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Chult86

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  1. Part of my optimism for this election comes down to, oddly enough, things like Instagram and TikTok. Historically, the youth don't turn out to vote, largely because of lack of education about the political issues, as well as a general apathy to how tax code changes affect them. Now, in this day and age, young people are more informed than at any time in our country's history, maybe even globally. They are continually exposed to clips explaining the differences between the parties. Also, shocker... taking away reproductive rights from young people is a surefire way to get them to care enough to turn out and vote. The wealth and income gap has never been worse, daily life has never been more expensive, and the youth by and large do not see Trump as the one to course-correct it all. I would be very surprised if we don't see record turnout amongst people 18-40.
  2. I don't post all that often, though don't mistake that for not enjoying this board's discourse, OUsucks/Texags point and laughs, and quality original content on a frequent basis. I haven't felt this sort of enthusiasm about the future of the country in over eight years. Same for my wife. We've been on a road trip the last two days and as such have gotten to digest this with each other seeing the news, subsequent endorsements, and then today's speech. Let me backtrack a few weeks... The despair really came to fruition the night of the debate. It wasn't THAT bad, it was the worst possible performance other than pissing yourself on stage. Watching it that night, my wife and I first shared feelings of shock. Again, it wasn't as bad as it had been rumored, it was somehow worse. We (and the entire country) knew that night that the only way Biden could win the election would be to get enough anti-Trump people to GOTV. However, that was going to be next to impossible given the level of enthusiasm with the campaign as soon as they walked off the stage that night. We realized that night that Trump had gone from likely longshot odds to win, to a position where even he probably couldn't screw up the next few months bad enough to lose. Those feelings were soon replaced by frustration and anger. Anger at the DNC for forcing Biden to run again and not spending his term as a true transitional leader and prepare the next generation to lead. Let's be 100% honest: There is nothing about "what the people want" less than forcing two basically octogenarians onto us for the choice to lead the free world for the next four years. Two candidates who wouldn't live long enough to see the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of their policies. Two candidates who should be retired, not running for the most stressful job in the world. Between Daycare and Health Insurance premiums, we are close to $30,000/year, and that's assuming everyone stays healthy. That's our floor. People on Medicare with a supplement pay usually no more than $5k/year, and that's their ceiling. So when the debate question about Childcare got skipped over completely with nary a word related to the topic at all from either candidate, further resignation and apathy about the ridiculousness of how parts of our country operate set in. As a Millennial, going through 9/11 in high school (Biology class when the news hit), graduating college into the Great Recession and competing against literal MBAs for entry level jobs, to finally COVID. How fortunate are we to live through three "once in a generation" events between the times most of us are between the ages of 20 and 40, in our prime earning years. We know that the "Dad was a milkman and supported a family of four in a 3/2 suburbia and vacationed every year" was a literal thing. We know how far behind we are, thanks to decades of policy decisions that just continued to cut the bottom rungs off of the ladder one at a time. In exchange for going through that, our choices for the next four years were these two guys... again... just four years older. In what world are Millennials and Gen Z supposed to think that the American Dream exists in any fashion whatsoever? While older generations expressed dismay at Gen Z not savings and spending for experiences now, us Millennials were like "Ya... we get it. We probably should have done more of that ourselves at your age." The "We're Not Going Back" line is great. We don't want to go back to the same old drawing board of "Thoughts & Prayers about your most recent shooting" and "It'll trickle down this time, we promise!". It hasn't worked, it isn't working, and it won't work. Is Kamala perfect? No. Will she deliver on half of her campaign promises? Doubtful, depends on the down ballot results mostly. Is she a breath of fresh air to anyone begging for a choice to vote for someone else? Abso-fucking-lutely. Somehow, Nikki Haley likely had it right when said "The first party to retire their 80-year old candidate will win this election." Even if she only delivers on 25% of her promises, that would be a substantial step forward, compared to the regression we'd see under Trump. I didn't expect this post to be this long. In a way, it was sort of cathartic to write out the generalized frustrations of the last several years. But oddly... that desire to write this out is because I'm finally, FINALLY optimistic about our future in a real way. In a way where there might be a chance that I won't have to worry about my son in school doing active shooter drills, where we might not benefit from Universal Child Care, but future generations will, because they should. Where if someone changes jobs they aren't risking financial ruin before their next set of benefits kicks in, because again, be honest... no one pays the ridiculous COBRA premiums unless they are already in a situation where it's needed. Stop trying to fix the old ladder. Just build a fucking new one.
  3. Both the RNC and DNC should be embarassed.
  4. One last thing... make sure it's set up so that you never have to speak to the renter, ever. If the tenant/guest gets your info somehow, they will never call the management company again and will just call you... no matter what time of day it is.
  5. The company I run in Florida handles a little under 500 properties with long-term tenants/leases, and about 300 short-term rentals for vacation stays. As mentioned above, finding/qualifying the right Property Management Company can mean the all the difference in the world. At a minimum, MINIMUM, your management company should be providing detailed inspections with photos and comments. What type of home is it? Is it in a highly desirable tourist area? Is it furnished or empty? Do you ever use the home yourself for vacations/travel? What sort of cash flow do you need to have coming in to manage your expenses? A lot of owners make the mistake of thinking their home is worth $X/month, when the market is dictating that it's worth $Y/month. Is there a Homeowner's Association? If so, what sort of rental regulations/restrictions do they have? What city/county is it in? Often times, differing municipalities will have overlapping restrictions on what you can do. I could trim 20% of our staff if it wasn't for HOAs around here... What timeline do you see yourself owning the home? What work is needed to get the property ready for a rental? Paint, flooring, appliances, etc What sort of vendors/tradesmen do you work with personally in the area? Is the management company willing to use your vendor first before their own maintenance team or other vendors? What is your ultimate end-game goal for the home? Remind yourself that whatever management company you choose you are ultimately asking them to manage (depending on personal circumstances) probably your single biggest asset outside of your primary residence. You should be looking for someone that you feel you can trust with managing what is more or less a large, illiquid investment. If you have other questions, I'd be happy to answer.
  6. Stand by ignorance of statistics relative to every other player, go right ahead.
  7. Jesus this level of revisionist history is uphauling for this forum. My typo is intended to match the level of thought that went into your post.
  8. Sure, overblown. A guy who went to like 90% of the Finals over a decade, was a much better defender than KD during those years, and scored at a similar efficiency. I know we all have recency bias watching Lebron slow down the last few years, but to act like he wasn't far and away the best player in the league for a decade is disingenuous to the level of basketball that was being played.
  9. Strong disagree. There's almost not a single metric during those years that would support that claim either. Was KD arguably the best scorer in the league for that stretch? Highly debatable... these years were prime Steph years Was KD the best rebounder? Passer? Defender? All-around player? No, no, no and no Did KD have the smoothest shooting stroke of potentially anyone that's ever picked up a basketball? Likely so As much as it hurts to say, take any team KD has been on, insert Lebron on the team instead, and that team's ceiling is higher. It may not be fashionable on this board to admit that, but we all know it's true. That's what happens when you're compared to either the 1A or 1B GOAT of your sport, and let's not pretend like anyone else in the modern NBA has come even close to Jordan or Lebron level of dominance.
  10. I do handle the entirety of our 300+ vacation rental homes in SWFL... what can I help answer?
  11. Oh god Billy and the gold story... now THAT was a TOS classic
  12. Update after having the car for almost two months... I really, really love how it drives. It's fun, plenty of power, and sleek. I get compliments on it daily since they're so rare around these parts. The infotainment definitely leaves a bit to be desired, but no regrets at all on the purchase.
  13. Just because I made a bad decision six years ago doesn't change the fact that her campaign was AWFUL. Also, Bernie did get screwed, and she was given the debate questions in advance. Hilary did herself zero favors during that election cycle. As I said, in hindsight, her emails, while not a great judgment on her part, not even close to the overblown level it got to at that point in time.
  14. In hindsight, I consider myself in 2016 (late 20s, educated male) the typical voter who didn't follow politics much, just knew of the headlines I would see periodically. I grew up in a DEEP red household in Texas, but still didn't understand politics all that much. All I knew was that my family had always voted republican, and from what I saw on the news/online, Hilary seemed like a terrible person who had been handed everything (I remember she was given debate questions in advance, the Dems basically railroading Bernie and her winning the nomination, and yes... the reopening of the FBI investigation seemed like a much bigger deal at the time than it does now in hindsight). Trump offered something different (whether it be good or bad, it was at least going to be different), and as I said, I assumed that the checks and balances on executive power would actually function... not just be entirely ignored. What should be more surprising, and concerning to the GOP, is that since 2016, I've been fortunate enough to have big changes in my career for the better. Despite making considerably more than I was back then, I've continued to move further and further away from their platform, to the point where I cannot see myself voting R at any point in the future. My wife, nor my son in all likelihood, will ever vote that way either. I don't see how anyone can fault someone for admitting they were wrong in the past and learned from that mistake. Hell, the country and world as a whole would be a damn near utopia if that's how everyone was. Sadly, too many of us double and triple-down on these poor prior decisions simply because they are afraid of admitting they made a mistake.
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