Does anyone actually believe Trump?

[ZiprHead]

Just asked my trumper BiL how his 401k is doing, He said "just fine". time.

Did you ask what sectors he is invested in? 10:1 he doesn't know.
OTOH, if I had 10m in the market I wouldn't be real bothered to lose a third or half of it.

I doubt he knows. He's far from the brightest bulb on the christmas tree. I asked him about it because a year ago he was bragging about how good Bonespus was for his 401k.

 

[marc]

Just asked my trumper BiL how his 401k is doing, He said "just fine". time.

My company started offering us 401k’s about 4 months ago. I opted out, didn’t want to lose a bunch to the latest republican bubble. Know a few that did go for it. At least they shouldn’t have too much in it yet.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

That's why hospitals way over charge--to cover the cost of those who can't pay.

This means what you call a "way over charge" is not an overcharge at all. It's fair compensation for the cost of delivering healthcare in the US. In fact, all who actually pay their hospital bill, whether out of their own pocket or through their insurance premiums, are paying the bill for those who can't, or won't.

This is the strange irony of conservatives who don't want to pay for healthcare expenses for those who can't pay. They are paying now, and paying more than it has to cost. For some perverse reason, they want a healthcare system which makes life uncomfortable, and maybe shorter, for the poor, and are willing to pay extra for that.

Overcharge in that the price charged is well above costs + a reasonable profit. Just because it goes to pay bad debt doesn't make it not an overcharge, it just means the system is fucked up.

 

[crazyfingers]

A long list of lies from Trump for just this month.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/22/politics/fact-check-trump-coronavirus-false-claims-march/index.html

 

[Bronzeage]

That's why hospitals way over charge--to cover the cost of those who can't pay.

This means what you call a "way over charge" is not an overcharge at all. It's fair compensation for the cost of delivering healthcare in the US. In fact, all who actually pay their hospital bill, whether out of their own pocket or through their insurance premiums, are paying the bill for those who can't, or won't.

This is the strange irony of conservatives who don't want to pay for healthcare expenses for those who can't pay. They are paying now, and paying more than it has to cost. For some perverse reason, they want a healthcare system which makes life uncomfortable, and maybe shorter, for the poor, and are willing to pay extra for that.

Overcharge in that the price charged is well above costs + a reasonable profit. Just because it goes to pay bad debt doesn't make it not an overcharge, it just means the system is fucked up.

Hospitals cannot avoid the bad debts, so it's an unavoidable overhead expense, just like trash disposal. But, this comes with a built in problem. If you know you're not going to get paid, you can charge what you like, thus reducing the tax burden on revenue. In any case, the hospital nearest my home closed their emergency room several years ago because the ER was running over one million a month in the red. This began when, the state operated charity hospital and its emergency room was shut down, leaving this hospital as the only emergency room in the city center. It became the defacto charity hospital. At this time, our Republican Governor had resisted expanding Medicaid coverage as part of the ACA program. He had plans of running for President at the time. That didn't go well.

That our healthcare system is fucked up, goes without saying, but hospitals making unreasonable profits is not one of our problems.

 

[JohnG]

Whether or not Trump is an honest man is neither here nor there. There is a greater consideration. I think for many people who's future is not so secure, there is a sense of desperation and they need someone to tell them it's going to get better. Someone who isn't just another politician who have shown time and again to be full of shit. And they are going to defend their hope for the future no matter what. Perhaps the thinking is:

See, you have something no one can take from you. You can learn most anything you want. You get to choose what you want to do in life. Well, I don't have that. I don't get to choose. I can not be that or that or that. My options are limited. So what do I get? I get to go find a job.
Well this 1% as you call them gave me a job, a job with a good paycheck. I am thankful for that and I will show my appreciation by working hard for that paycheck. Nothing wrong with that, is there? And I will support the politicians who tell me they will protect my job from that man coming into the country illegally. That man who may be working in the fields today but perhaps tomorrow he will try and take my good job. They're not going to take your job, your job takes years of training. Mine doesn't. They're going to try and take my job. Well, I'm supporting the politicians who are supporting me. I'd be a fool not to. I've got a family to take care of. What part of this don't you understand?
But now it's all dying. So many of the good jobs, gone and I can not do these new jobs. So few jobs left for so many of us who don't get to choose. So this 1% took advantage of the situation. Started paying us peanuts. But what could I do? What choice do I have? At least I still have a job. It doesn't pay so much anymore but as I've said, I've got a family to take care of. My other option is to take a leap of faith, to switch sides. Side with the people who get to choose, who aren't going to suffer, who put every suffering group of humans before me. I am last, and you keep insulting me. Meanwhile, you still want to let more illegals into the country. I guess you really don't get it, do you?

And along comes Trump."He thinks like us." This is the Trump supporter statement that resonates with me. Further:

The left hates him. Other wealthy people hate him. The Republican Party even hates him but they'll kiss his ass because they have to, because they need him, because I put him in office. Is he a liar? Yes. Is he getting everything done he said he would? I think he's trying. Has he made my life any better? Not really but deep down inside I didn't really think he would. But everyone tries to shit on him the way they shit on me. So go ahead with your insults. At least for once I get to say, fuck you.

That's an interesting perspective and it sounds right. I never thought it went that deep but it probably does. My theory is more simple: He was on TV and played a successful boss-like character named after himself and it was enough to brand him as a successful person (Max Power). Combined with some "help" in his campaign it was enough to put him over the line.

Then it got interesting. A big part of the population was shocked and outraged that their country elected a cheeseball side-show TV rich guy to be POTUS. Trump voters dug their heels in not to be ridiculed, siding with every stupid thing he does, even elevating him to god like status to show the Libtards they don't care what they think. Serious tribalism set in, and that's what I think drives Trump supporters to ignore his lies and gaffs.

I think tribalism is the answer to the OP

I'm sure there is truth to both. Trump supporters are not one and the same. My speculation as to their mindset stems from years in the navy of living in close quarters with people from various backgrounds, particularly poorer and less educated. This and listening to the opinions of a certain AT&T tech I spent a morning with: a black Trump supporter. The first I'd met, who, once I got him going on politics, I just sat back and listened. In between all the whataboutisms, there was his fear. He had 18 years with the company. They were expecting a round of layoffs. Given his seniority and pay, he was expecting they would get rid of him. It's this helplessness, particularly later in life that drives people to cling to and defend what is promising them something in the future. Many of these people are just scraping by, worried about keeping a roof over their family's head. So they can listen to this con man Trump or they can listen to liberal elitists who's concern for them ranges from ignore to insult.

I've seen the pictures of the desolate rust belt towns, Detroit and I can't imagine the hardship involved in losing everything. It obv has an effect on the human spirit. So much money was/is made by outsourcing labour and it goes to so few and none of it goes into the communities that lost so much. It happens here in Canada too. Alberta is going through a shitstorm right now, but that's a different story...

Obama's big mistake was not spreading that money around - there were small initiatives, some retraining, but nothing substantial. The USA needed some serious welfare state action going on. There was/is oodles of money being made, but none of it was used to help people.

I don't know alot about Bernie Sanders, but he sounds more like what the USA needed, particularly those rust belters, in 2016.

Anyway, I guess if you lose everything, and you feel your politicians let you down, you are going to vote for the first person who is not a career politician.

I feel for Americans right now - You guys just endured 3+ years of Trump, now COVID-19 under the leadership of Trump. Good news is a "mixed economy" may not look so bad to people after this.

 

[James Brown]

My company started offering us 401k’s about 4 months ago. I opted out, didn’t want to lose a bunch to the latest republican bubble.

But you also lose the company match. That's a 50% to 100% return on your money, before any of it is invested anywhere. Not to mention the tax savings.

And if you're concerned about the high cost of equities, you could invest your money in cash equivalents. You don't earn anything in that sector, but you won't lose your 50% to 100% gains.