Kevin's Watch

Well, I guess nothing to fear from a Sanders presidency. Very unlikely he will get the nomination, much less get a plurality of pledged delegates now that Biden made a comeback after Klobuchar and Buttigieg dropped out and endorsed him.

Looks like Bloomberg dropped out, too.

It looks like Dems are starting to learn their lesson and are uniting behind Biden, a moderate. Still, perhaps too little too late.

People over at r/ChapoTrapHouse are crying and saying things like "I thought that democratic socialism would be more appealing to Democrat voters, but we were wrong." / "Biden did nothing to campaign in Super Tuesday states and he won despite Sanders working so hard!"

People are losing their minds.

Surprised he got that far really...even "liberal" Americans are terrified of anything that even hints of socialism.

(Do you guys even have such a thing as state-owned enterprises btw?)

--A

Avatar wrote:(Do you guys even have such a thing as state-owned enterprises btw?)

--A

The Post Office, which has been bleeding money for decades and has never been able to compete with delivery/courier companies like FedEx or UPS.

Amtrak, especially the trains that travel between the main East Coast cities (New York, Boston, Washington, etc). That train service has been bleeding money for years, as well, but all the Wall Street people and politicians ride on it, so it continues to exist.

After TARP the government had bought a bunch of stock in companies but it subsequently sold it all back.

Ok yeah, we have similar...the Post Office, the Public Rail Service, also the Power and Water utilities, and the national airline.

Of course, one problem with SOE's (as we call them) is when the state is rotten...

They've all been basically looted into inefficiency (along with the rest of the government services) over the last 10 years or so especially, and our economy is suffering terribly right now. Looks like they're working on improving things, but a big political faction is strictly opposed to privatisation etc. so it's shaping up to be an ugly fight.

--A

In my experience here, utilities are more expensive when privatised.

We have also the experience with gov owned utilities and services not always being the most efficient.

We have the VA as an example of our
Government failing at healthcare but
The left insists that they should be
Allowed to control all of it. From cradle
To grave we'll be beset by bureaucracy.

Yeah DNC will not allow Sanders the nomination .. so theres that. Hes the only candidate capable of establishing a basic public health system and dismantle insurance corporations hold over the system imv.

And imv thats one of the issues. Here there is a role for private health insurers and the heightened benefits that cover can access for their paying clients.

But a basic public health system enables those who cant afford private health cover.

For me ... I have been a career gov employee for 30 years, retired on a generous package and healthy superannuation that pays the mortgage and most living expenses but I do not have private health cover, nor would I want it.

If I need to go to hospital for most things I can. I do not have access to elective procedures. And for me in my position its not an issue. Im reasonably fit and healthy. Im one of the lucky ones. Though I work for that good fortune

Nevertheless I marginally digress ... the point is that Id be middle class, run a small business in my retirement to supplement my super. Im not at all wealthy and rarely get sick. But if I get crushed under a herd of stampeding cattle, I can go to any hospital and not have to somehow find thousands of dollars I dont have to have surgery and treatment I might need. If I get into a road traffic accident because someone isnt watching where theyre going .. I dont need to stress about an ambulance taking me to a hospital ... as there will not be a large bill handed me at discharge.

Having public health system is about public health and wellbeing of the American populous.

Get a job with benefits. I was smart enough
To do this. Why should I vote to take it away?

Not all who have a job in the US are afforded adequate health cover or any health benefits at all.

sgt.null wrote:Get a job with benefits. I was smart enough
To do this. Why should I vote to take it away?

Interesting tidbit to add here: the pharmacist job market has completely crashed. They can't find full or even part-time positions anymore and are treated as disposable despite their education and skillset. They have to work per diem and compete against new grads that want to work for way less pay than what is typically given. Old pharmacist with 30 years experience? Forget about it, you will lose your job at CVS really soon.

Even six-figure, white collar jobs in a lucrative industry are trying to take away all benefits from employees, including both retirement and healthcare.

All of this happened after there were expectations of a growing pharmacist job market due to the aging population back in early 2000s. It never materialized, and now young and bright students who were (reasonably I might add) expecting a lucrative career and the perks that come with it are being treated as serfs.

Lawyer job market has crashed, too, and has been that way for years. Even then, at least if you go to Harvard Law School and graduated top 10% of your class (and likely needed to have a 99%tile LSAT to get into that law school btw) then you might get a stable job at graduation.

Interesting, I wonder why pharmacists specifically.

DLB? You out there?

--A