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I think a big issue is the incredible juxtaposition between what you learn about America as a child... The land of opportunity Work hard and be rewarded The sh

by codyb 7y ago

I think a big issue is the incredible juxtaposition between what you learn about America as a child... The land of opportunity Work hard and be rewarded The shining nation on the hill And what you see as an adult Lose your job? No healthcare, and little support Get cancer? Go bankrupt and lose everything if you’re not lucky or super rich Let’s pass major legislation! Oh great another huge tax cut for the mega rich. Go to school? Be saddled in debt for decades. Get out of school? Work multiple jobs just to make ends meet in a system that favors employers And how’re you supposed to escape? By buying material possessions that don’t bring lasting quality of life improvements, or by wallowing away in a drugged up haze, or by binge watching television and other media. We’re supposed to be the leaders of the free world but we our government is increasingly disfunctional and tailored to special interests and the wealthy. Meritocracy? Ha. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is being hollowed out. This administration certainly hasn’t helped as it amplifies its fear based rhetoric of migrants, and crime while pushing us backwards on climate initiatives and ruining our reputation abroad. It’s no wonder people are depressed. Wage slavery sucks, living on a knife’s edge sucks, and there’s really not much going on to change it. I’m pretty hopeful for the younger generations, but boy is it a mess they’re inheriting.

alfromspace 7y ago
Meritocracy? Ha. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is being hollowed out. This administration certainly hasn’t helped as it amplifies its fear based rhetoric of migrants Migration was and is a big part of the process. Not the only part, but still a problem to be solved. If you presumably want a European-style healthcare system in America and a job market that doesn't only favor employers, you'll need to acknowledge that the laws of supply and demand apply to labor and social services, and that an all-inclusive welfare state and mass migration can't work together.
- ljw1001 7y ago
  > If you presumably want a European-style healthcare system in America and a job market that doesn't only favor employers... This doesn't stand up to the least amount of reflection. There are immigrants in Europe. If you look at European countries individually there is massive immigration between them, as well as immigration from outside. And yet. The US system favors employers not because of free-market competition between employees (or at least not predominantly so) but because corporations have bought the US government and twist every law to their advantage. Destroying the last vestiges of labor unions was just one small part.
  - deogeo 7y ago
    > There are immigrants in Europe. If you look at European countries individually there is massive immigration between them, as well as immigration from outside. And yet. And yet in almost no country has the original population almost become a minority, unlike the US. So clearly the cumulative net immigration is greater in the US. And Bernie Sanders (someone who has certainly applied the "least amount of reflection" to this) seems to share the GPs view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf-k6qOfXz0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf-k6qOfXz0
    - iron0013 7y ago
      The original population of the United States is Native Americans. Is that who you meant when you said "original population"? Or to put it another way, brown people who speak Spanish, for example, have been in North America just as long as white people who speak English... Actually, the more I think about it, the more curious I am about who you think the "original population" of the United States is, and why
      - deogeo 7y ago
        You're right, I should have just said white people. The reason I used demographics like this, is that per-capita net immigration numbers are tricky to come by, especially when you factor in the EU changing in size. But if you simply look at ethnicity, it's obvious one territory had a greater influx of people. Regardless, I don't see how this pedantry affects the claim that an influx of workers drives down wages.
        vinay427 7y ago
        > But if you simply look at ethnicity, it's obvious one territory had a greater influx of people. Ignoring the implication that "white people" are somehow collectively more original in the US, why are we choosing some arbitrary distinctions of ethnicity particularly for this claim as these groups aren't even cleanly distinguishable by average wage?

by codyb 7y ago

alfromspace 7y ago

Meritocracy? Ha. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is being hollowed out. This administration certainly hasn’t helped as it amplifies its fear based rhetoric of migrants Migration was and is a big part of the process. Not the only part, but still a problem to be solved. If you presumably want a European-style healthcare system in America and a job market that doesn't only favor employers, you'll need to acknowledge that the laws of supply and demand apply to labor and social services, and that an all-inclusive welfare state and mass migration can't work together.

ljw1001 7y ago
> If you presumably want a European-style healthcare system in America and a job market that doesn't only favor employers... This doesn't stand up to the least amount of reflection. There are immigrants in Europe. If you look at European countries individually there is massive immigration between them, as well as immigration from outside. And yet. The US system favors employers not because of free-market competition between employees (or at least not predominantly so) but because corporations have bought the US government and twist every law to their advantage. Destroying the last vestiges of labor unions was just one small part.
- deogeo 7y ago
  > There are immigrants in Europe. If you look at European countries individually there is massive immigration between them, as well as immigration from outside. And yet. And yet in almost no country has the original population almost become a minority, unlike the US. So clearly the cumulative net immigration is greater in the US. And Bernie Sanders (someone who has certainly applied the "least amount of reflection" to this) seems to share the GPs view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf-k6qOfXz0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf-k6qOfXz0
  - iron0013 7y ago
    The original population of the United States is Native Americans. Is that who you meant when you said "original population"? Or to put it another way, brown people who speak Spanish, for example, have been in North America just as long as white people who speak English... Actually, the more I think about it, the more curious I am about who you think the "original population" of the United States is, and why
    - deogeo 7y ago
      You're right, I should have just said white people. The reason I used demographics like this, is that per-capita net immigration numbers are tricky to come by, especially when you factor in the EU changing in size. But if you simply look at ethnicity, it's obvious one territory had a greater influx of people. Regardless, I don't see how this pedantry affects the claim that an influx of workers drives down wages.
      - vinay427 7y ago
        > But if you simply look at ethnicity, it's obvious one territory had a greater influx of people. Ignoring the implication that "white people" are somehow collectively more original in the US, why are we choosing some arbitrary distinctions of ethnicity particularly for this claim as these groups aren't even cleanly distinguishable by average wage?