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Originally Posted by Red Slinger
So, what's the solution for #1? Most left-leaning politicians and parties tend to argue that taxes for the middle class and poor should be lowered while taxes for the wealthy should be increased.
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The problem is nobody likes to regard themselves as 'the wealthy.' Obama tried to remove tax breaks for college savings plans, which are used almost entirely by the wealthiest 10-20 per cent of Americans. But members of his own party convinced him he had to back down because their constituents would scream bloody murder if they were cut. Those are people who politicians cannot afford to piss off.
The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy
Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do About It
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Slinger
They also argue that, at least in the case of the US, healthcare should be universal and a trip to the ER shouldn't bankrupt a family.
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Most Americans support universal health care. It's a case of the Republicans being captured by extremist elements of the party. So championing universal public health care is definitely a vote-winner, and something the left should continue to do.
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Originally Posted by Red Slinger
What solutions are right-leaning types offering for this economic anxiety?
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Pulling back from globalism. Closing borders to immigration. Tariffs. Devolving authority to local bodies.
I'm not suggesting those are good ideas. But the reason the right has been able to make political hay with economic protectionism is because the center-left has failed to sell the working class on the merits of globalism, or offered a way forward for those who struggle to succeed in a rapidly changing global economy. Everyone should move to the big city and become software developers or open artisinal bakeries isn't much of a solution to the mass social dislocation caused by globalism.
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Originally Posted by Red Slinger
The argument that political correctness is running amok has been overstated.
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You can't watch a newscast, turn on a talk show, or look at the front page of MSN, without people censuring others over transgressions of speech. A week doesn't go buy without a politician or celebrity being publicly denounced and shamed, often for saying things that the average person doesn't see any problem with. Of course this fosters resentment.
Americans Strongly Dislike PC Culture
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Slinger
You seem to beat this drum fairly regularly. What are you suggesting for a solution? Or to put it more crudely: what's your point?
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I substantiate my arguments thoroughly. Read the links I post. Or don't.