The progressive solution - massive subsidies. The libertarian solution - reduce the barriers to entry to allow more barbers and hence more competition.
How's that working again? I'm old enough to remember the good old days of family businesses when service and quality was important (my parent's owned Barb's Sporting Goods in Southwick MA. Open 24/7 except on major family holidats) Dick's in the end hastened their decision to go out of business.
I remember local community pharmacies, CVS and Rite Aid took care of that.
I remember the local newsstands, coffeshops, and lunch counters. Gone, because "bigger is better."
I could go on but you get my point.
I was a manager for most of my adult career life (now a CPT or certified personal trainer) and believed the BS, I no longer do. I witnessed too much to buy the line.
The progressive solution, of course, involves a bunch of bureacrats in Washington getting rich off money forcibly taken from taxpayers... in some sort of barber administration.
And just who is proposing subsidies for haircuts? And what are those barriers that must be removed so more people can become barbers? Your examples are nonsensical.
My solution, (Libertarian? Progressive?) has been to cut my own hair. Saves time, saves money, saves trips and looks fine. My clippers with attachments have lasted for the last 25 years. I have no idea of how many people do it, but you see a lot of 'how to' articles and youtube things. What got me started was having to sit in a shop and wait. Since the Dr's office has the same problem these days, I may try self-medication and surgery....
Jerry, a) it was a parable (I could have used any product or service) and b) are you really that uninformed as to what state and local governments make small businesses do just to get started (in terms of licensing, compliance, etc.) and of how they constantly harass them (you need half a million dollars just to start a cab company in NYC and in many other cities there are things called, "certificates of necessity" which are basically run by the pre-existing businesses and enforced by their cronies in government) over pittly shit?
Les, you're obviously undergoing some sort of political transformation, and that's fine (people who NEVER change their mind are dangerous). I just find it a little disconcerting in that you were one of my inspirations for becoming more libertarian and now you're touting serial deceivers and cherry-pickers like Thomas Picketty and defending the likes of Tao and Octopus (fellows that you used to despise). Just please, don't morph into another David Brock or Arianna Huffington.
Are all the community pharmacies gone, Les? And those that closed, must we place the "blame" on competitors that did a much better job? Instead if on those that did a worse job?
"I remember the local newsstands, coffeshops, and lunch counters. Gone, because "bigger is better."
no, gone because if you do a crap job at running your business, those who do a better job will earn your customers. And also gone because of excessive taxation/fees from governments.
I just find it a little disconcerting in that you were one of my inspirations for becoming more libertarian and now you're touting serial deceivers and cherry-pickers like Thomas Picketty and defending the likes of Tao and Octopus (fellows that you used to despise). Just please, don't morph into another David Brock or Arianna Huffington.
Will, Will, Will, Of course I have changed, but only in my presentation and expanded associations. I believe in maximum individual liberty which obviously requires minimum restrictions on the individual. However, with maximum liberty comes the need for accepting maximum personal responsibility and the ability to regulate or control ones actions in relationship to they may affect the rest of the community they live in.
I remain a staunch advocate for true competitive capitalistic. In that vein I remain an advocate of Ayn Rand, with the caveat that unbridled, completely unregulated capitalism result in monopolies, something Adam Smith recognized and spoke to. BTW, if you did not already know this Karl Marx was an admirer of Adam Smith.
I consider myself a fiscal conservative (and have spent much time heretofore demonstrating this) and a libertarian in relationship to most things social in nature. Again, the more liberty one enjoys the more accountability and responsibility is required of the individual. If you follow this line of thought you should be able to see why I despise those who call themselves conservatives or libertarian yet are the first to place BLAME OR RESPONSIBILITY on everyone other than themselves.
Mis-characterization of individuals and concepts is rampant in the blogoshere and to some degree we all have a tendency from time to time to do it; in the sense we look for data and sources that support our long held paradigms. The inability to maintain an active mind in search of the truth is certain death of ideas that move society forward.
As to the individuals you mention, you are correct, at one point I had little use for what they had to offer. What changed? Me. I began to realize that ideas are not the domain of just conservatives or libertarians and that perhaps my inability to break free of the strangulation hold my paradigms had on me clouded my percerptions. Once I realized this the ice began to melt and sure enough the individuals I once had no use for became interesting people with much to offer; even given there are areas that we will never completely agree on, but so what? Isn't it just as important to find areas of agreement as it is to constantly dwell on differences?
I have this saying, before you criticize your neighbors backyard make sure your own is pristine first. Conservatives and libertarians have pretty messy backyards themselves.
No Will, I do not tout cherry pickers and deceivers. A question; who are the biggest cherry pickers and deceivers of all? Those with an agenda and usually it is those who would limit your individual liberties in the process of accomplishing their agenda.
If anything Will I will morph into more of who am am. And I'm very comfortable in my own skin.
If that was a response to my last comment, some specifics would be nice. I have gone down that road... in respects to businesses doing a poor job tilting the playing field against themselves. That's better an an angry retort.
15 comments:
How's that working again? I'm old enough to remember the good old days of family businesses when service and quality was important (my parent's owned Barb's Sporting Goods in Southwick MA. Open 24/7 except on major family holidats) Dick's in the end hastened their decision to go out of business.
I remember local community pharmacies, CVS and Rite Aid took care of that.
I remember the local newsstands, coffeshops, and lunch counters. Gone, because "bigger is better."
I could go on but you get my point.
I was a manager for most of my adult career life (now a CPT or certified personal trainer) and believed the BS, I no longer do. I witnessed too much to buy the line.
Sorry.
The progressive solution, of course, involves a bunch of bureacrats in Washington getting rich off money forcibly taken from taxpayers... in some sort of barber administration.
And just who is proposing subsidies for haircuts? And what are those barriers that must be removed so more people can become barbers? Your examples are nonsensical.
My solution, (Libertarian? Progressive?) has been to cut
my own hair. Saves time, saves money, saves trips and looks fine.
My clippers with attachments have
lasted for the last 25 years. I have no idea of how many people
do it, but you see a lot of 'how to' articles and youtube things.
What got me started was having to
sit in a shop and wait. Since the Dr's office has the same problem these days, I may try
self-medication and surgery....
Jerry, a) it was a parable (I could have used any product or service) and b) are you really that uninformed as to what state and local governments make small businesses do just to get started (in terms of licensing, compliance, etc.) and of how they constantly harass them (you need half a million dollars just to start a cab company in NYC and in many other cities there are things called, "certificates of necessity" which are basically run by the pre-existing businesses and enforced by their cronies in government) over pittly shit?
Les, you're obviously undergoing some sort of political transformation, and that's fine (people who NEVER change their mind are dangerous). I just find it a little disconcerting in that you were one of my inspirations for becoming more libertarian and now you're touting serial deceivers and cherry-pickers like Thomas Picketty and defending the likes of Tao and Octopus (fellows that you used to despise). Just please, don't morph into another David Brock or Arianna Huffington.
Are all the community pharmacies gone, Les? And those that closed, must we place the "blame" on competitors that did a much better job? Instead if on those that did a worse job?
A parable? More like a pair of bull. :)
The socialist solution to the haircut solution is to cut off the whole head. Compared to that, progressives don't near as bad.
"I remember the local newsstands, coffeshops, and lunch counters. Gone, because "bigger is better."
no, gone because if you do a crap job at running your business, those who do a better job will earn your customers. And also gone because of excessive taxation/fees from governments.
I just find it a little disconcerting in that you were one of my inspirations for becoming more libertarian and now you're touting serial deceivers and cherry-pickers like Thomas Picketty and defending the likes of Tao and Octopus (fellows that you used to despise). Just please, don't morph into another David Brock or Arianna Huffington.
Will, Will, Will, Of course I have changed, but only in my presentation and expanded associations. I believe in maximum individual liberty which obviously requires minimum restrictions on the individual. However, with maximum liberty comes the need for accepting maximum personal responsibility and the ability to regulate or control ones actions in relationship to they may affect the rest of the community they live in.
I remain a staunch advocate for true competitive capitalistic. In that vein I remain an advocate of Ayn Rand, with the caveat that unbridled, completely unregulated capitalism result in monopolies, something Adam Smith recognized and spoke to. BTW, if you did not already know this Karl Marx was an admirer of Adam Smith.
I consider myself a fiscal conservative (and have spent much time heretofore demonstrating this) and a libertarian in relationship to most things social in nature. Again, the more liberty one enjoys the more accountability and responsibility is required of the individual. If you follow this line of thought you should be able to see why I despise those who call themselves conservatives or libertarian yet are the first to place BLAME OR RESPONSIBILITY on everyone other than themselves.
Mis-characterization of individuals and concepts is rampant in the blogoshere and to some degree we all have a tendency from time to time to do it; in the sense we look for data and sources that support our long held paradigms. The inability to maintain an active mind in search of the truth is certain death of ideas that move society forward.
As to the individuals you mention, you are correct, at one point I had little use for what they had to offer. What changed? Me. I began to realize that ideas are not the domain of just conservatives or libertarians and that perhaps my inability to break free of the strangulation hold my paradigms had on me clouded my percerptions. Once I realized this the ice began to melt and sure enough the individuals I once had no use for became interesting people with much to offer; even given there are areas that we will never completely agree on, but so what? Isn't it just as important to find areas of agreement as it is to constantly dwell on differences?
I have this saying, before you criticize your neighbors backyard make sure your own is pristine first. Conservatives and libertarians have pretty messy backyards themselves.
No Will, I do not tout cherry pickers and deceivers. A question; who are the biggest cherry pickers and deceivers of all? Those with an agenda and usually it is those who would limit your individual liberties in the process of accomplishing their agenda.
If anything Will I will morph into more of who am am. And I'm very comfortable in my own skin.
With all due respect... Bullsh*t.
On an even field of completion yes. The field is not tilted significantly. Advantage big boys.
I saw it unfold over 35:years in the industry I worked in. It is still going on.
No response Will? Hm, glad I gave you some food for thought.
"With all due respect... Bullsh*t."
If that was a response to my last comment, some specifics would be nice. I have gone down that road... in respects to businesses doing a poor job tilting the playing field against themselves. That's better an an angry retort.
With all due respect :)
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