Politics

[Doug3006]

The average American spent 23% of their income on food in 1947. 17% in 1960. 10.4% in 2024. It should be noted that today, the average American eats out more frequently than ever before. If more of us cooked meals at home, we’d be healthier and save a ton!

Food ain’t the problem. Housing and medical care certainly require a bigger slice of a person’s income than in the past.

What doesn’t get much attention are the expenses that didn’t even exist in 1960 or were very rare. Examples include; Cable/internet plans. Gym memberships. Cell phones. Select team membership fees for the kiddos (also music lessons, dance lessons.) Designer handbags. Annual out of state vacations, usually requiring air travel. Multiple cars in the family. Tattoos.

I don’t begrudge anyone having these luxuries in their lives. I have bought many of these myself. My point is that much of the expense of living our lives in the land of the free in 2025 is purely discretionary.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

Something I wish I had the psychological/psychiatry skills to really hash out. I wonder if anyone else here can help draw out this thesis:

Today, we have a problem with veteran suicide rates. I'm wondering how these rates are affected by people who join the military (especially after 9/11/2001), make great sacrifices, and then return, only to see where our values as a nation have shifted. How does that affect them, and how does that create unexpected value clashes?

I really think this is something we need to explore.

I think you are in the right track. Even Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer discussed on video the darkness he spend years working through.

Skip to 3:45 minutes to hear him discuss his demons.

https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a29403944/joe-rogan-experience-dakota-meyer-ptsd/

Dakota has found his way and is becoming a leader of many who need role models to guide them to the light. HE co-authored a book on life lessons, "The Way Forward"

The BLUF by Dakota Meyer dakotameyerthebluf@substack.com
I receive his motivational emails weekly.

Dakota Meyer recently relenlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and has given motivationaly speaches to Marines.

The WWII guys who mentored me years ago, never ever discussed combat. Never.
Looking back I figure it was because they wanted to keep their demons locked up.

 

[Tanks]

Doritos are over 10 bucks, a bottle of any major soda $4.50, ...

Actually, I approve of high junk food and soda prices. If it stops people from destroying their health, it is worth it. It will cost less in the long run.

 

[Tbitty]

Actually, I approve of high junk food and soda prices. If it stops people from destroying their health, it is worth it. It will cost less in the long run.

I was unbelievably annoyed when I was recently flying and at the airport went to get a drink from one of the airport convenience stores. I forget the exact price, but it was something to the effect of $3.50 for a 20 oz Coke and $4.05 for a 20 oz Dasani water. ... plain bottled water cost MORE than a pop. I actually went to two other stands since I had time to kill and all were the same.

Your comment above reminded me of a guy I used to watch do YouTube videos of shooting different firearms. This was more than a decade ago, but It was cheaper for him to shoot 2L bottles of pop than it was to shoot fruits (he like to have things "blow up" not just put holes in paper). It's no wonder the USA has become obese as a society.

 

[wesheltonj]

Actually, I approve of high junk food and soda prices. If it stops people from destroying their health, it is worth it. It will cost less in the long run.

Now what I'm supposed to mix my rum with?

 

[Betterinthebush]

I think you are in the right track. Even Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer discussed on video the darkness he spend years working through.

Skip to 3:45 minutes to hear him discuss his demons.

https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a29403944/joe-rogan-experience-dakota-meyer-ptsd/

Dakota has found his way and is becoming a leader of many who need role models to guide them to the light. HE co-authored a book on life lessons, "The Way Forward"

The BLUF by Dakota Meyer dakotameyerthebluf@substack.com
I receive his motivational emails weekly.

Dakota Meyer recently relenlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and has given motivationaly speaches to Marines.

The WWII guys who mentored me years ago, never ever discussed combat. Never.
Looking back I figure it was because they wanted to keep their demons locked up.

Mr. Bruzzi never talked war stories. He only talked about the importance of training and winning. He was my WWII mentor as a kid. Once a month I’d go into the cleaners to pick up Sunday clothes mom would drop off.

He sewed my lance corporal stripes on my A’s, C’s, D’s after I got back from Panama. I wanted to have him pin my blood stripe on, but he died. Wasn’t until after his funeral I found out he had two combat jumps , one on Makin island and one in Bougainville. A great and humble man.

 

[Brent in Az]

Actually, I approve of high junk food and soda prices. If it stops people from destroying their health, it is worth it. It will cost less in the long run.

C'mon man......we all love Little Debbie's & Ho-Ho's.

 

[Nyati]

I am bummed that I missed all of the frostbite fun.

You really took a long holiday !

 

[Betterinthebush]

Make Caning Great Again

Law passed for scammers, mules to be caned after victims in Singapore lose almost $4b since 2020

Scammers face between six and 24 strokes of the cane, while mules face a discretionary 12 strokes. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Make Caning Great Again

Law passed for scammers, mules to be caned after victims in Singapore lose almost $4b since 2020

Scammers face between six and 24 strokes of the cane, while mules face a discretionary 12 strokes. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

Singapore doesn’t mess around

 

[Tanks]

C'mon man......we all love Little Debbie's & Ho-Ho's.

I had to Google those, I had no idea what they were.

 

[steve white]

I am likely an outlier, living in rural Alaska, but food prices here are the highest they have ever been, across the board (eggs 8 bucks a dozen, hamburger almost 12 bucks a pound, milk 14 bucks a gallon), and they have gone up quite a bit during Trump's current term. Gas went up slightly. His policies may have helped somewhere but certainly not here.

How much does the government pay you annually to live in Alaska?

 

[steve white]

Singapore doesn’t mess around

We mess around, we don't even give scammers a rap on the knuckles--and they deserve the cane!

 

[steve white]

Abbott threatens 100% tariff on NYC residents fleeing to Texas…..

Yep, we put the border patrol on the wrong river....

 

[barryk]

I had to Google those, I had no idea what they were.

And I thought you were more of a man of the world!

 

[Brent in Az]

I had to Google those, I had no idea what they were.

Nothing says clogged arteries, high cholesterol, and blood sugar, like Little Debbie's.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

How much does the government pay you annually to live in Alaska?

I would have to look. I do get a pretty decent COLA.

But I was living here already when I got my government job. (elementary teacher)

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I noticed on the recent senate vote to end the filibuster, both Georgia Senators crossed over the aisle and voted with the Republicans to pass a continuing resolution bill. Just thinking this is to keep their constituents happy, many of them working for Delta Airlines or the many vendors supporting ATL. The FAA mandated flight reductions will certainly impact a lot of people.

 

[spike.t]

Ramaphosa talking bullshit....can't seem to recall the ANC supporting most things he was spouting off about to the pope....

https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2025-11-08-ramaphosa-tells-pope-leo-xiv-to-many-it-seems-easier-to-fund-wars-than-to-invest-in-peace/

 

[spike.t]

Mothers say AI chatbots encouraged their sons to kill themselves

In her first UK interview Megan Garcia speaks to Laura Kuenssberg about the death of her teenage son.

www.bbc.com