patrick.net

Patrick says

Less likely, in fact, since he has been so good for the US economy and foreign policy.

I don't see anything about the economy that is becasue of Trump (rather than in spite of Trump) except for the tax cuts, which are a stimulus, but also which we pay for in much higher deficits than what we should be running when the economy is strong.

As for foriegn policy and trade policy, I see those some of the most risky and likely huge mistakes he's made. I get it that Trump fans think risking nuclear war with Kim Jung Un and then kissing his ass on the global stage, all for nothing but another round of paying them off to stop testing nukes (just like we've done for decades), is really nifty stuff.

Patrick says

presenting working people's interests the way Trump does

By represent you must mean the things he said he would do to get elected, right ? Sure, he's a great salesman, sort of. But only someone blindly trying to justify their vote would think that he has actually delivered on any of those promises.

Meanwhile he's moving to destroy the environment and flipping off our allies on a regular basis. Great. Yeah, he's so impressive.

marcus says

Patrick says

Less likely, in fact, since he has been so good for the US economy and foreign policy.

I don't see anything about the economy that is becasue of Trump (rather than in spite of Trump) except for the tax cuts, which are a stimulus, but also which we pay for in much higher deficits than what we should be running when the economy is strong.

As for foriegn policy and trade policy, I see those some of the most risky and likely huge mistakes he's made. I get it that Trump fans think risking nuclear war with Kim Jung Un and then kissing his ass on the global stage, all for nothing but another round of paying them off to stop testing nukes (just like we've done for decades), is really nifty stuff.

Patrick says

presenting working people's interests the way Trump does

By represent you must...

You didn't call him Hitler. We're going in the right direction :)

AllTruth says

Be Impeached w/in 1 Year

Not a chance. Only the Republicans can impeach Trump since they have the majority and the Democrats aren't going to get the majority in the fall. The Republicans aren't going to impeach him because he's giving them pretty much everything they want including a crackdown on illegal immigrants and putting their people into key positions like the Supreme Court and the heads of various agencies. Trump is enabling the Republicans to turn over Roe V. Wade, an ironic consequence to the feminist movement to make Clinton the first female president, and possibly even gut Obamacare while keeping the individual mandate, the one part Republicans love because it's a tax whose revenue goes directly to the private sector.

There's no way Trump will be impeached, and you wouldn't want that anyway. Think about it. What happens if Trump is removed from office? Pence becomes president, and if you hate Trump, you'll really hate President Pence.

and possibly even gut Obamacare while keeping the individual mandate, the one part Republicans love because it's a tax whose revenue goes directly to the private sector.

The Republicans already repealed the individual mandate effective for the 2019 taxes, while leaving the rest of Obamacare mostly intact. The exact opposite of what you wrote.

My mistake. But that's a rather stupid move since the individual mandate is exactly what is funding Obamacare. Without it, everyone's premiums will go up by a lot.

Also, it's quite a backtrack for the Republican Party since they advocated the individual mandate back when Hillary Clinton was tasked with reforming health care.

I find it's likely that the Republicans are just setting up Obamacare to fail. It's a ruse. They should just have the balls to repeal it. That's what they keep saying that they want.

doik says

But that's a rather stupid move since the individual mandate is exactly what is funding Obamacare. Without it, everyone's premiums will go up by a lot.

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/obamacare-premiums-increase/

Perhaps looks at stats before making such statements. Just a thought.

FYI: I sell insurance and have access to all price info by policy/state/county, whatever you want.

Removing the individual mandate is the right move for americans.

doik says

Also, it's quite a backtrack for the Republican Party since they advocated the individual mandate back when Hillary Clinton was tasked with reforming health care.

More made up fake news or do you have facts this time?

CBOEtrader says

Perhaps looks at stats before making such statements. Just a thought.

A statistic is a measurement that has been taken, not a guess as to what will happen in the future. By definition, there are no statistics yet since the policy hasn't been implemented.

CBOEtrader says

Removing the individual mandate is the right move for americans.

The individual mandate was always a bad idea, even when it was first proposed by the Republicans. But removing it without repealing the rest of the law is a receipt for disaster. Would you say that the only problem with Obamacare is the one part that came from the Republican Party? If that were true, it would have been a damn good plan.

The fact is that the money to pay for people's health care has to come from somewhere. It's not magic. If it's not coming from young, healthy adults, then it is coming from somewhere else, and that somewhere else is anyone who gets health insurance, particularly as part of their benefits package from their employer.

CBOEtrader says

More made up fake news or do you have facts this time?

I thought this was common knowledge, but I guess identity politics trumps that. I hate both political parties, so don't bother trying to pigeon hole me into your enemy's camp. The fact is anyone who thinks that either Trump or Hillary are good policy makers is an idiot deserving no respect. The best case you could make for either is being the lesser of the two evils, and that's hardly a compelling case.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/health/policy/health-care-mandate-was-first-backed-by-conservatives.html
Some conservatives originally saw the individual mandate as a way to make certain that uninsured people who became ill or were injured — but were still entitled by law to medical treatment — did not push the cost of their care onto others.

“If a young man wrecks his Porsche and has not had the foresight to obtain insurance, we may commiserate, but society feels no obligation to repair his car,” Stuart Butler, a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said in a 1989 lecture on how to ensure affordable health care for all Americans. “But health care is different. If a man is struck down by a heart attack in the street, Americans will care for him whether or not he has insurance.”

Part of Mr. Butler’s solution back then? “Mandate all households to obtain adequate insurance.”

But Democrats were leery of the idea. In 1993, when President Bill Clinton put forward the broad outlines of his health care proposal in a speech to the National Governors Association in Tulsa, Okla., he called for requiring employers to buy coverage for their workers. The idea of an individual mandate, he noted in the speech, “has found some favor in the United States Congress, primarily among Republicans, but not exclusively, because it has the appeal of not imposing a business mandate, which has a bad sound to it.”

To combat President Clinton’s proposal, a large group of Republican senators, including the minority leader at the time, Bob Dole, and several who are still in office, proposed a bill that would have required individuals, and not employers, to buy insurance.

I don't care what your identity politics are, you don't get to rewrite history, and the Republicans originating and demanding the individual mandate is something that's very easy to confirm.