After spending a night arguing with a couple die hard conservatives it has become obvious that there is really very little point to it and I would suggest avoiding it at all costs if you can. If you are drawn into an argument here is a couple things you can do to really get them going, which usually leads to them calling you names and if you’re on twitter they will block you and leave you alone.
Taxes - They like to say that half of Americans pay no taxes -
1st this is not true, while they may not pay federal taxes most Americans do pay sales tax, state tax, local tax, gas tax, property tax, income tax and the reason they don’t pay federal is because they don’t make enough money.
2nd explain that they pay no taxes because of republicans who first cut taxes then gave things like child tax credits. Also point out that in 2009 1,470 millionaires pay zero income taxes so part of that group that pays no taxes includes the job creators.
Capitalist Country
The new argument is that the Federalist papers say America is a capitalist country, they act like these papers are part of the constitution but deny all the Anti-Federalist papers that where written. The men who wrote these papers did so to try and get NY to ratify the constitution even though it wasn’t needed because it already had enough states to ratify it before NY. The men who wrote these papers where also against the Bill of Rights so I guess that needs to be done away with.
The constitution like the bible can be read and interpreted in many ways but conservatives will act like the writings of these 3 men are the only interpretation that should count. I can not help you if they pull this card because they are so far right wing nothing will get through to them so I wouldn’t even try. They rely on the Federalist papers because even they know the constitution does not make America a capitalist economy.
Government can not create jobs
This is the fun one, just point out to them that both Reagan and Bush had massive expansion of government that brought down the unemployment numbers. Point out that President Barack Obama has less government employees today then Reagan did when he left office. The only two presidents to cut government employment in the last 30 years are Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Government needs to get out of peoples lives
I just ask simple questions when they say that government has no use in peoples lives
1. Did you attend public schools?
2. Have you ever needed to call the police or firefighters?
3. Are you willing to pick up a gun and go to foreign countries like Iraq for free to defend America?
4. Do you enjoy using the internet?
If they answer even one of those questions with YES(or question 3 with No) then they have relied on the Government they hate so much.
Liberal Media
Ask for proof - they will either show you a Fox News story or one written by other right wing media, Yes Msnbc leans liberal but all news is corporate and they will not run any story that might effect their bottom line. Real media died when they realized they could make a profit off of it, it’s a corporate media yes.
Pro - Life
This is a HUGE lie - republicans are pro fetus and are far from pro life. They pass law after law to prevent an abortion even if it means the loss of the mothers life. These same people believe in the death penalty, support wars and vote against things like S-chip and health care or meal programs for children, the sick or the elderly.
Obamacare is a government takeover of healthcare
WRONG- it is a free market solution that was supported and a republican idea in the 90’s as an alternative to Hillary care . It forces millions of people to buy insurance from private companies and sets up health care exchanges, the same kind that politicians choose from. They will argue that universal healthcare leads to long lines and massive debt when the truth is that countries with universal care pay less then we do in America and have far better care.
Tax cuts - spending cuts boost the economy
Again there is no proof of this, the one time in my life that we have not run up debt and millions of jobs where created was after President Clinton raised taxes. If anyone tells you they hire people because they got a tax cut they are either lying or a horrible business man. I have managed a business and we hired when business picked up not because of any tax cuts or breaks we might receive.
Their favorite line is “you can not raise taxes on the job creators”, this is simple to argue against. They themselves say that most jobs are created in small businesses which are not usually owned by millionaires but by people who are taking out loans or spending their lives savings taking a risk. It is also a like that most jobs are created by small business, most jobs are created by NEW businesses. Again we only hired new employees on the rare occasion one would quit or we where busy and needed part time help, as an established business it’s rare that new people are added unless someone leaves.
Finally ask them to show you how taking a billion dollars out of the economy by cutting food stamps or public assistance will boost the economy?
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
How Reaganomics Effected Me
I was just entering grade school when Ronald Reagan was elected president, I was not political but can tell you from a personal standpoint the effect his presidency had on me.
I was kind of a loose cannon at around the time of 1st grade, think it would be called ADD or ADHD today and pills would have been prescribed but back then we just sucked it up and went on with life. After being held back in and forced to repeat first grade because of my attitude my parents set me down and told me to get my act together. At the time my father worked 40 hours a week and my mother stayed home to take care of us three kids. My mother took an interest in my school work and I was not allowed to go outside or play with friend until the work was done. I flew through first grade and from then on was always at the top of my class each year.
Around 5th grade we where no longer taking family vacations anymore and money was obviously tight, by 8th grade my mother had taken not one but two jobs to help pay the bills. I no longer had that parent at home to keep me in line and stopped caring about school and was more into having fun with my friend. I always found school easy and hated to do the work, without a parent looking over my shoulder I stopped doing the work and from 10th grade on never brought a book home from school.
I enjoyed going and playing baseball and football with my friends but hated organized school sports. I kept up a good act at school finishing near the top of my class while taking advanced courses in science and math and computer courses (I managed to graduate high school without 1 since art credit). I passed 2 years of French class and can not speak, write or read a word. After taking the SAT and getting around a 1200 (at the time I believe a 1500 was the most you could get and you couldn’t use a calculator like the spoiled kids today). After that my parents made me apply to college, even though I had no interest in going so I applied to Penn State and got accepted.
I didn’t last long at the whole college thing, it takes structure and an interest in school neither of which I really had. I’ve done all right for myself after leaving college but can not help but wonder what would have been if I had that structure my whole life as I had my first years in school.
When I hear people like Rick Santorum blaming the family dynamic for a lot of problem I agree 100% but sadly thanks to Reaganomics which the republicans still practice today those days of having a parent who can stay home and be a huge part of their kids lives is long over.
While I’m not a fan of Welfare and other government programs the democrats shove down our throat I’m even less a fan of what republicans have done to the country and even more afraid of what they are trying to do to it. It’s ok to point out that when the nuclear family was destroyed America started to go downhill fast in education and other issues but you must also look back what ended the family.
Republicans look at the 80’s and see a great time in America where the rich got richer and think highly of President Reagan. I look back as a time where my family got poorer and they took my parents away from me. If you look at most of today’s problems they can be traced back to that time from education going downhill, weak defense and terrorism, national debt and the destruction of the American family structure all can be traced back to the 1980’s.
I was kind of a loose cannon at around the time of 1st grade, think it would be called ADD or ADHD today and pills would have been prescribed but back then we just sucked it up and went on with life. After being held back in and forced to repeat first grade because of my attitude my parents set me down and told me to get my act together. At the time my father worked 40 hours a week and my mother stayed home to take care of us three kids. My mother took an interest in my school work and I was not allowed to go outside or play with friend until the work was done. I flew through first grade and from then on was always at the top of my class each year.
Around 5th grade we where no longer taking family vacations anymore and money was obviously tight, by 8th grade my mother had taken not one but two jobs to help pay the bills. I no longer had that parent at home to keep me in line and stopped caring about school and was more into having fun with my friend. I always found school easy and hated to do the work, without a parent looking over my shoulder I stopped doing the work and from 10th grade on never brought a book home from school.
I enjoyed going and playing baseball and football with my friends but hated organized school sports. I kept up a good act at school finishing near the top of my class while taking advanced courses in science and math and computer courses (I managed to graduate high school without 1 since art credit). I passed 2 years of French class and can not speak, write or read a word. After taking the SAT and getting around a 1200 (at the time I believe a 1500 was the most you could get and you couldn’t use a calculator like the spoiled kids today). After that my parents made me apply to college, even though I had no interest in going so I applied to Penn State and got accepted.
I didn’t last long at the whole college thing, it takes structure and an interest in school neither of which I really had. I’ve done all right for myself after leaving college but can not help but wonder what would have been if I had that structure my whole life as I had my first years in school.
When I hear people like Rick Santorum blaming the family dynamic for a lot of problem I agree 100% but sadly thanks to Reaganomics which the republicans still practice today those days of having a parent who can stay home and be a huge part of their kids lives is long over.
While I’m not a fan of Welfare and other government programs the democrats shove down our throat I’m even less a fan of what republicans have done to the country and even more afraid of what they are trying to do to it. It’s ok to point out that when the nuclear family was destroyed America started to go downhill fast in education and other issues but you must also look back what ended the family.
Republicans look at the 80’s and see a great time in America where the rich got richer and think highly of President Reagan. I look back as a time where my family got poorer and they took my parents away from me. If you look at most of today’s problems they can be traced back to that time from education going downhill, weak defense and terrorism, national debt and the destruction of the American family structure all can be traced back to the 1980’s.
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