2020 Presidential Election

[Apocalipstic]

I don't want anything free. I am fine with paying more taxes, if that includes health care and education for all. Not free.

I don't believe this is about people too lazy to work. Its about systemic suppression and exploitation of the poor. Kind of like a feudal system.

We are only as strong as our weakest resident. And right now, with people in cages, we are pretty damn weak.

I will vote against Trump. Period.

I like Joe Biden, but do agree that he is losing weight and it makes him look feeble. I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Warren, but also like her being in the Senate. Bernie? Is consistent. Also fine with him. I am not sure yet who I will support in the primary.

I think if we make corporations and the rich pay taxes in the US, we can afford these things easily. No one child in the US should fall asleep hungry ever. EVER.

Great discussion! Love the different opinions!!

[MsTinkerbelly]

Well, i’m NOT okay with paying more taxes so people get free Medicare and College. The middle class as a whole is not okay with paying more taxes so people get free Medicare and College.

Did you see the story...oh about a week ago where the DEMOCRATS on Wallstreet said they would withdraw all political funding if Warren is the Democratic candidate? The rich will play their tax games, the middle class will foot the bill; do you know that the middle class (if there is such a thing anymore), gets smaller and smaller everyday? There are more poor everyday...people who not only DON’T pay taxes, but get back tax credits aimed at the poor with children?

We are TRILLIONS and TRILLIONS in debt to countries like China, and we blithely go about living above our means (the country, not you) because we WANT, and by God the Government owes us?

You may not want anything for free, I may not want anything for free...but we support 66 MILLION Americans every day with food programs that put us deeper into debt, and that the MIDDLE class pays for because “oh we can’t let our people starve”.

This country has to wake up, get back to States making laws, and get rid the the bloated fat cats in Washington. But, it’s probably too late....

Oh, and as far as people in cages? They are here ILLEGALLY!! Send them all back across the boarder, hunt down the rest here with no legal right and send them back across, and then shoot everyone who tries it again. Poof, no more cages!

*** has no claim to being politically correct***

[Kätzchen]

One of the things I cherish about taking the time to observe and listen, at my own pace and not at the speed of Social Media (ie, Twitter, FB or any other media platform), is that it's possible to ascertain a better 'picture' of the 24/7 emotionally and intellectually taxing responsibility to make sure that our country does not succumb to the chaos driven climate ruining lunacy of the narcissist who occupies the WH and the cronies that person uses to further their agenda.

I am SOOOO impressed with Nancy Pelosi. Wow. I have stood in awe of her ability to not cave and to keep her self positioned accordingly as a stalwart person of integrity; a person who is not easily swept aside by the incessant toxic culture that is pervasive and threatens to destabilize the very existence of the democracy in this country. I can't think of any person who even comes close to her brand or style of leadership. I've often wanted to write a thank you letter to her for the way she has stood by The People and upheld tenets of Democracy, especially with wave after wave and assault after assault by the very person in the WH who does not even care about the well being of people who call America their home.

I read an article on CNN tonight. It was an analysis of sorts. Over 20 seats occupied by the GOP are up for election or re-election and if Democrats can occupy those seats and gain a few more, then the House and the Senate will be occupied and under the control of Democrats. No matter who is elected POTUS. To me, if Democrats maintain control of The House and then gain control of The Senate, then that is the 'light at the end of the tunnel', I think. I can see why Nancy Pelosi is very concerned about both The House of Representatives and gaining control of The Senate. I like her laser focus on this the most.

I am grateful tonight for the laser focus of Democrats who have been staying the course, during these very frightful times. They are the proverbial "Statue of Liberty" to me. They are the beacon of light, during the very dark oppressive political unrest our country is suffering through.

I'm grateful too, for the Obama era judges appointed to Federal Courts, who keep saying "NO" to those who would take away the rights of women, people of color, or members of minority groups who have little to no privilege or social representation in protective ways.

I long for the day when people adopt the principle of … "Do No Harm."

Hate cannot be privileged over kindness.

Was it not the 16th President Abraham Lincoln, who said that "It is a sin to be silent when it's your duty to protest?"

Here's to every single person who will not be silent. Here's to every person who demands Justice for All. Here's to every person who will actively work toward making our country "The Land of The Free".

Right now, America has never been more ugly.

In almost one year from now, I hope our country can once again be....

America, The Beautiful.

[dark_crystal]

When it comes to "free" stuff like college and health care i am absolutely fine with paying more taxes.

As someone who watched my father's career become obsolete due to technology, and whose own career is constantly held up as an example of a job technology could do (it can't), i believe that more and more people are going to be automated out of their jobs. Retail is collapsing and trucking is on its way out, and those are massive swathes of the population. We are not going to have jobs for all of those people. This is the worst time in history to be talking about personal responsibility.

People whose jobs become obsolete should seek retraining, of course. But if they can't afford it, or simply are not smart enough, or get too depressed and demoralized to try, or get mad at the world and resolve to suck the government teat as revenge, should that be a literal death sentence?

When the safety net is thin, or has holes in it, and we leave those holes or make them bigger, what we are saying is that it is ok for some people to fall through and literally die of exposure, starvation, or lack of health care.

That might have been true in the pre-industrial era, but i think a country that produces billionaires should have enough of a safety net to ensure that every single person is at least minimally housed and fed, whether they deserve it or not. We don't have to keep them comfortably, but we do have to keep everyone alive, i think.

i do not care if people are lazy. Laziness should not get you cast out onto the street and left to starve, in this day and age-- in past eras, yes, sure, maybe everybody needed to pull their weight. But in a society where one guy (Jeff Bezos) can make $4,475,885 per hour i just don't see how we can accept people dying from insulin rationing or of exposure from sleeping under a bridge somewhere.

There is no morality under which one guy "deserves" to make $4,475,885 per hour and another guy "deserves" to starve on the street. No achievement gap that big can actually exist between two human persons. Bezos may be a superior human to some degree, but it is not possible that anyone at all can be that superior to anyone else.

[nhplowboi]

Not as quick as we would like in this day of modern and fast technology......it all starts to tumble down. Sorry Donnie...we're coming for you.

[Apocalipstic]

*not reposting Ms. Tinkerbelly's post* But wanted to let you know I have reported it as hate speech.

I really tried not to say anything, but I don't want anyone to look at this thread and in any way think its okay to suggest human beings should be shot.

[Kelt]

I guess I would rather see both the public and the candidates focus their conversation on how to fix situations rather than who to blame for them. There will be plenty of time to figure out who gets what once there’s anything to get. The United States is deeply in debt. The systems that we use for distributing benefits and entitlements to the people who need them is so broken that we likely waste more money on inefficiencies then we spend actually helping people. It’s my belief that we could do a lot more with the tax revenues already being collected if we would do the hard work of revamping our benefit distribution systems utilizing the tools that have been developed in this century. That of course, will depend on the Congress and Senate doing their respective jobs.

When it comes to folks volunteering themselves and others to pay higher taxes or other folks fighting hard to keep their incomes in their own pockets I think each case is different. A person paying something like 15 to 25% as their effective tax burden might well be willing to kick in a couple more percentage points. On the other hand, an individual already paying over 50% might be less willing to do so. Most people ultimately vote their wallet. People receiving benefits paid for by others are very likely to vote for more. The folks paying for them are less likely to do so.

I don’t like either extreme end of the stick and just wish there were more moderate choices.

[MsTinkerbelly]

Originally Posted by Apocalipstic

*not reposting Ms. Tinkerbelly's post* But wanted to let you know I have reported it as hate speech.

I really tried not to say anything, but I don't want anyone to look at this thread and in any way think its okay to suggest human beings should be shot.

It is of course your right to report as you wish.

I stand by my statement, although this may not have been the place to express an honest opinion. I’ll work on not saying everything that crosses my mind.

Have a nice day.