s/woman/female hooman/g

I think the gist is, both are capable of surrounding themselves with people who share their agenda — would you be comfortable with Biden’s cabinet effectively running the white house? Trump’s?

Not sure I parsed it correctly though…

But, perhaps like Roe vs. Wade, I think they want the (manufactured) constant fear of immigration looming over their voter base. I’d be willing to bet that many higher up R’s know full well that immigrants play a vital role in the economy, and that the right-wing policies would hurt the country. But by all means, demonize and throw them under the bus in the name of activating your base.

Parent said “one of,” not “the very first.” Wikipedia has US with 4 out of the first 10 metro stations https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems

Interesting to note is that some (all?) of those early metro systems are arguably more successful than the subsequent US systems.

I’m fortunate enough to not be in a position where money is tight for food, but re: beans and rice, I absolutely love my instant pot!

Mexican-style beans are, IMHO, delicious, easy to make, and dirt cheap. I love them, our toddler loves them, and it’s easy on the wallet. Dry beans are really affordable, and a 25lb bag of rice is great to have in the pantry (note: careful with bulk brown rice as I think it can go rancid). A stove and a pot can do both, but an instant pot and a rice cooker makes it so easy.

I also drink a fair amount of coffee, but again, bulk or even just “make coffee at home” is very affordable. A few cups at Starbucks costs the same as a pound of beans (which yields many cups).

Fuck you, man! If you don’t like my fucking music, get your own fucking cab!

Probably referring to their ~$50B endowment.

[Billionaire Taylor] Swift, who has publicly aligned herself with the pro-choice movement and declared her opposition to former President Donald Trump, has become the ire of a vocal group of conservatives hell-bent on the bizarre notion that the singer is a political weapon aimed at the upcoming presidential election.

I mean, I’m no Swiftie, but that seems pretty reasonable to me…

I see. In this case the 30 years is irrelevant I think.

This is probably PITI cost — principal, interest, taxes, insurance. Principal and interest are zero here, but the other two continue for as long as you own the home (property tax is annual like income tax — it’s not a one-time-deal like sales tax).

The home insurance covers the home, so it’s useful for all interested parties (owner, possibly bank).

Even if the bank doesn’t have any interest in the house (cash sale/no mortgage), I would absolutely want to insure the house!

Owning a house means you don’t pay rent, but you do have to pay taxes and, unless you really want to gamble, insurance.

Online calculators almost always include, or have an option to include, these costs. In part it’s because that’s the number the bank will use to determine what you qualify for. Makes it much easier to say, “here’s your monthly obligation” and compare that to you monthly income, instead of “here’s your monthly obligation, and here’s your twice-a-year tax obligation.”

Curious where you are getting 25%?

At least this amount will, assuming it’s just taxes and insurance, be due every month for as long as it’s owned. Property taxes in California for example are around 1%/year (so a $377k home would be around $4k/year).

If you own the home outright you may not need insurance, but of course, that’s a risk.

Taxes may be severely limited in how much they increase (see: California prop 13), so while they will likely increase it may not match e.g. rental increases.

Calm down, this isn’t the banks screwing the little guy. This number includes tax and possibly insurance — “PITI” (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) is the standard quoted cost. It’s just an estimate. You can often pick your own insurance which will change the cost, and if you’re buying in cash, insurance may not even be required. (It will almost certainly be required if you have a loan, since the bank wants its assets protected.)

Credit cards, for instance, are not required but extremely useful. For instance, my recollection is that when booking hotels or rental cars with a debit card they will put a hold on your account for collateral. This could be a problem if you’re living paycheck to paycheck. If you have a credit card, you may get a hold as well — but this is just reducing the amount of available credit. Functionally this is the same, if you have enough money, but if you’re living on the edge and your rent money is in your checking account, this is pretty unfortunate in the case if a debit card.

Additionally, credit cards offer consumer protections, including chargebacks. My understanding is that debit charges are much more difficult to dispute.

And, in the US, for many people not in urban centers, owning a car is essential for life/work. Quick Google search claims, in relation to savings, “The median balance for American households is $5,300.” So if your car bites the dust, buying a new (used) car may not be possible without a loan.

You’re right though, it’s certainly not literally required.

Given the effect it has on credit score, it will perhaps be more difficult to accumulate debt — it will be harder to take out large credit card, mortgage, or other loans. Probably not applicable to medical and whatnot.

In theory I think it makes sense: loans should be a privilege not a right, or something like that. But in reality, loans are essentially required for modern life, at least in the US. So the people who can least afford it end up with loans with ridiculous interest rates (even if the total loan amount is smaller than it would be pre-bankruptcy).

I am fortunate enough to be able to pay off my credit card every month, so the interest rate doesn’t really matter. It’s a great, but dystopian, example of positive feedback: those who can afford pay less (no interest), and those who can’t afford pay more (interest).

Best use of my pressure cooker*! Bulk black and pinto beans, 40m in the cooker with water and salt, then onto the stove with sauteed onions and garlic, a fair amount of oil, apple cider vinegar, pickled jalapeno or two, spices… absolutely fantastic with some rice. And our toddler loves it too.

*Instant Pot, but pressure cooker sounds more… haute cuisine.

Sure. But that’s unrelated; Apple is a publicly traded (“public”) company. IKEA, for example, is a privately funded (“private”) company. Being largely proprietary is separate from the ownership structure…

Is using “Kleenex” for tissues acceptable?

…but Apple is a publicly traded company.

I feel like one of us got whooshed, though I’m not entirely sure who.