Was your life better under Trump, or better under Biden

@Heartlander Republicans are definitely not the share the wealth party. Unless you mean share the wealth with the wealthy already!! I was told a long time ago Democrats are the do gooders! I remember thinking, “isn’t that how we all should be?” I realize there are no simple solutions on either end. All actions have consequences.

@Heartlander how do Republicans share the wealth

@pdockal they share it with the other 1%!!!

@pdockal Their theory is a trickle down wealth, if you let the rich make lots of money, they will spend it and we will all be better off kinda thing, the pie will get bigger.

@Handfull1

I'm not a Republican, thus the "in general". Likewise, "in general" Democrats tend to spread misery, even though there may be some good people who are Democrats. Unfortunately, even good Democrats tend to be more beholding to their political party than their constituents and as a result, people like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton drive the party agendas. Democrats follow the political wind to gain power, and later buck that same wind when they see political opportunity, accounting for why we go to war and later retreat, leaving thousands of dead behind. Democrats likewise fight racism with racism, and fight crime by empowering criminal behavior. Look at all the gutted American cities and what do they most have in common? A perpetual Democrat ruling class.

[quote] Democrats are the do gooders! [/quote]

They claim to be but that's not the result of their efforts. The "do good" rhetoric is rarely or ever validated by the results.

The real "do gooders" are us independents who put goodness above either party :)

@Heartlander maybe you are just seeing politicians only. I wouldn’t want that job on either side. The actual people I know that lean left are generally nothing like you describe.

@JimboSaturn

[quote] Their theory is a trickle down wealth[/quote]

The wealthiest people in and around Washington DC tend to be Democrats who gained their wealth by either cashing in on government contracts, selling access to government, or speaking their income through 401 portals ... oh, also by marrying rich women.

Is John Kerry still the richest man in and around DC? Or would that be the Clintons?

@Heartlander Yes the theory doesn't materialize in practice of course.

@Heartlander If john kerry had a nickle for every time he said he served in Viet Nam.....oh wait, he does

@Handfull1

[quote]The actual people I know that lean left are generally nothing like you describe.
[/quote]

My ideals probably mostly match yours. Unfortunately Democrats tend to exploit those ideals to gain power. The proof is in the pudding. It's now more difficult than ever for someone locked in an inner city ghetto to escape poverty, escape drugs, find a decent job, or a good school. In my nearby big city the good schools are almost all charter schools run by outreach organizations and Democrats fight tooth and nail to disallow a voucher system. Beholding more to the teachers' unions than the needs of the children for a better education. One charter school has a near 100% graduation rate and a near 95% college acceptance while the nearby public schools often fail to reach half of the above.

@sunsporter1649

Didn't Kerry's fortune come gushing down via his wife's inheritance from her wealthy Heinz Republican?

Do an internet search to see who else is cashing in on the Heinz fortunes.

@Heartlander His ex-wife sure helped

@pdockal By institution policy that allows the economy to grow, job creation, trade, all the good stuff that keeps people working and enjoying life.

@Roadsterrider and of course we never had poverty under Republican Presidents!!

@Heartlander Interesting question, a quick search says the Clintons are worth $120M, that is pretty good for a disbarred lawyer and wife, both unemployed, when they entered the race for Bill to be president, they didn't even own a home.

@Roadsterrider LOL, when was the last time anyone saw that happily married couple on the same continent....

@Handfull1 There will always be poverty, the democrats tried to spend it away 50 years ago, some $40 Trillion dollars later, we still have poverty. But what have the unintended consequences of that been? Single parent households at 9% before welfare, 30% now. There is a need for public assistance, having a child shouldn't be the primary reason. Taxing businesses to pay for more social programs doesn't really work, or it hasn't for the last 5 decades anyway. Taxes on businesses are a tax on me. The consumer(me) pays for the cost of doing business when I buy the product. A wage of $15 an hour is still below the poverty level. I can show plenty of people I know who make less than that and still have a home, car, family, and can feed themselves and their family. And there are examples of those who make considerably more than that who can't make ends meet. There is no simple answer to any of this, but government has been an abysmal failure in dealing with it.

@sunsporter1649 I don't know but I would ask the same question about Obama, when he ran for POTUS, he had almost nothing. When he left office, he was worth $40 million. His salary for those 8 years would have been $3.2M so he exited the office with over 10 times his salary. Where did the cash come from?

@Roadsterrider now that I agree with. But both sides are at fault in many ways. And humanity is also to blame. So many don’t give a damn about others. The answers here almost show it. Few care about anything BUT money. I worked at a non profit in the inner city for years and understand money is necessary but not the only answer. It wasn’t good under any political party.

@Handfull1 I don't think having a congress and senate and the oval office full of republicans is a good answer, they will screw it up in a different direction. A load of true conservative moderates without the far right and far left would go a lot farther in correcting the course of the country. The social engineering of the extremes is doing damage to everything.

@Roadsterrider I guess we agree on much. Extremes in most anything in life rarely work. I am not with any political party like most think on here. I take each issue independently. Wish more did that on both sides. That being said, I hated the division Trump thrived on.

@Handfull1 I don't think Trump divided as much as everyone thinks. I feel that the division was created by far left loonies that tried to stop everything he tried to do, protecting the border was racist, wanting photo IDs to vote was racist. Tax cuts only favor the rich, 2 impeachment trials where there was no evidence of any wrong doing. And I think the far right attacked Obama in the same manner. The main reason I supported Trump is that he was not a career politician. I look at Pelosi, Biden, Cruz, Romney and all the rest, decades in office, many never had a real job entering politics out of college. I think Trump appealed to many moderates, dems and reps. I think if he ran again in 24, he would be the guy to beat. I am not sure if him running again would be the best thing for the country or not, a competent candidate carrying his message and ideals would resonate though.

@Roadsterrider there I disagree. I think his entire motive was to divide. I don’t disagree with some of the policies. I pray he never gets in office again. People often point to the left. I agree extremes are never good on either side. If you read these posts, it says a lot. It’s not the ones leaning left attacking. I express my opinion but don’t go after the jugular. I have found this over & over.

@Handfull1 I figure I am about as far right as you can be, I see the attacks you mention in conversations here on SW. I really don't see a point in berating someone or name calling or just puking out rapid fire statements to muddy the water. If problems are to be solved, there isn't any one person that is going to do it, so discussion is the most viable solution. If I could wave a magic wand and make one thing happen to affect political outcomes in this country, it would be to end payroll deductions. I would say that most people in this country only listen to sound bites and never really understand what is going on politically. The only time people get really bent out of shape as a whole is when it hits their wallet. Gas is $4.00 a gallon now and people are losing their mind over it. I imagine if everyone had to write a check at the end of the month for what the government takes out of their paycheck before they even see it, Dems, Reps, Independents and Constitutionalists would all move towards a fiscally conservative position. I think a lot of social issues would be altered by how the ways a more conservative government would spend money. Anyway, it is nice conversing with someone who doesn't resort to name calling and BS.