinkThanks but no thanks, I will own my games. Drop the price today, lock people in, then hike prices. If the game has DRM, I will pirate it out of spite.Thanks but no thanks, I will own my games. Drop the price today, lock people in, then hike prices.
If the game has DRM, I will pirate it out of spite. -
Comment on Do I need dating apps? (same-sex, a bit of ace) in ~life
ap0r LinkI used to think that dating and finding a "keeper" woman was complicated. Then this thread happened. Call me eye-opened, but not educated yet. How you guys and gals in non-heterosexual...I used to think that dating and finding a "keeper" woman was complicated. Then this thread happened. Call me eye-opened, but not educated yet. How you guys and gals in non-heterosexual relationships even manage to keep all these plates in the air is beyond my understanding.
OP; this comes from a heterosexual male in a long-term partnership with my adorable wife, so take it with a huge grain of salt. But to me at least it makes zero sense to look for a new woman while hurting from a breakup. My advice to avoid latching yourself to the first person who gives you the time of the day would be to let 6 months pass before you start dating or even thinking of dating again. This is not tailored to you advice, this is general tailored to humans advice.
By the way, this rule also applies to taking major decisions after a death in the family, or major trauma.
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Comment on Any male victims from female abuse? in ~life.men
ap0r (edited )LinkThankfully no, but I bet it happens and it is extremely underreported. I am 194 cm and weigh 130 kg. About door-sized for the 'Muricans. If a female close to me were to attack me, there would be...Thankfully no, but I bet it happens and it is extremely underreported.
I am 194 cm and weigh 130 kg. About door-sized for the 'Muricans.
If a female close to me were to attack me, there would be no credible defense I could use without immediately being seen as the attacker myself. No police officer or judge would take me seriously.
Thankfully I am surrounded by great women in my family and friends circle.
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Comment on How are we all feeling about piracy these days? in ~movies
ap0r Link ParentOne key evidence for your viewpoint is the timing of rise and decline in piracy, and how it matches with the enshittiffication timeline. When Netflix got started, they were in the User Acquisition...One key evidence for your viewpoint is the timing of rise and decline in piracy, and how it matches with the enshittiffication timeline.
When Netflix got started, they were in the User Acquisition phase. The service was great, the price low, and the service exploded. Piracy declined because everyone saw the convenience. Again, most people do not fundamentally want to steal content, people want easy access.
When Netflix got big and popular, they were in the Business Optimization phase. Prices steadily rose beyond inflation, there was a crackdown on account sharing, etc. Normies start to complain, and piracy sees a slow and steady rise.
Then, at the end of the lifecycle, Exploitation (You are here). Exorbitant prices. Ads in a paid service. Selling your data to third parties (no evidence for this, no doubt either). Content fragmented and scattered. Editing of historical movies and shows to fit current morality. Push the narrative du jour instead of letting shows sink and float based on viewer choice. If you want to make a movie or show, you need to cater to Netflix execs. Sell 4K, provide 1080i. Have bean counters matter more than engineers in technical decisions.
The service becomes shitty, the prices become unbearable. The value to the customer is gone. Normies start to move away. Piracy explodes. Stock price is still through the roof, so when the company goes under every MBA is like "surprised pikachu face".
Mark my words, if a non-shitty streaming service is made, piracy will decline again. Until then, sailing the seven seas is the more logical option for reasonable people.
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Comment on Which Linux distro do you use, and why? in ~tech
ap0r Link ParentSame. I am more interested in what I can do with my computer than what runs my computer. Therefore, I was content with Windows because of the huge software availability, especially games. It just...Same. I am more interested in what I can do with my computer than what runs my computer. Therefore, I was content with Windows because of the huge software availability, especially games. It just worked.
But Microsoft Corporation had to go and extract maximum value from users and user's data. Let's add ads. Let's force online accounts. Do you want some AI snooping on your files? Speaking of files, of course you meant to look for Management 430 - Assignment 6 draft.docx on the Internet. With Bing, right? How about we encrypt your drive with Bitlocker, do not tell you about it, and also store the keys so any state agent can open 'er up? Frustration was accumulating, but man is an animal of habit and switching to a different OS felt like a big task that I kept kicking down the road.
At some point there was a straw that broke the camel's back. A setting I had changed reverted back to Microsoft's preferred option. This user has their OS set to English - United States, therefore their keyboard distribution must also be EN-US. And even though the user has set their keyboard to ES-LA, clearly they are wrong and we at Microsoft know better. A quick web search revealed that yes, this is a common problem for some bilingual users since 15 years ago, and no, there is no clear reason why it happens or a solution.
I felt that my computer was no longer mine, and that change was needed.
My requirements were:
a) easy transition from Windows, b) stable and gets out of the way, c) big community for improved support, d) a running start with most of what I would need rather than a bare-bones setup, e) no history of engaging in anti-consumerist practices, or being strongly influenced by big tech ecosystems with a track record of user-hostile behavior, and f) ability to play my games and use my software or a close enough equivalent.After researching, Linux Mint stood out as a popular distro that seemed to met my requirements. After some further research on Mint and determining that it fully fit my needs and was compatible with my hardware, I switched in Sep of '25 and haven't looked back.
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Comment on Project Hail Mary - Discussion thread in ~movies
ap0r Link ParentThis could be me but I found it hard to imagine Rocky's musical speech. The audiobook nails that in my opinion. That is all. It is not a huge difference, but it is superior to me.This could be me but I found it hard to imagine Rocky's musical speech. The audiobook nails that in my opinion. That is all. It is not a huge difference, but it is superior to me.
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Comment on Project Hail Mary - Discussion thread in ~movies
ap0r LinkHave read the book. Have listened to the audiobook. Spents months wishing they wouldn't mess the adaptation. I am very pleased with the movie. If you come into it expecting a blow-by-blow...Have read the book. Have listened to the audiobook. Spents months wishing they wouldn't mess the adaptation.
I am very pleased with the movie. If you come into it expecting a blow-by-blow retelling of the book, you will be sorely disappointed. There is no way to fit sixteen hours' worth of content into a movie.
If you come into it expecting a faithful adaptation to the spirit of the story, making accommodations for length and visual media, you will almost certainly be pleased, although there are a few nitpicks regarding plot points that are glossed over or changed. I felt that the changes are logical and understandable.
The movie people did a great job adapting this story, I was pleased and will watch again. In order of enjoyment out of the experience, I would say the audiobook is king, and the book and movie tied for close second.
Again, that is valid unless you go into the movie with a nitpicking mindset. The spirit of the story is there, but there were many understandable changes introduced, and some minor arguably unnecessary changes.
I'd say, if you have not read the books go in blind. It will be a wild ride of emotion and friendship. If you have read the books, go into the movie with an open mind. The movie stands on its own, it is not a carbon copy of the book. If you are the type of person who obsesses over details and faithfulness to canon, skip the movie and stick to the books (but you will still be missing on a different, beautiful experience)
Myself? Zero regrets. They didn't fuck it up.
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Comment on Commonly misspelled words quiz in ~humanities.languages
ap0r LinkCongratulations! You got 6460/8300—a high score! Typical score for my age group was 4506 I have been writing professionally since 2019, and am a non-native speaker. Turns out one learns a thing or...Congratulations!
You got 6460/8300—a high score! Typical score for my age group was 4506
I have been writing professionally since 2019, and am a non-native speaker. Turns out one learns a thing or two from writing and reading pages upon pages daily.
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Comment on This is old, but I learned about it today and it warmed my heart. What happens when a nursing home and a day care center share a roof? in ~life
ap0r Link ParentThe concept you mention is "healthspan", arguably more important than "lifespan". I wouldn't mind living to 200 in a decent body, with a sharp mind and intact memories, and with friends and...The concept you mention is "healthspan", arguably more important than "lifespan".
I wouldn't mind living to 200 in a decent body, with a sharp mind and intact memories, and with friends and family. Living to 90 in a declining body with a mind that you know is feebler every week, and losing friends and family, everyone you hold dear? No thanks for me.
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Comment on This is old, but I learned about it today and it warmed my heart. What happens when a nursing home and a day care center share a roof? in ~life
ap0r LinkCombined nursing home and daycare. I am sure it improves health outcomes while delaying decline for the elder and enhances learning and socialization for the kids, but I mostly wanted to share...Combined nursing home and daycare. I am sure it improves health outcomes while delaying decline for the elder and enhances learning and socialization for the kids, but I mostly wanted to share because I thought this is a smart, simple idea to make the lives of everyone involved better.
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This is old, but I learned about it today and it warmed my heart. What happens when a nursing home and a day care center share a roof?
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
ap0r Link ParentGood idea, makes it look more intentional, and gives refined vibes. Have you considered any plants?Going to get my posters framed
Good idea, makes it look more intentional, and gives refined vibes.
Have you considered any plants?
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Comment on What radicalized you? in ~talk
ap0r Link ParentI live in a country with state-funded healthcare. Our medical system is not top notch, but it is easily in the top 20 in the world. Still, people refuse to exercise and eat healthy. Cardiovascular...I live in a country with state-funded healthcare. Our medical system is not top notch, but it is easily in the top 20 in the world. Still, people refuse to exercise and eat healthy. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are top killers, even with treatment, because the known preventatives in lifestyle and the known outcome improvers in lifestyle are not adhered to by people.
This people problem is unrelated to politics. We eat junk, drive everywhere in giant motorized wheelchairs to our sit-down jobs, then go home to sit and stare at a screen and then blame Politician X from Y party for diabetes.
I meant "Black hole" as in "Absorbs everything that goes in, unsatiable appetite", not as in "unknown what happens inside". Sorry for the confusion, not a native speaker.
The politician spends and spends. Prosperity? Add public employees. Less prosperity? Increase taxes. No thought is ever given to reducing the ever increasing burden of the State's gigantic size on the taxpayer. I agree that the budget is "open", but it can be open and overinflated.