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The MAGA phenomenon has never been about economics

Rogue Valley

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The MAGA phenomenon has never been about economics

229035

3/5/21
Republicans like to bill themselves as a “working-class” party. But just as their refusal to take seriously the real threat behind the deaths and injuries of law enforcement personnel on Jan. 6 strips them of the pretense of being “pro police” or defenders of “law and order,” so too does their economic agenda dispense with the fiction that they are attuned to the interests of working- and middle-class Americans. The New York Times gives the GOP too much credit when it declares that “Republicans have offered very little to advance the economic interests of blue-collar workers.” The phrase “offered very little” suggests they have been trying but just haven’t managed to come up with something. Let’s review: Republicans backed a tax cut under the last administration that primarily benefited the rich and corporations; attempted to strip health-care coverage from tens of millions of Americans by repealing the Affordable Care Act; and insisted that front-line workers, the elderly and others prioritize the “economy” (i.e. the stock market) over their own health while downplaying the pandemic that has disproportionately affected lower-wage workers. (examples include rolling back labor regulations to deprive millions of workers of overtime pay.) It is not simply that Republicans have fallen short; they have acted in ways directly contrary to the interests of those they claim to represent.

Since President Biden’s inauguration, Republicans have picked up where they left off. They opposed giving middle- and lower-class workers $1,400 checks, raising the unemployment subsidy, providing millions with food subsidies, and supporting states and localities that employ police, firefighters, teachers and other middle and working-class employees. Pretending that Republicans actually mean what they say — the party of the working class! — has proven a trap for mainstream media, affording Republicans the presumption of good faith they have not earned. And let us be clear: The MAGA phenomenon was never about economic dislocation. The Republican Party has never represented the interests of working-class American. What is the GOP’s “agenda” now? Voter suppression to deter minorities from voting, angry memes that tell the base that elites have contempt for them and Jan. 6 denial. None of this has to do with working-class “interests.” It is about white supremacy. The media should stop acting surprised when the GOP’s populist results are negligible. Republicans use White grievance to rile their base while pursuing economic interests that benefit the wealthy donor class. It is not an anomaly; it is standard operating procedure for the party of White grievance.


They don't even try to hide their "working-class" hypocrisy anymore. Republicans represent the wealthy, corporations, and segregationist whites longing for a return to Jim Crow America.

Right now in Washington Republicans are voting against stimulus checks, funding for vaccine's, funding for COVID tests, school reopenings, small businesses, and unemployment checks for millions of jobless Americans.

They'll fly to sunny Cancun while their constituents are without heat, electricity, and water. They don't even try to hide their elitist agenda anymore.
 
republicans see the corporations as the "economic military" that holds the country up in the world war against the other nations

democrats tend look at the wellbeing of the people a bit more, and see the people as the foundation of the country
 
republicans see the corporations as the "economic military" that holds the country up in the world war against the other nations

democrats tend look at the wellbeing of the people a bit more, and see the people as the foundation of the country
What you are saying is basically that the GOP believes in supply side economics, i.e., trickle down, and Dems believe in demand side. The GOP has been pushing supply side especially hard since Reagan and it has failed. That is because we are a consumer dominated economy and have been since WWII. A good example of why supply side does not work is the Ford Edsel. It was built and well advertised, but since there was no consumer demand, it was a loser.
 
Of course MAGA was never about economics. It was always about promoting fascism, racism and hatred, and a modern day wealth aristocracy all masquerading as nationalism.

In other shocking news, ice is still cold today.
 
What you are saying is basically that the GOP believes in supply side economics, i.e., trickle down, and Dems believe in demand side. The GOP has been pushing supply side especially hard since Reagan and it has failed. That is because we are a consumer dominated economy and have been since WWII. A good example of why supply side does not work is the Ford Edsel. It was built and well advertised, but since there was no consumer demand, it was a loser.


That's it. I have owned businesses. You could have given me a check for $10k, but unless my phone rang, I'm not hiring more people. Give my customers more disposable income, and my phone would ring a lot more, and then I would take a loan for that much to invest in more equipment, payroll, hiring more people, etc. , I wouldn't need a hand out and or wait around for a tax break.

Demand economics, giving the working class more disposable income is the engine of economic growth, and then the rich will respond but if there is no demand, they'll take that money and buy back their outstanding stocks, and that's about it.
 
Politics and economics are intertwined in the United States of America. 'MAGA' was, and for some still is, a rallying cry. It played to the discontent with the present as compared to the past* felt by many Americans. Unfortunately, those who expected the administration of Mr. Donald Trump to materially improve their status were disappointed. The re-distribution of wealth to the top percent level, unabated since the presidency of Mr. Ronald Reagan, continued apace, whether the Oval Office was occupied by a Republican or a Democrat, white or black.

At present, the best hope for Joe Six-pack is that from the current turmoil in both political parties, something will emerge which speaks to those who are Pro-Trump lite [Bona fide racists, white supremacists and homophobes will not change,] and those who are centrists or leftist lite's. The alternative is continuing gridlock, continuing upward re-distribution of wealth and continuing attacks on access to the ballot box and on unions.

Regards, stay safe 'n well.

* That past was seen, perhaps, through rose-colored glasses.
 
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That's it. I have owned businesses. You could have given me a check for $10k, but unless my phone rang, I'm not hiring more people. Give my customers more disposable income, and my phone would ring a lot more, and then I would take a loan for that much to invest in more equipment, payroll, hiring more people, etc. , I wouldn't need a hand out and or wait around for a tax break.

Demand economics, giving the working class more disposable income is the engine of economic growth, and then the rich will respond but if there is no demand, they'll take that money and buy back their outstanding stocks, and that's about it.

Republicans said give the money to business, they'll use it to increase wages and hire people. Democrats said they'd not use it to increase wages or hire people, but for executive bonuses and stock buybacks.

Republicans had the votes and gave it to business. Business did not use it to increase wages or hire people, but for executive bonuses and stock buybacks. I suspect that's part of why billionaires' wealth has skyrocketed over a third during the pandemic during the historic economic downturn.
 
I thought the MAGA movement was all about making America great again. And if minorities and legal immigrants came along for the ride that was great too. Then the Chinese virus hit us and everything went down the crapper. Those were bad times but we're over it now.
 
Republicans said give the money to business, they'll use it to increase wages and hire people. Democrats said they'd not use it to increase wages or hire people, but for executive bonuses and stock buybacks.

Republicans had the votes and gave it to business. Business did not use it to increase wages or hire people, but for executive bonuses and stock buybacks. I suspect that's part of why billionaires' wealth has skyrocketed over a third during the pandemic during the historic economic downturn.

There has been a shift in capitalism in recent decades toward transactions which do not increase material wealth [manufacturing] but rather changes the pockets in which existing wealth resides. The beneficiaries have been people other than those in the middle and lower classes.

Regards, stay safe 'n well.
 
Of course MAGA was never about economics. It was always about promoting fascism, racism and hatred, and a modern day wealth aristocracy all masquerading as nationalism.

In other shocking news, ice is still cold today.
I think with respect to Trump, there were clear elements of fascism in his message, and it seems he tried to create division. Mussolini wanted to make Italy great again, and Hitler was famously picture as a Teutonic knight. But those who *received* Trump's message were like those who received Rush Limbaugh's message, summarized in his theme music, "My City is Gone." I believe that there was/is a longing by those recipients for a not well identified time in the past before uppity women, blacks, environmentalists, a new wave of immigrants etc., created a sense of loss, expressed also by Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham mourning changes in our demographics from immigration, or Michael Savage objecting to being told "press one for English." Trump brilliantly and shamefully tapped into that sense of loss.
 
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