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For the majority of Americans on HN or employed in tech or finance or some other salaried office work, the sky isn’t falling, we’re doing well. but we’re also a

For the majority of Americans on HN or employed in tech or finance or some other salaried office work, the sky isn’t falling, we’re doing well. but we’re also a minority of Americans. Walk through towns & small cities in Indiana, Kansas, Florida, Alabama. In a lot of these places the sky is falling, there are few jobs & high rates of opiate abuse. There isn’t much of a social safety net. Unfortunately many of these people vote against their own financial interests, and honestly the democrats also aren’t addressing the roots of inequality sufficiently. The United States is basically divided between those of us who are doing well and those of us for whom the sky is at least looking brittle. That’s the issue putting pressure on society today.

bigbubba 6y ago
I'm not saying that times aren't rough. Obviously tines are rough. What I'm saying is that America is not on the cusp of a civil war and the overwhelming majority of Americans aren't itching to kill each other, they just want things to return to normal.
- thisiscorrect 6y ago
  Even during the American Civl War, or any other war, were the majority of the people in the nations involved itching to kill each other?
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > What I’m saying is that America is not on the cusp of a civil war and the overwhelming majority of Americans aren’t itching to kill each other, they just want things to return to normal. The second half is probably true, the first half is less clearly so. On the actual cusp of the actual civil war, the overwhelming majority of Americans weren’t itching to kill each other and most just wanted things to return to normal. Of course, there were broad camps with radically different views as to the barriers to normalcy and considerable propaganda effort expended to nurture some of those views by people who had already come to the conclusion that a fight was, if not desirable, a necessary risk to secure their political goals. (Also broadly true of the Revolutionary War, for that matter, and, really, most other internal and international armed conflicts in history.)
hiram112 6y ago
> Unfortunately many of these people vote against their own financial interests... I get so tired of this poorly reasoned idea that continues to be spouted from the left as if it is gospel, and that the "rubes" are just not as enlightened as some journalist in New York or a javascript dev in Mountain View. How exactly would voting for someone like Biden help the average working class voter in middle America? * Tons more quota / diversity based help that will re-distribute the already small amount of aid to people who are NOT them. * Medicare for all and similar schemas: Ask them how Obamacare has worked out. It's likely they now can't even use any health services since they're still paying premiums, but now have a $7K deductible for their family of four. * Shoveling money from the right's corporate masters to the left's friends in the public unions, legal industry, big tech, etc. is not a net gain for these voters. * Increased immigration and globalization that may very well increase the economy as a whole, but certainly won't be trickling the wealth down to them. * changes in the tax code that may raise or lower rates by a few points here and there, but have absolutely no effect on average working class voters who don't pay much in federal taxes anyway. * Green energy initiatives that will allow rich people who can afford it to virtue signal, but will raise the prices of gas, heating, electricity, etc. for everyone else. Please let me know which actual policy changes that Biden and Co. can and will implement that would help these voters, but who are just too dumb to realize?
- ritchiea 6y ago
  There are plenty of rubes on the left but I don’t bitch about them nearly as much because, at least in the current political climate, they aren’t active barriers to the changes I’d like to see in America. I’m not someone who believes left and right are intelligent & enlightened vs ignorant & foolish. Though I do believe the right to be more cynical and openly self interested.
  - vxNsr 6y ago
    You literally said the people on the right vote against their own self interest, now you’re saying that they vote against change you want... but isn’t necessarily better for them. If you’re wondering why ppl don’t take you seriously this is why.

bigbubba 6y ago

I'm not saying that times aren't rough. Obviously tines are rough. What I'm saying is that America is not on the cusp of a civil war and the overwhelming majority of Americans aren't itching to kill each other, they just want things to return to normal.

thisiscorrect 6y ago
Even during the American Civl War, or any other war, were the majority of the people in the nations involved itching to kill each other?
dragonwriter 6y ago
> What I’m saying is that America is not on the cusp of a civil war and the overwhelming majority of Americans aren’t itching to kill each other, they just want things to return to normal. The second half is probably true, the first half is less clearly so. On the actual cusp of the actual civil war, the overwhelming majority of Americans weren’t itching to kill each other and most just wanted things to return to normal. Of course, there were broad camps with radically different views as to the barriers to normalcy and considerable propaganda effort expended to nurture some of those views by people who had already come to the conclusion that a fight was, if not desirable, a necessary risk to secure their political goals. (Also broadly true of the Revolutionary War, for that matter, and, really, most other internal and international armed conflicts in history.)

hiram112 6y ago

> Unfortunately many of these people vote against their own financial interests... I get so tired of this poorly reasoned idea that continues to be spouted from the left as if it is gospel, and that the "rubes" are just not as enlightened as some journalist in New York or a javascript dev in Mountain View. How exactly would voting for someone like Biden help the average working class voter in middle America? * Tons more quota / diversity based help that will re-distribute the already small amount of aid to people who are NOT them. * Medicare for all and similar schemas: Ask them how Obamacare has worked out. It's likely they now can't even use any health services since they're still paying premiums, but now have a $7K deductible for their family of four. * Shoveling money from the right's corporate masters to the left's friends in the public unions, legal industry, big tech, etc. is not a net gain for these voters. * Increased immigration and globalization that may very well increase the economy as a whole, but certainly won't be trickling the wealth down to them. * changes in the tax code that may raise or lower rates by a few points here and there, but have absolutely no effect on average working class voters who don't pay much in federal taxes anyway. * Green energy initiatives that will allow rich people who can afford it to virtue signal, but will raise the prices of gas, heating, electricity, etc. for everyone else. Please let me know which actual policy changes that Biden and Co. can and will implement that would help these voters, but who are just too dumb to realize?

ritchiea 6y ago
There are plenty of rubes on the left but I don’t bitch about them nearly as much because, at least in the current political climate, they aren’t active barriers to the changes I’d like to see in America. I’m not someone who believes left and right are intelligent & enlightened vs ignorant & foolish. Though I do believe the right to be more cynical and openly self interested.
- vxNsr 6y ago
  You literally said the people on the right vote against their own self interest, now you’re saying that they vote against change you want... but isn’t necessarily better for them. If you’re wondering why ppl don’t take you seriously this is why.