The US Hamster Wheel

[BenThere]

Whatever gave you that idea? In fact, your post is hard to surpass in terms of irrelevance. If you're going to continue to lob out gratuitous slams, at least include some basis for them. Your last post, Boac, is a clear throwaway.

[John Hill]

You paint a sad picture Ben. All the wealth and productivity migrating to a few states and the rest are left to do the what they can all the while being exploited by the Red states.

[Boac]

It's called making (some bits) of America great again, John. The rest trashed. Gone to the dogs................?

[John Hill]

It's called making (some bits) of America great again, John. The rest trashed. Gone to the dogs................?

Ever increasing wealth concentrated in the hands of an ever decreasing few. It is a great system while you are among the few.

[BenThere]

The iron hand of economics first cardinal rule is that capital flows to where it is treated best. It's not a case of the Red states exploiting the Blue states, but one where the Red states provide a better environment for economic activity and wealth creation, which in turn provides jobs, higher standards of living, and the good things in general for people at all economic levels.

What the Bluest states have been doing is chase their capital generating citizens away by overtaxing them. Those people move away and leave behind those who don't generate capital, thus there is less and less capital around to fund their grandiose income equality schemes. That's why Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, Oklahoma et al., are booming while California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and such are losing their tax base and struggling.

Everyone naturally aspires to being among the 'few'. It seems to be more attainable in the Red states these days. While most of us are simply happy to have a nice middle-class income in an economics environment that attracts jobs that provide a good living, low costs, reasonable taxation, and a less hostile culture.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Beano economics from BT.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Seems as valid as any other these days. A shedload of economics PhDs and governments failed miserably to predict the financial crisis, yet myself and all my 3 siblings had worked it out (separately) beforehand.

[John Hill]

With current trends the US will eventually become a feudalist society.

Feudalism in Europe had basically four levels, The King (royalty et al), Nobles, Knights and Peasants. On which of these four levels would you have seen yourself Ben?

[TheGreenGoblin]

With current trends the US will eventually become a feudalist society.

Feudalism in Europe had basically four levels, The King (royalty et al), Nobles, Knights and Peasants. On which of these four levels would you have seen yourself Ben?

+1

[TheGreenGoblin]

With current trends the US will eventually become a feudalist society.
On which of these four levels would you have seen yourself Ben?

His Lordship, Chancellor of the fetid Privy...

Oops!

[barkingmad]

Chump’s popularity on the rise again?

https://www.thejournal.ie/trump-booed-m ... 4-Nov2019/

But with this going on in the background he needs to get away from confrontation and fighting for relaxation;

https://www.thejournal.ie/trump-impeach ... urce=story

I wonder if MMA is his bedroom technique.......?

[OFSO]

There was a serious, i.e. non-sensational, TV program last night on the Ukraine Affair, with film clips of Trump making pronouncements which more than once changed completely within 24 hours. He seems to forget in a very short time period what he has said on a subject and then says something different. And then again.....

Assuming those film clips were authentic, it is a sad indictment of the American public that so many believe in him.

In my circle of friends (English, German) I was one of the few that stood up for him, saying he was misjudged. Some years later I now admit I was wrong.

[boing]

I'm surprised that many posters who criticise Trump and his supporters fail to see the parallels with the UK situation.

We have a leader who is less than competent and who makes wild declarations (Trump/Boris).
We have an absolutely awful group in opposition (the whole group of Democratic wannabees/Corbyn and his sometime fellow travellers).
We have no effective replacement for the clown presently in charge in the party in power.
We have rabid and ever more divided supporters for the awful people in power and those awful people that wish to be in power.
50% of the voters in an election do not see the second level implications of the policies of the candidates they will support and probably can't provide a coherent reason for their vote.
25% versus 25% of the rest are so mind-dead extreme that they don't even care what their favourite candidates policies may be (I always vote Republican/I always vote Labour).
We both have to face the torrent of lies, cynical promises, dirty tricks and fabrications associated with any election that make us want to throw-up.

Rest assured, the majority of Americans are no less sick than the British with the political situation in the Country but they face the same problem about how to change the situation. The one thing that politicians are good at it is manipulating conditions so that they have no effective opposition for re-election and as the Brexit Party is finding, no matter how disgusted people claim to be with the present situation they are loath to make a change when the opportunity arises.

So, the vote goes to the least awful candidate available since there is no most desirable one. Probably the most fortunate condition for Trump presently is that, although his foreign policy is a shambles, the US domestic conditions are pretty good for everyone and if these conditions are pretty good there is no reason for the average man to change his vote. This, of course, infuriates the doctrinaire extreme supporters on either side and frustrates their plans for the elections.

.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Every UK political party leader has been less popular with the general public than the last for the previous 15 years at least. This is the Road to Hell.
Canadian politicians, at least those with power, are no better; I won't bore you with the details. In fact you will need to look very hard to find any country with better.
America is a useful bellwether. Developments tend to happen there first, and given their geopolitical influence and that they have the World's reserve currency, most other places tend to follow.
I can't say that fills me with any optimism.



Written about Middlesborough, and filmed around Birmingham I believe.

[OFSO]

Spain:
Irresistible Force = Catalan Separatism.
Immoveable Object = Madrid
Consequence = General Election will be a waste of time.

[BenThere]

Call me an optimist, OFSO, but ultimately I think the irresistible force dislodges the immovable object.

The thing I can't get my arms around is why Boris would eschew Brexit party support when such an alliance, to me, surely strengthens the Brexit hand, to which I thought Boris and the Brexiteers were committed, and, one could say, is supported by the UK electorate. What gives?

Tagging on a previous post regarding US Red vs. Blue states, I found and think this post is pertinent not only in the US but jurisdictions all over the world, particularly in the West.

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/amer ... achuestts/

Finally, John Hill, the US is a very long way from feudalism. We have an inbred resistance to aristocracy at the lower levels of elitism, and that resistance grows exponentially in opposition to nobility, inherited titles and powers, and ultimately royalty. We generally don't like any of that. Perhaps that's why most of our many billionaires weren't born to riches, but made their way to that exalted state by virtue of their endeavors. That's why you use Google, WhatsApp, email, GPS, and McDonalds.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

You have several possible reasons for Boris rejecting an alliance:
1) He thinks the Cons will get a majority anyway
2) Supporting Farage loses him support in his own party / with his own voters
3) He doesn't really want Brexit, and his deal isn't
4) He thinks the Brexit Party will have to give in to him eventually if they really want Brexit.
5) Personal ego
6) Worthless opinion polls (they all are these days)
Pick any mix of these.

[AtomKraft]

Hobsons' choice.
I moved away.
Stay if you prefer, if rich you'll get poorer.
If poor, you will get poorer also, but expect platitudes-

If you work for the state.....

A wankers paradise.

If you don't mind working, anywhere else will eclipse slavery in the UK.

Once you leave the UK, you can actually save on a pilots salary.

[Boac]

Promises promises - well, his lips were moving............. Make Americans poor again? MAPA.

"Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they are not better off financially than they were when Donald Trump was elected, casting doubt on whether economic expansion and a record bull market will boost the president’s re-election campaign in 2020.

According to a poll of likely voters conducted by the Financial Times and the Peter G Peterson Foundation, 31 per cent of Americans say they are now worse off financially than they were at the start of Mr Trump’s presidency. Another 33 per cent say there has been no change in their financial position since Mr Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, while 35 per cent say they are better off."

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

6) Worthless opinion polls (they all are these days)