Wages trade value of work for currency (as a convenient abstraction from barter). If the work is not of mandated value, the employment evaporates as employers find other means of getting the work done.
Notice the proliferation of kiosk and app based ordering replacing live clerks, retail shift from brick-and-mortar to robot-augmented warehoused shipping, etc. Notice the flight of workers from expensive urban centers when "work from home" finally became a thing, moving to lower cost areas where higher minimum wages are less necessary (and thus supporting workforce leads to lower local cost of living).
Private employers are not in the business of supplying wages above their worth. If compelled, they will find whatever means possible to circumvent such compulsion.
So these threads usually have a kind of friedman-esque approach to this question: Minimum wage laws stop people earning at all if they're worth less than the minimum wage.
Maybe this is true for many small businesses, but what proportion of low wage employees in America are working for companies with whom their employees at such pay have basically no negotiating power?
It's all well and good making these often glib approaches to policy, but if we know anything about economics it's that prose does not beat evidence when it comes to seeing what actually works.
No no no, you see it's merely a winner take all where there are far fewer buyers willing to buy from the lower earning producers. Those who can't produce enough can engage in hunger games for a coveted minimum wage paying position, and the rest can work as 1099s and be 'liberated self-employed business owners' minus a hefty 15% cut from uberslave.com
I hadn't thought of that. Very elegant. One study found that the uranium absorption was much faster in warm/hot water. The reaction was 2x faster in 40C water than in 10C water. RO desal brine is usually warm, but steam distillation desal brine would be quite hot. To reduce its negative environmental impact, the hot brine is usually diluted and cooled in retention ponds before discharge. These ponds would be perfect for this uranium extraction process.
Night is when you let capillary action carry away the concentrated brine, preparatory to next day's further desalination. Pure water from day may be banked, meantime.
You need a computer to compile at all. If you’re doing iOS you probably already have an iPhone. Old physical phones (cheap) are fine for dev, can simulate latest. $100/yr only needed if you’re actually charging for the app - which should earn you those costs pretty soon. Yes, $1000 baseline for what you likely already have most of.
The “largely free” is in contrast with platforms having >$25,000/yr entry costs just for a license.
Except that it's actually in direct contrast with Android development, where the tools are available, for actually free, for Windows, Linux, and Mac. And the developer account is a one time $25.
My personal situation: I wanted to add an iOS client for the game I've been developing in Flutter. I did not have a mac or an iphone already. Fortunately, I've been able to borrow them for builds and occasional testing. But, that's obviously not optimal, and there's zero good reason that Apple couldn't provide their build tools for other platforms. Instead, they leverage their monopoly on the app store to force hardware sales to developers.
> and there's zero good reason that Apple couldn't provide their build tools for other platforms
How do you figure? Then Apple would have to maintain their build tools for other platforms. Waste of resources for something that ultimately isn't going to make Apple money. It's no different than Microsoft intentionally gimping Excel on Mac.
I've never seen anyone complain that they have to own a Windows computer to develop Windows apps. Or a Playstation to develop Playstation games. I'm not sure why Apple is such an exception in your eyes.
> Then Apple would have to maintain their build tools for other platforms. Waste of resources for something that ultimately isn't going to make Apple money.
It makes sense on Apple's part, but I still dislike it.
> I've never seen anyone complain that they have to own a Windows computer to develop Windows apps.
Windows can be installed on any computer, whereas macOS requires purchasing Mac hardware. Additionally you can cross-compile Windows apps on Linux (and possibly Mac) using MinGW toolchains (or with great difficulty, MSVC on Wine).
> Windows can be installed on any computer, whereas macOS requires purchasing Mac hardware
Running Windows natively requires an Intel PC. an Intel Mac via Boot Camp (but I'd advise buying a two-button mouse with a scroll wheel if you do that), or a subset of ARM PCs for which Microsoft provides ARM builds. That's definitely not "any computer" or even "practically any computer."
Russia cannot feel safe and develop, exist without the constant threat emanating from the territory of modern Ukraine. Let me remind you that in 2000, 2005 we gave a military rebuff to terrorists in the Caucasus, we defended the integrity of our state, preserved Russia, and in 2014 we supported the people of Crimea and Sevastopol. In 2015, the armed forces were used to put a reliable barrier to prevent the penetration of terrorists from Syria to Russia. There was no other way we could protect ourselves. The same thing is happening now. You and I have simply not been given any other opportunity to protect Russia and our people except the one we will have to use today. Circumstances require us to act resolutely and immediately. The People's Republics of Donbass appealed to Russia for help. In this regard, in accordance with Article 51 of Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the approval of the Federation Council of Russia and pursuant to the Federal Assembly on February 22 of this year ratified treaties on friendship and mutual assistance with the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic I made a decision to conduct a special military operation. Its goal is to protect people who have been abused by the genocide of the Kyiv regime for 8 years. And to this end, we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation. At the same time, our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force. At the same time, we hear more often lately from the West that documents signed by the Soviet totalitarian regime that fixed the results of the Second World War should we not be implemented. What can we respond to that? The results of the Second World War, as well as the sacrifices made by our people on the altar of the victory over Nazism, are sacred. But this does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms based on the realities that have developed during all post-war decades. It also does not cancel the right of nations to self-determination enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter. Let me remind you that when the USSR was created after the Second World War, people who lived in certain territories included in modern Ukraine, no one ever asked them how they themselves wanted to build their life. Our policy is based on freedom of choice for all to determine their own future and that of their children.
I have initiated a call today with the president of the Russian Federation. The result - silence. Although silence should be in Donbass.
That is why today, I want to come with an appeal to all citizens of Russia. Not as President. I am appealing to the people of Russia as a citizen of Ukraine. We share more than two thousand kilometres of border. Around it, today, is your army: almost 200,000 soldiers; thousands of military units. Your leadership has approved their movement towards us. Towards the territory of another country. This step can become the start of a big war on the European continent. The whole world is talking about what can happen any day now. A reason can appear at any moment. Any provocation. Any spark. A spark that has the potential of burning everything down.
You are told that this flame will bring freedom to the people of Ukraine. But the people of Ukraine are free. They remember their past, and are building their own future. They are building it, not destroying it, as you are told everyday on TV. Ukraine in your news and Ukraine in reality are two completely different countries. The most important difference is that ours is real.
You are being told that we are nazis. But how can a nation be called nazist after sacrificing more than 8 million lives to eradicate nazism. How can I be a nazi, when my grandfather has survived the whole war as part of the Soviet infantry, and has died a colonel in an independent Ukraine. You are told that we hate Russian culture. But how can a culture be hated? Any culture. Neighbours are always enriching each other culturally. Yet, that does not make them one entity, and does not separate people into “us” and “them”. We are different, but that is not a reason to be enemies. We want to build our own history. Peacefully, calmly, and truthfully.
You are told that I am ordering to attack the Donbass. To shoot. To bomb without questions. Although there are questions: To shoot at whom? To bomb what?
Donetsk? To which I have been dozens of times. I have seen their faces and eyes.
Artema street? On which I have been on many walks with my friends in the past.
Donbass arena? Where I have been rooting with the locals for our boys during the Euros.
Shcherbakova Park? In which we were drinking together after our team has lost
Lugansk? The home of my best friend’s mom. The place where my best friend’s father is buried.
Note that I am now speaking in Russian, yet no one in Russia understands what these names, streets, and events mean. This is all foreign to you. Unknown. This is our land. This is our history. What are you going to fight for? And against whom?
Many of you have visited Ukraine in the past. Many of you have relatives here. Some of you studied in our universities. Befriended Ukrainian people. You’re familiar with our character, with our people, our principles. You know what we cherish the most. Look inside you, listen to the voice of reason, of common sense. Hear our voices. The people of Ukraine want peace. Ukrainian authorities want peace. We want it, and we make it. We do everything in our powers. We are not alone. It’s true, Ukraine is supported by many countries. Why? Because we are not talking about peace at any cost. We are talking about peace, and about principles, justice. About everyone’s right to define their own future, of safety, and everyone’s right to live without threat. All this is important to us. All this is important for peace. I know for sure that this is also important for you. We know for sure that we don’t want war. Neither cold, hot, or hybrid.
But, if we are threatened; If someone is trying to take away our country, our freedom, our lives. The lives of our children. We are going to defend ourselves. Not attack. Defend. By attacking us, you are going to see our faces. Not backs. Our faces.
War is a big distress, and it has a big price - in all meanings of this word. People lose their money, reputation, quality of life, freedom, and most importantly, people lose their loved ones. Lose themselves. A lot of things are always lacking in war. But what is in abundance is pain, dirt, blood, and death. Thousands. Tens of thousands of deaths. You are told that Ukraine is a threat to Russia. This was not true before, not now, and won’t be in the future. You are demanding security assurances from NATO. We are also demanding assurances of our security. The security of Ukraine from you. From Russia. And from other signatories of the Budapest memorandum. Today, we are not part of random security alliances. The security of Ukraine is tied to the security of our neighbours. That is why we are now talking about the security of all Europe. But our main goal is peace in Ukraine, and the safety of our citizens. Of Ukrainians. We are determined to let everyone know about this, including you. War is going to deprive everyone of any assurances. No one will have assurances of security.
Who is going to suffer from this the most? The people.
Who does not want this more than anyone? The people.
Who can prevent all this from happening? The people.
If these people are among you. I am sure they are. Public figures, journalists, musicians, actors, athletes, scientists, doctors, bloggers, stand-up comics, tiktokers, and others. Ordinary people. Ordinary, simple people. Men, women, old, young, fathers, and most importantly - mothers. Just as much as the people in Ukraine, no matter how much they try to convince you of the opposite.
I know that my announcement will not be aired on Russian television. But the citizens of Russia have to see it. They need to know the truth. And the truth is, that this needs to stop, before it’s too late. And if the authorities of Russia don’t want to talk to us, for the sake of peace, maybe they will talk to you.
Do the people of Russia want war? I would’ve very much liked to be able to answer this, but the answer depends only on you - citizens of the Russian Federation.
These launches are getting SpaceX the money to advance to methane-powered rockets: they will literally make rocket fuel out of air and sunlight, making them absolutely carbon neutral.
ISRU (what you're describing) does require a large amount of energy to do at scale. Also, ISRU has never been at the scale required to fully fuel a rocket.
There is a decent writeup on wikipedia[1] on how difficult this would actually be to do ISRU on mars. The TL;DNR is 56,200 meters squared of thin film solar panels. Granted, solar power is roughly half as effective on mars as it is on earth, but still. For reference, an American Football field is 7,140 meters squared.
Yes, the stated goal is the sabatier reaction from solar energy.
The apparent purpose of this is pretty much a tech-demo for mars. In terms of minimizing environmental impact on earth it would pretty clearly be better just to send the solar energy to the grid and divert natural gas that would have gone to generating electricity to launching rockets.
Remember: the US Constitution includes "letters of marque" clause, empowering Congress to grant citizens' requests to wage private warfare against foreign entities. Wish people would exercise this option more.
