Why America can’t handle crises

[krichton]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

 

[j-mac]

This video essay captures the root of America's biggest problem w/addressing crises...



What's your take after watching the video and how do we begin to address resolving these issues?

Start with banning anti capitalist bullshit propaganda like your pathetic OP.

 

[dblack]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

Electing progressives won't get money out of politics. They want even more government control of our wealth.

 

[22lcidw]

The system we have in place, deregulated capitalism, has caused numerous problems. And it allows an elite class to rule things without question.

I am a believer in capitalism. But I am also a believer in a government's responsibility to its people. This is where the disconnect between socialism and democratic socialism comes in. Democratic socialism does not remove capitalism. It simple demands that taxes be used to benefit the people who are most at risk. It insists on safety nets. It insists that the government do what is best for the most people, not what is best for the elite few.

The other big problem is the system of government we have in place. The politicians, whether democrat or republican, serve the elite. And they are rewarded for that service. Look at the net worth of life long politicians, of either party. The fact that people making $174,000 per year (for congress) are becoming millionaires should tell us all we need to know. There are 100 people "serving" in the senate. 66 of them are millionaires. 66% of the senate. 1% of the US population are millionaires.

And the only way that will change is if we change the laws concerning campaign finance. So the people getting rich have to write the bills and pass them, to remove their own pipeline to riches. Who is naive enough to believe that will happen.

And the corporate world continues to rake in billions of dollars at the expense of the health and well being of the population. A perfect example was in the video. The sugar industry. It was proven that sugar is the major factor in obesity and the accompanying health issues. But Big Sugar spent money on a disinformation campaign that is still going on and the results of which are still being felt.

The number of processed foods containing sugar is staggering. Next time you pick up a packet of salt to add to your fries, look at the label. It lists ingredients. For. Salt. And on most of them, it lists Dextrose as an ingredient. Since most people either haven't taken chemistry or have forgotten what they learned, they do not know that dextrose is simple table sugar. Any ingredient with a name that ends in ...ose is a sugar. High fructose corn syrup is cheap and addictive. Why wouldn't they tell us it is bad for us? Because it adds to the profits, despite causing a multitude of health issues.

Imagine if people fought against sugar, in all its forms, with the same vigor that they had fighting masks and lockdowns. We probably wouldn't have a population that is 45% obese, or more.

The video mentioned politicians and politics. But we have become so polarized that we don't care what the results are, as long as our side wins. Republicans will ignore facts and use misinformation to gain an edge against democrats. Democrats will ignore facts and use misinformation to gain an edge against republicans. NEITHER party is focused on serving the population. Neither party has the best interests of the whole population in mind. And each side blames the other for all the ills.

And lastly, something I have been saying for year, the news media is all about manipulation and not about information. Back in the day Edward R. Morrow and Walter Cronkite were giants in the industry. They informed the public. Then came the 24 hour news channels. News became big business. And the more viewers the more profit. And when do we watch the news the most? When we are scared. So it is in their best interest to scare the population. A fearful population means huge profits. So we have one story after another about SARS, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Ebola ect ect ect. When the best medical people were saying it was not the crisis the media made it out to be.

Stop children from having children to start. Abortions are just tempering the massive amount of pregnancies. The children have no father figures. And it is a national problem that in inner city areas makes social issues much worse. Squeezing three generations into two generations in the same amount of years is not going to help end problems. This is not of opinion. This is fact.

 

[Oddball]

The system we have in place, deregulated capitalism, has caused numerous problems. And it allows an elite class to rule things without question.

I am a believer in capitalism. But I am also a believer in a government's responsibility to its people. This is where the disconnect between socialism and democratic socialism comes in. Democratic socialism does not remove capitalism. It simple demands that taxes be used to benefit the people who are most at risk. It insists on safety nets. It insists that the government do what is best for the most people, not what is best for the elite few.

The other big problem is the system of government we have in place. The politicians, whether democrat or republican, serve the elite. And they are rewarded for that service. Look at the net worth of life long politicians, of either party. The fact that people making $174,000 per year (for congress) are becoming millionaires should tell us all we need to know. There are 100 people "serving" in the senate. 66 of them are millionaires. 66% of the senate. 1% of the US population are millionaires.

And the only way that will change is if we change the laws concerning campaign finance. So the people getting rich have to write the bills and pass them, to remove their own pipeline to riches. Who is naive enough to believe that will happen.

And the corporate world continues to rake in billions of dollars at the expense of the health and well being of the population. A perfect example was in the video. The sugar industry. It was proven that sugar is the major factor in obesity and the accompanying health issues. But Big Sugar spent money on a disinformation campaign that is still going on and the results of which are still being felt.

The number of processed foods containing sugar is staggering. Next time you pick up a packet of salt to add to your fries, look at the label. It lists ingredients. For. Salt. And on most of them, it lists Dextrose as an ingredient. Since most people either haven't taken chemistry or have forgotten what they learned, they do not know that dextrose is simple table sugar. Any ingredient with a name that ends in ...ose is a sugar. High fructose corn syrup is cheap and addictive. Why wouldn't they tell us it is bad for us? Because it adds to the profits, despite causing a multitude of health issues.

Imagine if people fought against sugar, in all its forms, with the same vigor that they had fighting masks and lockdowns. We probably wouldn't have a population that is 45% obese, or more.

The video mentioned politicians and politics. But we have become so polarized that we don't care what the results are, as long as our side wins. Republicans will ignore facts and use misinformation to gain an edge against democrats. Democrats will ignore facts and use misinformation to gain an edge against republicans. NEITHER party is focused on serving the population. Neither party has the best interests of the whole population in mind. And each side blames the other for all the ills.

And lastly, something I have been saying for year, the news media is all about manipulation and not about information. Back in the day Edward R. Morrow and Walter Cronkite were giants in the industry. They informed the public. Then came the 24 hour news channels. News became big business. And the more viewers the more profit. And when do we watch the news the most? When we are scared. So it is in their best interest to scare the population. A fearful population means huge profits. So we have one story after another about SARS, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Ebola ect ect ect. When the best medical people were saying it was not the crisis the media made it out to be.

The system we have in place, deregulated capitalism, has caused numerous problems.

Didn't need to read past that first sentence to know that rest of that text brick is 100% bullshit.

Murica has one of the most heavily regulated and corporatized "free markets" on the planet....Heavy regulation favors the big players who can most afford to comply, while squeezing out little players on the margins.

 

[San Souci]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

What a crock. You mean "Woke" assholes? PC 24/7? Regulations on what one can SAY? And what one can READ? You filthy Reds will make the USA into filthy Honduras.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Start with wearing a mask and work up to dealing with a crisis.

 

[krichton]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

Electing progressives won't get money out of politics. They want even more government control of our wealth.

What "wealth" do you have, that they want so badly?

 

[dblack]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

Electing progressives won't get money out of politics. They want even more government control of our wealth.

What "wealth" do you have, that they want so badly?

None of your fucking business?

But I wasn't referring to myself. The general desire of progressives is to grant government more control over picking winners and losers in the economy. Which attracts ever more collusion between the state and economic interests. That makes "money in politics" problem worse.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

This video essay captures the root of America's biggest problem w/addressing crises...



What's your take after watching the video and how do we begin to address resolving these issues?

First of all, I will openly state I did not watch the entire video, about 1/4 of it before I grew tired of the mess it is. It is all over the place. And mostly wrong. Obesity, for instance, is a global problem. Not just America.
Climate change stuff - like most, the data stops at 2012. Because between 2013 - 2020, the past 7 years, polar ice shrinking not only stopped, but the ice is at it's highest coverage in 45 years. You won't get that bit of information on any climate change article.

 

[krichton]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

Electing progressives won't get money out of politics. They want even more government control of our wealth.

What "wealth" do you have, that they want so badly?

None of your fucking business?

But I wasn't referring to myself. The general desire of progressives is to grant government more control over picking winners and losers in the economy. Which attracts ever more collusion between the state and economic interests. That makes "money in politics" problem worse.

You know what that sounds like? A made up doomsday narrative from ppl like yourself, who fear the government is coming to take away all imaginary Bezos wealth they will one day finally accrue in their dreams.

 

[dblack]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

Electing progressives won't get money out of politics. They want even more government control of our wealth.

What "wealth" do you have, that they want so badly?

None of your fucking business?

But I wasn't referring to myself. The general desire of progressives is to grant government more control over picking winners and losers in the economy. Which attracts ever more collusion between the state and economic interests. That makes "money in politics" problem worse.

You know what that sounds like? A made up doomsday narrative from ppl like yourself, who fear the government is coming to take away all imaginary Bezos wealth they will one day finally accrue in their dreams.

I guess you hear what you want to hear. But that's not my concern at all. My concern is the same as yours. Collusion between business and government undermines free society.

But it's a two way street. The more government tries to control markets, the more the participants in those markets will try to control government. Most large businesses these days budget for lobbying government. It's a key part of their businesses strategy because it has to be. If they're not playing that game, they lose.

 

[B. Kidd]

The system is broke as a joke.

Most of you sound like rats on a sinking ship expecting dry land where there is none.

 

[B. Kidd]

And tomorrow we are only 64 days into this unfolding Biden/Dimm dystopia!

But cheer up. El Presidente is giving his 1st news conference.......

 

[krichton]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

Electing progressives won't get money out of politics. They want even more government control of our wealth.

What "wealth" do you have, that they want so badly?

None of your fucking business?

But I wasn't referring to myself. The general desire of progressives is to grant government more control over picking winners and losers in the economy. Which attracts ever more collusion between the state and economic interests. That makes "money in politics" problem worse.

You know what that sounds like? A made up doomsday narrative from ppl like yourself, who fear the government is coming to take away all imaginary Bezos wealth they will one day finally accrue in their dreams.

I guess you hear what you want to hear. But that's not my concern at all. My concern is the same as yours. Collusion between business and government undermines free society.

But it's a two way street. The more government tries to control markets, the more the participants in those markets will try to control government. Most large businesses these days budget for lobbying government. It's a key part of their businesses strategy because it has to be. If they're not playing that game, they lose.

Progressives have all but promised not to take money from special interests and that seems to be holding true as more and more are elected into office. By very definition, it would eliminate money from politics altogether, at least, as long, as they are in control. How does that make "money in politics" worse? How does rolling back tax cuts for the super wealthy enable "more money in politics"?

 

[dblack]

Get money out of politics, simple. Elect progressives. Get every establishment democrat out of office and every single republican.

Electing progressives won't get money out of politics. They want even more government control of our wealth.

What "wealth" do you have, that they want so badly?

None of your fucking business?

But I wasn't referring to myself. The general desire of progressives is to grant government more control over picking winners and losers in the economy. Which attracts ever more collusion between the state and economic interests. That makes "money in politics" problem worse.

You know what that sounds like? A made up doomsday narrative from ppl like yourself, who fear the government is coming to take away all imaginary Bezos wealth they will one day finally accrue in their dreams.

I guess you hear what you want to hear. But that's not my concern at all. My concern is the same as yours. Collusion between business and government undermines free society.

But it's a two way street. The more government tries to control markets, the more the participants in those markets will try to control government. Most large businesses these days budget for lobbying government. It's a key part of their businesses strategy because it has to be. If they're not playing that game, they lose.

Progressives have all but promised not to take money from special interests and that seems to be holding true as more and more are elected into office. By very definition, it would eliminate money from politics altogether, at least, as long, as they are in control. How does that make "money in politics" worse?

Because, despite their promises, behavior is driven by incentives. If politicians can make or break a business by passing a law, that business will do everything in its power to influence the politicians' decisions. Progressives want to expand the power of government to regulate business. If we want money out of politics, we need to do the opposite. We need to strictly and consistently limit the power of government to meddle with markets.

How does rolling back tax cuts for the super wealthy enable "more money in politics"?

Because it gives wealthy people more incentive to back, and fund, candidates who will oppose the rollback. Even if those candidates are despicable people otherwise.

 

[cnm]

And on most of them, it lists Dextrose as an ingredient. Since most people either haven't taken chemistry or have forgotten what they learned, they do not know that dextrose is simple table sugar.

Sucrose, Shirley?

 

[initforme]

When we elect a simple middle class person we will get better results than electing wealthy person after wealthy person.

 

[cnm]

How does rolling back tax cuts for the super wealthy enable "more money in politics"?

Shhhh...

 

[Bootney Lee Farnsworth]

Start with wearing a mask and work up to dealing with a crisis.

Start with killing all fucking commies.