Feelsbadman, I feel like we were just starting to grow too :/

I agree, workers should get an equal say. I think a company’s finances should be more open by that same token so workers have more perspective on come money is coming in and how it’s being split. Maybe it’s something that will have to change a state at a time, but I’m optimistic that it could be implemented.

(Lol I think it’s a clever rhyme as well.)

I mean that pretty much is what happened in the US at least. The corporate tax rate was substantially higher and so individual take rate on the richest Americans post-WW2 and pre-Regan. Public works were well funded and having a government job meant you had a stable and well paying salary. Private business owners pushed congress to ease up on the tax rate ‘to spur private business growth and create jobs’, especially since original justification of funding the war effort disappeared.

While private business did grow more from the eased up taxes, what happened more was that the owners of these companies started raking in more and more in net profits. Suddenly the pay differential between the workers and the factory owners started to balloon to a much greater level.

By the time Regan came in, this process then started to snowball even more to what we see today since Regan cut corporate tax rate even more than Republicans did previously post-WW2.

To think, we could have had well funded public programs for decades. Standard jobs could have been paying a living wage still, like it was expected for them to do back then.

Tbh, I think you need protections that are hard to remove by greedy individuals and politicians. If regulations required a 2/3 majority of the votes in both chambers to lower that could prevent a lot of shenanigans. I don’t think everything necessarily should have that high of a barrier, but regulations and protections are usually prime targets for those seeking to make a quick buck.

I personally think workers could have proportional share of ownership in a company. At least then they directly benefit when the company benefits, much like the owners currently do. Maybe something like the 30% ownership by the CEO, 50% ownership by the employees, and 20% ownership split between the local community/county/state/federal government. If the public has partial ownership their needs become more of the forefront, and it can help bring resources back into the local communities. If not public ownership, then steeper corporate tax rates of larger corporations, potentially even having corporate tax brackets like exist for private citizens.

It shouldn’t be legal for the interest of shareholders to outweigh the interest of stakeholders. Companies need to be beholden to stakeholders only; while shareholders are a part of the stakeholders in a company, their interests should be equal to each of the other stakeholders.

I agree, stocks don’t need to be short term investments that people can day trade to game.

Also, the millionaires and billionaires that own stock should be forced to sell their shares instead of being allowed to use their stock as collateral. These people can evade paying taxes on their money for their whole lives while still gaining the effects of actually using that money since the stock doesn’t need to be sold to be useable.

I feel this image is more “how it starts and how it becomes, when left unregulated”. Many people that brought products to the market did so with good intentions and sought to be competitive. When companies start getting bigger and are then allowed to buy up their direct competitors, that is when the model falls apart. As the focus shifts from what’s best for the customer into what will help the company maintain its spot on top. In many cases by making it near impossible for newer companies to enter the market. From raising the legal barriers of entry in their industry to dropping the products prices to unprofitable levels until any new competition can’t afford to stay open to compete. Monopolies should be broken up.

Modified and regulated capitalism is the only ethical capitalism imo. By that I mean there needs to be room for fair competition and there needs be something like a Universal Basic Income in place. As capitalism itself doesn’t help people get their basic needs met. People need to be able to afford things within the system to keep it going. Small businesses would benefit a lot from their customers and employees both benefiting from a basic income, as customers would have money disposable income and employees would not have to rely so much on their employers pay to meet their basic needs.

It’s helping! I’m not someone that really does art so it’s been fun making silly stuff for myself. It’s nice change of pace getting to approach it without any expectations.

You’re a real one for answering that question we were all having :)

It’s the worst when you are trying a new place too and you’re getting fleeced with the small portions, high cost, and it tastes worse than something you could’ve just reheated from home.

BlueSky’s block/mute lists are some the best new tools we have against bots and misinformation. Lemmy could implement those same tools if it becomes an issue. Currently, Lemmy uses the risk of defederation to hold server admins accountable for cracking down on bots and bad actors.

The music mixing capabilities are very solid if you’re looking to use your new laptop as a creative outlet. The default software is solid for journaling and writing as well. You can set up shortcuts to run some custom automations as well. Hope this helps!

I think it is ancient history at this point, but I don’t think the new face of Germany has really reached the ears of many Americans. Although the same can be said of many countries. The only tales I hear of Germany are of elections and Oktoberfest for the most part, even though I know there’s more out there that is interesting rather than just the annual seasonal festival. I’ve definitely seen photos of the Neuschwanstein Castle before, but I personally would not have recognized it as a German castle. It does look very beautiful there though.

All this to say, I think more countries should be putting their culture out there on display and show why they are worth checking out to a degree. A trip to Europe could be a once in a lifetime trip for many Americans for instance. You really have to have a fulfilling promise for people to take the risk of going to a certain country; making friends, unique sights, feeling welcome, and having food and beverages worth writing home about. Lots of little things have to come together to make it worth pursuing the adventure of the not-so-beaten path.

Side note: I recall seeing a video recently where someone sounded judgmental about Westerners not traveling to their country, which has a unique history and culture, and instead they are going so other more well known countries. The thing is though, those other countries have sold many Westerners on their culture through all the forms of media and art they export. Rather than being judgmental, I think their message would have gone farther showing me why I should invest myself in their culture and why I should want to be a part of it. I bring this up because I feel more countries could take on an active role in sharing their stories, music, and culture across more mediums and even new mediums.

Kinda interestingly that would not have been true had WW2 and Hitler rising to power never happened. German was one of the more spoken second languages in America even. I believe it would have been equally as mentioned today had those things not happened.

I feel Germany has steadily grown back over many decades to be an interesting place, but the main points of interest I feel comes from things like Oktoberfest, their engineering plants, and seeing the Autobahns over there. I’m personally clueless of a lot of the other cool things about Germany, I feel more mystique and cultural sites would pull someone like me to plan a trip out.

They are romanticized and have lots of history for many Americans. The French helped us break away from Britain all those years ago and many of us never forgot that. They even gifted us the Statue of Liberty which has become a National Treasure many aspire to see for those living here. Not to mention the Eiffel Tower which has been a strong symbol of romance here for a long time. Notre Dame as well is something that invokes images of something awe inspiring.

Britain meanwhile become a close ally over WW2 and English speaking Americans are curious of life across the pond where people speak the same as we do but sound quite different. I think there’s a bit of fantasy at play with the mystique of Britain, but the welcoming and lively people living there add to the fun.

Italy is well known for its beauty and delicious food, as well as its Roman history and art. Given the American government is modeled on certain parts of the English and Roman model, I believe there is a sense of connection to these pillars that led to our own society. Not to mention many Italian Americans are some that hold on the most to their Italian heritage, it makes you a little curious to how nice Italy is. Many American tourists speak highly of visiting Italy, often more so than France or even Britain for some.

I think what we’re familiar with is often what we are interested in. If there’s not a compelling reason or story to bring me to some place it would likely take more to sway me to go to that place. I personally haven’t visited Britain, France, or Italy but they are higher on my travel list than many places.

2025 feels like the year of Linux to me; I’m glad to see more Linux and SteamOS support.

They can’t have it both ways imo. If they’re reaping the benefits of it, then they should acknowledge it’s good and should be in place. That’s blatantly not the case though.

I personally would prefer if we continue to support these people since plenty of the people living in those states are not voting against their own self-interest. Imo, caring people living in the deep red or deep blue states should move to more purple districts in purple states to help move the country as a whole to be more caring politically.

I think blue states should also move to implement more safety nets on their own instead of waiting for a blue supermajority federally. If people see how their state and local government can work for them, they’d be more likely to want those policies in their own states. States by that same token should be willing to go into debt to fund long running infrastructure and policies that will be value adds to the state and residents living there.

I don’t know if it’s winning force so much as it’s being spread by bots and bad actors, although the result is more or less the same. Flooding the zone with their rhetoric makes it look like it’s well supported, which in turns convinces some people that it might not be nonsense.

Of course! Most companies deserve to ghosted imo. It should not take weeks for them to assess if a candidate could be a good fit, and they should be prepared to discuss your starting salary then and there.

Many companies will not pay you what you’re worth initially and still won’t after you negotiate for more, as they don’t really fully commit themselves to a candidate until they’ve proved themselves a little over the first 90 days. If you’re blowing their expectations out of the water, you can usually negotiate for more after the 90 day starting period.

Really, anything other than FPTP is fine. RCV only has the same outcome as FPTP, where the least liked candidate can win, in ~10% of outcomes which is fairly uncommon. Really we should be okay with promoting most of the alternatives since they can be modified down the line as well. I personally promote Ranked Robin, STAR, and Score more but RCV is always worth supporting if it’s on your local ballot vs FPTP. Most people are more familiar and accepting of RCV if they have heard of some of these alternatives.

If we keep growing interest locally, people will become more familiar with the alternatives. The more cities and counties that use alternative voting systems, the easier it gets to pass these alternative systems statewide.

While many state lawmakers are determined to push back against alternative voting systems, there is always the possibility of flipping the rules back down the line, especially if more states in general flip blue, progressive, or independent.

I believe there are downsides only if you are drinking too much caffeine or if it is in conflict with one of your medications or existing health conditions, afaik.

Healthline weighs the pros and very few cons of caffeine.