Friday, September 25, 2015

A Conversation with a Bartender

Yesterday, I walked into a bar when it was not busy. I struck up a conversation with the bartender, a 20-something female.

At one point during the conversation she said to me in a bit of a conspiratorial tone, "Actually, I am leaning toward socialism."

I asked her why. She said, things are bad and that the cost of education was too high, that she had tons  of college debt. And then she said, "Plus, social security is bankrupt and I will never see any of it."

I pointed out to her that her concerns really were about areas of the economy that were the most socialistic here in the US. I said that in the private sector no bank or brokerage house would just be allowed to take your savings give it out to someone else and hope new money came in to pay you. Bernie Madoff tried that, I said. Only governments, when they act like socialist planners, get to do that, and get away with it. Plus, they force you into the system, not even Madoff did that.

I pointed out that the education system was very heavily regulated and that the government was pumping money into the system with reckless abandon. Prices are getting out of control where there are the most socialist-type regulations and government funding,including in the healthcare and education sectors, I said. Where there is little regulation prices are falling, I went on,and mentioned cell phones, flat screen TVs and computer laptops.

She nodded, but she then said. I am not against all corporations. they just need to be regulated more. "That's fascism," I said, "Right out of the Mussolini book on how to run an economy."

At that point, the bar got quite a bit more crowded and she went to wait on other customers.

But, I think I will return sometime next week to see if she is still a socialist.

-RW

17 comments:

  1. This could be the opening to a nour novel. Dashiell Hammett`s The Thin Man opens in a speakeasy.

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    1. Funny you mention The Thin Man. I have never seen the film based on the novel, but there is a gal in Chicago, who swears I resemble William Powell, who plays the main character.

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    2. Did she look like Myrna Loy?

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  2. Dissatisfied Americans will chose anything except freedom. According to James Ostrowski's latest book, Progressivism: A Primer on the Idea Destroying America, 95% of Americans adhere to the "progressive" ideology regardless of party, including the Tea Party types. Example, 95% support public education regardless of party affiliation. When they are dissatisfied, they turn to anything except freedom, any candidate other than Ron Paul, etc.

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  3. Sadly this is the typical line of thinking with young people. Years of government education have made them incapable of critical thought and believers that government is the solution to basically any problem.

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  4. Saving the world, one bartender / cabbie / mis-informed-water-conservationist at a time. Love it! Any more water wasting stories from the gym?

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  5. Replies
    1. Troll feeding station is next door.

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  6. "Yesterday, I walked into a bar when it was not busy. I struck up a conversation with the bartender, a 20-something female."

    And you decided to talk economics?!?!?!?!?!

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    1. Yeah, I know. I have much better success when I start talking "praxeology" and "man acts."

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  7. It never ceases to amaze me how most people turn to the State to “fix” things. Ask these same people their opinion of the job the government is doing at pretty much anything and their answer is disappointment.
    I like to get to the morality. Ask those that advocate for government expansion how they justify the violence. They typically do not understand. When you explain the force that the State needs to exist some start to get a clue.

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    1. Exactly. It amazes me how many people don't think about how the government enacts all the laws it passes. They think it just gets things done. The idea that it is violence that is the means by which it does things doesn't seem to even cross their minds.

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  8. The most important word we need to revitalize is Interventionism. Every problem we have can be traced back to government intervention.

    People know we don't have socialism, so they blame capitalism. A third term is vital.

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  9. But from her shoes, she's thinking "which system is going to wipe out my debt the quickest?" If someone like Bernie gets elected, they might try and wipe out federally owned student loans, even though opening the free market up is the correct long term solution for society. I don't think she thinks or cares about economic systems, just whatever will fix her immediate problems.

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    1. The system we have is corporatism and we'll still have if it Sanders is elected. Sanders' socialism is well within the corporatism model. Debts of the mundanes will not be dismissed ever because that is the leverage the ruling class has over people in this system.

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    2. You are probably right, but all I was trying to say is that she cares about her short term problems. Not the economic future of the nation!

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  10. I was having a conversation with my bartender friend and his friend worked at a restaurant that tip shared for the whole restaurant. That worker complained that it was BS because some of the workers didn't work hard at all and there was no reason for him to bust his ass. I told my friend he had just describe socialism and why it doesn't work.

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