Here’s what’s actually happening in France (from an American in Paris)

deadbilly:

It’s important to note that the majority of protestors are middle aged, these are not college or university students, who make up the usual French protests. This is a grassroots protest. It’s been reported anywhere from 50-80% of the French support the gilets jaunes. This is NOT just about taxes.

The protests began over the new taxes imposed by Macron’s government on fuel. The taxes are viewed as punishing those who use cars and those who can’t afford to buy newer ones. The French already pay heavy taxes on fuel, along with high tolls on highways. Every car in France is required to have 2 high visibility vests (gilets jaunes). The protestors began wearing those vests while protesting.

Along with this, the cost of living is incredibly high while salaries are painfully low, especially in larger cities like Paris. The myth of government-ordered 35 hour work weeks isn’t the reality for most salaried French people. Taxes eat huge chunks of their money and the French are fed up with making the same amount in their salaries as those who don’t work at all and rely on government assistance.

Parts of France are also filled with unassimilated migrants. These migrants get government assistance as well. A large part of the French are sick of paying for migrants when French people are suffering as well. There are areas that have stopped being culturally French and cities the French avoid for holidays because of the migrant problem.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Here’s what’s actually happening in France (from an American in Paris)

The Many Ways Governments Create Monopolies | Mike Holly

moralanarchism:

Monopolies have also led to many societal problems. Unlike truly competitive firms, institutions that enjoy monopoly power have more freedom to discriminate against outsiders, especially women and minorities. They block innovation, the key to long-term prosperity. Monopolies have led to imperialism and wars .

Today, the eight major industrial sectors, controlling about 92 percent of the economy (GDP), are dominated by special interests receiving preferential political policies. These include:

  • Banking (8%) is monopolized through the Federal Reserve central bank that regulates the banks and favors big over small banks, especially when controlling interest rates through the buying and selling of bonds from and to the big banks, respectively.
  • Housing (15%) is monopolized through the Fannie/Freddie home mortgage duopoly and Federal Housing Administration that finance and promote larger homes and urban sprawl; while local politicians favor real estate developer cronies.
  • Health care (18%) is monopolized through state licensure laws restricting the supply of doctors and other health professionals (according to Milton Friedman), certificate-of-need laws limiting the supply of hospitals, government and government-encouraged corporate buyer monopolies, and federal drug patent and other intellectual property laws.
  • Agriculture (8%) is monopolized through subsidies favoring traditional crops and the monopolies selling inputs for and outputs from those crops, including seeds (e.g., GMO), corporate mono-culture farms and junk food processors. The subsidies discourage the development of alternative crops, diversified family farms and healthier foods. Subsidized crop exports traded by international conglomerates have been rendering agriculture uncompetitive in the developing world .
  • Energy (12%) is monopolized through the U.S. government-encouraged OPEC oil cartel while U.S. electricity and natural gas markets are controlled by territorial utility monopolies. The utility monopolies conduct rigged bidding of power supplies favoring cronies . The U.S. also creates energy monopolies by picking winners and losers among fuel types. Big Oil & Gas receives preferential exemptions from environmental regulations for fracking . The natural gas by-product of oil fracking is favored over otherwise lower-cost coal in base-load electricity markets and for backing up favored wind and solar energy. Wind and solar energy, and also ethanol vehicle fuel made from corn and cellulose, receive tailored mandates and subsidies that block the development of other potentially lower-cost energies including renewables .
  • Transportation (10%) is monopolized through government regulations, including bailouts, favoring the Big Three automakers and airport favoritism for the four major airlines.
  • Technology (8%) is monopolized through patent and copyright laws while regulated territorial franchises are awarded to local telephone, internet and cable monopolies .
  • Government (13%) has created public monopolies through dominant federal, state and local funding, especially education.

These monopolies affect both consumer and government spending. Consumer spending, which is about 70 percent of the economy, is dominated by housing (36%), food (14%), transportation (14%), energy (9%), health care (8%) and education (3%). The U.S. government spends mostly on health care (30-35%), defense (20%), food (4%), education (3%), transportation (2%) and housing (2%). State spending is about 30 percent for education.

The Many Ways Governments Create Monopolies | Mike Holly

We Must Face Persistent Racial Gaps in Academic Performance | RealClearPolitics

catalogingthedeclineofthewest:

From the article:

  • the average black 12th-grader is academically at the same level as the average white eighth-grader. 
  • the most recent data suggest that the racial academic performance gaps among 18-year-olds applying to college are as large on average as they were about three decades ago. The black-white test score gap among high school seniors in contemporary America is comparable to the gap between 13- and 17-year-olds.

The writer blames it all on “inferior education.”

We Must Face Persistent Racial Gaps in Academic Performance | RealClearPolitics

diagnosis-prognosis-psychosis:

rtrixie:

rtrixie:

“Intellectual dark web” more like intellectual pressure release valve to make sure right leaning people don’t discover what actual dissident intellectuals have to offer.

None of these people has anything even remotely radical to say

It’s called “gatekeeping” – a “false opposition” who doesn’t adopt any unmarketable beliefs makes people reliant on them for guidance once people become fed up with the mainstream.

The way the system is designed is that whenever any dissidents rise up, it only becomes profitable for a false opposition to offer them guidance. The beliefs of any true opposition will always be too unmarketable to be financially viable to spread.

darkerangels:

I can already see the difference

In the last week the posts have changed; they look more stylized, more generic and less about any sort of artistic expression or interpretation. There is a palpable sense of loss here now and people are confused about how they should act. Those who stay will be looking over their shoulder when they post, wondering if they are offensive or questioning their own interpretations of words like “explicit” or “offensive”. Eventually people will express themselves less in an effort to stay in line or not be flagged or called out as unacceptable to the new Tumblr standards. In my mind all this leads to a watered down world and a promotion of a “group-think” mentality. For the same reason I don’t like Muzak or Olive Garden or New Country or tribute bands or fake boobs because they are thin facsimiles of the real thing. I have no time in my life for a controlling-all-seeing web site who would ban good people, some of which have spent large portions of their life here in an effort to protect some new sense of moral responsibility. For the record: exploitation of women, children and any person should never be tolerated by reasoned people, I applaud Tumblr for taking a stand in that regard… I just think they are going about this the wrong way.

I will miss some of you, but I don’t feel a need any longer to stay here, so I’m going to leave some time in the next few days. Thank you all for spending whatever small amount of time looking at things I posted or maybe even thinking about them for a few moments. I’ve loved my time here for the most part, it got me through a rough patch in my life, but now I move on and I wish each of you the best.

Hugs and wet sloppy kisses ~ Melissa