I agree with this - I don't think I've ever seen something unite both the r/Conservative and r/EatTheRich subreddits so completely.
That said, I did see a comment on a NYTimes article that I thought was apt: it's a bit rich for Americans to now complain about how awful our healthcare system is when we just gave full control of government to the party that has rejected any healthcare reform for decades. I mean, this was the party that vilified false "death panels" in Obamacare, and now people are united in their anger about claim denials?? Obamacare is certainly not perfect (though one reason it was proposed is because Obama didn't think "Medicare for all" would be politically possible), but it's better than what existed before, and I have only seen Republicans try to tear it down consistently since it was passed and I've never heard them put forth any viable alternatives that would actually improve the situation.
In defense of electing Republicans ... it's not like Democrats do more than talk about fixing problems most of the time. And the last time Republicans had control, it turned out they didn't actually have the internal support to actually try to get rid of Obamacare.
The "both sides" argument isn't entirely true, but it isn't untrue either.
> it's not like Democrats do more than talk about fixing problems most of the time.
Obviously, when speaking in generalities, this always just turns into a Rorschach test online, so won't enter into that debate.
But when looking at Obamacare/ACA specifically, I think its mere existence would disprove the point you are trying to make. Obama and the Dems put a ton of political capital into trying to actually do something about healthcare in the US. And, again, to the point that it's quite rich for Americans to bitch about the state of healthcare now, the Democrats got pretty destroyed in the 2010 Congressional elections specifically because of Obamacare. As stated above, Obamacare is not perfect, but it drastically reduced the percentage of uninsured Americans. Sorry, but I think any attempt to "both sides" on this specific issue is complete nonsense, and the historical record shows that.
Very open to considering any reasonable attempts at all by the Republican party as a whole or even any individual Republican states to improve healthcare or lower the cost of it in this country in the past 20 years. I am just not aware of any.
> I've never heard them put forth any viable alternatives
The article does the same thing. It describes symptoms but never even comes close to a propper problem descrtiption or a true solution.
> My suggestion to you is: Let’s do it all over again. We’ve got to try something
> “The Capitalist’s Case for a $15 Minimum Wage.”
No! This is not a solution either.
The solution to inequality is not the capping of the lower bound (though, its a nice gesture) because the lower income already has a hard cap: zero.
The upper bound instead stays uncapped! Wealth or inequality is the relative span between the boundaries and this article proposes something like "why cant you guys down there be a little richer" while inflations contiunes to roll and home ownership continues declines. "But hey, arent you looking forward to get that 25$/h raise, when i tell you its time?" ... "Because, look how much you earn now. We certainly life in a more equal and just society." I dont like this limited way of thinking. Its effectively trickery with numbers.
> Many of us think we’re special because “this is America.”
I assume many rich and powerful tell to themselfs stories about societal problems, their solutions and how detached their way of life from them is.
Wealth redistibution has to start at the top and to be fair, there are some rich people advocating for more taxation/regulation, but they are heavily out spent by the other side. The author is definitely on the better side but still short sighted.
I think it's important for non-americans to understand "we" didn't really vote them into office. there were two choices put up that most of us didn't want... only about half of eligible voters are even registered to be allowed to vote... and those registered voters "chose" Trump 50.1 to 49.9.
then on Election Day the biggest google search was “is Joe Biden not running for reelection ?”
this is the freedumb that the right-wing thinktanks have been planning for decades
That said, I did see a comment on a NYTimes article that I thought was apt: it's a bit rich for Americans to now complain about how awful our healthcare system is when we just gave full control of government to the party that has rejected any healthcare reform for decades. I mean, this was the party that vilified false "death panels" in Obamacare, and now people are united in their anger about claim denials?? Obamacare is certainly not perfect (though one reason it was proposed is because Obama didn't think "Medicare for all" would be politically possible), but it's better than what existed before, and I have only seen Republicans try to tear it down consistently since it was passed and I've never heard them put forth any viable alternatives that would actually improve the situation.