I think where the dissonance lays â we are materially well off but unhappy â is that most us know there is something inherently wrong with our societyâs economy and politics â whether conscious of it or not. And instead of truly addressing these to improve the lives of the common person, we the fill hole in our being and economy with consumption. I remember when conspicuous consumption was a dirty word, now itâs an economic model.
Too many go to work for companies they despise. We all work to some degree in some pseudo totalitarian type state where we have little emotional attachmentâ¦under the threat of at will employment. We do this for our families, but even a mafia thug loves their family. Perhaps more in there are 20s are getting this, with their roaming lifestyles... I know a young man in his 20s, graduated top of his high school class, studied engineering at a top 10 university...but quit that path and now grooms dogs, because he likes dogs. Most people shake their heads and say, "what a shame" when they should be shaking his hand and asking him where he got the courage?
I used to say that phrase, capitalism sucks, but not as bad as the other economic systems. It's becoming clear that that is no longer true, but just taking a bit longer to suck as much. Same for our politics.
Interesting WSJ article
Why MAGA Folks Should Read Marx
Todayâs conservative populists will find sympathetic ideas about the failings of capitalism in the writings of the great communist philosopher.
Many conservative pundits and politicians use the expressions âMarxistâ or âcommunistâ as catchall insults for whatever they regard as contemptible. Some recent attacks target so-called cultural Marxism, presuming that the philosopher paved the way for liberal or woke policies. But Marx wrote little about identity issues, even if certain writers who claim inspiration from him put them front and center. His focus was primarily on economic class, and his critique of capitalism was based on values close to the hearts of Trump supporters.
When I ask my students to name the most significant conservative concern, they invariably say âfreedom.â Itâs ranked first, for example, on Speaker of the House Mike Johnsonâs list of conservative principles. Marx too valued freedom, and he argued that the only way to ensure genuine personal liberty is to release human beings from the crushing demands of capitalism.
How can we enjoy life to the fullest, devote ourselves to family or pursue our dreams if weâre financially insecure and compelled to spend most of our time at work? Some of the pioneers of the new right-wing economic populism are similarly alert to the demanding and limiting nature of capitalism, though they are at pains to avoid mentioning Marx in a positive way.
Or maybe you rely too much on the WSJ (Murdoch's Fox for folks with stocks)?
You wouldn't have Trump in power if "99% of the US population has little about their material lives to complain about."
I find the WSJ to be a pretty good rag, if you stay out of the opeds (true for most rags). In recent days, i've read articles supporting DEI, warning about the turmoil trumps policies could create, and perhaps even sympathy for palestine. Not particularly biased, but again dont read the opeds.
Let me get this straight, you appear to be a socialist maybe even a communist, but you also argue the US consumer needs more stuff?
Surveys based on individual perception, perhaps not reality? eg, more dissonance
Anecdotal sure, but I dont see many starving, malnourished people in the US, while obesity is a large issue, especially among the lower income groups.
Perhaps your key objective to always find fault with the US? Twist perceptions, without regard to real truth?
Or maybe you rely too much on the WSJ (Murdoch's Fox for folks with stocks)?
You wouldn't have Trump in power if "99% of the US population has little about their material lives to complain about."
Surveys based on individual perception, perhaps not reality? eg, more dissonance
Anecdotal sure, but I dont see many starving, malnourished people in the US, while obesity is a large issue, especially among the lower income groups.
Perhaps your key objective to always find fault with the US? Twist perceptions, without regard to real truth?
I think your points go back to my point about 99% of the US population has little about their material lives to complain about, even if they live paycheck to paycheck.
I agree that working conditions suck... at least the party of the worker is back in power.
Your young friend dared to groom dogs... he's in the MAGA pipeline for believing immigrants and the Dems are to blame for his inability to buy a house. At least he doesn't have student loans (oh...nevermind... MAGA didn't like that forgiveness BS either).
We learned 120 years ago that democracy and capitalism coexist best when there are regulations and controls. Somewhere in 80s and 90s we decided the only thing that matters is personal wealth.
I grew up a pretty hard-line conservative, especially about money. I used to joke that I'd be OK paying the most taxes in America. At some point, the idolatry of wealth needs to be reigned in, and we need to accept that once someone reaches a billion dollars, they should pay an inordinate amount of taxes. The system that is built to support failure needs to recover its costs from those that benefit the most. Instead, we let them control everything and then wonder why things aren't getting better for the masses.
Your argument seems to be veering back towards that of the âlesser of two devils.â
Ps, no idea how you equate dog grooming with MAGA.
i think part of her perspective/frame is that she has been in school fairly recently and was afraid to speak freely
also, she is a young accountant
maybe lacks nuance that comes with life experience
i did peruse some of her other videos in which she takes aim at don's books
her review sounded firm but fair
usually when a political party suffers they have lost touch with the moderates and/or pandered to fringe elements
yeah biden was clearly not in any condition to go another four years (and dems should have had a primary)
polis from colorado, shapiro from penn or torres from ny would have been more popular picks for president or vp for harris
I wasnt speaking about the narrator, but the women towards the end who i believe said she votes both parties.
Regardless, i think the narrator had the whole pyramid discussion backwards, or upside down.
its not about the primary needs - food clothing housing. Those are being met. Anyone who wants it, can get a job that pays enough to give them a decent apartment, clothing and food. Maybe not a new iphone, multiple streaming services and the latest designer brands, or even Nikes...but decent clothes and good food.
it's about the actualization. that was important to the trump voters.
maybe off tangent, but maybe not...why do so many lower income people vote for trump? The bottom half of income earners?
Whatâs one of the key economic differences between the top half, more likely to vote democrat, and the bottom which are more likely to vote trump?
Not just income, but wealth. They are less reliant on the markets for their wealth/cash flow.
Meanwhile, the top half sees a bozo like biden/harris and supports that because they represent the status quo. They question the direction of the country as much as the bottom half, but look at their 401k balance and are scared, dont want to rock the boat, so they continue to kick the can, keep the statusâ¦maintain their reality (actualize their egos.)
Meanwhile, the bottom half have less to lose, so blow it up, drain the swampâ¦.and give me a few bits that i want so I can self actualize my ego.
Bottom line, different side of same coin. If both sdes were really interested in actualization, they would move on to the transcendence bit and throw both the bums out.
For the swing voter, like the one in the video. the key issue where the dems lost was the border/homelessness/crime. They first denied it was an issue, and then did little to address it. And of course, f'ing up the primaries did not help.
i think part of her perspective/frame is that she has been in school fairly recently and was afraid to speak freely
also, she is a young accountant
maybe lacks nuance that comes with life experience
i did peruse some of her other videos in which she takes aim at don's books
her review sounded firm but fair
usually when a political party suffers they have lost touch with the moderates and/or pandered to fringe elements
yeah biden was clearly not in any condition to go another four years (and dems should have had a primary)
polis from colorado, shapiro from penn or torres from ny would have been more popular picks for president or vp for harris
Too many go to work for companies they despise. We all work to some degree in some pseudo totalitarian type state where we have little emotional attachmentâ¦under the threat of at will employment. We do this for our families, but even a mafia thug loves their family. Perhaps more in there are 20s are getting this, with their roaming lifestyles... I know a young man in his 20s, graduated top of his high school class, studied engineering at a top 10 university...but quit that path and now grooms dogs, because he likes dogs. Most people shake their heads and say, "what a shame" when they should be shaking his hand and asking him where he got the courage?
I used to say that phrase, capitalism sucks, but not as bad as the other economic systems. It's becoming clear that that is no longer true, but just taking a bit longer to suck as much. Same for our politics.
I agree that working conditions suck... at least the party of the worker is back in power.
Your young friend dared to groom dogs... he's in the MAGA pipeline for believing immigrants and the Dems are to blame for his inability to buy a house. At least he doesn't have student loans (oh...nevermind... MAGA didn't like that forgiveness BS either).
We learned 120 years ago that democracy and capitalism coexist best when there are regulations and controls. Somewhere in 80s and 90s we decided the only thing that matters is personal wealth.
I grew up a pretty hard-line conservative, especially about money. I used to joke that I'd be OK paying the most taxes in America. At some point, the idolatry of wealth needs to be reigned in, and we need to accept that once someone reaches a billion dollars, they should pay an inordinate amount of taxes. The system that is built to support failure needs to recover its costs from those that benefit the most. Instead, we let them control everything and then wonder why things aren't getting better for the masses.
I agree that denial of the issues was a major problem, especially when combined with the non-stop association of blame that Republicans have mastered and Democrats are just "too smart" or "too nice" to respond in kind.
Immigrants are taking your jobs! You're unsafe because of immigrants! Joe Biden has destroyed the economy! You can't afford groceries because of Biden! Gas prices are high because Biden stopped all drilling!
None of this is factually true, but if you're unhappy with the price of things, and only one side is providing reasons... sooner or later you begin to believe them.
As crazy as it sounds.... Bidenomics (a horrible name) actually worked. The facts don't lie....
Strong Economic Growth: GDP grew by more than any other developed country.
Low Unemployment: The unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 27 consecutive months, the longest stretch since the 1960s.
Job Creation: The economy has added more than 13 million jobs, including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs.
Wage Growth: Wages for lower-income workers rose 7.8% from early 2020 to mid-2023, reducing inequality.
Inflation Reduction: Inflation has fallen for 11 straight months and has come down by more than half.
Manufacturing Boom: Inflation-adjusted manufacturing construction spending has grown by nearly 100% in just two years.
Clean Energy Job Growth: The clean energy workforce added nearly 300,000 jobs in 2022 alone, with growth in every state.
Record Business Formation: There were more than 10 million applications for new small businesses filed in 2021 and 2022, the strongest two years on record.
Poverty Reduction: The poverty rate fell in 2020 and 2021, reaching the lowest level ever recorded.
Expanded Healthcare Coverage: The number of uninsured Americans hit an all-time low of 7.2%.
Yet Americans didn't think that was the case, including lots of Democrats. They felt like the economy was in the tank. It's not. To compound the problem, they voted for someone who told them that he was going to raise prices... yet they didn't hear him say that. He was going to punish China... yet all he's done so far is give the CCP extended access to your data? Wasn't the Ukraine war supposed to end on Tuesday? Project 2025...never heard of it... but so far chapters 4-15 have provided some great outlines for executive orders.
America is the guy who leaves his wife and family because he got a text message from an 18 year-old saying he was smoking hot and she wanted to have dirty sex with him in her sorority house, only to find out the text was from a 38 year old gaming dude looking to sell his PII in a dark chatroom. Even when they find out...they don't tell anyone how stupid they were.
The hierarchy of needs is a reasonable way to consider the election, but the inability for people to evaluate reality and understand cause and effect are the real problems. Voting for someone who says what you want to hear is only a good idea if they do what they say. The 1/3rd of the country that voted for Trump don't care and want to blame someone for their inability to make more money while everyone else charges them less.
I think your points go back to my point about 99% of the US population has little about their material lives to complain about, even if they live paycheck to paycheck.
But I think your definition of âworkingâ is fairly narrow. How efficiently did we achieve this? How sustainable are these investments?
It reminds me of a failing retailer who issues coupons for heavily discounted goods, which results in record sales, but no profits or cash flow and rising debt. These types of investments may be well intended, but they are not sustainable.
I think where the dissonance lays â we are materially well off but unhappy â is that most us know there is something inherently wrong with our societyâs economy and politics â whether conscious of it or not. And instead of truly addressing these to improve the lives of the common person, we the fill hole in our being and economy with consumption. I remember when conspicuous consumption was a dirty word, now itâs an economic model.
Too many go to work for companies they despise. We all work to some degree in some pseudo totalitarian type state where we have little emotional attachmentâ¦under the threat of at will employment. We do this for our families, but even a mafia thug loves their family. Perhaps more in there are 20s are getting this, with their roaming lifestyles... I know a young man in his 20s, graduated top of his high school class, studied engineering at a top 10 university...but quit that path and now grooms dogs, because he likes dogs. Most people shake their heads and say, "what a shame" when they should be shaking his hand and asking him where he got the courage?
I used to say that phrase, capitalism sucks, but not as bad as the other economic systems. It's becoming clear that that is no longer true, but just taking a bit longer to suck as much. Same for our politics.
herein lies the crux of the problem. All good news and should have put Biden/Harris in the drivers seat. Except they couldn't COMMUNICATE any of this effectively. Maybe if Biden talked to the press once a week instead of once a year the message might have filtered out into the country. Just like Trump, you keep saying how great things are OVER AND OVER AND OVER again till it starts to sink in, whether true or not true. Wait around for folks to discover this on their own and you get the results we just did.
And...we know Trump is a liar. SAY IT! Tell them he's wrong...and give facts. HE started inflation with his COVID relief, and the programs were the most fraudulent in US history.
Don't ignore inflation and say it's getting better... tell everyone you're working like hell to dig out of the hole Trump created! Reiterate over and over... we know it sucks, but we're fighting to make it better, and we're doing a better job than every other major economy in the world...so hang on and we'll get through this! <<crickets>>
The variance between how Americans say they are doing, and how they say the country is doing, is illogical. It's born of the repetitive BS that tells them over and over again how terrible everything is.
We have lost our ability to think critically, and have lost all sense of right and wrong.
I agree that denial of the issues was a major problem, especially when combined with the non-stop association of blame that Republicans have mastered and Democrats are just "too smart" or "too nice" to respond in kind.
Immigrants are taking your jobs! You're unsafe because of immigrants! Joe Biden has destroyed the economy! You can't afford groceries because of Biden! Gas prices are high because Biden stopped all drilling!
None of this is factually true, but if you're unhappy with the price of things, and only one side is providing reasons... sooner or later you begin to believe them.
As crazy as it sounds.... Bidenomics (a horrible name) actually worked. The facts don't lie....
Strong Economic Growth: GDP grew by more than any other developed country.
Low Unemployment: The unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 27 consecutive months, the longest stretch since the 1960s.
Job Creation: The economy has added more than 13 million jobs, including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs.
Wage Growth: Wages for lower-income workers rose 7.8% from early 2020 to mid-2023, reducing inequality.
Inflation Reduction: Inflation has fallen for 11 straight months and has come down by more than half.
Manufacturing Boom: Inflation-adjusted manufacturing construction spending has grown by nearly 100% in just two years.
Clean Energy Job Growth: The clean energy workforce added nearly 300,000 jobs in 2022 alone, with growth in every state.
Record Business Formation: There were more than 10 million applications for new small businesses filed in 2021 and 2022, the strongest two years on record.
Poverty Reduction: The poverty rate fell in 2020 and 2021, reaching the lowest level ever recorded.
Expanded Healthcare Coverage: The number of uninsured Americans hit an all-time low of 7.2%.
Yet Americans didn't think that was the case, including lots of Democrats. They felt like the economy was in the tank. It's not. To compound the problem, they voted for someone who told them that he was going to raise prices... yet they didn't hear him say that. He was going to punish China... yet all he's done so far is give the CCP extended access to your data? Wasn't the Ukraine war supposed to end on Tuesday? Project 2025...never heard of it... but so far chapters 4-15 have provided some great outlines for executive orders.
America is the guy who leaves his wife and family because he got a text message from an 18 year-old saying he was smoking hot and she wanted to have dirty sex with him in her sorority house, only to find out the text was from a 38 year old gaming dude looking to sell his PII in a dark chatroom. Even when they find out...they don't tell anyone how stupid they were.
The hierarchy of needs is a reasonable way to consider the election, but the inability for people to evaluate reality and understand cause and effect are the real problems. Voting for someone who says what you want to hear is only a good idea if they do what they say. The 1/3rd of the country that voted for Trump don't care and want to blame someone for their inability to make more money while everyone else charges them less.
herein lies the crux of the problem. All good news and should have put Biden/Harris in the drivers seat. Except they couldn't COMMUNICATE any of this effectively. Maybe if Biden talked to the press once a week instead of once a year the message might have filtered out into the country. Just like Trump, you keep saying how great things are OVER AND OVER AND OVER again till it starts to sink in, whether true or not true. Wait around for folks to discover this on their own and you get the results we just did.
For the swing voter, like the one in the video. the key issue where the dems lost was the border/homelessness/crime. They first denied it was an issue, and then did little to address it. And of course, f'ing up the primaries did not help.
I agree that denial of the issues was a major problem, especially when combined with the non-stop association of blame that Republicans have mastered and Democrats are just "too smart" or "too nice" to respond in kind.
Immigrants are taking your jobs! You're unsafe because of immigrants! Joe Biden has destroyed the economy! You can't afford groceries because of Biden! Gas prices are high because Biden stopped all drilling!
None of this is factually true, but if you're unhappy with the price of things, and only one side is providing reasons... sooner or later you begin to believe them.
As crazy as it sounds.... Bidenomics (a horrible name) actually worked. The facts don't lie....
Strong Economic Growth: GDP grew by more than any other developed country.
Low Unemployment: The unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 27 consecutive months, the longest stretch since the 1960s.
Job Creation: The economy has added more than 13 million jobs, including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs.
Wage Growth: Wages for lower-income workers rose 7.8% from early 2020 to mid-2023, reducing inequality.
Inflation Reduction: Inflation has fallen for 11 straight months and has come down by more than half.
Manufacturing Boom: Inflation-adjusted manufacturing construction spending has grown by nearly 100% in just two years.
Clean Energy Job Growth: The clean energy workforce added nearly 300,000 jobs in 2022 alone, with growth in every state.
Record Business Formation: There were more than 10 million applications for new small businesses filed in 2021 and 2022, the strongest two years on record.
Poverty Reduction: The poverty rate fell in 2020 and 2021, reaching the lowest level ever recorded.
Expanded Healthcare Coverage: The number of uninsured Americans hit an all-time low of 7.2%.
Yet Americans didn't think that was the case, including lots of Democrats. They felt like the economy was in the tank. It's not. To compound the problem, they voted for someone who told them that he was going to raise prices... yet they didn't hear him say that. He was going to punish China... yet all he's done so far is give the CCP extended access to your data? Wasn't the Ukraine war supposed to end on Tuesday? Project 2025...never heard of it... but so far chapters 4-15 have provided some great outlines for executive orders.
America is the guy who leaves his wife and family because he got a text message from an 18 year-old saying he was smoking hot and she wanted to have dirty sex with him in her sorority house, only to find out the text was from a 38 year old gaming dude looking to sell his PII in a dark chatroom. Even when they find out...they don't tell anyone how stupid they were.
The hierarchy of needs is a reasonable way to consider the election, but the inability for people to evaluate reality and understand cause and effect are the real problems. Voting for someone who says what you want to hear is only a good idea if they do what they say. The 1/3rd of the country that voted for Trump don't care and want to blame someone for their inability to make more money while everyone else charges them less.
coffee thoughts
< snip >
not everyone you disagree with is a wanna be member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party
or the fascist fan club for the resurrection/cloning of Mussolini
Does it matter? There was a clear choice and a path was chosen. I will not likely be surprised by what comes, and while it makes me a little sad, it won't elicit much sympathy.
We could have chosen Star Trek, but we picked Blade Runner instead. In no small part because the characters looked more 'familiar'/ less 'scary'.
I'm not sure why, but people apparently wanted ants.
after speed browsing, this is one video i think i could generally agree with
aren't asians in the usa uniquely qualified to experience extremism?
especially discrimination/selective bias in education?
the silly war on punishing learning and intelligence is a losing proposition
the whole election post mortem is all over the place
however this could explain the "not voting for, but voting against" observation
not everyone you disagree with is a wanna be member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party
or the fascist fan club for the resurrection/cloning of Mussolini
of course this begs the question
will the current people in office be able to improve their situation?
it is possible, but i'm doubtful/skeptical
Hmm, isnât the work hard attitude the GOP mantra? And not that 99% of americans are actually struggling, especially relative to global/historical standardsâ¦see this story about Sudanese refugees: 'A living hell': Sudanese women face rape and abuse in Libya https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3w16k0n7wo
For the swing voter, like the one in the video. the key issue where the dems lost was the border/homelessness/crime. They first denied it was an issue, and then did little to address it. And of course, f'ing up the primaries did not help.
