Wednesday Open Thread | ” Acknowledge the power and reach of socialism for White People.”

Posted on March 22, 2017 by rikyrah

Very good article:

Unspeakable Realities Block Universal Health Coverage In America
Chris Ladd
Contributor
A recovering Republican.

excerpt:
When it seems like people are voting against their interests, I have probably failed to understand their interests. We cannot begin to understand Election 2016 until we acknowledge the power and reach of socialism for white people.

Americans with good jobs live in a socialist welfare state more generous, cushioned and expensive to the public than any in Europe. Like a European system, we pool our resources to share the burden of catastrophic expenses, but unlike European models, our approach doesn’t cover everyone.

Like most of my neighbors I have a good job in the private sector. Ask my neighbors about the cost of the welfare programs they enjoy and you will be greeted by baffled stares. All that we have is “earned” and we perceive no need for government support. Nevertheless, taxpayers fund our retirement saving, health insurance, primary, secondary, and advanced education, daycare, commuter costs, and even our mortgages at a staggering public cost. Socialism for white people is all-enveloping, benevolent, invisible, and insulated by the nasty, deceptive notion that we have earned our benefits by our own hand.

My family’s generous health insurance costs about $20,000 a year, of which we pay only $4,000 in premiums. The rest is subsidized by taxpayers. You read that right. Like virtually everyone else on my block who isn’t old enough for Medicare or employed by the government, my family is covered by private health insurance subsidized by taxpayers at a stupendous public cost. Well over 90% of white households earning over the white median income (about $75,000) carried health insurance even before the Affordable Care Act. White socialism is nice if you can get it.

Companies can deduct the cost of their employees’ health insurance while employees are not required to report that benefit as income. That results in roughly a $400 billion annual transfer of funds from state and federal treasuries to insurers to provide coverage for the Americans least in need of assistance. This is one of the defining features of white socialism, the most generous benefits go to those who are best suited to provide for themselves. Those benefits are not limited to health care.

By funding government programs with tax credits and deductions rather than spending, we have created an enormous social safety net that grows ever more generous as household incomes rise. It is important to note, though, that you need not be wealthy to participate. All you need to gain access to socialism for white people is a good corporate or government job. That fact helps explain how this welfare system took shape sixty years ago, why it was originally (and still overwhelmingly) white, and why white Rust Belt voters showed far more enthusiasm for Donald Trump than for Bernie Sanders. White voters are not interested in democratic socialism. They want to restore their access to a more generous and dignified program of white socialism.

Absolutely on point.

They want to return to the delusional days of Mad Men. Pretending that it was a meritocracy. Pretending that they were big fish in a big pond. In reality, they were fish in a pond where 90% of the other fish were crammed into sardine cans. Now those cans are open, they have to compete with everyone, and they’re mad about that.

This entry was posted in 2016 Elections, Affordable Care Act, Open Thread, Politics and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

100 Responses to Wednesday Open Thread | ” Acknowledge the power and reach of socialism for White People.”

  1. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    Matt Fuller
    ✔
    @MEPFuller

    No one understands what Republicans are considering changing. No one has seen a CBO score about its effects. No one cares.

    Vote tomorrow.
    6:33 PM – 22 Mar 2017

    Reply
  2. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    VoteVets
    ✔
    @votevets

    Breaking: TrumpCare will strip tax credits from millions of Veterans seeking insurance. @realDonaldTrump @foxandfriends
    2:33 PM – 22 Mar 2017

    Reply
  3. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    Sarah Kendzior‏Verified account @sarahkendzior

    We have:
    1) Sec of State saying he didn’t want job
    2) Chairman of oversight committee refusing to do oversight
    3) POTUS under investigation

    Sarah Kendzior‏Verified account @sarahkendzior 5h5 hours ago

    4) Nat Sec advisor outed as a foreign agent
    5) AG recused because untrustworthy
    6) POTUS family violating nepotism rules as “advisors”

    Sarah Kendzior‏Verified account @sarahkendzior 4h4 hours ago

    7) At least one actual Nazi
    8) Lots of aspiring Nazis
    9) A chief advisor who cites Satan as a role model and seeks to destroy US from within

    Reply
  4. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    Father Guido SarDShK‏ @ZeddRebel

    NYPD already pointing out stabbing suspect is a member of a known white supremacist group. NOT a lone wolf.

    Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    Koch network pledges to defend Republicans who vote against GOP health bill
    Two Koch groups are starting a ‘seven-figure’ reserve fund to protect bill opponents from political harm.
    03/22/17 08:00 PM EDT

    The Koch brothers’ network of well-funded outside groups says it will spend millions to protect Republicans who oppose the party’s health care bill from political fallout.

    Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners, the Koch network’s big-budget grassroots activism and advertising groups, are teaming up to create a “seven-figure” reserve fund to support lawmakers who buck President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan on the health care vote, as the threat of primaries looms over some opponents of the bill. The Koch groups will spend the money on paid media, direct mail and grassroots canvassing.

    Reply
  7. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:20 pm

    Federal staffers panicked by conservative media attacks
    A spate of stories in Breitbart and other outlets have singled out individual career employees, questioning their loyalty to Trump.
    03/22/17 02:23 PM EDT

    Conservative news outlets, including one with links to a top White House official, are singling out individual career government employees for criticism, suggesting in articles that certain staffers will not be sufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump by virtue of their work under former President Barack Obama.

    The articles — which have appeared in Breitbart News, the Conservative Review and other outlets — have alarmed veteran officials in both parties as well as current executive branch staffers. They say the stories are adding to tensions between career staffers and political appointees as they begin to implement Trump’s agenda, and they worry that the stories could inspire Trump to try purging federal agencies of perceived enemies.

    The claims posted on the conservative sites include allegations of anti-Israel and pro-Iran bias against staffers at institutions such as the State Department and the National Security Council. Breitbart News, whose former executive chairman Steve Bannon is now Trump’s chief strategist, has even published lists of workers that the president should fire.

    Washington veterans say they can’t recall similar targeting of government employees, who are required to stay apolitical and generally shun the spotlight.

    Reply
  8. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    WTF

    Reply
  20. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 4:14 pm

    Let’s say this again..

    NUNES HAS RUSSIAN BUSINESS PARTNERS WITH TIES TO PUTIN!!!

    Reply
  22. SouthernGirl2 says:
    March 22, 2017 at 3:59 pm

    @DevinNunes LIED because he’s shook. Bloodhounds are a coming….

    https://twitter.com/dru_star/status/843958892077965313

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 3:42 pm

    A trick for calling:

    The Moar You Know says:
    March 22, 2017 at 4:17 pm
    Neat trick: called Issa’s office through AARP’s system. They pick up those calls.

    1-844-567-7800. Works for all representatives.

    Reply
  25. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    Why Was Paul Manafort Hired in the First Place?
    by Martin Longman March 22, 2017 1:15 PM

    One thing I don’t understand about Paul Manafort is how he had the courage to rip off a Russian oligarch who is good friends with Vladimir Putin and who, according to Forbes, is worth $5.2 billion. But that’s what he did:

    Manafort’s work with [Oleg] Deripaska continued for years, though they had a falling out laid bare in 2014 in a Cayman Islands bankruptcy court. The billionaire gave Manafort nearly $19 million to invest in a Ukrainian TV company called Black Sea Cable, according to legal filings by Deripaska’s representatives. It said that after taking the money, Manafort and his associates stopped responding to Deripaska’s queries about how the funds had been used.

    Early in the 2016 presidential campaign, Deripaska’s representatives openly accused Manafort of fraud and pledged to recover the money from him. After Trump earned the nomination, Deripaska’s representatives said they would no longer discuss the case.

    …………………..

    Also worth noting: Deripaska is barred from traveling to the United States because of supposed ties to organized crime. So why was Manafort doing business with Deripaska, and why would Manafort seemingly be so foolish as to rob a mobster of millions of dollars?

    Reply
  28. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    Devin Nunes Intends to Obstruct Justice
    by Martin Longman March 22, 2017 4:00 PM

    House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes called a press conference a little while ago to announce that he intended to commit a blatant act of criminal obstruction of justice with respect to the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation of Trump and Trump associates’ connections to the Russians’ interference in our presidential election. Nunes began by declaring that President-Elect Trump’s personal communications may have been intercepted during the Transition due to “incidental collection” during an unrelated, completely legal and FISA-approved investigation.

    He then said that the potential surveillance was not related to Russia, that it wasn’t clear that it was collected at Trump Tower and that he was “alarmed by it.”

    He further stated that he had advised House Speaker Paul Ryan of his findings and that he was traveling to the White House this afternoon to share with them information that had been provided to him by the FBI in a classified setting for the purposes of advancing a congressional investigation into potential crimes committed by the people he will be meeting in the White House.

    Nunes also revealed that said “he discovered the potential surveillance of Trump himself while reviewing intelligence reports,” but he did not divulge that he kept his discovery from the Democrats on the committee who “appeared blindsided by Nunes’ announcement.”

    ………………

    When Nunes arrives at the White House and begins sharing information about which Transition officials were captured on “incidental surveillance,” he will be committing what appears to be an obvious crime.

    He claims that the surveillance is unrelated to Russia, and that may be his only criminal defense. He better hope that it will stand up in court. His press conference performance was a dishonest attempt to suggest that perhaps Trump wasn’t completely wrong when he said that Trump Tower was wiretapped at the behest of President Obama. He couldn’t assert either of those things but he made it seem like he had evidence pointing in that direction.

    Reply
  29. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 3:24 pm

    Why Trump Is Growing Increasingly Paranoid
    by Nancy LeTourneau March 22, 2017 8:00 AM

    Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman describe a president in a perilous emotional state. Here are a few significant excerpts:

    The testimony of Mr. Comey and that of Adm. Michael S. Rogers, his National Security Agency counterpart, will most likely enervate and distract Mr. Trump’s administration for weeks, if not longer…

    But it’s the obsessiveness and ferocity of Mr. Trump’s pushback against the Russian allegations, often untethered from fact or tact, that is making an uncertain situation worse.

    Mr. Trump’s allies have begun to wonder if his need for self-expression, often on social media, will exceed his instinct for self-preservation, with disastrous results both for the president and for a party whose fate is now tightly tied to his…

    The problem, from the perspective of Mr. Trump’s beleaguered political fire brigade, is that the president insists on dealing with crises by creating new ones…

    People close to the president say Mr. Trump’s Twitter torrent had less to do with fact, strategy or tactic than a sense of persecution bordering on faith…

    The president, people close to him have said over the last several weeks, has become increasingly frustrated at his inability to control the narrative of his action-packed presidency, after being able to dominate the political discourse or divert criticism by launching one of his signature Twitter attacks…

    …Mr. Trump’s Twitter persona seems to have shifted from puckish to paranoid.

    Reply
  30. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    When Right Wing Media Goes From Being GOP Propaganda to Intel Source
    by Nancy LeTourneau March 21, 2017 2:01 PM

    An awful lot of us remember the propaganda role played by Fox News in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. I’ll let Charles Ponce de Leon summarize:

    Predisposed to see things from the Bush administration’s point of view, FNC anchors and reporters had trouble containing their enthusiasm at the prospect of expanding the war on terror to “take out” Saddam Hussein and “liberate” Iraq. FNC’s talk-show hosts were particularly bellicose, goading their guests to rant about Hussein’s malevolence and the benefits that would follow any American-instigated regime change. They denounced nations that refused to join the US-led coalition as cowardly appeasers and routinely suggested that Americans who opposed the war were traitors who had cast their lot with the enemy.

    For years now, that has been the major role of right wing media — to serve as the propaganda arm for the GOP — whether it was cheerleading for the Bush administration or providing fodder for resisting Obama.

    But now the tables have been turned. Right wing media inhabits a whole new role in the Trump administration. Eschewing the entire federal bureaucracy that he oversees, the president is now relying on conservative media outlets as his main source of intelligence. Just two months into Trump’s term, we’ve seen several examples. It was a report on Fox News that led the president to suggest that Sweden was the victim of a terrorist attack. It was an article in Breitbart that led the president to suggest that Obama had wiretapped him. It was an appearance on Fox News by Judge Napolitano that led the administration to claim that British intelligence had been used to spy on the Trump campaign.

    Reply
  36. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    Don’t let media get away with pushing Trump’s “I told you so” about UK shootings” to continue his HATE & ISLAMAPHOBIA!

    Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    From Mayhew at BJ:

    Call Congress

    by David Andersonat3:50 pm on March 22, 2017. It has 1 Comment.

    There is a chance that we can win tomorrow.

    Let’s work to increase that chance. Call Congress. If you are represented by a Democrat or a Republican who is on the 100% No list as maintained by the New York Times , thank them, or their interns.

    If you are represented by an Undecided or Concerned Republican, encourage them to vote No.

    If you are represented by a highly probable yes Republican, tell them to have fun losing in November of 2018.

    There is no guarantee that we can win tomorrow. There might be a seven hour vote as arms get twisted and bribes concessions are offered to flip votes. But I would rather try and fail then resign myself to learned helplessness. So call.

    Here is the House Rep finder:

    Reply
  40. Liza says:
    March 22, 2017 at 2:16 pm

    Too little, too late.

    MSNBC and CNN finally ignore a live Trump rally
    By Tommy Christopher |
    MARCH 21, 2017

    After spending nearly a year carrying Donald Trump rallies live, raw lies and all, legitimate cable news networks have finally wised up and discontinued the practice, at least for one day.

    After a disastrous political day that saw FBI Director James Comey confirming an ongoing investigation into Trump campaign “coordination” with Russia and shooting down Trump’s lie about President Obama, Donald Trump took solace in a crowd of supporters at a “Make America Great Again” campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky. There was one major difference, however, between this Trump rally and nearly every other such gathering, dating back to the presidential campaign.
    Viewers who tuned in to cable news networks expecting to see Trump’s staged spectacle were treated to very different programs, depending on which network they chose:

    MSNBC pretty much completely ignored Trump’s rally, while CNN shunted Trump off to a side-screen just in case he said something about the Comey hearing (he didn’t), and talked over him the whole time.

    Fox News and Fox Business Network, however, carried the rally live, which puts them ahead of even the White House’s own Youtube channel, which did not carry the political event.
    After broadcasting hours of Trump’s blatant lies, misogyny and insidious xenophobia, live and uncut, legitimate news networks are finally wising up. If this trend is a sign of things to come, it would be welcome, if inexcusably late.

    http://shareblue.com/msnbc-and-cnn-finally-ignore-a-live-trump-rally/

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    Mattis is proving to be far too responsible for some in the GOP
    03/22/17 10:41 AM
    By Steve Benen
    The headline on the Politico piece overnight was unexpected: “Hill Republicans say they’re growing frustrated with Mattis.” OK, I’ll bite. What seems to be the trouble with Defense Secretary James Mattis from the perspective of congressional Republicans?

    Defense Secretary James Mattis’ unconventional choices for top Pentagon posts and his reluctance to aggressively push for dramatic increases in the defense budget have rankled Republicans on Capitol Hill who say he’s burning through political capital he needs as he begins reshaping the Pentagon. […]

    Republican lawmakers and senior congressional aides said in recent interviews they’re running out of patience with the former four-star general’s staffing decisions, which have disappointed Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee members hoping to see their ideological allies elevated to senior levels in the Defense Department. Others are grumbling about Mattis’s refusal to advocate for a bigger increase in the defense budget, which defense hawks believe was gutted disastrously under President Barack Obama.

    One top Republican staffer on Capitol Hill told Politico that Republicans have waited for years to fill key Pentagon posts “with Republicans,” a desire the Pentagon chief isn’t taking seriously. Another GOP aide says Mattis seems to forget “that we won the election.”

    Oh. So Republicans are “growing frustrated” with the former four-star general because he’s trying to govern in a mature, non-partisan, and responsible fashion, making decisions based more on merit and less on politics.

    The nerve of that guy.

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    McConnell prepares for the ‘conclusion’ of the health care fight
    03/22/17 11:23 AM—UPDATED 03/22/17 12:08 PM
    By Steve Benen
    A couple of weeks ago, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes had a fascinating chat with Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), who was pressed on a single point: how many hearings did House Republicans hold on their health care plan before passing out of committee?

    Lance, reluctant to acknowledge that the number was zero, dodged the question repeatedly, before the congressman eventually said he thought the Senate might hold some “discussion” about the legislation.

    As it turns out, that’s not going to happen. The House vote is still scheduled for tomorrow – though that may be delayed if GOP leaders find themselves far short of the votes they’ll need – but in the upper chamber, Republican leaders are moving forward with a plan to make this mess go away as quickly as possible. Politico reported:

    Senate Republicans are unlikely to hold any committee hearings, and many of them haven’t even read what the House is about to pass. It’s unclear, to put it mildly, how proponents can placate enough moderates or conservatives to get the bill across the finish line.

    But GOP leaders are showing no signs of applying the brakes.

    “We’re not slowing down,” [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell said on Tuesday. “We will reach a conclusion on health care next week.

    ”

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    The Republican health care plan is actually worse than nothing
    03/22/17 09:21 AM
    By Steve Benen
    It dawned on congressional Republicans quite a while ago that they couldn’t simply repeal the Affordable Care Act, roll back the clock as if “Obamacare” never existed, and walk away. GOP policymakers conceded they’d have to “repeal and replace” the health care law with their own policy blueprint.

    That, of course, has become a fiasco of historic proportions. Last week, the Congressional Budget Office released a report that highlighted the profound impact the Republican bill would have on the American system: the ranks of the uninsured would grow by 14 million by next year, and that number would expand to 24 million by 2026.

    And as dreadful as those results sound, the New York Times’ Margot Sanger-Katz’s highlighted an even more striking detail yesterday:

    The Republican bill would actually result in more people being uninsured than if Obamacare were simply repealed. Getting rid of the major coverage provisions and regulations of Obamacare would cost 23 million Americans their health insurance, according to another recent C.B.O. report.

    In other words, one million more Americans would have health insurance with a clean repeal than with the Republican replacement plan, according to C.B.O. estimates.

    Let that sink for a moment. If Republicans simply took a sledge hammer to the ACA, 23 million Americans would lose their health coverage. If Republicans pass their own legislation, 24 million Americans would lose their health coverage.

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 1:26 pm

    When a president simply lies too much
    03/22/17 08:46 AM—UPDATED 03/22/17 01:11 PM
    By Steve Benen
    The funny thing about Donald Trump’s wiretap conspiracy theory is that, from the outset, everyone knew he was lying. The sitting president accused his predecessor of ordering an illegal surveillance operation, as part of a Watergate-like scheme, and nearly the entire political world quickly reached a consensus: these claims are clearly not rooted in reality.

    As Trump’s falsehoods go, these were hardly the most dramatic – indeed, they’re not even the most shocking lie he’s told about Barack Obama – and it didn’t take long before the claims were discredited in bipartisan fashion. But there was something about this lie that gained traction in ways most of Trump’s other lies don’t. Apparently, when a sitting president makes demonstrably false claims about his predecessor committing a felony, many are inclined to believe there should be some kind of consequences for dishonesty at this level.

    Making matters much worse, when FBI Director James Comey testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Monday, confirming an investigation into the Trump campaign and further debunking Trump’s wiretap conspiracy theory, the president used his official White House Twitter account to make a variety of related claims, each of which was plainly untrue.

    The same day, the White House tried to tell the public that Trump’s former campaign chairman and National Security Advisor were unimportant, peripheral figures.

    Reply
  47. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    Republicans considering whether or not to back U.S. President Donald Trump’s healthcare reforms in a crucial House of Representatives vote this week face a painful choice.

    If they vote against, they could face the wrath of a vengeful and combative president. If they vote for it, they risk retribution from the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and other powerful right-wing players whose money can be pivotal in re-election races.

    As Trump faces the most formidable, high-stakes negotiation of his presidency, the fierce battle in the U.S. Congress over his plan to replace Obamacare is a test of whether Republicans will trust him with their political futures at the risk of alienating deep-pocketed conservative advocacy groups.

    As Trump and leaders in the House round up support for the bill ahead of a planned Thursday vote, some groups are threatening to retaliate against those who do support it, including the Club for Growth, the Heritage Foundation’s political arm, and Americans for Prosperity, which is part of the expansive political pressure network established by the Koch brothers.

    All three groups are “keying” the vote, which means it will be a factor in determining whether the groups deem a lawmaker to be sufficiently conservative. That opens up the possibility that some Republicans who vote in favor of the bill could face a primary challenge in next year’s congressional elections and may not be able to count on help from the Kochs and others

    Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    FBI probe into Team Trump casts cloud over Supreme Court process
    03/22/17 08:00 AM
    By Steve Benen

    On Monday, FBI Director James Comey publicly confirmed that there’s a counter-espionage investigation underway, examining not only Russia’s illegal efforts to help put Donald Trump in the White House, but also whether Team Trump cooperated with Moscow’s scheme. On Tuesday, the confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, began in earnest.

    Much of the political world is treating these two developments as distinct and unrelated. It was heartening to see Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) take the obvious step of connecting then. The Washington Post reported:

    “I’d like to point out that it is the height of irony that Republicans held this Supreme Court seat open for nearly a calendar year while President Obama was in office, but are now rushing to fill the seat for a president whose campaign is under investigation by the FBI,” Schumer said, according to remarks sent out by his office.

    Schumer said that, to him, it appeared “unseemly to be moving forward so fast on confirming a Supreme Court Justice with a lifetime appointment” due to the looming FBI investigation, which could potentially last for months or years

    The Democratic leader added, “You can bet that if the shoe was on the other foot – and a Democratic president was under investigation by the FBI – that Republicans would be howling at the moon about filling a Supreme Court seat in such circumstances. After all, they stopped a president who wasn’t under investigation from filling a seat with nearly a year left in his presidency.”.

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    President Donald Trump’s so-called “skinny budget” proposes spending cuts that could have a severe impact on black colleges, according to advocates for those institutions.
    The budget blueprint titled “America First” decreases Department of Education funding by 13 percent, leaving some programs that support minority students unfunded.

    They are who we thought they were.

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 11:57 am

    BRAND NEW: Tool for Thursday’s vote

    Want to see how many lose coverage by Congressional district? (Example: Dent)https://t.co/U2Nr8ogSPq pic.twitter.com/xqceKCvmQs

    — Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) March 22, 2017

    Reply
  53. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 11:48 am
    Reply
  55. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 11:23 am

    keep you eyes on US & #45 Russian TIES, folks. he’ll use the UK shootings to distract, just like the wiretapping fuckery. Media spent 3 weeks on this foolishness.

    Reply
  56. SouthernGirl2 says:
    March 22, 2017 at 11:05 am

    #ProtectBlackWomen: Violence at The Spur Steak Ranches

    https://www.facebook.com/OrionEyed/videos/1291868174223565/

    Reply
  57. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 11:03 am
    Reply
  58. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 11:00 am
    Reply
  59. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 10:51 am

    African Americans and Social Security: The Implications of Reform Proposals
    January 18, 2006 |BY William Spriggs and Jason Furman[1]

    http://www.cbpp.org/research/african-americans-and-social-security-the-implications-of-reform-proposals

    Reply
  61. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 10:38 am

    Read this & I’m curious about your findings in this report. Thanks

    The Decision to Exclude Agricultural and Domestic Workers from the 1935 Social Security Act

    https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v70n4/v70n4p49.html

    Reply
  63. Ametia says:
    March 22, 2017 at 10:26 am

    Faith Leaders To Hold A Moral March & Rally On Capitol Hill To Save The Affordable Care Act

    Rev. William Barber will be at the Moral March & Rally today at 1 p.m. at the Capital

    Reply
  65. Liza says:
    March 22, 2017 at 10:08 am

    This. “White voters are not interested in democratic socialism. They want to restore their access to a more generous and dignified program of white socialism.”

    Yes. This goes back to the times when there were decent paying jobs for middle class people (mostly white) that did not require a college education. And there were labor unions demanding benefits. But those jobs aren’t coming back regardless of how many environmental regulations Trump decimates or even if he destroys the entire EPA. The global economy is not going away and those jobs are gone. The replacement jobs are in infrastructure, we know that. But Congress is opposed to massive investment in infrastructure, projects like high speed rail, so those replacement jobs are not on the horizon.

    The other issue is that many smaller companies and local governments are moving toward high deductible health insurance. The insurance benefits are not as good as they used to be because the cost of insurance is higher than ever and companies can use this as an excuse to cut costs. Many local governments, of course, have to cut costs.

    So perhaps this explains why so many millenials gravitated to Bernie’s message. They have a better grasp of current economic realities and they aren’t pining for the good old days.

    There comes the day when those white voters who want back into the system realize that the GOP can’t deliver, and that day it isn’t far off.

    I don’t know what happens then. The GOP will look for alternative ways to maintain their loyalty, but folks can’t eat rhetoric or use it to pay for healthcare. I guess we’ll see.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      March 22, 2017 at 10:30 am

      Tell that truth, Liza. And the very mention of insurance premiums have sky-rocketed under Obamacare is utter BULLSHIT. Insurance premiums have been rising, long before Obamacare was passed.

      These MOFOs will use any and every excuse to block & blame to keep affordable healthcare out of the hands of Americans who have contributed more to society, than the very PIRATES who are enacting legislation to take our tax $$$$ and pocket them.

      We are living in a KLEPTOCRACY, folks. And Trump and his family, friends and enemies alike are at the helm.

      Reply
  67. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 9:08 am

    Trump owes $300M to bank behind global money laundering scheme led by Russian criminals#trumprussia #russiagate https://t.co/lCi5bTzWpk pic.twitter.com/2vUnFXiUv8

    — Scott Dworkin (@funder) March 22, 2017

    Reply
  68. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 9:07 am

    Revised GOP healthcare bill will still result in 24 million losing coverage: report https://t.co/wkPoTGWOLX pic.twitter.com/phi2ikmVuj

    — The Hill (@thehill) March 22, 2017

    Reply
  69. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:11 am

    #WhiteSocialism

    The entire phucking Department of Agriculture. WTF do you think the Pigford decision was about?

    Reply
  70. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:10 am

    #WhiteSocialism

    When you have policeman and fireman talk about ‘passing down’ CIVIL SERVICE JOBS.

    Reply
  71. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:09 am

    #WhiteSocialism

    When Civil Service jobs that didn’t even need a high school diploma as a requirement, suddenly, when people with melanin start getting those jobs….all sorts of new sets of educational requirements suddenly pop up in the job description.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      March 22, 2017 at 10:34 am

      …and even when “those people with melanin” got diplomas & degrees, they were still relegated to the back-o-the bus!

      Affirmative action? somehow white folks are calling it reverse racism? GTFOH

      Reply
  72. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:07 am

    #WhiteSocialism

    When Black GI’s returning from WWII were DENIED the same benefits that built the White Middle Class post WWII.

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      March 22, 2017 at 9:32 am

      This is so extraordinarily shameful in an American history that is full of shame.

      There was enough to go around, there always has been.

      Reply
    • Ametia says:
      March 22, 2017 at 10:06 am

      Truth! & don’t even get me started on SS. My grandparents & parents worked and slaved for years, before they were allowed to even pay into social security.

      Reply
  73. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 8:06 am

    #WhiteSocialism

    When we speak about the origins of Social Security, and how FDR got it passed by going along with the Southerners, which led to the EXCLUSION of certain professions – professions that Black people just ‘happened’ to be overemployed in, which led to those workers being EXCLUDED from contributing to Social Security – FOR DECADES, which lowered their checks when they came of age. WE look at it with scorn. #WhiteSocialism looks at that and sees nothing wrong.

    Reply
  74. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 7:59 am

    Rev. Barber’s memo calls the GOP plan “wealthcare.”

    And amid all this hardship and suffering, health insurance CEO’s and the wealthiest handful of Americans get massive tax breaks. Some have even dubbed the legislation “wealthcare.” By any name, it’s a giant moral leap backward for our nation and a clear example of systemic racism and classism. But we can stop this bill before it’s too late.

    Join Faith in Public Life, Rev. Dr. William Barber II and other faith leaders on Wednesday, March 22, at 1 p.m. as we hold a rally on Capitol Hill to demand a moral commitment to health care reform for all Americans.

    Reply
  75. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 7:58 am

    SG2,

    when tweeting about this article, please use the hashtag:
    #WhiteSocialism

    Reply
  76. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 7:57 am

    No one has ever had as much fun trying to take away health care from 24 million people as Paul Ryan pic.twitter.com/iueO3mWJaL

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 22, 2017

    Reply
  78. rikyrah says:
    March 22, 2017 at 5:08 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😐😐😐

    Reply

Leave a Reply