• Krono@lemmy.today
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    8 months ago

    Every SOTU since at least Clinton has had a section where the president says he supports a variety of populist economic policies. Anyone who follows politics closely knows that this is just pandering to voters, it is not representative of actual policy that will be adopted.

    Your friends are right to be cynical.

    • Minotaur@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      This is just flagrantly untrue. Trumps SOTU addresses we’re almost entirely about his personal foreign relationships with North Korea, Mexico, his takes on various Mexican gangs, “global freeloaders”, warning against “the call to adopt socialism”, how much of ISIS he wiped out, etc.

      This is deeply different from Joe Biden going up and saying “hey maybe Billionares shouldn’t pay 8% in taxes, maybe 25% would be a good benchmark” and “hey maybe we should give new home buyers a few hundred bucks a month” which are real and substantiate new initiatives and not just masturbatory remarks about how much other people suck

      • Krono@lemmy.today
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        8 months ago

        But how is Joe Biden saying “billionaires should pay more taxes” any different from when Obama said it?

        I hope I’m proved wrong, but I expect the same results: no legislation, no policy change, only rhetoric.

        • Num10ck@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Biden has drastically more experience working politics in DC than Obama, and has already gotten more done. If he can inspire more people to vote, he could do even more.

          • DancingBear@midwest.social
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            8 months ago

            I think you misspelled “old as heck”. Biden first got elected to the senate in 1972.

            I don’t think the “more experience” angle means what you think it means.

            It means Biden is a corporate crony in a room full of corporate cronies, who actively stifle progress so that “nothing will fundamentally change” which keeps the donor class happy.

              • DancingBear@midwest.social
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                8 months ago

                Yes. Which negates any ideas Biden has mentioned raising taxes on the wealthy.

                In the same speech he also told wealthy donors income inequality is not the fault of the wealthy. He was begging the donor class to support him.

                Nina Turner was right. I’m no longer going to choose between a bowl of 💩 and a half bowl of 💩

                3/4’s of US Americans believe taxes should be raised for the wealthiest Americans

                (Well, if you knew the context you would know that absolutely something fundamental needs to change)

                • kofe@lemmy.world
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                  8 months ago

                  …if you knew the context you wouldn’t be writing out disinformation. He said that wealthy people being taxed at higher rates would not fundamentally change their lifestyle, which is true. Someone making 500k and being taxed 20% would not see a substantial change if it raised to 30, 40, even 50%.

                  So he agrees with you.

                  Cheers.

        • Hominine@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          You’re woefully ignorant of how the legislative process works. Hint: it certainly isn’t by fiat.

          Also, Biden’s policy has long been lowering taxes on middle-class earners.

          • Krono@lemmy.today
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            8 months ago

            I understand the president is not a dictator, there’s no expectation of fiat rule here.

            I also understand that the SOTU is a sales pitch, not a serious legislative agenda.

            • Hominine@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              I do appreciate the tacit admission of his policy targets.
              Alas, even though you now claim to understand Biden’s hands are legislatively tied, he has since become unserious.

              You really are doing some work moving that target.

        • Minotaur@lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          Man, I guess we should look at the common factor of what’s opposing the tax raises for billionaires instead of saying “well, it hasn’t happened yet - I guess both sides are equally bad!!”

          • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.works
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            8 months ago

            Common factor of what’s opposing the tax raises for billionaires

            Billionaires is the answer. They donate pretty equally to each party but Republicans are affected by this while Democrats are not.

          • Krono@lemmy.today
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            8 months ago

            There is no “both sides are equal” argument here, Republicans are obviously worse.

            I agree that we should examine who is opposing tax raises for billionaires. And we agree Repubs are horrible, so just consider when Democrats had full control of Congress and the WH- what stopped them then?

            Democrats can’t pass economic populism, even when they have full control, due to their corporate donors, lobbyists, the DNC, etc. This Democratic establishment has prevented anything left-of-center from getting passed in my lifetime.

            • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              so just consider when Democrats had full control of Congress and the WH- what stopped them then?

              They had control for ~70 days and in that period they passed the largest healthcare overhaul in a generation (that’s still incredibly popular). Seems to me like they got some serious shit done when we gave them a relatively small period of actual control. The idea that they didn’t get anything done is completely ahistorical.

              • Krono@lemmy.today
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                8 months ago

                Yes that is exactly my point, Dems had full control and they still passed a right wing healthcare plan.

                In that 70 days they abandoned a public option and quickly adopted Romneycare. Then they added even more corporate subsidies and giveaways for health insurance companies.

                • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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                  8 months ago

                  The Democrats abandoned the public option? I seem to remember Senator Lieberman and the GOP being the ones that blocked that.

                  So the Democrats propose legislation, the GOP fights tooth and nail to water down and make it worse at every possible step knowing the Democrats don’t have the seats needed to pass the original legislation, and your takeaway from that is that Democrats are passing right wing policy?

                  I’m sorry you don’t like the ACA, but the solution to your problem is electing more progressive Democrats, the thing you seem to be advocating against. Do you have a solution or do you just want to say “Democrats bad” and act like the party of domestic terrorists across the aisle doesn’t exist?

                  • Krono@lemmy.today
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                    8 months ago

                    We can agree that Republicans are horrible and make everything worse, but how is that applicable in the case of the ACA?

                    The ACA got exactly 0 Republican votes. There was no reason to negotiate or even listen to Republicans in this case. It was Democrats doing it to themselves. And as I have already established, yes the ACA is a right wing bill.

                    As for advocating for progressive ideals, I am doing that when I call out the hypocrisy and corruption of the corporate Dems. It’s becoming very difficult to tell the difference between a modern corporate Dem and a 90s-00s Republican, and that scares me.

                    I think it’s a good thing to say “Democrats bad” when they are in fact bad. Whatever demons lurk on the other side of the aisle does not change this. Putting your fingers in your ears and yelling “vote blue no matter who” is not a solution.

    • MossBear@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Half of things not changing is people believing they can’t and not being willing to do the smallest things.

    • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      So many downvotes just for having doubts. I too have heard many a speech promising the delivery of progressive policies, and time, and consistent let-downs by the DNC informed my cynicism.

      The speech also featured a lengthy wish list of progressive proposals: ending Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy, lowering the price of prescription drugs and capping the annual costs of such medicines, tax credits for first-time home buyers, increasing affordable housing, establishing universal access to pre-school, increasing Pell grants, raising taxes on billionaires and corporations, upping pay for public school teachers, boosting the minimum wage, enhancing voter rights, protecting transgender rights, banning assault weapons. (There was plenty more!)

      I hope and suspect Biden will be re-elected. My suggestion is that after you lot downvote me you make a copy of these promises and see whether any of them come true. You may guess by my demeanor that i believe they will remain wishes. Don’t change your vote friends, but do allow for doubt and don’t believe the excuses made when those dreams don’t come true. Then you will at least understand voters displeased with the Democratic party et al

      • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Being skeptical is fine. We should be skeptical. And we should also keep track. And good news, we have and do keep track. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/biden-promise-tracker/ He’s honestly not doing too bad so far. Wouldn’t be surprised if his looks alot like Obamas after 8 years. Glad Trump sucked at keeping promises. He still managed some terrible things, but glad to see so much red on his tracker.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Then you will at least understand voters displeased with the Democratic party et al

        My good sir, many of us are Democrats. Of course we understand.