Roy Webb on LinkedIn: Thoughts after the debate. I am one of the many Americans who is…
Roy Webb
Thoughts after the debate.

I am one of the many Americans who is undecided. I consider myself a moderate independent. I am a bit conservative on fiscal issues…
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Our Values and the Hollowing-Out of America Are the values that we collectively hold as Americans destroying the American Dream? The answer to that general question depends upon our answers to some very specific questions. What do we owe to one another as citizens? What is the purpose of government? What is the role of private enterprise? What is the meaning of equal opportunity? To what extent should purely economic concerns be regulated in the public interest? The answers to these questions reveal our values and define the role that each of us chooses to play as a participant in our country’s political and economic affairs. Our public infrastructure and safety net have continued to decline at a time when, as Senator Bernie Sanders has noted, “We are living in a nation that has a grotesque level of income and wealth inequality in which the top one-tenth of 1% now owns almost as much wealth of the bottom 90 percent.” This country’s chronic under-investment in public goods and economic inequality increased exponentially during Ronald Reagan’s administration. It grew wider under the two former Presidents, Bush and President Trump, with his two-trillion-dollar tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. At the local, state, and national levels, opponents of the meager government safety net created during the New Deal, underwritten by the infusion of billions of dollars that have been funneled into the political process and made legal by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission have successfully resisted increased government spending and investment in public services. Grover Norquist spoke on behalf of many of these minimalists and defenders of unfettered capitalism when he stated, “I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.”Norquist’s message is, at its core, profoundly anti-democratic since it would maximize the power of private, unelected interests to the detriment of a democratically elected government. Norquist’s remarks stand in stark contrast to generations of earlier Republicans epitomized by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who once observed that “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” - An excerpt from "Private Affluence and Public Squalor: Social Injustice and Economic Miserty in America."

(Warning: this is (a little) about politics) It's time to stop fantasizing that next November will be anything but Biden versus Trump. Trump's legal problems are not going to trip him up, none of the challengers has a chance, and he will just get stronger between now and November (If you doubt this, I can recommend conservative columnist Robert Kagan's excellent recent writing in the Washington Post). Biden is not going to step aside, mainly because he may be right, he could be the best opportunity to defeat the current version of authoritarianism in the US (if you doubt this, ask yourself who, specifically, is in a position to get more votes than Biden?). So get over it. In any case, because this is LinkedIn and I respect the effort to keep politics (mostly) out of the conversation, I will phrase this in terms of my other pet peeve, how to make the economy work for us, instead of the other way around. Here's my advice to whichever candidate really wants to make our systems work for the actual people, not just the political donors and wing-nut purists. 1. Stop trying to convince people that the economy is great. It's OK, but it is still stacked against working people and has been for 50 years. Besides, when are we going to learn that people are not convinced by facts? People are hurting and until you accept that, no facts or figures will convince them otherwise. 2. Demonstrate your commitment to democracy by "getting caught trying" to fix it. Even if there's no chance, spend time talking about fixing the electoral college, supreme court term limits, gerrymandering and unitary primaries. Liberate us from the wing-nuts please. 3. While you are at it, stop talking about "saving democracy" -- its too abstract. We all know what happens when those who care only about power over others win -- we become subjects, not citizens. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. 4. Do the work. Get down in the trenches and support people who are working in communities to make their own lives better. Support them with money, communication and celebration. 5. Give people the power and freedom they need to become strong family members and contributing citizens. This probably means higher wages, minimum and otherwise, and may mean some form of universal income. Let's find out. There's a worker revolution happening and no one is talking about it. 6. Support kids, again at the family, school and community level. Should be a no-brainer, but instead we cancel the Child Tax Credit -- the most effective anti-poverty program in the history of the planet. The new politics needs to talk about a future where our systems work for us. Where people and communities have choice and power. Where our creative energies are turned loose to the betterment of ourselves, our families and our communities, not just a wealthy few. The attached article is very good about how our politics turned so dramatically for the worse in the last 50 years.

👹🇺🇲 Our Future and Trump's « beautiful day » in America 🇺🇲👹 « As progressives, it’s important we lay out an agenda the American people would be eager to vote for – not just someone to vote against. What is that agenda? It is an agenda that acknowledges the pain, stress and despair that the majority of our people are experiencing, and provides a path forward to improve their lives. It is an agenda prepared to take on the greed of the oligarchs and corporate America. It is an agenda that boldly confronts the wealth and power of the 1%, and demands that the rich start paying their fair share of taxes.It is an agenda that uses artificial intelligence to benefit all people, not just the owners of large corporations. It is an agenda that ends starvation wages in America, makes it easier for workers to join unions and provides equal pay for equal work. It is an agenda that makes healthcare a human right and substantially lowers the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in this country. It is an agenda that will make it possible for all working-class young people to gain a college education without going into debt, and will radically improve our dysfunctional childcare system. It is an agenda that will create millions of good-paying jobs as we lead the world in combating climate change and transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels. It is an agenda that will take on the systemic racism that prevails throughout our country and fundamentally reform our broken and racist criminal justice system.It is an agenda that cuts military spending, prevents war and supports diplomacy and international cooperation. It is an agenda that will lead to comprehensive immigration reform and a path towards citizenship for the undocumented. Now, it goes without saying that this is not the agenda of the Democratic establishment and their wealthy campaign funders. You know that. I know that. So, what do we do? As progressives, what should our political strategy be in 2024? [..] In these difficult times it is easy to become victim to despair and cynicism. It is easy to become paralyzed into inaction when one realizes that there are no magic solutions to the complex political crises we face, and that every step forward has its drawbacks and critics. But we truly have no alternative but to stand up and fight for the country we know we can become. This is a struggle not just for our generation, not just for our kids and grandchildren – but for the future of our democracy and our planet. This is not a time to surrender. » –US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) https://lnkd.in/giZD6A-F

I have arrived at a point where I no longer see left nor right politics, I see two groups of people throughout the entire country in a fierce battle; on one side, a group of people are working as hard as they can yet they are unable to keep pace with what our economic system currently has to offer them. Some take on huge debt for education and healthcare, some can’t afford mortgages, new cars, nor find access to capital for their small businesses and they cannot afford healthy food, which understandably makes them angry and frustrated. On the other side, large corporations are making record profits, Wall Street is setting new records while corporations are paying little taxes while blaming immigrants and the poor for their own problems, all while insisting on monitoring women’s health and reproductive rights. Oh yeah, as a nation, we have problems, always have, always will, but giving up on a 248 year old democracy to elect an authoritarian dictator to remedy this imbalance is not the answer. Trump’s policies, as he has stated, will only benefit the rich, the large corporations and the religious fanatics, still pushing that disproved “trickle down” economics theory. If you are frustrated with the difficulty of getting ahead, you are a Democrat, whether you choose to admit it or not. Republican policies by design are not intended to make your life easier, don’t kid yourself. Perhaps you like the bravado that comes along with a failed TV entertainer who has degraded into a mafia thug caring only about himself, or perhaps you just can’t see him for what he is? Maybe you think; yeah... let's stick it to The Man and burn it down and rebuild it! But who is the man? We all are! That's a ludicrous notion that would cause unprecedented pain and very real and serious hardship for decades. Either way, I hope we as a nation will not give up on democracy, too many of our relatives have given the ultimate sacrifice in too many wars, defending our way of life. The New Deal brought our nation out of the Great Depression, the right government policies could help all Americans.

Another week goes by without democratic representation. Here are 3 clear and obvious signs that the political system is not doing its job… 1a. Yet another mass shooting. A man with mental health problems is given a gun instead of being treated by healthcare professionals. 2a. Despite most voters wanting peace in the Middle East, through justice for the Palestinians, the UK and the US continue to support vile Israeli ethnic-cleansing. 3a. Hurricane Otis has devastated Acapulco. Extreme weather events are becoming commonplace. Despite the majority of voters wanting serious action on the climate crisis, what is President Biden doing? The opposite; he continues to subsidise petroleum production and permits more and more drilling. It doesn’t matter whether you vote for Biden or Bush or Clinton or Obama, you always get the same thing; accountability only to those with wealth. Instead of paying taxes, the 1% are using their surplus dosh to bribe politicians across the board. 60 years ago tax rates were 90-95% for the 1%. Now it is 38% in the US and 45% in the UK. Of course, most of them pay far, far less than this through offshoring and cynical tax-dodging schemes. 1b. Before Thatcher and Reagan, there were tax dollars available for mental health. While I was still a teenager, I worked in 3 different, now shuttered, mental hospitals. Today, you’ll find those patients on the streets. If there is no money for mental health, nothing will change. 2b. AIPAC spends millions of dollars bribing politicians to support the apartheid state. As long as US Presidents embrace murderous, racist Israelis there will be no justice for the native Palestinians. This betrayal of Muslims and Arabs is precisely the issue that caused 9/11. 3b. Big Oil bribes politicians in order to continue to enrich themselves at the expense of life on earth. Of course, it's not just Big Oil. It's also Big Ag and other unethical, dirty industries. The wealthiest and the most polluting industries bribe politicians in order to reduce taxes, reduce oversight, and attempt to satiate their bottomless greed. The only way out of this lack of representation is to support serious politicians that mean what they say, and care about you and I. You’ll know that they’re serious because they’ll use serious words like "taxation" and “socialism” and "regulations" and "justice" and "sustainable" and "ethical". They won’t use glib, meaningless phrases like “make America great again” or “1000 points of light” or "just say no". To restore real democracy and accountability we need to elect socialist politicians who will tax the rich and act ethically. #taxtherich #socialism #freegaza #boycottisrael #gaza #palestine

I have repeatedly confronted those that try to paint the left of American politics as Communists. Communism is a dead philosophy. Russia and China abandoned it decades ago. Venezuela is its last proponent, but even Maduro is now trying to reestablish capitalism. The attached Op-Ed attacks Trump's attempts to paint Harris as a Communist, and gives one of the clearest tutorials on what America's left really is. "Now, Harris obviously isn’t a communist. So why does Trump say that she is? Well, redbaiting, like race-baiting — which Trump also does when it comes to Harris — is very much part of the American political tradition. . . . It’s also true that American political discourse lacks a widely accepted term for people who don’t believe that the government should control the means of production but who do believe that we should have policies to limit economic inequality and prevent avoidable hardship. To find such a term you need to go to European countries in which it was important to distinguish between parties supporting a strong social safety net and Communist parties, which weren’t at all the same thing. In these countries, politicians like Harris, who supports a free-market economy with a robust social safety net, are known as social democrats. The thing is, social democracy isn’t a radical position. On the contrary, it has been the norm for generations in all wealthy nations, our own included." #voteblue #savedemocracy

I hope you lot are going to get political with me this year? Yes I know, Politics is boring 😴 But it's not you know, it's great to be aware of what the people who we pay our taxes to are actually doing with our money. An example, when a government says we are funding the NHS xy and z, and building 44 new hospitals, what they are really saying is, "we are taking your money 💰 via the 25 taxes we put in place, oh yes 25, most you'll not have even noticed, and we are saying we are spending xy and z, but we might not do it straight away, and we might say this same thing over and over for a while and then not do it, but because we said it, you'll think we did because you don't really pay attention or even care as long as you don't need to use the NHS or have a loved one that does." So 🤗 if you've read this far you're probably half interested and want to care, so I hope you get involved in some good political debate this year. Here's the rub, Someone said to you at some point in your life, probably more than once, "Never discuss politics or religion " 🤔 do you remember hearing that line, you must have, unless you live on the moon 🌚 The truth is, by not talking about politics, the less we understand. And, because there is always an and, that is what the politicians want, they want us to be thick, they want us to be plebs, they want us to be ignorant, our ignorance is their bliss, not ours. Because we don't understand politics enough, we find it boring. Let's learn together ❤, let's make a difference ✨, let's understand more. It's time to get unbored with politics. 🥳 🎉 🪅 🎊 Let's make the people we give power accountable. As the song 🎵 goes, "If you tolerate this, 🎶 then your children will be next 🎶 they'll be next, they'll be next, they'll be next 📣🎵🎶" I look forward to seeing 👀 your comments, questions, support, group debate and chatting with you 😊 My first policy would be, Making the most of happy days 😁. What would your 1st policy be? Love 💖 Andy

A Collection of superb, hard hitting, humorous comments... *"In my many years I have come to a conclusion, ... that one useless man is a shame, two [useless men] is a law firm and three or more [useless men] is a government."* ~John Adams ******** *"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed."* ~Mark Twain ******** *"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle."* ~Winston Churchill ********* *"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."* ~George Bernard Shaw ******* *"Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries."* ~ Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University ****** *"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."* ~P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian ****** *"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!"* ~Pericles (430 B.C.) ******* *"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session."* ~Mark Twain (1866) ****** *"The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other."* ~ Ronald Reagan ****** *"The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin."* ~Mark Twain ******* *"What this country needs are more unemployed politicians."* ~Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995) ******* *"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have."* ~Thomas Jefferson ******* *"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."* ~Aesop ******** *"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!"* Uh ~P.J. O'Rourke ****** *[Forwarded as received]*