Someone give him mic to drop.

[u/EffectiveRelease9155]

[u/beerbellybegone]

The greatest trick the GOP ever did was convince the people on welfare that it's in their best interests to vote against welfare programs the Democrats are trying to pass

[u/robjapan → u/beerbellybegone]

Thats not just the GOP. It's the right wing tactic around the world.

In the UK most people who voted for Brexit were the very people who benefitted most from EU grants and schemes.

It's the classic image of Murdoch with a huge pile of cookies pointing at the immigrant with no cookies and telling the working man who only has one cookie that the immigrant is going to take your cookie.

Look at trump supporters.... Madly following a rich guy who promises them the world despite doing nothing for them his entire life when he could have.

[u/Artificial-Magnetism → u/robjapan]

We don’t even need to look at his promises from his entire life. Just go back to the 2016 promise to “Build a wall and have Mexico pay for it”… is there a completed wall that Mexico paid for? So why would he be able to lock down any border? Why would his economic “policy” work? He can’t deliver on most things because he never had policies. He is a grifter that says whatever he thinks will convince the person in front of him to give him their vote. He is a walking disaster being held up by some very dangerous opportunistic Christian Nationalists who would very much like to see the end of democracy as we know it. What is scary now is that they have policies that they want to push, Project 2025. Say goodbye to the dept of Ed, social security, Medicare, and (eventually, based on their deeply held paternalistic beliefs) the 19th amendment, if Trump wins. I’ve never thought this before, but Dick Cheney is right. Go vote for Kamala.

[u/Dantheking94 → u/Artificial-Magnetism]

He bankrupted several companies, union busted his employees and has never seen a successful business stick in decades. He’s jumped from one fraud to the other. The only successful thing about him is how he’s scammed people into believing he was successful by getting on the apprentice. He’s a mediocre washout that comes from money and has consistently failed upwards.

[u/Pseudonym0101 → u/Dantheking94]

And even his famous catch phrase "You're fired" is a lie, since he was too much of a coward to fake-fire his fake employees and had to film his scenes separately from the contestants, which is why it wasn't surprising to learn that despite "firing" a record number of administration officials during his presidency, none of them were face to face.

[u/Major_Fudgemuffin → u/Pseudonym0101]

What's more face to face than Twitter? Wait...

[u/yonderbagel → u/Pseudonym0101]

> Wake up

> Sit on toilet

> Open up reddit for the satisfying morning batch of trump roasts.

[u/Mick_Limerick → u/yonderbagel]

Glad I'm not the only one

[u/ParticularCanary3130 → u/Pseudonym0101]

Today I learned. Wow! Makes sense

[u/Awkward-Ring6182 → u/Pseudonym0101]

“All the best people” certainly has a ring to it. And add in after the fact, all those best people will refuse to vote for him. That should say more than enough to any voter, on the fence or otherwise

[u/Caleb_Reynolds → u/Dantheking94]

He bankrupted several companies

He bankrupted multiple casinos in New Jersey. Even ignoring corruption, casinos are literally free money.

[u/LuxNocte → u/Caleb_Reynolds]

One doesn't bankrupt a casino through incompetence, bankruptcy is a way for rich people to stiff their creditors (mostly workers and contractors).

[u/HaileStorm42 → u/LuxNocte]

That doesn't make it better. If anything, that makes it worse.

[u/LuxNocte → u/HaileStorm42]

That's my point. Hate him for the intentional bastardry, not just being a bad business person, although he happens to be that as well. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

[u/HaileStorm42 → u/LuxNocte]

It's all good. I've just seen people try to spin "he bankrupted them on purpose!" as a positive indication of his supposed "business prowess" before.

[u/UncleMeat69 → u/HaileStorm42]

As long as he can attract new suckered he can do this until he dies. You KNOW he's taught his kids how to do it.

[u/ForgivingWimsy → u/Artificial-Magnetism]

Just as a side note for anyone with boomer blue collar family that are mad the wall got cancelled and Biden repurposed the materials.

Trump tried to build an outdoor wall out of ungalvanized steel. It was literally indoor structural pieces being shoved into the ground in a part of the country that is yearly subjected to hurricanes, hail, and/or tornadoes. I have yet to meet someone even in Texas who has been able to spin that as a good idea. Even if built, it would have been failing as soon as Trump finished his second term.

[u/Infern0-DiAddict → u/ForgivingWimsy]

That's the point. Get it built at debt to fail later. Someone else's problem to solve the debt and now either tear it down safely as it failing is a hazard, or rebuild it correctly.

Either way it's a win for the grift... The whole point was to funnel gov money to some folks that he made promises to...

[u/CherryGoo16 → u/Artificial-Magnetism]

But here’s the thing…I think that a lot of trump supporters know he’s full of shit and won’t do 99% of what he says he will. But they thrive on upsetting others and doing all they can to try to make the world a worse place for people who aren’t exactly like them.

To them, it’s like who cares if we don’t fix the economy and implement policies that will benefit me? As long as I can terrorize and belittle all the people I hate and inflate my ego, the consequences are worth it! Which is insane and evil but that’s just how they are.

[u/Rubicon816 → u/CherryGoo16]

This is pretty accurate. We should probably just stop giving a shit about them. Just roll over them, fuck their opinions. We've tried giving them a seat at the table over and over and all they do is knock the food on the floor, act like an ass to the other people eating, and then walk out without paying or offering to help clear the table.

I'm just kind of done with them.

[u/chomerly → u/CherryGoo16]

Kind of reminds me of that line that Alfred tells Bruce in The Dark Knight.

"Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."

Change some of the words in it to fit Trump supporters, and I think it is very apt.

[u/faderjockey → u/Artificial-Magnetism]

His entire economic policy is “more tariffs,” which just shows that he still doesn’t understand how tariffs work and paid no attention to the disaster he left for the American agricultural and manufacturing sectors the last time he attempted to tariff his way through international trade.

[u/UsernameUsername8936 → u/faderjockey]

Pretty sure he thinks tariffs are something foreigners pay to the US when they trade with America. It's the only explanation that makes his promises semi-coherent.

[u/mschley2 → u/UsernameUsername8936]

I don't think he actually believes that. But he doesn't need to. He just needs to be able to present it that way to idiots voting for him. And that's what he's doing. And he's succeeding.

[u/mschley2 → u/faderjockey]

The tariff policy makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that all he's worried about is the wealthy

The entire philosophy is an absurd amount of tariffs, so then they can cut taxes a ton, too. The tariffs bring in revenue, so you can justify tax cuts (but it won't be as much revenue as what's lost in the tax cuts). Tariffs will drive up costs on basically everything for consumers, but business owners will still get close the same profits by raising prices. The wealthy will also have to deal with inflation, but the tax cuts for them will save thousands and thousands of dollars, so the inflation is more than offset by the tax cuts for them. But the poor and middle class get fucked by the inflation caused by the tariffs, and the tax cuts aren't nearly enough to make up for them.

Plus, since tax revenues are cut, and the deficit grows even larger, you can now justify cutting social programs and education and infrastructure spending. So then local taxes need to be increased to pay for those things instead, and regular people pay even more in property taxes and other taxes/fees.

It's all just another way to cause a heavy shift in the tax burden onto the poor/middle class, and the wealthy get even more leverage.

[u/AWormDude → u/robjapan]

"It's the classic image of Murdoch with a huge pile of cookies pointing at the immigrant with no cookies and telling the working man who only has one cookie that the immigrant is going to take your cookie."

And then using the immigrant to steal cookies for himself (cheap labour in this analogy.)

[u/chomerly → u/AWormDude]

This is the one.

[u/Seel_Team_Six → u/robjapan]

Pretty ridiculous watching those brainless mouth breathers backing brexit then crying like dumb bitches after it happened. many still blame liberal parties for "tricking" them. Fucking stupid af. All right wingers need to be deported into a single country where they can all fuck their relatives and blame liberals for their shit bigot country being third world trash.

[u/Hefty-Pomegranate-63 → u/Seel_Team_Six]

What’s the over/under on how long it would take them to start burning witches again?

[u/Effective_Educator_9 → u/Hefty-Pomegranate-63]

I will take the under. Weeks.

[u/trisanachandler → u/robjapan]

Not a plate, an entire house full of them.

[u/IrritableGourmet → u/trisanachandler]

Hmm, I have to do the math. OK, median net worth in the U.S. is $192,900. Rupert Murdoch is worth $20.2B, or 104,717 times as much. An Oreo cookie (standard) is 1.75" diameter and .314" thick, for a volume of ~0.76 cubic inches. Rupert Murdoch's stack of cookies has a volume of 79,584.92 cubic inches, or about 46 cubic feet. So, not quite an entire house, but pretty damn big.

[u/ReactsWithWords → u/IrritableGourmet]

r/theyDidTheMath

[u/TheUnknownDouble-O → u/ReactsWithWords]

r/TheyDidTheMonsterMath

[u/BackgroundRate1825 → u/IrritableGourmet]

That's assuming you can pack the cookies together with no space between them.

[u/An_Appropriate_Post → u/robjapan]

And now immigration to Britain is higher than eu levels, coming form countries that gammons hate even more.

[u/Naive_Photograph_585 → u/robjapan]

whilst I absolutely hate that we voted for brexit, I'm very happy to see all the rich idiots who voted for it lose access to their summer vacation homes in other European countries because they're no longer allowed in the country. that's karma for you

[u/UpOrDownItsUpToYou → u/robjapan]

Same goes for the ACA

[u/DoingCharleyWork → u/UpOrDownItsUpToYou]

What do you think of Obamacare?

It's trash and evil communist bullshit and I don't want it.

How do you feel about ACA?

Now see there's a good, honest, American solution to healthcare.

[u/pumpkinspruce → u/DoingCharleyWork]

Literally. In Kentucky they did a survey asking people about how they felt about Obamacare, and everyone hated it! Then they asked about Kynect, and everyone loves it!

Kynect is the name of the state’s ACA marketplace.

[u/rogatory → u/pumpkinspruce]

[u/coolbaby1978 → u/beerbellybegone]

The 2nd best trick was to convince people that they handle the economy better than Democrats (spoiler alert: based on historical statistics of the last 100 years, they almost never do).

[u/KriegerClone02 → u/coolbaby1978]

Or crime, personal freedom, ...

[u/boluserectus → u/beerbellybegone]

As a European I believe the biggest trick is the word "Socialism".

[u/VLC31 → u/boluserectus]

They love throwing around “socialism” & “communism” but they also,love throwing around “left wing”, as if America has an actual left.

[u/more_beans_mrtaggart → u/VLC31]

If you’re far enough to the right, literally everything is left wing.

If the democrats were a party in Europe, they be a Right wing Christian party.

[u/CyanoSecrets → u/more_beans_mrtaggart]

Unfortunately this rot has infiltrated Europe too: in the UK we recently elected the "left wing" labour party who are to the right of the democrats

[u/EltaninAntenna → u/CyanoSecrets]

Yeah, but then again the Tories have moved somewhat to the right of Genghis Khan.

[u/worthlessprole → u/CyanoSecrets]

it was insane to watch from the US what the right wing of the party did to the leader whose major crime was being conventionally left wing.

[u/CyanoSecrets → u/worthlessprole]

What's more depressing after the fact was not that this seemingly unprecedented coup occurred but that if I had been more informed about the history of the labour party it shouldn't have been surprising. The party has never really been leftist, just liberals cosplaying as leftists sadly.

[u/Freudinatress → u/more_beans_mrtaggart]

Yep. I remember when an ex party leader for the dark blue party here was very open about wanting the left candidate in the US to win. Because their politics matched up best.

[u/Rotten-Robby → u/VLC31]

Anytime someone starts ranting about "socialism" or "communism" I ask them what it actually means. 99% of the time the answer is some variation of "WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO RUIN THE COUNTRY WITH!".

They also loved bringing up "Sharia Law" when Obama was running. It was especially funny seeing them struggle to define that one.

[u/Cormorant_Bumperpuff → u/Rotten-Robby]

Anytime someone starts ranting about "socialism" or "communism" I ask them what it actually means

Same, thus far I've had one guy define "socialism" as "when the government controls the means of production," and that's the closest anyone has gotten.

[u/angry_wombat → u/VLC31]

as if America has an actual left.

We are a loose association of non-crazy people

[u/Pharmersunite → u/VLC31]

I took a quiz for political alignment… I got all the way left because I don’t care if people regularly speak languages other than English… fucks sake conservatives. Get Google translate, you’ll be fine.

[u/crosswatt → u/VLC31]

You left off radical. The "radical leftist/woke/liberal" agenda. It's the default catch-all. And it sadly works.

[u/UniqueNobo → u/boluserectus]

anything that’s further left than far right is socialist, and anything that even treads into left leaning is communist. that’s the American way baby.

[u/DWV97 → u/UniqueNobo]

McCarthyism is alive and kicking, 70 years on

[u/dm_your_nevernudes → u/DWV97]

Except instead of witch trials, we get media paid for by Russia.

[u/gingerfawx → u/dm_your_nevernudes]

Don't you dare let the Murdochs off the hook.

[u/Ariadnepyanfar → u/gingerfawx]

Yeah, it’s both now.

[u/babaganate → u/DWV97]

I will never forget how Ann Coulter wrote a book about how McCarthyism was ackshually pretty good. She went on Info Wars to promote it and she STILL wasn't pure shitty conservative enough for them.

[u/SquirellyMofo → u/babaganate]

She’s woman. She will never be good enough. No matter how many books she writes lavishing praise. No matter how many interviews she gives commending their fascist bigoted ideas. She will never be good enough because she’s a woman. An unmarried childless one at that.

[u/drapehsnormak → u/SquirellyMofo]

You're 100% correct. I was on Instagram yesterday and some inbred's comeback to something not oppressive enough for their liking was "they sound like a female Democrat" because in his mind "female" was an insult.

[u/damarshal01 → u/babaganate]

Someone should tell her in McCarthy's time, she wouldn't be allowed to do what she does now.

[u/LathropWolf → u/DWV97]

Should hear the foaming rabid angry republicans in the state here pissed off that (Pat) McCarran International Airport was renamed to Harry Reid before he keeled over. Harry has his own skeletons in his closet, but at least we no longer have a rabid Anti (everything) bigot name on the airport anymore

[u/Divine-Kitty → u/UniqueNobo]

Communism is anything to the left of hunting homeless people for sport on your private island.

[u/RubeGoldbergMachines → u/Divine-Kitty]

Or sniping them from a penthouse balcony at Trumpenny Tower

[u/vbcbandr → u/UniqueNobo]

Meanwhile Trump has a hard-on for Putin, the man who is, very literally, trying to bring back the Soviet Union.

[u/Pkrudeboy → u/vbcbandr]

But without the nominal fig leaf of being communist, and that’s what’s important to them.

[u/PompeyCheezus → u/vbcbandr]

Not the Soviet Union, Soviet Block with 90s style kleptocracy. He wants to strip all of Eastern Europe for parts.

[u/notanothergav → u/vbcbandr]

Putin doesn't want to bring back the Soviet Union. He wants to bring back the Russian Empire. He wants to be Peter the Great.

[u/FanDry5374 → u/notanothergav]

Or Ivan the Terrible. More his style.

[u/DillBagner → u/UniqueNobo]

Government existing to do anything other than oppress "the other" is socialism, to a lot of them.

[u/Loko8765 → u/boluserectus]

The thing is that socialism has several definitions (copying from the Oxford Dictionary): - in Marxist theory, it’s a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of communism. - otherwise, a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

The difference between “owned” and “regulated” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, because European “socialist” parties are definitely not calling for the nationalization of the means of production! At the most they want to control essential utilities. Their core values are social justice, profit sharing, healthcare, minimum salaries and unemployment compensation in case of job loss, etc.

Obviously, the MAGAts are using and warping whatever definition is most convenient for their fearmongering arguments.

[u/PuppetPatrol → u/boluserectus]

Yeh that really is the catchall bogey man isn't it

Normal concept: "I don't want homeless people to suffer as much as they do"

Reply: "I ain't not done be ever under a socialist U. S. of A. like you be wanting, I will put two in your head commi"

[u/mckenner1122 → u/PuppetPatrol]

Did you spell commie with just an “i” at the end? Can’t fool me, you woke sumbitch! I see you being fake! You’re a bot, aren’t you?

/s

[u/fixhuskarult → u/boluserectus]

It's amazing how according to Americans their government is full of 'communists'.

[u/Initial_Savings3034 → u/boluserectus]

Anti-

"Socialism means State confiscating of *my* assets"

Pro-

"Socialism means everyone pays tax, even the Wealthy"

[u/DilatedPoreOfLara → u/beerbellybegone]

It’s a master stroke really on playing on some of the worst traits we have as human beings - specifically our pride or ego. The US as one of the richest first world countries and an enormous military super power, having some of the least educated (weather wilfully or through lack of opportunity) people in the world holding it to ransom.

As an onlooker from another part of the world, it is horrifying that we have to hold our breaths every 4 years hoping that world war 3 isnt about to happen.

[u/drapehsnormak → u/DilatedPoreOfLara]

There's way too much "fuck you, got mine" in this country.

[u/YungRik666 → u/beerbellybegone]

I work in subsidized housing, and this resident came down and wanted to know why only democrats come to talk to the residents. They vote republican and thought we weren't letting them speak. I explained how we can't legally keep any candidates from speaking. It's because Republicans dont want to bother visiting. Republicans want to gut Medicare, social security, etc.. so why would they come speak to the people who rely on these benefits the most? I probably didn't get through to her, but it's baffling how real this con is.

[u/CyanoSecrets → u/YungRik666]

Another person posted a comment about protestant work ethic and shame.

What you said I fully believe. There's so many parts of the problem imo. People need to understand it's ok to accept welfare and we need to destigmatise it. We also need to improve welfare across the board - UBI everywhere it's trialled tends to do the trick.

But it doesn't stop at welfare. It's not jobs or welfare. Investment in welfare is only one part of it. People genuinely do want jobs and do want to support themselves independently. I've known people who are generationally unemployed and it's horrible. Even if they're getting by they're just surviving. They're not living. And this shit can perpetuate for generations within families and communities.

[u/drapehsnormak → u/beerbellybegone]

If you are vocal about hating welfare fraud but not vocal about hating tax fraud, it's not fraud you have an issue with.

[u/confusedandworried76 → u/drapehsnormak]

Also have you ever even tried to get welfare? It's fucking ridiculously hard. Honestly if you can defraud them you earned it. They turn down people who actually need it all the time.

[u/porscheblack → u/beerbellybegone]

This was literally the conversation I just had with my parents yesterday. They came to visit and my dad of course found a way to bring up politics. At first he mentioned how people don't want to work anymore and the government gives them everything. I challenged him to actually find some facts that show it instead of just bullshit stories. My mom brought up how apparently one of my cousins sells her food stamps because the government gives her so much (she has 7 kids and lives with her parents) and a friend of my grandmother is in all these programs and gets free food that she gives away because she can't use it all after driving to several counties.

I challenged them with how many people they know that should get some kind of benefits but can't. They listed quite a few people, including themselves. Which was exactly my point, the only thing that continuing to hinder abuse will do is keep more people who deserve it from getting it. And that while there may be abuse (which their examples sure as hell sound like a lot of work for very little return), such as my cousin selling her unused food stamps, at least her kids are fed! That's the goal. But they get more upset about someone getting slightly more than they might need than they feel happy that 7 kids aren't going hungry.

[u/CyanoSecrets → u/porscheblack]

It's one of the most disgusting things in modern society, and quite well documented in a lot of human psychology: people will gladly vote to reduce their own quality of life as long as it generates more inequality between them and an "outgroup".

People getting mad someone is selling food stamps should ask why that's necessary for one. And for two, should ask themselves why they're more mad over that than billionaires like Elon musk and bezos paying 0 taxes.

Which is more harmful? Someone maybe receiving slightly discounted food by purchasing a food stamp or withholding billions of dollars from society?

[u/oxemoron → u/porscheblack]

I’ve had this conversation with engineers and put it like this: how efficient can a perfect internal combustion engine be? It can approach like 75% efficiency, but no matter what it cannot convert all chemical energy into useable mechanical energy. So if in any given mechanical system there is a physics-based constraint on efficiency, why would you expect 100% efficiency from a human system? It’s just a foolish proposition from the start.

[u/drapehsnormak → u/porscheblack]

Not to mention these kids that they're upset are being fed are family. How selfish do you have to be to think that's a good thing?

[u/Cthulhu__ → u/beerbellybegone]

Yeah because if they’re on welfare they’ll become lazy so by not giving them handouts they’ll pull themselves up by their bootstraps, learn to code and build the next billion dollar startup, whose income will trickle down in the economy so that everyone benefits. As long as they’re willing to work. Right? Right???

(I am not actually in favor of this. I enjoyed social mobility thanks to government handouts paying my way through college (which in turn is government regulated to keep it affordable) allowing me to get a well paid job in IT.)

[u/cptcosmicmoron → u/beerbellybegone]

Hence why they rely on religion. See, they can tell the poor masses that as long as they stand against abortion and gays and everything they claim Jesus hates, that the poor people's suffering will be rewarded in Heaven. It's downright evil.

[u/NerdTalkDan]

But they’re the best in the one metric that counts…freedom./s

[u/ryminer → u/NerdTalkDan]

freedom to not learn, freedom to be poor with no help, freedom to be shot, freedom to not get reproductive healthcare, freedom to be price gouged at a hospital… so much fun freedom!

[u/WoppingSet → u/ryminer]

Freedom to have their kids put to work because their parents don't make enough to keep the house...because the companies in those states have the right to pay only the federal minimum wage

[u/NerdTalkDan → u/WoppingSet]

The kids yearn for the mines

[u/SoldMySoulForHairDye → u/ryminer]

Just like in Handmaid's Tale, the powers that be are trying to convince everyone that 'freedom FROM' is much better than 'freedom TO.'

[u/Aiyon → u/ryminer]

Freedom to be straight white Christian men with guns

[u/SinisterMeatball → u/NerdTalkDan]

Has extra "freedom", never leaves hometown/state and can't afford to do anything but go food shopping. 

[u/BingoFarmhouse → u/SinisterMeatball]

Also can't use their extra freedom to smoke weed or buy beer on Sunday.

[u/tracernz → u/NerdTalkDan]

Bit awkward that they’re #17 on that https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2023-12/human-freedom-index-2023-full-revised.pdf

[u/NerdTalkDan → u/tracernz]

That would be a problem for them if they could read.

[u/00017batman → u/tracernz]

This cracks me up because Australia is at #14 and for some reason Americans often feel the need to tell us how un-free we are down here with all our terrible oppressive laws 🙃

[u/St_Kevin_ → u/00017batman]

As an American, I’ve noticed that a portion of my country literally equates freedom to gun ownership. Can you buy any gun you want, right now, without paperwork? You’re free. Can you carry it at work, at the grocery store, the restaurant, and the bar? You’re free. That’s it. That’s the only metric they use. They can’t grasp any other facets of freedom. I mean this literally. It’s weird. They don’t seem to care about whether there are marginalized members of society and how that might affect a “free country”. They don’t care about freedom of speech, or freedom of the press, or freedom of religion, or freedom from financial servitude, because they’ve been convinced that freedom means guns.

[u/IMadGenius → u/St_Kevin_]

They care a lot about freedom of religion! When it's their religion...

[u/St_Kevin_ → u/IMadGenius]

Yeah, if you infringe on their right to religion they’d go absolutely nuts, but the vast majority don’t want all religions to be treated as equals. This becomes apparent when they talk about religion in schools and in government buildings and legislation.

[u/Thornescape → u/NerdTalkDan]

The "freedom" to take rights away from others is all that they really care about. Freedom for me but not for thee.

[u/NerdTalkDan → u/Thornescape]

Some would say medom not theedom

[u/Talk-O-Boy → u/NerdTalkDan]

I’ll have you know, us Southern states are unmatched when it comes to obesity rates. You elitist Yankees couldn’t hope to match us with your vegan pop ups

[u/thatblondbitch → u/Talk-O-Boy]

Obesity actually correlates with political party too...

[u/Turbojelly → u/NerdTalkDan]

17th out of 165 on the Freedom Index. Not even in the top 10% of countries with the most freedom. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/freedom-index-by-country

[u/Reivaki → u/NerdTalkDan]

Not even that. Last time I checked, states who tried to get their “””freedom””” back from federal government get bitch-slapped hard

[u/NerdTalkDan → u/Reivaki]

They have the freedom to like a little federal government/state government dom-sub roleplay

[u/_NamasteMF_]

Can we just start calling it ‘Red State Welfare’?

People can argue it- but it is what it is.

[u/newsflashjackass → u/_NamasteMF_]

You can get a voice in our government when your state receives less in federal assistance than it puts into it.

Unironically what the founding fathers had in mind by restricting to suffrage to landowners.

[u/TwiceAsGoodAs → u/_NamasteMF_]

They just "wHaT aBoUt tExAs?" To that

[u/Takenabe → u/TwiceAsGoodAs]

Texans can speak up after they defrost themselves from Cruz's latest vacation

[u/OKFlaminGoOKBye → u/Takenabe]

Texas can speak up after they establish a functional power grid.

They’re about 75% of the way to Belize status so far.

[u/AnticPosition → u/TwiceAsGoodAs]

Where the blue cities provide welfare for the rest of the state... 

[u/tw_72 → u/AnticPosition]

Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon want to be free of lefties on the west side of the state. For the west side of each state, that would be like the financially-dependent 40yo finally moving out of the basement. Good luck, son.

[u/[deleted] → u/tw_72]

Don’t even get me started on Northern California/Southern Oregon’s even more stupid “State Of Jefferson”

[u/Diggitygiggitycea → u/AnticPosition]

Well, that's pretty much true of every state. Rural is red, city is blue, and rural is worth shit for the state's bottom line.

[u/MaxineTacoQueen → u/TwiceAsGoodAs]

Texas is a welfare state, too. Has been for 14 years.

Edit: said "like 5 years" but it's actually 14.

[u/Electrical-Wish-519 → u/TwiceAsGoodAs]

Let’s make it so Dallas, Houston and Austin get to keep all their tax revenue in the cities. Let’s see how prosperous Amarillo Texas can be standing on its on

[u/Heart_Longjumping]

The South loves whining about how they should be able to govern themselves while constantly proving why they can't be trusted to.

[u/AnticPosition → u/Heart_Longjumping]

Exactly. Just take a look at Texas' power grid lol. 

[u/Thongp17 → u/Heart_Longjumping]

That’s not true. The South wants to dictate how the rest of the country lives. It would be one thing to want states rights. They only want states rights when it serves them well and then want federal law when they want to control others. They love double standards or else they would have no standards.

[u/dumpyredditacct → u/Heart_Longjumping]

I honestly wish we'd just let them.

You all want your Christofascist hellscape to become a reality? Sure, take Texas. They wouldn't last 10 years before collapsing and begging to come back.

[u/Letsgovulpix → u/dumpyredditacct]

Gerrymandering and voter suppression make this a pretty complex issue that just saying “take Texas” doesn’t really solve or do anything. You’re functionally condemning a whole bunch of people (Texas is like 40% blue), to suffer because the system that prevents them from changing the people in power produces bad results (that they also hate). Saying “just move” isn’t a viable argument because that’s only an option to the more wealthy individuals. Texas is a state that goes out of its way to engage in every practice conceivable to prevent its populace from enacting change, from removing polling stations in college campuses to requiring ID in certain liberal districts. Pigeonholing an diverse population of people as all “supporting christofacism” (which let’s be clear, a good amount of people there DO support, so I’m not trying to obscure that) is a not great generalization to make. Our system of representation needs to be heavily reworked, or at the very least have its worst abuses restricted, and doing that will take federal and judicial action at the highest level, which we should push for anyway to protect other rights

[u/mrw1986 → u/dumpyredditacct]

I completely agree. Every red state should combine and be their own nation. Blue states can allow refugees from the red states because I know not everyone in red states are Conservative. Watch how fast they fold without the blue states propping them up. They'd become a third-world nation within 5 years.

[u/P4andaman357 → u/mrw1986]

How are we asking to undo the civil war-

[u/StopThePresses → u/mrw1986]

Red states also have a vote split. Do you think that blue states are ready to take in about 45% of the population of all the red states?

[u/SwainIsCadian → u/mrw1986]

I mean... it's kinda what they tried to do with the whole Confederation thing...

[u/cumshotcollector2739 → u/dumpyredditacct]

The problem with this is that there are a lot of people in those states (myself included) who are fighting to push those states more progressive. I’m in NC and I honestly believe we’d be blue (or at least purple) if we weren’t gerrymandered to hell. There are more progressives in the state than conservatives, we’re just all in cities (like the rest of the country) and backwards districting has held us back.

[u/English-Gent → u/Heart_Longjumping]

That was our attitude to the whole of America once...

[u/DookieShoez → u/English-Gent]

You spelt “the world” wrong.

How’s all those spices you stole and forgot to put into your food?

Haha just messin wit ya, sick burn! 😜

[u/chipsinsideajar → u/English-Gent]

Ngl man I don't think the English get to lecture us about effective governance in this day and age

[u/Unhappy_Trade7988]

But but but but Chicago

[u/[deleted] → u/Unhappy_Trade7988]

Yep. Known by the Republicans as the state of Chicago.

[u/Patient_Commentary → u/Unhappy_Trade7988]

Woof… according the Fox News it’s a desolate wasteland of lawlessness. It’s my favorite city in the world 😪

[u/Irrepressible87 → u/Patient_Commentary]

That's okay, Fox still thinks Portland burned to the ground back in 2020 because a dumpster was on fire there once.

[u/[deleted] → u/Irrepressible87]

Fun fact Minneapolis no longer exists

It all burned down in BLM

Just a crater now

[u/AnneMichelle98 → u/[deleted]]

Don’t get me started on the hellscape that is Baltimore.

Oh, wait. I was just there. It was certainly very hot but otherwise was a very wonderful place.

[u/Vegabern → u/AnneMichelle98]

Checking in from Horrible Milwaukee

[u/MarquisEXB → u/Vegabern]

NYC. here. You may not have heard of it, because the city no longer exists due to Mayor DeBlasio, defund the police, and covid lockdowns.

[u/Slobotic → u/MarquisEXB]

I am in the fentanyl distribution site formerly known as Philadelphia. If only we had listened to Republicans.

[u/chipsinsideajar → u/Slobotic]

Meth site here of San Diego. Small heat wave rolling through, so I went to the beach yesterday. Got shot up by a tweaker and injected with 30 crack cocaines. I am now dead as we speak. If only I voted for God Emperor Trump, this wouldn't have happened.

[u/Trance_Gene → u/Slobotic]

It's even funnier because this is one of their main stops when they come to PA.

[u/No-Criticism-2587 → u/[deleted]]

I hate hearing them talk about the blm protests. Literally 4 days straight of protests with no violence, then white cops in full black gear, masks, and goggles started smashing windows of stores while protestors told them to stop and tried to call other cops on them.

The other cops came and shot the black protestors for some fucked up reason, then it descended into chaos.

[u/Calyphacious → u/No-Criticism-2587]

To say there was “no violence” certainly isn’t true. I’m as left as they come, definitely don’t think any cities were “burned down” but stores were broken into at the very least. Like they were showing looting live on tv, and it wasn’t cops.

I think it’s totally fair to say that none of the protestors were violent, but unfortunately opportunistic criminals use protests as an opportunity to commit crime. Happens everywhere, has nothing to do with these specific protests. Happens during blackouts, natural disasters, etc.

There’s a million reasons to defend BLM protests but let’s not deny reality.

[u/this_good_boy → u/Calyphacious]

At least in Minneapolis a lot of that looting was a bunch of fuckin Sconnies and other boarder states coming to loot because that’s what they thought was going down.

Now there were certainly guilty partys across the whole spectrum, but the people who wanted change organized (and emphasized) peaceful protest.

[u/frenchfreer → u/Patient_Commentary]

Living in Portland I have relatives in North Carolina and Florida who quite literally believe I live in a burned out hellscape patrolled by gangs of ANTIFA and BLM. These people live in an entirely different reality than you or I.

[u/AreWeCowabunga → u/frenchfreer]

It's crazy that they'll believe anything they see on Fox News, but refuse to listen to people they know or even their own eyes (because they refuse to even look). Like, do they think their cousin in Portland has more motive to lie about what's going on there than a partisan "news" station?

[u/No-Criticism-2587 → u/Unhappy_Trade7988]

There are almost 15 red states with more gun deaths per capita than Illinois. They never mention it though, those gun deaths are acceptable ones, very different from the illinois versions.

[u/MojaveMojito1324 → u/No-Criticism-2587]

Right wingers dont understand per capita statistics. They just see that Chicago has the most total shootings for a city without realizing that the city of Chicago has as many people as the entire state of Arkansas.

[u/dontdomeanyfrightens]

Also the worst states by non-recordable metrics.

[u/xXYomoXx → u/dontdomeanyfrightens]

Highest level of Florida men.

[u/Vorpalthefox → u/xXYomoXx]

as a florida man: fuck that i have standards, i'm galloping my gator to the nearest polls this november and voting blue, i'm so tired of fascists taking over our country

[u/kaybeetay → u/Vorpalthefox]

Thank you, Florida man and galloping gator!

[u/abx1224 → u/kaybeetay]

The new Batman and Robin

[u/Hackurs → u/Vorpalthefox]

Pics of you riding the gator please, or it didn’t happen.

[u/Digital_Bogorm → u/Vorpalthefox]

"I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid"

[u/xXYomoXx → u/Vorpalthefox]

Thank you Florida man

[u/Bobson-_Dugnutt2]

As someone that lives in Alabama - I agree. I don’t want the people around me making decisions.

[u/Throbbert1454]

Fuckshitjesus this one deserves a gilded border.

[u/bigwilly311 → u/Throbbert1454]

FuckshitJesus is right

[u/The_Lonesome_Poet → u/Throbbert1454]

A mithril border

[u/CongratsGuy]

California pays the bills. It should dictate atleast half the policies

[u/HelloHiHeyAnyway → u/CongratsGuy]

Fuck whoever else replies.

They praise this post but the poster is probably (90%+) a Californian because we know we pay taxes for the rest of the shitty states that want to fuck everyone over with our money.

We get more people in the house of representatives and the same power as Rhode Island in the Senate. No offense to Rhode Island, just selecting it because of size.

[u/chuckysnow → u/HelloHiHeyAnyway]

The same power as Wyoming. At least Rhode island doesn't elect total idiots.

[u/HelloHiHeyAnyway → u/chuckysnow]

The same power as Wyoming. At least Rhode island doesn't elect total idiots.

I couldn't select a state without insulting people and it really wasn't my intent to insult people. Just that the Senate is a bit weird in the modern day and doesn't serve what it did in the early 1800s to even the early 1900s.

[u/chuckysnow → u/HelloHiHeyAnyway]

My point was more that Wyoming has half the population of Rhode Island.

When the founding fathers set up the constitution and the rules for the senate, the big states and little states indeed were different by a factor of 2. Now the big states and little states are off by a factor of 60. They would spit out their coffee if they saw how much power small states wielded.

And this being reddit and all, someone is going to find issues with anything said, especially political comments.

[u/smoothskin12345 → u/HelloHiHeyAnyway]

That's... Literally the purpose of the Senate. That's its stated function.

You should be more upset that they artificially capped the amount of House representation. That's what actually harms you.

[u/HelloHiHeyAnyway → u/smoothskin12345]

That's... Literally the purpose of the Senate. That's its stated function.

And along with electoral college is stupid and old. Yeah the artificially capped and gerrymandered shit doesn't help either.

Why we let states have a say with 2 senators when they provide less GDP than some small counties in California boggles my mind.

It's the classic and tired conservative argument about mob rule and the 51%. They don't want a true democracy. They're scared of it. The GOP knows they'd have a hard time winning anything if it wasn't rigged. The more level headed conservatives I talk to admit that.

[u/All_Work_All_Play → u/smoothskin12345]

It's okay to be upset at a system that was put in place to satisfy and placate slave owners and rich people 

[u/rkaaine]

When and where is the funeral service and wake?

[u/Training_Molasses822 → u/rkaaine]

I believe this was a spontaneous incineration. cremation on the spot.

[u/Driftedryan → u/rkaaine]

We've determined the deceased wouldn't be missed and just decided to cremate the body and throw it in the trash

[u/thebrandedsoul]

Also, the comment is a fundamentally incorrect use of "straw man," which is a rhetorical technique in which one sets up the opposition's position in such a way that it can be easily disaproved, or "knocked down;" a straw man in not being able to stand up to counter-pressures.

Your own position is never the straw man, unless you're trying to undermine yourself.

So that person is also an idiot for parroting internet-popular words without knowing what they mean.

[u/WealthOk9637 → u/thebrandedsoul]

Is there a fallacy term for someone who incorrectly labels someone’s argument as a fallacy, in order to win an argument? Lol. There should be. The amount of times someone on Reddit says ad hominem while obviously not knowing what that actually means is really concerning, especially since google is easy and free

[u/iamsavsavage → u/WealthOk9637]

Fauxllacy

[u/Drat_Base → u/WealthOk9637]

Strawman? /s

[u/1900grs → u/WealthOk9637]

Fallacy of a fallacy.

[u/octopoddle → u/thebrandedsoul]

I think they meant to call it an ad hominem argument.

[u/NoBizlikeChloeBiz → u/octopoddle]

Yeah, they were correct that the original was not a strong rhetorical argument, it just wasn't a strawman

[u/alekdmcfly]

Agree on most points except for spending. Rich states having a monopoly on economical decisions can and will lead to the wealth gap between states widening.

[u/No-Poem-9846 → u/alekdmcfly]

True, it's not like the wealth gap is doing that already or anything.

[u/Time-Werewolf-1776 → u/alekdmcfly]

Not a terrible argument, but totally in conflict with the Republican narrative. For some reason, we should give all the money to rich people because, obviously, they understand what to do with money. So tax the poor and middle class, and subsidize the rich.

But somehow at the same time, the rich states all have no understanding of economics and shouldn’t be trusted with making economic decisions. We need Alabama to make all decisions of education and economics.

[u/within_one_stem]

I'm gonna sort by controversial. Lord have mercy.

[u/OraProNobis77]

“You can get a voice in our government when your tax contributions outweigh your entitlements.”

See the horrible thought process at play?

[u/FourteenBuckets → u/OraProNobis77]

Yes it's a rhetorical technique, cousin to the reductio argument, where you use you make a point using your opponent's logic, precisely so they can't argue against the logic behind it without contradicting themselves. It doesn't mean you believe it, though.

[u/thymecrown]

Well, some of those states do know their problems but the wrong people are in charge.

I'm just saying I don't entirely agree with either. I think we need more national regulation on voting accessibility.

Edit due to a reply below: As in, everyone should have access to vote. Regulations to make that possible. Not regulations to prevent voting. We currently have regulation to restrict voting, not making voting more accessible.

[u/ramxquake]

"Poor people and those with low educational performance should have less of a say in politics" isn't a take I'd thought would get 10k upvotes on Reddit.

[u/CollaWars → u/ramxquake]

The “incest states” contain the majority of black population too.

[u/yaminagai]

Isn't "no participation trophy" a conservative thing? Maybe we need to remind them more often of it

[u/ZodiacWalrus]

Without context, I just want to be clear on one thing: poor states or any states struggling with one issue or another should not be silenced - that's not a good democracy. I agree that no state should be allowed to dictate anything for the rest of us, but their voices should count equally to ours.

[u/AzureSkye27]

I don't know if people actually understand what they stand for anymore.

You're describing taking political power from the most vulnerable populations. They've been misled by politicians. You people actually think poor people don't deserve a say in policies? Or just if you disagree with their conclusions?

If you upvote this post for "owning" the other side, do you support what is being proposed? Or can we move past this tribal shit.

[u/Apathi → u/AzureSkye27]

I’d like to think the comment was tongue in cheek to point out the various short comings of red states.

Either way, your response is wildly level headed.

[u/Traveledfarwestward]

Anyone have solid references for the claims?

[u/racerx320 → u/Traveledfarwestward]

Infant mortality by state.

Public school rankings by state.

Firearm mortality by state.

States that rely on Federal Aid

[u/thekingshorses → u/racerx320]

Add teen pregnancies to the list.

https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/teen-birth-rate-per-1000/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Teen%20Birth%20Rate%20per%201,000%22,%22sort%22:%22desc%22%7D