Marlton and Hove Albion
Active member
Stayed out of this thread for months as it's a general waste of time and results in purile personal attacks vs. honest attempts to hear another POV.Indeed.
I would add (as I have before) that there is a good narrative that the Democrats have been spinning a load of old bollocks for decades, so it boils down to whose bollocks will affect your wealth in the most beneficial way.
(I remember hearing Hilary address a union in Chicago and was shocked by the Mick Lynch-style rhetoric and class-war claptrap she was using to woo that particular audience. This, a person whose servants barely get their hands dirty, let alone herself.
I was still sanguine about Hilary myself, but I'm an old lefty. For the non-doctrinaire voter, I can see how Trumps old bollocks may seem less of a problem than the lefty tax pro-immigrant narrative as the alternative.)
Don't forget, if 80 million vote for Trump, only a proportion will be MAGA oafs. The swing voters need better persuasion than on offer, it seems. Harris is slightly less inspiring than Starmer, and the US is a nation more addicted to the cult of leadership than the UK.
Election is coming very soon. Both candidates are deeply flawed. The voters are bombarded with negative ads. There is precious little vision for the future, which is what the independent voters are craving for. The country is bankrupt and adding more and more debt every second, drive through most of America and it's positively depressing with empty businesses, vacant lots, third world housing, homelessness and increasing crime. There is very little hope beyond vapid slogans of Making America Great or having the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share.
The truth (my truth) is that America continues it's steady decline, like most empires right around 250 years from foundation (study them all), and no one has a clue on how or if the decline can be arrested.
There is a desperation about politics here. Desperation for solutions to intractable institutional issues.
1. Broken Healthcare system - Spending 2x as a benchmark for mediocre outcomes
2. Broken Immigration system - Every country must have real borders and real processes. Orderly migration protects everyone.
3. Broken Welfare system - Pensions and entitlements are bankrupting states and cities
4. Broken Infrastructure - Insufficient funding / Under investing for decades
5. Bloated Military Spending - Propping up a failing superpower, trillions have been wasted in an attempt to export American values around the world
6. Broken Retirement system (Social Security) - That will become insolvent without reform and no politicians are honest enough to deal with it. Most Americans do not have savings to sustain their retirement.
7. Broken Journalism - Media's historical role was to challenge authority, to report on corruption, to check power. There are pockets, but media is basically in the pockets of huge corporations. Power goes unchallenged
8. Broken Education - Look at where America ranks vs. it's peers on education. MANY inner cities spend >$20,000 per year per student and many students leave High School without basic skills. There are pockets of world class higher educational institutions but increasingly out of reach. Student Debt levels are in the Trillions.
9. A simmering hatred between radical right and radical left which taints and devalues humanity. Fingers are in ears and a silent civil war is underway. It could be that the country will be better served by breaking into ideological nations. Unless a major war occurs or an inspirational leader emerges, the divisions are only deepening. There is absolute palpable hatred.
10. Broken Political System - Requires candidates to raise tens of millions of dollars to campaign and special interests / lobbyists own most politicians.
Feel free to ignore, agree, argue / debate. It's not about Trump or Harris, Red or Blue, this has been a 50 year journey of decline.
There is alot to love about my adopted home. The vast majority of people are kind, caring, peace loving, hard working. There remains an amazing level of innovation, creativity, positive cultural contributions.
Go ahead and blame the Orange Man. Go ahead and blame Coronated Kamala. Real solutions just ain't there.