President Trump

It's a scary world out there, the minute the USA allows themselves to become a second rate military power is the minute we get our a** kicked. Anyone who thinks we would NOT be challenged by the likes of Russia and China, let alone everyone else like the whole middle east and whoever else would love to get in on it, is kind of delusional. Too late for peace in this world. It would be nice if we were not A-holes but even that is pretty difficult.

 

Why not spend that money on math and science education instead?

We used to be the most educated nation... now many European and Asian nations have passed us in math and science proficiency.

Better to invest that money on our kids rather than feeding the coffers of the military industrial complex.

https://www.usnews.com/news/educati...in-math-reading-science-on-international-exam

 

We’re getting our a** kicked in the forms of medical debt, student loan debt, veterans not being cared once they’ve served.

We’re not the world police. Delusional is thinking we need to dig ourselves into massive debt with military overspending, then blame the government for misusing money and not being able to afford a proper healthcare system. But you know, go blow up the world, bomb civilians, create more enemies, instead of wanting simple healthcare system that shouldn’t require you to question selling your house and assets to save you or your family in an emergency. Literally any small percentage from the military spending would be able to cover that, and we would STILL be the biggest military power. Shows exactly where our governments interests are.

 

We give our ally Israel billions when they have universal health care and we don't give it to our own citizens.

Make that make sense.

 

I never disagreed with the other points. But if you bring up golfing, please be sure to research Obama's lavish vacations with entourage in tow. It's legendary.

We should be staying out of the business of other countries and quit being the big brother peace maker of the world. But who knows, maybe we've avoided multiple more world wars by doing so, but any organization that large is full of inefficiency. My time in the military was disappointing from that perspective.

I'll look at the article another day, but thanks for posting. I now know you are not talking out your arse without researching.

But even then, it's pretty difficult to argue with the results. If changing tax rules caused some companies not to pay taxes, but the economy grows 4x what Democrats thought was possible, why are we complaining? When is enough enough? Democrats in general seem to think that your money belongs to them and they can manage it better than their citizens can. b*******.

 

of course, all of their citizens are required to serve 2 years in the military

How bout them apples? Think that would fly over here?

 

What part of 7 times other countries defense budget did you not understand?

We need to spend more money on education and less on perpetual war.

We are creating more enemies and it's a matter of time before Chinese, Koreans, Russians start innovating better weapons because they do better in math and science.

 

I was addressing only the military stuff, the rest is white noise to me. I'm saying if in exchange for having universal healthcare, would all citizens be willing to serve in the military for two years? Over there, it's not an option.

So we want to point out the good stuff they have going on, but ignore what makes that possible. You can pretty much guarantee the money we give them is related to their military budget too, so I doubt it's sucked into the general fund or appropriated toward the programs you are bragging so much about that they have and we don't.

 

We've helped defend other countries as well... Germany, Japan, Korea... they all have socialized medicine.

You know it's all for money. If you love a society where money rules everything then carry on.

I don't think people need to hoard billions and when the billionaires control the media you can bet that's why we all think the way we do.

We were attacked once 19 years ago... and we drop bombs daily on the Arabs... yet somehow they are the bad guys?

I love this country but we are attacking tiny countries and saying they are picking on us.

Of course their people want us dead because guess what... we keep bombing them.

If they bombed us daily we'd all want them dead too.

This vicious cycle needs to stop and we need to invest in education and healthcare instead of constant war.

 

I was never a fan of Obama’s either, but what President didn’t have a golf trip? My issue is that it’s was with Trump’s own resort, which he says he has no business ties to, but let’s be real. It’s a conflict of interest that’s just seeming overlooked.

My issue with these inflated economy numbers is that it doesn’t reflect the middle and lower class population. Stock markets and GDP reflect more on the money that is cycled back into the economy by these big corporations, so they look great. Republicans do it in a way to show growth, Democrats do it under the table to benefit themselves and try to use the people to their advantage. Both are both ethically a gross misrepresentation of the US economy. We’re in political purgatory.

 

our government got involved in medicine, and my premiums tripled so we could hand out free medicine to others

It was a fantastic program (ROFL) They flat out lied to our face and said the price would not go up. Our medical system is broken no doubt, but it's been broken for a very long time. None of that has to do with Trump.

On the military, I'd imagine there are not too many that oppose your views. We do spend too much, and I doubt anyone thinks we should be bombing anyone daily. I watched some documentary stuff on the society over there and how quickly allegiances can change. We've funded both sides of conflict in an attempt to help prevent genocide at some point. They are a pretty messed up people, and we don't understand how they think.

Sitting idly by when the most capable country can intervene vs hearing of 10's to 100's of thousands of people killed was a choice our leaders made at some point. Obama dropped more bombs in the history of the US than any other president before him. At least Trump is pulling out of some areas, but you hate to see something like what happened cause a flare up.

However, if it was a preventative measure that saved American lives about to targeted, was it the best thing to do? Or do we allow another Benghazi and try to sweep that under the rug after failing our own people?

Politics is a very complex endeavor, and for the most part, all sides want what is best for the country. The divide has always been on what that is, and how to get there, and how much of a role the government should play.

 

I'll assume you've researched the topic enough to have those opinions, but I agree with you on a couple of items for sure.

Ethics are a huge issue in politics on both sides, and if Hillary and Trump were our best to options to choose between, that is exactly what political purgatory is.

 

I've never said the Dems aren't evil too. I hated Hillary with a passion... so much so that I voted for Stein last election.

My point is if you like to live in a world where comic book villains win and dominate... then carry on.

But we can and should strive for better and try to reduce income inequality instead of passively accepting it like these hedge fund managers and pharma reps earned their money.

I have no problem with someone like Jobs or Gates becoming a billionaire because they created products that people use every day.

I have no problem with someone like LBJ becoming rich because he has a unique skill that people want to pay to watch

But most of these people used monopolistic tactics to drive small businesses out and exploited a gamed financial system to get wealthy.

Most of the wealthy are parasites who exploit others and don't add anything to the beauty of the world.

F*ck em

 

I don't want to go too far off topic, but income inequality is a pretty complex topic.

Hedge fund managers make commissions in a field that has enormous numbers flying around, probably inflated due to a lack of real regulation in the field, but is it their fault they are a beneficiary of doing their jobs well? Pharma reps sell drugs the USDA has approved, and are commission/performance based. I guess I don't get pointing those particular two out since they cannot control what they are paid if they perform well in their jobs. They work in industries that have massive amounts of revenue. Top performers make bank just like the NBA. Their skill set is also unique, and there is always going to be 10% in any field that smokes the competition. They are willing to work harder, smarter, longer and more consistently than their counterparts.

Income inequality is a more complex issue. People with less skills will always make less money than people with more skills. Not always, but most often, this is also tied to education levels. Influencing factors can be ability to community, verbal and written skills, and work ethic. (I'm sure many more, but this is just a sample)

The first step is of course getting people back to work. Unemployment is about as low as it's ever been, and record levels for minorities. How they perform once they get the opportunity will be up to them. Factors that will impact the variables that would eventually lead to equal opportunity is having equal abilities, equal IQ, equal drive, equal work ethic, equal economic start, equal quality of teacher, housing, etc, etc.

In order words, it will never happen. You can't legislate some things, but you can provide opportunity. What people decide to do with that in a free market system is up to them. But we have been on a progressive trajectory of fixing gaps that existed before. It continues. But I think it's unrealistic to think a utopia exists where it's all equal. We are not all created equal. Shaq was born bigger than everyone. Kobe was more driven.

 

It's not about the availability of the jobs, it's the quality of the jobs.

People used to be able to work in a factory and purchase a decent house and send their kids to school.

It used to cost like 300 a quarter to go to UCLA... this isn't ancient history... this is like the eighties.

People have to go into indentured servitude just to compete for a bachelor's degree and it's ridiculous how the system is rigged against the poor and middle class.

Same with medical care... the costs have grown exponentially and a lot of the reason is sheer greed.

Stop making excuses for the wealthy... CEO pay has gone through the roof while worker pay has remained flat.

It's pure greed and decent people like yourself shouldn't make excuses for them.

 

As a small business owner, I simply don't put myself in that position. If one does not like something in this country, we have the freedom to change it. To think corrupt politicians will do it for you isn't a good use of time and energy, and it never has been.

inflation is inflation, and every generation complains about it. Coke for a nickel. Gas for 50Cents, etc. However, no matter what the price of things are, in every economic condition the country has ever had, some will succeed more than others. why is that?

Some will take up the cross and fight for others they say don't have opportunity they have. I think that's commendable. I find no benefit to complaining about what others are up to when I can be applying that energy to better my own situation.

There are those that want to raise minimum wage, the lowest of the lowest qualified, effort, skilled people in the country, to a rate that allows them to live comfortably in a 1 bedroom apartment by themselves with all of the amenities, as if that is what life owes them.

For that, I saw it's complete hogwash. If you are going to put minimal effort and not grow beyond minimum wage, then you will always have a roommate to share expenses with, and you will likely live in a not so perfectly maintained apartment in perhaps not the best side of town.

In factories there are many roles, and just like on any team you've ever been on, some performers rise to the top. They take on more responsibility, arrive early, complete their work with accuracy and precision, and other are lazy, arrive late, leave early, take extended breaks, think the government owes them smoke breaks, and overall have a crappy attitude if they are asked to do anything by superiors. You would award them for those efforts with higher pay?

We live in a capitalist society. if you want to earn more, it's actually up to you. If you are good at what you do, you will never have a shortage of opportunity. If the opportunity to grow in income doesn't exist at your current job, increase yours skills and qualifications and go to another job. Anything less is just useless whining and making excuses for a lack of drive and effort. I am vehemently against the government trying to tell me what I'll be paying people who have completely different skills sets and abilities. That will never be that role, so is anyone is looking for the government to give them a fair shot at making as much as "x" person, it's not happening. But if the look in the mirror, they can do it themselves anytime they want.

 

There's no way you can compete with a Walmart if you are a brick and mortar store... nor can you compete with Amazon in the virtual market.

You can say all these idealistic Horatio Alger sayings about working hard, pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps but that paradigm no longer exists.

Obviously there are outliers but the trend will be for more money to go into fewer hands and if you can't see that, then I don't know what more I can say to you.

If you were a kindergarten teacher and you gave each child a stuffed toy... would you say 20 toys for 20 kids? Or would you say I'd like to give 20 to the best kid and too bad for the 19 others who didn't work as smartly as the one kid.

Why does this common decency apply to kindergarten, but then we turn into animals once we reach adulthood?

I'm sorry, but I simply disagree with that type of thinking.

 

let those 20 kids go play with their 1 toy each, and by the end of the year, the 20 toys will end up in 5 kids hands. It's the way it works. You either see things for what they are and adjust to succeed, or you sound like a helpless whiny complainer who chooses victim-hood over personal accountability and action. I choose to increase my skills in new areas and adapt in order to succeed.

I'm bartering, offering services, doing your homework, teaching you how to skip rope, whatever it takes to get your toy. And then when you want to play with it, I'll rent it out to you in exchange for your Tapioca pudding, but only for 3 hours. Bring more pudding tomorrow kid.

Which kid you gonna be?

 

Nevermind. This kid has all 20

 

Yeah Ron, I guess I just disagree with your philosophy.

I don't call me whiny as I made six figures before I was 30 and worked 363 days a year at my peak. I'm caring for my father who has dementia right now which is why I have so much time to post.

It's a rigged unfair system and you can drink all the kool aid they give you but it will never change the fact they are pissing on everyone and telling them it's raining.