https://www.dmarge.com/mad-dutch-bastar ... ectric-car
We talked about this elsewhere and above is an article describing a solar panel powered automobile that is in production in the Netherlands. Apparently it has a conventional battery powered system that can be charged like any other EV, but it also has the solar panels to augment the power system. Depending on your driving habits, it's possible to never need conventional charging. The impressive thing about this car as far as I'm concerned is that it looks great. I would not object to owning such a vehicle.
Solar Powered Car
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Any topic is acceptable, and topic drift is permissible.
Re: Solar Powered Car
Looks like they have something good going on there, but can you imagine what your insurance cost would be on a 265,000 dollar car.
The other drawback is I don't know a single person who could afford one!
Heck, I don't know anyone who can truly afford a Tesla either.
I had an electric car once, name was Commuta-Car. It was horrible to drive and easy to get whiplash in, hi hi.
I'm sure they have improved since then. But it was not cheaper to drive than a gasoline powered car and cost a lot more then too.
The other drawback is I don't know a single person who could afford one!
Heck, I don't know anyone who can truly afford a Tesla either.
I had an electric car once, name was Commuta-Car. It was horrible to drive and easy to get whiplash in, hi hi.
I'm sure they have improved since then. But it was not cheaper to drive than a gasoline powered car and cost a lot more then too.
Re: Solar Powered Car
They are custom building those solar powered cars today at the rate of one per week. That has something to do with the high price tag. To me the exciting part is that somebody put some serious design and money into a solar powered car, something that would seem intuitively obvious from the get go. Maybe solar panels were too high priced a few years ago which is shy they didn't incorporate them into the present day's EV's. When people like GM or Honda decide there is a market for solar powered automobiles, you will see prices come down to the more current range, around $40k. LOL I can't afford that either. There are a few Teslas driving around town. O'Fallon didn't seem like a Tesla kind of town - none that have exploded, but then I've also seen a Mercedes or two. So, when I get my Bentley it won't look too out of place.
Re: Solar Powered Car
They now have solar cell film that seems promising, as far as using it on cars. High output compared to conventional solar cells.
But personally, I do think they are jumping the gun on cars right now.
Advancements are being made in solar technology every week, and by the time a production solar car comes out, the technology advancements have already made them obsolete.
I once ordered a Bricklin when they had all the things I wanted in it.
The problem is, the car they delivered wasn't even close, and was falling apart from day one.
I was fortunate that they took it back and refunded my money.
Even so, it was fun to drive for a few weeks and get the stares when I pulled at various places around town.
The Bricklin had seagull doors and a lot of other things unique about it.
Wish I had the disposable income I had back then, now.
I miss the 60s and 70s when everything was affordable. Then prices for everything began skyrocketing much faster than our paychecks went up. And even when my businesses were doing great, I still couldn't afford the then current prices of things.
But personally, I do think they are jumping the gun on cars right now.
Advancements are being made in solar technology every week, and by the time a production solar car comes out, the technology advancements have already made them obsolete.
I once ordered a Bricklin when they had all the things I wanted in it.
The problem is, the car they delivered wasn't even close, and was falling apart from day one.
I was fortunate that they took it back and refunded my money.
Even so, it was fun to drive for a few weeks and get the stares when I pulled at various places around town.
The Bricklin had seagull doors and a lot of other things unique about it.
Wish I had the disposable income I had back then, now.
I miss the 60s and 70s when everything was affordable. Then prices for everything began skyrocketing much faster than our paychecks went up. And even when my businesses were doing great, I still couldn't afford the then current prices of things.
Re: Solar Powered Car
There are many reasons for the perennial rise in prices for consumer goods. Basically it boils down to the kind of economy we have adopted wherein wages and profits are not controlled for the most part. That allows for the Law of Supply and Demand to operate freely. One reason why things were affordable back in the 60's and 70's is the fact that there were not as many things available for consumers to buy. The supply was low and income was steady. Well income rose due to the demands of organized labor and the supply of goods skyrocketed. Thus more money became available to buy more goods. Prices rise in that kind of situation. The fact that prices have gone up since the 60's can be construed as a good thing and an indication of a healthy and prospering economy. The problem, of course, is that it is not equitable. There are very wealthy folks and very poor folks who all get to operate in the same economy. The rich people see no problem, but the fixed income poor folks struggle as a result of all this success. The downside, as I see it, is that the wealthy people have all the power due to having most of the money. Us poor folks have no choice but to conform to the whims of those powerful people. This is a dangerous situation in my opinion because that very upper class is approaching the status of an elite dictatorship. We can only hope they will remain benign.
Re: Solar Powered Car
I can say right now, there are many companies purposely skyrocketing their prices while they think they can get by with it and blame it on inflation, while at the same time, they are fueling hyperinflation.
My great-grandparents lived through massive hyperinflation back home in Germany.
We are on the verge of seeing the same thing happen here!
As companies raise their prices much more than necessary, their sales also drop, which forces them to charge even more to keep their bottom lines up. They end up in a vicious cycle and in the end drive themselves out of business. Which then creates loss of jobs, and shortages of goods, so prices skyrocket even more.
People need a much larger income than our parents or grandparents for two reasons, the first is inflation of course, but the other is as you pointed out, there are more things for us to buy now, and many of those things we cannot live without.
I'm one of the holdouts and do not have a Schmartz-Fone. But nearly everything you need to do today requires one, and most devices, even a wristwatch needs a Schmarz-Fone to set the time on it. Many stores only have digital coupons now, so you need a Schmartz-Fone for that too. Schmartz-Fonz are not only expensive to buy, they are expensive to own. Just like our computers and Internet connections.
My great-grandfather worked for 12-1/2 cents per day breaking rock by hand for road building. Even so, he saved up enough to buy his first farm, and then later expand that farm. He was shrewd and managed to become moderately wealthy, but then that is the only way to grow your business and buy all the equipment necessary to make it run.
My grandfather did fairly well too, and was able to expand the business a bit more, but then it got stuck at the level it was at when my father and his brothers took it over. At that time, a 100 dollar a week salary was considered high wages. It wasn't until the 1970s that 150 to 200 dollars a week was a good wage. But by the 1980s it took nearly 500 dollars a week just to survive.
The apartment I lived in up until 1981 was 112.50 per month, and it was frozen at that price for 5 years, because I was resident manager and caretaker of the complex. But when I moved out, the person who got my apartment had to pay 350 bucks a month. In the later part of the 1980s I had several rental houses, the lowest price to rent one was only 325 bucks a month for a two story all brick, up to 425 a month for a large newer ranch home. My tenants never moved because there was no place cheaper than what I was charging them. And after I sold all of these tenant properties, as new tenants moved in, the prices were double or triple. That 425 dollar a month house, to the new tenant, became 1,000 a month.
The little apartment I lived in in 1968 for 100 bucks a month is now 1200 bucks a month, or was that 20 years ago when I checked. So probably double that by now 20 years later.
But my income over the past 40 years has been fairly stagnant, and what saving I had amassed, went to medical care for my late wife. Now I have to learn to live on 89 dollars a month, which is technically impossible.
My great-grandparents lived through massive hyperinflation back home in Germany.
We are on the verge of seeing the same thing happen here!
As companies raise their prices much more than necessary, their sales also drop, which forces them to charge even more to keep their bottom lines up. They end up in a vicious cycle and in the end drive themselves out of business. Which then creates loss of jobs, and shortages of goods, so prices skyrocket even more.
People need a much larger income than our parents or grandparents for two reasons, the first is inflation of course, but the other is as you pointed out, there are more things for us to buy now, and many of those things we cannot live without.
I'm one of the holdouts and do not have a Schmartz-Fone. But nearly everything you need to do today requires one, and most devices, even a wristwatch needs a Schmarz-Fone to set the time on it. Many stores only have digital coupons now, so you need a Schmartz-Fone for that too. Schmartz-Fonz are not only expensive to buy, they are expensive to own. Just like our computers and Internet connections.
My great-grandfather worked for 12-1/2 cents per day breaking rock by hand for road building. Even so, he saved up enough to buy his first farm, and then later expand that farm. He was shrewd and managed to become moderately wealthy, but then that is the only way to grow your business and buy all the equipment necessary to make it run.
My grandfather did fairly well too, and was able to expand the business a bit more, but then it got stuck at the level it was at when my father and his brothers took it over. At that time, a 100 dollar a week salary was considered high wages. It wasn't until the 1970s that 150 to 200 dollars a week was a good wage. But by the 1980s it took nearly 500 dollars a week just to survive.
The apartment I lived in up until 1981 was 112.50 per month, and it was frozen at that price for 5 years, because I was resident manager and caretaker of the complex. But when I moved out, the person who got my apartment had to pay 350 bucks a month. In the later part of the 1980s I had several rental houses, the lowest price to rent one was only 325 bucks a month for a two story all brick, up to 425 a month for a large newer ranch home. My tenants never moved because there was no place cheaper than what I was charging them. And after I sold all of these tenant properties, as new tenants moved in, the prices were double or triple. That 425 dollar a month house, to the new tenant, became 1,000 a month.
The little apartment I lived in in 1968 for 100 bucks a month is now 1200 bucks a month, or was that 20 years ago when I checked. So probably double that by now 20 years later.
But my income over the past 40 years has been fairly stagnant, and what saving I had amassed, went to medical care for my late wife. Now I have to learn to live on 89 dollars a month, which is technically impossible.
Re: Solar Powered Car
USA GDP in trillions of dollars - population in millions
____________________________________________
1945 = .228 - 138.924
1965 = .742 - 194.720
1985 = 4.339 - 237.900
2005 = 13.040 - 295.500
2021 = 23.000 - 331.900
____________________________________________
GDP growth = 100.877 = 10,088%
Pop growth = 2.389 = 238.9%
I can't disagree with much of your interpretation of inflation, although I must say I'm not as pessimistic. Be that as it may, I offer you a slightly different view of the economy based on raw data. GDP is Gross Domestic Product which is a term economists use to measure the value of all goods and services produced in a given country. I did not research the ratio of goods to services but I do know that the GDP of 2021 has a much higher figure for the service sector compared to 1945. That ratio is largely irrelevant for purposes of this discussion. Take note that over the 76 year period covered in the table Gross Domestic Product increased by 10,088 percent. The population increased by 239 percent. That means today the amount of goods and services produced by each person in the United States is 42 times greater than it was in 1945. I don't think a degree in economics is needed to understand how that might affect inflation.
You get to live on $89/month and Elon Musk (an immigrant from South Africa by the way) being the wealthiest man on earth is the result of capitalism and free enterprise. There are no legal restrictions on what a person is allowed to do to make their mark in our society. Our system of governance is designed to allow for such things. Elon was obviously better than you or I could ever be where it comes to contributing to economic growth. The fact that is allowed to happen is what constitutes the American Dream and the democracy upon which it is based. I realize all this freedom we enjoy doesn't put more food on your table nor does it buy you the meds you need. I sympathize with you for that unfortunate circumstance. There are non-democratic countries in this world where the entire population lives much like you are being forced to live. The costs of living for you is much like those poor people, but your standard of living cannot be matched. For that we can all be grateful.
____________________________________________
1945 = .228 - 138.924
1965 = .742 - 194.720
1985 = 4.339 - 237.900
2005 = 13.040 - 295.500
2021 = 23.000 - 331.900
____________________________________________
GDP growth = 100.877 = 10,088%
Pop growth = 2.389 = 238.9%
I can't disagree with much of your interpretation of inflation, although I must say I'm not as pessimistic. Be that as it may, I offer you a slightly different view of the economy based on raw data. GDP is Gross Domestic Product which is a term economists use to measure the value of all goods and services produced in a given country. I did not research the ratio of goods to services but I do know that the GDP of 2021 has a much higher figure for the service sector compared to 1945. That ratio is largely irrelevant for purposes of this discussion. Take note that over the 76 year period covered in the table Gross Domestic Product increased by 10,088 percent. The population increased by 239 percent. That means today the amount of goods and services produced by each person in the United States is 42 times greater than it was in 1945. I don't think a degree in economics is needed to understand how that might affect inflation.
You get to live on $89/month and Elon Musk (an immigrant from South Africa by the way) being the wealthiest man on earth is the result of capitalism and free enterprise. There are no legal restrictions on what a person is allowed to do to make their mark in our society. Our system of governance is designed to allow for such things. Elon was obviously better than you or I could ever be where it comes to contributing to economic growth. The fact that is allowed to happen is what constitutes the American Dream and the democracy upon which it is based. I realize all this freedom we enjoy doesn't put more food on your table nor does it buy you the meds you need. I sympathize with you for that unfortunate circumstance. There are non-democratic countries in this world where the entire population lives much like you are being forced to live. The costs of living for you is much like those poor people, but your standard of living cannot be matched. For that we can all be grateful.
Re: Solar Powered Car
Capitalism and Free Enterprise is the best system their could be.
Where it breaks down is when one company can reign supreme over all the other companies by taking them over for themselves.
That removed the mainstay of Capitalism and Free Enterprise and turns it into a Monopoly where there is no competition, so they can do and charge what they want.
But they are shrewd also. In order to not become a Monopoly, they allow at least two other mega-businesses to take over the rest of the competition. And then they say we have large competitors, so we are not a Monopoly.
But under the table, they are all in cahoots with each other to control the market and keep any newcomers out.
The more people you have buying the same products, the cheaper those products should become, not more expensive.
Mass production is what keeps prices down, but GREED among the large corporations all working together is really what drives prices up. And you see this in nearly every industry too.
GDP is usually based on mega-business trade products, not the products families normally buy every day or every week. So is basically meaningless drivel to American Families. And also used to keep us down.
If you want a FAIR percentage of what inflation really is. Make a list using Milk, Eggs, Butter, Bread, Ground Beef, Meat Cuts, Chicken, Ham, and necessary daily use Sundries, including the cost of Tires, Insurance, and Fuels.
I think you will find the cost of inflation far greater than the GDP which is what they use to determine how much SS goes up and other things. The increases in SS used to Never be Under the amount they took out for our medical insurances. Now, it doesn't even come close, medical is a huge chunk which makes our disposable income much less.
Where it breaks down is when one company can reign supreme over all the other companies by taking them over for themselves.
That removed the mainstay of Capitalism and Free Enterprise and turns it into a Monopoly where there is no competition, so they can do and charge what they want.
But they are shrewd also. In order to not become a Monopoly, they allow at least two other mega-businesses to take over the rest of the competition. And then they say we have large competitors, so we are not a Monopoly.
But under the table, they are all in cahoots with each other to control the market and keep any newcomers out.
The more people you have buying the same products, the cheaper those products should become, not more expensive.
Mass production is what keeps prices down, but GREED among the large corporations all working together is really what drives prices up. And you see this in nearly every industry too.
GDP is usually based on mega-business trade products, not the products families normally buy every day or every week. So is basically meaningless drivel to American Families. And also used to keep us down.
If you want a FAIR percentage of what inflation really is. Make a list using Milk, Eggs, Butter, Bread, Ground Beef, Meat Cuts, Chicken, Ham, and necessary daily use Sundries, including the cost of Tires, Insurance, and Fuels.
I think you will find the cost of inflation far greater than the GDP which is what they use to determine how much SS goes up and other things. The increases in SS used to Never be Under the amount they took out for our medical insurances. Now, it doesn't even come close, medical is a huge chunk which makes our disposable income much less.
Re: Solar Powered Car
It pleases me greatly to know that you and I agree Capitalism and the concept of Free Enterprise is the best combination of systems ever invented. The sad truth, however, is that both of those things are theories and in practice fall short of the ideal. We have anti-monopoly laws in this country, and for the most part they are applied fairly. The argument against allowing big business is futile because it's impossible to limit the size of a business and not violate the Free Enterprise ideal. Businesses can be regulated, but only in a way that applies to all businesses big and small.
My table from above is a tabulation of the economic laws of Supply and Demand. The supply side has been increased dramatically which would normally drive down market prices for a single product. But, I'm talking Gross Domestic Product which is everything made and served in the U S of A. If you increase the number of goods available (i.e. raise the standard of living) then the money supply needs to increase as well so that people can buy all those extra goodies that didn't exist last year. So, the worker bees put pressure on their employers and get raises which in turn increases the costs associated with building products or giving services. Then the market prices must go up to match the demand from all that new money. It's a vicious circle, but not a Catch 22. There are ways to regulate supply and demand as well as the money supply. The inflation you see today is a demonstration of those regulations at work.
Speaking of Social Security, I have an interesting story to tell you. Like the rest of us fixed income folks I got an 8.6% increase in my social security payments. Also, as you know, the good folks running Medicare take out their premiums before that check is written. I'm not positive but it looks as if the major medical part stayed the same as it was last year. The drug premium went down from $7 to $5, which is no big deal but a reduction in premiums nonetheless. The interesting part of this story is that the increase in my payments exceeded the Medicare premiums by a full 30%. We aren't talking mega bucks here, but the fact is I got a true raise in benefits AND a reduction in insurance costs. The absolute numbers for my wife's payouts are different but the percent increase in benefits were the same for her. I know not all SS benefits are created equal, especially not those handed out in your part of the world. I just want to point out that it's not always bad news from the SSA.
As an aside, my wife bought me a stand up desk for a Christmas present. Some assembly will be required, but the old desk must be un-assembled first. That's where all my computer stuff is located at the moment. The old and the new are identical sized desktops, but the new has electric motors in its legs so that the desk top can be raised and lowered. I figured I'm not doing enough standing these days, and hopefully this will help in that regard. Stay tuned for further details as they develop.
My table from above is a tabulation of the economic laws of Supply and Demand. The supply side has been increased dramatically which would normally drive down market prices for a single product. But, I'm talking Gross Domestic Product which is everything made and served in the U S of A. If you increase the number of goods available (i.e. raise the standard of living) then the money supply needs to increase as well so that people can buy all those extra goodies that didn't exist last year. So, the worker bees put pressure on their employers and get raises which in turn increases the costs associated with building products or giving services. Then the market prices must go up to match the demand from all that new money. It's a vicious circle, but not a Catch 22. There are ways to regulate supply and demand as well as the money supply. The inflation you see today is a demonstration of those regulations at work.
Speaking of Social Security, I have an interesting story to tell you. Like the rest of us fixed income folks I got an 8.6% increase in my social security payments. Also, as you know, the good folks running Medicare take out their premiums before that check is written. I'm not positive but it looks as if the major medical part stayed the same as it was last year. The drug premium went down from $7 to $5, which is no big deal but a reduction in premiums nonetheless. The interesting part of this story is that the increase in my payments exceeded the Medicare premiums by a full 30%. We aren't talking mega bucks here, but the fact is I got a true raise in benefits AND a reduction in insurance costs. The absolute numbers for my wife's payouts are different but the percent increase in benefits were the same for her. I know not all SS benefits are created equal, especially not those handed out in your part of the world. I just want to point out that it's not always bad news from the SSA.
As an aside, my wife bought me a stand up desk for a Christmas present. Some assembly will be required, but the old desk must be un-assembled first. That's where all my computer stuff is located at the moment. The old and the new are identical sized desktops, but the new has electric motors in its legs so that the desk top can be raised and lowered. I figured I'm not doing enough standing these days, and hopefully this will help in that regard. Stay tuned for further details as they develop.
Re: Solar Powered Car
It's not a business getting BIG or even BIGGER, it is when one large company buys up all their competition, and in so doing creates a Monopoly where I think the line needs to be drawn.
In a sense, my AZNO3 business was a monopoly of sorts. I was the only one who manufactured that product. However, there were other products on the market designed for reducing nitrates in reef aquariums. So I was just one way of doing it out of many, therefore I was not a monopoly. But if I went out and bought out every company who made a product or machine for reducing nitrates in a reef aquarium, and there were no others left making such a product or device, then I would be a monopoly. This would give me the leverage to charge whatever price I wanted to charge, and if they wanted any of it, they would have to pay that price. That type of thing is what should never be allowed!
Population grown, and the availability of products, including new products, or a larger selection of products to choose from, will drive up inflation. But it should be more of a standard SLOW increase, not the sudden leaps and bounds we are seeing right now. The price of things should not double overnight, especially when there is plenty of it. At least we have a grocery store near us who sells nearly everything for about half of what the chain grocery stores sell for, and in many cases, it is the exact same things by the same manufacturers or growers. They just have a lower overhead to deal with than the chain stores with many executive offices and bloat to pay for.
Wesson Food Company had reduced their office type of manpower by nearly one-half for about five years before they merged with Hunt Foods Company. They had also increased their output and thus had a larger bottom line at the time of the merger.
The merger would allow them to retain control, but eliminate almost all the office type of personnel as Hunts would be taking over those chores, and without adding more employees.
But then like nearly all companies who get too big for their britches, they began adding staff that was really not needed.
I recognized this myself with the Lab Area of our own business. We more or less let that department do what they wanted to, hire who they wanted to, and buy what equipment they needed. But, they were also the ones coming up with new plants we could sell, and later sell to other florists and greenhouses, so their total cost was only a small percentage of our annual sale of new plants. This is one reason we just let them do what they wanted. But over the years, the percentage of profits from those new crops kept dwindling down, and their costs kept going up. We had to put some dampers on them near the end.
My SS has also gone up, or will beginning in January I think. For 2023 my medicare will go down by 10 bucks, but my drug plan has gone up by 8 bucks. So far so good. My supplemental plan has increased by 35 to 45 to 65 more over the past three years. The 3% increase did not even come close to covering how much medicare, the drug plan, and supplemental went up each of those 3% SS increase years. Now this year, the larger increase will help to balance out medicare and drugs, but will still by short by about 1/2 the amount of increases over the past three years.
Also, the Annual amount we have to meet first has gone up, and most of the drugs I'm on that used to be on tier 1 are up on tier 3 or not covered at all. Add all these things together, and it would take an 18 to 22% increase in SS to cover those increases. So my amount left over after those will be less than before. Now deduct from that the increase in my utilities and taxes, and I'll have a lot less than I used to have. I don't know how much less now until I recalculate it all. But I will tell you this, it was close to impossible for me to cover everything, and after I'm gone, I know Debi won't be able to, so I'm hoping her son will pick up the difference for her.
I had a stand up desk for a very short time. It sounded like a good thing at the time I got it. But then too, so did the Denska kneel down chair I bought. At first I liked the Denska, but on days when I was doing transcription work, I need my feet available to press the transcription machine floor levers. So it got shoved aside. When I went back to using it, my knees would start hurting. As far as the stand up desk. It is only great if you are doing short things while on the move, like printing out labels and going to put them on packages. But if you stand at one for very long, first your shoulders hurt and then your back. In my case, my upper back between my shoulders and lower back. So that desk got shoved over in a corner and used to hold my paper cutter, bulk stapler, and a few other office tools.
In a sense, my AZNO3 business was a monopoly of sorts. I was the only one who manufactured that product. However, there were other products on the market designed for reducing nitrates in reef aquariums. So I was just one way of doing it out of many, therefore I was not a monopoly. But if I went out and bought out every company who made a product or machine for reducing nitrates in a reef aquarium, and there were no others left making such a product or device, then I would be a monopoly. This would give me the leverage to charge whatever price I wanted to charge, and if they wanted any of it, they would have to pay that price. That type of thing is what should never be allowed!
Population grown, and the availability of products, including new products, or a larger selection of products to choose from, will drive up inflation. But it should be more of a standard SLOW increase, not the sudden leaps and bounds we are seeing right now. The price of things should not double overnight, especially when there is plenty of it. At least we have a grocery store near us who sells nearly everything for about half of what the chain grocery stores sell for, and in many cases, it is the exact same things by the same manufacturers or growers. They just have a lower overhead to deal with than the chain stores with many executive offices and bloat to pay for.
Wesson Food Company had reduced their office type of manpower by nearly one-half for about five years before they merged with Hunt Foods Company. They had also increased their output and thus had a larger bottom line at the time of the merger.
The merger would allow them to retain control, but eliminate almost all the office type of personnel as Hunts would be taking over those chores, and without adding more employees.
But then like nearly all companies who get too big for their britches, they began adding staff that was really not needed.
I recognized this myself with the Lab Area of our own business. We more or less let that department do what they wanted to, hire who they wanted to, and buy what equipment they needed. But, they were also the ones coming up with new plants we could sell, and later sell to other florists and greenhouses, so their total cost was only a small percentage of our annual sale of new plants. This is one reason we just let them do what they wanted. But over the years, the percentage of profits from those new crops kept dwindling down, and their costs kept going up. We had to put some dampers on them near the end.
My SS has also gone up, or will beginning in January I think. For 2023 my medicare will go down by 10 bucks, but my drug plan has gone up by 8 bucks. So far so good. My supplemental plan has increased by 35 to 45 to 65 more over the past three years. The 3% increase did not even come close to covering how much medicare, the drug plan, and supplemental went up each of those 3% SS increase years. Now this year, the larger increase will help to balance out medicare and drugs, but will still by short by about 1/2 the amount of increases over the past three years.
Also, the Annual amount we have to meet first has gone up, and most of the drugs I'm on that used to be on tier 1 are up on tier 3 or not covered at all. Add all these things together, and it would take an 18 to 22% increase in SS to cover those increases. So my amount left over after those will be less than before. Now deduct from that the increase in my utilities and taxes, and I'll have a lot less than I used to have. I don't know how much less now until I recalculate it all. But I will tell you this, it was close to impossible for me to cover everything, and after I'm gone, I know Debi won't be able to, so I'm hoping her son will pick up the difference for her.
I had a stand up desk for a very short time. It sounded like a good thing at the time I got it. But then too, so did the Denska kneel down chair I bought. At first I liked the Denska, but on days when I was doing transcription work, I need my feet available to press the transcription machine floor levers. So it got shoved aside. When I went back to using it, my knees would start hurting. As far as the stand up desk. It is only great if you are doing short things while on the move, like printing out labels and going to put them on packages. But if you stand at one for very long, first your shoulders hurt and then your back. In my case, my upper back between my shoulders and lower back. So that desk got shoved over in a corner and used to hold my paper cutter, bulk stapler, and a few other office tools.
Re: Solar Powered Car
Conglomerates, in theory at least, are a good thing. Large corporations of that nature have benefits that can be used to lower the cost of operations. That leads to extra profits. All is good up to that point, but what happens to those extra profits? Does the savings therefrom get passed on down to the consumer? You know, like Ronald Regan's Trickle Down Economics is supposed to work. The multi trillion dollar tax break Trump gave to corporations was provided on the same assumption. That is to say the windfall profits were supposed to go toward lowering costs of the end product and/or increase the wages of the employees. Well, that second part does apply but only executive management see those increases. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with corporations owning several businesses in their own product line because there is nothing to stop any other business from doing the same thing. Getting to the point of being anti-competitive is where you rightly draw the line. Cornering the marked as you did with your business isn't of itself monopolistic. You were in a good position because you could do things nobody else was willing, but you were not preventing them from trying. The legalities get pretty hairy, I admit, but the free enterprise system thrives on successful businesses becoming more successful. Should they also become greedy, then that is a moral issue more than an economic one.
Because you are receiving benefits from SSA just as we are in this family, the percentages should be the same for both of us. That's the way the system is built. But, I also realize 8% of $100 is way short of 8% of $1000. The absolute dollar amount in your case is not very significant. And, it should go without saying, the COLA provided by SSA reflects the rate of inflation for the previous single year. They don't do a historical analysis and try and make up for past shortfalls. There doesn't seem to be much you can do to improve your overall cash flow problem, and to me that is a shortcoming of the system surrounding Social Security. The fix for all that sounds too socialistic for congress to even think about it so they go patching the system just months before it collapses altogether. Hopefully that will continue to be the case going forward.
I've had the use of my stand up desk for a full six hours now and am very pleased with it. LOL I have circulation problems that go back to the days when I worked for Motorola. It got so bad back then that I was hospitalized twice and could have died suddenly on each occasion. The doctors could not come up with a cause and effect formula. Blood clots just happen, so they say. However, there is an abundance of evidence that sitting too much has a negative effect on the blood circulation. The long and the short of it is that I have hobbled along for a couple dozen years with no major advances of the illness. There are minor ones, particularly since we moved down here to Missouri. I'm not nearly as active here as I was up north. Regardless, I needed a new desk no matter what kind it was. The stand up desk seemed like a great idea that would help the circulation problem. You are correct about problems arising from muscles that have not been used previously. Add arthritis to the formula and it could be big trouble. But gradually easing into the routine should be safe and effective. I don't know the maximum number of hours I'll be standing during the day, but it will be more than a couple
Because you are receiving benefits from SSA just as we are in this family, the percentages should be the same for both of us. That's the way the system is built. But, I also realize 8% of $100 is way short of 8% of $1000. The absolute dollar amount in your case is not very significant. And, it should go without saying, the COLA provided by SSA reflects the rate of inflation for the previous single year. They don't do a historical analysis and try and make up for past shortfalls. There doesn't seem to be much you can do to improve your overall cash flow problem, and to me that is a shortcoming of the system surrounding Social Security. The fix for all that sounds too socialistic for congress to even think about it so they go patching the system just months before it collapses altogether. Hopefully that will continue to be the case going forward.
I've had the use of my stand up desk for a full six hours now and am very pleased with it. LOL I have circulation problems that go back to the days when I worked for Motorola. It got so bad back then that I was hospitalized twice and could have died suddenly on each occasion. The doctors could not come up with a cause and effect formula. Blood clots just happen, so they say. However, there is an abundance of evidence that sitting too much has a negative effect on the blood circulation. The long and the short of it is that I have hobbled along for a couple dozen years with no major advances of the illness. There are minor ones, particularly since we moved down here to Missouri. I'm not nearly as active here as I was up north. Regardless, I needed a new desk no matter what kind it was. The stand up desk seemed like a great idea that would help the circulation problem. You are correct about problems arising from muscles that have not been used previously. Add arthritis to the formula and it could be big trouble. But gradually easing into the routine should be safe and effective. I don't know the maximum number of hours I'll be standing during the day, but it will be more than a couple
Re: Solar Powered Car
A very large company can often make use off ALL of a resource they require, without waste the smaller companies have no way of using. Sometimes they can sell their waste items to another company who can use them.
Big lumber companies like Wayerhouser and Georgia Pacific have little to no waste, they use every part of the tree that comes to their plants. And what doesn't make it to the plant from the field is ground into mulch to feed the next crop of new trees being planted.
I used to be over at Couples Company quite often. Although they were a big company, there were not big enough to use their own scrap materials, but at least 90% of their scrap was recycled, and of which they got a little money for that too.
A small farmer raising only Corn, his costs for doing that are at least 5 times higher than a big agro-business farm. But then, most of the Corn we eat comes from the smaller farmers, and the big agro-farms are growing their crops for commercial usages.
So I do agree that the really big super companies are who help to keep our costs down through massive output.
Back when Trump was trying to get the bottom social security checks boosted up to 1200 dollars, and if you already got more than 1200 bucks a month, you wouldn't see a boost other than the COLA increase everyone got. He couldn't get it through the Democratic House, so it stalled. At the time, a 3% COLA increase would have meant those of us with only 800 dollar checks would have got a few more dollars after the COLA increase would come out. A 3% increase on 800 bucks is only 24 bucks, and Medicare went up that much, and so did all the rest of our health insurance. If we got the increase up to 1200 dollars, we would have got 36 bucks, that extra 12 bucks on top of the extra 400 would have brought the lower folks up to something more helpful to us.
I hope the desk you got is one that can be raised and lowered so it works out better for you.
Big lumber companies like Wayerhouser and Georgia Pacific have little to no waste, they use every part of the tree that comes to their plants. And what doesn't make it to the plant from the field is ground into mulch to feed the next crop of new trees being planted.
I used to be over at Couples Company quite often. Although they were a big company, there were not big enough to use their own scrap materials, but at least 90% of their scrap was recycled, and of which they got a little money for that too.
A small farmer raising only Corn, his costs for doing that are at least 5 times higher than a big agro-business farm. But then, most of the Corn we eat comes from the smaller farmers, and the big agro-farms are growing their crops for commercial usages.
So I do agree that the really big super companies are who help to keep our costs down through massive output.
Back when Trump was trying to get the bottom social security checks boosted up to 1200 dollars, and if you already got more than 1200 bucks a month, you wouldn't see a boost other than the COLA increase everyone got. He couldn't get it through the Democratic House, so it stalled. At the time, a 3% COLA increase would have meant those of us with only 800 dollar checks would have got a few more dollars after the COLA increase would come out. A 3% increase on 800 bucks is only 24 bucks, and Medicare went up that much, and so did all the rest of our health insurance. If we got the increase up to 1200 dollars, we would have got 36 bucks, that extra 12 bucks on top of the extra 400 would have brought the lower folks up to something more helpful to us.
I hope the desk you got is one that can be raised and lowered so it works out better for you.
Re: Solar Powered Car
The economy of scale in businesses has been tested and proven many times over. While it's all a good business practice and ultimately should benefit the consumer there are some drawbacks. I can only speak of my personal shopping experiences where the grocers have typically been part of a conglomerate. Even those chains that were not part of a bigger whole operated like franchises and dictated the product line that could be sold in the stores. Those corporate sponsored products were designed to lower costs and maximize profits, which is a good thing for the store and the company. For the consumer it limits the brands and variety of goods that can be offered. It has often happened where I find a superior quality product and go to that store which sells it almost exclusively. Then, without warning, that product disappears from the shelves never to be seen again. Somebody in corporate made a decision to boost the bottom line for their company, but took away a choice when I go shopping. A few of those things I now buy online and pay a high price for them, but at least I can still get them.
I don't recall Donald Trump ever proposing a raise in the minimum SSA payout, but I am willing to take your word for it. I do recall Trump, as president, wanting to eliminate payroll deductions under the guise of increasing income for the average family (not us fixed income folks, by the way). Guess which taxes were prioritized to be eliminated. If you said those paid to the Social Security fund you would be correct. The intent there was to defund the SSA because Mr President knew he could not get any laws passed to eliminate it altogether. And, of course, without funds there would be no social security payouts.
The stand up desk has motors in it's legs which can be programmed to any of four fixed heights on demand. Manual adjustments to the height are also possible so that any unique situation can be accommodated on the fly. Today I stood up to read and edit some e-mail for about an hour. I was already sore and tired from the previous day spent putting together this system so that the hour long stand was all I could manage. The beauty of the system is that I can adjust the height to whatever level is comfortable for typing in increments of .1 inch. LOL It's a pretty cool system and I have a video that I would show you but can't post in these forums. I suppose I could put it on Facebook but neither one of us go there very much these days.
I don't recall Donald Trump ever proposing a raise in the minimum SSA payout, but I am willing to take your word for it. I do recall Trump, as president, wanting to eliminate payroll deductions under the guise of increasing income for the average family (not us fixed income folks, by the way). Guess which taxes were prioritized to be eliminated. If you said those paid to the Social Security fund you would be correct. The intent there was to defund the SSA because Mr President knew he could not get any laws passed to eliminate it altogether. And, of course, without funds there would be no social security payouts.
The stand up desk has motors in it's legs which can be programmed to any of four fixed heights on demand. Manual adjustments to the height are also possible so that any unique situation can be accommodated on the fly. Today I stood up to read and edit some e-mail for about an hour. I was already sore and tired from the previous day spent putting together this system so that the hour long stand was all I could manage. The beauty of the system is that I can adjust the height to whatever level is comfortable for typing in increments of .1 inch. LOL It's a pretty cool system and I have a video that I would show you but can't post in these forums. I suppose I could put it on Facebook but neither one of us go there very much these days.
Re: Solar Powered Car
That's what happened with my Chun King Chow Mein, hi hi. Chun King was a moderately sized company and distributed all across the U.S. They had a competitor La Choy who also distributed across the U.S. After they were bought out by ConAgra, La Choy was given the eastern half of the U.S. and Chun King the western half of the U.S. Supposedly this would cut down transportation costs, warehousing and distribution expenses, and make the bottom line for ConAgra bigger, while lowering the bottom line for both of those companies they bought out.
Now if they were Smart, they would have had both companies make each other products so they could still keep distribution to the entire U.S. and the smaller companies could have held their bottom lines up, just under different trade names.
Sorta like the bread and frozen pizza companies do. And I imagine many companies do this, especially with perishable foodstuffs.
Raising the minimum SS payout to 1,200 bucks was in one of his early campaign speeches before the 2016 election. And he did try to get it through after he was elected. Getting rid of SS would be just another step closer to Socialism and total Dictatorship, which it almost is now.
I've seen several different types of flex-desks in ads for them, sit in chair, sit on stool, or stand. I even saw one where you can lay back in a recliner and the desk would move to you, and a few even tilted with you if designed that way.
I got used to my desks with the monitor under glass under the desktop. For me that is ideal.
Now if they were Smart, they would have had both companies make each other products so they could still keep distribution to the entire U.S. and the smaller companies could have held their bottom lines up, just under different trade names.
Sorta like the bread and frozen pizza companies do. And I imagine many companies do this, especially with perishable foodstuffs.
Raising the minimum SS payout to 1,200 bucks was in one of his early campaign speeches before the 2016 election. And he did try to get it through after he was elected. Getting rid of SS would be just another step closer to Socialism and total Dictatorship, which it almost is now.
I've seen several different types of flex-desks in ads for them, sit in chair, sit on stool, or stand. I even saw one where you can lay back in a recliner and the desk would move to you, and a few even tilted with you if designed that way.
I got used to my desks with the monitor under glass under the desktop. For me that is ideal.
Re: Solar Powered Car
Back in the days of Windows 98 I had a desk console similar to what you describe where the monitor was underneath the desk's top. It was cool looking and a novel way to keep the desktop clear, but eventually I brought the monitor to the top as would be a normal installation. Looking downward strained my eyes because the screen was farther than the normal reading distance. There was some issues with reading the bottom lines of the screen too. While it was my kind of kinkiness, that type of desk was not practical for me.
When I did the search for a new standing desk there was an amazing variety of styles. The best one sold as a commercial desk and had a ton of accessories. One of them was a hammock that could be mounted between the legs. That looked very cool but I could not think of one use for it. The desk was only 60" long and if a person were to get into that hammock they would have to be under 4 feet tall. LOL It was a beautiful desk but could not be had for less than $700 before any accessories were added. The thing that made my expensive taste reject it was the fact that the high price was for the 48" long model. It simply was not usable for me and the price was ridiculous. Today I watched a spaceship fall out of the sky over the NASA streaming network. It was an amazing sight and I stood at my desk for nearly an hour watching it. The laptop had Musk's fantasy land rolling along so that I was able to view both at the same time. But, an hour of either one of those broadcasts was just too much for my old legs. However, I will say that they don't hurt as much as they did yesterday.
When I grow up I want one of these for my computer: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing ... aming-pod/
When I did the search for a new standing desk there was an amazing variety of styles. The best one sold as a commercial desk and had a ton of accessories. One of them was a hammock that could be mounted between the legs. That looked very cool but I could not think of one use for it. The desk was only 60" long and if a person were to get into that hammock they would have to be under 4 feet tall. LOL It was a beautiful desk but could not be had for less than $700 before any accessories were added. The thing that made my expensive taste reject it was the fact that the high price was for the 48" long model. It simply was not usable for me and the price was ridiculous. Today I watched a spaceship fall out of the sky over the NASA streaming network. It was an amazing sight and I stood at my desk for nearly an hour watching it. The laptop had Musk's fantasy land rolling along so that I was able to view both at the same time. But, an hour of either one of those broadcasts was just too much for my old legs. However, I will say that they don't hurt as much as they did yesterday.
When I grow up I want one of these for my computer: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing ... aming-pod/
Re: Solar Powered Car
I wear Tri-Focal glasses now, and have them set just right for using the inside the desktop monitor.
To use the top of the desk, I push the keyboard in and scoot up closer to the desk and look through my bifocal lens.
To use the under-desktop monitor, I scoot back to pull out the keyboard drawer, and view the monitor through my middle lens.
The distance to my screen inside the desk is exactly the same distance to a desktop mounted monitor.
Then I have two monitors above my desk a little further back, so I can see them through the top lens of my glasses which is set to infinity.
FWIW: I hold my head up straight when using my computer monitor inside the desk, rarely do I have to tilt my head down even slightly.
Even before I had to wear tri-focals, I had no problems seeing the monitor text clearly either inside our on top of my desk.
I bought two of these desks on the same day, they had to be custom ordered and I got a break by ordering two.
But then before they were delivered, the company making them for me, Steuar I think it was, said they liked the simple and easy to construct design and decided to make like 100 or more of them, if I had no objections, and for that they would cut my price down to 2-desks for 1/2 the price quoted me for only one.
Another benefit was, since I was using one item they already made for the file cabinet side, but converted inside to hold a printer, which was just the addition of one small shelf, and this file drawer included a desk drawer as it's top section. But that part already came that way, but they did cut the right vertical plank short when they made the finals desks.
On the right was also a hanging file cabinet drawer that pulled out, only without the hardware, so it was an empty box for me, and a place to put the computer inside.
The desk itself is 5 feet wide, 31 inches deep, and 30 inches high.
Not counting the left side panel, the file cabinet drawer and the top drawer are 24 inches wide.
The right cabinet is only 10 inches wide and the keyboard area is also 24 inches wide. But the keyboard tray itself with the roller track on each side is like 23-1/2 inches wide, so does have some play. The track for this keyboard shelf, if you pull it out to its first stop, then lift and pull again, it pulls the tray over a hump so it sorta locks in place, but pushes back in easily.
The polarized glass viewing area is 16 inches front to back and 14 inches wide, made before wide screen monitors, hi hi.
They were finished in walnut woodgrain veneer on the drawers and door. But the top of the desk was finished using like a paper or painted on walnut woodgrain, so wore off in the high wear areas. Don't know why they didn't use the same super thin Formica type material as they used on the door and drawers. The leading edge of the desk is a thick matching woodgrain vinyl T-strip with no curves to make it come off.
When I first set them up in my house in Creve Coeur, the one for my wife had to be lifted up 2-1/2 inches from the floor due to my wife's wheelchair, and the console for her transcription pedals had to be mounted at an angle for her.
I have really loved these desks since the day I first set them up!
Yes, I've seen those gaming pods, hi hi.
There was a fellow on Quora talking about how he modified a VR face headset to use with his computer as a monitor.
Said the only problem he had was it caused him severe eyestrain after about a week of using it more than 4 hours a day.
To use the top of the desk, I push the keyboard in and scoot up closer to the desk and look through my bifocal lens.
To use the under-desktop monitor, I scoot back to pull out the keyboard drawer, and view the monitor through my middle lens.
The distance to my screen inside the desk is exactly the same distance to a desktop mounted monitor.
Then I have two monitors above my desk a little further back, so I can see them through the top lens of my glasses which is set to infinity.
FWIW: I hold my head up straight when using my computer monitor inside the desk, rarely do I have to tilt my head down even slightly.
Even before I had to wear tri-focals, I had no problems seeing the monitor text clearly either inside our on top of my desk.
I bought two of these desks on the same day, they had to be custom ordered and I got a break by ordering two.
But then before they were delivered, the company making them for me, Steuar I think it was, said they liked the simple and easy to construct design and decided to make like 100 or more of them, if I had no objections, and for that they would cut my price down to 2-desks for 1/2 the price quoted me for only one.
Another benefit was, since I was using one item they already made for the file cabinet side, but converted inside to hold a printer, which was just the addition of one small shelf, and this file drawer included a desk drawer as it's top section. But that part already came that way, but they did cut the right vertical plank short when they made the finals desks.
On the right was also a hanging file cabinet drawer that pulled out, only without the hardware, so it was an empty box for me, and a place to put the computer inside.
The desk itself is 5 feet wide, 31 inches deep, and 30 inches high.
Not counting the left side panel, the file cabinet drawer and the top drawer are 24 inches wide.
The right cabinet is only 10 inches wide and the keyboard area is also 24 inches wide. But the keyboard tray itself with the roller track on each side is like 23-1/2 inches wide, so does have some play. The track for this keyboard shelf, if you pull it out to its first stop, then lift and pull again, it pulls the tray over a hump so it sorta locks in place, but pushes back in easily.
The polarized glass viewing area is 16 inches front to back and 14 inches wide, made before wide screen monitors, hi hi.
They were finished in walnut woodgrain veneer on the drawers and door. But the top of the desk was finished using like a paper or painted on walnut woodgrain, so wore off in the high wear areas. Don't know why they didn't use the same super thin Formica type material as they used on the door and drawers. The leading edge of the desk is a thick matching woodgrain vinyl T-strip with no curves to make it come off.
When I first set them up in my house in Creve Coeur, the one for my wife had to be lifted up 2-1/2 inches from the floor due to my wife's wheelchair, and the console for her transcription pedals had to be mounted at an angle for her.
I have really loved these desks since the day I first set them up!
Yes, I've seen those gaming pods, hi hi.
There was a fellow on Quora talking about how he modified a VR face headset to use with his computer as a monitor.
Said the only problem he had was it caused him severe eyestrain after about a week of using it more than 4 hours a day.