Day: May 20, 2024πŸ’Ύ

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Bad public policy shouldn’t be justified by helping the poor get more cheap, unhealthy and disposable things πŸ”πŸ—‘

People often argue that a high carbon tax — combined with the repealing of the income and investing taxes would be bad for the poor because it would raises prices on people who are already struggling to get by. That of course ignores the fact that they would be able to keep more of their paycheck, and if they invested rather spent their money, they would pay no taxes at all under such a system. Make it expensive to buy things, and people will buy less and invest more. There are essentials people need to have, but as prices go up, things move from essential to luxury, and people prioritize things that need in their budget.

I often hear that people complain that it’s anti-poor people to raise the prices at fast restaurants and other forms of unhealthy food, because then the poor people would have to pay more for McDonald hamburgers and Fried Chicken. But that kind of food is terribly unhealthy, and higher prices would motivate people to cook more at home and pack their lunch. Likewise, if a higher minimum wage means higher prices at fast food restaurants, and people avoid them, then it’s good for all. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich made at home might not be a healthiest option but it sure is cheaper and healthier then what you would get at a fat fryer pit. Plus then you can include carrots or celery with your lunch.

While I am not against helping the poor — good public parks, libraries and affordable or free public transit can be beneficial to the whole community — holding the line on prices of consumer goods shouldn’t come at the cost of a dirtier environment, lower wages, unsafe working environments, or reduced public health. While we all like cheap things, if we could stimulate the economy to preserve jobs by reducing taxes on economic growth, and focus more on taxes on bad things in society, we could have healthier and prosperous communities, even if folks grumbled more at gas pump or grocery store.

Monday, Monday, back to work πŸ‘¨β€πŸ’Ό

Heading in early this morning, as a rush project came in over the weekend and I couldn’t complete it from camp as I didn’t bring my laptop. πŸ’»οΈ I am going to get my work laptop reset so I can have one at home and one in the office at all times, so hopefully this won’t happen again this weekend, though I should probably check in from time to time on work things if I don’t have internet where I camping. πŸ•οΈ

My hope is to get out of town this weekend for the Memorial Day Weekend. πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡² It seems hard to believe that next weekend is Memorial Day Weekend and the following weekend is June, though Memorial Day Weekend is quite early as June 1st is the following weekend, so it’s really two more weekends to go before the Gas Up ⛽️ opens on June 8th. I am thinking one weekend to go to the Gas Up with dad, πŸ§” and then the other weekend if it’s good hammock camp in Northern Schoharie and spend the full day poking around the Gas Up on my own.

I am thinking I this weekend will be the Green Mountain National Forest. 🌲 The weather is looking great, the question is really how early can I leave on Friday. I am hoping for two o’clock but I haven’t asked yet. I’m bringing my laptop in case any work stuff comes up when I’m in the woods. Cell service can be a bit spotty up tere, but I think I can make it work.

The food processor blades arrived over the weekend, 🈸 and while they work they didn’t fix the food processor. I was sure it was an issue with the old blades being cracked or worn, but it seems like there is a gear stripped in the motor. Damn! I wish I had realized that before spending $26. I am going to see if I can either try a motor reset based on what I saw on the internet, or disassemble and see if I can glue or otherwise repair was is internally cracked. I know it’s a $40 food processor, but I really loathe to throw it away πŸ—‘οΈ after only 6 months of use, even if it is my most used kitchen appliance since I’ve gotten into healthy eating. πŸ˜‹

If I have to replace, I’ll probably just go back to an even smaller $20 mini-chopper that I can bring with me to camp. I love being able to grind oatmeal into oat flower and carrots and onions into a fine mix for pancakes and baking. 🍞 But I want to give it one more chance at repairing it tonight. Worse comes to worse, I’ll chop off the cord and use it for another broken cord I have, give mom the mixing bowl and extra sets of blades so she can use it. Maybe it’s my fault by pushing the food processor too hard, with too much frozen veggies to grind, or too much heavy mixes. I could mix pancake and dough mixes up separately, and just use the food processor for grinding.

Map: Empire State Topography
Map: Empire State Color Relief