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[–] 139 points 6 months ago (9 children)

How in touch he always seems with the common man. Just remarkable.

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  • [–] 30 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Would you expect any less from the man who invented the word "groceries"?

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  • [–] 14 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    And so many of these "common men" still seem to really believe that no matter what he actually says or does, all that matters is that he talks like the person they imagine him to be, which they believe means he unequivocally understands and cares about them and can do no wrong. He really does love the poorly educated, and you can see why.

    The reality distortion field Trump supporters seem to be trapped in is rapidly approaching the strength of a black hole. I'm not sure what happens when it all collapses and they all fall into the event horizon but I'll certainly be glad if they can't escape and we never have to hear from most of them ever again.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    all that matters is that he talks like the person they imagine him to be,

    That's the thing, it's not even that he talks how they want, they literally just imagine that he does, and that's good enough. It's so fucking bizarre.

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  • [–] 70 points 6 months ago

    Guy who doesn't pay for his own gas doesn't care about gas prices. More at 11.

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  • [–] 111 points 6 months ago*

    The original Reuters article instead of this dumpster fire of a source. (Canned explanation whenever I'm not so lazy.)

    Also, the IB Times (as usual for this piece of shit outlet) is citing a quote from over a month ago as if it's new news.

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  • [–] 96 points 6 months ago* (5 children)

    Makes these old images of Biden raising gas prices funnier to dig back up. Omg $3! When some places now are pushing $6.

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  • [–] 48 points 6 months ago

    Here in the Southeast, those stickers were all over the place, too! Sometimes I'd even see them inside stores, people were putting them out faster than employees could remove them. They weren't just used at gas pumps, though that was obviously the primary placement for them.

    I've only seen the Trump version online so far. Wonder why those same people who were putting out the Biden ones aren't getting the Trump ones out as quickly?

    I'm sure it's not that they're low-life partisan hypocrites. It's probably the lingering effects of the illegal tariffs driving up the cost of the stickers at a time when they've lost their jobs and healthcare so they literally just can't afford the gas or the stickers to be able to put them out. I'm sure it's that.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Many places In europe charge more than 2 euro per liter. so like 9 usd for a gallon.

    also many places in europe have more fuel efficient cars

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago

    Also, we're kind of used to those prices, because most of it is tax. The changes in actual gas price (which are upsetting Americans now) are fractions of the usual price for us.

    Of course we also complain about high prices, but it doesn't break our budgets.

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  • [–] 45 points 6 months ago (11 children)

    "let them eat cake use diesel"

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  • [+] 27 points 6 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (9 children)
  • [–] 35 points 6 months ago (8 children)

    Cake is more expensive than bread

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  • [–] 14 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    and some breads in the US qualify as cakes due to unnecessarily high sugar content

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  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago* (3 children)

    * most bread. I was horrified last time I visited. Even what was supposed to be whole grain bread was just dyed light "bread"

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    And American industry has enshitified, so any cake we make tastes terrible. Most things taste terrible now, even our vegetables have become flavorless.

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    [–] 43 points 6 months ago (12 children)

    Wasn't he elected precisely because of things like gas prices?

    If he was PM here in UK he would be facing calls to resign. This would be seen as abandoning the electorate or breaking a manifesto pledge.

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  • [–] 40 points 6 months ago (7 children)

    In normal countries if a budget can't be decided on, the government collapses and an election is held. In the US, they have indefinite 6 month extensions where they end up not paying government employees every 6 months for a month. The whole country is broken.

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  • [–] 15 points 6 months ago (6 children)

    Christ, if anyone in the public sector went a month without pay over here the unions would be rioting in the streets. It just wouldn't happen.

    Come to think of it, regardless of whether a budget passes or not, I suspect the government would still be legally bound to pay wages. I don't know for sure though cos I can't remember it ever happening.

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  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    In parliamentary democracies, it defaults to the status quo. Basically last year's budget, plus that changes that it entailed. Taxes are still coming in, so there is no reason to stop money from going to places it needs to go and the difference between balance is called a deficit. Belgium could not form a government for 1-2 years rcently and ran through this scenario.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Its amazing that not only did the US never plan for this scenario but they've never changed it since. How do you convince someone to work for you when they might only get paid for 10 months a year?

    And that downtime won't be good for productivity either.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago* (2 children)

    It's "illegal" for public unions to strike here.

    Reagan famously fired all air traffic control workers because they went on strike.

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  • [–] 16 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    No, that's fake news. What he said — he said you hear me ? He said he was gonna lower the price of eggs. And he did, it's tremendous, the eggs... They're cheaper than ever before. And they're huge, huge eggs you wouldn't believe it. I saw an egg.. hear me, an egg that was so big it made Xi Jinpin afraid. Bigger than Greenland, and it was a cheap egg, a proud American egg. But now people don't want cheap eggs, they want cheap gaz. Because that's what woke Biden told em to want. /s

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    If he was PM here in UK he would be facing calls to resign.

    Real, I remember the day before Truss left, I overheard some man on the bus saying on the phone how she and the entire party should be "strung up in the streets".

    UK isn't as quick to tolerate that sort of shit lol. They may drag their feet at times, but when they decide you're gone, you're gone.

    It's crazy how much the American populace is willing to put up with.

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  • [–] 42 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Why should he care? He doesn't pay for gas. That's somebody else's problem.

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  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago

    He has a whole country to pay for his gas.... imagine how great that's be if you were the biggest douche in the universe?

    I sort of wish South Park would redo that episode with Trump instead cause he definitely beat out John Edwards. Could even just be a cut and paste for the most part, slightly different dialogue. Then a short live action apology with Matt and Trey saying hiow sorry they were that they didn't realize there was such a better candidate when they first aired it and how much Trump is so much douchier than their original winner. Fuck even top it off with a cheesy gold paint sprayed award sent to acknowledge his accomplishments.

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  • [–] 39 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    So where are all the "I did that" stickers on the gas pumps with his face?

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 32 points 6 months ago

    His is entirelly a "some of you might suffer and I'm willing to make that sacrifice" perspective, and he and his family have surelly made more than enough money frontrunning his proclamations to cover any costs he has from higher fuel price rises, so he is alright.

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  • [–] 32 points 6 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 28 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Can somebody explain this part to me?

    He also signalled hope towards the fuel costs going down in fall, telling the host, 'I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be. Or the same. Or maybe a little bit higher. But it should be around the same. I think this won't be that much longer.'

    How can this be reported as him signalling hope? This is gibberish. Best part of all is that stockbrokers and traders will run with this as if it is now a given and then act complete pikachu if it doesn't happen.

    Djezes this is the stupidest timeline.

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  • [–] 28 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Sounds a lot like "let them eat cake" to me.

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  • [–] 27 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Marie Antoinette wants her sentiment back

    (Yes I know it’s apocryphal don’t @ me)

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  • [–] 27 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    He must have a great plan to win the mid-terms....wonder what that could be???

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  • [–] 24 points 6 months ago (16 children)

    If they rise, they rise. Just makes solar an even more fucking obvious choice.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago (15 children)

    110% my next car will be an EV.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (14 children)

    That’s really funny. My electricity prices have basically tripled over the past two or three years and my use hasn’t changed.

    With the push towards AI data centers that seem to have coats pushed to the average homeowner, I do not think an EV will be the most cost effective option, at least in “car” form.

    Maybe an electric bike or scooter would be more cost effective

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I know the prices vary by state and municipality but even with a 300% increase you might still save money overall with reduced maintenance and cost-per-mile. Filling up my tank with gas is ~$42 right now and with an equivalent EV it would cost ~$12 to fully charge (if it was 0-100%).

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago

    While my current use case for a car would not allow me to purchase an electric vehicle, my future case would. However, I am planning to wait for solid state vehicles. I don’t like how prone to thermal runaway lithium batteries are in their current state. That, and I don’t like the trend towards bigger and heavier vehicles.

    Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to own a large diesel truck for when I need a truck, but it feels like such a waste as a daily personal commuter vehicle. Most of the time, it’s literally me and my spouse. Sometimes we have groceries, sometimes luggage. It’s such a waste of space and energy to be transporting an extra 3000 lbs around

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Hybrid vehicles are still an option.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    I bought a used 2014 Chevy Volt 3 weeks ago and am averaging 250 mpg since owning it, it’s got a lifetime 140 mpg average.

    I live 13 miles from work so essentially not using gasoline. So stoked.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago

    I feel you… I went full electric and despite having solar I’m at about 300€ monthly. And that’s on top of the cost of solar and the production I get from the panels. The less we take on the grid the more expensive it is. Now we pay to inject our production when we don’t auto consume it. So all in all it’s always about paying more.

    But at least we are not fucking up the air anymore which was the initial idea.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    I'm going to a mostly off-grid solar system, with grid power only as an emergency backup.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (4 children)

    I’d like to hear more about this.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago* (3 children)

    Simply setting up an off-grid solar system with inverter and batteries connected to the primary side of an automatic transfer switch. With the grid power connected to the 'reserve' side on that automatic switch. Whenever battery power is available, the whole house will run on that, when/if the batteries run out, it will automatically switch to grid power. And automatically switch back to battery power when it's available again.

    (My power company is not very friendly toward grid-tie solar systems. So fuck 'em. I'll go mostly off-grid and only use them for backup power.)

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    How much do you have to pay for the ability to have a backup, or are you lucky enough to be charged more or less nothing if the batteries don’t go out?

    What do you mean by not friendly towards grid tie? Do they charge you more for having solar (supposedly some places in California may have this)? Did they tell you you can’t sell solar power back?

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    How much do you have to pay for the ability to have a backup, or are you lucky enough to be charged more or less nothing if the batteries don’t go out?

    $10/mo service charge just for being connected. Might eventually replace it with a backup generator, but for now, $10/mo is a fair bit cheaper than buying, maintaining, and refueling a generator big enough to run the whole house.

    What do you mean by not friendly towards grid tie? Do they charge you more for having solar (supposedly some places in California may have this)? Did they tell you you can’t sell solar power back?

    A) You have to apply for permission to have a grid-tie system (with $100 application fee), and that application can be arbitrarily denied if they decide they don't want any more grid-tie houses in this area. No way to tell if they'd approve it or not; either way, they're keeping the fee.

    B) Part of that application is permits and inspection, and there's no way my house is passing an electrical system inspection. It was originally built in 1910 and has been added onto and modified many times by many owners since. Some circuits are completely dead, absolutely none of the breakers on my four service panels are labeled ... it's a nightmare. Getting all of it up to modern electrical code would probably involve just ripping out every inch of wiring in the house and redoing it from scratch.

    C) They never let me 'sell' solar power back. They'll never pay me cash for it under any circumstance. They give a 1:1 'energy credit' which can be applied toward future power bills and that credit arbitrarily expires and resets to zero once a year, no matter how much you've built up. Not a great deal.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    I already had my gas connection cut off. Use 4G for internet because the wired ISPs here are shit for various reasons. The only things going in/out of my house that I use are clean/dirty water and electricity.

    Solar/battery possibly with a petrol generator backup would allow cutting off the mains electricity too. The daily service charge just to have a mains connection costs as much per year as buying a petrol generator. As long as you don't need to use much petrol then it rapidly becomes a pretty reasonable choice.

    I suppose it depends what export tariffs are like, if they pay you a decent amount for sending energy back then it might cover the service charge for having a grid connection. If it doesn't, get fucked. Disconnect me, I ain't paying.

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  • [–] 22 points 6 months ago

    he already said to his followers: "GET used to it, and stop complaining"

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  • [–] 20 points 6 months ago

    US == Casino, confirmed?

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  • [–] 20 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    “If Donny has to die, then let him die.”

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  • [–] 19 points 6 months ago

    Let them drive EVs...oh wait.

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  • [–] 18 points 6 months ago

    If the president gets shot, then let him get shot.

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  • [–] 17 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Of course, he's an agent of influence, Putin's running dog tasked to just run the US to the ground.

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  • [–] 16 points 6 months ago

    Remember what used to happen when some out-of-touch rich person gave folks the, "Let them eat cake" speech? Yeah. Good times.

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  • [–] 15 points 6 months ago
    [–] 30 points 6 months ago

    Yeah. The morons he had to appease already gave him a 2nd term.

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  • [–] 14 points 6 months ago*

    Tbh, I'm not so concerned about myself. But the effect of higher gas prices tends to be very regressive. People who have less means often have to drive less fuel-efficient vehicles and have longer commutes due to housing costs. Additionally, this is going to affect the cost of other things (e.g. food).

    People who are already stressed financially are going to really feel the squeeze.

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  • [–] 25 points 6 months ago

    He's a secret stooge of the environmentalist movement and this is his endgame to kill the internal combustion engine. Wake up, sheeple!

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    I think that the distinct overlap between abusive religion and abusive leaders is what makes the former so useful to the latter.

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