While I can't drop $2K here and there throughout the year without thinking.....I don't consider $2K a bank breaker. I'm not rich, but I do like to save up and drop some coin 1-2 times a year on something nice.

Maybe cameras or new lenses (lenses can be $$)....or the odd cell from time to time.

I think last time I dropped about $1100 or so for my iPhone 12 Pro Max.....and I did pay it off 12 mos interest free with Apple Pay....

But that's just me using their money...in truth I almost NEVER buy anything I don't have cash in hand for.

But if they let me finance interest free I'll do that and keep the cash in an interest bearing account of some kind.

Again I'm far from wealthy, but I have no real debts.....but I know a lot of people and $2K is pocket change for them....and these aren't few and far between types of people, I see these types all the time all over the place.

It's not rare by any stretch of the imagination.

This. Not to mention that Beyond_GoodandEvil is comparing apples to oranges. Citizens United addressed a concern about corporations using their substantial financial resources to influence elections. Whereas Anthropic wants to defend their right to set the parameters of how their product is used -- specifically, no autonomous weapons and no domestic civilian surveillance.
Hmm, good point, except I totally pointed this fact out in the later part of said comment(you apparently missed, so once more with feeling). Of course, those people fail to see the consumer protection portion of this, if Anthropic can specify how the US govt can use the AI services it paid for, it's only a matter of time before, you will own nothing and everything will be rented from some big corporation.

Just cave to the DoD when you think you've been wronged by them? Don't go to the courts? Stop and think about what you just wrote. And consider how un-American it is to just let the government have its way with you.
Yep, this is ultimately a contract dispute. What is truly amazing is, the very same people who got all twisted when Citizen's United came out and "corporations are people too" are now on the side of big business. It's truly remarkable. Of course, those people fail to see the consumer protection portion of this, if Anthropic can specify how the US govt can use the AI services it paid for, it's only a matter of time before, you will own nothing and everything will be rented from some big corporation.

That's 10 times more than I'm willing to spend on a phone.

That's fair.

But do remember, there are a LOT of people out there with a LOT of disposable income.....

I don't trade phones often I currently have a 12 Max Pro....and it's looking a bit long in the tooth. Not holding a charge long enough, and the lightening connector isn't dependable for charging, so I've been using nothing but magnetic charging past year or so.

While I'm quite interested in hearing about and seeing the "fold" Apple phone.....from my early understanding, it will NOT have the camera specs they 18 Pro Max (or whatever they call it) phone will have.

I'm MUCH more interested in camera than folding...

Restricting right to repair should be covered by RICO or other anti extortion and racketeering legislation.

At Walmart, extremely low quality everything is available year-round.

It's been ages since I was last in a Walmart.....when I looked at the extreme poor quality of meat and even most veggies/fruit I could not believe how bad it was, and not significantly cheaper than one of the "real" grocery stores around the area.

I just can't believe people regularly shop at Walmart....at least for food....???

Why do they disable the GPU core....?

Sure, maybe nice to live in... how about a job so you can afford to live there? Pretty sure Mayberry (that sort of town) doesn't have many $100k+ jobs around.

See that's your problem....there aren't 2 choices....NYC or Mayberry.

That's been dead for a 100 years.

I've never lived as an adult in a major metropolitan area, but in what I term "normal city"....mostly in the SE of the US.

I've worked in IT for most all of it...various things, lead DBA, some sys admin Linux....etc.

I've made well into the 6 figures area and lived in areas where there was plenty to do, cost of living was more than reasonable....and great folks to live with a next door to....

Nothing remotely resembling "Mayberry" nor anything remotely rural....but nothing urban either.

And around here, making $133K+ can buy you a nice house and a pretty sweet life.

End-stage capitalism is real, and we're in it. We will course correct, or we will collapse. Commentary like yours makes me think we're too stupid to course correct, and collapse is the only tool Darwin has to wash you out of the decision making process.

So, what does "course correction look like to you?

Socialism? Communism?

If not those....then what?

Clarence Thomas is another great example, George Bush was angry he was going to have to nominate a black man because he was as you might imagine kind of racist so he picked the most incompetent and corrupt black man he could find and rammed him through the Senate.

I think Judge C has had some of the most brilliant legal reasonings in the past century...thank God for him on the court.

I rate him second only to Scalia....

They do point out that it varies by location, but really their number range is terrible. "classified a family of three earning $133,000 to $400,000 in 2024 dollars as upper middle class." From the HUD Section 8 income limits [huduser.gov], expensive places the lower end of that is considered low income, like San Jose 143,600 qualifies for Section 8, versus cities like Akron where 72,250 is low enough to qualify. Location, location, location.

You know, there is a TON of land and cities between the coasts,,,,,with tech jobs and reasonable costs of living....

You do not need to live in NYC or Silicon Valley or anywhere in CA for that matter to earn 6 figures and have. A VERY comfortable life and work in pretty much any industry you can name.

Aside from a very few outliers, like NYC or the like with ridiculous costs of living...across the vast majority of the USA, $133K - $300K+. Annual income is VERY easy to live off of.....

There are plenty jobs of all types with good pay in areas with reasonable costs of living....

Remember the US is a very large country....there's opportunity everywhere...and living outside of NYC doesn't mean the alternate is rural and on a farm...lots of smaller cities out there that are much nicer to live in, not only fiscally, but healthier and calmer too.

I'd say the better argument is that we should be evolved enough now to know that a highly successful capitalist economy is maybe not the best goal for human happiness, even if it does seem, empirically speaking, to produce the most powerful economies on the planet.

Well...I'm pretty happy,

But sure, you can say capitalism sucks...BUT, it sucks a whole lot less than every other type economy ever tried on earth to date.....

Hmm....over the years, I've had several girlfriends report loss of appetite after trying to watch a lot of Monty Python with me......

It is something to do with 2 X chromosomes...?