Anonymous wrote:Since Reagan we’ve been told the private sector can do things better than government. I think we are now learning that in some situations the government can do things better than the private sector. We need a leader willing to be open to new ideas AND willing to admit when his/her ideas aren’t working AND reevaluate ideas we had in the past and discarded. For example, the Fair Doctrine Act reigned in media from outright lying. Now lies fly on all sides. There’s a correlation. Is there causation? Well, not sure but can our government evaluate?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

If all the people who are up in arms about the overblown "men in women sports" issue could focus their anger on private equity perhaps something could be done.

You may be surprised to learn that there is a lot of overlap between the people upset about men playing women’s sports and people upset about PE taking over and en$hittifying everything. Plenty of politically homeless out there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

If all the people who are up in arms about the overblown "men in women sports" issue could focus their anger on private equity perhaps something could be done.

Anonymous wrote:So many things have gotten so much worse. Shrinkflation and skimpflation. Customer service being replaced by AI that sends you in endless loops and never solves the problem. Endless subscriptions and paywalls. Climate change, global instability, and constant supply chain disruptions causing shortages. Younger people increasingly accept that it’s normal to pay the same price and receive less and less, because they don’t remember what things were like before.

Regardless of the fact that our living standards are still better than a 14th century peasant (for now, until the billionaires have their way), we’ve lost something very vital: optimism. People used to look forward to the future. For a moment after WWII, it seemed like things were possible. Rights were expanding, schools were desegregating, opportunities were opening up for more and more people, and the moral arc of the universe was bending (slowly) in the right direction. The middle class was expanding. Flying cars were just around the corner. Families could get by comfortably on one income. A college education unlocked doors. Kids could just be kids without having to grind year round at sports just to make the high school team. Minority groups started to see themselves represented on TV and in the movies. Workers could get together and demand better conditions. Journalists did their job and reported instead of fawning. We weren’t being constantly surveilled by smart technology.

Greedy rich people, religious leaders, and racists all concluded that this was a bad thing, joined forces, and now here we are, being driven off the cliff by people who very much do not have your best interests at heart.

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

PE wouldn’t be able to do those things if there weren’t parents willing to pay up.
WE create the problem when we go along with it and keep paying for it. No one wants to be the first parent who says “enough!” and refuses to go along. There are still rec leagues, people! And they would be better if more people peeled away from jacked up “travel” teams.
This, along with every other thing we did or do to keep up with the Jones.

Everyone loves to blame PE and billionaires and they are definitely evil but WE are also a big part of the problem.

Oh yes, blame the rape victim for going along with it and not fighting back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

+1 Private equity has also been buying up vet practices driving the costs up as much as 50%. Dogs and other animals can bring so much joy to ours lives but it is getting to the point people can't afford to own and properly take care of their dogs due to rising costs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Biden administration and its open borders policy destroyed so much of this country.

Wrong. It all started with Reagan and his trickle down economics and gutting of unions/ the middle class and demonizing the poor and putting all of our budget towards military spending. If you look at many indicators, all go downhill starting in the early to mid 1980s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

PE wouldn’t be able to do those things if there weren’t parents willing to pay up.
WE create the problem when we go along with it and keep paying for it. No one wants to be the first parent who says “enough!” and refuses to go along. There are still rec leagues, people! And they would be better if more people peeled away from jacked up “travel” teams.
This, along with every other thing we did or do to keep up with the Jones.

Everyone loves to blame PE and billionaires and they are definitely evil but WE are also a big part of the problem.

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

Anonymous wrote:So many things have gotten so much worse. Shrinkflation and skimpflation. Customer service being replaced by AI that sends you in endless loops and never solves the problem. Endless subscriptions and paywalls. Climate change, global instability, and constant supply chain disruptions causing shortages. Younger people increasingly accept that it’s normal to pay the same price and receive less and less, because they don’t remember what things were like before.

Regardless of the fact that our living standards are still better than a 14th century peasant (for now, until the billionaires have their way), we’ve lost something very vital: optimism. People used to look forward to the future. For a moment after WWII, it seemed like things were possible. Rights were expanding, schools were desegregating, opportunities were opening up for more and more people, and the moral arc of the universe was bending (slowly) in the right direction. The middle class was expanding. Flying cars were just around the corner. Families could get by comfortably on one income. A college education unlocked doors. Kids could just be kids without having to grind year round at sports just to make the high school team. Minority groups started to see themselves represented on TV and in the movies. Workers could get together and demand better conditions. Journalists did their job and reported instead of fawning. We weren’t being constantly surveilled by smart technology.

Greedy rich people, religious leaders, and racists all concluded that this was a bad thing, joined forces, and now here we are, being driven off the cliff by people who very much do not have your best interests at heart.

Anonymous wrote:In America, you can't even have a kid these days and get bent over the barrel when they want to play a sport because private equity keeps getting more and more involved and is buying up fields, courts, arenas and leagues. Fees constantly go up, because this wouldn't be America unless you couldn't privatize and profit as much as you can off youth sports and activities as a PE firm. Parents who can barely afford to keep things together vecause wages never rise now have to stop signing their kids up to play sports since it is unaffordable. But yeah, let's blame those illegals.

US has declined into a cyberpunk dystopian hellscape because of greed, pure and simple.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imho its not immigration or right-left divide, its interest groups (local and foreign) rigging politics, media and social platforms to manipulate everyone and pit them against each other, which leads to anxiety, distrust and division.

We’re an easy to manipulate population. Has it always been this way?