Polling is important. Polling can tell us where the participants in the current lifestyle consciousness are, and we do have to take it seriously. But expecting the participants in the current lifestyle to accurately explain WHY they feel they way they do, or WHY they are willing to believe what they do, is truly problematic. This latest article from 538 is convincing and compelling. The graph showing how people "feel" about the economy, and how it directly correlates with political party and not how the economy is actually performing is likely the most convincing portion of the article. The thesis is that the root of the Trump support is not due to economic anxiety, but rather to race and partisan politics that grew up in opposition to the Obama presidency. I do not deny that that is the immediate cause. I do disagree that it is the ultimate cause. Hate must find fertile ground to overcome the messages we see all around us that tell us to love our brother ...
To the editor: After having just read “Biden Can Go Bigger and Not “Pay for It” the Old Way, I wanted to write in support of the basic premise of this argument and of the principles of Modern Monetary Theory in general. While Dr. Kelton’s article had to be short, she makes several points that your readers should know. First, there is a big difference between a currency user (Me, states) and a currency issuer. She is absolutely correct in saying that we can literally spend dollars, that we issue, on whatever we want. She is also absolutely correct in that the real concern is not the debt, but inflation. Decoupling spending policy from tax policy and looking at the potential inflationary effects of each is how we should look at the problem. It is time that politicians begin asking the right question about spending and taxes: Will it cause inflation? Will it provide a rising standard of living? Do we have ...
The following is an excerpt from my novel, The Campaign. It is the first of four speeches delivered by the candidate, Jackson Turner, about the "Bulwarks against change". It's been a while since I have used this blog, and reading through my first attempts shows that I am still concerned about similar issues. The Campaign, Chapter 28 “Thank you for your warm reception. I hope that by the end of this speech I will have earned it.” More applause. “When I announced my intention to run for Senator, I made a pledge that this campaign would be about uncovering the realities that we all face, and the forces which keep us largely in the dark. The forces which support the status quo of injustice and inequality. One of my favorite quotes from anthropologist Marvin Harris led me to see things that we are not supposed to see. He made the claim that “Art and politics fashion the collective dreamwork that prevents us from understanding the realities of our social lives.” ...
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