Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's the new found corruption, lies and ignorance with Trump and his administration everyday. Look at all the empty cabinet seats, the hiring, firing, resignations, indictments, guilty pleads, testimonies/hearings, special counsel, crisis at the border, Twitter rants, national deficit increases, scam tax plan, attacks on pre existing conditions, failure to come up with any healthcare, lawsuits, emolument clause violations, embracing dictators while pushing aside allies, lying about campaign promises like Mexico paying for the wall, trade and tariff wars, failure to protect the environment in favor of big company profits, bankrupting farmers, attacks and demoralizing government agencies like the FBI in favor of his conspiracy theories, accusing officials of wiretapping, treason and other illegal activities with no proof or evidence, Charlottesville rhetoric, obstruction of Congress AND Mueller etc. That's why he is the talk of the country. America loves a disastrous reality show. His presidency checks all the boxes for it.
Remember folks he hasn't even completed 1 term. In fact most of the disasters took place at or before his 2 year mark. He has caused more chaos and embarrassment with his personal actions and policies than most politicians do with decades of service.
This is the slogan of Trump supporters everywhere. MAGA.
All this talk of Democrats being socialists who want to spend tax revenue on social programs has me thinking about the second A in MAGA.
Again.
MAGA could just be MAG. But the creator of the slogan decided to add the "again," to insinuate that there was a time when America was great, and that the country needed to return to that greatness.
When most people think of America's greatness, they think of the post-war period - the late 40's to early 60's. By 1950, the US had defeated Japan and spread its influence across Asia; its material support and its soldiers had helped defeat the Nazis in Europe and the Marshall Plan was rebuilding Europe (and Japan) with strong American influence. NATO, the UN, and the EU are all examples of America's influence in post-war Europe. On the home front, the prosperity of the manufacturing economy, the baby boom, and the broad social programs and public works projects instituted by FDR and continued by Truman created a boom in personal wealth that led to high employment, high wages for middle-class jobs, home ownership, as well as healthy towns and cities with prosperous local businesses. The tax rate was much higher then, and the disparity of wealth was not nearly as skewed towards the wealthy and super-wealthy.
What I'm getting at is that the post-war period is one within the living memory of many Americans and can be described as the time when America's prosperity and stature as a great nation were unrivalled. The American dream was within reach of a greater percentage of the population than at perhaps any other time in its history. These years were the pinnacle of American greatness.
When one looks at this era, one thing that differentiates it from the current American political landscape is its left-leaning policies - I daresay, socialism - in many areas of government. The FDR administration spent billions of dollars to help America out of the depression and then even more on building the Arsenal of Freedom, and creating an entire warrior caste who enjoyed broad social programs and a career path if desired. Of course, projects like the interstate system or the building of a giant dam is going to cost $, so the tax rate is going to be high. But the investment of Americans through their tax dollars and the government's mostly intelligent use of that money to fund social programs at home and abroad largely allowed for the peace and prosperity that many think of when they evoke the post-war period. Compared to today, it was a truly great time for America.
On this board and many other places, I see so many right wingers, "anarcho-capitalists", Trumpets, Libertarians, and others calling the Democrat's government programs like health care, climate change mediation, housing, education, and resource management as Socialist, like these ideas are seen no where outside Venezuela, Cuba, Maoist China, Stalin's Soviet Union, or the Killing Fields of Cambodia and Year 0. Yet these modest proposals have broad support among Americans (see the helpful graph in this article from the Pew Research Centre https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ding-medicaid/) and there are reams of polls that show 50%+ support for the same kinds of social programs that the hawks here call "Socialism"
If the current political philosophy among the right is to Make America Great Again, and Again refers to a time when American was at its greatest, then one might look to the post-war years, which featured taxe rates and social spending that some on this board would denounce as Socialist or even Communist. If one wants to look at the happiest and most prosperous and egalitarian nations in the world, Scandinavia ranks in the top of nearly every category. The five or so countries that fall under ths Umbrella look a lot like the US did during the Great Post-War Years.
They have high corporate and personal tax rates.
They have broad government spending in housing, education, health care and public health, environmental protection, and resource management
The disparity of wealth is far lower than in the US
Some of these countries are leaders in research due to public investment in R&D
They all have universal healthcare
The happiest and most prosperous countries in the world sure sound like Venezuela on fire. America certainly sounded great during the post-war years despite the rampant socialism.
Having unelected industry executives and lobbyists overseeing every single cabinet position (except Ben Carson. Ben Carson is the token POC for the administration) is the current state-of-affairs and it sounds like some of you think this massive capture of US government by corporate interests who thrive on division is a good thing.
Make America Great Again evokes the greatness of post-war America. Some of the things that made America great then aren't coming back, ie coal mining and high-wage manufacturing. But government leadership and social investment can make a country great. If social programs that lower student debt, improve education, provide health care for everyone, mitigate the effects of climate change, end the war on drugs and the prison industrial complex, and create a social safety net to catch those in society who are most marginalized are socialist and therefore evil, you are deluding yourself.
Polls show that most Americans want the same social programs so many here fight about.
The developed countries that have many of these programs are among the most prosperous in the world. They are not socialist hellholes. They are egalitarian places where no one has to worry about missing a paycheque or getting a bad diagnosis and end up living in the car a few weeks later.
It sounds like some of you want the US to be Mad Max. Or perhaps you can just hire the Pinkertons to keep the rabble away from you while you enjoy your tennis match.
Trump continues to chip away at the foundations of our democracy, and each sledgehammer blow conditions Americans to believe this is all normal behavior, that his daily lies are not worth mentioning anymore.
When Trump is done, what is left won't be recognizable anymore. This is what you wanted, and don't long for the "good old days" when we turn into Russia.
Sadly, I think we may get Trump for another four years. And if we do, that is what we deserve as a country. This is where we are now.
Fake news. Trump hasn't done anything productive. No new healthcare, immigration or environment plan. The national deficit is increasing by record numbers. His trade, tariff and government shutdowns have been a disaster. His lies of a border wall that Mexico would pay for, his corruption and lies about Russia leading to a special counsel, his obstruction etc. Oh that explains why we have a good economy but his approval ratings remain low. Obama, Clinton and Bush serviced long terms and remain better on all fronts except war(but that's coming)than Trump in his first 2 years. Trump's agenda continues to be a failure.
Sadly, I think we may get Trump for another four years. And if we do, that is what we deserve as a country. This is where we are now.
I agree, but I have an escape plan, and it’s workable, so when fascism is ushered in under the guise of “religious freedom”’ I’m bailing. The world is a big place. Always have a workable plan, just in case.
Trump continues to chip away at the foundations of our democracy, and each sledgehammer blow conditions Americans to believe this is all normal behavior, that his daily lies are not worth mentioning anymore.
When Trump is done, what is left won't be recognizable anymore. This is what you wanted, and don't long for the "good old days" when we turn into Russia.
Nope... We're talking about going after the TRUTH. That's what we all want to know and that's been abused.
Democrats are afraid of the truth. It will show how corrupt the Obama / Clinton admin and campaign was.
You are going to find out the FISA Courts were lied to, Spying by Obama Admin on US Citizens was going on for years. These are this things Russia and China do to their Political opponents.
How do you explain a president who stated "the mob takes the fifth & if your innocent why take the fifth" doesn't this disturb you at all when we clearly see this president avoid answering questions by mueller except written ones to which he couldn't recall. Doesn't it bother you in the slightest that when speaking to Putin he didn't even mention Russia meddling in our elections?
By gosh this time we are gonna know how corrupt the Obama administration and the Hillary campaign were. We're gonna know which member of Hillary's hit squad killed Seth Rich and I bet we even know who was making the pizzas at Comet Pizza on child sex slave day.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
