US Election

[Robben_DuMarsch]

So, in light of those concerns, who did we pick instead?

A xenophobe.
A businessman that was beat three times over by the market.
A candidate that refused to release his tax returns to allow the electorate to evaluate his conflicts of interests or financial impropriety.
An unapologetic racist.
An candidate willing to shame former Prisoners of War.
A candidate that mocks a reporter for being physically disabled, to distract from the reporters factual story showing the depths of the candidates demonstrable xenophobic lies.
A candidate that bragged about sexually assaulting women.
A candidate actually accused of numerous sexual assaults.


I could go on. But unlike Hillary, no conjecture is needed to demonstrate Trump's serious failings.

Democracy is a great way of getting the Government that the voters deserve.

For decades, the left has been using the promise of social programs and civil liberties to enrich themselves on the secondary benefits of being politically connected.
The right has used the promise of traditional values and simple, easy to understand, economics that supposedly benefit everyone, to do the same. Notably at the expense of the poor and working class.
Even accepting the worst possible interpretation of Clinton, we elected the worst of the right to spite the worst of the left.

Unfortunately, we deserve Trump.

[Robben_DuMarsch]

I'm glad uneducated Americans decided they needed to vote to improve America.
I'm disappointed they picked Trump as their champion.

Consider me fucking triggered.

I know countless people who sat through higher indoctrination and still refused to vote for Hillary. If you think it's simply because they think Trump will magically make America great again, you're wrong. Some people see the bullshit of the oligarchy and won't play ball.

You don't see the irony in fighting the oligarchy by electing someone that was born into the oligarchy, inherited all of his money from an oligarch, and can literally get away with the craziest racist/bigoted/sexist shit because he is an oligarch?
Trump shat money out into crappy failed businesses and still became a billionaire because in the current economic system, any money you can throw into the market automatically grows 5% each year even after you cover the full cost of inflation for your principle. If you had the ability to understand the economic reality systemically driving your white impoverished communities down the drain, you would know that it has everything to do with the fact that there is no such thing as "trickle down economics" because unlike your poor ass, when rich people get extra money they don't spend it, they simply throw it onto their existing investments. Investments that create liquidity for other rich people to create things that are then the subject of future investment, which only has the tertiary benefit of employing some regular people.

Let me put this into simple numbers for you. If you have 1 million dollars, you can invest that in the stock market.
Assuming status quo is unchanged and markets remain stable in their growth, you can turn that into inflation adjusted retirement that will last you infinity years.
It will then give you 50k every year, forever.
It will adjust that 50k every year for inflation, meaning next year your 50k is 51k, the following your return is 52.02k, etc. Forever, because you simply place the first 1-2% of the growth back into the principle to cover inflation.

If you don't withdraw that 50k, and instead let it accrue more wealth?
Well, you have 1.07 million the first year, 1.145 million the next, 1.22 million the next, 1.31 million the next.
Your money grows forever. Where does it come from?
You capturing the lions share of the growth of our economy, simply by virtue of owning capital to begin with.

What does this mean? The majority of wealth created belongs to the rich - And the majority of new wealth created is captured by the rich people through the markets, and reinvested into the same markets. They make money no matter what.
Poor, uneducated people are being replaced by mechanical production, computerized processes, and cheaper production available elsewhere in the world economy. Your being told that the only way to get jobs is to assume immense, non-dischargeable debt, receiving questionable degrees from questionable universities.

And you know what? You just got duped into voting for the perpetuation of that system. You thought that Trump represented a way to break down what *you* thought was causing you problems. "Crooked Hillary" was just a red herring that distracted you from the strangehold on the dissemination of wealth by those with wealth.

No, Trump's victory isn't going to suddenly validate your racist/bigoted/sexist bullshit. Nor is it going to assist you financially.
On January 21st, 2017, you will still be poor and in jail if you do the shit that Trump does.
He'll still be the new POTUS, and he's going to reform the system to assist the rich even more.

Maybe next time you can make smarter decisions to reform society.
If you want to vote in your best interests, you need to find out what your best interests are. Think for yourself, don't get hyped with the next mob-mentality fix.

I think you know me Onep - I care about the underdogs, the poor, those that need help to help themselves. I put a lot of energy into advocating for those that need it. I didn't go on this tirade to accuse you of being stupid. I know better than that - I know your sharp as shit, but tired of putting a lot of effort into a system that shits on you.
I want to see you, and everyone else, rise the fuck up, and get the good lives that you deserve. I'm frustrated. Frustrated because I think there is a viable path that is waiting for you and people like you to take control of your well-being, but for whatever reason have been led astray.

Maybe I'm wrong. But I'm convinced enough that I'm right to advocate directly against my self interests and call for a progressive capital gains tax that matches income brackets, effectively eliminating preferential tax treatment for income derived from investments. Every single cent should be placed into a trust reserved for free public university and graduate programs.

[MagicManICT]

This election can be summed up by a 2008 meme: Joe the Plumber. Just as fake, just annoying.

If you want change in this country, you have to work at it. No, the electoral college doesn't work the same way it did in 1860. The fact is we have to get out and try to get someone else in office, even if that means we do something other than vote for A or B. The more elections we have where neither candidate gets a clear majority, the more likely it is someone is going to change something. While counts aren't final, it looks like neither Trump nor Clinton got 50% of the vote. (Unfortunately, the Libertarians probably didn't get the 5% needed for federal funding, either.)

Let's break it down like this...

I live in State A. You live in State B. These states are traditionally on opposite ends of the political spectrum. One is Red, the other is Blue. Say you support the blue candidate, but live in the red state. Odds are, the red candidate will get your electoral vote no matter how you vote. Now, you're vote is useless. Should you vote for your guy or gal in the hopes that it will be enough? or should you vote for a third party candidate? The flip side is true for me. Why should I vote for the candidate that isn't going to win? Won't I be better off expressing my dissatisfaction over the two candidates to begin with?

As a real example, I live in the (not so great) State of Kansas. Trump got, last I saw, about 63% of the vote, nearly two thirds. That was out of about 500,000 voters (we have about 1.5M eligible in KS.) Let's say that half the democratic voters truly did support Clinton. The other half supported someone else, but wanted to put the best effort forth. Let's also say that the "other party" voters threw in with Clinton. At best, she would have only 1/3 of the vote. There was no way to win. As it stands, my vote is already wasted simply by not supporting the winner. Even if I supported the winner, I would have been safe in using my vote for a 3rd party. The race wasn't even close.

Now, I'll grant that there are several states where every vote can count. Pennsylvania was running close for a while during vote counting. Florida was won by less than a thousand votes in 2000 (only until after the Supreme Court stepped in to force a finalization of the vote). In these states, it is hard to vote for a 3rd party when the reality is there is only one of two real possibilities.

There are also other exceptions. Michigan went Trump in this election (was expected by polls if I understand correctly for reasons). If these supporters thought they were that far behind but really were ahead, and they voted for the third party, then it would have thrown the election the other way. There are a few other states like this, too. They're not swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, but they have been known to vote different than the way they tend to lean most elections.

For the rest of us, it's important to know how your local elections stand. If you are reasonably sure from reading or watching the news that the polling is clearly for the other guy, vote for a third party. It's actually more effective in making a statement than voting for the losing guy. As I mentioned, presidential election funds are given to any party that has at least 5% of the popular vote. Another tidbit is that if a third party wins any electoral votes, they become eligible to be voted in as president by congress in cases of no clear majority in the electoral college.

It also matters who you vote for in other offices, too. When third parties gain offices such as Representative, Governor, and Senator, then it makes them more viable and increases the likelihood of change in the system.

Oh, and one thought edited in: I don't know what Trump has or hasn't done the last ten years or so since that Billy Bush video was done. So far nobody has come forward with a complaint that can be legally prosecuted due to statute of limitations. He was still under investigation for Trump University, though, under fraud complaints. There's still a chance he could be indicted. If that's the case, he can't be president from behind a jail cell. I'll concede that Bill Clinton was looking at the same problems for the Whitewater investigation in 1992 and nothing came of it, so.... /shrug.

[tyrtix]

The fact that non-educated voted for someone instead of someone else is a big problem: let's make democracy great again, makes those uneducated unable to vote!

[ChildhoodObesity]

they should raise voting age to like 22 at least tbh imo tbh

[tyrtix]

They should let vote only those who they like, it's easier.

[jorb]

they should raise voting age to like 22 at least tbh imo tbh

Try 40.

[jordancoles]

[Amanda44]

they should raise voting age to like 22 at least tbh imo tbh

Try 40.

Lol, maybe 35 and upwards is ok ...

[tyrtix]

It may make more sense if we let vote only 15 and under.