Page 1 of 1

Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:10 pm
by Libertarian666
"Coronavirus Survey Reveals Americans in Debt, Not Saving or Investing Ahead of Outbreak"
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020 ... -outbreak/

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:13 pm
by dualstow
After 9/11, I read an article, probably in the New York Times. The author said that he was a long-time ant (saver) and that his friends had been grasshoppers (spendthrifts). The whole point of his op-ed was that maybe it’s good to be a grasshopper. I was mad.

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:20 pm
by vnatale
dualstow wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:13 pm
After 9/11, I read an article, probably in the New York Times. The author said that he was a long-time ant (saver) and that his friends had been grasshoppers (spendthrifts). The whole point of his op-ed was that maybe it’s good to be a grasshopper. I was mad.
I recognized long ago that our financial system is set up to cater to the spendthrift and penalize the saver.

Vinny

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:38 pm
by Kriegsspiel
vnatale wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:20 pm
dualstow wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:13 pm
After 9/11, I read an article, probably in the New York Times. The author said that he was a long-time ant (saver) and that his friends had been grasshoppers (spendthrifts). The whole point of his op-ed was that maybe it’s good to be a grasshopper. I was mad.
I recognized long ago that our financial system is set up to cater to the spendthrift and penalize the saver.

Vinny
Yes, that's why people who spend all of their money have better lives than those that save it.

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:50 pm
by Libertarian666
Kriegsspiel wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:38 pm
vnatale wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:20 pm
dualstow wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:13 pm
After 9/11, I read an article, probably in the New York Times. The author said that he was a long-time ant (saver) and that his friends had been grasshoppers (spendthrifts). The whole point of his op-ed was that maybe it’s good to be a grasshopper. I was mad.
I recognized long ago that our financial system is set up to cater to the spendthrift and penalize the saver.

Vinny
Yes, that's why people who spend all of their money have better lives than those that save it.
That is not my experience. The people I know who spend all of their money have a good time until they run into any trouble at all; then they get frantic.

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:58 pm
by Kriegsspiel
Image

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:01 pm
by vnatale
Libertarian666 wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:50 pm
Kriegsspiel wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:38 pm
vnatale wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:20 pm
dualstow wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:13 pm
After 9/11, I read an article, probably in the New York Times. The author said that he was a long-time ant (saver) and that his friends had been grasshoppers (spendthrifts). The whole point of his op-ed was that maybe it’s good to be a grasshopper. I was mad.
I recognized long ago that our financial system is set up to cater to the spendthrift and penalize the saver.

Vinny
Yes, that's why people who spend all of their money have better lives than those that save it.
That is not my experience. The people I know who spend all of their money have a good time until they run into any trouble at all; then they get frantic.
You took the words out of my fingers! And, they suffer far more stress! Many times constant stress over $$$$!

Vinny

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:17 am
by Maddy
What's more, the ant who prudently stocks up for a "rainy day" over the course of a decade or more (typically driving a 20-year-old car while his grasshopper neighbor pulls into the driveway with a brand new, decked out truck) is vilified for being a "hoarder."

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:36 am
by dualstow
Maddy wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:17 am
What's more, the ant who prudently stocks up for a "rainy day" over the course of a decade or more (typically driving a 20-year-old car while his grasshopper neighbor pulls into the driveway with a brand new, decked out truck) is vilified for being a "hoarder."
It is funny how that works. Inevitably, the grasshopper asks the “greedy” ant for a loan. The grasshopper didn’t save because “I’m not obsessed with money. There’s more to life.” (Like spending!) — not a personal anecdote, but it happened to my friend.

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:44 am
by vnatale
Maddy wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:17 am
What's more, the ant who prudently stocks up for a "rainy day" over the course of a decade or more (typically driving a 20-year-old car while his grasshopper neighbor pulls into the driveway with a brand new, decked out truck) is vilified for being a "hoarder."
I assume that just by virtue of people having joined this forum that it would be overwhelmingly composed of "ants" over "grasshopper"? I am the ultimate ant!

Vinny

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:45 am
by Libertarian666
dualstow wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:36 am
Maddy wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:17 am
What's more, the ant who prudently stocks up for a "rainy day" over the course of a decade or more (typically driving a 20-year-old car while his grasshopper neighbor pulls into the driveway with a brand new, decked out truck) is vilified for being a "hoarder."
It is funny how that works. Inevitably, the grasshopper asks the “greedy” ant for a loan. The grasshopper didn’t save because “I’m not obsessed with money. There’s more to life.” (Like spending!) — not a personal anecdote, but it happened to my friend.
Yes, that is very common.
Fortunately I've been spared that for the most part.

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:45 am
by Libertarian666
vnatale wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:44 am
Maddy wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:17 am
What's more, the ant who prudently stocks up for a "rainy day" over the course of a decade or more (typically driving a 20-year-old car while his grasshopper neighbor pulls into the driveway with a brand new, decked out truck) is vilified for being a "hoarder."
I assume that just by virtue of people having joined this forum that it would be overwhelmingly composed of "ants" over "grasshopper"? I am the ultimate ant!

Vinny
I would imagine so.

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:41 am
by Mountaineer
https://www.newscientist.com/article/21 ... spreading/#

Great picture in the link. The article is from November 2018. If only we all learned from the ants - health practices and saving practices.


"Do you wish your coughing, sneezing colleagues would stay away from the office? Unlike some humans, ants seem to understand the importance of avoiding others when they are infected. When foraging ants are exposed to a fungal pathogen, they reduce their contact with workers inside the nest.

Nathalie Stroeymeyt at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and colleagues studied colonies of Lasius niger ants using an automated ant-tracking system.

Workers in these colonies are split into nurses, which work inside the nest caring for the brood, and foragers, which collect food outside the nest. Foragers are most likely to pick up infections, but they interact less with other ants, and come into contact with those inside the nest infrequently."

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:49 am
by dualstow
^ Wow, interesting! ^

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:55 am
by jhogue
MangoMan wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:59 am
vnatale wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:44 am

I assume that just by virtue of people having joined this forum that it would be overwhelmingly composed of "ants" over "grasshopper"? I am the ultimate ant!

Vinny
Yes, but I doubt most of us are as hardcore as you. I definitely don't still have any shirts or jeans from 20 years ago. :P

I am more ant than grasshopper, but I do believe that quality-for-price matters when buying durable goods:

-I still have my Beretta over-and-under 12 gauge shotgun bought 45 years ago.

-I still have my Ray Ban aviator polarized sunglasses bought 40 years ago.

-I still have my Swarovski Habicht binoculars, bought 35 years ago.

-When the OEMs wear out, I will replace my Subaru Outback’s tires with a set of Michelins and the battery with Interstate heavy duty.

Sight unseen, I would wager that MangoMan only buys high quality drills for his dental practice.

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:49 am
by vnatale
MangoMan wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:59 am
vnatale wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:44 am

I assume that just by virtue of people having joined this forum that it would be overwhelmingly composed of "ants" over "grasshopper"? I am the ultimate ant!

Vinny
Yes, but I doubt most of us are as hardcore as you. I definitely don't still have any shirts or jeans from 20 years ago. :P
20 years ago is NOTHING! Try from 40 years ago!

Vinny

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:51 am
by vnatale
jhogue wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:55 am
MangoMan wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:59 am
vnatale wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:44 am

I assume that just by virtue of people having joined this forum that it would be overwhelmingly composed of "ants" over "grasshopper"? I am the ultimate ant!

Vinny
Yes, but I doubt most of us are as hardcore as you. I definitely don't still have any shirts or jeans from 20 years ago. :P

I am more ant than grasshopper, but I do believe that quality-for-price matters when buying durable goods:

-I still have my Beretta over-and-under 12 gauge shotgun bought 45 years ago.

-I still have my Ray Ban aviator polarized sunglasses bought 40 years ago.

-I still have my Swarovski Habicht binoculars, bought 35 years ago.

-When the OEMs wear out, I will replace my Subaru Outback’s tires with a set of Michelins and the battery with Interstate heavy duty.

Sight unseen, I would wager that MangoMan only buys high quality drills for his dental practice.
Some people mistake my frugalness for cheapness. I have to explain to them I am always after value. I want to spend the least in the long-run. So I'll buy the most expensive item if I'm convinced that will be less expensive in the long run by continually having to purchase the lower quality version. Time involved in making the purchase is also part of the cost of buying an item.

Vinny

Re: Not the Onion or the Babylon Bee

Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 11:35 am
by Kriegsspiel
Reminds me of this Joshua Kennon article about the collapse of the antique furniture market. My parents gave me some of their older furniture, a couple pieces of which are about 50 years old. They also gave me a Le Creuset from the 80s which is great.