Why does Trump think our country is so awful? Why do his followers? (Pelosi, lobbyists)
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So you say. Humor me for a moment & consider when the switching of sides became more prevalent? I'll tell you what I think:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiGeekGuest
More re: power rules:
A chronically fearful people are more easily divided, & therefore & thereby are more easily conquered.
I think it was around the time that both sides realized that fear, as a commodity, was very lucrative & could be marketed & sold much like any other commodity. & so, both sides began to peddle fear.
This was, perhaps, one of the root or underlying causes behind officially changing our de facto motto 'e pluribus unum', by adopting 'In God We Trust' through an act of Congress in 1956. (fear-related)
Underlying that, Mr. Joe McCarthy & 'McCarthyism', anti-communist related activities & rhetoric, the Cold War & so on. (all very fear-related)
Fear influences emotional & intellectual decision making. Fear sells!
Another ideology both sides glommed onto was/is 'free market fundamentalism' & the corrupted version of the 'Invisible Hand' (with Mr. Adam Smith rolling over in his final resting spot).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Smith in 'The Wealth of Nations
...By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was not part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. ...
To be translated/interpreted by both side to basically make the argument in favor of the 'Invisible Hand' & an unfettered free market: Folks, including Corporations & entire sectors of Industry, in their unbound pursuit of profits, are led, as if by an Invisible Hand, to do what is best for the world.
Both sides sold this. May not be as fear-based as the others however just as influential on decision making. & not rational if long term goals & sustainability are considered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowonLuck
While I understand this want and it would benefit me as well, the cost to make the products, supporting those types of salaries was not sustainable.
I would love to get a job in a factory making $25-$30 an hour, but I do not want to pay $100 for a tshirt either.
This is understandable considering the prevailing notion of both sides (bottom line, so to speak) is 'self-interest' & the 'pursuit of profits' period.
Although you'd have to be mad to think folks are being led, as if by an Invisible Hand to do what's best for the world. Napoleon Bonaparte (of all people! ) comes to mind, he said "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."
The idea that self-interest & the profit motive alone will accomplish what's best for world is one heavy piece of magical thinking, & emanates from both sides.
Self-interest & the profit motive are the reasons for outsourcing of labor whenever possible to locales where cheaper & no healthcare costs, etc.
Self-interest & the profit motive are the reasons behind providing the least amount of products or services for the greatest amount of profit possible. ($200 for a t-shirt as long as folks are willing & able to pay)
Quote:
Originally Posted by RedZin
Nobody does. That's why Trump's family all have their clothing lines made in China.
This is true, after all, he's a product of the unity of both sides against the common good.
Although I gotta repeat, America Is/Was Already Great!
& let's face it, Trump Org. was never that great. Apparently, so-called President thinks by pursuing his own self-interest & pursuit of profit through the office of the Presidency, the whole world will benefit & it will be as if he's being led by an Invisible Hand.
Color me skeptical. Very skeptical.
Last edited by ChiGeekGuest; 02-15-2017 at 07:07 PM..
But anyone can buy themselves out of the ghetto. I am very low income and live in an upper middle class neighborhood, with $400k homes.
The property taxes for a $400,000 house, would run between $3,000 to about $7,000 a year. To insure it, would likely be $150-$200 a month, depending on where you live.
The mortgage for a $400,000 house, would run about $2,250 a month, assuming you actually qualified for a loan.
That means the total cost of buying such a house, would be about $32k to $37k a year.
Nearly half of all workers make less than $25k a year. And in my state of Oklahoma, I'm sure the average is even less.
Maybe you had to be younger to recognize the rapid advancements and embrace them instead of being afraid of them.
I'm a Gen Xer, myself. I think it is the coolest thing ever that I started out as a tiny person back when 8-track tapes and console TVs were the pinnacle of home electronics and now, I have a computer in my hand that's more powerful than the one that put Neil Armstrong on the moon.
We're conversing via the Internet now across the entire planet.
It's beautiful!
I don't want to go backward so my family can own one gas guzzler with no regulations around emissions or safety and I can stay home instead of working and gossip with my neighbor, watch soap operas, and think of nothing except planning meals and doing household chores.
Nope. No, thanks.
Maybe it's time for people who fear the future and are pretty old to just trust the rest of us to steer the ship.
What you fail to realize is that technological advances and interconnectedness do people no good when their money is buying them much less than it used to, when student debt and health insurance costs have exploded, and people are constantly in fear of getting laid off. Twenty or twenty-five years ago, before many of your beloved technological advances, people did not have those concerns. Since then things have only gotten worse for many Americans, regardless of their level of education, through no fault of their own. What most Americans who voted for Trump realize is that since 9/11 the country has gone in the toilet, despite all of our fancy gadgets that do nothing but distract people from the fact that their quality of life is declining. Maybe Trump can not help reverse this decline, but he at least indicated that he would be interested in trying to help, as opposed to Hillary and her Hollywood friends whose attitude seemed to be "too bad, so sad."
As an aside, if you can't see that things were better for the average educated American in the 80's and 90's, you are either too young or too dumb to know any better.
Maybe you had to be younger to recognize the rapid advancements and embrace them instead of being afraid of them.
I'm a Gen Xer, myself. I think it is the coolest thing ever that I started out as a tiny person back when 8-track tapes and console TVs were the pinnacle of home electronics and now, I have a computer in my hand that's more powerful than the one that put Neil Armstrong on the moon.
We're conversing via the Internet now across the entire planet.
It's beautiful!
I don't want to go backward so my family can own one gas guzzler with no regulations around emissions or safety and I can stay home instead of working and gossip with my neighbor, watch soap operas, and think of nothing except planning meals and doing household chores.
Nope. No, thanks.
Maybe it's time for people who fear the future and are pretty old to just trust the rest of us to steer the ship.
Uh; I'm an old Gen X dude and, IMHO the next POTUS will either be a Baby Boomer or a Millennial. The "Greatest Generation" handed off the POTUS to the Baby Boomers, the "Silent Generation" was bypassed. Just like I think us X people will also be bypassed.
I don't like the US much. It's people are mostly lazy, entitled, stupid pieces of crap. We are no longer a nation of laws. Our political system is corrupt beyond repair. Our media is a propaganda arm of the Washington elites.
The vast majority of what looks good about the US is simply bread and circuses to keep most of us occupied so that the elites can do whatever it is they do.
I don't like the US much. It's people are mostly lazy, entitled, stupid pieces of crap. We are no longer a nation of laws. Our political system is corrupt beyond repair. Our media is a propaganda arm of the Washington elites.
The vast majority of what looks good about the US is simply bread and circuses to keep most of us occupied so that the elites can do whatever it is they do.
American elites today are just a bunch of manipulators of economies. We don't make anything, just find the brightest and best human resources around the world to do our dirty work and extract their talent for our stretched dollars.
The minute someone like Trump comes out and attacks the establishment, they start cooking up all sorts of fake stories and play identity politics against him.
Yes Trump was one of them elites but atleast he's got some balls to say enough is enough with the broken system we have that is killing the people here while the elites live in their own walled off estates.
Liberals today are too brainwashed to understand that they're being manipulated by elites like Soro using a puppet like Hillary Clinton to talk up this nonsense about borderless country and playing the race card against Trump because he's trying to take the slaves away from the ultra rich white liberals.
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) comes to mind, he said "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." 
