I discuss the challenges CM Punk presented to effective leadership and sustainability of the AEW movement, the missteps around his debut and run leading to this challenge, what we can learn from late pro skateboarder Jeff Grosso as well as The Rock, the claims Punk wishes to return, why an AEW return is impractical, the restoration of AEW that has happened in the past few months, and take off the advocacy hat and put on the mediator hat to try to find the best solution for all parties. And itcould be Mania or it could be an Honorable solution.
I also briefly go over the matches I care about in WrestleMania proper.
Rush episode – apologies for the botches, notes coming later. Enjoy WrestleMania weekend!
Call In with your comment, rant, or problem you’d like me to discuss on the show: 844-477-PUNK (7865)
Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com
This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action.
A rush episode on some breaking news. Donald Trump has been charged with 34 counts of “business fraud” in New York. Details explained may not be perfect but I explain a general game theory-like framework to understand the political impacts on the 2024 presidential election and beyond. I also discuss the relevancy of these convictions to progressives and how over-reliance on Trump’s foibles may not be a winning long-term strategy for Democrats and certainly is not the primary means by whichsocial change can be achieved.
Call In with your comment, rant, or problem you’d like me to discuss on the show: 844-477-PUNK (7865)
Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com
This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action. This is not legal advice.
Personal Finance Asceticism can be a tool of oppression. How should those on the left view personal finance ahead of the recession?
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This is NOT financial advice.
-Interest rates are going up again, for now
-The narrative around personal finance is important
-Know the real causes of economic hardships and inequality – don’t blame yourself or fellow workers
-The connection between punitive class relations and personal finance “advice”
-Like I discussed on the episode about “just work harder,” employment is often designed to punish rather than to create productivity, and the same is true with financial advice. It is often not made to cause success but to be punitive to lower classes.
-Wealthy people often use debt to create wealth
-Cutting out Netflix might not make a big difference in your debt. This “finance expert” got dunked on for good reason:
-Dave Ramsey-type austerity and total denial of pleasure might not work as well as they claim
-Entrepreneurship may be inhibited by a credit crunch
-NPR reports a credit crunch is coming: https://apple.news/Akz1MyXfMRTa5l07ad0I3KQ
-Good credit cards/financing offers like 0% financing and sign-up bonuses may be going away so you may wanna take advantage of them now if you are financially secure.
-The housing and auto market may be a bit confusing for a while. Housing and used cars have a little room to go down, so maybe think twice, but if you are in a great financial position, have those needs, and plan to use credit, consider those purchases.
-If your mortgage will cost less than rent, maybe buying is a good idea. Contact me if you are interested in buying, selling or renting a home and I will get you hooked up with the best real estate experts anywhere in the country: Greyson@OffSpeedSolutions.com or call 657-206-0736
-How to know if you can take on debt – highly over-simplified version:
– Do you have?: a very secure job/ income stream and at least 3-6 months of expenses saved as an emergency fund? If so and you absolutely need to finance something, you may want to do it now instead of waiting when credit conditions may be tighter.
-CDs can protect you from overspending because they have a penalty to withdraw. Listen to the prior episode.
-Building credit for beginners: get a credit card early on but barely use it. Maybe pay for one subscription, put it on auto pay, and file the card away somewhere. Same technique for adding new cards to increase overall credit limits.
-Keep extra credit cards stored away and some cash as well so it’s saved, out of sight, out of mind
-Credit line increases can help your credit, especially if you are holding a balance, but may be harder to come by when the recession hits
-If you have good income now, you can try now for a credit line increase
-The hidden perks of having good credit and using credit cards.
-Personal story: How a credit card saved my grandparents’ 68th wedding anniversary
-If you have a Visa Signature Card, you can use the Visa Signature Concierge to get restaurant, reservations, and all kinds of other special perks
-Super wealthy people seeing us enjoy stuff pisses them off
-Reprogramming the blame game around inflation and recessions
-Recessions are not the fault of workers, this is the capitalists retaliating against workers who have gained much economic ground
-For the first time in a long time, workers started to get what they deserved and safety nets were expanded to closer to what the need actually is
-Checking and savings account balances reached record levels
-The truth about how wealthy people get successful
-Deciding to have a last party to celebrate the current financial success before the recession hits
-Our overarching philosophy to personal finance: we believe you deserve to enjoy too, your life is miserable and you work hard enough that you have earned the right to have nice things (within reason, of course). As long as the game is the way it is, it’s only fair that you can play the game the same way the wealthy do.
Call In with your comment, rant, or problem you’d like me to discuss on the show: 844-477-PUNK (7865)
Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com
This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action. If you have any financial concerns, contact a qualified financial advisor.
In regards to real estate services, I am licensed by the California Department of Real Estate #02101592, however, this program is not real estate advice or professional advice of any sort and solely reflects my personal opinion.
This episode is specifically designed for those of us who have done well through the pandemic era, have money saved up, and want to protect it. I will cover those currently facing hardships in a future installment.
This is NOT financial advice.
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– Don’t gaslight yourself. Don’t feel bad. This is not your fault and this is not just nature. These are systems designed to do what they do and stick the burden on working class, middle class, disadvantaged populations, or even just those who those in power don’t like in the name of “saving the economy.”
– Recessions are a policy/economic choice
– We can choose to protect workers, families, and vulnerable people. This was proven during the pandemic.
– Policymakers’ choice to “bail out’ Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank
– It was the right choice to ensure market confidence and protect payroll that workers were owed
– FDIC/NCUA limit is $250,000 per bank per person – most people will be more than fine!
– Review details on FDIC Insurance limits, including how certain accounts (like some retirement accounts) may be counted separately, allowing you to have more than $250k insured in one bank if eligible: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/financial-products-insured/
– Short-term access may be an issue though
– Potential dangers of banking with “app-based” FinTech banking services that are not banks themselves
– These are often tech startups subject to the current increased risk of failing, pull-back of VC funds
– If they are depositing your money in an FDIC insured bank, you’ll be covered, but the app/platform being unavailable, customer service being unavailable can be an issue for access if your FinTech provider goes out of business
– Maybe don’t use a FinTech/app-based banking service as your sole bank, diversify
– Consider putting your money in multiple institutions for higher rates, easier access, and behavioral reasons/impulse control.
– Keeping an emergency fund at another bank makes it less likely for you to spend it impulsively
– I considered First Republic for a business account but their fees are too much in my opinion.
– CDs can be a great option for those who have savings over and above an emergency fund that they won’t need to spend in the next 6-12 months+. Locks in your rate but withdrawals have penalties. Read the fine print.
– Some Institutions offering higher CD rates on shorter rather than longer durations
– Will the Fed start dropping rates?
– Small increase in rates rumored in the very short-term
– Extended Sweep Deposit Accounts from brokerage firms that allow $1 million or more in FDIC insurance on one account
– Brex applying this to business banking
– I prefer credit unions for lower fees, better rates, and investing in communities
– IntraFi deposit program for banks: https://hub.intrafi.com/rethink-uninsured-deposits
– The vital role of credit unions and community banks in helping communities thrive
– Avoiding investment fraud and “safe money” scams when markets decline, a cautionary tale from my real life
– Regulation D/private placement investments are the highest risk – AVOID unless you are okay with losing your money.
– Financial advisors should be “fiduciaries”
– Covering tips for when recessions “hit” and cause job losses on a future episode.
Call In with your comment, rant, or problem you’d like me to discuss on the show: 844-477-PUNK (7865)
Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com
This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action. Please consult a qualified, fiduciary financial professional before making any financial or investment decisions.
I discuss the serious societal implications of bad jobs, the unique issues young adults living at home in suburban communities face with obtaining quality employment, my own personal experience dealing with small business tyrants, my time as a conservative leader and how workplace issues helped bring me to the left, ideas to build worker solidarity, and more on the Job Jumpers Podcast with Connor Mac.
This will be a bit different from my normal Fixing The Fixerpunk episodes, as I am largely discussing the issue of “working harder” and working exceptionally long hours being touted as the panacea to economic hardships and debt by conservatives, why the approach of just having people work more ultimately helps nobody, how overworking people results in less, not more, productivity, while shorter work weeks are proven to create improved productivity and overall outcomes for workers and the economy.
– My #1 most viewed video on TikTok: the infamous student loan forgiveness video and the now long-running storyline resulting therefrom – please help me out and leave supportive comments!: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRW28eAb/
– Commenters keep saying just work harder to pay off debt
– One said they’re working 93 hours a week and that’s what’s needed to pay off debt
– Exceptional claims of 6 figure salaries
– Answering claims about working harder being a panacea is a stumbling block for progressive messaging
– My struggles with work endurance and trying to improve it
– performance strategies in athletics, entrepreneurship, and employment
– methods of training endurance, for work endurance we don’t have good research vs. athletic endurance
– non-linear response to endurance training for complex work
– we often don’t expect peak performance every day for hours on end from even elite athletes (eg. starting pitchers only throw once every 4-5 days)
– Telling people to “just work more hours” is not a strategy for peak performance or improving productivity and hence doesn’t actually benefit society
– Increasing work endurance will take time, but conservatives want those in hardship to increase output from 40 to 60 hours a week immediately, a 50% improvement
– It’s almost as bad as telling someone to go from doing a half marathon to a full marathon with little time to train
– Distance runners who conserve energy at the beginning aren’t “quiet quitting” a race
– Hypervigilance for longer periods of time may be needed in certain areas of work but it needs to be trained up over time, like training for a race
– More a matter of mental control and punishment than improving the productivity of the economy, if there is not a true need
– Why I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur: you can earn money based on being more efficient in delivering value versus trading time for money
– Everyone has a different capacity for productivity, these are averages
– Everyone should have the chance be rewarded for delivering value, not
– Gaining ownership over the means of production means workers get rewarded for the gains in productivity
– People who tell you to work harder may be well-intentioned and trying to be motivational
– they don’t get that systems are not calibrated to achieve better productivity or performance for all of us, just to be punitive to workers
– Back to the personal: why do I have a low tolerance for work and stress or look angry with low levels of work? Still looking for answers.
– Untethering from the idea of longer hours being the answer, but we all must live in a society that measures value in the number of hours you work
– Kicking out of negativity and getting knocked down by random bad things happening to me
– Don’t take COVID lightly. Talk to your doctor and get a booster now, if you haven’t already: http://www.vaccines.gov
– easier to move from a 5k to 10k than moving from 40 to 60 hours a week of work
– scared about the future post-COVID
– society disowns people with disabilities, especially neurodivergence
– if you can’t do a 40 hour work week due to disability or another reason, society doesn’t think your contributions to society have any real value
– You can do the greatest work in the world, but if you aren’t a M-F, 8-5 worker, they often won’t even give you the time of day
– People in leadership who can contribute in a unique way and not work a conventional schedule and get paid well, maybe too well, for it
– Bad workplaces mean a worse society with less innovation
– The Young Bucks’ motto of Killing The Business encapsulates my philosophy of creating social change in the workplace and economic sphere
Call In with your comment, rant, or problem you’d like me to discuss on the show: 844-477-PUNK (7865)
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Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com
This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action. If you have any medical or mental health concerns, please consult a qualified physician.
This episode was inspired by a video on my TikTok about the Biden student loan forgiveness plan and the many comments therefrom, where ordinary people (I presume) fought so hard against the idea of a policy that helps others like them: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRW28eAb/
Student loan debt forgiveness
Supreme Court saying “it’s not fair” and has to be done by Congress
Why working-class people go against their own interests:
People decide against their best interests based on a false sense of morality and desiring superiority in any way possible
Concepts like “responsibility and character”
People want to say “I Am Better Than You” and “you can’t take this from me!”
Conservative commentators use this contrived sense of morality to talk you out of doing what you know is right
The conservatives pitching these ideas know they have gotten assistance, PPP loans, filed bankruptcy, etc.
The wealthy are working you into believing that you are better than other people and are a temporarily embarrassed millionaire
Dave Ramsey is a top perpetrator of these oppressive ideas
The morality of conservative rhetoric seeks to subvert what you know is right
Would you tell a family member who filed for bankruptcy these things? Would you hate on them or would you want them to get the help they need?
Everyone is flawed, there is no perfection on this side of heaven
The words “I Earned It” are a double-edged sword
People think that assistance is coming from earnings/taxes
The “home budget analogy” theory of political economy is wrong – learn modern monetary theory
Student loan debt forgiveness does not mean increased taxes!
People thinking “I’ve got mine, nobody can take it from me.”
Not wanting to help others or make the system fair just because you had to go through tribulations to gain what everyone deserves to have is a sign of a fragile ego
Fixing the system doesn’t negate your accomplishments
Why working-class people oppose minimum wage increases – they think they may be a business owner at some point
Minimum wage increases statistically don’t hurt small business owners
It’s hard to accept that “I have a job, I have a boss, and that boss is against me”
Employers collude to keep wages down
Class consciousness hurts, but you can fight back against what is hurting you
Take the pressure off yourself!
The value to society of professionals and even “worthless” degrees
The next great scientist or artist is performing below their peak because of the weight of student loan debt
We are not taking anything from you. We are proud of your accomplishments.
Make sure the ladder is wide enough so others can come up – Rick Smith
Fear instilled by the upper class that anything we do to help others can hurt you
Automatic response driven by the rhetoric you have heard your whole life
The power of conservative talk radio causing citizens to be repeatedly exposed to these ideas
Abstraction – it’s a big number, a specific program, I will never need this
Always make your arguments personal, bring it to the individual or family level
Lots of possibilities open up when we help others to reach their full potential
Fear vs turning it into creative flow and abundance toward others
People who want to stay on top are putting that fear in you
Turn that fear and feeling weird about changes in how things are done into thinking about the possibilities for a better world
Call in and leave a message with your comments, rants, or dilemmas you’d like me to discuss: 844-477-PUNK (7865)
If you’re looking for my wrestling analysis ahead of AEW Revolution, take a look at my latest article on ProWrestlingMusings.com about the Jon Moxley and Adam Page feud, discussing narratives of “redemptive combat,” their power to help restore men from crisis, and the psychology of how they can improve men’s mental health in ways normal therapy often can’t. https://www.prowrestlingmusings.com/post/entering-jon-moxley-s-narrative-of-redemptive-combat
Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com
This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action.
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