Politics

America's problem is race. It's always been race. There is a solid block of white people, mostly in the Southeast but also in small towns all over the country, who almost always vote for the party that support nativist/discriminatory policies, regardless of whether or not those policies are good for them or not. These people have in short had their votes co-opted. The leaders of their party don't do anything for them but they don't have to as long as they use a bit of racial code-talk from time to time these people keep supporting them.

That coalition, formed on racial politics, prevents those people from forming a different coalition on economic issues.

EDIT: I want to be clear that I do not mean all white people are like that. But there is a large faction, mostly in a particular region, who vote this way.

Health Care
Stimulus
Rescue auto industry
Dodd-Frank Securities regulation
Remove ban on gays in the military
Begin withdrawal from Iraq

Obama actually did a with the House and the Senate. The question is "Why didn't Obama solve all the problems when Democrats has majorities in the House and the Senate.

Most importantly you should know that in the US Senate any law has to have 60% vote to pass. Moreover the Senate is base on geographical location instead of population. So you have about 30-35 Senators who represent about 10% of the US population plus a few other Senators block everything that Obama wants to do.

 

That doesn't explain how most voters in the US are independent, rather than joining a political party.

And the race issue still goes in line with the two-party political system being fundamentally flawed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Health Care
Stimulus
Rescue auto industry
Dodd-Frank Securities regulation
Remove ban on gays in the military
Begin withdrawal from Iraq

Obama actually did a with the House and the Senate. The question is "Why didn't Obama solve all the problems when Democrats has majorities in the House and the Senate.

Most importantly you should know that in the US Senate any law has to have 60% vote to pass. Moreover the Senate is base on geographical location instead of population. So you have about 30-35 Senators who represent about 10% of the US population plus a few other Senators block everything that Obama wants to do. </div></div>The Dodd-Frank bill has almost no power right now. And it's looking likely that most of it will get fucked in the near future.

 

Keynesian economics makes perfect sense. Businesses need customers and nothing else. If the individual people don't have enough money to be customers then the government has become the customer for more of the businesses.

The current US economy is in need of more than just stimulus. The US economy needs policiy changes/laws/trade deals that rebalance the economy and make it easier for US citizens to sell their labor.

As far as race goes, my overall point was that the two party system isn't the big problem. The problem is that such a large block of voters don't respond to economic issues or fiscal policy. They respond to code talk about racial issues and lies about racial issues. If they would respond to economic issues, US policy wouldn't get this far out of hand, because they would bring the pressure to the politicians to do make attempts to fix their economic problems.

On the citizenship...

The US gives out citizenship because the 14th Amendment had to be written in such a way that no government in a confederate state could find a way to say that an African-American was not a US Citizen. Hence, it was written that if you are born on US soil then you are a citizen.

Actually its foolish when you think that someone could come into the US illegally and already pregnant give birth and that child is a US citizen. But racial issues prevent us from seeing clearly. Because we have to legislate so that the racists can't distort the law we get stuff like this.

EDIT:

Obama is light-years better than Bush, and much different.

 

Neocons are conservatives, aka Republicans.

So you're right, Republicans destroyed the balance of power in our system and it's now completely tilted in the wrong direction. When huge corporations like Walmart hire two people for one job so they don't have to provide benefits to either, that is just one example in a sea of corporate cruelty and greed -- it breaks my heart to see it.

Then you think about something like the 5 conservative Justices on the Supreme Court approving Citizens United so these guys can just pour unlimited amounts of money behind their narrow, destructive interests.

I also want to throw this out there... We have high unemployment, but I have been reading that there ARE jobs out there but people aren't mobile enough to get to them every day. THAT, my friends, is why high-speed rail would be such a huge boon for this country. It will make it easier for people to commute longer distances, faster, so they can actually GET to where the jobs are. It doesn't use gasoline and it doesn't pollute, it also creates jobs just to build it. We have to push through high-speed rail.

I see the Republicans as being staunchly anti-progress. It's as if they somehow think if they erase all the progress that the US has made since WWII that we'll be better off -- but obviously we won't. Stop cutting taxes for the richest of the rich and lets do big things as a country.

The entire Republican platform seems to have devolved to just funneling more money to billionaires in the hopes that they will kick it back to the Republican party in giant donations. They're basically doing favors for the top 2% in return for bribes *cough* I mean donations.

Now the Repubs want to increase the payroll tax, but KEEP the Bush tax-cuts-for-the-rich?!? They'd rather raise taxes on 48% of the country then raise them for the richest 2%! Something is very, VERY WRONG with this picture -- this is a sinister and stunningly hypocritical party.

 

Some parts of Keynesian economics makes sense if money is viewed as a representation of debt rather than value.





Let's not forget that in a democratic country, the people expect the government to control the economy. Leaving it to the free market leaves them very open for criticism.

Also, Keynesian economics does work. It's just compared to the alternatives (e.g. Austrian economics), it's very inefficient.

 

BTW, this whole Obama is a Republican is such utter bullshit.

He has to work within the same political confines as any other President presiding over divided government.

I see one of the biggest problems as being this: Only one side is really working for the good of the country, the other is trying to stealthy do as much harm as they can.

The political ire towards Obama has really gone up since the debt ceiling deal, but what was he really going to do? Let us go into default??? Of course not, his FIRST job is to protect the American people, so if one side is willing to cut the baby in half, that gives them a lot of leverage. Further, it shows how truly disinterested the Republicans and Tea Baggers are in REAL solutions and also how rudimentary their understanding how America and our economy works.

When Americans are informed with the same, real facts, they make the same decisions over 70% of the time. Therein lies the horrific effect the station like FOX Lies and people like Rush Limbaugh have on our political system, one side is making all their voting decisions based on a set of made-up, false facts.

 

Ah...

See, in America, especially when it concerns the media, people want their companies to stand up for SOMETHING.

Fox took advantage of that. It's why it's the most popular network on cable. Conservatives felt they got shafted in their views, Fox filled that void.

Meanwhile, everyone else uses other "objective" media groups as they prefer to find out about fact rather than opinions.

 

John Robb is an interesting fellow. he wrote a very good book called Brave New War. I like his blog quite a bit and thought I'd share it here since it was relevant.

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/glob...capitalism.html

 

So here's the latest chain-post on my friend's Facebook. It's a cobbled mess imo, based on a more "conservative" picture of the USA (and North Korea, Afghanistan, and Iran) and I think it creates a very bizarre argument. Yeah, not really my point of view...

My response was wondering if the original poster wanted the United States to be more like North Korea, Afghanistan, or Iran and whether they think those countries never had economic issues (though apparently Iran's lifting of local gas subsidies is helping their current economy).

I understand people being frustrated with immigration issues, though I think it's far from the largest contributor to job issues. In my work I still have trouble getting american born citizens to do the amount of work as legalized Mexicans do in certain positions without quitting after 3 months because it's not a path to management. And I'm having trouble convincing a 20 year-old that is complaining about lack of jobs and being unemployed that sometimes you just take the job at McDonalds if it's there (but she says she could never work there, can't stand the smell). But yeah, on principles there are major issues with our immigration system--but we're also not the only country with this. Every country I've been to, and many that I have not been to, has this problem (you wouldn't think a third world country like Thailand has this, but you have a lot of illegal immigrants from all neighboring countries and from India--in Japan, you have illegal Thai people working all over the place there too and Japan is super strict).

Anyhow, despite whatever I think of immigration or even how lax I am about it... Regarding this chain-post, I found it to be a humorously cobbled together piece of political venting. No offense to my friend to whom it speaks out to as it echoes his feelings and/or frustrations.

-Chanchai

 

Yeah I understand illegal immigration is a really tough issue to approach but, does he want us to be more like North Korea/Afghanistan and Iran like you said? lol

Honestly I'd say illegal immigration probably the toughest issue to address in the U.S. Economic problems are tough to tackle but the choices needed are usually clear (people are just unwilling to go along with them). My only real gripe with our current state of illegal immigration that I've seen is the medical treatment an illegal immigrant can receive (albeit usually not the best), for the lack of money they owe. Whereas a legal citizen may go bankrupt trying to pay for a needed operation. This may fall back more on our medical system as a whole but it's still frustrating.

 

Healthcare is definitely a topic loaded with eggshells, tripwires, and landmines...

I'll admit I'm a bit more left-leaning on healthcare though there's really a HUGE SPECTRUM of thought on the variety of ways to deal with it.

However, I have the same concern you do. As for where I tend to post blame or attribute cause... Because lately I've been left-leaning, I tend to take the position that yeah, that has to do with policies of health providers and/or institutions that provide coverage of health care. It is frustrating that healthcare can bankrupt a family or worse when they're trying to do it the "right way."

At the same time though, I tend to feel that health providers should not just simply turn a blind eye to those who really do ("really do" is a highly debatable topic) need help. But of course in those cases, society has to pickup the tab.

Anyways, again, very difficult topic and one that can take a life's amount of time debating

 

I think the US' healthcare issue could be solved with the govt picking up the tab if one can't get covered by the healthcare company because of pre-existing conditions.

Except I think it's as unconstitutional as the current bill you guys have right now.

Kinda implies that the constitution isn't all that it's cracked up to be right now. Maybe.

 

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/88421/ron-pauls-racism

More food for thought: http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/152120/...ers?page=entire

http://www.salon.com/news/david_sirota/2011/08/05/obama_fdr_debt_ceiling (I'm sure at least some of you have seen this one, though)

 

I feel that the usual reason behind this rant is...

WAAAHHHHH! I want all this for myself!

 

Colorful indeed.

 

Ah yes, black people are the real racists. I haven't heard this one before.

 

Or maybe being the president of the United States is just a hard job.

Maybe the simple fact is that you can't please everyone.

Maybe if there were simple easy fixes to our economic problems, we would have used them a long time ago, and there would be other countless success stories around the globe.

Maybe being the first black president in a country where just sixty years ago they couldn't drink out of the same water fountain as whites is a feat that should be celebrated by all ethnicities.

Maybe black people like him for representing the culmination of decades of fighting for equality.

Of maybe he's a crook, you're all idiots, and he'll be laughing maniacally as your country crashes and burns.

Meh.

 

I might not have fled from anything, but there are a lot of refugees in various East Asian countries for a variety of reasons. I might be misunderstanding which usage of the term "fled" you mean though.

I don't know if there's anything hypocritical in your example though, because that's more about domestic policy over immigration in which case, to each country their own. I don't think there's a real sense of reciprocity on how many of our citizens you take because we took such and such of yours with things like that.

But certainly there are topics such as xenophobia in society, prejudice, etc...

I'm pretty sure Japan and China have handed citizenship to caucasians and blacks. As for how many compared to other races, that's something we can be concerned about if we want--though I really have no idea in that regard. For example, I really have no idea how many Chinese or Koreans are granted citizenship in Japan each year, but I haven't tried to look either.

Also, in Thailand (where my family is from) there are A LOT of Caucasians (among other groups including Blacks) that share dual citizenship with Thailand. Though usually this has to do with retirement.

 

You know what I think we should do guys? I think we should elect a republican for the next president. And I don't mean Ron Paul, I mean whatever tool the republican party actually decides to nominate. Right now we're not getting anywhere. Even with Obama's best efforts, we are still at best treading water. You can debate all you want about the man's effectiveness, but the fact of the matter is I don't know anyone else with a snowball's chance in hell of getting elected that could actually do better.

So what we need isn't four more years of painfully slow slide into mediocrity. No, what we need to do is pour some fuel on the fire. We have not yet reached the critical mass it would take for real change. There is still way to much complacency, and too many people afraid of losing what they have. In order for people to be willing to accept drastic changes, we don't need to rock the boat, we need to capsize it. I don't know about you guys, but I think four years of someone like Michele Bachmann might just do the trick. With someone like that in office, and congress on their side, the damage they could do to this country would be catastrophic. If their incompetence got us to somewhere around 30% unemployment, I think we would be in good shape for some serious fucking changes.

By the way, hasn't anyone else figured out that the real reason for the persistently high unemployment, is the fact that we have replaced too many jobs with automation? Who needs thousands of postal workers when you have e-mail? Who needs millions of factory workers when you have robots? Who needs people manning the cash registers in stores when you can do automated checkouts? Hell, who even needs the stores when you can just order everything online? They still need people to drive the delivery trucks, but they're working on solving that problem too.

This type of automation has been eroding the labor market for twenty years, but it took the housing bubble popping for companies to finally start eliminating the redundant jobs that were holding the employment numbers up. Now that those positions have been eliminated, they are never coming back. All the work that needs to get done is getting done, so they're not needed. Even with millions of workers still cashing unemployment checks, no new demand is being generated.

This is a pretty big fucking problem, but there are solutions. It's just that they're all pretty drastic, and would require people to actually recognize what the problem is before there's any chance of them being implemented. In the mean time, I guess I'll just sit back and watch the politicians twiddle their thumbs while Rome burns.

 

Tengu - Stormfront.org is probably more your speed. Seriously.