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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 1st, 2023

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  • I’ve been overcharged/“taken for a ride” by five or so taxis in my life, never had trouble with a ride-share service, even in countries where they are operating illegally. Never had a clearly drunk driver, too, unlike a couple of taxis I’ve taken.

    When there’s any kind of language barrier, choosing the destination in the app rather than trying to speak it is so much easier, and using in-app translation messaging, too. When arriving in a new country, not having to get money out at the airport (avoiding rip-off ATMs or money exchangers) and being able to pay online is so much better than cash, especially when you’re not familiar with the currency.

    Certainty of price, and ability to give instant feedback are great at keeping things honest. Sure, Uber/Grab etc are terrible companies, but I swear most taxi licenses in the world are owned my organized crime, so not much of an alternative. There is so much that needs to be done with regulation to get rid of the ‘gig economy’ and make sure that drivers are properly compensated/employed, but the app-powered ride service is just so superior in every way for the passenger, in my opinion.

    May I suggest a back-up battery for your phone (I just use my laptop USB as it’s always with me and works when the PC is off).





  • most inkjets clog like a motherfucker when not in use.

    If you have an inkjet printer, even an expensive one, you have to leave it plugged in and in standby mode so it can do it’s regular cleaning cycle.

    A good middle-range inkjet printer (like a Canon MB2700) can be economical and durable; unfortunately most people’s experience of inkjet are the ultra-cheap ones sold in big-box stores, sold at a loss, to sell over-priced cartridges, and not left plugged in/don’t have cleaning cycles.










  • I know a lot of young people these days that have to live in crowded share houses because there’s nothing else they can afford in the area where they work, and still 70%+ of their income goes towards rent and board.

    Where I’m from, the cost of living has skyrocketed compared to when I was starting out, but the wages haven’t changed. I’ve benefited greatly from that due to capital gains, but it makes it a lot harder for Gen Z to achieve the same thing, even if they do scrimp and save. I can understand people being demoralised and living for today instead, as it seems impossible to improve your position by much.


  • SuperApples@lemmy.worldtoAsklemmy@lemmy.mlWhy are folks so anti-capitalist?
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    1 year ago

    Some great answers here so I’ll do something different and I’ll give myself as a real-world example.

    As a young adult, through a twist of luck, I found a cheap place to rent, so was able save a good amount of my income. I used that saving to get a loan, buy property, and used that property to get a loan and buy a property, and then do it once again. A short while later I now have no debt, can sit on my arse browsing lemmy in Bali (exploiting geo-arbitrage), and live off the market-rate rents my tenants pay back home.

    If my tenants didn’t have to pay market-rate rents, they too might be able save some cash and become capitalists themselves. I could lower the rent, but then I would have to get a job and actually earn my living again. People born into wealth can even skip that step of having to earn their initial capital.

    But whats the point of owning income producing assets (like property, or business) if you’re not improving your situation with it? The ONLY benefit of the capitalist system is that it allows the capitalist to reap the benefits of other’s work, thus reducing the burden of the capitalist to work themself.

    It’s a ridiculous situation, I should not be able to live as I do, simply because I got a lucky break at the start of my working life, an opportunity that is given to the very few. The system should change.


  • This is my thinking, let me know if you see any issues with my interpretation:

    First line of Wikipedia Left-wing politics: Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy as a whole.

    First list of Wikiepdia Authoritarianism: Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voting.

    By these definitions, Left-wing politics should want to evenly distribute power democratically, whereas authoritarianism wants to centralise power in a single entity such as a the military or a dictator.

    The perpetual dictatorship of the proletariat in Marxist-Leninism is functionally indifferent from the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. The authoritarian leadership just becomes the new bourgeoisie.