Watched the Debates. We're Doomed.
OK, I have avoided the debates until recently. Watched most of the Repub one last week and almost all of the Dems (on the dvr yesterday). I have come to the conclusion that we're probably doomed. With the Republicans...if you really listen closely you see this overwhelming desire to use government to fix things. There are, surprisingly, promises to "tax for this" and "tax for that". I don't remember hearing a peep about smaller government.
Then...there are the Dems. Of the three in the debate, Omally (sp?) is the only one who sounds sane. At all. Seems like a decent person, actually. Has no chance in hell. Hillary, to even my surprise, offered ZERO solutions to anything. (I don't expect any hint of a hands-off approach from this crowd, so work with me). She pointed out that the lead in the water in Flint had to do with race. I have always thought she'll be the next president and, apparently, she thinks so too. Very scary thought. Worse than the current guy in there? Anybody's guess. Then, there's Bernie. Sometimes, he actually makes a little sense. But, there is his tireless fixation with other people's money. He absolutely sees wealth as something to be taken. He's very open about it. And, just this morning I heard a clip of him talking up Fidel Castro. Anybody here ever been to Cuba? He said that the lack of an uprising is proof that the people like the Communism there. Very scary stuff. Way out of touch with reality. Yet, I check social media this morning and some people I know back Bernie.
I think things in America are going to get much worse before they get better. My little son made some interesting statements. He has a disability, but has progressed well. He'll actually sit and watch these people talk and figure out who's full of crap (all of them). After watching a while he looked up at me and said, "Dad. What will you do if Sanders gets elected?" Without hesitation I responded, "Hide our stuff." That turned into a short, fun conversation...
Then...there are the Dems. Of the three in the debate, Omally (sp?) is the only one who sounds sane. At all. Seems like a decent person, actually. Has no chance in hell. Hillary, to even my surprise, offered ZERO solutions to anything. (I don't expect any hint of a hands-off approach from this crowd, so work with me). She pointed out that the lead in the water in Flint had to do with race. I have always thought she'll be the next president and, apparently, she thinks so too. Very scary thought. Worse than the current guy in there? Anybody's guess. Then, there's Bernie. Sometimes, he actually makes a little sense. But, there is his tireless fixation with other people's money. He absolutely sees wealth as something to be taken. He's very open about it. And, just this morning I heard a clip of him talking up Fidel Castro. Anybody here ever been to Cuba? He said that the lack of an uprising is proof that the people like the Communism there. Very scary stuff. Way out of touch with reality. Yet, I check social media this morning and some people I know back Bernie.
I think things in America are going to get much worse before they get better. My little son made some interesting statements. He has a disability, but has progressed well. He'll actually sit and watch these people talk and figure out who's full of crap (all of them). After watching a while he looked up at me and said, "Dad. What will you do if Sanders gets elected?" Without hesitation I responded, "Hide our stuff." That turned into a short, fun conversation...
Previous comments...
I have to point out that things are amazingly good right now. We have amazing technologies. Crime has declined. The threat of a full-scale nuclear war is less. The notion of beating your spouse or committing rape being okay under certain circumstances is just gone. MLK had a controversial dream that's not had all controversial anymore, after just 50 years. Marginal tax rates > 50% are gone, hopefully for good.
Things are far from perfect, and not every area of life has seen improvement, e.g. the stuff in your post and the nonsense politicians say.
Overall things got better in my life time, are still getting better, and will continue to get better.
Technical progress has continued despite the government, not because of it, but is being progressively controlled and exploited for nefarious ends. Advances in medicine are undermined with shortages of doctors and a regulatory morass as doctors drop out and government regulates and taxes our medical care for redistributionism.
Racial resentment and conflict are increasing in violent outbursts as they are being deliberately stoked by "irrational lives matter" racists. Despite the fact that racism among ordinary people was minimal and declining, it is worse now than the days of forced busing and the onslaught of affirmative racism.
The threat of nuclear war with Russia subsided despite the Democrats and now on the increase, along with the Iranian threat enabled by Obama. International terrorism is on the rise while Americans are subject to increased surveillance and restrictions and the primitives are protected by multi-culturalism political correctness. Immigration has been replaced by cultural and political invasion for third world "fundamental change" of our country.
If domestic "crime" has declined at all -- apparently they don't count drug robberies and burning cities -- it is replaced by government crime through progressively increasing bureaucratic abuse under exploiting regulatory decrees. We are progressively in a worsening post-constitutional era threatening all of us with arbitrary government power. This includes intensified anti-private property rights, anti-industry viro agencies and the politically motivated tax police state. Rape has been illegal all along; now the innocent are being falsely accused from political correctness. Small companies are terrorized over refusing to "bake cakes" under government-forced entitlements. Major companies are leaving the country over the high taxes and regulations, and ordinary citizens at all economic levels are cutting back or retiring early.
It is increasingly difficult to enjoy the gains we have made despite political progressivism and government power as we constantly look over our shoulders in fear of what will hit us next. This is all "amazingly good right now" all right -- for liberal fascists who have progressed faster than they dreamed possible. It's great for apologists for Cackles and Obama. It is no time to celebrate our achievements and be lulled into complacency while ignoring the further statist, irrationalist decline we are threatened with.
I think I agree with CircuitGuy (OMG! Was that my Outside Voice?). From one of Matt Ridley's articles:
"Compared with 50 years ago, people now live 30 per cent longer; have 30 per cent more food to eat; spend longer in school; have better housing; bury 70 per cent fewer of their children; travel more; give more to charity as a proportion of income; are less likely to be murdered, raped or robbed; are much less likely to die in war; are less likely to die in a drought, flood or storm."
We become obsessed by news and do not give enough weight to statistics.
I am hoping that technological progress will make many of the government mandates irrelevant.
Jan
That's my hope too. I summarized my hope and fear in this regard in my reply to blackswan.
I agree.
OTOH, I worry that technology will increase return on capital and allow top performers to sell to more customers, causing a dangerous socialist backlash. I'm not predicting socialism to get worse, but it's a grave concern.
Maybe the way technology educates, obviates borders, and allows people to sell down the long tail (related to your point on economies of scale) will push back against socialist urges.
This is a good summary of what I think. The rest of what you say is the line of thinking that if you're not miserable about the world's problems, which are still many b/c we're nowhere near utopia, you must be lulled in complacency, ignoring the problems, or playing the political game of trying to take credit for the prosperity.
It sounds like you've been involved in politics trying to direct credit or blame for so long, that you've forgotten most of us are actually out here doing stuff.
I sense he's at least sincere. He's not just saying what he thinks will get him elected.
"But, there is his tireless fixation with other people's money. He absolutely sees wealth as something to be taken."
It's more his get-of-an-issue free card by saying we could always tax the wealthy to solve some problem. If he's going that route, he should state what level of wealth makes him interested in taxing you, maybe it's income >300k/yr. Then there should be some buffer zone where you don't need any handouts, but he's not going to ask for more taxes from you. Maybe it's $100k < income < $300k. Then he could state how much more he'll squeeze out of the rich and how much extra in handouts/programs they'll give to the middle class and poor. I think people would be shocked at how little money there is when you start splitting that pie up.
They're correlated though.
"His pipe dream of 19 trillion in tax revenues over a ten year period."
Did he actually give numbers? Wow. He said allowed he wants to double taxes, not counting Social Security!?