Talking Politics

[Legends of 2017]

I’m sure he said he would end it within 24 hours of being elected. But I can’t find that quote so I’m prepared to give him a bit of leeway

 

[Freezer]

It's true that those with a degree are more likely to vote for Harris.

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This is a major problem around the world - emphasis on college education. Way too many mickey mouse courses resulting in degrees, but very little knowledge.

 

[DavidSSS]

Not really a fan of Peter Hartcher but he calls it well here

If Washington was father of democracy, Trump is undertaker

When Joe Biden took power, he said he would try to save American democracy. He and Kamala Harris have failed.

www.theage.com.au

I'm not a huge fan of Peter Hartcher, but there was one part of his article which I think was quite revealing.

One thing I have always wondered about. So many people who have been left behind by the system in the US: what is their motivation to vote for Trump of all people? I get the resentment, I agree with it. The promise of free market economics and the elites who benefit from it was that a rising tide lifts all boats. The promise was for higher growth so you don't need to worry about income and wealth distribution. Free market economics has been an abject failure on this, its own claim to fame. Growth has been lower since 1980 when you can date the change in economic orthodoxy. Crises have been more common - the dot-com bubble, the GFC and we'll see if the housing bubble in Australia can continue (it gets propped up and has lasted for decades). On this score, on the resentment with the system, I'm all with those who are sick of the way it screws the middle and working classes.

But Trump? A billionaire who was born to money. He is the solution? Well, no, and it doesn't matter, as pointed out in Hartcher's article

American democracy was hollowed out by a failure of its promise to its people. Most Americans believe that their country is riddled with corruption, most believe that government serves the elites and not the people, and “nearly half of all voters are sceptical that the American experiment in self-governance is working”, to summarise a New York Times poll published last month.
And now they have delivered the death sentence to the system they feel betrayed them.
Not because they expect Trump to actually fix a broken system. In her landmark work, The Politics of Resentment, political scientist Katherine Cramer described how she took regular part in a wide range of community groups in her home state of Wisconsin, one of the swing states in deciding elections and part of the great swath of left-behind, fly-over America.
When Cramer asks groups of Trump supporters how they expect he will improve their lives, they are surprised at the question, she reports. They don’t expect Trump to be the vehicle for their improvement but for their disenchantment and anger.

When Trump said last year, “For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution”, he spoke for those voters. They have given up on their system, feeling abandoned by smug big-city elites, but have confidence in Trump to offend the elites and damage their system.

They don't expect Trump to fix the system, or even make it easier for them to get ahead. What they want, and Trump can deliver, is a giant middle finger and a F You to the system. Trump will continue to look after the elites - he will cut taxes for the rich, for big business, he will prop up the markets so rentier capitalists continue to grow wealthy. But that doesn't matter as long as he lambasts the system.

The Dems are part of the system, as are old style Republicans.

The whole culture war commentary also feeds into this. The lies told, such as the idea that kids get gender re-assigned while at school, feeds into this. But it is a distraction, albeit a very effective distraction.

Unless the Dems could come up with an "outsider" figure like Trump, they will continue to be associated with the failed system which is screwing most people. What they need to do is to actually take some positions on the economy, specifically on inequality. They need to be looking at the "flyover" states and come up with policies to help those who are disadvantaged by the changing economy, and not just vague platitudes. Instead, they support the notion that there should be no help for those who lose their livelihood as a result of economic changes, no space to adjust to change. Trouble is, they don't actually have a problem with the way the economy is leaving a lot of people behind.

Trump doesn't care whether the economy leaves a lot of people behind either. But, there is one interesting aspect to Trump. He is not a neo-liberal nor does he particularly believe in neo-classical economics. Don't get me wrong, there are so many things about Trump which mean he will be a disaster for so many people in the USA, but on economics he is a loose cannon and that will be an interesting watch.

DS