Texas Political landscape going into the 2020 elections (land, hospitable)

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by Foamposite

Communism has never been good for the developing world

That post said Developed World. Most young people who have spent significant time in other wealthy nations come back with a general distaste for how America's highly individualistic culture often gets people caught in the what's called the Prisoner's Dilemma.

[Foamposite]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

That post said Developed World. Most young people who have spent significant time in other wealthy nations come back with a general distaste for how America's highly individualistic culture often gets people caught in the what's called the Prisoner's Dilemma.

Not a single country in Europe is socialist anymore. Europe is all capitalist, albeit with more safety nets.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Foamposite

Not a single country in Europe is socialist anymore. Europe is all capitalist, albeit with more safety nets.

What?

[Foamposite]

Originally Posted by EDS_

What?

Without going too far off topic, Europe should not be a source for inspiration for socialists because they're not socialists. Even Sweden and Norway are capitalist countries with low corporate tax rates.

Even China is capitalist now.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by Foamposite

Without going too far off topic, Europe should not be a source for inspiration for socialists because they're not socialists. Even Sweden and Norway are capitalist countries with low corporate tax rates.

Even China is capitalist now.

Almost every economy in existence currently is a mixed economy, with varying levels of government involvement in different sectors of the economy.

A large portion of the Nordics’ welfare is actually achieved through unionization. Norway has a sovereign wealth fund from oil that pays for much of their benefits. Essentially the government of Norway is one of the largest shareholders in the world.

In China, the CCP and large private enterprise are practically indistinguishable.

In the US, we’re in that part of the Monopoly game where only a small portion of the original players are left and trying to duke it out, arguably an oligarchy.

Throwing around loaded political ideology names and assuming others share your Cold War Era connotations of them isn’t doing much for discussion.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

So you admitted work doesn't really correlate to financial success, which is supposed to be the appeal of your ideology. You admitted that your system has enriched a couple generations at the expense of a livable planet for generations after, just to say "so?". There is nothing "rational" or "morally upright" about that.

Work, or specifically hard work, generally certainly improve one's chances of financial success, as can educating or training oneself in more skilled occupations or choosing occupations that have a more limited supply of potential workers, but is no guarantee. But economic conditions and extenuating circumstances, often out of the control of the individual or the state, can cause downturns in personally accrued financial resources and income. There is nothing immoral about that. Why do you have a problem with it?

This is allowing this thread to go where it doesn't need to go. I only made my comment because I am concerned that Texas' political landscape will be unfortunately influenced by the relatively young population in much of the state. In other words, the unjustifiably bitter Millennials and Gen Zs.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Work, or specifically hard work, generally certainly improve one's chances of financial success, as can educating or training oneself in more skilled occupations or choosing occupations that have a more limited supply of potential workers, but is no guarantee. But economic conditions and extenuating circumstances, often out of the control of the individual or the state, can cause downturns in personally accrued financial resources and income. There is nothing immoral about that. Why do you have a problem with it?

This is allowing this thread to go where it doesn't need to go. I only made my comment because I am concerned that Texas' political landscape will be unfortunately influenced by the relatively young population in much of the state. In other words, the unjustifiably bitter Millennials and Gen Zs.

Keep driveling like y’all didn’t ignore scientists for decades and instead believed a Hollywood actor. This is fascinating. Since you didn’t really address the post I’ll just repeat it:

So you admitted work doesn't really correlate to financial success, which is supposed to be the appeal of your ideology. You admitted that your system has enriched a couple generations at the expense of a livable planet for generations after, just to say "so?". There is nothing "rational" or "morally upright" about that.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

Keep driveling like y’all didn’t ignore scientists for decades and instead believed a Hollywood actor. This is fascinating. Since you didn’t really address the post I’ll just repeat it:

So you admitted work doesn't really correlate to financial success, which is supposed to be the appeal of your ideology. You admitted that your system has enriched a couple generations at the expense of a livable planet for generations after, just to say "so?". There is nothing "rational" or "morally upright" about that.

My reference to Reagan was to indicate the era of my upbringing, post-Boomer. I am not necessarily a fan of him and certainly don't believe in supply-side economics.

Like I said in my DM, if the general consuming population decides that a long term habitable and hospitable planet is a priority, it will be reflected in capitalist consumption and investment.

If you need to further make anti-free-market rants and fallacious assertions, please do it in the DMs where I may or may not feel like responding. I will not do so any more here.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

Yet, in my experience as a dreaded Millennial who moved to an outdoors mecca full of transplants, young Texans generally trend far more leftist than young people from even more stereotypically blue parts of the country. We’ve grown up in the post-Reagan neocon order, and most of us, even if we benefitted in the system, saw how the intense competition we’ve been raised in screws over our peers. We’re also crazy diverse and more likely to be cognizant of how socioeconomic background affects your performance in said competition.

Young Texans have grown up in the toxic Calvinist, Southern cultural "Christian" culture. The Augustinian anti-sex education movement of the Evangelicals created a poverty trap of adolescent bareback sex, pregnancy, no abortion access, and rinse-and-repeat. Christian doctrine & dogma is frequently edited to fit the folkways of Southern culture--see slavery and Southern Baptistry (and its decedent, the non-denominational Megachurches).

The socioeconomic diversity has widely shown the disparities in different neighborhoods on schooling and policing. The only time more police patrols = safety is in the lily-white master-planned exurbs.

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

If you need to further make anti-free-market rants and fallacious assertions, please do it in the DMs where I may or may not feel like responding. I will not do so any more here.

The free-market is never mentioned when labor is involved and then it becomes racist-xenophobic sociological discussion with political conservatives. No wonder common people think that capitalism tilted the playing field!

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

As a Reagan-generation Gen X libertarian-minded type, I commend the younger generation on recognizing how historical oppression, racism etc. has tilted the playing field in many ways and inhibited equal opportunity, and how that needs to change.

However, I am extremely disappointed how the under-40 crowd has ignorantly and selfishly adopted a narrative of economic victimization and violation, invented out of whole cloth, and looks longingly toward socialism and mega-amplification of the execrable FDR New Deal as the way forward. I'm sure part of the blame lies on parents who decided to raise youngsters without informing them that their righteous role in society as youth and young adults is to be exploited. That is how a proper society works. Now in TX we have to face the horrifying music given that our population skews young - if we don't somehow exclude the under-40s, they will take the state and country into a terrible place regarding economic policy and federal government involvement. TX's political outlook regarding the role of government is dangerously warped by the malformed under-40 crowd.

It's a little funny that you are small government, while being dependent on the local government to put food on your table. City planners are easily dispensable in this no-zoning, free market town.

The anti-immigrant know-nothings invented a narrative of economic victimization and violation when blaming foreigners for their plight. They basically ask for National Socialism to bail them out of poverty with America First dogwhistles. They do turn a blind eye to 1% hogging up the land and capital though.

I wouldn't be praising capitalism in the middle of this pandemic right now. I still can't buy a can of Lysol for the last 4 months! It's as if we are living in early-2010's Venezuela with all the talk of impending food shortages and actual shortages (i.e. disinfectant). Went to Katy Costco today and disinfectant is still on the out-of-stock whiteboard at the entrance.

[Foamposite]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Young Texans have grown up in the toxic Calvinist, Southern cultural "Christian" culture. The Augustinian anti-sex education movement of the Evangelicals created a poverty trap of adolescent bareback sex, pregnancy, no abortion access, and rinse-and-repeat. Christian doctrine & dogma is frequently edited to fit the folkways of Southern culture--see slavery and Southern Baptistry (and its decedent, the non-denominational Megachurches).

The socioeconomic diversity has widely shown the disparities in different neighborhoods on schooling and policing. The only time more police patrols = safety is in the lily-white master-planned exurbs.



The free-market is never mentioned when labor is involved and then it becomes racist-xenophobic sociological discussion with political conservatives. No wonder common people think that capitalism tilted the playing field!



It's a little funny that you are small government, while being dependent on the local government to put food on your table. City planners are easily dispensable in this no-zoning, free market town.

The anti-immigrant know-nothings invented a narrative of economic victimization and violation when blaming foreigners for their plight. They basically ask for National Socialism to bail them out of poverty with America First dogwhistles. They do turn a blind eye to 1% hogging up the land and capital though.

I wouldn't be praising capitalism in the middle of this pandemic right now. I still can't buy a can of Lysol for the last 4 months! It's as if we are living in early-2010's Venezuela with all the talk of impending food shortages and actual shortages (i.e. disinfectant). Went to Katy Costco today and disinfectant is still on the out-of-stock whiteboard at the entrance.

Lysol is unnecessary