The 2022 Midterms

mac_in_tosh said:
Most people in the U.S. have been conditioned to fear that which would benefit them the most, namely a "progressive push left." They've been convinced that the government taking more of a role in their well being means a loss of freedoms. When you watch a travel show about a European democracy, the difference is obvious. The people there don't live in fear of going bankrupt if they get sick, many have been provided with a college education because the country values an educated populace - they don't spend half of their working lives digging out of debt. The transportation systems in countries like Sweden put ours to shame. The reason is that many of those governments view their mandate to be to make life better for their people. You may be happy if the GOP does well, but what it will mean is continued attacks on Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, continued deterioration of our infrastructure, more tax cuts for their billionaire donor class and of course more voting restrictions.
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Do you think the people here in the US would accept that level of taxation? You mention healthcare. For those who work for large companies who provide good insurance, what is in it for them? Yes, the un or under employed will benefit, but many won't.

As for the transportation system, we are so much more spread out than most EU countries so public transportation would be too expensive. And in our dense cities, we do have it. Granted something like the TGV would be great, but we live in a tort-driven society. The first time some idiot climbs the fence and gets struck, the lawsuit would be huge. Expect a couple a year.

I know it goes against what many, including myself, were preached to about college. I can hear my dad saying it still. You have to go to college to be "successful". That's BS. Some of the wealthiest people on this planet didn't finish college. There are other ways than being forced to take classes in 18th century French poetry. Why can't college be 2 years where you spend 100% of your time learning your major and not the fluff. And not this 15 hour a week crap. Do it like the military and treat it like a job from 8-5 or whatever.
 
Herdfan said:
Do you think the people here in the US would accept that level of taxation? You mention healthcare. For those who work for large companies who provide good insurance, what is in it for them? Yes, the un or under employed will benefit, but many won't.

As for the transportation system, we are so much more spread out than most EU countries so public transportation would be too expensive. And in our dense cities, we do have it. Granted something like the TGV would be great, but we live in a tort-driven society. The first time some idiot climbs the fence and gets struck, the lawsuit would be huge. Expect a couple a year.

I know it goes against what many, including myself, were preached to about college. I can hear my dad saying it still. You have to go to college to be "successful". That's BS. Some of the wealthiest people on this planet didn't finish college. There are other ways than being forced to take classes in 18th century French poetry. Why can't college be 2 years where you spend 100% of your time learning your major and not the fluff. And not this 15 hour a week crap. Do it like the military and treat it like a job from 8-5 or whatever.
Click to expand...
www.bls.gov

Education pays, 2021

Data still show that learning leads to earnings.
www.bls.gov www.bls.gov

earnings-and-unemploymen.png
 
Herdfan said:
Do you think the people here in the US would accept that level of taxation? You mention healthcare. For those who work for large companies who provide good insurance, what is in it for them? Yes, the un or under employed will benefit, but many won't.
Click to expand...
ourworldindata.org

Why is life expectancy in the US lower than in other rich countries?

Americans have a lower life expectancy than people in other rich countries despite paying much more for healthcare. What factors may explain this?
ourworldindata.org ourworldindata.org

1668040806514.png
 
Herdfan said:
You mention healthcare. For those who work for large companies who provide good insurance, what is in it for them
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Horror stories of insurance companies for example refusing to cover needed procedures, horrible out-of-pocket expenses, and out-of-network traps aside, keep in mind that the insurance is not free. The company has to pay to provide that perk, reducing the amount of money available for salaries/other perks.

Not having to depend on your current place of work for healthcare would make is easier for an employee to for example switch to another company or start their own company.
 
What will Hannity and Carlson have to say about the midterms... anything about Trump?
 
Herdfan said:
Do you think the people here in the US would accept that level of taxation? You mention healthcare. For those who work for large companies who provide good insurance, what is in it for them? Yes, the un or under employed will benefit, but many won't.

As for the transportation system, we are so much more spread out than most EU countries so public transportation would be too expensive. And in our dense cities, we do have it. Granted something like the TGV would be great, but we live in a tort-driven society. The first time some idiot climbs the fence and gets struck, the lawsuit would be huge. Expect a couple a year.

I know it goes against what many, including myself, were preached to about college. I can hear my dad saying it still. You have to go to college to be "successful". That's BS. Some of the wealthiest people on this planet didn't finish college. There are other ways than being forced to take classes in 18th century French poetry. Why can't college be 2 years where you spend 100% of your time learning your major and not the fluff. And not this 15 hour a week crap. Do it like the military and treat it like a job from 8-5 or whatever.
Click to expand...
I think that level of taxation would not be readily accepted here but only because of the steady drumbeat from the GOP that government is the problem. Of course they do their best to block any initiative that would make the governement work better so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. But when people in places like Sweden are asked about their high tax rates, they generally are okay with it because they get great value from it which they can see in their everyday life. And having to rely on large companies for health insurance, which is becoming more rare as time goes by, is the opposite of freedom. People often have to stick with jobs they hate just because of the health insurance. The "many" you refer to is actually a minority of Americans.

Yeah, the U.S. is bigger than EU countries but its economy is also much bigger so I think it can do better than what it has now but again the government doesn't always do what's best for the people, instead catering to lobbyists. A big part of the problem is the auto industry influence on Congress and how as a result much of our economy revolves around cars - gas stations, repair shops, new and used car dealers, parts supply stores, insurance companies, etc. Still, the EU countries generally have great systems, even through what might be considered inaccessible areas like the mountains in Switzerland.

So there are a few wealthy people that didn't go to college, what does that prove? We're talking about the population as a whole. If higher education were more readily available it would on the whole benefit society but deep-seated interests with a lot of influence - banks and the colleges themselves - are formidable obstacles.
 
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I predict the next 2 years regardless of how the control numbers land that the Republican’s blanket obstruction and the antics of the conspiracy snake handlers is going to take center stage instead of backseat to the corporate extremist Manchins and Sinemas on the Democrat side.
 
lizkat said:
What will Hannity and Carlson have to say about the midterms... anything about Trump?
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Trump is furious that he was advised to back Oz in Pennsylvania. He never takes responsibility for anything and is always quick to blame others, apparently this time even his wife. Of course if Oz had won he would have taken all the credit for the result and he's reduced to boasting that when he won Florida he got more votes than DeSantis just did.
 
Overall, regardless of what happens next, I feel pretty good. McCarthy will not have the majority he was hoping for, and his life will probably be just as hard herding cats in his conference as he was as the minority leader. Trump is on the ropes, even if only temporarily, and Americans showed that election denying and the rampant lies are not an alternative to whoever thinks democratic policies are failing. Republicans had some victories, but who wants a one-party blowout every election? It's not healthy.

Democrats - rightly or wrongly - have lost some inroads with brown voters, and still need to work on messaging and addressing crime, the border and other issues important to conservatives. I'm not going to debate the merits of those things, but it doesn't matter; its an issue to conservatives, and there's always room for improvement. If you have to tell yourself "There's no border crisis but we should still improve things", go into it with that mindset and improve things anyways.

Likewise, republicans are realizing Trump is not the winning formula they thought he was - he's gotten thumped three elections in a row, four if you count losing the popular vote - and election fraud claims and the rampant lying is as much as a turnoff as cancel culture or democrats ignoring the issue of crime.

I think its been a sobering election for both parties, both parties seem energized to vote but tired of the nonsense, and I think that's a good sign.

mac_in_tosh said:
Trump is furious that he was advised to back Oz in Pennsylvania. He never takes responsibility for anything and is always quick to blame others, apparently this time even his wife. Of course if Oz had won he would have taken all the credit for the result and he's reduced to boasting that when he won Florida he got more votes than DeSantis just did.
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He literally said if republicans do well he should get the credit, and if he did poorly he should get no blame.



So other than a couple of small victories, he's taking credit for things like Rubio and Ron Johnson - elected before he even entered politics - and name-dropping other candidates he had nothing to do with. He also thinks his losing candidates lost not because of him, but because they didn't embrace him enough.

He's learned nothing and while I'm happy to see republicans more level-headed after the elections than they usually are, I know things can turn quickly and they could be back in Trump's thrall tomorrow. But I'm enjoying his very public skewering in the meantime.
 
GermanSuplex said:
Democrats - rightly or wrongly - have lost some inroads with brown voters, and still need to work on messaging and addressing crime, the border and other issues important to conservatives.
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I think the Democrats need to more strongly show the GOP's hypocrisy and how they are just using these issues to provoke fear, not really providing any solutions.

I've pointed out elsewhere that Republican controlled states are well represented in the listing of those with the highest crime rates. In reality, they do no better.

And as for their claims about the economy, generally speaking Republican controlled states are net importers of federal money while Democratic controlled ones are net exporters. George W presided over a financial meltdown and when Trump left office the economy was in bad shape.

Democrats should harp on these things every chance they get. It's like letting Trump get away with the image of a successful businessman when in reality he's had a long string of bankruptcies.
 

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