In our hypothetical world we’re envisioning here, I think a flat multiple would be inducement enough for some. To be able to retire 3x or 4x as fast for hazardous, stressful, or highly unpleasant jobs would be very attractive for a significant amount of the population.

As for education, you could just make it so students earn for studying (rather than paying for the chance) at a low multiple, and make more skilled labour a moderate multiple.

At most, only one order of magnitude greater seems fair. Nobody’s job is a billion times as hard as any job.

Authoritarian followers are always available in significant numbers, in every country. If you are a grifter, they’re the ones you can trick, get caught, and they will keep voting for you - if you seem like you are punishing an outgroup on their behalf.

Income inequality is the soil they flourish best in, which is unfortunate when capitalism.

If you want to be number 1, you’ve got to be odd.

(Same)

Being likeable is a super power. I know a few likeable people, they leap over fuckin tall buildings.

True, they’re basically a pet rich guy the company uses as a capitalism mascot

Oh wait, maybe I do know how British voters think… Damn it.

Damn! (⁠ノ⁠｀⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ノ⁠彡⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

And you’ve tried other forms of caffeine? Chocolate, tea, yerba mate? I find they all hit pretty different.

Sorry if you’ve heard it all before, that sucks.

I listen to a (albeit slightly leavened with irony, not super serious) general foreign policy podcast (the Foreign Report) with a Persian-American guy who seems to know a lot about the history of Iran, and a lot of what he says jives with what I’ve read and heard elsewhere about the Iranian government and Iranian history generally. Given all that, I’m pretty comfortable leaning on that as a basis to say yeah, it’s a murderous and opaque justice system they’ve got there.

I’d politely disagree on laziness fines, I’ve always done the school run on foot even when it was a half hour walk but it still sets an iffy precedent.

You didn’t say anything there I actually disagree with. We might not disagree much overall. The US military should not be in Iran, period. No conceivable news story can change that fact for me honestly. I’m only quibbling because I come in contact with lots of people who literally think in terms of “anybody fighting America is a good guy”, which makes my teeth itch. Sorry to bother you.

Kettle Chips, sour cream and onion. Hardly ever see it anymore, but that’s my all-timer. Everyone else is right about their pick, reason being I don’t want to share.

I had to give up Takis, too “hyper-palatable” and addictive by design.

I mean… Are you trying to sell me on the idea that treasonous insurrection is not a death penalty thing? At least for the ringleader. If they put Trump to death for that, and barred all the J6ers from any public office henceforth that would be roughly adequate, assuming a fair trial.

Let’s compare that hypothetical scenario to the present case. Excerpt from https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/news/2026/05/04/iran-secretly-executes-kurdish-political-prisoner-mehrab-abdollahzadeh-in-orumiyeh :

[Mehrab Abdollahzadeh] initially denied all charges, but capitulated after a woman with whom he was in a romantic relationship was arrested and threats were made to detain his mother and other family members, he was compelled to comply with the interrogators’ demands, and stated that he had punched one of the Basij members several times.

That sound like a fair trial to you?

Edit: All of the foregoing implicitly allows for states to enact violence of any kind in their own preservation, an assumption I do not generally accept anymore but permit for the sake of the proposed comparison.

Intellectually I know that there are probably people who come to Lemmy for a neurotypical amount of information, it’s just a weird thing to consider

There’s still a less combative way, I have to think. Require them to get a qualified builder to come round and make sure it’s sturdy and up to code. Hard not to see the present demand as just attacking nonconformity.

The tenor of this thinkpiece would have us believe that rejoining the EU is political poison, but polling data I’m seeing tells a different story. Seems like Novara Media is more agenda than analysis.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/987347/brexit-opinion-poll/

Must be some kind of foam. You never pour water on an oil fire, as we all learn sooner or later.

Holy shit. Congrats to Keanu Reeves for getting to work with such talented people, tbfh

It’s hard enough to immigrate a young child once. If I did it again I don’t know if my kid could cope. Or my wife. I just finished supporting her through optometry school, and that degree only works in so many countries.

Also, before I even entertained moving again I’d have to think of a third country that would have us. And somehow isn’t also doing late stage capitalism bullshit, you know?

I moved my whole family once, and to everyone at home we’re the smart ones who got out. If I moved again it would start to look more habitual than Sybil-sighted. wan smile