Virtue signaling and hypocrisy by billionaires

Virtue signaling is the expression of a conspicuous, self-righteous moral viewpoint with the intent of communicating good character. (Wikipedia) Hypocrisy is another good word that describes Jeff Bezos. (and so many of his fellow billionaires) Why? Read this.

Apparently, new owners of luxury yachts are supposedly considering their environmental impacts. “Solar panels, wind turbines and hybrid-propulsion systems are increasingly common on luxury yachts. Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon, may be setting a new trend. He took delivery in April of ‘Koru’, the world’s largest sailing yacht at 127 metres. There is a drawback to relying on wind power. ‘Koru’ is followed everywhere by a diesel-engined support vessel carrying extra supplies and even a helicopter pad. At 75 metres it almost qualifies as a mega-yacht too.” (The Economist)

Can you think of some other words to describe this? Lunacy comes to mind.

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Some thoughts about today’s billionaires

Unlike their forebears, contemporary billionaires do not hope to build the biggest house in town, but the biggest colony on the moon. In contrast, however avaricious, the titans of past gilded eras still saw themselves as human members of civil society. Contemporary billionaires appear to understand civics and civilians as impediments to their progress, necessary victims of the externalities of their companies’ growth, sad artefacts of the civilisation they will leave behind in their inexorable colonisation of the next dimension. The antics of the tech feudalists make for better science fiction stories than they chart legitimate paths to sustainable futures. Musk and Zuckerberg challenge each other to duels as a way of advertising their platforms. Musk is less X’s CEO than its troll in chief. They are not gods; they are entertainers…….But it’s time to turn off this show, this car accident of a tech future, and get on with reclaiming the world from this new generation of robber barons rather than continuing to fund their fantasies. These are not the demigods we’re looking for. (from a Guardian review of  Douglas Rushkoff’s  Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires (Scribe).

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Used pickup truck……$100,000!

Reading thru the local newspaper and saw this advertisement for a pre-owned truck. $100,000 for a used truck! That’s mind boggling. And yet…. Are we truly living in a world where there is a demand for used trucks that cost $100K?! What kind of income does one need in order to qualify for such a purchase? Perhaps a more important question would be “Why would anybody buy a used truck that costs $100,000?

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Life hack for contact lens wearers

These disposable contact lenses are advertised as good for one day only. What a scam! I’m on the 5^th day now, wearing the same ones. As long as you take them out at night and put them in saline solution, there is no reason why you cannot stretch the ‘best before’ date out several days. With inflation creep on everything, this little hint should save you a ton of money while creating just a tiny inconvenience! Actually there is really no inconvenience at all. You have to take them out at night anyway! We’ve all fallen asleep, having forgotten to take out the lenses. You know what that makes your eyeballs feel like the next day! I wish I had been doing this for years. At basically $1 per lens, I could have saved a ton of money over the years. Ah well, live and learn.

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Canada spends $7 billion on 16 fighter jets!!

The Department of National Defence recently received quiet approval to spend $7 billion on 16 F35 fighter jets and related gear. The Treasury Board approval covers an initial set of 16 F-35s, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, as well as spare parts, weapons and various startup costs associated with obtaining new jets, such as building new facilities.

So spare parts, ammo, and a few new buildings add up to $437.5 million per airplane?!?! To reinforce, that’s almost half a billion dollars per plane! With advances in AI and drone technology, this country could have the best protected airspace in the world via drones. Add in several Patriot and other missile air defense systems and it would seem you can pretty well cover the entirety of the country. And I submit for way less money. Have we not learned anything from the Ukraine war? I don’t see jets forming any part of the strategy over there. For either side. Ukraine, with it’s very basic air defenses has been able to negate russian air power. And the jets Ukraine does have at its disposal have been unable to protect the country’s electricity grid from the most rudimentary of drones made in Iran. Is this some kind of ‘big dick’ complex in Ottawa? I get the need to beef up our defense spending so we can fulfil our NATO obligation, but throwing $billions at a fighter jet fleet somehow just seems stupid. Warfare has changed incredibly and it seems that our government is out of synch with current reality. Your tax dollars at work. Our government really must believe money grows on trees. Oh Canada.

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Gala dinners serve to reinforce the rich

The Royal Agricultural Fair is celebrating its 100^th anniversary. To mark this milestone they are hosting a gala black tie dinner for 1,000; $15,000 per table. It is sold out.

The gap between the haves and the have nots is a chasm. As noble as this gala dinner is, I think a more appropriate allocation of resources would be to fund local food banks to the tune of $1,500,000 so they can buy fresh food for their distribution needs. The optics of lavish celebrations at a time when folk are desperate to meet their monthly expenses is uncomfortably opaque. Perhaps the monies raised from this gala dinner will be spent wisely. And by wisely I mean in support of the part of society that can barely afford to buy a newspaper to read about what the 1% are doing. Maybe they will. In the meantime, such galas serve only to further widen the chasm that separates Rosedale from Parkdale.

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Snippet: Will bitcoin crash or skyrocket?

Kosovo has shut down all bitcoin miners because of the crazy amount of energy they consume. Kosovans spent the final days of 2021 in darkness as domestic and international factors combined to cause energy shortages and rolling blackouts across the country. What does this mean for bitcoin? I have no idea but check this out!

The latest calculation from Cambridge University’s bitcoin electricity consumption index suggests that global bitcoin mining consumes 125.96 terawatt hours a year of electricity, putting its consumption above Norway (122.2 TWh), Argentina (121 TWh), the Netherlands (108.8 TWh) and the United Arab Emirates (113.20 TWh). (The Guardian)

I re-read those numbers and still find it hard to believe. Wow!

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No more commercial building permits unless affordable housing forms part of the proposal.

Why are we still holding virtual public meetings? Is it not time to normalize these sessions to in-person meetings? With the Drake hotel’s massive expansion plans soon to be considered, and the complexity of wading through and understanding their submissions, there is a danger of just letting this latest ‘bone to tourism’ being rubber stamped by our Council. The Drake group’s proposal to add more hotel rooms should only be allowed if they also build some kind of affordable housing for their and other workers in the hospitality industry. If you can afford to expand your hotel then you can also afford to build something for the have-nots. There has been too much talk and lament about affordable housing. Force some action! As a matter of fact, all commercial permits should only be issued if the developer/builder also includes some building of affordable housing. With all the outside money pouring into Prince Edward County, surely we can dictate where some of that money must be spent, like into building some affordable housing! Enough talk already!

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From the WTF?! file.

WTF is wrong with policy makers in San Francisco??!! Have a great Pandemic day y’all!

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Trudeau keeps throwing money away!

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is promising to introduce 10 days of paid sick leave for all federally-regulated employees within his first 100 days in government if elected. The Liberals would also immediately convene representatives of the provinces and territories to discuss legislating sick leave across the country.

Here we go. The electioneering money toss is in full swing. And Trudeau’s continuing crusade to turn this country into ‘Cuba North’. This is a guy who does not want to talk monetary policy. His reasoning? There are too many other important issues to discuss. Like what exactly? Monetary policy is the driver of all your friggin social welfare ideas! The real reason that I can see? The drama teacher has no idea about macro nor micro economics. He certainly knows how to throw your hard earned tax dollars out there. I still predict that this election call will backfire on the Liberals to a huge degree. I’m noticing more and more CPC blue signs in my neighborhood. And it’s a Liberal MP now. After September 20^th I foresee more blue across this great country. Save Canada while we still can!

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