[X] Build a Room
-[X] Area of Purification: Increase item yields, grants health benefits.
-[X] Area of Purification: Increase item yields, grants health benefits.
This is interesting since in my experience working with the very poor, they tend to be in trouble because they insist on taking the high risk high reward options instead of slowly grinding their way out of poverty by making the safe choice. In fact, I'd say that is the primary different characteristic between the poor and the rich. When faced with adversity, the rich shift to a "minimize risk" approach, while the poor shift to a "high reward" approach.
This is in some ways understandable, because the rich have more to lose.
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
The problem is quite simply is that it is impossible to grind oneself out of poverty. Considering the absurd degree of public and private institutions- in America- dedicated to maintaining it, that shouldn't surprise anyone. Likewise, there is no 'safe' life of poverty a low risk system can be used to maintain, unlike higher brackets of wealth. At some point, to escape the crippling cycle there needs to be a moment where one bets the farm on their next step out, because while that has little absolute value, relatively speaking it's all they have. Worse, even if it works, often it isn't a large growth in material gains.
Sirrocco
Pedantic
This is entirely alien to my own understanding of things, but I'm not about to pretend that my understanding is better than yours. I have some awareness of private institutions that do this, though I suspect not so in-depth as you do. I'd be interested to understand what you mean by public institutions dedicated to maintaining poverty, though.
Admittedly, this is straying a bit off-topic, and if you don't want to go into it, I understand.
A billionaire can fling ten million into a stupid investment and shrug as it poofs into smoke. A poor person investing a hundred dollars into something is in serious trouble if it falls through.
There's also a bit I recall from Discworld, where Vimes muses on economics; a rich man buys a pair of expensive boots that'll last, the poor man buys cheap boots that'll crap out before the year's up. The cheap boots will end up costing more over time, but it's all the poor man can afford at any given moment.
Anyways, I don't suppose anyone can do a votecount? Figure some folks might want to start consolidating.
There's also a bit I recall from Discworld, where Vimes muses on economics; a rich man buys a pair of expensive boots that'll last, the poor man buys cheap boots that'll crap out before the year's up. The cheap boots will end up costing more over time, but it's all the poor man can afford at any given moment.
Anyways, I don't suppose anyone can do a votecount? Figure some folks might want to start consolidating.
- Location
- Earth
Ask and ye shall receive
Condenser and Purification are close to each other, with Paternoster having had an upsurge but still a good bit behind.
- Location
- Outside the Box
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Build a Room
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
I'm switching back. I still think the Paternoster is the best idea, but it's not going to win the vote by now. And the Aura of Purification is taking the safer (and slower) option; I'd rather take the risk with the Magical Condenser since it's got a far bigger impact potential then the Purification room.
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
I'm switching back. I still think the Paternoster is the best idea, but it's not going to win the vote by now. And the Aura of Purification is taking the safer (and slower) option; I'd rather take the risk with the Magical Condenser since it's got a far bigger impact potential then the Purification room.
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
That's an excellent example, although I prefer to use fast food as an example. For twelve dollars, I can buy a Big Mac Combo, or I can buy a mess of cabbage, carrots, radishes, apples, a bag of rice, and some cheap soup meat. The first option is objectively worse from a food management standpoint, but when you're operating without cooking or food storage equipment and abilities, it very quickly becomes the only really tolerable option- without a stove and a pot, you can't make a week's worth of soup, and without a fridge you can't reliably store said week's worth of soup. You can theoretically scratch by on canned goods over a hobo fire, but this is both terrible for your health and general morale- and in a situation of endemic poverty, losing morale will kill people faster than ill health or exposure. Without the tangible sense of well-being and general hope, decision-making goes down the drain, and it isn't long after that unsustainable activity and problematic criminal acts follow.
This is a example from my own country, but I don't doubt that similar things happen elsewhere int he world:
Local institutions in Poland often stock up food as give-away's for people that fall under the poverty line- which is decided by income, and thus receive data from yearly tax calculations- and not applicants.
All people would have to do is apply for it, which they don't (for cultural? ego? reasons), thus resulting in massive overbloated stocks sitting in stores.
And then comes the end of use date, which means that everything needs to be processed/destroyed... which is where the cash starts to flow.
The person responsible for processing hires a private company, at which point his actual responsibility is over. But the goods just aren't bad yet, which means they can be sold, at half market price to a restaurant or fast-food joint- and the processing company will gladly utilize the palettes, packaging and cans left over.
All in the name of ecology, and preventing food going to waste.
That the empty cans from such a store can weight over two tons, and thus can be sold for an equivalent to a months salary of that state worker responsible for "processing" unusable food?
That the pallets are by law heat-treated, and thus can be chopped down for firewood and sold further down the line? (3 months pension '-')
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Build a Room
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
- Location
- Somewhere.
That's just graft, not structural reinforcement of poverty, I think. Not the same thing.This is a example from my own country, but I don't doubt that similar things happen elsewhere int he world:
Local institutions in Poland often stock up food as give-away's for people that fall under the poverty line- which is decided by income, and thus receive data from yearly tax calculations- and not applicants.
All people would have to do is apply for it, which they don't (for cultural? ego? reasons), thus resulting in massive overbloated stocks sitting in stores.
And then comes the end of use date, which means that everything needs to be processed/destroyed... which is where the cash starts to flow.
The person responsible for processing hires a private company, at which point his actual responsibility is over. But the goods just aren't bad yet, which means they can be sold, at half market price to a restaurant or fast-food joint- and the processing company will gladly utilize the palettes, packaging and cans left over.
All in the name of ecology, and preventing food going to waste.
That the empty cans from such a store can weight over two tons, and thus can be sold for an equivalent to a months salary of that state worker responsible for "processing" unusable food?
That the pallets are by law heat-treated, and thus can be chopped down for firewood and sold further down the line? (3 months pension '-')
Structural reinforcement of poverty is - in America, when you're on the whole Social Security thing, you cannot have more than $2000 in assets. Any more than that and they take away your benefits and charge you money for the privelege.
- Location
- Here
Here's another one in the US, then: State unemployment benefits, at least in Massachusetts, scale based on what your salary was before you lost your job. Specifically, you get half your previous wage, capped at $823/week. If you didn't make at least $1646/week ($85,592/year, aka quite a bit more than most people), you get less. If you were just barely making a living wage, you now get less than a living wage. If you get a part-time job, that wage is subtracted from your UI payout so you can't combine a less-than-livable UI with a less-than-livable part-time job while you look for something better. And you have to file for your money every week – if you don't have a computer you need to make a trip to a library. If you don't have the computer literacy to file online, you need to make a trip to one of the offices that manages unemployment benefits to file in person, which may also take longer on top of the travel time. Or file by phone, which isn't much better and there may be a wait time before someone picks up. And you have to keep notes on all your unemployment activities to be able to file, which may be difficult if you're homeless and thus lacking anywhere to put a sheaf of paperwork.
I don't think the socio-economics of endemic poverty have much to do with megucas beyond simple aesthetics.
They suffer poverty because they lose almost all their wealth and connections when they gain magic. This is not a permanent state, though; they either die or overcome their problems. The elder magical girls seem to be alright financially, which makes perfect sense. They are quasi-immortal beings with superpowers, after all.
And our MC is definitely not a classical poor either. He can easily make thousands of dollars per week by just crafting items.
Clearly, the main problem here is not money. The problem is that megucas are expendable foot soldiers in an eternal war.
They suffer poverty because they lose almost all their wealth and connections when they gain magic. This is not a permanent state, though; they either die or overcome their problems. The elder magical girls seem to be alright financially, which makes perfect sense. They are quasi-immortal beings with superpowers, after all.
And our MC is definitely not a classical poor either. He can easily make thousands of dollars per week by just crafting items.
Clearly, the main problem here is not money. The problem is that megucas are expendable foot soldiers in an eternal war.
And lacking the infanstructure actual armies need. Magical girl veterans are able to survive thanks to experience, but you need to survive to gain that experience, and well, that is the problem, to get the experience needed to survive, they need support and equipment( and then some veterans need equipment anyway since not all get special abilities that can be used without them).
Edit: You could actually compare newbie magical girls to conscripts and not be that inaccurate.....
Edit 2:
Conscripts:"Ok, here is a gun and a few bullets, now go out there and fight off the invaders!"
Magical Girls:"Ok, here is a wand and a costume, no go out and fight evil!"
Edit 3:Thinking about this quest, I just realized something. We are essentially trying to build a support system from scratch for a massive group of conscripts fighting an eternal war while in a major conflict zone.....
Last edited:
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
The logistics of magical girls in this setting very closely align with the logistics of endemic poverty.
The question "so, what entities in this magical-girl setting are analogous to the socio-political forces conspiring to keep the poor poor in real life" is presumably being left as a spoiler or an exercise for the reader...
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Build a Room
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
Being repeatedly told that we suck at being poor is enough of a wake-up call to start making money, risk be damned.
Though I am worried about disease breaking out and shitting over our accumulated assets (i.e. experienced tenants, crafter time wasted on disease and injury).
Still, better to start expanding faster, since it's clear the badness will only escalate. Or not even that, merely accumulating is enough to do us in.
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
Being repeatedly told that we suck at being poor is enough of a wake-up call to start making money, risk be damned.
Though I am worried about disease breaking out and shitting over our accumulated assets (i.e. experienced tenants, crafter time wasted on disease and injury).
Still, better to start expanding faster, since it's clear the badness will only escalate. Or not even that, merely accumulating is enough to do us in.
Nervos Belli
Don't think this means you've won!
- Location
- Murica
[X] Build a Room
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
-[X] Magical Condenser: Allows multiple workshops to run in parallel.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I chose my words poorly; I think it might be more appropriate to say "what phenomena in this magical girl setting, et cetera."
Chaosbrain
The End comes beyond Chaos...
- Location
- Between East and West, North and South.
[X] Build a Room
-[X] Area of Purification: Increase item yields, grants health benefits.
-[X] Area of Purification: Increase item yields, grants health benefits.
Ekzentric Lohner
I miss Wildstar...
7734
Trust and verify.
- Location
- Philmont
Depends on my motivation. Update will probably be Thursday, so that means if it's tied when I do the call on Wednesday I'll run a twelve hour extension. If it's still tied, then I'll flip a coin.