Hip-Hop culture holds people back

[GuitarStv]

* Merle Travis's "16 Tons" warned about the dangers of debt.

Coal miners were only paid scrip that couldn't be taken anywhere else, and the company marked up the price of things in the only store that the scrip could be used to whatever they wanted.  The song's not really about the dangers of debt . . . it's about the way corporations treat people absent regulation.

[RootofGood]

Not mustachian, but Lily Allen has some good anti-anti-mustachian ones...  Check out "The Fear" and "Everything's Just Wonderful".

Oh man, I used to blare Lily Allen at work on my speakers.  Pretty much summed up my attitude toward some work related things. 

"Fuck you / Fuck you very, very much"  :)

[I'm a red panda]

No idea what song it was, but some country summer song that I heard on the radio today talked about sitting in thrift shop chairs and going to get margaritas when they were 2 for 1 special.

The only frivolous spending was putting money in a tip jar for a band to play.

[GuitarStv]

Buying margaritas is pretty damned frivolous.

[I'm a red panda]

Buying margaritas is pretty damned frivolous.

Well, if you are going to do it, at least do it when they are on sale.

[RootofGood]

Buying margaritas is pretty damned frivolous.

My wife used get margaritas when dining at Mexican restaurants.  Although there's something unsettling about paying $5 for the meal and $6 for a small glass with sugary fruity syrup and a shot or two of tequila in it (that we can make at home for $1 or so). 

[dragoncar]

Buying margaritas is pretty damned frivolous.

My wife used get margaritas when dining at Mexican restaurants.  Although there's something unsettling about paying $5 for the meal and $6 for a small glass with sugary fruity syrup and a shot or two of tequila in it (that we can make at home for $1 or so).

I don't know why it bothers me so little that food is marked up at restaurants but It really pisses me off to pay $6 for $1 beer or $8 for a $2 margarita.  I guess I just think alcohol should be federally subsidized.

[frugalnacho]

Buying margaritas is pretty damned frivolous.

My wife used get margaritas when dining at Mexican restaurants.  Although there's something unsettling about paying $5 for the meal and $6 for a small glass with sugary fruity syrup and a shot or two of tequila in it (that we can make at home for $1 or so).

I don't know why it bothers me so little that food is marked up at restaurants but It really pisses me off to pay $6 for $1 beer or $8 for a $2 margarita.  I guess I just think alcohol should be federally subsidized.

I'll take it a step further and say that liquor and weed ought to be included as a basic income distribution.

[RootofGood]

I don't know why it bothers me so little that food is marked up at restaurants but It really pisses me off to pay $6 for $1 beer or $8 for a $2 margarita.  I guess I just think alcohol should be federally subsidized.

Because you like getting value for money paid?  :)  And you realize you're paying $4.98 to rent a bar stool, $0.02 (plus a buck tip) to have someone remove a bottle cap and place a napkin under your beer, and $1 for the actual beer. 

[MoneyCat]

Any kind of "party" music is going to have these kinds of themes.  A lot of musicians who cater to the lower-classes also like to persuade them with promises of elevation of their social status through conspicuous consumption.  It's all part of the advertising trap that makes people think that if they buy the right things they will get more sex and more respect.

[I'm a red panda]

I don't know why it bothers me so little that food is marked up at restaurants but It really pisses me off to pay $6 for $1 beer or $8 for a $2 margarita.  I guess I just think alcohol should be federally subsidized.

I'm surprised so many mustachians drink at all. Even at home alcohol is a lot more expensive than water.  And it is really easy to cut.

But we all have our spendypants habits. I don't drink but I buy a lot of fabric.

[dragoncar]

I don't know why it bothers me so little that food is marked up at restaurants but It really pisses me off to pay $6 for $1 beer or $8 for a $2 margarita.  I guess I just think alcohol should be federally subsidized.

Because you like getting value for money paid?  :)  And you realize you're paying $4.98 to rent a bar stool, $0.02 (plus a buck tip) to have someone remove a bottle cap and place a napkin under your beer, and $1 for the actual beer.

Yeah, it occurs to me that the problem is price transparency and fungibility.  I can get the exact same [insert your favorite beer] at Costco for 1/6 the price.  I can't say that I can get the exact same meal in the frozen dinner section.  In other words, I would have to do some work to prepare a cheaper meal myself, but it's dead simple to open my own beer at home.

I don't know why it bothers me so little that food is marked up at restaurants but It really pisses me off to pay $6 for $1 beer or $8 for a $2 margarita.  I guess I just think alcohol should be federally subsidized.

I'm surprised so many mustachians drink at all. Even at home alcohol is a lot more expensive than water.  And it is really easy to cut.

But we all have our spendypants habits. I don't drink but I buy a lot of fabric.

I only drink alcohol to raise my HDL and improve my longevity.

[rocksinmyhead]

nd it is really easy to cut.

easy for some :)

I'm really into beer in the same way I'm really into cooking. unfortunately being really into cooking usually saves money... the beer, not so much :(

[RootofGood]

Yeah, it occurs to me that the problem is price transparency and fungibility.  I can get the exact same [insert your favorite beer] at Costco for 1/6 the price.  I can't say that I can get the exact same meal in the frozen dinner section.  In other words, I would have to do some work to prepare a cheaper meal myself, but it's dead simple to open my own beer at home.

True enough, but if I go out somewhere that has "simple" food (pasta, steak, etc) I can't help but quantify what I'm eating.  Like hey, it's $0.50 worth of tomatoes, $2.00 of shrimp and $0.25 of pasta but I just paid $14 for the dish.  Or $4.50 worth of ribeye and $0.25 worth of potato but I paid $16 for it.  Although agreed that it's the effort and expertise to turn simple ingredients into something incredible, warm and delicious that's worth the 4-5x mark up.

[dragoncar]

Yeah, it occurs to me that the problem is price transparency and fungibility.  I can get the exact same [insert your favorite beer] at Costco for 1/6 the price.  I can't say that I can get the exact same meal in the frozen dinner section.  In other words, I would have to do some work to prepare a cheaper meal myself, but it's dead simple to open my own beer at home.

True enough, but if I go out somewhere that has "simple" food (pasta, steak, etc) I can't help but quantify what I'm eating.  Like hey, it's $0.50 worth of tomatoes, $2.00 of shrimp and $0.25 of pasta but I just paid $14 for the dish.  Or $4.50 worth of ribeye and $0.25 worth of potato but I paid $16 for it.  Although agreed that it's the effort and expertise to turn simple ingredients into something incredible, warm and delicious that's worth the 4-5x mark up.

Yes, me too.  Which is why I have some stupid internal rule that I don't order stuff at restaurants that I can easily cook myself.  Usually I'll choose something that I would have had to go back in time to roast or marinate for many hours, hunt for ingredients, or buy and open a large package to something just to use a little.

[halfshellmeijin]

Lupe Fiasco is a hip hop artist I like. But his lyrics include things like

"'Raris too expensive and they way too hard to maintain
Get yourself a Camry, "nigga said a Camry?"
Watch that ho depreciate and then you'll understand me
It's called being fiscally responsible"

But I do have to say I don't listen to most hip-hop/rap. Also for songs that are about anti-mustachian behaviors, The Distance by Cake is all about the guy who loses his family because he spends all his time at work focusing on building his career.