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> Most people I know voted Republican were low-wage working people, where my highly paid educated friends voted Democrat Biden actively courted high-earning, e

> Most people I know voted Republican were low-wage working people, where my highly paid educated friends voted Democrat Biden actively courted high-earning, educated voters with his free college and student loan forgiveness policies, which amount to a wealth transfer to people who already have higher lifetime average earnings and are at a competitive advantage in the employment marketplace. Not very progressive: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/18/opinion/student-debt-forgiveness-college-democrats.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/18/opinion/student-debt-forg... He also pledged to fund it by raising corporate income taxes, which will reduce the profitability (and therefore, the value) of all publicly traded companies in the US, which means anyone with a 401(k) or IRA will indirectly be paying for this, even if they don't have student loan debt or a college degree at all.

throwaway32849 6y ago
I'm not sure why this was downvoted. The degree divide is growing as an electorate bifurcator, with the GOP fast becoming the party of the college-less: > https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2020/1027/As-college-grads-flee-the-GOP-political-diploma-divide-grows https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2020/1027/As-college-... And as I pointed out, it's not solely for the reasons college-educated progressives are eager to suggest ("ignorant, uneducated people vote republican"). Student loan forgiveness is a flatly a regressive policy, amounting to a handout to people who are already economically advantaged. > https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/student-loan-forgiveness-could-become-a-reality-with-biden-in-office-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/student-loan-forgiveness-cou... > Biden laid out a narrower plan, saying he would forgive $10,000 in student debt for all borrowers, and the rest of the debt for those who attended public colleges or historically Black colleges and universities and earn less than $125,000 a year. Imagine being a non-college educated voter earning $60-70k a year, and reading that people earning upto $125k a year will get a handout.
- throwaway32848 6y ago
  Nothing I said was false, inflammatory, or off-topic, and yet these comments got massacred with disagreement downvotes (I assume by people with student loan debt who want a handout). The downvoting and flagging on this site is out of control.
nl 6y ago
While it's true that the average salary of people who complete a college degree is higher than those who don't there are large numbers who don't complete the degree (which ends up with little salary benefit), or who do degrees that don't provide great salary outcomes[1] [1] https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2020/data-on-display/education-pays.htm https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2020/data-on-display/educa... - note the associate degree and "some college" levels. > He also pledged to fund it by raising corporate income taxes, which will reduce the profitability (and therefore, the value) of all publicly traded companies in the US, which means anyone with a 401(k) or IRA will indirectly be paying for this, That's not how it works. The stockmarket is a comparative market where higher profitability compared to other companies is what affects stock price. This means tax increases to all companies don't drop stock prices. Also the amount of tax increase is so small it is unlikely to be noticeable on the P&L anyway.
- karpierz 6y ago
  > The stockmarket is a comparative market where higher profitability compared to other companies is what affects stock price. Can you provide evidence for this? I was under the impression that price is dictated by long-term underlying company value. That is to say, time-discounted, risk-adjusted dividends, including buy-outs. Dividends are just paid out via stock-buybacks these days because the dividends are taxed more, despite them being functionally equivalent.
  - nl 6y ago
    I was under the impression that price is dictated by long-term underlying company value. That is to say, time-discounted, risk-adjusted dividends, including buy-outs. It's true that price is determined by long-term value, but long-term value isn't sorely dictated by dividends. Expected price appreciation itself is a factor for growth stocks. Growth stocks include some very large companies, including Google and Facebook. Earnings is seen as an indication of future value (and future dividends if it is an income stock rather than a growth stock) https://finance.zacks.com/profits-reflect-stock-prices-8263.html https://finance.zacks.com/profits-reflect-stock-prices-8263....
- 6y ago

throwaway32849 6y ago

I'm not sure why this was downvoted. The degree divide is growing as an electorate bifurcator, with the GOP fast becoming the party of the college-less: > https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2020/1027/As-college-grads-flee-the-GOP-political-diploma-divide-grows https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2020/1027/As-college-... And as I pointed out, it's not solely for the reasons college-educated progressives are eager to suggest ("ignorant, uneducated people vote republican"). Student loan forgiveness is a flatly a regressive policy, amounting to a handout to people who are already economically advantaged. > https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/student-loan-forgiveness-could-become-a-reality-with-biden-in-office-.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/student-loan-forgiveness-cou... > Biden laid out a narrower plan, saying he would forgive $10,000 in student debt for all borrowers, and the rest of the debt for those who attended public colleges or historically Black colleges and universities and earn less than $125,000 a year. Imagine being a non-college educated voter earning $60-70k a year, and reading that people earning upto $125k a year will get a handout.

throwaway32848 6y ago
Nothing I said was false, inflammatory, or off-topic, and yet these comments got massacred with disagreement downvotes (I assume by people with student loan debt who want a handout). The downvoting and flagging on this site is out of control.

nl 6y ago

While it's true that the average salary of people who complete a college degree is higher than those who don't there are large numbers who don't complete the degree (which ends up with little salary benefit), or who do degrees that don't provide great salary outcomes[1] [1] https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2020/data-on-display/education-pays.htm https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2020/data-on-display/educa... - note the associate degree and "some college" levels. > He also pledged to fund it by raising corporate income taxes, which will reduce the profitability (and therefore, the value) of all publicly traded companies in the US, which means anyone with a 401(k) or IRA will indirectly be paying for this, That's not how it works. The stockmarket is a comparative market where higher profitability compared to other companies is what affects stock price. This means tax increases to all companies don't drop stock prices. Also the amount of tax increase is so small it is unlikely to be noticeable on the P&L anyway.

karpierz 6y ago
> The stockmarket is a comparative market where higher profitability compared to other companies is what affects stock price. Can you provide evidence for this? I was under the impression that price is dictated by long-term underlying company value. That is to say, time-discounted, risk-adjusted dividends, including buy-outs. Dividends are just paid out via stock-buybacks these days because the dividends are taxed more, despite them being functionally equivalent.
- nl 6y ago
  I was under the impression that price is dictated by long-term underlying company value. That is to say, time-discounted, risk-adjusted dividends, including buy-outs. It's true that price is determined by long-term value, but long-term value isn't sorely dictated by dividends. Expected price appreciation itself is a factor for growth stocks. Growth stocks include some very large companies, including Google and Facebook. Earnings is seen as an indication of future value (and future dividends if it is an income stock rather than a growth stock) https://finance.zacks.com/profits-reflect-stock-prices-8263.html https://finance.zacks.com/profits-reflect-stock-prices-8263....
6y ago