And are still profitable.. they just want more profit. So they reduce pension payments and wage growth and other employee benefits so they can pay enough dividends next year.
Profits go up if you don't invest in your company but instead pay your shareholders. But at some point you atrophied your R&D so much you have fallen behind and then the question becomes, do you bleed it dry and sell it for parts, or revitalize by investing. And if revitalizing is still viable.
What narrative have the left provided. Here in the Netherlands the right threw a hissy fit on migrants.. and the left just went Nuh uh.. and we need to fix the environment so everyone needs to invest massively in their house with money they don't have. In the mean time billionaires and corporations cheat taxes and blatantly lie, while polluting orders of magnitudes more and getting left alone because they throw a tantrum, stonewall and sue.
I would have liked to see a properly crafted counter narrative to reighns in corporate interests, address tax evasion and helps people actually fix their shit.
Yes, address the lies and formulate a narrative that people can latch onto.
Populism for the left.. I'd be for actually pointing out the ultra rich and corporations robbing everyone and getting us to fight the race war instead of seeing the class war that is being waged against everyone.
No company can take over Nasa. Nasa is a research organisation. It actually pushes the envelope and does things that have no apparent objective ROI.. like going to Mars and driving around a rover. Only a government funded organisation can do that.
Of course we can just pour endless buckets of money into for-profits.. but then who decides what is done with the money... Nasa actually has the organization for this.. with scientists.. clear grant processes etc. etc.
I hope that the incumbents learn the right lessons. People are angry and hurting. Struggling to make ends meet. Telling everyone that we're fine and the economy is booming just emphasizes that the economy and normal people have nothing in common... There is no "we".. the economy is booming the broader electorate can afford less than we could only 2 years ago.
Because these parties tap into the anger people have with the current state of affairs.. and give them a narrative people can follow. I think it's lies and wont actually solve the issues.. but that did not matter to Germans in the 30s and it does not matter now. The left needs better rhetoric.
Example in the Netherlands is that our right wing populist wiped the floor with our left parties leader on healthcare co-pays. He said.. I'll reduce it to 0 immediately. The left said.. there is no money for that, we can half it in the next period and reduce further after that. The right won the elections.. and it turned out there is not enough money to reduce it to zero.. so they can only half it this time around. And the left is doing nothing about this.. such weakness.
You don't need many nowadays. They can be city killers all by themselves.. a single satan 2 missile Russia is so desperate to get working would be able to wipe new York of the map...
It would additionally require a few subs for second strike capability.
Hell I'd be for tagging them with those big yellow things we use on cows too.. ankle monitor.. whatever.. confine them to diplomatic terrain or under guard..
We don't have to give them the usual freedom of movement. It will probably happen with our people in Russia too.. just limit our presence there to people that are in the Embassy .. that leave the country every 2 weeks and rotate out.
I think the EU should be closed to all Russians with exceptions for diplomatic personnel. For the rest, close the border, disallow purchase or sale of anything in Europe.. so they all also understand that in a future escalation we can also take their assets in the EU.
Only for Americans that need to pay for the tariffs. The devices are made in china.