Honest Question for Sanders and Warren Supporters

[PatrickforO]

14. Between the two, Warren has the greater compassion.

Bernie is very left brained, and has become a bit curmudgeonly.

In terms of policies, Bernie is advocating this Wall Street tax, but it was forcefully pointed out to me by another member that this idea did not originate with him. That doesn't bother me, though, because it is a good idea.

As to Warren, the reason I actually like her better at this point is that she put forth the 'Accountable Capitalism Act' in August 2018. This law would expand the responsibility of CEOs beyond mere shareholder earnings and compel them, as part of the corporate charter, to consider other stakeholders on an equal footing - workers, consumers and the environment.

Whatever happens moving forward, though, come 2020 the Democrats must necessarily repeal the giant tax cut for corporations and billionaires the Republicans passed in 2017. Since I'm an economist I cannot resist speaking about fiscal policy and how it is being used to further a corporate-right-wing ideology.

To explain, there is a group of people who genuinely believe that the ONLY function of the federal government should be 'to provide for the common defense,' and that the rest of the things the national government has taken upon itself should be 'devolved' to states and local governments. The tax cut of 2017 was designed to hasten that - consider two seemingly unrelated things: first the tax cut gave corporations the opportunity to buy back shares, but they used very little to give their workers raises, or pass the savings onto the consumer in the form of lower prices for product/service.

The theory (what they told us that yellow liquid streaming down our backs was) is that a tax cut stimulates the economy, so that enough new jobs are created that the loss of revenue from the tax cut is made up from taxes paid by the new workers.

This, of course, was a lie. The tax cut merely lined the pockets of the richest and left the rest of us pretty much out in the cold.

In the meantime, the deficit ballooned and the national debt has reached unsustainable proportions. Remember Grover Norquist's idea to strangle government until it's small enough to drown in a bathtub? This is that. They ballooned the debt on purpose for that reason.

Consider the recent inquiry (by Republicans) to the CBO. They've asked for a study about 'how expensive' unemployment insurance is. Soon, privatization of earned benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare will be on the table, and virtually all safety net programs will be on the chopping block.

But hey, we DO have a shiny new space force, right? And we're spending nearly 3/4 trillion dollars on 'defense.' Last time I checked, we spend more on defense than the next six or eight countries behind us.

This, Vidal, is a right-wing coup. A slow coup, because Republicans are masters of the long game. They've chipped away at social programs, safety nets, and regulations for decades. Read up on the 2006 'postal service accountability' act, where the GOP tried their best to bankrupt the USPS by forcing them to fund pensions for workers they hadn't even hired yet. Just another union-busting and privatization ploy...

So, my last two paragraphs in my reply to you, Vidal, is to chide you for a post that begins with 'an honest question.'

Our social, economic and political fabric is being torn, stretched and cut in a thousand different places every single day. Bernie and Biden are currently at the top but we have a strong bench of others who ALSO have good ideas. When the first primaries happen, this field will be reduced to maybe six or seven. By Super Tuesday, it will be down to maybe three or four max. A leader will emerge.

IF WE DO NOT WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT THIS NOMINEE AND TRUMP WINS AGAIN, WE WILL LOSE THIS REPUBLIC. So trying to get people to argue Warren or Sanders right now - not so constructive. Because the stakes are far too high for that stuff.