(01-21-2020 06:32 PM)ShrackUAB Wrote: (01-21-2020 10:57 AM)umbluegray Wrote: (01-21-2020 09:13 AM)CliftonAve Wrote: The millennials love Bernie. I have a feeling this schism in the Democrat party between the Democrat-Socialist types and the establilshment Democrats are going to be a major reason for their down fall this fall. The Democrat-Socialists aren't going to vote for someone like Biden, and at the same time the establishment types are going to vote for Bernie.
Millennials love him because they've been force-fed socialistic thought over the years in our public education system.
Change that and you make socialists the villians that they actually are rather than the heros they're made out to be.
“The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation is the philosophy of government in the next.”
- A. Lincoln
I think there are a lot of people who want:
-Healthcare reform as it costs way more than it should
-College reform as it costs way more than it should
-Monopolies being broken up. This country has way too many mega corporations these days and they're throwing their weight around heavily in politics.
-Emissions reductions.
Unfortunately there aren't many options to vote for who offer to do those things.
Let's talk about the first two items as they're both related to services costing too much.
"Too much" or "costs more than it should" are subjective and not quantifiable. It's an emotional tactic rather than a factual one.
But I think many of us agree that those things do cost too much. Well, maybe doctors and professors excepted.
Now we need to discuss "why" these services cost too much. I believe economic principles suggest that government policies which ensure payment are one of the root causes of severe and rapid price increases.
The college board charges as much as they want knowing that the student will pay with government funds. If students had to pay with their own money there would be less tuition funds available. This would force the college board to set tuition rationally.
Likewise with healthcare services. The more government is involved with price and fee control, the less free-market supply & demand influences pricing.
As far as monopolies go, this really shouldn't be an issue. Regardless of how big a company may grow there is a simple solution to neutering their political influence: pass laws against lobbying and donations. Easy. Except for the greedy politicians who like those donations.
I highly doubt we'll get congress to act on this any time soon. Maybe we could start at the state level. Let's get a state to pass a law that its federal senators and representatives are not allowed to take any money from PACs, lobbyists or corporations. Period. Let's require them to submit evidence that they are not taking money. If enough states get on board then the size of the pool in DC will shrink at which point there won't be enough politicians taking kickbacks to make a difference. Hypothetically, that is.
As far as emissions reductions go, eh. That's high on some folks' lists but not so much for others.
