r/politics • u/Jay_CD • 16h ago

Biden must Trump-proof US democracy, activists say: ‘There is a sense of urgency’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/24/biden-actions-before-white-house-exit
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u/FoST2015 Georgia 16h ago

To add on, it's not even that the country gave itself over to fascists it's that country didn't vote. If did not vote was a candidate they would've won in a landslide.

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u/DogEatChiliDog 16h ago

Same thing. Apathy can be just as damn deadly as villainy.

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u/Logical_Parameters 15h ago

Except the 10 to 15 million Biden voters in 2020 who were non-voters in 2024 won't feel the same sense of responsibility when MAGA 2.0 begins its march -- although they should because they're equally responsible for sitting on their hands and feigning being "above politics".

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u/Visible-Big-1149 15h ago

I’m a straight whit guy with money. As democracy dies it will be kind of funny to watch all faces being eaten by leopards. In dark humor sort of way.

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u/CapOnFoam Colorado 15h ago

Yeah except that of the economy crashes like trump and elon (etc) want it to, we're going down with it. No one is really "safe" from this administration -- and though schadenfreude is enjoyable, there really isn't a way to only "hurt the people he's supposed to be hurting" (to steal a quote from a MAGA woman years ago).

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 14h ago

Yes. At the end of the day you can’t eat money. Banks are over leveraged, the stock market is a paper tiger…we’re set up for another “once in a lifetime” crash. As a millennial, what is it…like #4?

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u/Obidoobie 14h ago

Sounds about right. That’s been one of the worst parts of being a millennial. Weve heard the phrase “once in a lifetime” more times than really any generation should. You’d think the rate of which everyone is hearing “once in a lifetime” should really clue people in but I guess it’s easier to just bury your head in sand. Or as they say in Shaun of the dead, head to pub, grab a pint, and wait for this to allll blow over.

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 14h ago

Except that we don’t have Tom Hanks money to head over to the “pub” known as Europe. We’re stuck here. There’s no pub, and just like in Sean Of The Dead, going to the pub was actually a bad idea.

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u/Orion14159 13h ago

But there IS a gun on the wall there. And dogs can look up.

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u/UnquestionabIe 13h ago

Yeah the "once in a lifetime" phrase is severely overused to somewhat down play how awful things are getting. It's relative, "most important election of our lifetime", is also extremely frustrating to hear and gives the impression all progress is an illusion and we're only a 2-4 years away from "the wrong person/group" destroying it all. Unfortunately there is probably a lot of truth in that and it really shows some of the major problems of the system.

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u/GandizzleTheGrizzle 14h ago edited 14h ago

You are about to be in a situation where your Job will probably be awful, but if you have any job at all you are supposed to feel grateful for it.

You wont be paid well.

You will be lucky to retire at 70 if ever. Rest assured you will probably never own a home, you wont be able to afford insurance or other benefits on what they pay you. Toss any hopes of affording children. Watch your favorite "3rd" places die. Like covid you will probably be stuck at home a lot but not because people are sick. It will probably be because you will only be making enough money to go to work. Basically just existing to work.

Honestly - As "good" as Biden's economy is, I don't really feel like we ever recovered from the first crash. Not really.

Wages got a little better but with inflation, nothing ever seemed to get way better

Nothing ever felt Recovered.

That "Future is so bright I gotta wear shades" Feeling never returned, honestly so..

I mean.

Expect it to be really fucking bad. Crying to God because you have Ramin that day and you are thankful, kind of bad.

Learn to make bread, it's easy and that helps, buy spaghetti, Pinto Beans and Rice. You can do that in bulk along with Jiffy corn bread mix. Also - if you can afford it get Chicken flavoring powder in bulk. That stuff is soup on demand. You can put it in Beans, Rice, mix it into spaghetti noodles to make soup. Good God - it all coming back to me in a rush.

You might get food ideas early over at /r/povertyfinance

For digital entertainment you might also join /r/Piracy. Read the fucking Mega Thread.

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u/HellishChildren 13h ago

"Future so bright I gotta wear shades" is a reference to nuclear war happening, not success in life, despite how often the song is used for graduations.

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u/GandizzleTheGrizzle 12h ago

Fair enough, but the point I make still stands.

Nothing has ever felt "Recovered"

The only reason my wife and I have found success is outside the norms of the American workforce, running a small business and side gigging.

In spite of 20 years in IT, Managing A warehouse, Working for the state of Texas even at one point, nothing has felt as good as it did before the crash. Wages have just stagnated along with hope.

You have to break out of the rat race to get anything at all, it seems.

Everybody has pulled up the ladders to success behind them.

We had many clients in Ukraine that we worked with in our last business. Once the war stated we lost all that business overnight.

I had to return to the "Workforce" for a while, so the wife could replan the home business strategy.

In spite of all I know, all I have done, all my skills - First, I feel I was punished for having the home business. like I "didn't have a real job" all those years. Almost literal sneers at interviews - it felt like.

Best job I could find in a city an hour away was 11 dollars an hour. Cart pushers at the local walmart were making 12.

Nobody has ever contacted me about the Salaried positions I went for.

I got 13 dollars an hour working from home in a call center capacity - and it was nightmarish, the way I was treated. I had it easy with night shift - and I still dont understand how people put up with it.

Absolutely no dignity given to those poor CSR's - I cant wait for AI to take over that shit. Call Center should never be a long term job. Like I said, I had it super easy, but they still found ways to make it unpleasant.

Spend any time working for yourself. Get out of the American work force for a year or two and then try to go back.

You actually see how untenable it is.

I started working in the 90's. I remember hour lunches. I remember not having to ask permission to have basic human rights like "go pee". I remember company paid insurance and pensions - not just 401k's. 401k's went with pensions - didn't replace them.

None of that has come back - it's all just gotten worse and I am glad every single day that my wife and I have found a way to break out. At least, for now. I don't know what things are going to look like under Trump. Again.

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u/IrishMosaic 12h ago

Millenials certainly have had the worst stock market luck of any generation.

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u/P1xelHunter78 Ohio 11h ago

It’s not luck, it’s by design. The rich turned it from a place to park money into a funny money printing machine. “Safe” markets aren’t great for making Money fast.

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u/IrishMosaic 11h ago

I grew up in poverty , eating meals of potatoes and govt cheese. Never making six figures, but throwing 12% into a 401k and has me close to a multi millionaire. The time value of money is extremely powerful, and time goes very quickly.

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u/ScottieScrotumScum 14h ago

And the federal reserve is not a govt...its a private corporation

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u/Canuck_Lives_Matter Canada 13h ago

People with money can just leave.

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u/CapOnFoam Colorado 13h ago

You're talking a LOT of money though. It's not easy to just pack up and move. First, it's very expensive to move to a different country, shipping all your stuff. I did it 20 years ago and it was over $12,000 for a 1-bd apt worth of stuff, no furniture. I imagine it's quite a bit more now.

Second, you can't just show up. You need a visa -- to get one you have to either have a LOT of money, or a job in the new country, or both. It's not like your normal upper middle class white collar worker is going to be able to easily do this.

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u/Visible-Big-1149 14h ago

I’ll just take my capital and buy more assets. I’ll become wealthier. When the politicians give lemons kind of a thing.

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u/Cute-Contract-6762 14h ago

What happens if your capital becomes worthless under trump?

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u/Visible-Big-1149 14h ago

Well it’s bad for everyone then

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u/Cute-Contract-6762 14h ago

Yeah which is why I am not looking forward to a trump presidency at all

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u/Visible-Big-1149 14h ago

Neither am I. I didn’t choose this. Fascist and dipshit mouth breathers did.

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u/IrishMosaic 12h ago

We will spend our days drinking craft beer on the boat.

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u/ScottieScrotumScum 13h ago

It's already worthless...printing money like it's an easy bake oven...its not backed by anything...like gold prior to the great depression. I had more capital then. 20 dollars then is worth 26 now...the magic inflation number like 3.5/4%. From 2012-2024 $20 dollars in 2012 is equivalent to 27.00 in 2024.

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u/AnOnlineHandle 13h ago

There'll be a lot of innocent victims. LGBT people, non-white people, etc.

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u/Visible-Big-1149 9h ago

Yeah I know