POLL: Political Rhetoric and the Role of Government

[JoeB131]

So it's not quite the 2.5 TRILLION "We" spend.

Did you eat paint chips as a child? I mean, I've explained it to you twice and you really didn't understand the point I was making, so I am not sure explaining it to you a THIRD time would help.

 

[JoeB131]

This is patently false.

Nope!

Trump Thought Only Black People Were on Welfare

President Donald Trump is apparently unaware that not all—in fact, the vast majority—of welfare recipients are not black, according to a new report.

www.newsweek.com

In fact, whites are the biggest beneficiaries when it comes to government safety-net programs like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, commonly referred to as welfare.

White people without a college degree ages 18 to 64 are the largest class of adults lifted out of poverty by such programs, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The think tank's 2017 report stated that 6.2 million working-age whites were lifted above the poverty line in 2014 compared to 2.8 million blacks and 2.4 million Hispanics.

 

[Pellinore]

On the one hand, I want to say yes, because the answers seems to indicate that you want to differentiate between governments being on a spectrum, or a sort of on/off left/right binary toggle. Of course, it is the former.

But then I kind of also want to say no, because there are several spectrums along which the government(s) can slide: who in the society has the power to make change, who controls the industry, who deserves the benefits of the society, whether to make change to fix social problems or to preserve the society as it is, and so on.

I will say this: Nothing is binary. I will often use the metaphor of a football field, with the red side and the blue side and each person having their own yard line for different issues, plus a general zone they tend to hang out in overall. That metaphor has limitations, though, because it only shows an X axis.

I mean, it's politics. It by definition has as many variations as there are people, if you want to zoom in far enough.

 

[Thinker101]

Did you eat paint chips as a child? I mean, I've explained it to you twice and you really didn't understand the point I was making, so I am not sure explaining it to you a THIRD time would help.

Someone sure was sniffin the glue, and probably still does. Your point was BS, I know it, you know it, we all know it.

 

[SweetTea]

Nope!

Trump Thought Only Black People Were on Welfare

President Donald Trump is apparently unaware that not all—in fact, the vast majority—of welfare recipients are not black, according to a new report.

www.newsweek.com

In fact, whites are the biggest beneficiaries when it comes to government safety-net programs like the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, commonly referred to as welfare.

White people without a college degree ages 18 to 64 are the largest class of adults lifted out of poverty by such programs, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The think tank's 2017 report stated that 6.2 million working-age whites were lifted above the poverty line in 2014 compared to 2.8 million blacks and 2.4 million Hispanics.

Maybe you just aren’t familiar with what proportionality means. That is the only explanation I have for your ignorance on this matter. You drink the kool-aid these media outlets provie you because they even know that most of their readers are just dense enough not to question it.

 

[MinTrut]

Lots of talk and controversy about communism and socialism nowadays. In an attempt to clarify definitions and positions, here is a very clear and simple question that will help us understand what others think about the role of government:

Does the role, scope, cost and size of government exist along a continuum?

Simple as that. Please vote and comment.

‘Professor or comrade?’ Republicans go full red scare on Soviet-born Biden pick

Senator asks Saule Omarova, nominated to be comptroller of the currency, if he should call her ‘professor or comrade’

www.theguardian.com

Ha!

You're just pissing in the wind, but funny poll.

 

[MinTrut]

On the one hand, I want to say yes, because the answers seems to indicate that you want to differentiate between governments being on a spectrum, or a sort of on/off left/right binary toggle. Of course, it is the former.

But then I kind of also want to say no, because there are several spectrums along which the government(s) can slide: who in the society has the power to make change, who controls the industry, who deserves the benefits of the society, whether to make change to fix social problems or to preserve the society as it is, and so on.

I will say this: Nothing is binary. I will often use the metaphor of a football field, with the red side and the blue side and each person having their own yard line for different issues, plus a general zone they tend to hang out in overall. That metaphor has limitations, though, because it only shows an X axis.

I mean, it's politics. It by definition has as many variations as there are people, if you want to zoom in far enough.

 

[Mac1958]

Ha!

You're just pissing in the wind, but funny poll.

Funny how those who scream COMMUNISM at everything that moves don't want to answer the question.

Obviously they know that doing so honestly would make them look silly.

 

[Mac1958]

What will be the consequences if this ^^^ fools desire becomes the law?

We may have to reach the conclusion that America is indeed not better than that.

The events of the last six years may be a clue, not a temporary aberration.

 

[JoeB131]

Someone sure was sniffin the glue, and probably still does. Your point was BS, I know it, you know it, we all know it.

Not at all, Chippy... the point is, white people are perfectly fine with "socialism" when it benefits them. You call it an "entitlement" instead of "Welfare", and that makes it okay. The reality is, the government spends a lot of money keeping middle class people from turning into poor people, and republicans are all for it. If we hadn't, we'd have had a socialist revolution last year when everyone lost their homes and jobs due to TRUMP PLAGUE.

 

[JoeB131]

We may have to reach the conclusion that America is indeed not better than that.

The events of the last six years may be a clue, not a temporary aberration.

Why just the last six years, Vichy Mac? You keep acting like any of this is new. The only thing that has changed is that unlike Reagan or Nixon, Trump wasn't nearly as slick in getting working class whites to vote against their own interests....

But this is nothing new...

 

[JoeB131]

Maybe you just aren’t familiar with what proportionality means. That is the only explanation I have for your ignorance on this matter. You drink the kool-aid these media outlets provie you because they even know that most of their readers are just dense enough not to question it.

Most people on welfare are white... sorry, guy. And that's actual welfare, not entitlements to keep white people from becoming poor people and demanding change.

We spend just enough money to keep people from changing things... some of you are happy living with less as long as you have a little more than the darkies, and that makes you happy.

That's why many of you lost your shit when Obama became president.

 

[j-mac]

Not a lot of direct answers to the direct question.

That in itself is instructive.

How many of these “gotcha” threads are you going to start?

You want a direct answer? Here ya go….

Honesty.

Try it sometime.

 

[Mac1958]

How many of these “gotcha” threads are you going to start?

You want a direct answer? Here ya go….

Honesty.

Try it sometime.

You're welcome to point out any lies. As a Trumpster, no doubt you'll run, instead.

I can always tell when I've effectively shoved a mirror in your face. Like right now.

Tough shit.

 

[j-mac]

You're welcome to point out any lies. As a Trumpster, no doubt you'll run, instead.

I can always tell when I've effectively shoved a mirror in your face. Like right now.

Tough shit.

Oh, please explain…Mirror? About what exactly? You asked for a direct answer, I gave you one. And you still made up this bs to post…

 

[JoeB131]

You're welcome to point out any lies. As a Trumpster, no doubt you'll run, instead.

I can always tell when I've effectively shoved a mirror in your face. Like right now.

Tough shit.

Says the guy who puts people on ignore if they contradict him too often.

 

[kyzr]

Every so often a thread shows links to these types of political Rorschach Tests and then asks you to honestly put your score in the poll.

Political Typology Quiz

Take our quiz to find out which one of our nine political typology groups is your best match.

www.pewresearch.org

Political Coordinates Test

This test will give you your political coordinates.

www.idrlabs.com

 

[SweetTea]

Most people on welfare are white... sorry, guy. And that's actual welfare, not entitlements to keep white people from becoming poor people and demanding change.

Yes, because most people in the country are white. What don't you understand? PROPORTIONALLY, there are more African Americans and Hispanics on welfare.

I don't mean that as a slam on African Americans or Hispanics, just stating the actual facts of the matter.

 

[Dragonlady]

A better question would be to what extent should government be allowed to infringe on the private lives of it's citizens?

Those who believe that government should be empowered to redistribute wealth and determine social norms are often euphemistically called socialists or communists when in fact they should be called weak, immature and irresponsible.

Government shouldn't decide how to spend and shape our lives, people in each locality should maintain that power. Most politicians have never held a meaningful job and yet we somehow believe that they are gifted to guide our every endeavor.

There is a country that has passed power to the people of each locality. Do you know which one?

.

Nothing in your post is true. You assume that the government hasn’t been redistributing wealth since day one. The moment you instituted a tax coat you decided who was going to get to keep the money.

Only in the USA do the top 10% get 80% of the wealth. It didn’t used to be like this before Republicans started cutting taxes for the top 10% in 1981. You’ve now reached the point where the wealthy get everything in the working people are scrambling for crumbs.

Your economy is not growing because working people in the middle class don’t have disposable income. Their wages haven’t written in 40 years. Because all of the excess income since 1980 flowed to the top.

Republicans have killed the goose that laid the golden egg by keeping working people in poverty. There is no supply and demand because without disposable income, there is no demand. As we just have stagnated, so has the growth of your GDP which is now dependent on exports to the rest of the world since your people can’t afford the products you’re creating.

In the rest of the world first world, the wealthy get no more than 50% of the income and working people get a share of the wealthy create. When Reagan was elected, working people owned 5% of the wealth of America. Today they are nothing and they’re dependent on government handouts in the form of food stamps, earned income credit, and section 8 housing.

Republicans have already decided who gets the money and it’s not you or anyone else who earns less. Than a million per year.

 

[Dragonlady]

Yes, because most people in the country are white. What don't you understand? PROPORTIONALLY, there are more African Americans and Hispanics on welfare.

I don't mean that as a slam on African Americans or Hispanics, just stating the actual facts of the matter.

And why is that Dumb Butthead American? Why are minorities more likely to be poor than white people?

Low quality inner-city schools with few textbooks, computers or other resources. The USA is the only first world country outside of Turkey (which is hardly a first world country), to spend more on the education of the children of the rich then they do the children of the poor. Norway actually spends more on the poor kids, to give them a better opportunity to work their way out of poverty.

The Republicans have been trying for decades to eliminate public education and move to entirely charter school system. Minority children completely disappear from the school system in areas where this has been tried because their parents lack the resources to make up the difference between the voucher and the cost.

The New Orleans School Board tried this after Katrina and it was a failure. Enrolment in the new charter schools dropped by 60,000 kids after public schools closed.

Then there’s a lack of opportunity when they do get out of school. Few jobs and lots of competition. Studies have shown that when they mix up the resumes and put black names on white resumes, the black names don’t get called for interviews.

But keep pretending there is no racism in America and that Black people are lazy and stupid. That’s why we call you a Dumb Butthead American.