jkcerda on 4/2/2020 at 23:04
Quote Posted by Nicker
Never said public ownership was IMMUNE to corruption, just more resistant. That's an issue of administration, how well you set up checks and balances. My point is that a public system can preserve value better than a private one. If you want to address that general observation, fine, but don't do so by switching topics. That's a category error.
It is easier to hide corruption in private systems and they incentivise abuse for profit. That's the point. Public is better. It doesn't have to be perfect.
let me rephrase, public in YOUR country is better, here? it's a damn corrupt mess.
Renzatic on 5/2/2020 at 00:00
Quote Posted by jkcerda
let me rephrase, public in YOUR country is better, here? it's a damn corrupt mess.
Corruption is an issue, but the major problem with the US is that we have two groups of people, each adhering to similar, though different enough to be considered opposing ideologies. The constant tug-of-war strain between the two means that nothing ends up working as well as it should.
Medicare is the best example of this. At its most basic, it's a social program through and through: a service provided by the government to we the people, paid for by our tax dollars. Republicans don't particularly like medicare, believing that any healthcare should be wholly funded through opt-in paid programs, or by employers. Every time we end up with a majority Republican government, they end up weakening Medicare, pushing people towards private solutions to fill the void they create. The end result is something that leans on the free market, but isn't exactly free market itself. It a half-assed conglomeration that doesn't do anyone any favors. Then the Democrats come in, attempt to fix what's broken through new public services, but it doesn't go far enough, keeping some of what the Republicans engineered in play. End result? A slightly different half-assed conglomeration that doesn't do anyone any favors. And so this all goes back and forth. The Republicans can't pull us out of Medicare completely, because too many people like it, and are reliant on it. The Democrats can't make it a wholly social program, because it'd harm business interests reliant on it, leaving thousands without jobs, and it'd probably end up screwing over a bunch of people in the short term during the readjustment phase. No one's quite willing to compromise on the issue, and no one really wants to do anything about it due to the political backlash that'll arise is the attempt. And thus we have Medicare, an overly expensive, inefficient program that changes its benefits and requirements depending upon who's in charge that day, which only works for a small percentage of the population.
See also: Obamacare.
Renzatic on 5/2/2020 at 05:29
I've been reading up on stuff, and I've gotta say, I think Trump will more than likely win this upcoming election. He's an incumbent with a strong economy backing him up. That alone puts the odds in his favor. With the impeachment failing (which even if you think it's rigged, it's still been played in his favor), and the Democrats fucking up their own caucus in Iowa, it seems the fates are smiling on him.
The Republicans might be venal and corrupt, but Trump can put on a good show, and the Democrats always come across as bumbling idiots no matter what they do. The Republicans are simply better at playing the political game than they are, and with the arrival of Trump, they've chased the naysayers from the party, and have become a unified force.
Starker on 5/2/2020 at 06:38
Yeah, that's how they won sweeping victories at midterms. Oh, wait.
Iowa caucuses don't look good, sure, especially with your media so eager to sensationalise everything. Already Republicans are spinning a conspiracy that DNC has fixed the result for Buttigieg, that well-known Democratic establishment candidate from a small Midwestern city whose name everyone had to learn to pronounce during the last year.
If he runs against Bernie, sure, Lord Dampnut winning seems more likely than not. Republicans have clearly been salivating at the prospect and Lord Dampnut has even been trying out a few communist lines as a small taste of things to come.
Renzatic on 5/2/2020 at 06:40
Why the hell would they rig it for Buttigieg? He's a practical unknown with only middling poll numbers. If they were gonna rig it, they'd rig it for Biden or Warren.
Starker on 5/2/2020 at 06:42
Makes sense as much as any conspiracy theory. But the main point of it is that DNC and Democrats are sooo corrupt.
Renzatic on 5/2/2020 at 06:49
You know that talking smack about our next president could be considered sedition, right?
Starker on 5/2/2020 at 06:51
Waiting for a drone strike to gentrify my neighbourhood as we speak.
Renzatic on 5/2/2020 at 07:00
What? Do we have drones dropping Starbucks on people now or something? THAT'S AWESOME!
