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Time for something different?

MaggieD

DP Veteran
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Messages
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Location
Chicago Area
Gender
Female
Political Leaning
Moderate
  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
  • Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.
  • Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.
  • Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.
  • Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.
  • People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.
  • Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.
  • Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.
  • Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.
  • The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.
  • We are marching down the road to socialism.
  • The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

If I thought longer, my list would grow.

The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Is it time to try something different? What might that be?
 
  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
  • Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.
  • Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.
  • Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.
  • Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.
  • People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.
  • Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.
  • Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.
  • Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.
  • The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.
  • We are marching down the road to socialism.
  • The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

If I thought longer, my list would grow.

The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Is it time to try something different? What might that be?
I cannot disagree, the path we are on is not to a good destination.
 
There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.

And that's all coming from the left. All of it.

Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.

Interest is based on the ability to repay the debt. The better your credit rating, the better your interest will be. People who buy on installment are almost guaranteed to have poor credit, thus they get higher interest rates. That's just how it works.

Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.

I just bought a house and it wasn't expensive at all. My mortgage is positively cheap and my interest rate is in the 2s.

Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.

That's absolutely true.

Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.

That's also true, caused almost entirely by public sector unions demanding high wages and cities (and states) capitulating without having any means of actually paying it.

People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.

To a certain degree. The real cause of high health care are the insurance industries, which add another layer of expense to the system. If people would just pay for their expenses out of their own pockets and the insurance industry went away entirely, things wouldn't be nearly so expensive. You also have to remember that a huge part of medical expense is the ridiculous amounts of malpractice insurance that doctors have to carry, in the off-chance that some disgruntled patient decides to sue. I've got friends who are doctors who have never had anything bad happen in their lives, yet pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums, just in case. That money has to come from somewhere.

Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.

I don't even know if that is as big a problem as people make it out to be. The real problem is that you have groups like BLM that preach violence against the police, but don't bother saying "don't commit crimes". Law abiding citizens rarely have problems.

Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.

Again, by the political left.

Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.

Agreed. We need to take only people that are the best for the country. Just because you want to come here doesn't mean we should want you.

The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.

That's the fault of the government, which started handing out money willy-nilly so that anyone could go to college. The universities, knowing the government will just give them whatever they charge, started jacking up their rates. And because students don't have to work hard to go to college, they don't work hard while they are there and they often get out of college with worthless degrees and can't get a job and pay off their debts.

We are marching down the road to socialism.

Again, blame the left. Are we seeing a pattern here?

The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

But that's because the American people are stupid and lazy. It's easier to just keep voting the same crooked idiots in than to think about what we really need. And because of that, people we really need in office don't bother to run because they know that the American people will vote for someone offering free stuff over someone who tells the truth.
 
  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
Why do you say that? I ask, because that's demonstrably not true at all. Your early life would've still been the Civil Rights Era, and the 70s the ongoing backlash to the advancements made during the 60s. The 80s and 90s were ungodly terrible for racial minorities in this country. The crack epidemic, the late 80s crime wave, the 90s race riots, the rise of street gangs, the beginning of mass incarceration, and so on. The 00s were an improvement but they weren't better than they are today.

Our racial discord we're seeing today is absolutely nothing new. It's pretty same old same old. What has been changing though is that middle-aged, white people are now starting to "see" what it's like to be a racial minority in this country. Or national media and most of white America would've completely ignored how cops shoot black men or black churches getting shot up by white nationalist just a decade ago. However now events like those and people's thoughts of them are being taken to task.
 
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Why do you say that? I ask, because that's demonstrably not true at all. Your early life would've still been the Civil Rights Era, and the 70s the ongoing backlash to the advancements made during the 60s. The 80s and 90s were ungodly terrible for racial minorities in this country. The crack epidemic, the late 80s crime wave, the 90s race riots, the rise of street gangs, the beginning of mass incarceration, and so on. The 00s were an improvement but they weren't better than they are today.

Our racial discord we're seeing today is absolutely nothing new. It's pretty same old same old. What has been changing though is that middle-aged, white people are now starting to "see" what it's like to be a racial minority in this country. Or national media and most of white America would've completely ignored how cops shoot black men or black churches getting shot up by white nationalist just a decade ago. However now events like those and people's thoughts of them are being taken to task.

I don't remember blacks advocating the killing of white cops nor remember a president insinuating that it's our own fault. Neither of these things is same old same old.
 
  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
  • Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.
  • Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.
  • Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.
  • Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.
  • People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.
  • Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.
  • Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.
  • Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.
  • The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.
  • We are marching down the road to socialism.
  • The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

If I thought longer, my list would grow.

The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Is it time to try something different? What might that be?

From what my dad told me once, he said the 1960's were worse- so keep your chin up, Maggie, its not as bad as you think it is! :)
 
  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
  • Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.
  • Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.
  • Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.
  • Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.
  • People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.
  • Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.
  • Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.
  • Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.
  • The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.
  • We are marching down the road to socialism.
  • The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

If I thought longer, my list would grow.

The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Is it time to try something different? What might that be?

Yes. That is a good discription of a growing portion of the citizenry.
 
  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
  • Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.
  • Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.
  • Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.
  • Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.
  • People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.
  • Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.
  • Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.
  • Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.
  • The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.
  • We are marching down the road to socialism.
  • The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

If I thought longer, my list would grow.

The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Is it time to try something different? What might that be?

My plan?

1. I don't think there is really as much racial discord as we think, it is just aggrandized via social media which tends to generate copy-cat attention seeking activity.
2. Interest rates ARE being generated to benefit corporations and banks to the detriment of the common consumer. IMO the Federal Reserve system and unlimited money is to blame. :shrug:
3. I can't speak to small business and home ownership issue because I have never owned a small business or a home.
4. We do have an excess of government agencies...but that's because people demand the services provided by them...if we demand them, we have to pay for them.
5. Public sector pensions are a problem and need cutting, but try to remember they are awarded for 20 or more years of public service dealing day in and out with people like us.
6. We NEED a real single-payer national healthcare system. The rich can still go see private doctors, but it would be cheaper to pay a health tax than pay for health insurance w/co-pays and deductibles.
7. Police do need more training and be held to a higher standard of care especially when using deadly force. However, people also need to learn how to deal with a police encounter and stop resisting.
8. The media publishes news to make a profit. They ARE creating news to sell advertising space. They should be held to a legal standard of honestly reporting.
9. We do need to modify immigration policy. We need to restrict immigration to applicant's committed to assimilation; and prevent long-term acceptance of migrant refugees.
10. College should not be a replacement for secondary school. Improve high school education, and then encourage counseling to divert people to vocational school or college depending on their actual capabilities.
 
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  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
  • Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.
  • Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.
  • Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.
  • Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.
  • People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.
  • Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.
  • Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.
  • Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.
  • The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.
  • We are marching down the road to socialism.
  • The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

If I thought longer, my list would grow.

The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Is it time to try something different? What might that be?

Respect yourself and learn to respect others. Stop talking about other people behind their back for your amusement. People are not your personal insurance policy, and apparently no one is ineffable. Learn to accept when you are wrong and move on instead of trying to justify your mistakes. We're at a crossroads and just yelling at one another about foreign policy isn't going to fix it. We need to start by changing our outlook on life in a way which doesn't negatively impact other people and is "too bad" if it's justified by our own personal worldview. Majority rules, and we can have a third party. Jill Stein is a sexy beast.
 
My plan?

1. I don't think there is really as much racial discord as we think, it is just publicized via social media which tends to generate copy-cat attention seeking activity.
2. Interest rates ARE being generated to benefit corporations and banks to the detriment of the common consumer. IMO the Federal Reserve system and unlimited money is to blame. :shrug:
3. I can't speak to small business and home ownership issue because I have never owned a small business of a home.
4. We do have an excess of government agencies...but that's because people demand the services provided by them...if we demand them, we have to pay for them.
5. Public sector pensions are a problem and need cutting, but try to remember they are awarded for 20 or more years of public service dealing day in and out with people like us.
6. We NEED a real single-payer national healthcare system. The rich can still go see private doctors, but it would be cheaper to pay a health tax than pay for health insurance w/co-pays and deductibles.

If the one payer system is a cut back Medicaid financed like the German one with a flat tax on income up to about $ 5.000 a month of ca 17 percent and Medicare is dumped, why not?
 
I don't remember blacks advocating the killing of white cops ...
Didn't both the 1980 Miami riots and 1992 LA/Rodney King riots happen because white cops were acquitted for killing/beating black men? Both resulted in mass riots with significant loss of life. :/ Or, I think there were a couple of riots that happened in the 2000s too after white cops killed or used excess force against black men.

... nor remember a president insinuating that it's our own fault. Neither of these things is same old same old.
Well, we've also never had a half-black President before either.
 
6. We NEED a real single-payer national healthcare system. The rich can still go see private doctors, but it would be cheaper to pay a health tax than pay for health insurance w/co-pays and deductibles.
If the one payer system is a cut back Medicaid financed like the German one with a flat tax on income up to about $ 5.000 a month of ca 17 percent and Medicare is dumped, why not?
Agreed with Captain Adverse. Healthcare is such an atypical "good" that it makes it rather difficult for normal market forces to operate effectively. We sorely need a single-payer healthcare system for basic medical services, and I can't believe that the USA, which still operates so much better than other countries, would fail to come up with an effective and fair public healthcare system.
 
Agreed with Captain Adverse. Healthcare is such an atypical "good" that it makes it rather difficult for normal market forces to operate effectively. We sorely need a single-payer healthcare system for basic medical services, and I can't believe that the USA, which still operates so much better than other countries, would fail to come up with an effective and fair public healthcare system.

Other benefits? It would eliminate public sector health costs at both State and Federal levels. That should save a lot of taxpayer money covering the bulk of government worker health benefits.

It would also take the burden off of business to provide health coverage, reducing costs and allowing for increased profits.

The only detriments:

1. Loss of profits for those companies in the insurance industry offering health insurance.

2. Loss of profits from the Pharmaceutical industry.

3. Salary limits for members of the Medical Professions.

I won't lose any sleep over any of those "detriments." :coffeepap:
 
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  • There is more racial discord in our country than at any other time in my life.
  • Interest rates are being kept artificially low, yet installment interest (which I consider a tax on the poor) is almost at an all-time high.
  • Governmental rules and regulations are impeding small business and driving up the cost of home ownership.
  • Government bodies have taken on a behemoth life of their own at taxpayer expense.
  • Public sector pensions are bankrupting our cities.
  • People using our hospital emergency rooms as primary care physician services are driving up the cost of medicine.
  • Police departments are inadequately training their LEOs in de-escalation and closing their eyes to misconduct.
  • Class warfare is being actively promoted in our political arena.
  • Our immigration policies are so outdated as to benefit the immigrant rather than the USA.
  • The cost of a college education is beyond the reach of the middle class without student loans that start out our graduates in crushing debt.
  • We are marching down the road to socialism.
  • The power of incumbency and lack of term limits make it almost impossible for new and innovative approaches to problem-solving to be implemented. The machine is in charge.

If I thought longer, my list would grow.

The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Is it time to try something different? What might that be?

I don't think you would have to put much thought into it to come up with a longer list.

The bolded. At this stage, there is only one possible answer. Definitely time to try something different.
 
Be afraid Maggie
Very afraid
And then vote according to your fear
Make the party happy
 
The race(tribe) problem was worse in 68 but we might still top it, but as a whole America is in the worst shape it has been Since WW2.

Ya, it is time for a change.
 
From what my dad told me once, he said the 1960's were worse- so keep your chin up, Maggie, its not as bad as you think it is! :)

They were. MUCH worse.

I don't want to interrupt a perfectly good circle jerk so I'll stay outta this. But, just for the record, the math, the statistics, debunk just about everything some of you seem to be in such a tizzy about. Just sayin'.

Popcorn anyone?
 
Agreed with Captain Adverse. Healthcare is such an atypical "good" that it makes it rather difficult for normal market forces to operate effectively. We sorely need a single-payer healthcare system for basic medical services, and I can't believe that the USA, which still operates so much better than other countries, would fail to come up with an effective and fair public healthcare system.

A medium service system like the German one has had to reneg on the quality promised the voters and paid for by labor. The relatively high tax on income was not enough to sustain the system.
 
I don't remember blacks advocating the killing of white cops nor remember a president insinuating that it's our own fault. Neither of these things is same old same old.

Back in the 1950's, there were still lynchings because of race. Emmett Till, a teen from Chicago, was lynched when he was visiting some relatives in Mississippi because he looked at a white woman. As for 'socialism'... if we had universal single payer health care, that would get rid of the 'use emergency rooms as doctors'.
 
Back in the 1950's, there were still lynchings because of race. Emmett Till, a teen from Chicago, was lynched when he was visiting some relatives in Mississippi because he looked at a white woman. As for 'socialism'... if we had universal single payer health care, that would get rid of the 'use emergency rooms as doctors'.

You'd still get illegal aliens doing it and they wouldn't be covered by any universal system.
 
I don't remember blacks advocating the killing of white cops nor remember a president insinuating that it's our own fault. Neither of these things is same old same old.

Which propaganda outlet did you get these talking points from?
 
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