Forum Overview :: Balance of Power
 
I hear this argument get repeated a lot, but I'm not sure I believe it by blackwater 01/30/2017, 3:03pm PST
I agree that Democrats tend to push policies that help the poorest of the poor. For example, Obama pushed for (and in many cases got) higher and longer-lasting unemployment benefits. And clearly the Affordable Healthcare Act (aka "Obamacare") is great if you don't have a job, since you can get reasonably priced health insurance.

For the working poor and the middle class, it's not clear that traditional Democrat policies are desirable. A higher minimum wage makes it economically impractical to hire low-skilled people. The NAFTA pact that Bill Clinton put together in the 1990s moved a lot of blue-collar jobs to Mexico. The TPP deal that Obama was pushing might have moved more jobs offshore. And "progressives" tend to attack the institutions that blue-collar workers see as their shield, like churches and the traditional two-parent family.

"You should have voted for us; we would have given free stuff to all you poors" isn't a great sales pitch. People want to feel good about themselves. People want to work, not be given handouts by some politician.

I'm sure that the response to this post will just be someone cherry-picking a particular Democrat policy that is very helful to the working poor. (Here, let me help you out: the Obamacare exclusion of pre-existing medical conditions.) And yes, they are out there. But I see the Dems as much more a party of the very poor and the very rich, with not much in between. And if you're middle class and trying to become rich, Democrat policies are not good for you. Source: every accountant I've ever hired...

Will Trump be good for technology? I hope so! But I'm nervous. If he starts any big trade wars, the first heads on the chopping block are going to be companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon that have a big international presence. Tim Cook must be sweating bullets every time Trump mentions Foxconn. Also, as interest rates rise, it's going to be harder to get your "Uber, but for dogs" idea funded. The big tech unicorns are essentially hedge funds for the super-rich now. As soon as they can start getting a real return elsewhere... well, they might just take their money there. So... we'll see...
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        I hear this argument get repeated a lot, but I'm not sure I believe it by blackwater 01/30/2017, 3:03pm PST NEW
 
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