5 ms·
This is the one-two punch that Republicans use to kill social programs. 1. Drag their feet until Democrats reluctantly agree to include something guaranteed to
by jjoonathan 4y ago
This is the one-two punch that Republicans use to kill social programs.
1. Drag their feet until Democrats reluctantly agree to include something guaranteed to cause dysfunction (uneconomic means testing, perverse incentive cliffs, adverse selection, etc).
2. Point at the dysfunction they created as a reason to kill the program.
I'd be a lot more sympathetic to #2 if I didn't see so much #1.
- myfavoritedog 4y agoAnd yet, when the Democrats control Congress and the presidency (like they do now, like they did in 2010), they do absolutely nothing to show us how wonderful their programs could be -- if only they had control! Government programs don't need Republicans to add the dysfunction.
- praxulus 4y agoThey don't actually have the ability to pass general bills without Republican support though. Outside of budget reconciliation, neither party has had the power to pass legislation without at least some bipartisan support since Ted Kennedy was replaced in 2010.
- leereeves 4y agoThey do have the ability to pass general bills without Republican support, actually. They can pass a separate bill to suspend the filibuster on another bill, and suspending the filibuster only requires the 50 Democrat Senators and the VP. They tried to do so in January but Manchin and Sinema voted against it.
- klyrs 4y agoSo, they don't have the ability to pass general bills without Republican support. They'd need to change the rules to have that ability.
- leereeves 4y agoWhat a silly distinction. The rules aren't an actual obstacle; they can change the rules whenever they want, if all 50 Dem senators agree. In fact they've already done so at least once: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/585192-senate-passes-bill-to-avoid-filibuster-on-debt-ceiling-hike/ https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/585192-senate-passes-bil...
- olyjohn 4y agoI mean, I get it that the Republicans like to destroy this shit. But according to TFA, this $2000 policy limit has been in place since 1989. What have the Democrats done? Have they not been in any position of power in the last 30 years? Probably they have just also sat around and blamed the other party too. Sick of this passing the buck bullshit that literally gets nothing done.
- UncleMeat 4y agoEven amongst the left, the narrative of the welfare queen is strong. Eliminating means testing is so easily attacked that it is a challenging policy to propose. This isn't to let the Democrats off the hook, only to explain that Democratic voters are not uniformly behind improving these policies.
- danielheath 4y agoBy the standards of the rest of the world, the US Democrats are centre-right and American politics have no left. It’s really astonishing how different the Overton window is (and concerning how much my home country is importing US politics.
- guerrilla 4y agoBy a European standard they're not even center-right.
- guerrilla 4y agoYeah, the Democrats are right wing. You're confounding left and Democrats.
- Sohcahtoa82 4y agoThe overton window has shifted so far right that some people think Biden is a socialist.
- 4y ago
- linuxftw 4y agoThere's nothing stopping the single party wealthy states like CA and NY implementing whatever they want. Just raise taxes on the rich and do whatever you want with their money, right?
- rufus_foreman 4y agoWhich social programs have the Republicans killed?
- masklinn 4y ago> This is the one-two punch that Republicans use to kill social programs. While there is that, welfare traps are not limited to the US, and through countries with very different levels of “social democratic” focus, so they are clearly a broader and more compelling thing somehow.