2016 elections - because it's never too early

[CountDeMoney]

So four of your family members are racists and bigots?  Sorry, man  

Thankfully, none of my family members are.

I'll give you credit, though:  you don't make it sound lonely to be the only one.

[DGuller]

So four of your family members are racists and bigots?  Sorry, man  

Probably more than four, I just know about the four and know them well enough to know how they're thinking.  Russian immigrants are extremely regressive in certain ways, especially over a certain age.

Thankfully, none of my family members are.

I'm highly skeptical, let's just put it this way.

[The Minsky Moment]

I haven't travelled across the country.  But I did watch CNN last night as the new congress explained its new healthcare plan of killing no pre existing condition discrimination and dumping people into high risk pools.  That will be a big hammer falling down on the white working class.

Hope it was worth it

[CountDeMoney]

I haven't travelled across the country.  But I did watch CNN last night as the new congress explained its new healthcare plan of killing no pre existing condition discrimination and dumping people into high risk pools.  That will be a big hammer falling down on the white working class.

Hope it was worth it

But there were so many states that didn't even bother to pitch in on the ACA and Medicaid expansion, so how many mouthbreathers are really going to miss what they never had in the first place?


My mother, of course, is freaking the fuck out over my healthcare.  She's convinced I'm on a 2-month countdown.     

[The Minsky Moment]

no worries you'll have at least 14 months before Carrousel

[OttoVonBismarck]

I haven't travelled across the country.  But I did watch CNN last night as the new congress explained its new healthcare plan of killing no pre existing condition discrimination and dumping people into high risk pools.  That will be a big hammer falling down on the white working class.

Hope it was worth it

Eh, public health care has never been for people like us, if the people who benefit from it are so dead set against it, I guess it has no place in America.

[DGuller]

The people are dead set against people who don't look like them.  Every other stance is determined by what the politicians humoring them really want.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I have to admit Trump's election has caused some philosophical shifts for me. I was a Austrian school ultra-econ liberal for 25+ years and generally opposed the form and function of the safety net in many ways as it's implemented across the West (I really like the Friedman idea of just using negative taxes to help the poor.) But income/wealth inequality, the hyper-concentration of economic power in the hands of global business entities, had made me in the last few years to move left on a lot of these issues.

I'm still a big believer in free markets, I still believe high corporate taxes are poor design for tax-incidence reasons and economic efficiency reasons, I don't believe in large scale wealth transfer, but I also believe we can give these incredibly wealthy people a haircut and fund robust healthcare for all, robust education for all, and a strong infrastructure. I think these forced investments by the top wealth-holders will provide vastly greater benefits to our economy than the relatively paltry trickle down effects we get from the tycoons reinvesting their hoarded capital.

But you know what, if all the white poor don't want this shit, and want neoliberalism instead--cool. I've got mine. Hope they have fun in all the coal mines Trump won't reopen and the factory jobs he won't bring back.

[Grey Fox]

I'm reading this thing on Counterpunch. http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/10/the-big-split/

It starts sane but quickly go down from there. I thought I understood these people, turns out I don't.

[derspiess]

I'm reading this thing on Counterpunch. http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/10/the-big-split/

It starts sane but quickly go down from there. I thought I understood these people, turns out I don't.

It starts with a Mumia quote.  How is that sane? 

[Grinning_Colossus]

I'm reading this thing on Counterpunch. http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/10/the-big-split/

It starts sane but quickly go down from there. I thought I understood these people, turns out I don't.

Lucid analysis of domestic politics mixed with unhinged shit like "the CIA led fascist coup in Ukraine." This kind of paranoia is why I find it hard to get involved with organized leftist movements.

[CountDeMoney]

It starts with a Mumia quote.  How is that sane? 

That's part of the problem.  The fringe media--on both sides--is so readily accessible now, it's given a validation it doesn't deserve. Media that tacks too hard, from CounterPunch to Breitbart, would never have made the radar 20 years ago.  Now, even the nuttiest of wings is a click away.

[garbon]

But income/wealth inequality, the hyper-concentration of economic power in the hands of global business entities, had made me in the last few years to move left on a lot of these issues.

I'm still a big believer in free markets, I still believe high corporate taxes are poor design for tax-incidence reasons and economic efficiency reasons, I don't believe in large scale wealth transfer, but I also believe we can give these incredibly wealthy people a haircut and fund robust healthcare for all, robust education for all, and a strong infrastructure. I think these forced investments by the top wealth-holders will provide vastly greater benefits to our economy than the relatively paltry trickle down effects we get from the tycoons reinvesting their hoarded capital.

But you know what, if all the white poor don't want this shit, and want neoliberalism instead--cool. I've got mine. Hope they have fun in all the coal mines Trump won't reopen and the factory jobs he won't bring back.

I would largely agree with this, though on my good days don't so strongly feel the final paragraph.

[The Minsky Moment]

Eh, public health care has never been for people like us, if the people who benefit from it are so dead set against it, I guess it has no place in America.

I'm in an odd situation: I'm in a company that has employer provided plans, but technically I'm an owner so there is no employer subsidy.  Looking at the numbers for this year, I'm probably better off with one of the exchange plans.

[Grey Fox]

I'm reading this thing on Counterpunch. http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/10/the-big-split/

It starts sane but quickly go down from there. I thought I understood these people, turns out I don't.

It starts with a Mumia quote.  How is that sane? 

I dont know who that is.