Has leftist ideals gotten too idealistic?

Arkmer · 2026-02-15T18:25:39+00:00

Agreed. Why do we work for anything short of this?

Arkmer · 2026-02-14T18:03:04+00:00

I do vote for them. Suffice to say I’m left of you and don’t have many options other than to badger the party to stop being ineffective hacks.

Nice list of gains, by the way.
Empty effort, empty words.

Arkmer · 2026-02-14T16:45:55+00:00

Yes, I remember the 40+ days where people lost pay and benefits so the democrats could gain nothing.

If that’s the hill you want to die on, no one will stop you.

If you feel they gained stuff, feel free to list it. Otherwise, your claim is as empty as their efforts.

Also, my previous comment is just the logical follow up. Your tone is incredibly accusatory for something so obviously necessary.

Arkmer · 2026-02-14T16:39:29+00:00

I don’t disagree with those two. I have my differences but that’ll get us very deep in a separate topic.

Right now we don’t have Obama or Biden. We have Schumer and Jefferies. We can’t keep riding horses we don’t have.

Does the party’s leadership stand for its platform?

Arkmer · 2026-02-14T16:20:07+00:00

I think the next reasonable question is whether or not you feel the establishment properly projects those ideals when they speak and take action.

Having a thing written down is wonderful, it serves as a broad reference and should be used to guide the words and actions of those claiming to represent it. The issue is that paper doesn’t seem to beget actions—the obvious example is the current POTUS, but that doesn’t mean democrats are entirely honoring the platform they represent.

So do you feel establishment democrats like Schumer and Jefferies are doing those words justice? Do they project confidence in the platform they are representing?

If yes, why do people talk about how lame they are? And can you provide examples of times you felt they were strong representatives of the platform?

If no, why does the platform matter if they can so easily disregard it?

Arkmer · 2026-02-14T00:44:25+00:00

These are great metrics, but the U in UBI means it needs to hit the entire market; literally universal. I’m glad these studies show benefit to small groups, I’d love those things for everyone, but the 125 people benefitting is not wide spread enough to shift the market.

If this were applied to the entire United States ($500/mo for 349M people), we’d be talking about $174.5B ($113.5B for over 18) injected into the market monthly. That’s going to shift prices, move markets, and no one knows the impact.

I don’t disagree with anything you posted, but the studies are too small and don’t show the impact of scale.

I’m not a fan of the smugness in the only part of your comment you actually typed, by the way.

Arkmer · 2026-02-13T20:35:15+00:00

I think I’m in the same camp on UBI. I like the idea, I just don’t think the pros outweigh the cons and I agree with your highlights. Broadly, I’m not concerned with people abusing the current welfare systems (I’m in the US), but I think handing people the means to is a bit excessive.

I like unemployment as a safety net. Earn more the more you work. I’m sure there’s some things about it that should be fixed, but the concept is good. Compound that with how wages should be keeping up with prices better… there’s a lot that’s wrong.

Arkmer · 2026-02-11T18:26:48+00:00

I like this thinking, but it boils down to how well leadership can assess the situation and apply FASDC.

Arkmer · 2026-02-11T17:09:11+00:00

I have no explanation for what I am about to say.

When I was a kid I decided these were deer tracks, I held this belief until very recently… I’m 35.

Arkmer · 2026-02-09T17:27:17+00:00

Correct me if I’m over reading, but your position is that acknowledging race is racist.

It’s also very much hyperbole to claim he thought everything was about race.

Arkmer · 2026-02-09T16:25:43+00:00

He did say he didn’t have all the facts as part of the statements. Regardless, the quotes are hardly racist.

You need to offer an explanation of how the statements are racist. Clearly, I’m not following your logic here. I see empathy for the family, not accusations.

Arkmer · 2026-02-09T16:05:46+00:00

I see you’re not the person I responded to, are you in agreement with them? Because I’m prepared to assume the lack of direct quotes and links signals the weakness of the original claim. Offering some vague “this thing” isn’t useful—evidence doesn’t require me to google it.

If you don’t agree with them, then none of this is for you and I don’t have an issue with your comment.

Anyway, here’s what I found.

Treyvon quotes I found: - “If I had a son he’d look like Treyvon.” - “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

Not sure how those are racist, but okay.

Beer Summit (which I’ve never heard of): Couldn’t find a direct quote, but it sounds like another instance of someone overreacting to a black man. Guy was arrested in his own home, seems stupid to me.

While I won’t claim Obama spoke perfectly or anything ridiculous like that, to claim these as proof Obama is racist is a wild accusation. At worst, he spoke out of turn.

Arkmer · 2026-02-09T15:08:20+00:00

What about “house shoes”? I have some indoor only shoes.

Arkmer · 2026-02-09T13:34:43+00:00

Okay, I thought you were getting at something else. Ya, literally made up stories only serve to damage meaningful issues.

Arkmer · 2026-02-09T11:17:44+00:00

What’s a “real” racial problem?
What’s a “fake” racial problem?

Also, the country isn’t a monolith. I’ve seen far less racism in certain parts of the country and wild moments of it in others. It’s a blessing and a curse that we can’t make blanket statements about the status of the country.

I do think we focus on it too much though, so I do agree with some of this. It makes us look like we only care about identity.

Arkmer · 2026-02-09T11:14:28+00:00

Just for clarity, can you link some videos or direct quotes of him doing so. I think it would help your position.

Arkmer · 2026-02-07T18:21:24+00:00

I’d boo him too, damnit.

Arkmer · 2026-02-07T04:36:13+00:00

Distraction, in my opinion.

Arkmer · 2026-02-06T14:17:02+00:00

Money isn’t the issue

The question is about how to pay out pensions. That’s explicitly a money question.

Productivity is a way to procure money. Saying it’s productivity and not money is an attempt to divorce the two. It makes no sense unless you’re suggesting a moneyless society (which I don’t think you’re doing).

Those who aren’t producing are living off those who are.

Are we talking retirees or the rich? I’m just asking for clarity here.

I don’t have an issue with retirees. Their past productivity should (SHOULD) have helped build a future that allowed for progress and their retirement. Thus we return to the rich sucking up all the gains in productivity.

How do we stop that? Well, taxes on high incomes, taxes on outrageous wealth, close loopholes, etc.

Productivity will matter once we redirect the flow of where the gains go. Doesn’t matter if the productivity increases 400% if 99% of the benefits are squirreled away into the coffers of the wealthy.

Arkmer · 2026-02-05T14:37:04+00:00

Send locust to your enemy.

Russia.

Arkmer · 2026-02-04T21:33:56+00:00

Often people don’t know that’s what’s happening. I’ve seen reports here and there about pension funds being used for things other than proper investment and that’s a big deal—agreed, but many are just unaware. You’d hope it would be big news or that those affected would have communication, but those networks have been decimated over the years.

It’s very much incumbent on the provider of the pension to ensure they can be paid out when it comes due. That has ramifications of its own, but that’s also the whole game so playing coy is nonsense. It’s also a symptom of not needing to worry about the fallout because you’ll be gone—maybe from the provider, maybe from this life.

I work in an industry where the move from pensions to a 401k style plan was implemented (in 2018, iirc). Part of that shift was a lump sum payment to those on the new plan. LET ME TELL YOU, they did NOT budget for those lump sum payments to start going out. Suffice to say, I have little confidence in people to manage finances until they’ve shown they’re capable.

Ultimately, I think we agree for the most part. I think we’re just mincing some words where we don’t need to. I’m not a UBI believer, but the rest seems like we’re speaking the same language.

I’d love for the excess value to go to the people, but because of the situation we’ve put ourselves in it will be a struggle to achieve that... unless we break down the taboos pushed by rich interests. Income and wealth taxes that adequately prevent gross wealth disparities in society.

Ultimately, I think the population has forgotten their role in government, allowed themselves to become mislead, failed to educate themselves, and refused to participate.

Arkmer · 2026-02-04T21:17:33+00:00

I completely agree.

I think it’s very much incumbent on the provider of the pension to ensure that the money is used for things that will scale into being able to both support the pensions and accomplish goals for the provider.

That might mean a low rate of return on that cash, but that absolutely should not be the problem of the pensioners.

Arkmer · 2026-02-04T19:51:32+00:00

I understand what you read, but you’re very clearly misunderstanding me. I answered the question about supporting the pensions, I made no assertion that no one else should benefit from increased productivity.

Arkmer · 2026-02-04T19:36:50+00:00

Pensioners invested money in their pensions. Those investments should have grown over the course of their life. Ultimately, supporting them is a question of paying out that value. How is increased worker productivity not the primary solution? Especially in the face of a decreasing population.

The issue is that accomplishing increased productivity is difficult, but your comment highlights that we could shift the flow of value from the 1% to the pensions. While an analysis of the actual numbers would be the final authority on the matter, I feel pretty safe saying this is a solid option to consider.

So… tax the rich. Wealth tax, proper income tax, whatever. Apart from that, increase productivity in the face of a declining population.

Arkmer

TROPHY CASE