@Mike403 There are some great food banks here. Unfortunately, they been recently reporting lower-than-normal inventories of food on hand. Higher prices due to inflation are causing people to donate less, I guess.
@txtom I didn’t think it was a brag. I thought it was an extreme over estimate of how much freedom the poor have to have it eat healthy. I go to business dinners at Michelin star restaurants now and that isn’t an exaggeration or flex. Don’t feel like I’m trying to guilt you over being able to afford nice things. Things have changed significantly for me. And honestly as a fellow human being when put into perspective it’s awesome you had no clue what I was talking about.
I'd be poor and struggling if I didn't get my place so cheap. I bought my home in 2008 when housing was cheap.
@stormydaycuddle Yes, I understand the poor often have limited choices. I agree that's unfortunate, and it's no fault of their own.
It's being reported that many Walmart stores, CVS stores, and other stores are permanently closing---many in poor areas. That's really unfortunate, which will make a difficult life for the poor even more so. A lot of that is due to unpunished crime.
@stormydaycuddle This is kinda sort of similar to what your diet used to be (although this guy just ate like this because he was picky), but I think your addition of tomato sauce and milk helped to bring in a bit more nutrition like vitamin c and vitamin b12
Glad you are eating better these days
@sunnysideup at times there was canned asparagus. 😂
@stormydaycuddle delightful.
@Mike403 The Costco food court loses money, and they don't care. They are happy to sell you a hot dog for a buck fifty after you checked out with your $500 Cart . Not to mention the $60 or $120 annual membership. Also, their pricing and packaging is literally anti-poor. Kinda sad but it works for them.
@Sooson - You don't need a membership to buy from the food court. Anyone off the street could literally just walk in and eat.
@mike403 that is some sad ass non-nutritional food in their food court. Pretzels and hot dogs?
@BoomerSpooner - Are McDonald's cheeseburgers much better?
@Mike403 No but you missed the complete point of the discussion that @stormydaycuddle was making. Nutritious food is expensive. That’s all I am going to say because this has been hammered to death already. The point is I don’t think you read the main point.
@BoomerSpooner - I wasn't following the entire conversation. I just made a random comment.
@mike403 Gotcha. It sticks out though.
@Mike403 I allways show my membership card at the door. Didn't know they allow food court access. Yea also got a nice house in 08 thanks to the shenanigans of shady bankers.
@BoomerSpooner - When I was poor, I'd buy packages of hot dogs and eat that almost every meal. Some food may be less nutritious than others but it won't kill you.
@Sooson - At the Costco near me, we can walk through the exit to only access the food court. The receipt checkers stationed there aren't checking membership cards.
Some food may be less nutritious than others but it won't kill you.
Not yet. Hot dogs are high in sodium which damages the heart and kidneys. Hot dogs are very connected to colorectal cancer.
It seemed to me the argument was that it was easy for the poor to stay away from junk food and eat healthy things. I'm confused about why the Costco food court is being used here.
@jplemmon - A few comments up you'll see that I didn't read into the entire argument. I'm working now and I just saw people talking about food.
Okay, so in my view, a utopia would remove all money, and all financial/material “wealth.” All would have what they need and nobody would have too much when others have none.
Religion would be individual, instead of collective. Their dogmas would be inclusive. With no global money, they would have no global power.
All structural barriers to meeting needs would be removed. Not for race, for gender, for sex, for nationality.
With financial structures eliminated, the environment would come (relatively) quickly back into alignment, as there would be no material gain for large corporations or the politicians they buy to plunder it.
There would be more jazz, more dogs, and more consent. There would be fewer pickup trucks, reality shows, and non-psychotropic mushrooms.
Oh and the Red Sox would always beat the Yankees.
I just need less bills More dogs And more food
@natickben I'm curious, in your utopia, what incentive will there be for anyone to get up, collect the raw materials, make, and distribute the things everyone else needs?
Or will we go back to living in caves, foraging for food, and rubbing sticks together?
@natickben Also, please explain how eliminating financial structures correlates to better weather and climate.
Dissolving Chase bank will reduce the frequency of hot summers and hurricanes?
I'm just asking questions, that's all.
@TxTom
When you say stuff like this, we all know you’re not. This is the hallmark of bad faith online argument.
And yes, in an no lnfinancial world, survival becomes the reason to do things. Altruism. Community. Not profit. That means you probably have fewer or no retail markets and more community farms, storehouses and more. Many of the things we don’t need will disappear. This is not a bad thing, and gets to your second “just asking questions.”
It’s great that you picked chase bank. Just google Bill McKibben and Chase Bank. He’ll sort you out.
@natickben But I am... just asking questions.
Before people invented financial institutions, there still seemed to be plenty of war, raping, and pillaging. What do you propose eliminate this from happening?
I would ask Bill, if he were the one on here proposing a utopia. But he's not. You are.
I am all for that
See, I’m a professor of rhetoric. I literally teach this. You’re not “just asking questions.” You’re making statements implying your positions and saying “just asking questions” to imply you’re just trying to have a neutral conversation. It’s a troll tactic: Do you have a Reddit or gab or twitttr account where you say “just asking questions” a lot? Just asking questions. See?
And I defy you to point to any war or a rape or ESPECIALLY a pillaging which existed before there was a system of material wealth. I’ll wait.
And i’m not going to restate McKibben’s arguments. I’ve told you where to look. If you’re just asking questions in order to find answers, I’ve pointed you to them. If not, that’s on you.
But beyond that all, this topic is “how can we make a utopia.” Not “how can we complain about the utopias of others.”
Material wealth has existed since the very first human collected a pile of berries. And since that day, there have been other humans trying to take those berries for themselves. And those are just berries.
How do you propose to eliminate that from happening?