• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Recent content by vanceen

  1. V

    Most Trump tariffs ruled illegal in blow to White House trade policy

    Agree. I expect the Supreme Court to uphold this ruling.
  2. V

    US GDP grows 3.3% but in reality is in recession/decline

    It's actually two quarters of negative growth, or contraction. That may be what you meant, but "declining growth" can be understood to mean slow growth instead of contraction, which is of course very different. A poster made that mistake on this board not too long ago.
  3. V

    Trump, DOJ and FBI incompetence on full display wirh latest school shooting.

    There was a time in the past when diagnoses were abused in order to put away people whose families found them inconvenient. And in many cases it could be done on the say-so of a family member. We have properly reacted against such arbitrary abuses. But I think we've gone too far. I've had...
  4. V

    Democrats threaten charges for troops who commit crimes at Trump’s direction

    On the face of it, the statement is completely unexceptional. National Guard and military personnel know that if they break the law, or even knowingly obey unlawful orders, they are subject to prosecution. This is not something new. If they break the law, they are subject to prosecution...
  5. V

    A thread addressed to people who think, "we need to cut spending, because of the huge debt"

    Look at the graph you posted regarding spending. The scale is very large, so it minimizes the post-1960 change. Notice that it rises above 20% about 1975, and continues with one short respite until today. I pointed out before that the top 400 families is not a meaningful or relevant comparator...
  6. V

    A thread addressed to people who think, "we need to cut spending, because of the huge debt"

    That shows exactly what I stated. Revenues have remained about 20% of GDP, while spending has risen above 20% of GDP for most of the time since about 1975.
  7. V

    A thread addressed to people who think, "we need to cut spending, because of the huge debt"

    Irrelevant, as pointed out above. The top 400 richest people aren't going to solve our revenue problems. They benefit from the ability to live on loans and capital gains, and I would like to see reforms that at least bring capital gains in line with regular income in their category. The top 1%...
  8. V

    A thread addressed to people who think, "we need to cut spending, because of the huge debt"

    Government tax revenues as a percentage of GDP has been about the same since the late 1950's, regardless of the very high top marginal rates that existed for part of that period (which affected almost nobody and did not significantly change the revenue as % of income figure). The budget deficit...
  9. V

    Billionaires pay a lower tax rate than the rest of America's taxpayers, new study finds

    The amount of wealth someone holds does not influence their income tax. There is no "of course" linking 3% wealth with 0% income tax. It's a non sequitur. Income tax is a tax on income, not wealth. Talking about the income tax that "billionaires" (in wealth) pay has no direct bearing on the...
  10. V

    New Teachers’ Certification Sparks Outrage

    It is far from obvious the test is measuring viewpoint. What I've said was based on the assumption that it is knowledge that is being tested. If it is in fact a measure of viewpoint, I can see that there would be a 1st amendment problem.
  11. V

    New Teachers’ Certification Sparks Outrage

    I think @Artymoon is probably right. There is nothing wrong with asking teachers to take such a test. And asking an applicant to take a test does not, in iteself, amount to facial discrimination. Except, perhaps, because of the fact that the test is being applied to teachers from some states...
  12. V

    Was the 1st Amendment a mistake?

    Yes, it is. Racist speech is wrong, but it's covered under free speech. The 1st Amendment doesn't only apply to speech we think is OK. That's the beauty of it.
  13. V

    Trump says federal crime crackdown will target Chicago next

    I'm pretty skeptical that sending in military forces is going to be an effective way to reduce gang violence, which appears to be the principle homicide problem in Chicago. It's high profile, and perhaps politically expedient for Trump. Not crazy about this move at all.
  14. V

    Trump says federal crime crackdown will target Chicago next

    No. That came with the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
  15. V

    Critical Race Theory: The Media is Ignoring Black People's Opinion On This

    The primary defense for CRT has always been "you don't understand what it is". Which deflects from any discussion of its merits or flaws.
See more
Back
Top Bottom