2020 US Elections | Biden certified as President | Dems control Congress

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Affordable higher education is the only solution to that.
I don’t think that solves the problem comprehensively. How are tens of thousands of blue collar and service workers, most of whom not being apt for higher education, gonna have the capacity to learn a more complicated trade while not having a job or not having enough income to support themselves and/or their families? We could also offer room and board and meal plans, but then again, wouldn’t that also be expensive like UBI?
 
I don’t think that solves the problem comprehensively. How are tens of thousands of blue collar and service workers, most of whom not being apt for higher education, gonna have the capacity to learn a more complicated trade while not having a job or not having enough income to support themselves and/or their families? We could also offer room and board and meal plans, but then again, wouldn’t that also be expensive like UBI?

Also it's not only basic workforce losing their jobs. Plenty high education professionals will be rendered useless during the next 50 years.
 
Also it's not only basic workforce losing their jobs. Plenty high education professionals will be rendered useless during the next 50 years.

I believe this is why Yang is constantly talking down higher ed and talking up technical/vocational programs and apprenticeships. He routinely cites Germany...

 
I don’t think that solves the problem comprehensively. How are tens of thousands of blue collar and service workers, most of whom not being apt for higher education, gonna have the capacity to learn a more complicated trade while not having a job or not having enough income to support themselves and/or their families? We could also offer room and board and meal plans, but then again, wouldn’t that also be expensive like UBI?
Do you think a thousand bucks pre month is sufficient ? In some cities that will barely cover the rent.
 
Also it's not only basic workforce losing their jobs. Plenty high education professionals will be rendered useless during the next 50 years.

On the other hand, plenty of low education professions have already basically disappeared as well, and more will follow. Automation hits those at least as hard as high education jobs. What's going to be necessary is for both employers and employees to be more open to re-education, and the state will have to support it.

Edit: I just realized the post you replied to already made the point of low education professions being vulnerable, making my post essentially redundant. Irony.
 
How effective is VAT in Europe? And how easy would it be to close the loopholes and prevent the wealthy from gaming the system again? Genuinely asking.

VAT is a nightmare. Like all taxes it's far more complicated than it should be and there are numerous loopholes or benefits that help people and small businesses, but at the same time are there to be exploited too.

VAT is applied to most things in the UK but not food bought from a store or take away food from restaurants. This makes it a nightmare for say a local Fish & Chip shop. Someone buys fish & chips and takes it home, no VAT to pay for the business owner. The same meal served on a plate and he has to pay 20% VAT. Although there are various schemes like the flat tax scheme and of course, owners only pay VAT if their business turns over more than £90,000 a year.

We pay ridiculous amounts of tax in the UK, especially on petrol and beer etc, plus VAT, income tax, council tax and National Insurance. Personally I don't mind and would happily pay a little more to help others if asked BUT! The biggest problem I can see here is not how much we pay, but how it is appropriated and then spent. So much is wasted or lost in the ether. Bottom line is it doesn't matter how much people pay or the government takes, it's how it is used and spent that counts. The US military budget being the prime example.

There should be no excuse and especially here in the UK we should be able to afford far better healthcare and policing and public services, infrastructure etc if the money was used more wisely.

Back to VAT though, I could see riots starting if people were suddenly asked to pay 20% more on everything. Although ours was 12.5% and increased to 20% and all people did was bitch and moan for a bit.
 
Let’s say we can’t implement it as soon as 4 years but the problems of automation still exist and people still lose jobs in large numbers. What kinds of solutions could help deal with those effects that are achievable in our political climate? Im also asking generally and not at you specifically.

I think the most pressing matters are getting medicare for all, green new deal and getting money out of politics. I think those really need to be done before UBI (green new deal properly implemented would probably create more jobs than are lost to automation in the next 4-6 years anyway so I don't foresee people suddenly losing jobs in large numbers over the next four years due to automation as this immediate emergency unlike the other things. I think the time frame for adjusting to automation is a little longer than it is for getting health care and addressing climate change.
 
Do you think a thousand bucks pre month is sufficient ? In some cities that will barely cover the rent.
I'd say it's a good start for a lot of us, and even if it doesn't cover everything, it's still making life a little easier than before. An extra $1000 on top of a low wage job can make a world of difference in an expensive city. I currently receive $1200 in disability benefits (because dialysis) every month and an extra $1000 would be a lifesaver for me, especially considering how hard it is for me to find a good paying job even though I'm qualified in my field (thank you to our terrible employment practices). I could cover essentially all my expenses and use the free time to study something for a new line of work because I've had it with the software engineering world, which can eat my shit. Sorry for the rant, I've been stressed lately.
 
VAT is a nightmare. Like all taxes it's far more complicated than it should be and there are numerous loopholes or benefits that help people and small businesses, but at the same time are there to be exploited too.

VAT is applied to most things in the UK but not food bought from a store or take away food from restaurants. This makes it a nightmare for say a local Fish & Chip shop. Someone buys fish & chips and takes it home, no VAT to pay for the business owner. The same meal served on a plate and he has to pay 20% VAT. Although there are various schemes like the flat tax scheme and of course, owners only pay VAT if their business turns over more than £90,000 a year.

We pay ridiculous amounts of tax in the UK, especially on petrol and beer etc, plus VAT, income tax, council tax and National Insurance. Personally I don't mind and would happily pay a little more to help others if asked BUT! The biggest problem I can see here is not how much we pay, but how it is appropriated and then spent. So much is wasted or lost in the ether. Bottom line is it doesn't matter how much people pay or the government takes, it's how it is used and spent that counts. The US military budget being the prime example.

There should be no excuse and especially here in the UK we should be able to afford far better healthcare and policing and public services, infrastructure etc if the money was used more wisely.

Back to VAT though, I could see riots starting if people were suddenly asked to pay 20% more on everything. Although ours was 12.5% and increased to 20% and all people did was bitch and moan for a bit.
How would you compare the revenue generation of that compared to our tax revenue models over here? By the way you're describing it, it seems to generally work but is expensive. I certainly agree on paying more as long as the government spends it properly. It's what I tell conservatives here who think they "got" me when they ask me if I am okay with paying higher taxes. If it were up to me, every single monetary transaction is a 10% tax. Buy something? 10% sales tax. Make income? 10% (maybe 20% for this one and enforce the hell out of it for the rich). Profits from stocks? 10%. Any revenue generating internet action (US-based google searches, FB ads, Amazon charging for clusters ad buckets)? 10%. You get the picture.

Oh by the way, Yang's VAT proposal would be alf of European's model, which is coincidentally 10% I just now realized :lol:
 
I think the most pressing matters are getting medicare for all, green new deal and getting money out of politics. I think those really need to be done before UBI (green new deal properly implemented would probably create more jobs than are lost to automation in the next 4-6 years anyway so I don't foresee people suddenly losing jobs in large numbers over the next four years due to automation as this immediate emergency unlike the other things. I think the time frame for adjusting to automation is a little longer than it is for getting health care and addressing climate change.
Fair enough, I guess we shall see which economic outcome affects us hard first. At this for this, Yang certainly has Medicare for All as a highlighted top priority. #2 behind UBI.
 
I'm a teacher. I'll be working while the rest of you either die in dystopian moon mines or languish in a utopian Star-Trekky post-scarcity society. Whichever happens.
You'll just be teaching us all how to mine the moon.
 
I'd say it's a good start for a lot of us, and even if it doesn't cover everything, it's still making life a little easier than before. An extra $1000 on top of a low wage job can make a world of difference in an expensive city. I currently receive $1200 in disability benefits (because dialysis) every month and an extra $1000 would be a lifesaver for me, especially considering how hard it is for me to find a good paying job even though I'm qualified in my field (thank you to our terrible employment practices). I could cover essentially all my expenses and use the free time to study something for a new line of work because I've had it with the software engineering world, which can eat my shit. Sorry for the rant, I've been stressed lately.
Sorry to hear that from a fellow engineer. Have you tried the online freelancing platforms such as Upwork ? That was a game changer for me.
 
Its unfortunate we do not have more people like Bernie running.
Other than Warren, no one else really represents ordinary Americans.
People simply want an honest and decent person to represent them.
Unfortunately for decades we have had Presidents who represented corporations while saying they are representing ordinary Americans.

You cannot serve two masters.
 
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Do you think a thousand bucks pre month is sufficient ? In some cities that will barely cover the rent.

People will still work on top. The $1,000 takes off the pressure, stops that payday loan application. People stuck in jobs that are running them into the ground because they'll take a $10,000 a year paycut they can't afford if they leave will suddenly be able to take jobs that they actually enjoy because the difference would be made up. People will start more businesses instead of being scared to because what if it fails what's going to pay the bills?

It's not about giving everybody an amount that gets them through the month, it's about giving them some slack from the noose around their necks and making things easier for everyone.

Just go ask anyone you want on the street right now how they'd feel if someone gave them an extra $12,000 dollars a year on top of their current earnings and I bet not a single one would reply 'haha that won't even pay my rent but you'd get a lot of answers about how people would be more productive as a whole.
 
People will still work on top. The $1,000 takes off the pressure, stops that payday loan application. People stuck in jobs that are running them into the ground because they'll take a $10,000 a year paycut they can't afford if they leave will suddenly be able to take jobs that they actually enjoy because the difference would be made up. People will start more businesses instead of being scared to because what if it fails what's going to pay the bills?

It's not about giving everybody an amount that gets them through the month, it's about giving them some slack from the noose around their necks and making things easier for everyone.

Just go ask anyone you want on the street right now how they'd feel if someone gave them an extra $12,000 dollars a year on top of their current earnings and I bet not a single one would reply 'haha that won't even pay my rent but you'd get a lot of answers about how people would be more productive as a whole.
Even if it is in lieu of every other social benefit?
 
I don't know how much a month your countrymen claims in social benefits but I'd be astounded if it was over $1000 a month for the average person. I know it's certainly nowhere near that where I'm from.
What I meant was social security.
 
CNN Town Hall with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard




CNN Town Hall with Pete Buttigieg



CNN Town Hall with John Delaney


 
CNN Town Hall with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard




CNN Town Hall with Pete Buttigieg



CNN Town Hall with John Delaney



Impressed with Tulsi.
 
I caught the tail end of it and was still impressed. What a time it would be if we had to choose between him, Bernie, and Yang. All three are great candidates.

I think Mayor Pete, like Tulsi Gabbard, is trying to set himself up as VP candidate for the likes of Biden or Beto. Gabbard is obviously hoping Bernie selects her.
 
time to get on the Bernie train. choo choo zarlak

I didn't really get the hype the first time round and didn't really give him a chance because I only really started following the election properly after the primaries were over and I was getting annoyed at the same time by the daily excessive dick sucking of Jeremy Corbyn by every hipster in the UK who had never taken an interest in politics before so in my head I kind of equated them to the same person but I watched his town hall recently and was really impressed.
 
http://whitehotharlots.tumblr.com/post/183230878885/sanders-wasnt-cheated-the-system-is-too

Sadly, acknowledging these basic truths does not constitute proof that anyone cheated. As is the case with a majority of the most malignant insults hoisted upon the American people, the 2016 Democratic nomination process was completely legal, fully above board. The system did exactly what it was designed to do: coronate the candidate selected by the elites, protect powerful people from any threat of accountability, and punish anyone who dared to push back.

This is why conspiratorial rhetoric is counterproductive, even if it’s more or less true: the Rothschilds and Romanovs got nothing on the Wasermann-Shultzes or the Georgia Board State Elections Office. The real monsters are not shadowy weirdos making deals in smoke-filled rooms. They’re right in front of you, smiling, itching to smear you as a bot or rube the second you dare question their status as an Elite, which was given to them by God by verified by a Georgetown degree.

In the end, pointing out that the DNC fecked over Sanders amounts to arguing on the DNC’s terms. There’s little tactical value in illustrating something that a vast majority of people already intuit.
 
Gillibrand is a hypocrite. She has built her public profile as being someone who champions women empowerment.

 
Gillibrand is a hypocrite. She has built her public profile as being someone who champions women empowerment.



Much like the likes of Klobuchar, Inslee, Gabbard, Hickenlooper etc., Gillibrand little to no constituency or star power to move the needle in a Presidential campaign. Her only key issue ("sexism") has now been removed so I would imagine she will fade rapidly from here and likely do a Scott Walker and bow out early.
 
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