Possible 24% - 34% Price Increase on Panasonic Lumix

[Markuswelder]

I think we go too much off topic now.

No. No we haven't. That is exactly what has happened, and you've got to be mad if you think it won't happen again.
The state of Victoria in Australia is spending a million dollars an hour, 26 million a day, just on servicing the interest on the debt that the lockdowns helped to accumulate.
Government has created a situation of the working poor. Holding full time employment, and still going backwards.
All the while feathering their own nests, and giving themselves obscene superannuation benefits. While this working poor can't afford to retire, as our money is devaluing at an alarming rate.

 

[pdk42]

The idea is good, but somewhat utopian. I lived in a small town in southern Germany where everything was 15 minutes away. But you were bored out of your mind, hahahaha.

Especially after having lived in London, Barcelona, and Berlin. In these big cities, you end up living in your neighborhood, where everything is 15 minutes away. But who lives in the important areas of the city? Who lives in the cultural, economic, and institutional center of the city? Well, we all know who, right?

The same would happen with planned cities where everything is 15 minutes away. Who is going to live in the "important cities"? Who will live where crime and delinquency don't exist? Again, the "we know" ones... How is going to be decided that "democratically"?

And above all, it seems like a "first world" idea to me. Go to developing countries where tens of thousands of desperately poor people live in overcrowded conditions, in shacks, or without homes, in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Delhi, or any African country, and try to explain to that people that they're now going to live in planned cities where everything is 15 minutes away... I don't see it, honestly.

I agree that it's a utopian view in some way - or at least a vision, an aspiration. But there's nothing wrong with that.

The problem the world has (well, one of the many problems!) is global warming; and transport is a huge contributor to CO2 emissions. Many of the journeys we do as individuals are unnecessary and driven by urban design. The UK is a perfect example. During the 60s we closed down over half of our railway network to replace it with roads. Then in the 80s, we moved our economy away from heavy industry and manufacturing to smaller "white collar" companies (like IT) whose offices were located in new business parks at the edge of towns. These business parks generally have no proper public transport provision so everyone drives to and from them every day. The resulting increase in car journeys is evident to anyone who tries to drive anywhere between 6am and 9am or 5pm to 7pm on a weekday.

The "15 min city" idea is an attempt to redress these really poor planning decisions and cut the number of car journeys. Not only will this reduce CO2 emissions, but it will likely improve people's quality of life since living with heavy traffic is bad in so many ways. Sure there are possibilities for the ideas to be subverted by commercial interests and greed, but I live in hope that it needn't be that way.

 

[Markuswelder]

Lol. I'm writing this right of this moment laying in a motel room in the middle of China. Wandering around the place for 7 weeks. Doing it while we can. How much chance of that happening in the future, as our money devalues to nothing, and the CO2 alarmists clamp down on unnecessary travel?

 

[dirk]

No. No we haven't.

Sorry, we have. Look at the title of this thread.

If you want to continue about this off-topic subject, feel free to open a new thread in the L-Mount Café. That is the purpose of that subforum.

 

[pdk42]

No. No we haven't. That is exactly what has happened, and you've got to be mad if you think it won't happen again.
The state of Victoria in Australia is spending a million dollars an hour, 26 million a day, just on servicing the interest on the debt that the lockdowns helped to accumulate.
Government has created a situation of the working poor. Holding full time employment, and still going backwards.
All the while feathering their own nests, and giving themselves obscene superannuation benefits. While this working poor can't afford to retire, as our money is devaluing at an alarming rate.

The problem is that since the late 70s, in most western economies, the income spread between rich and poor has widened dramatically. In the US, the top 1% of the population own about 50% of wealth. That's reflected in low-income jobs and high asset prices (real estate). That's why the working poor can't afford to retire. It's nothing to do with government debt (which is a problem in its own right). What we need is strong government to fix this huge problem of wealth inequality. Worrying about Covid policies will do nothing to fix that (in fact, the wealthy did very well out of Covid).

Meanwhile, the rich manipulate the political sphere to make us think it's the immigrants, the foreigners, the left, the woke etc etc that are the problem.

 

[dirk]

@pdk42 & @Markuswelder

Please continue this discussion in the Café, as written above.

 

[pdk42]

@pdk42 & @Markuswelder

Please continue this discussion in the Café, as written above.

Understood Dirk. But I don’t think there is much point. Political discussions conducted on on-line forums seldom end well; and in any case, this is a photo forum, so way, way off topic. Best if @Markuswelder and I move on to L mount topics where we stand more chance of agreeing with each other!

 

[Markuswelder]

Understood Dirk. But I don’t think there is much point. Political discussions conducted on on-line forums seldom end well; and in any case, this is a photo forum, so way, way off topic. Best if @Markuswelder and I move on to L mount topics where we stand more chance of agreeing with each other!

I actually agree with you on the premise of a lot of issues, it's just the execution, and then the abuse of it where things go astray
And really, the whole thread, not just a few of our posts belong in off topic, as Tariffs are in no way shape or form, an L mount specific issue

 

[dirk]

And really, the whole thread, not just a few of our posts belong in off topic, as Tariffs are in no way shape or form, an L mount specific issue

It is, because cameras and lenses will become more expensive. This affects all of us. Of course we discus this in the gear section.

All Sigma lenses and cameras are produced in Japan. Panasonic produces in Japan and in China, depending on the product.

Leica might produce in Germany, but depending on how Trump wants to define it, also parts of Cameras or lenses, which were made outside of Europe, might classify a Leica as an i.e. Chinese product.

Since we are living the globalisation of production for decades already, you will hardly find a photo product, which has no Chinese or Japanese component in it.