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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#285201: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:25:33 AM

The point stands that it's very much an uphill battle for a progressive candidate to win an election in races that heavily lean Red. Though not necessarily impossible.

I'm of the opinion that it's worth trying. If only to make complacent Republicans nervous in their "safe" seats.

I'd rather make them lose their seats, personally.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 18th 2019 at 6:27:00 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#285202: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:30:22 AM

Well, yes. I should clarify that I mean it'd be worth trying if a moderate candidate with a better chance of actually flipping the seat isn't running already.

Disgusted, but not surprised
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#285203: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:34:11 AM

it'd take a miracle for a progressive candidate to win a state like WV, let's be perfectly honest.

i'm tired, my friend
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#285204: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:38:53 AM

Progressive candidates have better chances than many people believe. The problem is they are locked out of airtime and voting is hard for those who survive paycheck to paycheck.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#285205: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:40:30 AM

...sooo they don't have good chances.

i'm tired, my friend
KazuyaProta Shin Megami Tensei IV from A Industrial Farm Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Shin Megami Tensei IV
#285206: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:42:15 AM

So. Someone here actually said that is better to make Republicans feel anxious rather than actually winning against them.

Eh...Doubt

Edited by KazuyaProta on Jul 18th 2019 at 7:43:19 AM

Watch me destroying my country
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#285207: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:47:47 AM

The problem is when you "elect" people like Manchin, almost nothing changes.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#285208: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:54:30 AM

[up][up]Yeah, I had to clarify that this is only if there is not someone with a better chance of flipping the seat running already.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#285209: Jul 18th 2019 at 5:58:13 AM

I'd rather have a more liberal Democrat than Manchin. I'd rather have Manchin than a Republican. There are degrees of success.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#285210: Jul 18th 2019 at 6:08:01 AM

And it'd be very difficult for any Democrat, even a Manchin, to stack with Evil Turtle. Elections are between at least two candidates, it's not a matter of "good" or "bad" but of "better" or "worse".

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#285211: Jul 18th 2019 at 6:18:01 AM

Warren has a new plan. This time, she’s coming for Wall Street and oh my god it is GLORIOUS.

Private equity firms raise money from investors, kick in a little of their own, and then borrow tons more to buy other companies. Sometimes the companies do well. But far too often, the private equity firms are like vampires — bleeding the company dry and walking away enriched even as the company succumbs.

Washington has done little to rein these firms in or to ensure that their incentives align with the best interests of the economy. As a result, the firms can use all sorts of tricks to get rich even if the companies they buy fail. Once they buy a company, they transfer the responsibility for repaying the debt they took on to the company that they just bought. Because they control the company, they can transfer money to themselves by charging high “management” and “consulting” fees, issuing generous dividends, and selling off assets like real estate for short-term gain. And they slash costs, fire workers, and gut long-term investments to free up more money to pay themselves.

When companies buckle under the weight of these tactics, their workers, small business suppliers, bondholders, and the communities they serve are left holding the bag. But the managers can just walk away rich and move on to their next victim.

These firms are gobbling up more and more of the economy. They own companies that employ almost 6 million people. They own the nation’s second-largest nursing home operator, the largest single-family rental landlord, the second-largest grocery store chain, and one of the nation’s largest payday lenders. But some of the hardest-hit industries are retail and local news.

Consider Shop Ko, a discount retailer founded in 1961. By the end of 2005, it had more than 350 stores. Then, the private equity firm Sun Capital took over, loading Shopko up with more than a billion dollars of debt. Sun Capital soon forced Shopko to sell one of its most valuable assets — its real estate — requiring the company to lease back its own stores. Sun Capital made Shop Ko pay it a $50 million dividend and quarterly consulting fees of $1 million. It made Shopko pay an additional 1% consulting fee on certain transactions — which meant the company had to pay Sun Capital an extra $500,000 fee for the honor of paying it that $50 million dividend.

When the company finally crumbled and filed for bankruptcy, hundreds of workers lost their jobs and didn’t even receive the severance pay they had earned through their work. But Sun Capital walked away with a juicy profit. The Shopko story isn’t unique. A study found private equity-owned firms accounted for 61% of the retail jobs lost and planned for elimination in 2016 and 2017. That has hurt communities across the country — particularly communities of color that disproportionately rely on retail jobs.

Private equity is also wiping out local and regional newspapers with the same playbook: buying papers for cheap, slashing the staff to cut costs, and bleeding the company with fees and dividends. When the papers fail, members of the press lose their jobs and communities lose valuable sources of local news coverage. Take the story of the Denver Post — a 127-year old Pulitzer prize-winning newspaper. A private equity firm named Alden Global Capital owns Digital First Media, which bought the Post and owns nearly 100 other local and regional newspapers. Alden slashed the Post’s staff to less than a third of what it used to be, leaving the remaining reporters stretched thin covering a region of almost 3 million people. That’s been bad for the press and for the residents of the Denver area, but it’s been great for Alden’s bottom line. In total, Alden-owned papers have cut newsroom staff twice as much as the industry average, while making a $160 million profit.

Let’s call this what it is: legalized looting — looting that makes a handful of Wall Street managers very rich while costing thousands of people their jobs, putting valuable companies out of business, and hurting communities across the country.

My plan would transform the private equity industry and end this looting with a comprehensive set of legal changes, including:

  • Putting private equity firms on the hook for the debts of companies they buy, making them responsible for the downside of their investments so that they only make money if the companies they control flourish.

  • Holding private equity firms responsible for certain pension obligations of the companies they buy, so that workers have a better shot of getting the retirement funds they earned.

  • Eliminating the ability of private equity firms to pay themselves huge monitoring fees and limiting their ability to pay out dividends to line their own pockets.

  • Changing the tax rules so that private equity firms don’t get sweetheart tax rates on all the debt they put on the companies they buy.

  • Modifying bankruptcy rules so that when companies go bust, workers have a better shot at getting pay and benefits and executives can’t pocket special bonuses.

  • Preventing lenders and investment managers from making reckless loans to private equity-owned companies already swimming in debt and then passing along the danger to the market by requiring them to retain some of the risk.

  • Empowering investors like pension funds with better information about the performance and effects of private equity investments and preventing private equity funds from requiring investors to waive their fiduciary obligations.

  • Closing the carried interest loophole that lets firm managers pay ultra-low tax rates on the money they loot.

These changes would shrink the sector and push the remaining private equity firms to make investments that help companies rather than stripping them down for parts. Firms that make bad investments would be held accountable instead of walking away from the wreckage with millions in fees and payouts. My plan would stop one of the main sources of Wall Street looting.

So, so many stores going under are victims of private equity looting. Toys R Us and many more. And her plan is so intuitive- of course you should be liable for debts of companies you buy! Of course you shouldn’t be able to pay yourself massive fees that bleed the company!

Prediction: tantrum from finance in 3, 2, 1...

Edited by wisewillow on Jul 18th 2019 at 6:20:15 AM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#285212: Jul 18th 2019 at 7:07:54 AM

See, this is why I want Warren to win. It's so obvious. Sanders yells, "Wall Street BAD. Get off my lawn!" Warren has a detailed plan.

Edited by Fighteer on Jul 18th 2019 at 10:08:25 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#285213: Jul 18th 2019 at 7:13:01 AM

The problem is when you "elect" people like Manchin, almost nothing changes.

"Almost" nothing is better than "literally" nothing.

And "better" is good. It's a damn sight better than "worse".

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 18th 2019 at 8:13:31 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#285214: Jul 18th 2019 at 7:19:03 AM

We really need to emphasize a "first, do no harm" doctrine for politics. Don't intentionally make a political situation worse, even if it's to serve a long-term goal of making things better.

The main reason for this is that there's no guarantee you'll get to that second step.

Edited by Fighteer on Jul 18th 2019 at 10:22:08 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#285215: Jul 18th 2019 at 7:30:30 AM

[up][up][up][up]

So she wants to go after what one of our politicians once fondly called "locusts"?

Good.

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#285216: Jul 18th 2019 at 7:32:26 AM

She's been pretty consistent about going after Wall Street.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#285217: Jul 18th 2019 at 7:42:42 AM

Out of all the high tier candidates (and probably out all of them), Warren's domestic platform is the best. Realistic, thought out and progressive. Her foreign policy is ok, but I suspect that it would be pre-Trump status quo in effect.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#285218: Jul 18th 2019 at 7:47:51 AM

[up] I know it may sound cliche to say, but we really do need to fix our shit domestically right now. Our foreign influence is important, but unless there's a country to project it from, it's just so much bunting draping forlornly from an abandoned convention hall.

Edited by Fighteer on Jul 18th 2019 at 10:48:15 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#285219: Jul 18th 2019 at 8:07:31 AM

Which is why I'm coming around to Warren, domestic focus while being unable/unwilling (mostly the latter) to go into some form of retreat or isolation is the best you can get right now.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#285220: Jul 18th 2019 at 8:08:20 AM

I've already come around to Warren despite my continued misgivings about her.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#285221: Jul 18th 2019 at 8:33:59 AM

Out of all the high tier candidates (and probably out all of them), Warren's domestic platform is the best. Realistic, thought out and progressive. Her foreign policy is ok, but I suspect that it would be pre-Trump status quo in effect.

She supports a large expansion of the state department so I absolutely wouldn't say it's a return to the pre-Trump status quo.

Sure, it won't be a dramatic change but giving the Federal government stronger soft power tools will certainly have an impact.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#285222: Jul 18th 2019 at 8:49:13 AM

I still love that she pointed out admins from both parties have been screwing up diplomacy by appointing donors instead of actual, y’know, diplomats who know the country and its history/culture/language.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#285223: Jul 18th 2019 at 8:54:41 AM

Indeed, it really shows her attention to detail and willingness to challenge practices that have been accepted as norms but are not something we should tolerate.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#285224: Jul 18th 2019 at 8:58:41 AM

State has been overdue for a rebuilding for a very long time.

Interestingly, State and Do D actually have a pretty tight relationship behind the scenes. Voters might see it as taking money from the military, but the actual military might not feel that way.

They should have sent a poet.
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#285225: Jul 18th 2019 at 9:01:22 AM

I think her approach to foreign policy is laudable. It'll take years to build the state department's savvy up. And, until their manpower is ticking along, it's dumb to bumrush the foreign policy.

Well, it's also going to be a few years of hampers and flowers, too, so... Slowly, slowly build the building, or have it collapse about your head. tongue

Edited by Euodiachloris on Jul 18th 2019 at 5:02:27 PM


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