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Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)


Simon

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I've got a cousin-in-law in Alberta who says he would sponsor me. I've got another cousin-law in Montreal who'd probably do the same thing. And there's a teacher in my building who's originally from Quebec who said he eventually wants to move to Saskatchewan and go off the grid who's invited me to join him.

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On 12/21/2021 at 8:06 PM, Lord Liaden said:

 

That is, of course, assuming that the majority of those who claim to be willing to fight would actually do so.

 

I was just responding to your comment on raw numbers there. Of course, there are a lot of other factors in play.

 

I don't really see a full-blown civil war happening anytime soon, but there are enough extremists (future moderates, if things keep going the way they have been) out there to cause real problems.

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9 hours ago, Pariah said:

I've got a cousin-in-law in Alberta who says he would sponsor me. I've got another cousin-law in Montreal who'd probably do the same thing. And there's a teacher in my building who's originally from Quebec who said he eventually wants to move to Saskatchewan and go off the grid who's invited me to join him.

 

If you don't speak French you might look at Alberta first. You can get along pretty well day-to-day in Montreal just with English, but your employment opportunities would be more limited. Of course if going off the grid appeals to you, by all means become a Saskatchewanian. Note that winters there tend to get bitterly cold.

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https://freakonomics.com/podcast/season-11-episode-12/

 

this episode pf Freakonomics discusses the similarities and differences in corruption between the US and PRC, and how it relates to political and business culture. The professor who studies this stresses that "corruption" -- the abuse of public power for private benefit -- occurs in multiple modes, and surveys that purport to rate the relative corruption among countries can thus obscure more than they reveal. Notably, the US scores quite low in outright theft of state monies or simple bribery... but in subtler, more high-level forms of corruption such as corporations writing the laws by which they do business, or paying for access to the halls of power? That's another story. And the situation is not so simple in China, either.

 

Dean Shomshak

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19 hours ago, Pariah said:

As far as I can tell, Fox News' strategy for solving America's problems is to throw gasoline on the flames, then blame President Biden for how expensive gasoline is.

 

All Presidents believe in tax & spend.  (Trump presently worst but Biden so new jury still out) As a result,  can't put blame on any one President or administration. Besides,  Congress is the one that creates the actual tax code,  the only role the President has is to approve or reject it.  Anything else and it must be returned to Congress. 

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2 hours ago, Asperion said:

 

All Presidents believe in tax & spend.  (Trump presently worst but Biden so new jury still out) As a result,  can't put blame on any one President or administration. Besides,  Congress is the one that creates the actual tax code,  the only role the President has is to approve or reject it.  Anything else and it must be returned to Congress. 

 

I want a president who will actually take climate change as seriously as it needs to be.

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"Tax and spend" is how governments are supposed to work. Government exists to provide services: notably, protecting citizens from foreign enemies and from each other. That costs money, which the people pay in the form of taxes.

 

It's a much better system than "Don't tax but still spend," which various politicians have advocated. Or, "Extort money but provide no services," which has been a common setup through history.

 

I am sorry if this seems snarky, but my guess is that people who complain about "Tax and Spend" merely want someone else to do more of the paying, and to see more of the spending directed at them. But, well, humans. How often does anyone get on a soapbox and shout, "Raise my taxes! And spend the money helping people who aren't like me!" And some people talk tough, but not many really want to go back to Hobbesian anarchy.

 

I do not think that politicians of *any* party will ever speak honestly about what government costs, and how to pay for it. The public won't stand for it.

 

Dean Shomshak

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