US Politics Megathread

[howlingwolfpaw]

it is, that is why we really need to reevaluate how our whole financial system is done. Creating debt from a private centralized banking system paying income tax just to pay the interest on it is terrible way to run a country. But 10 bil every 2-4 years is a drop in the bucket really to make sure corporations aren't the ones really running the country. Ending corporate personhood could be one solition. Saying it needs to be overhauled is like a typical politicians answer that doesn't answer or have a better band-aide to the problem.

[Horsemen]

or, more importantly, people who are doing jobs that pay shit compared to the jobs they lost to automation

Tfw you’re not a Bangladeshi textile factory labourer working 80 hours a week for $2 per hour

[Goodspeed]

it is, that is why we really need to reevaluate how our whole financial system is done. Creating debt from a private centralized banking system paying income tax just to pay the interest on it is terrible way to run a country. But 10 bil every 2-4 years is a drop in the bucket really to make sure corporations aren't the ones really running the country. Ending corporate personhood could be one solition. Saying it needs to be overhauled is like a typical politicians answer that doesn't answer or have a better band-aide to the problem.

It doesn't make sure of that at all.

Saying it needs to be overhauled is like a typical politicians answer that doesn't answer or have a better band-aide to the problem.

Okay you want specifics. How about a law that says no donations of over X are allowed, PACs and super PACs are outlawed and it's no longer legal for companies to promote a candidate on their own accord in any way whatsoever. That's not a band-aid, but a real solution that doesn't cost the taxpayers $10b every 2 years.

[howlingwolfpaw]

its a numbers game, a few thousand companies donating big money, vs a large number donating a little. not perfect no... but no other solutions on the table. Govt is supposed to represent the people. but its asks for people to privately finance its own elections, or be at the whim of big money using advertising campaigns to control the narrative and get their people in office. That is Very dangerous to a democracy. Something has to be done to keep big money out of politics. Ending corporate personhood is one. using democracy dollars to fund it also makes it like a fair democratic process where everyone has a say, and that money can go to helping get that message out.

[howlingwolfpaw]

it is, that is why we really need to reevaluate how our whole financial system is done. Creating debt from a private centralized banking system paying income tax just to pay the interest on it is terrible way to run a country. But 10 bil every 2-4 years is a drop in the bucket really to make sure corporations aren't the ones really running the country. Ending corporate personhood could be one solition. Saying it needs to be overhauled is like a typical politicians answer that doesn't answer or have a better band-aide to the problem.

It doesn't make sure of that at all.

Saying it needs to be overhauled is like a typical politicians answer that doesn't answer or have a better band-aide to the problem.

Okay you want specifics. How about a law that says no donations of over X are allowed, PACs and super PACs are outlawed and it's no longer legal for companies to promote a candidate on their own accord in any way whatsoever. That's not a band-aid, but a real solution that doesn't cost the taxpayers $10b every 2 years.

I can agree with that, but I do not see why something to do with public elections should not be using public money to fund them. Asking the private economy to do it is asking for money and peoples personal gains to be part of it. I entertain the idea only public money should go to qualifying candidates. No private contributions. Maybe this looks different than 100 per voter, but allotted air wave slots on TV etc...

[Amsel_]

Theoretically, a progressive could be better at this whole "reunite the country" thing. Right-Wingers will occasionally push leftist economic policies, because they know that that's a major reason people vote for leftists. Without that, it becomes a lot easier for the average joe to vote for someone based on other things, like social policy. Nixon, Disraeli, and Bismarck all did this strategy. It's also why democrats will sometimes purposefully sabotage their own policies, just to keep people voting for them. The ACA is a good example of this. They didn't mind implementing anti-competitive insurance policies, which would drive the price of healthcare up, because that meant that they could campaign on fixing that later on.

If a progressive gets elected and fixes things like healthcare, unemployment, infrastructure, education, etc, people are going to calm down. If some do-nothing moderate gets elected then people are going to be just as angry at the "establishment" as they are and have been, and will immediately turn to the republicans for another "radical outsider." There are many viable candidates for this. There are people like DeSantis and Cruz who have a much more pristine record, and greater political skill than Trump did. It's perfectly possible for a do-nothing moderate to get elected, republicans do well in the mid-terms following that, and then someone more experienced than Trump in politics successfully repeals the ACA.

I suppose one could argue that there is a difference between personality and policy in terms of what brings people together and what divides them. Trump's policies are very moderate, yet his strong personality meant that him and the people who dislike him kept escalating their insult hurling. But I can't think of any examples of this being an effective strategy. McCain acted extremely gentlemanly during 2008, and the democrats and the media still treated him horribly. Bush, Reagan, and Nixon also suffered from pointless attacks by the media. So there's no point talking about "restoring civil discourse" or anything of the sort, when one side is always going to be depicted as "nazis" or satan or what-have-you.

The only thing democrats really have the power to do is ease the economic reasons people are so angry. So a progressive makes much more sense if your goal is to "heal the country."

[Amsel_]

or, more importantly, people who are doing jobs that pay shit compared to the jobs they lost to automation

Tfw you’re not a Bangladeshi textile factory labourer working 80 hours a week for $2 per hour

The sad part is that that's like 10 times the average wage in Bangladesh.

[Horsemen]

or, more importantly, people who are doing jobs that pay shit compared to the jobs they lost to automation

Tfw you’re not a Bangladeshi textile factory labourer working 80 hours a week for $2 per hour

The sad part is that that's like 10 times the average wage in Bangladesh.

So sad that Bangladeshis are forced to work factory jobs for 10 times their average wage. They are better off as subsistence farmers

[fightinfrenchman]

@Horsemen So you're intelligent enough to understand the benefits of free trade but you're also pro Brexit?

[n0el]

Exploited Bangladeshis....so you see the benefits of free trade lmao

[fightinfrenchman]

Exploited Bangladeshis....so you see the benefits of free trade lmao

Why do you hate the global poor

[Jam]

Exploited Bangladeshis....so you see the benefits of free trade lmao

Why do you hate the global poor

[n0el]

Exploited Bangladeshis....so you see the benefits of free trade lmao

Why do you hate the global poor

What are you even talking about?

[spanky4ever]

Good news for some of us.
Sanders is first in a new NH poll. But get this, CNN are not even mentioning that he is in the lead.
Biden slipping, but we all knew this would happen, sooner or later.

[UrvyZnapy]

Biden is a senile pervert, he can't win

[fightinfrenchman]

Biden is a senile pervert, he can't win

Aren't you a Trump supporter

[fightinfrenchman]

@spanky4ever I thought polls were fake news

[UrvyZnapy]

Biden is a senile pervert, he can't win

Aren't you a Trump supporter

American politics is so stupid, it's hard to support anyone IMO.

[fightinfrenchman]

Biden is a senile pervert, he can't win

Aren't you a Trump supporter

American politics is so stupid, it's hard to support anyone IMO.

What makes you think being a senile pervert makes it impossible to win the presidency?

[UrvyZnapy]

Nothing if you manage to keep it a secret

[Amsel_]

Exploited Bangladeshis....so you see the benefits of free trade lmao

Why do you hate the global poor

You hear this a lot, about free-trade and capitalism bringing billions of people out of poverty. The problem is that people develop these cultish fixations on free-trade, just like those leftists who support regulation and taxes for the sake of regulation and taxes. There's no pragmatic view taken. Argentina, for instance, has had a rough twenty years because of free-market economics. They suffer from trade, but countries like China benefit.

[n0el]

bingo

[fightinfrenchman]

No

[bittersalt123]

I guess the left wing media believes racism and ageism is okay now.

[n0el]

No

Care to make a real argument against it? Or just stupid one liners or subject changing.