Obstructionism in American Politics

[Colt]

Really? How frequently is "often?" What percentage of American citizens are poor because they're lazy?

Quick facts:

3,000,000+ young Americans quit free school each year.

Of all of the males in federal and state prisons, 80 percent do not have a high school diploma.

The U.S. releases over 7 million people from jail and more than 600,000 people from prison each year. However, recidivism is common. Within 3 years of their release, 2 out of 3 people are rearrested and more than 50% are incarcerated again.Oct 8, 2020

A high school dropout will earn $200,000 less than a high school graduate over his lifetime. And almost a million dollars less than a college graduate.

21,000,000 Americans have at least one addiction.

"Spending on cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine by Americans reached nearly $150 billion in 2016, with a large proportion of spending coming from the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis, according to a new RAND Corporation report.

 

[joe1776]

Quick facts:

3,000,000+ young Americans quit free school each year.

Of all of the males in federal and state prisons, 80 percent do not have a high school diploma.

The U.S. releases over 7 million people from jail and more than 600,000 people from prison each year. However, recidivism is common. Within 3 years of their release, 2 out of 3 people are rearrested and more than 50% are incarcerated again.Oct 8, 2020

A high school dropout will earn $200,000 less than a high school graduate over his lifetime. And almost a million dollars less than a college graduate.

21,000,000 Americans have at least one addiction.

"Spending on cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine by Americans reached nearly $150 billion in 2016, with a large proportion of spending coming from the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis, according to a new RAND Corporation report.

You previously wrote that "In America poverty is often self inflicted. If not self inflicted it’s self perpetuated"

The question I asked was: What percentage of American citizens are poor because they're lazy? You were unable to answer the question because your statement can't be supported with actual facts. It's just something you'd like to believe.

I suppose, in your post I've quoted, you're implying that three million students drop out of school each year because they're lazy. My guess is that the dropout rate is so high because the American public education experience is almost entirely comprised of useless information boringly presented. And that boredom, over 12 years time, is punishing on young minds.

China at one time had a poverty rate higher than the USA. Now, ours is nearly 18% while theirs is next to nothing. Do you suppose the Chinese Communists found a cure for laziness or did they create jobs?

 

[Colt]

You previously wrote that "In America poverty is often self inflicted. If not self inflicted it’s self perpetuated"

The question I asked was: What percentage of American citizens are poor because they're lazy? You were unable to answer the question because your statement can't be supported with actual facts. It's just something you'd like to believe.

I suppose, in your post I've quoted, you're implying that three million students drop out of school each year because they're lazy. My guess is that the dropout rate is so high because the American public education experience is almost entirely comprised of useless information boringly presented. And that boredom, over 12 years time, is punishing on young minds.

China at one time had a poverty rate higher than the USA. Now, ours is nearly 18% while theirs is next to nothing. Do you suppose the Chinese Communists found a cure for laziness or did they create jobs?

Yes, the Chinese did find a cure, Capitalism combined with a very strong work ethic, personal responsibility and savings. "996" is a common description of the work day in china. 9AM-9PM-6 days a week.

The Chinese frankly see Americans as having become fat and unmotivated.

 

[joe1776]

Yes, the Chinese did find a cure, Capitalism combined with a very strong work ethic, personal responsibility and savings. "996" is a common description of the work day in china. 9AM-9PM-6 days a week.

The Chinese frankly see Americans as having become fat and unmotivated.

You're not thinking this through. The USA is a bastion of capitalism but has a poverty rate of 18%. So, how is it possible that capitalism accounts for China's reduction of poverty to near zero? There has to be a factor you're missing.

Furthermore, the work ethic of the Chinese people isn't a factor because the Chinese work ethic didn't prevent a very high poverty rate in the past.

So, the reduction of the Chinese poverty rate had nothing to do with capitalism or the Chinese work ethic. It can only be accounted for by the government's successful policies intended to reduce poverty.

 

[Colt]

You're not thinking this through. The USA is a bastion of capitalism but has a poverty rate of 18%. So, how is it possible that capitalism accounts for China's reduction of poverty to near zero? There has to be a factor you're missing.

Furthermore, the work ethic of the Chinese people isn't a factor because the Chinese work ethic didn't prevent a very high poverty rate in the past.

So, the reduction of the Chinese poverty rate had nothing to do with capitalism or the Chinese work ethic. It can only be accounted for by the government's successful policies intended to reduce poverty.

NPR

Who's Lifting Chinese People Out Of Poverty?

....." Around 700 million Chinese have worked their way above the poverty line since 1980, accounting for three-quarters of global poverty reduction during that period. (According to the World Bank more than 500 million Chinese lifted themselves out of poverty as China's poverty rate fell from 88 percent in 1981 to 6.5 percent in 2012, as measured by the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day)."

Who's Lifting Chinese People Out Of Poverty?


United States Census Bureau

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
REPORT NUMBER P60-270
JESSICA SEMEGA, MELISSA KOLLAR, EMILY A. SHRIDER, AND JOHN CREAMER


"The official poverty rate in 2019 was 10.5 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from 11.8 percent in 2018".

..."
Highlights

Income:

• Median household income was $68,703 in 2019, an increase of 6.8 percent from the 2018 median of $64,324 (Figure 1 and Table A-1).
• The 2019 real median incomes of family households and nonfamily households increased 7.3 percent and 6.2 percent from their respective 2018 estimates (Figure 1 and Table A-1). This is the fifth consecutive annual increase in median household income for family households, and the second consecutive increase for nonfamily households.
• The 2019 real median incomes of White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic households all increased from their 2018 medians (Figure 1 and Table A-1).
• Real median household incomes increased for all regions in 2019; 6.8 percent in the Northeast, 4.8 percent in the Midwest, 6.1 percent in the South, and 7.0 percent in the West (Figure 1 and Table A-1).

Earnings:

• Between 2018 and 2019, the real median earnings of all workers and full-time, year-round workers increased 1.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively (Figure 4 and Table A-6).
• The 2019 real median earnings of men ($57,456) and women ($47,299) who worked full-time, year-round increased by 2.1 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively (Figure 4 and Table A-6). The 2019 female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.823, not statistically different from the 2018 ratio (Figure 5).
• Between 2018 and 2019, the total number of people with earnings, regardless of work experience, increased by about 2.2 million. The number of full-time, year-round workers increased by approximately 1.2 million.

Poverty:

• The official poverty rate in 2019 was 10.5 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from 11.8 percent in 2018. This is the fifth consecutive annual decline in poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate has fallen 4.3 percentage points, from 14.8 percent to 10.5 percent (Figure 7 and Table B-5).
• The 2019 poverty rate of 10.5 percent is the lowest rate observed since estimates were initially published in 1959 (Figure 7 and Table B-5).
• In 2019, there were 34.0 million people in poverty, approximately 4.2 million fewer people than 2018 (Figure 7 and Table B-1).
• For all demographic groups shown in Figure 8 and Table B-1, poverty rates in 2019 were either lower than or not statistically different from those in 2018.
• Between 2018 and 2019, poverty rates declined for all race and Hispanic origin groups shown in Figure 8 and Table B-1. The poverty rate for Whites decreased 1.0 percentage point to 9.1 percent. The poverty rate for Blacks decreased by 2.0 percentage points to 18.8 percent. The poverty rate for Hispanics decreased by 1.8 percentage points to 15.7 percent. The poverty rate for Asians decreased 2.8 percentage points to 7.3 percent (Figure 8 and Tables B-1 and B-5).
• Between 2018 and 2019, poverty rates for people under the age of 18 decreased 1.8 percentage points, from 16.2 percent to 14.4 percent. Poverty rates decreased 1.2 percentage points for people aged 18 to 64, from 10.7 percent to 9.4 percent. The poverty rate for people aged 65 and older decreased by 0.9 percentage points, from 9.7 percent to 8.9 percent (Figure 8 and Table B-1).

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019).

 

[Twilight Hue]

Obstructionism is the practice of deliberately delaying or preventing a process or change, especially in politics.

Megatrends are trends that have an effect on a global scale.

There have been two megatrends going on for centuries, probably since humanity's beginning. The first is that we humans have been learning from our mistakes. The second is that we are making moral progress. We humans treat each other better now than at any time in the past.

These trends move at glacial speed, so we might not be aware of them in our lifetime. To spot them, it's necessary to compare the distant past, point by point, with the present.

Intelligent men (women less frequently) infected with greed or the ambition for power have usually held an unfair advantage in human societies. When the megatrends combine to weaken their power, these men become obstructionists. They've been doing it for centuries.

In American politics, the obstructionists were not able to stop the abolition of slavery, but they have been able to keep the descendants of slaves, along with the poor of other races, from getting their fair share of the benefits of our cooperative society for more than 150 years since slavery was abolished.

If unchecked, the obstructionists will use all of the several devices built into the governing process to stall progressive legislation. And, if those fail, they will argue that the policy is unconstitutional, and it may well be since the Founders were men who lived with immature, 18th Century morality.

If the Biden administration is to live up to its promises, removing the obstacles to progress should be the number one priority. Ending the filibuster would be a start but enlarging the Supreme Court and adding progressive members should be on the agenda.

It's why I think both, the Democrats and Republicans are literally destroying this country.

Get rid of the filibuster and include earmarks and riders as well.

 

[joe1776]

NPR

Who's Lifting Chinese People Out Of Poverty?

....." Around 700 million Chinese have worked their way above the poverty line since 1980, accounting for three-quarters of global poverty reduction during that period. (According to the World Bank more than 500 million Chinese lifted themselves out of poverty as China's poverty rate fell from 88 percent in 1981 to 6.5 percent in 2012, as measured by the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day)."

Who's Lifting Chinese People Out Of Poverty?


United States Census Bureau

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
REPORT NUMBER P60-270
JESSICA SEMEGA, MELISSA KOLLAR, EMILY A. SHRIDER, AND JOHN CREAMER


"The official poverty rate in 2019 was 10.5 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from 11.8 percent in 2018".

..."
Highlights

Income:

• Median household income was $68,703 in 2019, an increase of 6.8 percent from the 2018 median of $64,324 (Figure 1 and Table A-1).
• The 2019 real median incomes of family households and nonfamily households increased 7.3 percent and 6.2 percent from their respective 2018 estimates (Figure 1 and Table A-1). This is the fifth consecutive annual increase in median household income for family households, and the second consecutive increase for nonfamily households.
• The 2019 real median incomes of White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic households all increased from their 2018 medians (Figure 1 and Table A-1).
• Real median household incomes increased for all regions in 2019; 6.8 percent in the Northeast, 4.8 percent in the Midwest, 6.1 percent in the South, and 7.0 percent in the West (Figure 1 and Table A-1).

Earnings:

• Between 2018 and 2019, the real median earnings of all workers and full-time, year-round workers increased 1.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively (Figure 4 and Table A-6).
• The 2019 real median earnings of men ($57,456) and women ($47,299) who worked full-time, year-round increased by 2.1 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively (Figure 4 and Table A-6). The 2019 female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.823, not statistically different from the 2018 ratio (Figure 5).
• Between 2018 and 2019, the total number of people with earnings, regardless of work experience, increased by about 2.2 million. The number of full-time, year-round workers increased by approximately 1.2 million.

Poverty:

• The official poverty rate in 2019 was 10.5 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from 11.8 percent in 2018. This is the fifth consecutive annual decline in poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate has fallen 4.3 percentage points, from 14.8 percent to 10.5 percent (Figure 7 and Table B-5).
• The 2019 poverty rate of 10.5 percent is the lowest rate observed since estimates were initially published in 1959 (Figure 7 and Table B-5).
• In 2019, there were 34.0 million people in poverty, approximately 4.2 million fewer people than 2018 (Figure 7 and Table B-1).
• For all demographic groups shown in Figure 8 and Table B-1, poverty rates in 2019 were either lower than or not statistically different from those in 2018.
• Between 2018 and 2019, poverty rates declined for all race and Hispanic origin groups shown in Figure 8 and Table B-1. The poverty rate for Whites decreased 1.0 percentage point to 9.1 percent. The poverty rate for Blacks decreased by 2.0 percentage points to 18.8 percent. The poverty rate for Hispanics decreased by 1.8 percentage points to 15.7 percent. The poverty rate for Asians decreased 2.8 percentage points to 7.3 percent (Figure 8 and Tables B-1 and B-5).
• Between 2018 and 2019, poverty rates for people under the age of 18 decreased 1.8 percentage points, from 16.2 percent to 14.4 percent. Poverty rates decreased 1.2 percentage points for people aged 18 to 64, from 10.7 percent to 9.4 percent. The poverty rate for people aged 65 and older decreased by 0.9 percentage points, from 9.7 percent to 8.9 percent (Figure 8 and Table B-1).

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019).

I'll read the material you linked, but before I do, will you sum up the specific debate points you think you've supported with them so that I can focus on whether or not I agree?

 

[joe1776]

It's why I think both, the Democrats and Republicans are literally destroying this country.

We progressives generally welcome change because the two megatrends mentioned in the OP are both moving humanity upward. So, obstructionism is not USUALLY in our game plan.

Get rid of the filibuster and include earmarks and riders as well.

Yes!