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I don't think we'll ever "lose" our 2A......



Because someday, when they push too far.....some cranky old man will decide he's had enough. With nothing to lose.


Then again, maybe not.

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Democracy is kind of a very broad term. Some democracy's in ancient times were also some of the most cruel to it's people. Everyone had a vote, yes. But still forced kids out of their families at young ages to train as soldiers for the State.

I don't think any other form of government can have so many different variations as Democracy.
 

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The VAST majority of people who draw SS paid into it for many, many years. Yes you can find examples of people who abuse the system, but you can't judge something's worth the small percentage who abuse it. That sounds like the anti-gunner argument (get rid of them all since some use them for violence.)

Agree



Some of you need to go read up on how the US worked before SS. Maybe you love your nana and would take care of her. But have you never met an elderly person, maybe a neighbor, who literally had no one? Because there would be millions of elderly homeless/dead people without SS. Some of them now from the greatest generation who worked in the factories during WWII, who stayed up praying for sons, fathers, and brothers to return.

This was true, but irrelevant. Social security was never designed to be collected by anyone...or at least not by many nor for very long. Collect at 63yrs old, life expectancy of 65....25 people paying in for every one that collected....



The REASON why Sanders and "socialism" (which isn't really socialism. Why do we keep using that word? They are promoting social programs.) are swinging back into favor is a natural thing because they system is currently fucked and the little guy can no longer buy into the American dream that if they work hard they will make it. A lot of the reforms being called for are not hand outs, but leveling the playing field.

Disagree. He wants total socialism, Eurpoean or whatever. It's what he came from and what he knows.



There are two areas that I notice this and think some of their complaints are valid. The first being college education. I worked through school, got some scholarships, and did the rest with loans. Loans are helpful, though I am still paying on them due to some lean years putting it off. But looking at the costs of college, they way out paced the average person's ability to pay on their own. My dad worked through college and was able to pay his whole education just through his low wage job. I worked through college but was unable to pay for all of my college, but made up for it in loans. Looking now at even the cost of state school where I went, unless you have the privilege of parents helping you, or scored super high on your ACT/SATs, you are going to have to go into debt to get an education. The cost of education has out paced our ability to pay. Couple this with a weak economy, kids coming out of college, even those with non-liberal arts degrees, are having trouble getting good jobs. The job market is fierce out there still, no mater what Obama keep saying the numbers are. There are many reasons for this, but when you can no longer "work hard and make it" people are going to call for things to become more equal. And they have a point, IMHO.

Back then, colleges weren't pissing a ton of money away on internet, networking, advertising, collegiate sports, fitness centers and hiring people for bullshit degrees. An education is an investment and a risk for ones self. It is not the burden of others to bear.



Second, and probably the most important thing, is the shrinking middle class and the huge wealth gap. Every play Monopoly and just get stomped? You never have enough money to buy even the most basic of property, and the other guy has enough to buy everything you land on, plus his. And half your turns you end up owing HIM money? That is a decent metaphor with the issue here. People in America like the rich because we all hope to attain the status some day. The problem with putting them on pedestal and making them false gods. So many people in America are not rich from their hard work or smarts or even luck. They were born that way. And all of them use every loop hole and slick trick to stay that way. In other words, they are rarely playing on a level field, they are manipulating the system and screwing YOU. Trump is a great example of this. Jesus Christ, just read a basic bio on the guy. He isn't a brilliant business man. One could argue someone like Mark Cuban is a pretty smart business man, but Trump would be a used car sales man driving a 5 year old BMW if he didn't have his daddy's wealth and connections to start him off and help keep him afloat as he fucked shit up over and over.

Middle class is an economically unsustainable phenomenon that occurred 1 time in world history. Like it or not, we had the luxury of a powerful middle class only because WW2 saw the destruction of Europe and Japans manufacturing capabilities. They were busy with rebuilding infrastructure, not cars and TV's. America, being unharmed by WW2 allowed us to be the sole supplier of everything to everyone. Of course we got rich from that event. Demand was high and we had the supply. Today...we have competition...1940-1960...not so much.



But anyway, the rich aren't who make America great. The Middle Class is. One of the largest times of prosperity, which had a huge jump start from the boom post WWII, saw the rise of the middle class. You know what also helped that rise? Unions, because with out unions many of those manufacturing jobs and other post-war jobs wouldn't have paid a wage that would have allowed the rise of the middle class. But if you look at the stats now, the middle class is disappearing. The top top rich are eclipsing us that he bar graphs look like a cartoon. This isn't ok. They aren't getting richer and richer just by doing more and better business, they are working the system to get ahead. God forbid a 70 year old women feel entitled so some SS, but I don't hear the same outcry about corporate welfare, or how many tax loop holes there are for special interests.

Unions had there place and did some good. They are not what created the middle class and they sure aren't whats keeping it on life support now.

Rich always get richer. How does compounding interest work? Ever play the game Monopoly?

I have no problems with rich people, hell I want to be one.

Funny...I never had a rich person steal from me or ask for money in a checkout line. Poor people have though (and I don't mean welfare taxes either).



Regan's "trickle down" economics didn't work. It was a bullshit idea to begin with. Now I am sure right now half of you are labeling me a commie pinko liberal. And I am not. But I am a realist. I love capitalism, but capitalism ONLY works long term with LIMITS in place. Because with out LIMITS you will find people use it as a tool to screw the little guy over. Don't believe me? Read a fucking book. Why do we have an FDA? Because people were selling snake oil and cocaine laced cough medicine. Why do we have the FDIC? Because the banking crises in the 20s destroyed our faith in banks. And capitalism can't function with out banks. Why do we have the SEC? To police fraud in the financial market. Even with these checks and balances in place we still have shit like the retarded 2008 bubble that burst, which was completely avoidable, it was greedy companies taking advantage of people's dreams to own a home, preying on weakness and their optimism that they would be able to afford payments in the future - because if we work hard in America, we all will make it - right? I still can't believe payday loans is a thing.  It is legalized loan sharking, and efforts to crack down on them have the snakes just slithering to new corners with new tricks.

Keep raising the minimum wage (poverty level) eventually it catches
up to the middle class...except you create artificial inflation which
makes middle class and poor the same class. Has nothing to do with
trickle down. So taxing businesses more is the answer? You realize that businesses pass that cost onto the consumer or shuts its doors and puts its employees on the unemployment line right? So you want shit to cost more or less revenue paid to the locality in real estat taxes, plus the loss of any other economic benefits...



Anyway - I feel some of you think that America's poor comprise of mainly some black fat chick with 2 kids on welfare, doesn't work, smoking weed all day. That isn't reality, so you need to get that cartoonish iimage out of you're head. There are about as many whites on welfare as blacks. Less than half as many are those lazy hispanics. Over half of the people on welfare HAVE JOBS. The problem is the cost of living has outpaced our ability to pay for it.

Most costs that outpaced the ability to live comfortably are luxury and self inflicted. Internet, computers, anti-virus programs, cell phones, video games, cable/satellite, added electric to power all this crap...all shit I see poor welfare people have that are not 100% necessary. Your grand parents and most of your parents didn't have this stuff (it didn't exist).



They system is broken. We need to fix it or the calls for government intervention is going to be louder. And you can't look too far down on people who are calling for this. That 40 hour work week, with over time if you work more? That's thanks to movements like this. Our current relatively cushy labor laws we all enjoy as "normal" now - the ones we still bitch about sucking -  was seen as communist propaganda 80+ years ago. You really don't want a return to the good ol' days.

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Social Security is a ponzi scheme.  You paid into nothing as your money was sent out to the people drawing from it.  If your entire retirement income consists of government welfare (thats what Social Security is, deal with it) then no... you get what those paying the taxes to support you say you get.