4 ms·

You know? I couldn't agree more. I grew up in Argentina and I've been telling this to Americans for a while now: guys, I've seen this movie, you won't like the

You know? I couldn't agree more. I grew up in Argentina and I've been telling this to Americans for a while now: guys, I've seen this movie, you won't like the ending. Still, most people don't seem to wake up to the idea that officials can be as corrupt as anyone else. Still, I can't agree with your "Democrats are shit, so you should vote Republican" argument. Sure, it might sound like you are changing something, but at the end of the day they are all driven by the same interest groups.

robomartin 14y ago
> guys, I've seen this movie, you won't like the ending Funny, I say the same thing. I was educated in three different cultures and graduated high-school in both the US and Argentina. What can I say, my parents got around. They are entrepreneurs and had businesses both in the US and Argentina. My father tells some amazing stories about what it was like to do business there. One of my favorites was when his clothing factory got a surprise visit from a high-ranking local military general. He showed-up with two trucks and fully armed soldiers. Went into the office with my father and walked away with an envelope with cash as well as a huge pile of merchandise. The cost of doing business. Talk about having to have balls of steel. Not sure I could do that, and I've been around. > Still, I can't agree with your "Democrats are shit, so you should vote Republican" argument I didn't really say that. I drew a parallel between the way Democrats, effectively, throw money at union workers to buy their votes, the votes of their families and those of retired union workers. Unions, in the US, are a solid unified voting block that always votes Democrat. That does not happen across groups of millions of people unless their vote is being bought through benefits and more. Please tell me, what are our options? Only two people have the ability to win the race: Obama or Romney. I supported Obama in 2008. I can't rightly do that today. His re-election would mean that union will grow stronger and receive more benefits and support than they should. That, as a single issue, is a deal-breaker for me.
- wtracy 14y ago
  Oddly enough, a lot of this helps to put the UK-Argentina war in perspective. Very, very sad.
- natrius 14y ago
  "Unions, in the US, are a solid unified voting block that always votes Democrat. That does not happen across groups of millions of people unless their vote is being bought through benefits and more." Politics aside, this is faulty logic. Unions vote for Democrats because Republicans support policies that make unions weaker. It's a genuine policy difference, and they both have logical arguments.
  - robomartin 14y ago
    No, it's not faulty at all. People tend to favor those who favor them, those who given them things. The example in Argentina was Evita handing blenders and bikes to the people on the streets. The fact that there are those who believe that those policies are wrong is meaningless to the voters. The group will vote for those who give them things, plain and simple. And they will do so even at their own peril. Case in point: How many cities have now filed for bankruptcy protection broken under the weight of pensions that cannot be supported? The only regulatory element in the feedback loop of the whole unionized labor equation is complete and utter failure. Nobody is going to say something like "Wait a minute, who's going to pay for these exorbitant lifetime pensions? Let's scale it back and make them reasonable." No, they'll take and take and take until the goose is dead and no more golden eggs can be produced. This, to some extent, is human nature. Given that, it is only natural that these groups will not support or vote for those who come forward and expose reality. Nobody likes being wrong. It becomes tribal, us vs. them, and all reason is lost. Simple exercise: Hire a gardener for $100 per month to take care of your lawn. Let's say he retires after five years (to speed up the example). Now, by contract, you have to continue to pay him $100 per month for the rest of his life. But, wait a minute. You still need a gardener. No problem, you hire another one at the same $100 per month. The issue is that, now, the same position costs you $200 per month, $100 for the guy doing the work and another $100 for the guy who retired. Repeat that five years later. Now the same position costs you $300 per month. Of course, the gardener's union will favor and vote for those who will keep this gravy train going, regardless of the fact that it is killing the goose. And yes, anyone who dares bring up the reality of what is going on will not only not get their votes, but they'll also be treated to their attacks and ire. The funny thing is that reality and mathematics don't change and eventually the house of cards comes crashing down. This is an over-simplification, but it serves to illustrate one simple reality of the union problem. Democrats give them more and more, and that's why they continue to vote for them. Mathematically, with sixteen trillion dollars in debt this situation cannot continue for too long. We'll see what happens when the music stops. So, yes, people like me are saying: It's time to stop this madness. And, for that, we are hated and ridiculed. That's OK.
- dguaraglia 14y ago
  I understand your point. That's the problem really, the only way I'd vote for Romney would be as a "punishment vote" against the Democrats (I was also a big Obama supporter back in 2008, although I didn't vote.) I don't have an issue with unions getting more benefits. It's not a coincidence that high-paid individuals, like those in our industry, don't feel the need to unionize while blue-collar workers do: they are the segment of the population getting the lion's share of the recession's consequences. As much as I hate discussing taxes (specially with Californians who love telling you how left-leaning they are until you touch their taxes) the issue is very clear: the breach between rich people and the 'slaves' in the 'lower classes' is getting bigger and bigger. There's no way in hell that's good for the country (although, there might be an argument in saying it's good "for the economy" if you don't factor social inequality) in the long term, no matter how you look at it.
DoubleDes 14y ago
y'all niqqas is stupid you need to get yo whack booties up outta here #realtalk!!!!!!

robomartin 14y ago

> guys, I've seen this movie, you won't like the ending Funny, I say the same thing. I was educated in three different cultures and graduated high-school in both the US and Argentina. What can I say, my parents got around. They are entrepreneurs and had businesses both in the US and Argentina. My father tells some amazing stories about what it was like to do business there. One of my favorites was when his clothing factory got a surprise visit from a high-ranking local military general. He showed-up with two trucks and fully armed soldiers. Went into the office with my father and walked away with an envelope with cash as well as a huge pile of merchandise. The cost of doing business. Talk about having to have balls of steel. Not sure I could do that, and I've been around. > Still, I can't agree with your "Democrats are shit, so you should vote Republican" argument I didn't really say that. I drew a parallel between the way Democrats, effectively, throw money at union workers to buy their votes, the votes of their families and those of retired union workers. Unions, in the US, are a solid unified voting block that always votes Democrat. That does not happen across groups of millions of people unless their vote is being bought through benefits and more. Please tell me, what are our options? Only two people have the ability to win the race: Obama or Romney. I supported Obama in 2008. I can't rightly do that today. His re-election would mean that union will grow stronger and receive more benefits and support than they should. That, as a single issue, is a deal-breaker for me.

wtracy 14y ago
Oddly enough, a lot of this helps to put the UK-Argentina war in perspective. Very, very sad.
natrius 14y ago
"Unions, in the US, are a solid unified voting block that always votes Democrat. That does not happen across groups of millions of people unless their vote is being bought through benefits and more." Politics aside, this is faulty logic. Unions vote for Democrats because Republicans support policies that make unions weaker. It's a genuine policy difference, and they both have logical arguments.
- robomartin 14y ago
  No, it's not faulty at all. People tend to favor those who favor them, those who given them things. The example in Argentina was Evita handing blenders and bikes to the people on the streets. The fact that there are those who believe that those policies are wrong is meaningless to the voters. The group will vote for those who give them things, plain and simple. And they will do so even at their own peril. Case in point: How many cities have now filed for bankruptcy protection broken under the weight of pensions that cannot be supported? The only regulatory element in the feedback loop of the whole unionized labor equation is complete and utter failure. Nobody is going to say something like "Wait a minute, who's going to pay for these exorbitant lifetime pensions? Let's scale it back and make them reasonable." No, they'll take and take and take until the goose is dead and no more golden eggs can be produced. This, to some extent, is human nature. Given that, it is only natural that these groups will not support or vote for those who come forward and expose reality. Nobody likes being wrong. It becomes tribal, us vs. them, and all reason is lost. Simple exercise: Hire a gardener for $100 per month to take care of your lawn. Let's say he retires after five years (to speed up the example). Now, by contract, you have to continue to pay him $100 per month for the rest of his life. But, wait a minute. You still need a gardener. No problem, you hire another one at the same $100 per month. The issue is that, now, the same position costs you $200 per month, $100 for the guy doing the work and another $100 for the guy who retired. Repeat that five years later. Now the same position costs you $300 per month. Of course, the gardener's union will favor and vote for those who will keep this gravy train going, regardless of the fact that it is killing the goose. And yes, anyone who dares bring up the reality of what is going on will not only not get their votes, but they'll also be treated to their attacks and ire. The funny thing is that reality and mathematics don't change and eventually the house of cards comes crashing down. This is an over-simplification, but it serves to illustrate one simple reality of the union problem. Democrats give them more and more, and that's why they continue to vote for them. Mathematically, with sixteen trillion dollars in debt this situation cannot continue for too long. We'll see what happens when the music stops. So, yes, people like me are saying: It's time to stop this madness. And, for that, we are hated and ridiculed. That's OK.
dguaraglia 14y ago
I understand your point. That's the problem really, the only way I'd vote for Romney would be as a "punishment vote" against the Democrats (I was also a big Obama supporter back in 2008, although I didn't vote.) I don't have an issue with unions getting more benefits. It's not a coincidence that high-paid individuals, like those in our industry, don't feel the need to unionize while blue-collar workers do: they are the segment of the population getting the lion's share of the recession's consequences. As much as I hate discussing taxes (specially with Californians who love telling you how left-leaning they are until you touch their taxes) the issue is very clear: the breach between rich people and the 'slaves' in the 'lower classes' is getting bigger and bigger. There's no way in hell that's good for the country (although, there might be an argument in saying it's good "for the economy" if you don't factor social inequality) in the long term, no matter how you look at it.

DoubleDes 14y ago

y'all niqqas is stupid you need to get yo whack booties up outta here #realtalk!!!!!!