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Politics: Midterm elections catch-all thread...

Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

So people don't want socialism because they don't know how good it is? Um, ok.

But look: Norway!

Socialism is perhaps the only ideology that Americans are asked to judge solely based on its piddling "successes." Don't you dare mention Albania or Algeria or Angola or Burma or Congo or Cuba or Ethiopia or Laos or Somalia or Vietnam or Yemen or, well, any other of the dozens of other inconvenient places socialism has been tried. Not when there are a handful of Scandinavian countries operating generous welfare-state programs propped up by underlying vibrant capitalism and natural resources.
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http://reason.com/archives/2018/07/27/sorry-if-youre-offended-but-socialism-le
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CajunCrimson said:
A Venezuelan perspective on Socialism...

Would you trust our Government to determine what "the greater good" is?
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We already do, and it's mostly fine. If it isn't, we can vote the decision-makers out of office.

Venezuelans -- and every country Bodhi mentioned in his linked article -- did not have that check on power.
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CajunCrimson said:
You would think that people would see the flaws in socialism and giving the government too much power from The election of Trump

All it takes is one election of one person to grab ahold of this power and instantly render the majority of the population as nothing more than puppets.
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CajunCrimson said:
Would you trust our Government to determine what "the greater good" is?
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To advocate for socialism is to want the government to have the a greater role in the economy. Why anyone would want more waste and centralized decision making is a head scratcher. I wouldn't put my faith is a benign Big Brother. A government powerful enough to give you everything you want is powerful enough to take away everything you have. Socialist advocates always seem to gloss over the cost of government. As I've mentioned before, the cost is massive. Tack on a 50% surcharge to wealth transfers. To give a $1 to Paul charge Peter $1.50.

Do we really want more economic decisions made in the Trump tradition?
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CharminTide said:
We already do, and it's mostly fine. If it isn't, we can vote the decision-makers out of office.

Venezuelans -- and every country Bodhi mentioned in his linked article -- did not have that check on power.
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You mean like how the electoral college's intent was to check power? So too much didn't centralize in areas of large population....

The reason it's "mostly fine" now is because there is enough money coming into the government to sustain it. If the money starts to dry up -- then what? And even though we are collecting record taxes monthly -- we are still losing ground.... because we aren't taxing enough? Or because we are spending too much?

the anti-capitalist mindset scares me..... because it doesn't have a way to replace the lost revenue designed to fuel the social programs that are ever expanding.

Woo.....time to watch Football highlights.
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CajunCrimson said:
You mean like how the electoral college's intent was to check power? So too much didn't centralize in areas of large population....

The reason it's "mostly fine" now is because there is enough money coming into the government to sustain it. If the money starts to dry up -- then what? And even though we are collecting record taxes monthly -- we are still losing ground.... because we aren't taxing enough? Or because we are spending too much?

the anti-capitalist mindset scares me..... because it doesn't have a way to replace the lost revenue designed to fuel the social programs that are ever expanding.

Woo.....time to watch Football highlights.
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The people who point to the unemployment rate and booming stock market as a sign of economic health don't realize that the country is on the equivalent of a credit card spending binge. If you have no care for the morrow, then it's easy to achieve those results. This is must reading for the "don't worry; be happy" crowd...

Economist
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CajunCrimson said:
the anti-capitalist mindset scares me..... because it doesn't have a way to replace the lost revenue designed to fuel the social programs that are ever expanding.
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What anti-capitalist mindset? You asked about Scandinavia, which broadly speaking, are simply large welfare states supported by capitalism. This is what I mean when I say that the right has corrupted the term "socialism" for its own political purpose.
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CharminTide said:
What anti-capitalist mindset? You asked about Scandinavia, which broadly speaking, are simply large welfare states supported by capitalism. This is what I mean when I say that the right has corrupted the term "socialism" for its own political purpose.
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context is a libtard plot
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

TIDE-HSV said:
The people who point to the unemployment rate and booming stock market as a sign of economic health don't realize that the country is on the equivalent of a credit card spending binge. If you have no care for the morrow, then it's easy to achieve those results. This is must reading for the "don't worry; be happy" crowd...

Economist
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The Economist said:
The idea that trade makes everyone better off in the long run is no longer universal;
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Ya reckon?

The main place I disagree with the Economist's analysis is in the area austerity. They condemn austerity as the policy response to the Crash. Maybe the case of European countries is different, but the U.S. now carries $20 trillion in Federal debt.
It used to be that we needed a combination of $1 trillion/year in spending cuts and tax increases for about 40 years to get us our of this mess. Now, thanks to Trump and the Republicans in Congress, we need around $1.3 trillion in spending cuts & tax increases/year. For the next 40 years. There is absolutely no appetite for tax increases and spending cuts in Washington.
Sadly this issue is going to gob-smack the U.S and her citizens in the not too distant future. It is going to be the worst economic crisis the world has ever witnessed.
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CharminTide said:
We already do, and it's mostly fine. If it isn't, we can vote the decision-makers out of office.

Venezuelans -- and every country Bodhi mentioned in his linked article -- did not have that check on power.
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Capitalism is already direct democracy. Why vote in a middle man to direct it?

Caveats follow:

We do need robust but minimal and efficient regulation to stop bad actors.

I do support a safety net for those who fall on hard times (been there, done that) and those who cannot fend for themselves.
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

NationalTitles17 said:
Capitalism is already direct democracy. Why vote in a middle man to direct it?
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Direct democracy is inefficient and impractical over large populations. Representative democracies are more practical, although obviously not without other flaws.

Caveats follow:

We do need robust but minimal and efficient regulation to stop bad actors.

I do support a safety net for those who fall on hard times (been there, done that) and those who cannot fend for themselves.
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Agreed on both of these. It's the details where most people diverge.
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

TIDE-HSV said:
The people who point to the unemployment rate and booming stock market as a sign of economic health don't realize that the country is on the equivalent of a credit card spending binge. If you have no care for the morrow, then it's easy to achieve those results. This is must reading for the "don't worry; be happy" crowd...

Economist
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Presidents on both sides have trumpeted (excuse the pun) the success of the Unemployment rate and the stock market. (Just check articles and tidefans posts from 2-3 years ago for proof)...... but when you see hiring in non-government parts of the economy, that's a positive for the long-term. And when you see growth in the manufacturing sectors, that also bodes well for us.

Reagan had a strategy to bankrupt the USSR.....and then figured the debt would right itself once that happened while maintaining the roaring economy of the 80s..... unfortunately only half of that happened.

We do keep spending like drunken sailors.....but if neither side is willing to cut back on the out of control social programs and insane prices paid for defense -- then it won't change any time soon.
 
Re: 2018 midterm elections catch-all thread

CharminTide said:
Direct democracy is inefficient and impractical over large populations. Representative democracies are more practical, although obviously not without other flaws.



Agreed on both of these. It's the details where most people diverge.
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And yet capitalism was the catalyst for the greatest growth of wealth - top to bottom - in history. This, despite its many flaws.
 
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