Liberal Forum

• Employment (right to work[notes 1])
• An adequate income for food, shelter, and recreation
• Farmers' rights to a fair income
• Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
• Decent housing
• Adequate medical care
• Social security
• Education

• They've undermined and opposed collective bargaining and workers' rights,
• they've undermined and opposed a livable minimum wage that'd lift millions of the working poor out of the poverty level
• they've made cuts to child nutrition services and opposed free lunch programs for school children while on the same day, voting themselves fat pay raises
• they've opposed and tried to dismantle Obamacare (the ACA) which provides healthcare to millions of families, including those among their own voters, and coverage for pre-existing conditions
• they've rolled back and blocked Medicaid for millions of families in their own red states who'd otherwise would not qualify for or afford other coverage
• they've opposed pandemic relief and stimulus aid, then pocketed and profited from it when provided
• they've blocked student debt relief
• they're dismantling public education and waging a war upon teachers, libraries and librarians, science, truth, and knowledge
• they voted against Biden's vital infrastructure bill that assisted the nation with much needed repairs to our aging highways, bridges, transit and rail systems, airports, ports, waterways, power and water systems - then turned around and took credit for that which they OPPOSED
• they've undermined and undercut the power of the CFPB, an agency created to protect consumers against unfair and predatory lending and financing practices
• they've undercut consumers' ability to sue in court for defective merchandizing, fraudulent advertising, and the like
• they've opposed the Fair Housing Act and affordable housing
• they've fought against and/or blocked various bills aimed at benefiting veterans and their families
• in Texas they've recently passed bills that even take away a worker's right to a decent BREAK.
• and even now they are still proposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare

B.See » 06 Aug 2023, 11:42 pm » wrote: ↑

06 Aug 2023, 11:42 pm

It is in FACT a CLASS war, in which their own constituency are willful participants in their OWN demise.

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Yes B.See.  All you wrote is important.

In this post, I want to emphasize that it's always been a CLASS WAR.   That's why the only solution is for the Poor and Middle Class to take back control, as we had in the 1950s, and tax the Rich appropriately.  The rest should be spent on "PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE".  This arrangement has proved feasible in the US and many Social Democracies the world over.

The only difference between human groups that matter are common economic and quality-of-life goals.  Differences in appearance, religion and ethnicity are unimportant.  Ordinary people of all races and ethnic groups would be far better served if they united instead of opposing one another. 

Labor unions are a non-governmental way for ordinary people to unite.   They typically get better pay, benefits, working conditions, and respect.  Joining together toward common economic goals tends to narrow the wealth gap and apportions a far bigger slice of the pie to working people.  Governments should encourage unions which is far from the situation in the Plutocracy of the US today.

The root cause of the culture wars:---
In the last 40 years, as income inequality has increased in the US, the ultra-wealthy have accumulated enough capitol to create the most effective propaganda machine the world has ever seen.  In 2022, the Daily Wire alone, reported a hundred million in profits.  Add to that, Fox News, which is even bigger ...  Epoch Times ...  And the literally hundreds of Far Right medias outlets in print and on the airwaves and it adds up to one of America's biggest and most profitable industries.

Elon Musk, directly runs "Twitter", his own social media hate platform.   Trump's "Truth Social" is another.   And Rupert Murdoch runs "Fox News".  These magnates obviously appreciate the value of polarizing the electorate by inculcating false narratives, deceptive myths and baseless conspiracy theories.  Often, Right Wing think tanks come up with new fiction, designed to distract attention from the real problem:---  The Great Money Grab by a handful of the already Super Rich.

So far, class warfare is being waged exclusively by the super rich, against the rest of us.  Any pushback from the vast majority has been negligible at best.

The Far Right are buying the illusion of their own freedom, virtue and superiority;  And in return, giving their loyalty, to those who have no problem exploiting them along with the same people they have been conditioned to hate. 
 

Bruce » 07 Aug 2023, 12:18 am » wrote: ↑

07 Aug 2023, 12:18 am

Yellow Freight just went bankrupt and that will leave 30,000 union workers out of a job.

Our Republican friends will no doubt blame paying union scale wages.

All their trucks will be sold to other companies and all those drivers will gain other jobs.

It was not any different in 1944 except mega carriers did not exist to go broke.
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Hi Bruce:

It's almost invariably true that bosses hate unions irrespective of the company's financial health.  So the knee-jerk reaction would be to blame the union, no matter the facts of the situation. 

That said, unions tend to work best in large, hugely profitable corporations like Verizon Communications,  Union Pacific Railroad, et al.  The US has no shortage of hugely profitable corporations that could be unionized.
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My father made a decent living milking 25 dairy cows on a 300 acre farm with an $1,800 milk barn the federal government loaned him all the money to build on a 20 year note. That same government supported the price of milk to what would be about $50 per hundred ponds today, and $5 then. Today’s support price is $17.90 and a small dairy is a thousand cows.
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As you indicate, Factory Farming is rapidly replacing small and medium sized farms in the US.   Much of this can be traced to lax anti trust laws.  As with other sectors, the more concentrated wealth gets, the more power it can exert in Washington to stifle the competition.
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We must have a whole lot of capitalism tempered by flat out socialism to sustain America’s middle class as small businesses.

When you find the right mix, let me know.
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A precondition for any political system to work as originally intended are the honesty and good intentions of those governing.  Any system can be undermined by a preponderance of bad actors.

That said, many different mixes of Capitalism and Socialism can be found in the various Social Democracies of the world.  What these countries have in common are enough people of talent, ability and integrity, to make the government work for all of their citizens.  The US is not doing so well right now.

The Social Democracies all share strong regulations on corporations, ensuring competition and preventing social and environmental harm.  They all tax the rich appropriately and maintain strong social safety nets.  And they are union-friendly.