• 0 Posts
  • 7 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
Cake day: June 23rd, 2023
  • oxjox@lemmy.mltoFediverse@lemmy.world•What if we started uploading YT videos to PeerTube?English
    71·
    2 days ago

    Because, contrary to what you may think you’ve observed over the past ten+ years, copying and republishing anyone’s content without their permission is a US copyright infringement.

    So yeah; if you want to get their permission, ensure all their links and such are migrated over, and do all the work for them to mirror content they’ve created without the benefit of making any money on it, have at it.

  • oxjox@lemmy.mltoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•What's the MAGA justification for closing the CFPBEnglish
    20·
    9 days ago

    The Republican agenda for over 50 years has been to eliminate federal agencies. Reagan was overwhelmingly elected and he campaigned on closing Carter’s recently created department of education.

    If it’s not explicitly in the constitution, they believe it should be operated by the states or by a corporation. It’s not about “why do they want to close it”, it’s “why should this exist” - especially when (they think) a corporation could do it better. Bonus: corporations make money and you can invest in them to make money for yourself.

    Generally, the idea is a very small federal government and more sovereignty for each state. It’s easy to misunderstand this when conservatives are also calling for federal restrictions on health and freedoms. Don’t fool yourself to believe there’s consistency in politics.

    The world was very different two hundred and fifty years ago. Our lives, commerce, and opinions are no longer impeded by state boundaries. The reason for this country to exist still remains but the context has changed. Anyone holding conservative ideas is, intentionally or not, holding this country back.

    Moreover, if you think this administration gives a shit about anyone but themselves and corporations, you my sweet innocent child are truly out of the loop.

    Again, going back to Reagan, Americans have been convinced that the government is bad and enriching corporations is good. Trickle down economics is still by and large considered good for workers. You give tax breaks to the billionaires and corporations and, in theory, they can employ more people. Of course we know now that trickle down economics has been a failure and that enriching the poor and middle class is best for the entire economy.

    The United States is a failure. It came close but it doesn’t scale. We need a new Constitution and Bill of Rights that more explicitly outlines the responsibility of the federal government and what The People can trust it to do for them. If you want a truly Democratic Republic, we also need to make election day a holiday, fund election campaigns strictly through taxpayer dollars, and implement ranked choice or STAR voting. Footnote - the new constitution would have to explicitly say election campaigns are an exception to any free speech clause because fuck Citizen’s United.

  • oxjox@lemmy.mltoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•What are brand/product and features specific examples of enshittification?English
    4·
    16 days ago

    The “in general” part of your statement is doing a lot of work here. It’s a bit more complicated.

    It’s absolutely true that many manufacturers are using cheaper materials and near-slave wage labor to make clothing. Industry, in general, has changed dramatically in the past 10-15 years as we’re seeing a flood of low cost garment makers who can ship direct to consumers at a fraction of what we’re used to paying for clothes. There’s a substantial portion of the industry (Shein, et al) that’s putting out ultra trendy clothing for tens of dollars.

    There’s also still good quality brands out there but their stuff costs more than the cheap(ly made) stuff. Most consumers don’t see or understand the value in spending more today for something that will last more than five years. Especially in regard to fashion; trends and styles change so why would you want to wear something more than five years. Also, a lot of people do not know how to properly care for their clothing.

    Consumers have greatly benefitted from certain international trade regulations at the expense of quality materials and craftsmanship and unfair wages. Speaking on behalf of Americans, the costs of our goods would be noticeably higher without the legislation passed during the Reagan and Clinton administrations. You could also argue we’d be able to afford it if the jobs remained in this country and we were being paid fair wages.

    I’d argue that WAGES are what have been enshittified more than anything else. People are making less money today than they did 30 years ago.

    For reference, I looked up Levis 501 Jeans from 1996 and today.
    1996 - $37.99 | 2025 - $79.50

    If I run this through the inflation calculator, $38 in 1996 is worth $75.97 today.

    Now, if you convert $50k, that should equal $100k today. I have my doubts that a job that paid $50k in 1996 is paying $100k today. I’m not sure about my math / source but it appears to me that the median hourly wage in 1996 was $18.94 and in 2024 $24.75. Adjusted for inflation, it should be $37.99 today.