Kanye 2020

Yea I figured he would be running as an independent

 

I know that American politics is theatre etc. so it shouldn't be compared with 'proper' debates (which - hopefully - go on in congress or behind closed doors, where they act a bit more grown up). But it's weird, from an outsider perspective, as Americans already use a socialist model to pay for e.g. child education, public services (police, fire, transport, etc. - everything but healthcare), the military, even the government itself. The president lives in a palace worthy of royalty paid for by taxation. And yet any suggestion to change the way that tax money is spent and they start pretending that they don't understand how the system works at all.

America doesn't have a particularly low tax economy, compared with the usual comparable economies in the world. If one takes into account health insurance, it's comparatively quite high. It seems like it's an important part of American identity to pretend that this isn't the case.

 

The existence of this thread shows why people don't post in the political group. A week ago I made a thread about this but it hasn't received any replies

 

He has an upcoming album to promote.

I thought it was the opposite - he would appeal to Trump supporters to take away his votes. Apparently he's done with Trump. But who knows what Kanye is thinking and trying to achieve. His wife is worried that this might be another bipolar episode.

 

There are a lot of people who would like to see lower taxes and less of the things you are talking about. And then there are people who want more of these things and don’t realize they are going to be taxed for it. I believe In less government and low taxes and let the people be free.

on the other hand I do believe in compassion and I don’t want to see people starving. The problem is I’ve seen these people who get social benefits and they are out here smoking a pack a day (which is taxed heavily) play lottery( which is tax on the poor) drinking alcohol smoking weed and we enable them to stay stuck in a shitty situation.

 

Lower taxes would be beneficial for a number of reasons, especially for lower earners. I certainly think that a simpler and flatter rate of taxation would save on admin costs and make tax avoidance a lot harder. I think one of the reasons the system is complex is to hide the true level of taxation (at least 20-30% for most people, maybe more).

A lot of evidence suggests that people aren't poor because they make bad decisions but they make bad decisions because they are poor. eg http://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/Research/R...rty-affects-peoples-decision-making-processes
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/how-low-income-affects-routine-decisions.htmls
And in particular, growing up in poverty can affect your ability to make decisions all your life (even if you end up in a more comfortable position).
So, in purely economic terms, we need to weigh the 'cost' of lifting children out of poverty against the 'benefits' of lower crime (the price of crime, policing and prison versus the cost of welfare), a better educated populace and people who routinely make better and more long term decisions economically, socially, ...

I think on some level it comes down to a moral stance, that poor people would stop working if they didn't have the incentive that they would live in poverty if they stopped. But the evidence says the opposite. We already know what happens if people don't 'need' to work - rich people, and they routinely work not only well paid jobs but stressful, high stake jobs and lengthy hours. The 'work ethic' comes from not growing up with a 'poverty mindset'.

 

You Americans are doomed.
Corporations and lobbyists choose your presidents and you still call it a democracy.
What a joke.