Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I'm Convinced We're Being Played....

Well, Mr. Smarter Than Everyone Else, what do your plans include to do about it?

Be specific.

For a guy who has such disdain for the opinions of Campfire members, even with your first post in this thread at the bottom of it... You sure start a lot of threads asking everyone's opinion about this and that.

Seeing the way you respond to the truth mentioned by many in this thread, I have to declare you got one thing right for sure...

You were correct in that I now consider you a "broke-dick moron" as you put it, and predicted.

Have a nice day invoking the argument and attention you so badly crave.

If you say so, Adam Smith.

That's right, Adam Sandler.

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I know you will find this hard to believe, but you and I and most members here have waaaay more in common than you would think.

To answer your question, what I am trying to do about it is to raise the issue as much as possible in my personal and professional life and to try to set an example for my kids and other folks to take notice to what is happening to our country. I know it's not much, but if you're expecting me to say that I'm gonna run out and single-handedly take down the Death Star, well, I'm going to disappoint you. But, recognizing that there is a problem is typically the first step toward recovery. And, if the good people here think everything is just fine with the way things are, then what chance is there to convince others?

The disdain you pointed out comes from experience here. Every time a member gets off the reservation and even hints that there is something amiss with our current economic system, the capitalist cowboys come charging in to proclaim how wonderful free-market capitalism is, and I agree. Where I don't agree is with the notion that we currently have anything even remotely close to a free market system in this country, and it is getting worse by the day.

Being that I have +/- 1,000 posts in nearly 15 years of membership here, I'm not sure I agree that I "start a lot of threads..." about much of anything. But yeah, to the extent I ask about this or that (almost never related to politics), I enjoy hearing the opinions of others who might have more experience or insight into things I'm interested in at the moment. I don't recall ever impugning the character of anyone here, though, even if I disagreed with them.

What say you, Mr. Smith?

Private Equity Buying Single Family Homes

And, who do you think increasingly controls all the economic resources necessary to have a housing market? And, who sets the rules as to how those resources can be used? Do you think it is you and me as individual buyers and sellers?

In a sub tropical environment where termites eat anything wood, and heat and humidity rust and corrode anything metallic. Maybe there is a difference in building materials and construction techniques? Last time I was in El Salvador, use of Asbestos is still common. It doesn't rust. Termites won't eat it. And people there don't generally live to be old enough for the affects of asbestosis to manifest. Nicer homes are typically built with poured concrete walls. Where the doors and windows are when the concrete is poured is where they are going to be. Where your outlets and lights switches are located when you pour the concrete is where they are going to be. Same for waterlines and fixtures. The importance of the enclosed car port is to ensure your car is still here in the morning. And don't forget living quarters for the security guy who guards/patrols the property at night. Remember to check if the perimeter wall has an adequate quantity of broken glass set in concrete along the top. Or at least have Mother In Law tongue woven into the barbed wire perimeter fencing. And at least one perro bravo in case the security guy falls asleep.

Almost forgot, does the property have an elevated water reservoir on stilts to gravity feed water during those periods (hours? days? weeks?) when the municipal water supply does not work? Also, a backup gen set for the regularly occurring power outages? Not if... When...

I don't disagree with what you're saying, but my larger point was not necessarily about comparing these two exact houses. I was trying to point out that a 971 sq.ft. house should not ,and doesn't need to cost more than a 1/3 million dollars in this country. I contend that if we lived in a freer-market capitalist economy, it would not. I used the Ecuador house example just as a way to try to show that there is no "concrete" reason why it needs to cost that much. We should expect a higher standard of living (including shelter) in this country than those in Ecuador, not less. The reason it costs that much is because of the market, and I fully understand that, but I contend that our economic system has been undermined to the detriment of the American people.

I'll try one other example. Let's say that Private Equity eventually owns and controls most all production of ammo, primers, powder and firearms in the U.S., including the natural resources and transportation systems necessary to move those resources. In other words, total top-to-bottom control. Then let's say for reasons other than a true scarcity of the resources needed to manufacture these items, the prices begin to increase well beyond the reach of most Americans. Let's also say that the federal government steps in and puts rules in place that benefit Private Equity arms manufacturers exclusively and to the detriment of small companies being able to compete, and so they eventually disappear. Do you see where I'm going?

Would it be reasonable for us to suspect that something isn't right in this scenario, or should we just chalk it up to the good ol' free market at work? Is it worth considering whether the government and the corporate hivemind would be doing these things to control people by limiting their access to a means to defend themselves and their country?

My guess is that a lot of good people would rightfully see right through this charade. But when it comes to things such as housing, food, energy, mobility and medicine, they're not willing to take that next step. I contend that controlling things such as housing, mobility, food and energy is at least as an effective method to control a population as controlling access to firearms.

What happens when our kids must pay 1/2 million dollars for a tiny house? What happens when our grandkids must pay $1 million for a by-then decrepit tiny house simply because it is sitting on top of a tiny lot in small-town NC, or any other decent small town in the U.S.? I refuse to believe such a possible scenario can be explained simply by the "free-market" at work. YMMV.

When institutional investors got into the housing market, it increased demand and drove up prices.

So easy, a caveman could answer that one.

Do you see them buying up houses in Ecuador, LOL?

Compare a house for sale in Bucksnort, TN and Brentwood, TN . Then get back to me about overlooking location.

I ain’t living in Ecuador if they made me king and gave me the keys to the castle. Your mileage may vary.

You can still buy houses for below the cost of building (including land) in some parts of the U.S.
Unless you have liquid assets, do you think that an ordinary person can obtain financing for a property in Ecuador.

Finally, assuming you had the money, how would a person pay for that house, wire money to some dude in Ecuador?

Sounds like a great idea, I'm in!!!

People used to build their own homes to save that part of the cost. Not so many people are able or willing to do that now so they are at the mercy of the builder and the lumber yard. The folks that sell lumber want the builders to stay busy and the builders want to be able to buy what they need and depend on getting it. Time is everything to many people. Around our area it's tough just getting put on a list to hire a contractor so they really have most of the balls in their court. You are not in a position to bargain. When I turned 31 after getting divorced I bought 31 acres in a rural area and built my own modest home. Still here. I'm shocked at how prices have went up but most new home owners I know are not. To them it's just part of their life. Location is important but so is perspective.

Ecuador is a very beautiful country beaches and rainforest unfortunately like most countries and exploit the people it should be a very prosperous country. Fortunately a few of the countries are starting to wake up like Argentina and El Salvador. Most of the people are nice and hospitable. Although for South American standards the woman of Ecuador are definitely not the most attractive

It’s also home of the Galápagos Islands

And Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel... Lovely folk... but you're from PA? never mind.

I’m from ny home of ms13 and god knows what else

I frequent khaotic so I do know how fu<ked Ecuador is

👍

Truth.

But attention whoring is probably a less sinister motive than what I suspect.