Presidential Election Aftermath: What Now / What Next?

HHAAAAAAAA!!!.... Meesa Debbie Wasserman Schultz

 

That's very wise to ask, and let me be the first to say, none of us knows what the hell any of these guys/gal will do once in office. Politicians are by and large snake oil salesmen. Slippery, slimy, and liars at the core IMO, so always be skeptical of them. That being said, I firmly believe money in politics is by far the greatest problem in this country.

As you can see, I'm most certainly a Bernie supporter, but I still have my doubts. He's been in politics for so long, mostly in line with and paid by unions, that aren't that much better than corporations, and some things he's said make me wonder if he's going to continue war. I voted for Obama specifically because he promised to get money out of politics, and said he wouldn't have any lobbyists as part of his administration. Well, he flat out lied about that. Within a few months of being in office, he had lobbyists in his administration, and the law he passed to reduce corporate contributions to a campaign... we you see above how easy it was for the DNC to just ignore it. He essentially did nothing to fix what I think is the most important topic in the US right now, because it greatly effects ALL other topics.

Now we get to Bernie, who is saying some very similar things to Obama, with two key difference. Bernie not only claims to want to get corporate lobbyist money out of politics, he's not taking any himself, and he has a 40 year consistent history in politics to support that claim. That is incredibly rare for a politician.

I also agree with his politics in general. The things he's suggesting aren't crazy, they're how every other 1st world nation in the world operates. Capitalism mixed with Socialism. A mix of a little bit of both works, IF enacted correctly, and the only way to enact it correctly is by having the politicians make decisions and vote according to the will of the people that elected them, and not the people that bribed them leading back to getting money out of politics.

I'm convinced all the other candidates all will continue business as usual in the US. They will continue allowing money to buy votes, and decisions to be made against the people's will. That being said, I think Hillary might be the worst choice out there because she has just as an impressive history of consistency as Bernie, but it's consistent lying, and changing her vote depending on the latest poles, and letting lobbyists buy her vote. I think Trump is essentially playing a role right now, and if he were honestly elected, I doubt he'd do half the crazy s*** he says he would do. Trump's not really saying anything I can believe. Cruze and Rubio are so alike I can't really tell what their differences are, even though they argue as if they were diametrically opposed during debates lol. Carson is just laughable IMO. I probably like Kasich and Bush the best of the Republican bunch which makes my soul throw up a little.

Overall, being jaded or disinterested by politics is pretty natural to me. I get it because it's such a mire of deceit it wears on the brain.

 

Barns has an awesome and well thought out post, so I'll keep mine short and sweet:

I don't know every last detail of these candidates, but the key to voting is making sure you know as much as possible. Then deciding which one you hate the least. Then voting for that person instead of the one who will likely win the election because of the electoral college.

The political structure is broken in my opinion and while there's a great many people (including me at times) who will get worked up about these elections I don't think our opinions really matter as long as we let old money/political oligarchs decide our fate for us.

 

While I'm not a fan of Bernie, I agree with everything Barns said.

I like Rubio. I liked Fiorina, mainly because I want an anti-politician. But I can't go with Trump or her (dropped out). So I'll take Rubio who appears to be as frustrated with Washington as I am.

And Barns is right. Hillary is the worst. I'd vote for Charles Manson before her.

 

The formatting is all screwed up because I copied and pasted, but this is what you all wanted.
Click on the highlighted words to go to the page with the detailed info:

"How Bernie pays for his proposals

Bernie Sanders has a plan to pay for every spending program he has introduced to date.


Plan Payment
Rebuild America Act: Sen. Sanders has proposed a$1 trillion plan to rebuild our crumbling infrastructureand put 13 million Americans to work. Paid for by making corporations pay taxes on all of the“profits” they have shifted to the Cayman Islands and other offshore tax havens, which the Congressional Research Services estimates may currently create losses that approach $100 billion annually, and other loopholes.

College for All: Sen. Sanders has proposed making public colleges and universities tuition-free and substantially reducing student debt, in a plan that would cost about $75 billion a year. Paid for by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculators that would generate about $300 billion in revenue.

Expand and Extend Social Security: Sen. Sanders has proposed expanding Social Security and extending the solvency of this program until 2065. Paid for by lifting the cap on taxable income above $250,000 so that the wealthy pay the same percentage of their income into Social Security as working people.

Youth Jobs Program: Sen. Sanders has proposed a $5.5 billion youth jobs program to create 1 million jobs for disadvantaged young Americans. Paid for by ending the carried interest loophole that allows billionaire hedge fund managers to pay a lower tax rate than nurses and truck drivers.

Paid Family and Medical Leave: Sen. Sanders has proposed at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to all workers. Paid for by a payroll tax that would total $1.61 a week for the typical American worker. According to Sen. Gillibrand’s office, this would be “a self-sufficient program that would not add to the federal budget.”

Protect Pensions: Sen. Sanders has introduced a plan to prevent cuts to the pensions of over 1.5 million Americans. Paid for by closing two tax loopholes that allow the wealthy to avoid taxes on money they inherit and expensive artwork they collect.

Renewable Energy and Clean Jobs Transition: Sen. Sanders has a plan to invest in clean, sustainable energy sources powered by the sun, wind and Earth’s heat. He also has a plan to provide comprehensive benefits to workers as they transition to making the solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries of tomorrow. Paid for by stopping taxpayer-funded giveaways to oil, gas and coal companies.

Sen. Sanders has introduced a plan to expand health care coverage to every American. Paid for by a 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers, a 2.2 percent income-based premium paid by households, progressive income tax rates, taxing capital gains and dividends the same as income from work, limiting tax deductions for the rich, adjusting the estate tax, and savings from health tax expenditures.
Cost and Revenue of Proposed Plans


Plan

Cost

Funding

Revenue

Rebuild America Act

$1 trillion
/ 5 years

Taxing corporate offshore income
[Congressional Research Service, 1/15/15]

$1 trillion / 10 years

College for All

$75 billion / year

Wall Street speculation tax
[Political Economy Research Institute,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst, 3/2/12]

About $300 billion / year

Social Security Expansion Act

$1.2 trillion / 10 years

Remove payroll tax cap for earnings above $250,000
[Office of the Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration, 3/26/15]

$1.2 trillion / 10 years

Employ Young Americans Now Act

$5.5 billion
/ 2 years

Closing carried interest loophole
[Joint Committee on Taxation, 9/16/15]

$15.6 billion / 10 years

Offer 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave

Additional 0.2% Payroll Tax
[Office of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand]

$319 billion
/ 10 years

Keep Our Pension Promises Act

$29 billion / 10 years

Closing tax loopholes on estate taxes and artwork
[Pension Rights Center, 7/7/15]

$29 billion / 10 years

Responsible Estate Tax Act

Progressive estate tax on inheritances over $3.5 million; closes estate tax loopholes.

$214 billion
/10 years

End Polluter Welfare Act

$110 billion /10 years

Ends tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel companies

$135 billion
/10 years

Medicare for All Health Care Plan

$1.38 trillion / year

Paid for by a 6.2 percent income-based health care premium paid by employers, a 2.2 percent income-based premium paid by households, progressive income tax rates, taxing capital gains and dividends the same as income from work, limiting tax deductions for the rich, adjusting the estate tax, and savings from health tax expenditures.

$1.39 trillion / year
"

https://berniesanders.com/issues/how-bernie-pays-for-his-proposals/

 

No words.

 

Just saw some of the highlights for the Republican debate... WOW

They were going at it

EDIT: I posted the wrong highlights

 

LOL, Trump is hilarious sometimes

 

Nikki Haley just endorsed Rubio, 3 days before the SC primaries. Pretty big for Rubio. Also, Haley is on the short list for most GOP candidates VP position.

If you haven't heard of her, check her out. I'm a fan.

 

Watching the end of the republican town hall. Cruze sounds fake as hell to me. He also doesn't sound all that conservative to me.

 

Cruz is easily the most conservative candidate running this year. But I do agree he comes across as fake much of the time.