I just finished a 6+ year tour of duty with a local government entity. When I first started there a decent sized raise was granted to all employees. Over the next 6 years there were pay cuts, job cuts, etc. I watched as people who seemed to be doing fine were getting worse and worse off as the years rolled by. Many driving on bald tires, not registering their vehicles or carrying insurance because they simply could not afford it. Meanwhile, those on welfare or some feigned disability were living much much better. I can say within my own family we have opted not to provide insurance for our children, or me, now... the cost is too great and you could say I'm a person who needs insurance more than most. However, I have made a choice to forego what many would consider sound medical advice to no longer receive regular tests that I "need".
How one argues the economy is better today than ever is dizzying to me. A few years ago we were giving huge bailouts to companies and it was reported we were on the verge of total collapse sending us back to the great depression days. The internet and China have changed this world's economy forever.
Why you and Wade are beating the drum for it being "better" here when many families are struggling to get by is a great, great mystery. Hey, I'm all about optimism but to turn a blind eye to real problems isn't optimism it's aversion.
Go tell Detroit things are great. I'm not speaking about the automakers. Many cities infrastructure is in total decay. No money for improvements.
The school district that was so highly touted and one of the main reasons we moved to this suburb of Dallas was found to be cooking books to receive funding and ended up having to pay back nearly 15 mil. compromising education here for the next several years. The money ain't flowin' like it used to but it's better now in that regard?
How's unemployment in your area? Gas? Food? Healthcare? All of it is OUTRAGEOUS. Oh, soon we'll have someone posting prices of a liter in London. America does NOT lead in healthcare and that is a big quality of life issue.
I'm directly affected by all these parentless daycare raised children who watch garbage on TV and listen to revolting music lyrics. My oldest is a special needs student...picked on from the outset in middle school by finely raised kids with no moral compass. Yes, that affects me. It affects me when a gang of teens drove through here a year or so ago and beat one of the neighborhood kids almost to death while wielding guns. These were teenagers.
Many are discouraged by the corruption they see. Many are good honest hardworking people who see how little reward there is for doing so. Watching the cheaters in life make out like bandits. Happens in college athletics and all areas of life. I'm affected when i see a justice system say prison is too oppressive for a well to do man and he gets only probation for sexually molesting a youth while minorities get hammered for much less minor offenses because they are "nobody" in society. Total inequity in justice.
For the umpteenth time it smacks of total self centeredness to speak of how wonderful it is here when many are struggling. You should be on your knees thankful you have steered clear of the pitfalls of trying to live in today"s "great times". I am happy for you and for anyone who is experiencing great times. You just don't speak for all nor should you even consider trying.
Originally Posted by: uffda udfa
You are exactly what this forum needed! A prolific and fairly competent -anti- poster to my eminently positive posts. Previously, all we had was an uncivil idiot who ruined literally every interesting thread we had with his off-the-wall crap and this limpy band of left wing parttimers who drift in and out - mostly out - of competence - that and Wade, who contrary to what you seem to think, is hardly in lock step with me. He identifies himself as an anarchist - fortunately without apparent Ron Paul-type idiocy. While he is staunchly pro-American - which really is just common sense, despite the posting of you and the lefties to the contrary. I'm battling the leftist Obamaphiles in this forum and another, and "rightist" (although I hate calling them that) Paul-types in a different one. I guess that makes me a moderate hahahaha - another term I really hate being thought of. You - mysteriously? - have not yet tipped your hand as to what you are - all this posting and nothing either pro- or anti- Obama, Hillary, Reagan, Cruz, Paul, Rubio, Ryan, Perry, whatever. You also have not displayed clear cut liberal or conservative tendencies on other issues - a big whatever about that. I don't want to push you - just to convince you on this one supremely important topic - American goodness and dominance in the world, both for our own continued excellent lives and for the good of the civilized world. You did identify yourself as a former (?) city level government employee. I doubt you have read my posts on the subject, but my own strongest hatred in terms of government intrusion is not the NSA or BLM or other Fed intruders, but the local crap that really does affect my life on a daily basis - stupid traffic laws, code enforcers, etc. Hopefully you aren't part of that crowd hahahaha.
Did I EVER argue that our economy is better than ever? I don't think so. What I have claimed and continue to claim is that the net quality of our lives - virtually everybody in this country - is better than ever. Mostly, that goodness is due to technological advances - what my generation has seen, as well as each generation before and after mine. I would further argue that any erosion of freedom - either validly in the name of security and crime-fighting or disgustingly in the name of regulation and social engineering - has not been significant enough to make a dime's worth of difference in the daily lives of good people with nothing to hide. I said that in a different forum and subsequently found out that my rivals' highest priority was as druggies protecting their stash hahahaha. Hopefully that isn't you either.
My economic beliefs are well known if you read far enough back in here. This is one area where Wade and I are in disagreement. Like the liberals, I believe in Keynesian economics and the benefits of using debt financing. The massive ever-increasing national debt, IMO, is no threat whatsoever. Why? Because the Dollar is the world's Reserve Currency - meaning all international transactions are in dollars. Unlike any other country - which basically needs to generate dollars by production, resources, etc., all we need to do is pay our debt by printing more dollars - dollars back by our own debt instruments - a beautiful scenario that basically leaves our creditor nations "paying tribute" in the medieval sense to us - as well they should, since American military dominance preserves and enhances quality of life in their nations also. Does this cause inflation? Not significantly, and not as much as inflation virtually everywhere else in the world. Why will the Dollar remain the world's reserve currency? Because we are the biggest dog in the yard - the dominant military power - We don't need to use that power; We don't need to threaten; We just are. The leftists who despise American dominance and the Ron/Rand Paul America-hating idiots who also detest America's dominant and beneficent role, are the biggest threats to basically what enables our free, secure, and comfortable way of life. I am confident, however, that if push really came to shove, our military would step in and prevent things from being screwed up.
Your laundry list of problems and things worse than in the past seems to be mostly behavioral/social/moral. I tend to agree with you on pretty much all of the individual issues you mentioned. Blame for most of it goes to the God damned leftists over the last half century or so - whether because of an actual agenda of dragging down America or just misguided dogooderism. The equally misguided libertarian types are also not blameless, however, as they tend to detest using police power to regulate "morals", as well as placing things like privacy ahead of combating bad guys, either simple criminals or terrorists. So I have to ask you, you stated the problem - complete with details and examples. Who do you blame, and more importantly, what would you recommend doing about it? Even the items you mentioned, in most cases, I would contend do not affect most of us on a daily basis if at all.
Bottom line: I strongly contend that whatever bad there might be is GREATLY outweighed by the Great goodness we ALL experience in terms of security from harm, and freedom to enjoy our toys and games and comforts. I honestly don't see how this is even a close call for any good normal person who simply examines their own life and what their own eyes and ears tell them.
Expressing the Good Normal Views of Good Normal Americans.
If Anything I Say Smacks of Extremism, Please Tell Me EXACTLY What.