A thread of optimism: why do you think Trump will win in 2020?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I did not and cannot judge any particular person. What I do notice is that independent boomers in my workplace seem to appreciate the labor market we have and the significant 401k increase they have seen since 2016.

Whether they will vote against their interests is to be seen.

FYI - 50% of Americans have no investment in the stock market - not even in mutual funds or a 401k. If they ever start voting their interest things will be markedly different, that's for sure.

Presumably the other 50% who have investments in the market are not all voting for Trump: the point that I am making is that there are other factors that come into play in how people decide to vote whether Republican or Democrat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I did not and cannot judge any particular person. What I do notice is that independent boomers in my workplace seem to appreciate the labor market we have and the significant 401k increase they have seen since 2016.

Whether they will vote against their interests is to be seen.

FYI - 50% of Americans have no investment in the stock market - not even in mutual funds or a 401k. If they ever start voting their interest things will be markedly different, that's for sure.

FYI - 50% of Americans do have investments in the stock market. And 80% of those employed work in the private sector. If they ever start voting their interest things will be markedly different, that's for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I did not and cannot judge any particular person. What I do notice is that independent boomers in my workplace seem to appreciate the labor market we have and the significant 401k increase they have seen since 2016.

Whether they will vote against their interests is to be seen.

FYI - 50% of Americans have no investment in the stock market - not even in mutual funds or a 401k. If they ever start voting their interest things will be markedly different, that's for sure.

Presumably the other 50% who have investments in the market are not all voting for Trump: the point that I am making is that there are other factors that come into play in how people decide to vote whether Republican or Democrat.

That was my post and I agree with you.

I actually don't peg the economy to a President's performance - the 2008 crash was put into motion long before Bush took office. I think Obama deserves credit for piloting us through that, but I think Obama did what most any leader would have done at that point. The prosperity we are seeing now is the continuation of the upswing that started during the last administration. That doesn't mean I think Trump has done nothing to help it, but it's not like a switch flipped - there have been ups and downs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Holy crap, how can you tell? I didn't say anything about being a first generation immigrant. Is my English that terrible? As a matter of fact, yes I do believe that being from another country has influenced my support for Trump. Our liberal friends will find this observation incredulous but Trump reflects the traditional image of an America that values strength as a virtue and taking pride in a job well done. He has governed in the past two years by always putting the interests of America first, which is such a basic principle that for it to be somehow construed as a faulty view point by his political opponents underlines just how much the US needs to regain its sense of purpose and direction. Competition among the nations of the world is good, it is to be encouraged, and healthy - so long as everyone is competing using the same set of rules. And that brings me to the other side of the coin: I come from a country that had a failed attempt at a Marxist society, so I see the current attempt by progressives in the US to do the same as utter foolishness. The principles of classical liberalism has served the US well, and even as we adopt more socially liberal policies due to the natural progression of culture, there are certain bedrock principles that will bring the destruction of our democracy if we choose to erode them: the protection of civil liberties under the rule of law.

DP: Your English is very good! Previous PP must work for the CIA or something like that

Btw, where exactly are you from, if you don't mind? You don't sound Eastern European to me but that's the most likely "Marxist society" reference.

The PP had me pegged based on, what, three sentences? I am amazed and impressed. I hope to have read something the PP wrote. I have a lot of respect for people who are masters at their craft. Amazing.

I was originally from China. My grand parents were evil capitalists who owned printing factories, which I guess was the worst kind of capitalism. They had their factories first regulated on what they could print, then confiscated and nationalized in the name of socialism. You know what's sad is that my grandma was so scared that she didn't even dare to tell me anything about our history. On the rare occasion when my mom would slip and say something, my grandma would shush her because it was dangerous to have fond memories of the past prior to socialism. Socialism stole my family's livelihood, our freedom, and even our history. It is cruel and evil.

I am the PP writer - cruel and evil seems like a vast understatement for what your family went through.

Just, for whatever it's worth - I loathe Trump but am a capitalist. I lean toward libertarian/liberal. We used to (jokingly) be called liberalatarians, and now I guess we get disparagingly called neoliberals. I do want some things that I think anti-socialists fear - government healthcare available to all, for example - but I do not want to do away with our capitalist system overall. I think it's the best of our imperfect choices. The most opportunity, the most freedom, the most safety. (Largely) free markets and freely available healthcare. I guess that would be my overall platform. I think immigrants make our society stronger, that we want to cultivate businesses, and protection of the environment is critical.

Anyway, thank you for your response. More than you could know, and probably more than is really mentally healthy, it's given me a bit of hope to be able to have a friendly back and forth with someone on this board like this.

Immigrant PP here, I've also enjoyed our exchange. Cheers!

[Anonymous]

FYI, we all love legal immigrants, and our borders must be protected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI, we all love legal immigrants, and our borders must be protected.

+1.

And, it is perfectly rational to consider a merit-based system, like Canada has.

Our current "system" is pure nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are better today than in 2016, and hopefully a majority of Americans realize that.

What do you think? Is it a done deal that Trump will win again and be able to deliver 8 years of peace and prosperity?

-- higher budget deficits
-- higher trade deficits
-- greater income inequality

Just great friend!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, we all love legal immigrants, and our borders must be protected.

+1.

And, it is perfectly rational to consider a merit-based system, like Canada has.

Our current "system" is pure nonsense.

Does this include Melania's parents becoming US citizens due to chain immigration? Or Trump using illegals at his properties?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, we all love legal immigrants, and our borders must be protected.

+1.

And, it is perfectly rational to consider a merit-based system, like Canada has.

Our current "system" is pure nonsense.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, we all love legal immigrants, and our borders must be protected.

+1.

And, it is perfectly rational to consider a merit-based system, like Canada has.

Our current "system" is pure nonsense.

Does this include Melania's parents becoming US citizens due to chain immigration? Or Trump using illegals at his properties?

Is it that hard for you to hold an intelligent conversation that you need to retort to such dumb and irrelevant attacks?

Should the US adopt a more merit-based system like Canada's, Yes or No?

[Anonymous]

The reality is that the Democrats have no desire to resolve the challenges relating to immigration.

They think it would be politically advantageous to let it fester and use it against the Republicans. If they really wanted to come up with legislation they could have done so in 2009 when they had commanding leads in the Senate and the House as well as the presidency. They did nothing and the Hispanic lobby was very upset at the time that nothing was done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that the Democrats have no desire to resolve the challenges relating to immigration.

They think it would be politically advantageous to let it fester and use it against the Republicans. If they really wanted to come up with legislation they could have done so in 2009 when they had commanding leads in the Senate and the House as well as the presidency. They did nothing and the Hispanic lobby was very upset at the time that nothing was done.

I ask this sincerely, though I understand it sounds like snark: Do you remember in 2016 when Republicans were in charge of the WH, the House, and the Senate? Why do you think it is that they did not engage in a good faith, substantive effort to overhaul the immigration system then?

I'm not asking you why you don't like Democrats. I am asking why you think Republicans declined the opportunity to take up this effort when they had the ability to do it.

[Anonymous]

Because of the economy. People want jobs and money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that the Democrats have no desire to resolve the challenges relating to immigration.

They think it would be politically advantageous to let it fester and use it against the Republicans. If they really wanted to come up with legislation they could have done so in 2009 when they had commanding leads in the Senate and the House as well as the presidency. They did nothing and the Hispanic lobby was very upset at the time that nothing was done.

+1.

This is exactly how Dems lost this (legal) immigrant. They lied to us, ignored us, deported our relatives and friends .... and NOW that they are out of power they lie again to win our votes.

I trust a donkey before any Dem politician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that the Democrats have no desire to resolve the challenges relating to immigration.

They think it would be politically advantageous to let it fester and use it against the Republicans. If they really wanted to come up with legislation they could have done so in 2009 when they had commanding leads in the Senate and the House as well as the presidency. They did nothing and the Hispanic lobby was very upset at the time that nothing was done.

I ask this sincerely, though I understand it sounds like snark: Do you remember in 2016 when Republicans were in charge of the WH, the House, and the Senate? Why do you think it is that they did not engage in a good faith, substantive effort to overhaul the immigration system then?

I'm not asking you why you don't like Democrats. I am asking why you think Republicans declined the opportunity to take up this effort when they had the ability to do it.

Because that was NOT one of their campaign promises. They promised tax reform....and delivered it. They promised a conservative in the SC...and delivered it.

Obama promised immigration reform in his first year....and he didn't deliver it.

Actually he didn't even move a finger until he had lost both the Senate and the House so it was obvious he couldn't do anything serious and lasting.