2020 Election

That's true. Global poverty is much different than U.S. poverty. And I try to chip in when there is a charity at the store where it's convenient and non-invasive/non-intrusive.

For me, I didn't understand at first why money was important. Around when I turned 18 I had a bit of a wake up call. I had to teach myself that money was going to have to be part of my life. I would need to build the foundations for a career. Long story short, I majored in accounting; one of the only fields at the time I finally got around to majoring in something that was hiring (this was around the time the financial crisis occurred). Anyway... my roots are not in materialism. But I learned that you can objectify things. And just by participating in material gain you can then identify with it. Through all of that you can become more materialistic. This for survivals sake.

I don't know that it makes any sense to others so I'll stop there. I don't know what to do about global poverty, but I probably don't give enough to charity. Honestly, I've been seeing so many letters in the mail that are different charities reaching out for donations, putting their name out there, etc. that it's really challenging not to get tired of them. But I think there is great need. I just don't know where to find the balance between my own survival at my cost of living/our standards of living and giving.

 

Anyway, it looks like Andy Beshear (D) has narrowly won the Kentucky governorship over incumbent Matt Bevin (R). This, frankly, shocks the hell out of me. Republicans won every other state office easily. Bevin touted his support of Trump in his campaign commercials. I hope this is a sign of things to come.

 

Democrats win full control of Virginia statehouse


RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Democrats continued their winning streak under President Trump on Tuesday and took full control of the statehouse for the first time in more than two decades.

Suburban voters turned out in big numbers to back Democratic candidates, continuing a trend of once GOP-friendly suburbs turning blue. This is the third election in a row in which Democrats made significant gains since Trump was elected.

"I'm here to officially declare today, November 5, 2019, that Virginia is officially blue," Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam told a crowd of supporters in Richmond.

 

taco bell will survive..
At first I was afraid, I was without a taco
Kept thinking I could never live without without a taco
But then I spent so many nights thinking a taco
And I love the taco
And I learned how to get a taco
And so I became the taco

 

This bodes well for next year's elections and Trump must be crapping his underwear at the moment !!!

 

Okie

I fear many don’t understand the business cycle especially those free market and neoliberal people that learnt nothing from that last crash.

The US should be preparing for the next turn down now, but instead the Republicans are talking of new tax cuts on top of the one that have so vastly increased public debt (although the Fed, against the wishes of Trump have raised interest rates).

This on top of the huge amount of private and corporate debt could make things very problematic if there is a downturn.

The thing I fear is that the inevitable slump (or even crash) will happen once the Democrats are in power and so those that do not understand such things as the business cycle (or do but are politically opportunistic) blamed them for it.

 

Well you should first clean up your own mess before going on to help others with theirs.

But in the longer term well the problem was that those pushing neoliberal policies only wanted economic globalisation (which suited the wealth) while what is needed to balance things out is a push for social globalisation – here is a post I wrote a few years ago

It seems to me that the political history of the 20th century (in the industrialised nations) has been to one degree or another about the curtailment of the adverse effects of 19th century exploitative capitalism (some call classical liberalism).

People in many nations fought for voting rights, social benefits, safer working conditions, progressive taxation, and decent living wages. The result of that movement was that the economic benefits of production were much more distributed. Many people saw their wages grow and in the period between the end of WWII and 1970 many in Europe and the US gain middle class status.

But from the 70’s onward a new idea was promoted in some of these nations (often referred to as neo-liberalism) it was in many ways opposed to the ‘distributive’ system that had developed. One thing it promoted was economic globalisation, which basically allowed back some aspects of exploitative capitalism by promoting the moving of production to nations that had not developed the more distributive systems away from those nations that had.

In this way the long fought for distributive system has been undermined in those places where it had developed. Neo-liberals argue that to ‘compete’ in the global market the elements of the distributive system need to be dismantled what is needed they say is deregulation, the cutting of welfare, tax cuts that benefit the rich, lower wages, weak government oversight etc etc.

So what we are getting in is the dismantling of the distributive system in the developed countries while in some developing countries the conditions resemble what was happening in the west before people’s struggle to get rid of exploitation (the fire in Bangladesh that killed over a thousand factory workers comes to mind).

So what can be done well as James K Galbriath has argued –

We must confront the global inequality crisis. For this, we must, in the final analysis, raise real wages in the countries with which our workers compete, expand their markets for our goods, and reduce their pressure on our wage structure”

To me what neoliberal inspired right wingers seem to be aiming for is for a few to be able to exploit the many more easily across the globe.

I think we need to fight again for social balance but this time it has to be global. To counter the economic globalisation that has already taken place we need social globalisation to be brought in, and that means social global governance to counter the already in place economic global governance.

 

Now you guys just have to get Mitch McConnell out!

 

Not 'us' Mel darlin, but you. We're in the process of ousting Boris and the rest of the scumbag 'nasty party'.

 

Oh, for crying out loud

Dude, go back and finish high school

 

LOL and yes you have said that before but as before - and I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s noticed – that AGAIN you don’t seem able to actually come up with any rational counter arguments

Maybe it’s you that would benefit from a bit of education….

 

Right wing not left wing neo-liberals made a distributive system more distributive, distributively


Why are you even in this thread anyway? Because no one is playing in the Brexit thread, Becuase next month you will get another hung parliament and you snowflakes wont be able to decide anything

 

LOL and that is your rational counter argument – wow- i mean come on man what are you going on about?

Sorry mate but do you even know what the fuck you are talking about?

 

Tumble weeds, crickets chirping in the Brexit thread

 

Oh what a comeback…I’m so impressed…wow you should be a stand up comedian...

Now have you even the ability to say anything of any substance?

I mean why do you do this to yourself

Think about it day after day you come here and display to the world your ignorance on so many subjects and issues, self-humiliating yourself over and over

And you don’t even seem to realise it – I don’t think I've meet anyone that is so lacking in self-awareness.

 

Awww, no one wants to play with Balbus in the Brexit threads

 

But honestly why do you do this to yourself

Think about it day after day you come here and display to the world your ignorance on so many subjects and issues, self-humiliating yourself over and over, sad so sad

 

Mel

I heard he is down to a 18 percent job approval rating in his home state of Kentucky

 

Unfortunately that 18% are probably the only ones who bother to vote.
I just cant fathom any other reason why he's been in office this long

 

Also this seemed fitting for this thread
*disclaimer: not directed at all boomers