A great Debate today

20 Jan
Published by Ricky1146

A great debate I had a few hours ago!

 

 

 
Joshua Zeidner
why doesn't the United States have backpacker hostels?
 ·  · 07:56 · 
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      Danny Gibson Because anyone wearing a backpack is stereotyped?
      08:41 · 

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      Kenneth LeJeune I would suspect it is because fewer people hike and there isn't much money in it.
      08:46 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain if you want my opinon. Its the mentality. americans prize 2 things. Space & privacy. These 2 things a hostel lack entirely
      08:55 ·  ·  2

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      Joshua Zeidner 
      Ricky great observation. Personally I suspect that because businesses own the legal system in America, of course Hotel owners lobby for their interests and make it legally difficult to run a hostel. Secondly, there are a lot more poor an ...See More
      09:07 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner Kenneth, hostels are profitable if run correctly. Typically they open them in the more 'raw' parts of town, it actually has a tendency to seed beneficial economic growth in areas that have them. Cafes, bars spring up, people build a sense of space and community in the area- soon there comes political organization and soon enough businesses and tax base. They are absolutely beneficial.
      09:08 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain Well, i just know this from my traveling experience. When I would write back about the price everyone is all in. Then they ask 3 questions. Beds in one room? No way. Shared Showers hell no! 3 Can i get my privacy. There are hostels in NYC and in Cali but they are frequented by Foreigners, even foreigners work at the hostels. Here is one http://nylofthostel.com/

      New York Loft Hostel | The Hostel

      www.nylofthostel.com

      A fully renovated 1913 loft building in Williamsburg houses what we think is the...See More
      09:11 ·  · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain I stayed there when the iceland volcano hit. I remember once I had a political friend all lined up to go till he said i have to share a shower? He then said ill pay the $100 a night for my privacy
      09:12 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner they do exist in the US, but they are no where near as prolific as in Europe or Israel for that matter. The basic geography of Europe is much different than the US. In Europe there are things to do pretty much everywhere you go. The US Geography is a lot like its politics, two extreme poles and a vast wasteland in between.
      09:13 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain ‎:P austin or lainsing arent wastelands haha Detroit is!
      09:14 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner there are few 'points of light' (pun intended) here and there.
      09:16 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner from the 30 to the 80/90s tennesee for instance was a stronghold of civilization in the mid-west. I got taken out with the tide of Walmartization.
      09:24 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain hey those are $10 an hr jobs at starting at least in michigan. I assume they start mimumal wage everywhere else
      09:26 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner wow $10/hour! do you know how many tacos I could buy with that? verily I say our masters are most generous!
      09:27 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain LOOL remember ask anyone in eastern europe and russian and they get paid .50-$2 an hour. Even GREAT CHINA! (Thats roughly 20% or more of the worlds population im sure) & India!
      09:29 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner in some parts of the world they kill you for breathing too much. Therefore, $10/hour is some kind of gift? does anyone remember when Walmart and the like justified their presence and tax schedule on the basis that it would be IMPROVING life for Americans? now they destroyed our economy and they justify it by comparing it to a communist dictatorship. Americans have very short memories.
      09:32 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/9502.aspxHe's just like you! don't hate Walmart just because he's a winner!

      Walmartstores.com: Sam Walton, Our Founder

      walmartstores.com

      Learn the story of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart and how grew his company to the largest retail company in the world.
      09:34 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner The real founder of wal-mart. http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/5045_W020040102410651413257.jpg

      http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/5045_W020040102410651413257.jpg

      images.dailytech.com

       
      09:37 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain 
      Josh on the walmart part I dunno if i agree with it. In the sense yes walmart has gobbled out competition. Though it still remains low price same quality. I mean the 10/hr as better off since most the standard living I know east of germ...See More
      09:38 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain I give you Penn & Teller argue with them ;)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-o1fj1rX7A&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLBDADE0C6A653D1B4

      Penn and Teller Bullshit S05E02 Walmart PART 1 of 4

      www.youtube.com

      Walmart
      09:38 ·  · 

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      Joshua Zeidner 
      Ricky, comparing conditions in other countries is irrelevant. We allowed Walmart to spread because it promised a healthier economy. It didn't deliver. Even the prices to end consumer are not lower, in addition to gutting our own domestic...See More
      09:43 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain I say the culprit is regulation and progressive taxes not wal mart itself. Ive been thinking of getting rid of minimum wage and what was that racism law about ratios. I cant recall it at the moment. Both need to be gone
      09:45 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner wouldn't you say its an opportune time to deregulate absolutely everything, being that practically all the nation (and the world's) wealth has been transferred to a small handful of people? what do you expect to happen when you remove all labor laws, financial regs, etc.?
      09:50 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain Well i am in favor of a flat tax. Something Russia has and I could be wrong but i believe latvia has it as wellhttp://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2011/10/25/bulgaria-mongolia-guernsey-among-the-23-flat-tax-countries/ I loved Cain's 9 9 9 I might do a revised Cain's 6 6 6 haha

      Flat-tax countries include Bulgaria, Mongolia, Iraq

      blogs.marketwatch.com

      Flat-tax systems such as the one being proposed by GOP presidential candidate Ri...See More
      09:53 ·  · 

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      Joshua Zeidner oh ya they have a flat tax in Iraq? how convenient for all the new oil barons cropping up there.
      09:55 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain LOL go to russia or start reading about the new soviet union based off Natural gas ;) They are addicting Europe
      09:56 · 

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      Michael Kaplan Looks like you guys covered this already, but speaking from experience, some cities don't want short-term housing in residential neighborhoods. And it's not cost effective to operate a hostel in a commercial neighborhood, when you can operate a more profitable "regular" hotel in the same space.
      09:59 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner theres far more market options in Europe though. you can typically find a fairly clean bed in any major city for about $15/night. Compare that to 180$/night in a major US city.
      10:01 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain well josh your only thinking hostels. I think the hotels are way way out of range. Most hotels start at 100+ in latvia and even higher in germany
      10:02 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain i do agree with you hostels are more eccnomical. Yet I HATE the EU vat tax it must DIE!
      10:03 · 

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      Adam Lederway 
      I know I really shouldn't get involved. But... Instead of always comparing America to Russia or China, lets make it a fair fight and pit the general living and economic condditions of America against those of Germany, Sweden, Denmark and ot...See More
      10:04 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner there's other new options as well such as airbnb
      10:04 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain airbnb has places all over my state a few of them are my old friends LOL
      10:07 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner 
      Adam, exactly- I tend to think the libertarians are the unwitting tools of these same asses who got bailout money. I mean what better time to deregulate the entire world, AFTER Americans are foreclosing at record rates, AFTER trillions wer...See More
      10:08 · 

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      Dennis Tyhacz I think the word "hostel" gets a negative rap in the US, or people act like it's a sub-standard shelter or something for people that can't afford to stay anywhere else. Meanwhile there's hostels in Europe that are friggin' nicer then a good chunk of the roadside motels you see in the states.
      10:09 ·  ·  1

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      Joshua Zeidner oh and regarding your comparison to Germany- we can't really compare it to that either, because all those countries are living on borrowed time. We don't really know what things are going to look like when the financial SHTF. Germany for starters relies heavily on exports to the US, like car manufacture for instance.
      10:09 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner Denis, exactly... not only are they nicer, but the whole experience is far better- I meet people all the time in hostels, many are here on my Facebook. I think they have a tendency to create social patterns that the 'PTB' do not appreciate.
      10:11 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner sorry *Dennis :)
      10:13 · 

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      Adam Lederway 
      That is true. We don't know what will happen but we can look at what has happened. Of course if a major component of the world economy collapses... Well then the times they will be a changing. But we can look at the fact that Germany and ot...See More
      10:16 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner 
      The europeans countries such as Germany, Sweden, etc. chalk up their success as 'superior social system' but what is often ignored is that it relies heavily on the social security system. For most currently working in the system, most of t...See More
      10:22 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain hey the Germans survived after the Roman empire. They can after us! ;)
      10:22 · 

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      Adam Lederway Just a note: German's are among the highest in the world in personal savings rates. Getting a credit card is not easy here and the limits they put on them are pretty stringent. You can look that up if you like. I'm in a cafe and am not going to go searching for links. The fact that I am at aforementioned cafe and am writing about this stuff does not speak well of my coolness.
      10:26 · 

    • Ricky Thomas Cain Josh if I ever get to the top tier politically. And find something massively evil. I will tell you and the world. I have no reservations Though i am a skeptic willing to be proven ;)
      10:30 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner 
      i dont know about that - most Germans I know do not have a lot of personal wealth. the point is, that Germany's strength relies on two primary factors 1) strong export economy 2) good social stability. Both of these things are currently c...See More
      10:31 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner same thing goes for Sweden. There have been some pretty nasty criticisms of the Swedish system that the govt did their best to censor. a great book : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Totalitarians

      The New Totalitarians - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      en.wikipedia.org

      The New Totalitarians is a 1971 book by British author Roland Huntford. Huntford...See More
      10:32 · 

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      Adam Lederway It's far from perfect here. Humans are after all involved. However, I still see things here s a social direction America should move towards rather than away from. How sick is the world when having an export-based exonomy is now considered a liability. These days having an economy at all is a liability.
      10:36 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner 
      I agree with you there, but be careful when youre praising the German way. The fruits of this economic approach are long past their shelf life. Re: export based economy, the whole thing needs rethinking in my view. It seems all this weal...See More
      10:43 · 

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      Adam Lederway But we don't. No profit in that. The invisible iron fist of the market and all that.
      10:49 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner you mustn't mess with the invisible iron fist. It's God's fist - it is a vengeful fist but ultimately it is there because the fist loves you and will eventually lead you to redemption. It says so in Adam Smith's 'Book of the Fist'.
      11:00 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner sure, sometimes the Way of the Fist isn't so much fun, that's because God created THE ANTI-FIST in order to test you and see how loyal you were to the fist. So bear with it, there's lots of good things at the end of this rainbow for the faithful fist followers.
      11:03 · 

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      Joshua Zeidner it is prophesied in the Book of Fist: "when the evil countries that haveth oil within them boil with everlasting wrath and anger at the faithful, the end is nigh! they wanteth your freedoms! the time for liberatarianism is at hand! deregulate, oh sons of the Fist!"
      11:06 ·