What is Digg?112 Comments
- inactive, on 09/08/2008, -2/+40Q: How many Dragon Ball Z characters does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Only 1, but it takes 9 episodes. - gurm, on 09/08/2008, -1/+30Q: How many members of a certain demographic does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: A finite number. One to screw in the light bulb, and the rest to act in a manner stereotypical of the group in question. - wampalord, on 09/08/2008, -2/+28"An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today". - Laurence J. Peter
- mikelist, on 09/08/2008, -4/+28how many mexicans are needed to change a light bulb?
just juan. - inactive, on 09/08/2008, -5/+29How many Linux enthusiasts does it take to change a lightbulb? None, they just declare darkness the new industry standard.
- JMellissa, on 09/08/2008, -3/+23How many lead singers does it take to change a light bulb?
Just one, they hold the bulb and wait for the world to revolve around them. - ricksite, on 09/08/2008, -5/+17Government services are awesome! My favorite thing about the government offices is that they are only open during the hours most people (including myself) work. I hate those privately owned grocery stores. Some of them are open 24 hours for my "convenience". I have a feeling they are trying to destroy the economy.
- hiphoc, on 09/08/2008, -2/+14OK, we do not have real free markets. As long as we have central banks like the Fed, World Bank and IMF manipulating interest rates and money supply we do not have free markets. Dr Pauls main issue is the FED, the FED is at the heart of most economic and social problems that revolve around money. People argue, fight, kill, divorce for money. The less there is to go around the more issues a society has.
I Dont remember which founding father said this.. But he said if there is any turmoil or conflict within the American people that we should look to the banks and the bankers as the cause. Like Jim Cramer has said the Fed needs to be investigated, and the markets are being rigged. The rich people who know whats going on are preparing. And the rest of us are preparing our ***** for a mike tyson like beating - cloudberries, on 09/08/2008, -1/+11Q: How many Digg users does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Four : One to change it, one to ask if it can run Crysis, one to post a giant ascii image of Ackbar and another to miss the point completely and start ranting about how Barak Osama hates lightbulbs. - Brododium, on 09/08/2008, -1/+11My favourite:
"Teach a parrot the terms "supply and demand" and you've got an economist."
Thomas Carlyle - 5xSTUN, on 09/08/2008, -4/+12Wasn't that joke supposed to be about Microsoft, only they said that darkness was a feature?
- brandoj, on 09/08/2008, -0/+8Of course, the riddle is correct. If a lightbulb has gone out, it will be replaced if the cost of replacing the bulb is less than the cost of going without light. As such, the economist doesn't need to change the bulb and in fact would be misdirecting his efforts if forced to do so against the market's will.
- omarciddo, on 09/08/2008, -6/+14"The belief that the market would take care of it has been shaken..."
Interesting. The whole "let the market decide" mantra is awfully reminiscent of Ron Paul's ideals. Discuss, but keep it civil. - MisterBozo, on 09/08/2008, -1/+9So, to criticize the markets the article only mentions government programs? I wonder what is wrong in that hmm... I mean seriously, subcontracting the cleaning of government-run hospitals isn't exactly what "free market" means.
- thecoolestguy, on 09/08/2008, -3/+11There is no objective different between a want and a need.
What is a necessity? What is a luxury?
What's the bear minimum that someone needs to live? 3 loaves of bread? Fruits? Vegetables? Would a mud hut suffice? Or do you need shelter more sturdy than that?
In many countries meat is considered a luxury, while in the west it is considered a nutritional necessity. Where do you draw the line between necessity and luxury? It's subjective.
Liberty, i.e. the market, is the optimal way to allow people to interact. Using coercion (socialist policies) on the pretense that there is this magical category of good and services that rationalizes infringing on liberty, known as 'necessities', does not work and is conceptually flawed. - thecoolestguy, on 09/08/2008, -3/+11-----It's not just the markets as such, though that make me grind my teeth; market forces may be fine when they apply only to the markets. It's the conviction that commercial principles are always the most efficient; that anything done for private profit and in competition must always be better and more effective than anything done for any other fudsy old reason such as the common good.----
The author is yet another misled apologist for socialism who misses the point. It is not the PROFIT motive that makes 'free markets' work better than any thing else, it is LIBERTY. People can act altruistically within a free market paradigm, by voluntarily joining charitable causes that help the common good. When people tout the benefits of the free market, it is the absence of coercion and the maximization of human liberty that they are promoting, not the merits self-interested action. - haydesigner, on 09/08/2008, -0/+7I'm pretty sure that the narcissism was implied...
But I could be wrong. =;-p - Recoil, on 09/08/2008, -2/+8No no no, you've got it all wrong! It goes like this:
Q: How many Dragon Ball Z characters does it take to change a light bulb?
A: OVER 9000!!!! - mattlohkamp, on 09/08/2008, -0/+5this is really the only 'real' light bulb joke.
- pintomp3, on 09/08/2008, -3/+8stupid government services. i hate roads and fire protection. the fire truck shouldn't put out a house fire unless they can verify they will get paid by the homeowner.
- Plotinus, on 09/08/2008, -3/+8Economics is the provision of wants and needs, two very different classifications. Now can someone explain why the mechanism for the provision of WANTS should be the same as the mechanism for the provision of NEEDS?
The market is perfect for the provision of wants. Charge all the market will bear; advertise, manipulate, distort that market out of all recognition as much as you want (yes, I said distort the market, break the mechanism outlined by Smith, then claim it's still Capitalism)
Then take that broken system and use it to feed, house and educate and then query why scandals over the provision of public services occur.
(yes, by the way, I know I'm generalising and concatenating several arguments into one. I also know that I'm going to get dugg down - don't give a *****, cos your system is working soooo well) - fisharmor, on 09/08/2008, -3/+8The most infuriating thing about this is the fact that we're not talking about free markets.
We're talking about an abominable hybrid of capitalism and socialism.
The socialist aspects ensure that the primary negative reinforcement of capitalism - failure - is off the table.
The capitalist aspects ensure that the greatest perceived strength of socialism - control - is off the table.
The problem is, the entrepreneurial spirit in the US is going to take the better part of a century to be crushed to the point where it won't be tripping up a socialist plan for this nation. And true socialism has as many problems with it as true capitalism.
The only obvious conclusion is that since capitalists are going to be fighting tooth and nail the whole time, we can either all suffer with the hybrid system, or we can move toward capitalism and give it its first fair shake in the last 100 years.
Regarding the article, it's obvious the writer doesn't realize how many philanthropists there are in the world. Libertarians know that they will pick up all of the slack we'd let out by disbanding government programs, and likely do better. But people like the writer don't have faith in people to take care of these problems without having a gun pointed to their temples. I suggest this is a case of projection... speak for how you'd react to this, writer. I already give 10% to charitable purposes on top of the government robbery.
"The rich people who know whats going on are preparing."
I used to really like Robert Kiyosaki. Now I know he's a worthless *****. He preaches education as the way to be rich - find out how to be rich and do it, and by the way, working hard and saving isn't the way.
Guess what... I did more than just educate myself on how to be rich, I educated myself on why I need to play shell games to preserve my wealth. It's because asshats like Kiyosaki use a system which steals my money from me (via inflation) to enrich themselves. Unless we abolish that system, there is no hope for the free market to have a fair shake. A system where a crisp new $1 bill is guaranteed to be worth only 90 cents next year is not free. - gavroche, on 09/08/2008, -0/+5But, can it run Crysis??
- juankovo, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4I am so sick of people blaming "the free market" when what we have is FAR from a "free" market. We are living under corporatism with a little gilding of free market to make it look pretty, and we are descending into socialism quickly.
- worldchanger, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4he's a closet Muslim, you know... and Muslims hate lightbulbs...
- LordRedSnake, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4I disagree, it absolutely is the profit motive. People act out of self interest; it's just that in a free market people are free to interact in situations where acting in their own interest is mutually beneficial. You go to the butcher to buy a piece of meat, he's not selling it to you for any altruistic reason, he's selling it to you to make a profit. You're willing to pay for it because the meat is more useful to you than the currency in your pocket. You both stand to gain from this transaction and neither is acting out of altruism.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this, but of course people have to be able to enter into these transactions freely without outside distortions. - captnkurt, on 09/08/2008, -4/+8Q: How many kids with ADD does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Hey! Let's go ride bikes!! - yojiffyskippy, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4If the hours of operation is the only complaint you have then you should count your blessing.
- OrigamiRonin, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4My town uses private contractors to build roads, and it has a volunteer fire department as well.
Of course, the private contractor does not build roads out of the goodness of his heart. His contracts are paid for using tax dollars.
Likewise, all of our volunteer firefighters might show up to fight the next fire in town, but it's the local tax dollars that pay for the trucks and equipment. Without that, they would just be the local bucket brigade. - worldchanger, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3I've always loved that one. :o)
- FolkTheory, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3***** YOU, you forgot the two that died changing the light bulbs!
- DOCNM, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3Thank you. I heard this quote once and I couldn't remeber it correctly and find out who it was from.
- warriorscot, on 09/08/2008, -5/+8Common Sense prevails. Finally, someone stands up and says what everybody in the UK has known for years. It is entirely different to run a public body like a company than it is to get a company to run the public body. How they thought that adding middlemen into the application of vital services would make it better beats me, taxpayers don't expect a return on investments, profit doesn't need to be hoarded it can be reinvested straight away in a public body.
There is always criticism when a company is taken over by the government, but I say bring it on. Chuck Network rail, it doesn't work. Chuck PFI, it doesn't work. Chuck sub-contracting the NHS, it doesn't work. Bring back the public run company, bring the Royal Mail back under the government, don't allow sub-contracting for anything other than filling short term needs.
The fact that so many of the woes we lambaste the government for are problems caused by outside companies says something. - thecoolestguy, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3Oh yes, Britain is really in a free market 'trap'. What with nationalized health care, 40% of incomes taken by force from the government, the most extensive set of regulations in British history, and a central bank that controls all the nation's currency through fiat, it's a regular free market nightmare.
- D4CH, on 09/08/2008, -1/+4Q: How many emos does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None, let them cry alone in the dark. - Netwatcher, on 09/08/2008, -3/+6The failure of the free market revolves around the simple fact that the goal of the market is to make money, not provide service. In the pure free market system profit (often short term), wins out over the common good.
But don't believe me, believe your lying eyes. Here's an example of just one model on how the free market fails.
Claim: Market forces drive manufacturers to cut profits in order to increase sales and therefor increase profits. Manufacturer wins, and the consumer wins.
Fact: Market forces drive manufacturers to cut costs (salaries and quality), to make products at the lowest possible cost. Profits are never cut.
Example: Nike closes all U.S. facilities and moves all its production to dangerous sweat shops in South America and Asia, where it pays destitute workers barely enough money to survive on until they are injured or killed in a factory accident. Total reduction in the price of Nikes ($0.00), total increase in Nikes profits +200%. Cost in lost jobs, human lives, damage to the image of the United States and to the U.S. economy, countless.
But this is just one example, the ways in that free market can fail are countless. For all the blather of the Austrian marketeers, they seem to forget that for the majority of the planets recorded history, the world has run on the pure free market system. And while it has achieved great things its also caused great tragedy's.
TL;DR
Far more wars have been fought over money, commodities and business ventures then have been fought for religion. - StingingNettle, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3Not to mention all the bail outs. If anyone even remotely believes we have free markets they really need their head examined.
- Zippo, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MUST CHANGE LIGHTBULB
UGGGGHHHHHH BUT ITS STILL TOO HOT, NEED TO WAIT FOR IT TO COOL DOWN
Next time on DRAGON BALL ZEEEEEEEEEE - trogdorBURN, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________
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: : : : : : :¯’’~~~~~~’’’ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : : : - MiNGLED, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3Market = Competition?
I can choose 1 private rail company to get to work in from a total of 1. I can get my water from a total of 1 private supplier. Privatisation doesn't work all the time.
Markets can work, but not when there is no competition at all. - Plotinus, on 09/08/2008, -0/+3you die without needs . thats not subjective
- thecoolestguy, on 09/08/2008, -1/+4Wrong, liberty doesn't mean power. You're twisting the meaning of words. You may not be empowered if you don't have money, but this is not the same thing as saying you don't have liberty. Liberty is the absence of COERCION from others. Living under tyranny is the a life without liberty. A life without money is a life without empowerment. I acknowledge that when someone lacks empowerment, it's a terrible thing, but this is NOT the same thing as not having liberty.
it is not justifiable to take the liberty away from one individual to empower another. - Logrusmage, on 09/08/2008, -1/+4The ignorance is strong in this one...
- macman2k, on 09/08/2008, -1/+3The .com bust and housing crisis were not "natural" they were the result of government printing presses and regulations forcing banks to lend to risky individuals in the name of "fairness".
A bubble cannot occur in the absence of fractional reserve lending and large-scale fractional reserve lending cannot exist without government enforced price fixing via "legal tender" laws. - Speed, on 09/08/2008, -0/+2If the government sucks, you go out and vote.
- pintomp3, on 09/08/2008, -3/+5we will never have real free markets. the fundamental flaw in the free market theory is human nature.
- ricksite, on 09/08/2008, -2/+4Road construction is typically privately contracted. Also, many towns have volunteer fire departments.
- ricksite, on 09/08/2008, -0/+2I wish that was my only complaint. Don't get me started on the DMV.
- tao52nyc, on 09/08/2008, -2/+4Not true. The fundamental flaw in every other economic theory EXCEPT the Austrian school is a failure to recognize human nature, viz., that every human looks out for his/her own self-interest (and that of their friends and loved ones) all the time. Free markets are a result of that human action in one's own interests, the invisible hand, as it were. Free markets and free minds provide more abundance for more people than any other system, WHEN THEY ARE ALLOWED TO WORK.
Having said that, we haven't had a real free market in this country since 1812 or thereabouts. Central bankers and big parasitic governments are a far greater threat to freedom and prosperity. -
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