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Episode-1910- Listener Feedback for 12-5-16 — 15 Comments

  1. Amazon is taking over, and not just in the sales space. Remember, they have the largest and most powerful computer offering on the planet. AWS is used by countless companies around the globe and has more compute power than most nations. To put this in perspective, AWS has more compute power than its 14 largest competitors *combined*. That includes Google. http://www.techrepublic.com/article/aws-now-10x-the-size-of-its-competitors-is-the-cloud-arms-race-over/
    When you’re working with that kind of raw compute power, you can do things no-one else can even imagine. Think about this possible scenario: Amazon opens stores in key markets, and just outside them. The stores can be leverage as distribution points. They simply need Amazon lockers, which already exist, for direct pickup by purchasers and by drivers for the Amazon delivery service. Amazon no longer needs the USPS or Fedex. They control their own distribution. What’s to stop them from getting into international shipping via automated and containerized ships? Heck, I could even see them buying up old rail lines, like they did with dark fiber, just to run their own shipping backbone.
    AWS is a juggernaut and it’s just starting to really build momentum.

    • Our local Walmart sent us a $10 coupon to use if we join their online grocery shopping network… Just order online, they pack it all up and you just drive up and pick it up. Sure, they don’t deliver (yet) but it’s similar to the Amazon program…

  2. Jack,

    Doesn’t giving everyone UBI have the same affect as inflating the market?

    Let me put it a different way doesn’t UBI basically subsidize the nations cost of living?
    And everytime the government subsidizes something the market response is to raise prices.

    I keep hearing the argument that once everyone’s basic needs are met they might do something good with their life, but I wonder how long those needs will be able to be met before the cost of living increase adjusts back to normal.

    • It might, but again it might not, as in all things it depends.

      Inflation is driven not just by monetary supply but velocity of money and rate of expansion in our fractional reserve banking system.

      So if you consider that UBI would be 3-6 trillion into the economy your first reaction is holy shit batman, watch out.

      But how many trillions did QE 1, 2 and 3 dump into our economy enriching bankers and the Goldman Sachs? Where is that run away inflation?

      Let me put it another way, would you expect that 100% employment at mostly minimum wage would cause run away inflation?

      How many people getting 800-2000 (depending on where it lands) do you think will be people that lost jobs that were making far more.

      Say Tom makes 60K a year in a factory. UBI kicks in say now he is making 84K. That of course can effect inflation, especially on say housing in Tom’s local area. But what if Tom, like millions of Americans will looses his 60K job to technology, now Tom makes 24K.

      What does that do to inflation? It actually suppresses it into deflation, which is a BIGGER problem in our current system. MUCH BIGGER.

      So now Tom looses that job, says Fuck this 24K ain’t enough and goes looking for a job. Start to see it all though.

      Tom doesn’t go on unemployment, we no longer have that, right? Do you know what unemployment costs employers? What if you level it at a base rate with no risk or add ons and put it into the UBI pool?

      Anyway Tom can’t find a 60K job, but he finds a 35K job and he can afford to take it because unlike unemployment or welfare he doesn’t loose his UBI if he takes it.

      Tom now is making 24+35= 59K actually less than he was before losing his job an the start of UBI. It’s a wash. May be he is making 30K working 25 hours a week, we are still at a down but Tom is likely happier.

      How many Tom’s will there be that will have less income, yet to less work and have happier lives to off set people that keep crushing it and already have and maintain high incomes?

  3. I’ve been in EMS since 1997, worked in five states, and now and in Kentucky.

    Here in Louisville, EMS has to transport to the closest medically appropriate hospital when possible, otherwise transport to the hospital of choice. (this means we try to get you to pick the closest hospital that can treat you, but if you want to go across the county, we have to take you there.)

    In Lakewood OH, (the Cleveland area), we transported to one of two hospitals – the trauma center/child hospital and the closest hospital. No others.

    In Slaterville Springs NY, (near – 60 miles from Syracuse), we had one hospital for two counties. So anything serious got flown.

    In Harford County (north of Baltimore) it was closest medically appropriate hospital.

    Many times people pick the hospital because of their insurance. If they go in to another hospital out of network, they get a huge bill, so they really insist on their hospital.

    I have told people who want to go to a certain hospital “if you go there, you will die because they can’t treat you.” I prefer to go to the closest appropriate hospital so that I am able to get back into service sooner. But always the appropriate one, because i’m not able to respond to another call until i’m back in the area, not able to help “my” people.

    Self Transport seldom is a good option. Like you read, we can start medical treatment when we arrive, and give the hospital heads up we are coming so they are ready for you. That and learning CPR is also a very good thing.

  4. Jack, thanks for giving my question a second run. Shawn, thanks for your advice. My property has 5 ponds, each about 1/4 acre. I also have county water that all I have to do is turn on should the need arise. According to the tenant that leases the property now, the ponds have not been dry since the drought of 2012. He currently has 9 head in the property, healthy and fat, despite the property being a patch of weeds, but there is still plenty of grass.

    I’m not a stranger to cattle operations, just to weeds in pasture. I’m mostly experienced with cattle in very dry terrains (Coahuila desert) where weeds don’t dare grow. So controlling weeds is sort of a new thing for me.

    I’m currently repairing the frontage fence. Texas clay in August is hard as concrete. Once I’m done repairing the fence, I’ll introduce 1 or 2 stocker to the herd.

    To be sure this very small cattle operation is not going to make me rich. But the land is in a good location, and I got it for a good price so it’s a long term investment with some value added fun.

    I have my work cut out for the next 2 years bringing this property to a proper farm with pastures, pens, and cross fencing. Maybe then, I can convince the wife to live there. That’s the real challenge.

    Thanks for all your help.

  5. Here’s another consideration on the cattle question. You may want to consider getting ahold of some Cracker cattle. Here in FL they are becoming a sought after thing for the slow food movement and artisanal producers. Cracker steers are also popular with calf ropers because of being small and quick and usually they have horns. They are a motley small breed and probably rare outside of the Southeast. The advantage is that they have evolved to thrive on poor sandy grazing scrubland and bear their calves with few complications. I do know three ranchers who keep these cattle and due to natural selection they don’t need near as much care as the usual meat breeds. One rancher basically drives his truck out in the woods where they live, rounds them up for vetting a few times a year and markets the weaned calves once a year. I have no way to know how profitable these ranchers are but all three have been doing this for decades. One guy’s the third generation of his family raising Cracker cattle. Be the first in your area to sell this “heritage” breed and it might give you a different option for profit.

    • LM, this is very interesting. I have never heard of cracker cattle but when I looked them up on Wiki they look remarkably similar to some of the cows we run in the desert. They are fast on the hoof and browse like goats, very drought hardy. I didn’t know they were called Craker cattle. Funny. We just called them ‘chirusas’ which means mutts. With a good Brangus or Limousine bull, they produce heavy calves, though. In general, I find beef that feeds on many sources other than grass, such as prickly pears, chaparral blossoms in spring and torched pear cactus pads more tasty than strictly grass fed beef. These cows excel at eating what’s available.

      Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to look into it.

  6. Jack,
    Thank you so much for responding to my air soft question on this episode 1910 podcast. I was so pleasantly surprised and blown away when I heard you read and answer my question on air. I couldn’t wait to get home and share the news with my wife. We listened to it again at home together. I appreciate you taking the time to look into this for me and giving me some recommendations.

    I plan on buying two air soft pistols so my wife and I can practice in our back yard on a regular basis. It is hard to find the time in our weekly schedule & responsibilities to get to a shooting range. My wife has tried many hand guns and the Ruger sr22 seems like the one that she likes and fits her hand best. She also likes how easily she can work the slide. We are going to check out the Walther PPQ M2 at our local gun shop and compare.

    I really look forward to listening to your podcast on my way home from work every day on my Stitcher app. I discovered your show from a comment that Jessica Mills made on one of her You Tube videos about hiking the Appalachian Trail. I also enjoy watching your You Tube videos as well as Jessica Mills and Justin Rhodes videos.
    Thanks again for all you do,
    Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!

  7. Jack,
    Is an autonomous vehicle the end of freedom of movement as we know it? Will the freedom of driving only be for hackers or rich?

    I have scary hypothetical questions. What if insurance companies raise premiums on vehicles that are not autonomous because they are actuarially more risky to insure? What if it becomes cost prohibitive to drive regular vehicles due to the insurance mandate. Ultimately commercial companies would all have autonomous vehicles because if they were not, they would be negligent if a driver kills a family because he fell asleep behind the wheel? What is the fallout from autonomous vehicles?

    Would car companies be complicit in collecting driving information and preventing people from driving if they don’t have insurance? Maybe it will be like The Fifth Element (how many points do you have left on your license?) The cars of the future could be required to validate credentials over the cloud such as insurance and proper license in order to operate a vehicle. Ultimately the car companies will morph from strictly manufacturing to advertisers in order to maintain revenues.

    If you have autonomous vehicles do people maintain liability or is it car companies? Will the state remove the automobile insurance mandate from the people? Will this cause insurance companies to shrink? Or will the mandate change to be that individuals all required maintaining umbrella coverage?

    The environment of what we know to be true is changing a light speed and with the development of Amazon biometric data technology as well as the garment of other companies competing to product similar products will help facilitate this transformation.

    Internet, satellites, drones, and biometric software, what other products developed by defense companies will be used in the market place. Skynet is here!