Of course I just signed up for Medicaid. Of course our federal worker household is about to lose half its income. Of course I'll have to quit my gym membership and stop eating out. Of course local businesses will fail when scores of other non-rich Americans follow this same path. Of course we may lose our home. Of course ... so many ignorant or malevolent Americans voted for this. And of course we are all connected and will all suffer the consequences.
If you believe it when someone tells you to hate people you don't know, you are malevolent... AND ignorant and stupid. I see comments all the time denigrating civil servants when people obviously don't know them, don't know what they do, and don't know what they get out of their work. That's the fault of thoughtless citizens who don't learn about their own government. That's on them.
Matthew Desmond, author of "Poverty by America," spoke to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. He said that if the IRS simply collected all the taxes that are owed, it would raise our revenue by $1 trillion a year. (The IRS reports the estimated tax gap in 2022 at $606 billion and hasn't been updated since, so one trillion is not an unreasonable estimate.)
"Uncle Joe" Biden doubtless will be deemed by historians as the Harry Truman of the 21st century. Like Truman, he was not popular at the time, but he faced the tough decisions and made the right choice almost all the time.
Any American willing to work 40 hours a week should earn enough to support a family of four to include food, shelter, warmth, and health. That is not the case, and the three branches of government have failed to meet that goal while moving heaven and earth to make sure its titans of industry make enough to own multiple yachts. All this since its founding. Any political party hell-bent on maintaining this status quo does not deserve our vote or our belief in their good faith.
I wrote this earlier. If someone goes to the hospital they get care whether they can pay for not, at least in New York state they do. If they are on Medicaid, they can pay which means more doctors and nurses and technitians, etc. It isn't just the patient.
Did you hear about Musk calling social security a Ponzi scheme? I could feel the bile rising in my throat when he said that. What an idiot. I guess Medicare will be next.
Medicaid has been cut so many times since before George W. Bush that I don’t see how it’s possible unless it’s done away with entirely.
All this upside-down, winner-take-all, oligarchical thinking was spread and pushed hard by the Koch clan. It was appealing to Republicans and sprang to life under Reagan. Read "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer.
During trump regime #1, I read Ruth Ben-Ghiat's book Stongmen. Is it possible that everything being done by trump regime #2 is intended to collapse our Country / society so completely that it would be easier for trump to BE a full-on dictator? I wonder if even the tariffs fall into that realm. Since there is no rational sense for so much of what he and musk have done over the last month, it sure seems like trump is the epitome of domestic terrorist and he's declared war on the U.S. . He and musk are carrying it out in broad daylight.
Of course I just signed up for Medicaid. Of course our federal worker household is about to lose half its income. Of course I'll have to quit my gym membership and stop eating out. Of course local businesses will fail when scores of other non-rich Americans follow this same path. Of course we may lose our home. Of course ... so many ignorant or malevolent Americans voted for this. And of course we are all connected and will all suffer the consequences.
Of course.
I agree, well said. But I think stupidity and ignorance outweighs malevolence as the driving force, although doubtless malevolence played a part.
I'll take Hair Splitting for $1000, Ivan :)
If you believe it when someone tells you to hate people you don't know, you are malevolent... AND ignorant and stupid. I see comments all the time denigrating civil servants when people obviously don't know them, don't know what they do, and don't know what they get out of their work. That's the fault of thoughtless citizens who don't learn about their own government. That's on them.
Thanks for checking in, friend. Best wishes.
Well said!
Matthew Desmond, author of "Poverty by America," spoke to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. He said that if the IRS simply collected all the taxes that are owed, it would raise our revenue by $1 trillion a year. (The IRS reports the estimated tax gap in 2022 at $606 billion and hasn't been updated since, so one trillion is not an unreasonable estimate.)
Watch the Desmond interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoLN0YoErK0&t=937s
We need to march on Washington to tell them to make the rich pay their fair share Otherwise, we're going to eat them.
I’m in
"Uncle Joe" Biden doubtless will be deemed by historians as the Harry Truman of the 21st century. Like Truman, he was not popular at the time, but he faced the tough decisions and made the right choice almost all the time.
Any American willing to work 40 hours a week should earn enough to support a family of four to include food, shelter, warmth, and health. That is not the case, and the three branches of government have failed to meet that goal while moving heaven and earth to make sure its titans of industry make enough to own multiple yachts. All this since its founding. Any political party hell-bent on maintaining this status quo does not deserve our vote or our belief in their good faith.
I wrote this earlier. If someone goes to the hospital they get care whether they can pay for not, at least in New York state they do. If they are on Medicaid, they can pay which means more doctors and nurses and technitians, etc. It isn't just the patient.
Did you hear about Musk calling social security a Ponzi scheme? I could feel the bile rising in my throat when he said that. What an idiot. I guess Medicare will be next.
Medicaid has been cut so many times since before George W. Bush that I don’t see how it’s possible unless it’s done away with entirely.
Yeah, that funny Ponzi scheme that I paid into for a lifetime, not some doge coin that came out last week.
All this upside-down, winner-take-all, oligarchical thinking was spread and pushed hard by the Koch clan. It was appealing to Republicans and sprang to life under Reagan. Read "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer.
Thank you for this summary and perspective.
During trump regime #1, I read Ruth Ben-Ghiat's book Stongmen. Is it possible that everything being done by trump regime #2 is intended to collapse our Country / society so completely that it would be easier for trump to BE a full-on dictator? I wonder if even the tariffs fall into that realm. Since there is no rational sense for so much of what he and musk have done over the last month, it sure seems like trump is the epitome of domestic terrorist and he's declared war on the U.S. . He and musk are carrying it out in broad daylight.
I’m curious about a democratic presidential candidate adopting a “trickle-up” economic theory?
Turn the Republicans on their heads.
Um... there was one. Kamala Harris. (Just. Not. Listening. Were you?)