lavendergrowing101

lavendergrowing101 t1_jc1xb1p wrote

He has not "cherry picked" a successor though, he's left the seat open in what's now looking like a very chaotic primary. A no, running a non-profit that largely gives out scholarships does not have the same impact as serving in congress where he can enact real policy. I'm sure he'll get to keep having fancy dinners with important people, but he will not have his hands on the levers of power like before. I for one and pretty disappointed in his decision.

7

lavendergrowing101 t1_jbon8nl wrote

Your root fallacy here is this: " It has to be democratized via consumerist channels thanks to the profit motive." This is not true. Capitalism does not inherently democratize its tools, quite the opposite. The entire history of the internet so far has been one of monopolization and the increased concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands. That is already happening with AI. It's all about who owns the algorithms, and guess what, given our current economic structures it's the tech giants and Wall Street who are going to own them.

1

lavendergrowing101 t1_j7qaypx wrote

More of the insane shit people post on facebook/whatsapp to scare people. Like the "if you see this on your car door handle, run away because someone is going to kidnap you" kind of nonsense. RI in 2023 is one of the safest places you could be living in all of human history, but the right wing in particular loves this kind of fear-mongering

28

lavendergrowing101 t1_j6djyfd wrote

The level of hate and insults thrown at the most vulnerable people in our society is incredible. Get mad at the existence of homelessness and work to fix it, don't just hate people who don't have homes. This is not the same kind of problem in other wealthy countries, we choose not to deal with it. (and btw the solution which is most effective AND the cheapest is to just give people homes to live in).

14

lavendergrowing101 t1_j64n091 wrote

>I'd also probably considering businessees linked to the RI Hospitality association, many of whom are business owners. They've actively fought against this.

Yup, anything with reforming tipping, the Hospitality Association and chamber of commerce fight it tooth and nail. They want customers to pay their workers wages. Don't get mad at workers for needing tips to survive, get mad at these bosses who don't want to pay fair wages.

12