destruction of america

[Jesse C.]

On 12/11/2022 at 10:40 AM, Ooph! said:

Kind of typical of Fox news lately, light on facts sparse in detail.

A little more detail is provided in the business section article.

 

"Derek Kreifels, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, noted that the pension funds were in trouble long before the pandemic, asserting the move was political and a gamble for taxpayers and union workers alike.

"The White House is going to allow the same pension fund managers – who have been historically awful at their jobs – the ability to make riskier investments with not only hardworking American’s pensions, but also the nearly $100 billion worth of taxpayer dollars delivered to unions under the guise of COVID relief,"

 

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/bidens-union-pension-bailout-what-means-will-work

 

Multiple unions, different funds and all hamstrung with government regulations that prevented them from investing in stock markets, this would help prevent them from losing steeply but also prevented them from gaining. For private pensions some of these problems were solved after the United airlines pension fiasco, the Govt. made rules that funds are required to have a certain amount of funding to meet future obligations but those of Government workers were apparently not covered by these rules.

 The pension fund at the Aerospace company I worked for provides a regular accounting of the pensions fiscal status and details how much additional cash needed to be added to meet the Govt. mandated level of funding. 

 

 The Unions Piss Money all over the Democrats to help them win Elections, by supplying money and votes. Now it is the Democrats turn to pay them back

 

Is it really that hard to understand? 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Jesse C.

[paradime]

From the early 19th century American liberals have been pro labor and conservatives pro business. Both sides massage the facts to fit a particular narrative. This isn't new to American politics, it's always been the norm. In the grand schema of things, it's porkbelly politics as usual, and pulling shit out of that closet to gain outrage has been a political took for just as long.

 

It's important that Americans not only see this shit, but understand what's been going on behind closed doors for centuries. Unfortunately these two Fox writers (one political, the other business) almost sound like they're telling two completely different stories. The end result is worse than worthless, because it erodes their overall credibility.

 

First political:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-36-billion-bailout-union-pension-plan#:~:text=Biden announces %2436 billion bailout for union pension plan

 

Second business:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/bidens-union-pension-bailout-what-means-will-work

 

Retirement fund managers are not allowed to directly invest in the stock market. These managers (often workers elected to the board) choose between various investment and hedge funds comprised of venture capital, real estate, Gov bonds, and up to 30% in institutional stock market funds. Invest one against the other and your riskier hedge will make you money when the others aren't. Do it wrong and you'll lose your shirt. The sick part in the retirement fund 3 card monty game is institutional investment fund's charge "Management Fees" upto 4% (on an annual basis) of your investment, and their "Performance Fees" are unto 20% of what you make. So even if find the money card, you'll only win 76%. 

[Str8jacket]

The UK retirement funds were basically bailed out a month ago. Pretty sure the US ones are supposed to be broke by end of the decade. Leveraged to the eyeballs to make 10% returns. Probably same scenario the world over. All pensions / superannuation are just a giant ponzi. The ones cashing in now are good. All the rest of us for the generations to come are the suckers. Most of us in our 40s will be unlikely to see a cent of the money we've spent the last 25yrs putting into these schemes and forced to continue contributing to. UBI will be what we get. Own nothing. Atleast we will be happy. 

[datzenmike]

8 minutes ago, Str8jacket said:

At least we will be happy. 

 

[Skib]

43 minutes ago, Str8jacket said:

Pretty sure the US ones are supposed to be broke by end of the decade. 

 

We knew at an early age our generation would never retire.

 

I invested in precious metals... like brass. Instead of a 401k.

[iceman510]

16 hours ago, Skib said:

I invested in precious metals... like brass. Instead of a 401k.

 

Is that working?  I am genuinely asking, not being sarcastic.

[Skib]

4 minutes ago, iceman510 said:

 

Is that working?  I am genuinely asking, not being sarcastic.

 

its worth more than my 401k dollar for dollar 

[iceman510]

So do you physically possess any of the inventory?  Like my electronic 401K dollars, I worry a gradually more oppressive government might decide to make them disappear (see Justin Trudeau and the truckers-exhibit A).  Are precious metal assets any more difficult for them to identify, locate and obtain?

 

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by iceman510

[Skib]

3 minutes ago, iceman510 said:

So do you physically possess any of the inventory?  Like my electronic 401K dollars, I worry a gradually more oppressive government might decide to make them disappear (see Justin Trudeau and the truckers-exhibit A).  Are precious metal assets any more difficult for them to identify, locate and obtain?

 

 

 

I keep all physical assets in my possession.

 

Anything digital isn't real. It can very easily be disappeared. 

I have much more faith in useful physical assets.

[datzenmike]

Hopefully well secreted away.

 

Weapons are worth more as an investment.

[paradime]

By the time Skib is ready to retire he'll have 4 tons of brass buried in his back yard and a safe full of weapons ready to protect it.

 

Note the use of sarcasm font.

[Skib]

I'm already semi retired so off to a good start lol

[datzenmike]

39 minutes ago, paradime said:

By the time Skib is ready to retire he'll have 4 tons of brass buried in his back yard and a safe full of weapons ready to protect it.

 

Probably half brass and half lead.

 

 

39 minutes ago, paradime said:

 

Note the use of sarcasm font.

 

And you'll have witticisms and sarcasm for your protection. 

[paradime]

1 minute ago, datzenmike said:

 

Probably half brass and half lead.

 

 

 

And you'll have witticisms and sarcasm for your protection. 

 

I'm a blind guy with firearms. My jokes are for your protection.

[Skib]

3 minutes ago, paradime said:

 

I'm a blind guy with firearms. 

 

Accuracy threw volume lol

 

[paradime]

^That's me at the front door^

 

Knock knock....Yeah, who's there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2022 by paradime

[a.d._510_n_ok]

[Skib]

5 hours ago, paradime said:

^That's me at the front door^

 

Knock knock....Yeah, who's there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a full belt from an M60? Fucking no one that's who 🤣

[angliagt]

             Or do like they do in Southern Humboldt county ("farming" country).

 

BANG! BANG! BANG!........."Who's There?"

[paradime]

1 hour ago, angliagt said:

             Or do like they do in Southern Humboldt county ("farming" country).

 

BANG! BANG! BANG!........."Who's There?"

 

I checked out a grow farm in Ashland OR with my brother, and those dudes were F'n serious. The entire Emerald Triangle is like a DMZ during harvest. Not a good place for hiking in the woods.

[Skib]

6 minutes ago, paradime said:

 

I checked out a grow farm in Ashland OR with my brother, and those dudes were F'n serious. The entire Emerald Triangle is like a DMZ during harvest. Not a good place for hiking in the woods.

 

 

I lived out there once upon a time, not a good place to wander into...

some people shoot and ask questions later. esp back in the day.

[KELMO]

Sometime under the "shoot first, ask questions later" statement, the only question is if the backhoe has fuel.

[yenpit]

11 hours ago, paradime said:

 

I checked out a grow farm in Ashland OR with my brother, and those dudes were F'n serious. The entire Emerald Triangle is like a DMZ during harvest. Not a good place for hiking in the woods.

 

Have a Datsun buddy here in CO that has been operating what he claims is a massive grow house & he says they are heavily armed & everybody knows it!  I've always wondered what the security is like around here at the "legal" grow houses...........there are many!

[angliagt]

11 hours ago, paradime said:

 

I checked out a grow farm in Ashland OR with my brother, and those dudes were F'n serious. The entire Emerald Triangle is like a DMZ during harvest. Not a good place for hiking in the woods.

             I grew up in Humboldt county (CA).Years ago,you could wander off the roads & go

almost anywhere there wasn't "NO TRESPASSING" signs.Years later,the pot farmers took

over a lot of the areas & you learned to stay on the roads,& not go wandering off of them.

Many of them had armed guards with M16 type weapons.

             I bought a Ford Consul Capri from one of these "farmers" - it was an interesting

experience.

[paradime]

2 hours ago, yenpit said:

 

Have a Datsun buddy here in CO that has been operating what he claims is a massive grow house & he says they are heavily armed & everybody knows it!  I've always wondered what the security is like around here at the "legal" grow houses...........there are many!

 

2 hours ago, angliagt said:

             I grew up in Humboldt county (CA).Years ago,you could wander off the roads & go

almost anywhere there wasn't "NO TRESPASSING" signs.Years later,the pot farmers took

over a lot of the areas & you learned to stay on the roads,& not go wandering off of them.

Many of them had armed guards with M16 type weapons.

             I bought a Ford Consul Capri from one of these "farmers" - it was an interesting

experience.

 

 

I'll quote Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

 

I lived in Hudson Valley NY near the Adirondacks back in the mid 80s. I stayed with a work buddy and his girlfriend on her family's land for a while. My buddy John was a big super chill funny party guy from Hoboken. One day we saw people cutting through the woods near their house and he went full metal jacket on them. Dude jumped for a pump action 12 gage in his VW bus, told me to sit tight and went tare assing up the hill side. Let's just say he wasn't chill and scared the FUCK out of them trespassers. Totally out of character for John and I was clueless as to WTF just happened, so I asked. As you might have guessed, they were growing; (8-10 plants) to cover property tax and upkeep on the house. Something about weed growing and gold mining makes folks kinda edgy. 

 

Industrial grow houses can operate year round with ridiculous productivity, so those "good old days" of black market prices are long gone. Legalization along with decentralization flooded the market and turned gold into lead. At the onset, cigaret companies lobbied hard to legalize and control pot at the fed level, and were poised to take over the weed market. States that legalized it like OR were smart enough to divide permits into 3 separate areas: growing, processing, or selling where no single company can hold more than one permit. Other states followed that model and Phillip Morris got cock blocked by hippie stoners. The down side of their co-op utopian pothead vision is now many of them are struggling to pay the electric bill. Business 101, supply and demand. At the same time though, an ass ton of venture capital "brainiacs" lost their shirt because they ignored 101 and saw nothing but $ signs. For a time in the Emerald Triangle it was like Napa Valley and .com bubble 2.0 rolled into one... Pun most definitely intended.