BruceVC

Just because you mentioned it, its revealing how you wont comment on the story and reality of what happened but only concerned by my choice of the word triggered And it reinforces the observation how some of us comment on the poster and not the post ...thanks for confirming what has already been pointed out

Nah, Marxist school board members is more appropriate. But you can find the same story on numerous websites But you missing the point and getting " triggered " by the words.

https://thekingofstocks.com/2022/02/16/san-francisco-residents-overwhelmingly-vote-to-recall-three-far-left-school-board-members/ I saw this on CNN so its not Fox news hyperbole but liberal San Francisco has recalled 3 school board members for focusing too much on progressive left ideology like wanting to change the names of 44 school names in the district. To quote that article San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved a vote to recall three far-left school board members for putting toxic politics ahead of reopening schools. “The voters of this city have delivered a clear message that the school board must focus on the essentials of delivering a well-run school system above all else,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement after the vote. “San Francisco is a city that believes in the value of big ideas, but those ideas must be built on the foundation of a government that does the essentials well.” The recall effort started in January 2021 after the Marxist school board members were busy working to rename 44 schools that honored historical figures like Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington rather than focusing on reopening schools. This is an important development and hopefully sends an important message about priorities and what matters and its not about CRT so need for anyone to get triggered @Hurlshot Not sure what you think about this but its in your state?

Well yes but you dont use the public healthcare unless you dont have medical aid. I cant stress that point enough The private sector healthcare is well managed and works but their are a long list of horror stories about bad service in PS healthcare but its free and available to everyone for certain services, not all

Just to add to this, in Libya NATO helped prevent a massacre civilians in the town of Misrata with their intervention. Without NATO Gaddafi would have happily killed about 50k civilians who were trapped in the town https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Misrata_(2011)

Sure, but I was referring to the criticism that the West has been involved in bombing campaigns and thats why we cant trust NATO. We also cant trust Russia to not be involved in bombing campaigns and Chechnya is just one example

No thats not how 30 million South Africans live but nice try. Its insensitive to live in a first world country and think that is how all people who live in poverty live. But I suppose NZ does have its own issues like KFC smuggling cartels so I shouldnt be dismissive You right, the 46 % isnt homeless. Its complicated and their are different levels of state support and social programs that assist this 46% to survive. I support most of these social programs in SA because some of the poverty is directly linked to Apartheid legacy and if it wasnt for these programs their would be many South Africans living in worse poverty like you see in many other African countries Also what Zora is talking about is not how most of the 46% live, he is referring to what we call squatter camps and they examples of the worst kind of squalor outside of homelessness Many of the 46% are recipients of free housing called RDP (reconstruction and development ) houses by government. These houses are small 2-3 bedroom places that arent great but better than corrugated iron shacks. Then we provide reduced rates for electricity and other services around what we call " indigent services". Also government provides free public sector healthcare and free public sector schooling in most cases. Unfortunately some of these public sector intuitions are not well run or administered so sometimes you find kids getting to grade 12 with a subpar education and they unemployable. Also in the townships you can buy food and goods generally cheaper compared to what we would pay for food and goods from the malls and supermarkets Then we have a real and growing black middle class and they actively participate in what we call colloquially " black tax "and this is where most black people from the middle class and up help their family members financially. This an example of the kindness and humanity you see in SA https://www.justmoney.co.za/news/2018/03/01/understanding-black-tax/ So that is how the 46% survive in most cases, I hope this answers your question because it is a good question and one that matters?

Yes inflation is the potential risk as I mentioned and its a real concern as we can see with the factors that have contributed towards the current global inflation which is more about the lockdowns and the world coming out of the lockdowns but concern with UBI is similar I think the concern with the 1%/10% is well meaning but misplaced as targeting them is not going to fundamentally change the reality on the ground for most people

I watched it and its objective and informative. But it also raises the inconsistencies with Putins views of NATO and how Russia has done everything that he claims is wrong with NATO For example the video mentions something similar to " NATO getting involved in bombing of foreign countries outside its borders " as a reason not to trust NATO Since Putin came to power Russia has been involved in numerous conflicts outside its borders and has been responsible for the death of tens of thousands of civilians in places like Chechnya and Syria through its own bombing campaigns so out of all the reasons for Putin to dislike NATO this must be the biggest contradiction. So basically Putin is saying " I am opposed to NATO getting involved in other countries sovereignty but its okay if I do it " And then the video clearly mentions Putin is concerned with the " cultural influence of countries that join NATO" as its based on Western ideology which is based on things like "Democracy, individual liberty and rule of law " .......seriously that is exactly what I would expect every person on this forum to believe in since all of us live in countries that believe in these things. Whats the alternative? Undemocratic systems and governments that dont believe in the rule of law and order ? By the way talking about videos where is the latest video from the hotties? You know I always agree with the girls so if they said " we dont like or trust NATO and support Russia " I would be immediately convinced

Sarex two wrongs dont make a right, I can understand your apprehension and or mistrust of the West because of how Serbia was treated but the worlds a different place now and the reality of Ukraine is very different to the wars in the Balkans You the only person on this forum whose support of Russia in this Ukraine crisis really makes sense because of the history of how Serbia was treated. I may not agree with the support for Russia but I do understand and if I was Serbian I would probably feel the same way

Do you want to know something scary, 28 million South Africans live on social grants which is 46% of our population They receive per month the equivalent to $135\month as a maximum amount because their are different categories and somehow they survive. Imagine trying to survive on $135 per month https://businesstech.co.za/news/budget-speech/470788/social-grants-in-south-africa-will-increase-by-less-than-inflation-mboweni/

Thanks Raithe, I appreciate the feedback and details. Very interesting post

Makes sense but if the US implemented UBI like you guys are talking about it would be life?

Okay I see, it makes sense now The risk is still their because what if someone is unemployed or doesn't want to work?Should someone who isnt interested in working and contributing get all these benefits. Thats why in the UK they try to monitor and manage the unemployment benefits ...its not for free loaders Because their is no risk if your country can afford that as long as the majority of people are still working

Before you can ask " will it work " you have to ask " what are you trying to achieve" So what do you want to achieve by taxing the 1%, do you want to end inequality through UBI ?

I dont think anyone would argue with you but the concern is the abuse you see where people dont want to work and contribute towards the state and they happy to live off social grants

Sorry I thought we were talking about UBI (universal basic income grant ) Do you mind using the full name of these social programs so I know exactly what you mean because they called different things in different countries

So its not as bad as everyone keeps saying, good to know

I was born in SA but they do have stimulus, its called the dole, in the UK for the unemployed or people unable to work but you dont get it unless you cant work. Its not designed for people to not work and live off the state and people dont have a great quality of life on it but you do get free housing but its small flats and what they call council housing And you can ask @Raithe about it, people abuse it But the UK economic strength is created by the high numbers of people who work and contribute....not people living off the dole so its not a universal stimulus like the proposals around UBI https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z86vxfr/revision/2

Fair enough, end of the day it will be US citizens who decide and live with the good and bad of new government policies

I think I am the only person on this forum who doesnt live in a first world country and real inequality and poverty doesnt exist in first world countries. And obviously I am not suggesting I live in poverty but its exists in SA and I have seen it throughout Africa in certain countries where bad leadership and lack of governance and prudent economic policies is a direct consequence to people becoming indigent for generations....no jokes but decades If you look at the collapse of countries like Zimbabwe and Venezuela you will notice from the timelines that these countries use to be functional and then because of deeply flawed government policies within 10-12 years of implementing these policies they ended up broken So the reality is it is possible for a bad government to destroy the livelihoods of most of its citizens after a decade or so. So if the US implemented stimulus programs that had the end result of hurting the economy it would effect everyone and all families except for the people in government who always have wealth due to taxes and the fact they government. You will notice even in the worst run countries in the world the people aligned to government always have resources and nice things...they avoid suffering like the citizens Now its not possible to predict the economic outcome and results of a program like UBI in the US but I ask again, would you really be prepared to take that risk ?

Im sure expecting the wealthiest people in the US to fund stimulus programs would be challenged both legally and Constitutionally? Also you would need a constant source of revenue from them to fund national stimulus programs so how much would it cost? That would have to be the first step in taxing " the 1% " and then what makes it more complicated is that no country has ever implemented nation wide programs like UBI before. Their are only pilot projects and limited examples to test and understand what it means and its impact throughout the world Would you really feel comfortable with the US being the first country to see if it works? And then programs like UBI can potentially lead to an increase in inflation and economies getting weaker like we seeing at the moment with this global inflation and issues with the supply chain But the main concern IMO is I would like to see other countries who have implemented nationwide programs like UBI and then see the outcome?

You should, I mentioned in the past I would vote for you if I could vote ...think of all the fatcat perks you would gain

He does sounds ideal, I dont remember him being one of candidates but I see he was I see he stepped down and you right. He mentions ""not comfortable" with many political positions from the party's leadership " . Imagine how different the Democrats would be under his leadership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Webb

Thats scary and that would have been worse than Trump....the US becoming another failed socialist experiment is not ideal I think Hilary was the best Democrat candidate of the possible candidates