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- the_real_jessica
- Rep: 22
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
Typical sheltered actor. Might as well just say "bad guys" are the problem.
If people were smart and independent enough not to obey there wouldn't be a need for government at all. Alas that is not the case, and that's where we are at. What we need are good leaders.
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
Sounds like he's going to become the Gwyneth Paltrow on this issue.
I preferred the days when celebrities kept their mouths shut on topics like this. Like polluxlm said, you see how out of touch they are with the real world.
- Smoking Guns
- Rep: 330
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
He made a couple good points but over all didn't grab me.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
I don't think disobedience itself is the answer as that would just lead to anarchy and non-society.
However, I think we need to move on from neo-liberism and belief that a free market will self regulate everything before the world is ruled by two giant corporations alone.
As a species I think were going to have to look at other ideas going forward - society designed around profit isn't working and soon there's going to be no need for people to work as much as we all do so many days of the week.
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
There isn't any need to work as much as we do now. A few guys operating machinery can produce the food we need and any engineered product can be made mostly automated. Even medical surgeries can be done by computer. We went from a 12 hour work day to an 8 hour one and prosperity has only increased. Theoretically there shouldn't be a problem to decrease that even further as technology advances.
Once we get robots with the proper agility and a power source, humans can kiss all non creative work goodbye. And that would have been a great thing if we didn't live in a society where generating profits is the only game that matters. Unless something is done the majority of us will end up as slaves to government assistance. Or perhaps even worse, a communist dictatorship were people are forced to work in redundant jobs for shitty pay just to keep up appearances. I'm increasingly worried that a communist program will be sold as the way forward when things start to go tits up with the "free market".
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
I dunno here it seems like government assistance is all but being phased out. My cousin has ankylosing spondylitis and can barely move some days yet the government thinks he's good to work. Basically here if anything happens to you that pushes you into poverty you're told it's your own fault.
Meanwhile we've had generations of policies designed to favour the top end of town, land ownership has become a devise for the wealthy to speculate on to make tax-free capital gains and has pushed prices up to the extent that anyone under about 40 here needs to move 100km from the city to find a place they can live. For example the suburb where I rent is 30km outside of a capital city (ie close to go to work) and houses here that are weatherboard and built in the 1970s are around $1.5m dollars. To buy something for $400k i'd be looking at maybe 2-3 hours commute time each way.
Jobs have almost all been converted to 'casual' employment where you work beyond full time hours but are paid on a part-time basis with no benefits and no job-security, meanwhile everyone under 40 was conned into borrowing $50-100k to go to university only to discover that most of the time there's no actual jobs in what they study. Despite the comedy and so on this is not only limited to liberal arts degrees either - for example I have a law degree and also a business degree both at grad dip level but never could get decent professional work. Might as well have quit school at 14 for all the help my education has brought to me in terms of earning a living.
I dunno what it's like in other countries and I'm not complaining as i'm sure there's people here with a lot worse....just saying the system is broken and it's past time that some new ideologies and models were installed or it's going to keep getting worse until something outright bad happens when too many people are pushed to desperation.
I would like to see a model that incorporates profit like we have, but pays more value to ethics and basic standards for everybody rather than the shameless greed and "fuck everyone else" attitude we see now.
- TheSundanceKid
- Rep: 30
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
I think you can be an artist and speak out on issues that concern you.
For example: Robert Redford, is a huge environmentalist. Has supported candidates of both parties.
Even though I don't agree with all his policies: Michael Moore has been a champion for the everyman.
I do agree it is annoying when some celebrities preach way too much.
Luckily people like Tom Petty exist that just don't do that.
- TheSundanceKid
- Rep: 30
Re: Civil disobedience : Matt Damon speech. Opinions ?
I think you can be an artist and speak out on issues that concern you.
For example: Robert Redford, is a huge environmentalist. Has supported candidates of both parties.
Even though I don't agree with all his policies: Michael Moore has been a champion for the everyman.
I do agree it is annoying when some celebrities preach way too much.
Luckily people like Tom Petty exist that just don't do that.
I dunno here it seems like government assistance is all but being phased out. My cousin has ankylosing spondylitis and can barely move some days yet the government thinks he's good to work. Basically here if anything happens to you that pushes you into poverty you're told it's your own fault.
Meanwhile we've had generations of policies designed to favour the top end of town, land ownership has become a devise for the wealthy to speculate on to make tax-free capital gains and has pushed prices up to the extent that anyone under about 40 here needs to move 100km from the city to find a place they can live. For example the suburb where I rent is 30km outside of a capital city (ie close to go to work) and houses here that are weatherboard and built in the 1970s are around $1.5m dollars. To buy something for $400k i'd be looking at maybe 2-3 hours commute time each way.
Jobs have almost all been converted to 'casual' employment where you work beyond full time hours but are paid on a part-time basis with no benefits and no job-security, meanwhile everyone under 40 was conned into borrowing $50-100k to go to university only to discover that most of the time there's no actual jobs in what they study. Despite the comedy and so on this is not only limited to liberal arts degrees either - for example I have a law degree and also a business degree both at grad dip level but never could get decent professional work. Might as well have quit school at 14 for all the help my education has brought to me in terms of earning a living.
I dunno what it's like in other countries and I'm not complaining as i'm sure there's people here with a lot worse....just saying the system is broken and it's past time that some new ideologies and models were installed or it's going to keep getting worse until something outright bad happens when too many people are pushed to desperation.
I would like to see a model that incorporates profit like we have, but pays more value to ethics and basic standards for everybody rather than the shameless greed and "fuck everyone else" attitude we see now.
I like this post a lot.
There has been a fuck everyone else approach. By people. It just doesn't matter until it is them losing their job or industry.
Corporate greed is ridiculous. Yet we still support some of these assholes that want to squeeze every fucking dollar.
The middle class is vanishing big time.
We used to have a textiles industry huge in the 90s and now that is all outsourced made in China or where ever. Those were good paying jobs. Yet some of these companies want to brag about their humble origins (Levi's) and play on being an American classic yet made in Mexico and China.
Manufacturing jobs also getting outsourced galore. Ford is shipping the Focus production to Mexico. Has a two tier wage system. Benefits from tax breaks / corporate welfare.
Carrier A/C plant had a huge story a while ago about being moved to Mexico as well.
I get that we are in the age of Globalization.
But, if people can't afford your products or make a decent wage society ain't getting better. Those pitchforks will be coming sooner than later.
You can make a profit and pay people a livable wage. You just got to not be that fucking greedy.
I believe Henry Ford had a concept of paying people a decent wage so they could afford to buy Model T's.
What I find cheap, is when a company prides itself on its American or whatever country's status yet outsources it to another country.
Converse used to make shoes in the US up until 2001. They got sold, Nike bought them and now an American classic is outsourced crap.
What people can do, is they can strive to buy domestic or products made where they're traditionally from. I'm not 100 percent all the time and I don't expect people to be so. Like if I am buying a Nikon camera, Nintendo system or Sony system, I do expect it to be made in Japan. Just like I'd expect my Ford vehicle to be made in the USA or Canada. The easiest thing to buy I find is clothing. Most of mine is Made in the USA, some in Canada (where I am from), England for my Oxfords, et cetera. So it is doable. Comes down to research. Red Wing boots are great as well, Made in the USA.
When I see companies like Apple making an insane profit it is like wow. You could have those jobs in the States.
I do know Germany is bringing Adidas production with Robots back to Germany after 20 years and also into the USA. So at least some jobs will be brought back.
So for me if a company is proud of its origins and it can't produce domestically from where it is from that's a problem and I likely won't support them. They've got a right to make as much money and squeeze and squeeze. But, eventually the product does suffer and as a consumer I ain't going to support a company that treats people as disposable. 'Cause what does that say about its product.
Zippo still made in PA in the USA.
I can go on and on.
But, it does matter to me if good jobs are lost.
The worst I find is when I see bumper stickers like: "Out of a job yet? Keep buying Foreign." This might be a Canadian thing. No idea. But, I find it cheap. Do those people supporting that actually buy domestic a lot? I doubt it. They don't give two fucks about the worker that's job is being outsourced to somewhere else.
Long story short, I think most people have their head in the sand or just don't give a fuck until it happens to them.
Also, long term wise. If America is to remain the only super power in the world it needs to bring back its manufacturing jobs (not all of them), but, outsourcing a shit ton to China is helping it rise to almost super power levels.
