Ah, but you aren’t considering the downside risk that [insert badguy nation] invades us and turns us all into slaves.

Car or house insurance doesn’t turn a profit for the policyholder either. It’s not exactly the same thing, but in both cases it’s purely preventative, while still an economic good idea.

Actually, literally why not. I bet you could come up with some kind of actuarial argument about what being undefended would cost us, on average.

Typical, leaving an avalanche of comments from the same domain and then acting all innocent.

It’s Zelensky’s first language, even. I think he avoids it now, but if it’s that or English I would hope there’d be no judgement.

Edit: And it shares a lot of vocabulary and ~all grammar with Russian, anyway.

TBH I think the dog started it. And given the injuries were minor, the moose was being uncharacteristically restrained about it all.

Given the typical Lemmy demographic, there’s a high chance my income is actually the lowest here. It isn’t “I can’t afford a single share”.

In reality, I’m guessing you haven’t looked at what the returns are, you just kind of assume they’re crazy. And it’s the same return for every shareholder, whether me or Jeff Bezos.

You know, I hear this so much, I have to wonder why we’re not all trading stock tips. You too can be a shareholder.

Yeah, ever since industrial interventionism became cool again the news has just been saturated with lobbyists (calling themselves “industry groups”) explaining why they need taxpayer funding.

It’s to be expected, I guess. With any luck it usually won’t work.

Oh, just the registration data, not actually what you voted for.

In Canada they copy it in from tax data, so you’d really have to go for the off-the-grid sovereign citizen stuff and never pay taxes to stay out of it. Maybe it’s different in the US.

Did you guys get purged from Hexbear or something?

I was going to say Darude Sandstorm, but I actually think I have followed along with that one.

Diva dance from The Fifth Element?

It may or may not be important depending on your area and electoral system (if any), but it is usually easy.

I haven’t voted in years after reading the argument that voting mainly serves to slot you into a cohort, making it easier for governments and corporations to profile you.

If it’s secret ballot they literally can’t do that.

Ah, but nuance and actual improvement are poor shitpost material.

I like our chances, honestly.

“No not democracy against us”

Ah, the sweet smell of bureaucracy in the air.

That’s not even a complaint, really - it’s just how properly functioning rule of has to work.

Guys, I have one of the first batch in a ziplock and it still smells like maple.

Either they’re lying or it was accidental.

The latter then.

On behalf of my ancestral shtetl there, иди на хуй.

Are you Ukrainian, or biting my head off for no reason?

The eastern part of the UK. Several European countries east of that. Australia and NZ.

To me the parallel would be that China could exclude the West from their part of the continent like the US did to the rest of the West.

They’re really trying; an east Asian military alliance feels imminent and they don’t want it one bit.