232

Asking as someone from the other side of the planet.

From the things I saw about the US election, the Dems were the side with plans for the economy - minimum wage adjustments, unions, taxing the rich, etc. The Republicans didn't seem to have any concrete plans. At least, this is what I saw.

I don't doubt Bernie Sanders though - he seems like a straight truth teller. But what am I missing?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 97 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The Democrats’ plans for the working class are tweaks. A little tax credit here, a little minimum wage bump there.

But the working class in America have been experiencing long term systemic structural changes that permanently disadvantage them, globalization being one of them.

Between shipping manufacturing jobs elsewhere, and allowing in immigrants who do menial work, people at the low end of the economy are pretty pinched for work. People will say “Americans don’t want to pick fruit” and there’s some truth to that. But there definitely are Americans who want to mow lawns for a living and they’re constantly undercut on price by guys from Mexico who sleep 10 to a room so they can send a few dollars back to family in the old country. I love and admire those guys, don’t get me wrong, but there’s no question that people at the low end of the economy feel pinched from both ends, and one side of that pinch is the commodification of unskilled labor due in part to an unbounded supply of immigrants.

Trump voters see his policy on tariffs and they don’t think “hm economists say this could lead to a drop in GDP.” They see a structural policy shift aimed at bringing manufacturing back to the US. However ill-conceived it might be doesn’t matter. It’s big, it’s bold. It is a fundamental reordering. Economists flap their hands and Trump voters say “good - run scared, you Wall Street pimps.”

If I sound like I’m defending Trump voters, I’m not. But I absolutely believe that the Democrats have to offer more than tweaks and handouts to address the working class.

America spends huge amounts of money to project power abroad. We’re the richest nation by far. Why isn’t that benefitting the working class? These are real questions. Trump has all the wrong answers, but Democrats don’t have any answers. And frankly they are a bunch of moneyed elites, and I don’t throw that term around much. Look at the personal net worth and residential addresses of top Democrats and you’ll see rich people. They have a lot to lose in Bernie’s revolution and they don’t believe in it.

[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 weeks ago

Why isn’t that benefitting the working class? These are real questions. Trump has all the wrong answers

The existance of people like Trump and Musk are the answer.

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

They are part of the problem, but not the answer. An answer would be how we can ensure that everyone supporting their enterprises shares in their wild wealth and success. There could be many answers to that. And Democrats need to pick one and drive it.

It should be said that Musk is manufacturing cars in the US, which is more than a lot of manufactured goods companies can say.

[-] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 8 points 2 weeks ago

“good - run scared, you Wall Street ~~pimps~~ simps.”

FTFY

We’re the richest nation by far. Why isn’t that benefitting the working class?

35 trillion dollar question. A discerning observer would note that 30t was incurred since Raygun admin ie during entire lives of millennials and before gen x. The money is gone thought and we have nothing to show for it. In fact, life has been progressively worse for each subsequent generation. I still remember "old guys" aka gen x bitching about how boomers were cock blocking them on getting aheadm these gen x now being boomers themselves but less since pie for working people is smaller for each younger gen.

Neither side will address this core issue. In fact, mainstream discourse won't even acknowledge this is happening. Sure they will run "house and daycare is expensive but here is million reason why it is your fault" shit. And boomers larp it too...

Anyway, keep jerking the two party regime, keep getting progressively worse outcomes.

[-] GiddyGap@lemm.ee 6 points 2 weeks ago

Between shipping manufacturing jobs elsewhere, and allowing in immigrants who do menial work, people at the low end of the economy are pretty pinched for work.

Isn't the unemployment rate close to record low? I mean, a lot of people work 2 and more full-time jobs to make ends meet, but that seems like a different issue.

[-] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 10 points 2 weeks ago

US is under going a demographic shift as boomers aging out and gen z is barely enough to replace them as wage slaves. Also, there is cultural shift in attitude to work with younger generations, who see no prosperity from their labour.

This is causing pressure on wages that owners can't handle emotionally or otherwise. Owners are disgusted at the idea of a labour market actually being a market. Migration pre covid since 2000 was steady at 1 million net inflow per year, it is now closer to 2-3m. These people are used to suppress wages of the indigenous workers.

Manufacturing jobs did get shipped off but are also now getting reshored as part of a strategic reshuffle US did after covid. but a lot of these modern manufacturing is automated so we are not giving back to the glory days of millions of six pack joes living the "middle" class life style.

Global capital is extracting ever more productivity and price gouging us on consumer end of existence. WIN WIN! And the state is letting them...

[-] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 weeks ago

Unemployment is typically measured by people seeking unemployment benefits, not by volume of people out of work.

Similarly job creation is usually measured by job offerings and not positions filled.

As a result you can get what has been happening: low unemployment and high job creation where people aren't getting jobs and jobs aren't being filled.

[-] RangerJosie@lemmy.world -2 points 2 weeks ago

They have different lists for different things. Real unemployment is closer to 30% than 3.

[-] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago

Where do you get that number from?

[-] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 3 points 2 weeks ago

One particular thing I noticed, is on the one hand was the rhetoric that Biden was the saviour of the economy and the working class, the antithesis to corporate greed, and all problems are from COVID and leftovers from Trump; and on the other hand, that prices are rising, people are poorer, while corporations post record profits.

If I were an American, that dissonance would give me a little skepticism about all the pro-democratic rhetoric I've been hearing.

Again, not that that really answers the questions, but it does shift the impressions one gets.

[-] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 week ago

Good reply. I'd also note that the working class sadly tends to have less education, which is very useful because it has made common people easier to control and lie to since the dawn of time.

this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2024
232 points (93.3% liked)

No Stupid Questions

35868 readers
777 users here now

No such thing. Ask away!

!nostupidquestions is a community dedicated to being helpful and answering each others' questions on various topics.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must be legitimate questions. All post titles must include a question.

All posts must be legitimate questions, and all post titles must include a question. Questions that are joke or trolling questions, memes, song lyrics as title, etc. are not allowed here. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.



Rule 2- Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Questions which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding META posts and joke questions.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-question posts using the [META] tag on your post title.

On fridays, you are allowed to post meme and troll questions, on the condition that it's in text format only, and conforms with our other rules. These posts MUST include the [NSQ Friday] tag in their title.

If you post a serious question on friday and are looking only for legitimate answers, then please include the [Serious] tag on your post. Irrelevant replies will then be removed by moderators.



Rule 7- You can't intentionally annoy, mock, or harass other members.

If you intentionally annoy, mock, harass, or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.



Credits

Our breathtaking icon was bestowed upon us by @Cevilia!

The greatest banner of all time: by @TheOneWithTheHair!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS