US Politics
- Thread starter Nick 0208 Ldn
- Start date
A little bit more about CNN...
Yeah it's fascism. The American right is collectively descending into fascism. Not all of it, but fascism has never needed a full majority to take power. The Nazis only got into power because the conservatives (and the liberals, honestly) put them there.
Please someone answer me this.
If for example, for the next presidential elections, the results were as follow:
Trump/DeSantis gets 40% of the votes,
The DNC candidate gets 25% of the votes and AOC running solo gets 35% of the votes.
What would happen next? Is there a second round or Trump/DeSantis win?
If for example, for the next presidential elections, the results were as follow:
Trump/DeSantis gets 40% of the votes,
The DNC candidate gets 25% of the votes and AOC running solo gets 35% of the votes.
What would happen next? Is there a second round or Trump/DeSantis win?
T/D win. We saw something similar in 1992.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_United_States_presidential_election
Nothing happens next as the popular vote means feck all and the electoral college votes matter. If those %'s stand for electoral college votes then the House would pick the winner from the top 3 candidates.
It's bonkers that these are people in real positions of power saying this stuff. WTF is going on? It's like we hit the Bullet Bill button for Idiocracy.
Click on the tweet…
Moms for Liberty. Is there a dumber country than the US currently?
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Based on the few years I spent teaching HS, and the absolute batshit craziness of some of my parents, I am sure I would have been reported if I worked in a current day public school. Getting screamed at by a parent because little Johnny was failing (little Johnny turned in no homework and failed every test) and be told I needed to fix things, or having parents complain I was teaching evolution (it was a Catholic school) was fantastic. I also highlighted Black biologists whose work was foundational in science every February (if we did not cover them in the normal curriculum), that would probably get me fired now.
I can't tell if this dude is actually insane or just taking the piss. The video should start at the moment he gets up to speak.
Swatted
My first year employed I hardly spent money to payoff student loans as fast as I could. My friends just took the year off or worked odd jobs. Now they get a free $10k. Pretty dumb decision by Biden.
I got assaulted on the way home from work yesterday. I’m now furious that everyone else on that commute didn’t get assaulted!
That's a bad analogy but first I don't think $10k is meaningful enough to make a dent. The gov't wants these recent grads to plan their future - start a family, put a downpayment on a house or anything like that that stimulates the economy. $10k off the loan burden doesn't do much if you have $150k in debt or something like that.
Issue #2 is that 'canceling the debt' doesn't mean that liability is magically gone - the taxpayers would have to assume that 'canceled' debt in some form. So someone who's sacrificed to pay student loans now gets a double whammy in the form of higher taxes to pay for the student debt cancellations. There's absolutely a moral hazard issue there which @shamans is alluding to.
And then thirdly a one-off gift feels so arbitrary. What happens to incoming freshmen class, do they get any student debt relief? What about the people who will assume debt in 2 years? It's odd canceling student debt without tackling the root causes - exorbitant tuitions and predatory lending.
This is such a weak perspective, and it leads straight to nowhere. Good Thing X shouldn't happen because I didn't get Good Thing X.
I did the same, budgeted $40 a week for food while teaching high school. Would take home lunch leftovers to make it through the week. NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO DO THAT. Being pissed that others don't have to suffer like we did is just absurd. Good on him and good for young people who can actually live a bit. I hope they get more money.
I feel sorry for you. It must be a miserable existence to judge the whole world against your own situation and not feel joy for people who gain just because you didn’t.
Not surprised by the replied here. You don't get something good so no one should does not apply here and is a cheap way to twist the issue.
It's a clear message that the system does not reward you if you keep your head down and work. Taking on an absurd loan voluntarily or going for a degree with absolute no job prospects is not the same as wishing no one gets anything good.
I busted my ass to pay off my student loans. I could have invested that money. I could have just not worked a job. That's my opportunity cost gone.
It's also costing what $300 billion and added inflation. For what?
It's a clear message that the system does not reward you if you keep your head down and work. Taking on an absurd loan voluntarily or going for a degree with absolute no job prospects is not the same as wishing no one gets anything good.
I busted my ass to pay off my student loans. I could have invested that money. I could have just not worked a job. That's my opportunity cost gone.
It's also costing what $300 billion and added inflation. For what?
The average student loan is around $30k the average American starting salary is $50k.
There is no reason a responsible adult cannot pay that off. I'm not someone against social welfare programs, but this is misdirected. A lot of students in student debt are not from low income or underprivileged families.
To make it worse this doesn't solve anything about the idea of making tuition affordable. It's a one time payment. That doesn't do anything to change the system of which id be supportive.
Me, me, me, me me!
I didn’t get to do this! I didn’t get to do that! I had to suffer! I had to do BLAH BLAH BLAH!
If you can’t see that helping people who put in the graft and time to seek higher education shouldn’t have to be burdened with an anchor of massive debt when they enter the workplace, then quite frankly I feel sorry for you.
Life is not a zero-sum game.
It was wrong that you had to bust your ass to write-off the debt. It’s not wrong that others are getting help, especially now!
Some of the crucial roles in society: Social Work, education, etc. do NOT have starting salaries of $50k. Moreover, both of those roles require advanced degrees on many cases. So should only wealthy people be able to do those? If not, should they suffer crippling debt because they chose to serve?
Plenty of people complain about tax cuts for the rich?
Devil's advocate: people with college degrees will earn more over the course of their lifetime than people without a college degree. So why prioritize them over non-college folks?
Anyway, it's not that I particularly disagree with the policy but my fundamental issue is that it's a bandaid. Will tuition go down or will we have the same student loan problem again in 10 years? What policy will be implemented to tackle the high tuition?
Not specifically attacking Biden or the Democrats here, at least they're trying. Republicans are hopeless.
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not a big overlap with those who are complaining about the debt forgiveness
But you're ok with the ludicrous military budget? Or paying trillions to invade other countries?
Or huge tax cuts for the rich? Or their many tax dodges?
It's all me, me,.me. and worried someone will get something for nothing and that it's not fair. Well life isn't fair, but most countries try to make things as fair as possible.
The USA is an exception and one of the most selfish countries on the planet. Also one of the most hypocritical and brainwashed.
Society is judged upon how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable citizens. And in that reapect the USA fails badly, because of too many with attitudes like yours.
I would actually argue, tongue firmly in cheek, that the US is one of the least selfish countries in the world. Every election 45% of our population votes completely against their own self interest to the benefit of the 1% who would happily watch them all die.
Sorry for generalising, it's just attitudes like @shamans piss me off. Obviously it's not the whole country, and I've many friends and family in the US, and from years of being on forums like this, and formerly having a music business where 50% of my customers were from the US, many of whom I'm still in contact with, I know full well it's not the entire country.
No worries, and I would say don’t even get mad at @shamans . I bet he is actually a good dude, just one we disagree with and with whom I have had many a good conversation. The issue, for me, is that the fallacy of the “American Dream(tm)” is predicated on “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” and demonizes receiving a helping hand. This is not an accident, but a tactic to suggest that success done with aid is somehow less noteworthy. It completely ignores the inequality of where individuals begin.
My dad and I went to the same university. His tuition, for 4 years, was less than $5K and he was able to pay for it completely by working summers and after school a few hours a week. My tuition, 25 years later, was $70K for 4 years. I worked 30 hours a week, year round, and still left school with $30k in debt. That same school is now around $150k for 4 years (no room and board or books or fees).
The college expense reality that those criticizing debt forgiveness lived in is not in the same universe as the current reality. It just isn’t. So either we limit the potential of teenagers (kids!!!) based, not on their ability, but their parents wealth, or we acknowledge that debt is an necessary evil that we must do whatever we can to mitigate.
Yep. FSU has gone from $39 a credit hour when I went there to $275 an hour now. This is for instate students.
In no universe has FSU’s quality of education increased sevenfold in the past 30 years, but they are charging like it has.
If they put the graft and time they wouldn't be taking years off after college partying it up and not understanding basic money management. Those that did are getting punished for it.
What you don't understand is this $300 billion doesn't grow on trees. It will cause inflation and it will cause pain to thousands of families.
This is nothing but a stupid band aid for Biden to boost votes for upcoming election. Spinning it as a crutch for those in need is disingenuous
College tuition fees are a problem. This is not the solution. I would have no problem if this money was given to those with poorer backgrounds but that sort of check is not going into this. There is no check for underprivileged..