southernhybrid
Contributor
I'm just repeating the title of the article, but considering what some of the posters here claim, it's probably true.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/joe-biden-platform-progressive-health-care-climate-taxes.html
Here's the thing that people seem to forget. We are still a center right country so even if Sanders was our president, it's highly doubtful that he'd be able to accomplish any of the things that excited his supporters. I fully support UHC. I just don't think it's feasible to get it through M4A. Medicare is now becoming more and more of a private health insurance program. Part D is all through private insurance. Supplements and Advantage Plans are all provided through private insurance. Basic Medicare isn't free, and it only covers 80% of approved out patient services, and there are many drugs which aren't covered at all in any of the Medicare programs or the Medicaid programs, the other government program for the lowest income folks. So, until I hear a reasonable way as to how M4A could be put into law in a way that would be affordable, I'm not a supporter of M4A. I think we are better off following one of the European models that use private insurance to provide UHC. And, that is similar to what Biden is proposing. Biden thinks that health care is a human right. How is that different from the most progressive candidate?
Biden made the comment that the wealthy won't have to change their lifestyle, as discussed and criticized in my linked article, but he didn't mean that the wealthy wouldn't have to pay higher taxes under his plan. He simply meant that they would still have their homes and savings, etc. They would just be paying more taxes. If you have 25 million dollars and you have to pay half of it in taxes, you're still going to be able to live a very high lifestyle. As long as the average wage is a living wage, why should we care if a small percentage of people are very wealthy? Those things don't impact me or you.
Biden wants to put a lot more money into public education and I'm sure I've read that he wants all two year colleges to be free. These colleges not only offer the first two years of a four year degree, they often provide degrees in technical fields, nursing etc. There is no reason that one can't get a decent job if one chooses a two year degree in a much needed field, which can include things like mechanics, fire fighting, computer repair, professional landscaping etc. etc. My own son started out with a two year degree in computer engineering, aka repairing computers. He later went on to get a 4 year degree in programming. There are plenty of options available in technical colleges that offer the potential to make a decent living. But, I digress.
While his energy plans may not be as progressive as the one supported by people like AOC, it's more likely that a program like the one that Biden supports will actually be passed into law. It's more reasonable to believe that the goal of such a plan will actually be accomplished.
Plus, Biden isn't rigid in his thinking. Over the years, he's grown and changed his mind about many things. For example, he supported gay marriage before a lot of other Democrats did, and while he has recently said that he doesn't support the full legalization of cannabis, I'm pretty sure he will be open to changing that opinion, especially if the Congress were to vote to legalize cannabis.
The only way that any progress will be made is if the Congress goes Democrat by a fairly wide margin. Even at that, not all Democrats in Congress are even as progressive as Biden. So, I always find it unrealistic when those who are much further to the left whine and complain that things aren't moving far enough in the direction that they want. We will always be a capitalist country but with the right regulations and controls in place, that's probably better than the other options. European countries aren't socialist. They are capitalist with good social programs. That should be our goal. I don't think Biden would disagree.
Biden has always worked well with minorities, despite the attack on some of the policies that he supported decades ago, which were often also supported by the Congressional Black Caucus. WE all make mistakes. Congress makes mistakes. It's easy to criticize what might have looked good in the past but didn't work out as well as was expected.
Trump is a threat to our democracy and a 2nd term could bring irreparable damage. Is that what people want? I'll take something less than pure and perfect to something that would hurt the entire country and bring an end to what freedoms we have left.
Don't get me wrong. I'm far more progressive than I might appear, but I'm far more realistic than I am progressive. I know damn well that to make progress, one must compromise with those who don't share my ideals.
People criticized Obama for not being progressive enough, but it wasn't Obama who didn't have progressive goals. It was Congress that obstructed most of the things he wanted to do. For fuck's sake, he could barely get enough support for the ACA from Democrats, as some seemed to think it was a radical socialist idea. Despite Trump's autocratic view of the presidency, Obama knew that he had to work with the other side. Obama didn't just want to please his base. He knew that he was supposed to be the president of all the people. I think in that respect, Biden is similar. Biden won't abuse his power. He will listen to his advisors and not be led by his ego, while he works toward progressive goals.
He may not be as progressive as some of you want, but he's a lot more progressive than what some of you think. Considering the alternative, I am sickened by anyone who whines and says they won't vote for the man who was chosen by the people to be the Democratic candidate. I just read the results of the Georgia primary. Biden got over 85% of the vote and our election was started back in March, despite not being finished until recently. I want a candidate who has a chance of winning in my state and Biden was probably always the only one who had that chance. You don't have to be thrilled about Biden, but considering the alternative, we should all be very pleased to have him as our next president. And, it really doesn't matter which woman he chooses to run with him. We all have our favorites, but any one of them would be far superior to Trump and would be capable of taking over for Biden if that was ever needed.
We are a country with a very diverse number of ideals and ideologies and none of us will always get exactly what we want, but as the old Stones song line goes, "if we try real. hard, we just might get what we need".
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/joe-biden-platform-progressive-health-care-climate-taxes.html
Here's the thing that people seem to forget. We are still a center right country so even if Sanders was our president, it's highly doubtful that he'd be able to accomplish any of the things that excited his supporters. I fully support UHC. I just don't think it's feasible to get it through M4A. Medicare is now becoming more and more of a private health insurance program. Part D is all through private insurance. Supplements and Advantage Plans are all provided through private insurance. Basic Medicare isn't free, and it only covers 80% of approved out patient services, and there are many drugs which aren't covered at all in any of the Medicare programs or the Medicaid programs, the other government program for the lowest income folks. So, until I hear a reasonable way as to how M4A could be put into law in a way that would be affordable, I'm not a supporter of M4A. I think we are better off following one of the European models that use private insurance to provide UHC. And, that is similar to what Biden is proposing. Biden thinks that health care is a human right. How is that different from the most progressive candidate?
Biden made the comment that the wealthy won't have to change their lifestyle, as discussed and criticized in my linked article, but he didn't mean that the wealthy wouldn't have to pay higher taxes under his plan. He simply meant that they would still have their homes and savings, etc. They would just be paying more taxes. If you have 25 million dollars and you have to pay half of it in taxes, you're still going to be able to live a very high lifestyle. As long as the average wage is a living wage, why should we care if a small percentage of people are very wealthy? Those things don't impact me or you.
Biden wants to put a lot more money into public education and I'm sure I've read that he wants all two year colleges to be free. These colleges not only offer the first two years of a four year degree, they often provide degrees in technical fields, nursing etc. There is no reason that one can't get a decent job if one chooses a two year degree in a much needed field, which can include things like mechanics, fire fighting, computer repair, professional landscaping etc. etc. My own son started out with a two year degree in computer engineering, aka repairing computers. He later went on to get a 4 year degree in programming. There are plenty of options available in technical colleges that offer the potential to make a decent living. But, I digress.
While his energy plans may not be as progressive as the one supported by people like AOC, it's more likely that a program like the one that Biden supports will actually be passed into law. It's more reasonable to believe that the goal of such a plan will actually be accomplished.
Plus, Biden isn't rigid in his thinking. Over the years, he's grown and changed his mind about many things. For example, he supported gay marriage before a lot of other Democrats did, and while he has recently said that he doesn't support the full legalization of cannabis, I'm pretty sure he will be open to changing that opinion, especially if the Congress were to vote to legalize cannabis.
The only way that any progress will be made is if the Congress goes Democrat by a fairly wide margin. Even at that, not all Democrats in Congress are even as progressive as Biden. So, I always find it unrealistic when those who are much further to the left whine and complain that things aren't moving far enough in the direction that they want. We will always be a capitalist country but with the right regulations and controls in place, that's probably better than the other options. European countries aren't socialist. They are capitalist with good social programs. That should be our goal. I don't think Biden would disagree.
Biden has always worked well with minorities, despite the attack on some of the policies that he supported decades ago, which were often also supported by the Congressional Black Caucus. WE all make mistakes. Congress makes mistakes. It's easy to criticize what might have looked good in the past but didn't work out as well as was expected.
Trump is a threat to our democracy and a 2nd term could bring irreparable damage. Is that what people want? I'll take something less than pure and perfect to something that would hurt the entire country and bring an end to what freedoms we have left.
Don't get me wrong. I'm far more progressive than I might appear, but I'm far more realistic than I am progressive. I know damn well that to make progress, one must compromise with those who don't share my ideals.
People criticized Obama for not being progressive enough, but it wasn't Obama who didn't have progressive goals. It was Congress that obstructed most of the things he wanted to do. For fuck's sake, he could barely get enough support for the ACA from Democrats, as some seemed to think it was a radical socialist idea. Despite Trump's autocratic view of the presidency, Obama knew that he had to work with the other side. Obama didn't just want to please his base. He knew that he was supposed to be the president of all the people. I think in that respect, Biden is similar. Biden won't abuse his power. He will listen to his advisors and not be led by his ego, while he works toward progressive goals.
He may not be as progressive as some of you want, but he's a lot more progressive than what some of you think. Considering the alternative, I am sickened by anyone who whines and says they won't vote for the man who was chosen by the people to be the Democratic candidate. I just read the results of the Georgia primary. Biden got over 85% of the vote and our election was started back in March, despite not being finished until recently. I want a candidate who has a chance of winning in my state and Biden was probably always the only one who had that chance. You don't have to be thrilled about Biden, but considering the alternative, we should all be very pleased to have him as our next president. And, it really doesn't matter which woman he chooses to run with him. We all have our favorites, but any one of them would be far superior to Trump and would be capable of taking over for Biden if that was ever needed.
We are a country with a very diverse number of ideals and ideologies and none of us will always get exactly what we want, but as the old Stones song line goes, "if we try real. hard, we just might get what we need".
