You’re right, the “both sides” claim really doesn’t work here.
Biden’s student loan forgiveness would have amounted to a gift of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to his most ardent supporters: young, college educated, poor people.
Trump’s proposal is a fraction of that, and all Americans would be eligible. If he’s trying to buy votes, he’s going to need to try a lot harder. This proposal is nothing like Biden’s vote buying scheme.
Have you missed where Trump himself and many of the wealthiest people in the U.S. have had integer multiples of their wealth over just the past couple of years?
> young, college educated, poor people
Oh yea, you're correct, who needs those? Let's feed the 0.01%.
Funny that you wake up and rise only now. Where was you righteous indignation when Republicans promises tax cuts? Can you point me to your contemporary reaction to "no tax on tips"? What made you react only now?
Yes it is different: he conditioned it on voting for him. And he is not claiming to improve any governmental system to finance this, like other politicians do when they promise welfare or tax cuts: he is saying the money is there, he is the only one who can use it, and whether you get it or not depends on giving him your vote.
just one question: is it a deeper or shallower stain than slavery, trail of tears, lynchings, nuking japan, vietnam, 1 million dead in the second gulf war, etc etc etc?
If your political opponent is offering free stuff paid from the public purse, while you are offering “fiscal responsibility,” you are guaranteed to lose every election.
This is in large part why Romney lost in 2012 and why no fiscally conservative candidate could beat Trump in the 2016 Republican primary. The average Joe doesn’t want to vote for the “eat your vegetables” candidate.
I hate it but Trump is smart enough to realize that you have to pander like this or you’ll lose. Democrats have historically been the party of “vote for me for more free stuff,” and he’s trying to beat them at their own game.
The end result of these vote buying schemes from both parties will be either a sovereign debt crisis or massive inflation. Maybe both.
> Democrats have historically been the party of “vote for me for more free stuff,"
Democrats are more fiscally responsible than Republicans, consistently, for decades. You're perpetuating a myth, pushed by conservatives, that liberals are "tax and spend".
> these vote buying schemes from both parties
Where do you see vote buying schemes from the Democrat side? The only examples I've seen so far of this in reality are this current scheme, and Elon Musk's scheme last election.
"Both sides" are not equal. Republicans have given up on the rule of law and are actively aiming to eliminate democracy.
Since becoming president again, Trump has promised:
-$5000 stimulus checks via "DOGE dividend"
-$2000 stimulus checks via "tariff dividend"
-$1000+ checks via "savings" from expiring ACA subsidies
-$5000 "dividend" if Rs win midterms
No checks have been issuedhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-magically-disappearing-st...
The sooner this guy is impeached the better. That's better than letting his term just run out as it offers more of a warning to other fruitcakes out there: the system _eventually_ works.
That isn't the way it works, there's no "three strikes" law for Presidents. If all of his extant corruption, clear senility and incompetence, throwing the global economy into chaos tumbling ass over end into an unnecessary war he can't even win and the Epstein stuff didn't get him removed from office, then this won't.
What we need is a form of legal redress more effective than a stern talking to, which is all impeachment amounts to.
There is a form of legal redress - following through in the senate with impeachment. Trump had sufficient allies in the senate when he was impeached so they dismissed it but if instead they had a 2/3 vote he could've be removed from office.
They gave Trump presidential immunity partly because the remedy for addressing any perceived lawlessness they figured is provided by the impeachment process. If the impeachment process is forclosed as even a possibility, he’s truly immune from any consequences.
Libertarians should try at a small scale first so that others can see the genius of their ideas, and be more encouraged to vote for them. I hear New Hampshire has towns open to this idea.
That’s one way to get enough money to buy automatic weapons and a pretty stash of ammo to all the capitol loving patrioters, after they blew up his slush fund.
Glad the law doesn’t count for the King, otherwise he would be in trouble.
The president’s Autopen though is going into overdrive signing all the pardons for every American who actually took the 5k.
Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and
Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was wilful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
So I’ve got a DOGE check coming, a tariff check, and now this. If I don’t get these, I don’t have to pay taxes right? Is that how it works? It’s hard to keep up.
48 comments
[ 0.26 ms ] story [ 17.2 ms ] threadWhat is your intent, beyond cynicism?
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/15/critics-say-bidens-covid-rel...
It's like saying that a murderer and a jaywalker are both criminals, so they're basically the same.
Biden’s student loan forgiveness would have amounted to a gift of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to his most ardent supporters: young, college educated, poor people.
Trump’s proposal is a fraction of that, and all Americans would be eligible. If he’s trying to buy votes, he’s going to need to try a lot harder. This proposal is nothing like Biden’s vote buying scheme.
> young, college educated, poor people
Oh yea, you're correct, who needs those? Let's feed the 0.01%.
Actually people would have to be an idiot to settle for anything less from Trump.
When you think about it, if Trump genuinely trusted the average American, he would pay in advance.
OTOH, Americans will be able to see if they can trust Trump by whether or not he pays in advance no matter what.
Whoever's paying attention.
lol
This is in large part why Romney lost in 2012 and why no fiscally conservative candidate could beat Trump in the 2016 Republican primary. The average Joe doesn’t want to vote for the “eat your vegetables” candidate.
I hate it but Trump is smart enough to realize that you have to pander like this or you’ll lose. Democrats have historically been the party of “vote for me for more free stuff,” and he’s trying to beat them at their own game.
The end result of these vote buying schemes from both parties will be either a sovereign debt crisis or massive inflation. Maybe both.
Democrats are more fiscally responsible than Republicans, consistently, for decades. You're perpetuating a myth, pushed by conservatives, that liberals are "tax and spend".
> these vote buying schemes from both parties
Where do you see vote buying schemes from the Democrat side? The only examples I've seen so far of this in reality are this current scheme, and Elon Musk's scheme last election.
"Both sides" are not equal. Republicans have given up on the rule of law and are actively aiming to eliminate democracy.
Catherine Rampell / The Bulwark via Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/crampell.bsky.social/post/3mv4z7az4...
Third time’s the charm?
By all means let Senators defend and protect him. Maybe they don't care about their historical reputation
What we need is a form of legal redress more effective than a stern talking to, which is all impeachment amounts to.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rVXekzwkz10&pp=ygUeR2VvcmdlIGN...
I really wish Libertarians would actually win.
And guns
And no foreign wars
And the right to marry whomever you want or be in a relationship with whomever you want.
And minimal State with demilitarized police.
And leaving you alone to do whatever.
But turns out it's a fun game for another branch of government too.
- 5k are promised in case of x to u.s. adults
Risk: too much adults to divide 5k equally amongst.
However Trump's promises mean nothing nowadays.
Glad the law doesn’t count for the King, otherwise he would be in trouble.
The president’s Autopen though is going into overdrive signing all the pardons for every American who actually took the 5k.
Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and
Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was wilful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/597
Not that that matters when you make it up as you go.