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u/Taltherien 22h ago
There are about 4 blocks, both sides, of protesters out in St. Joseph today. It's always a bit interesting here in the the SW corner because there's a pretty solid mix of old-school Republicans {Fred Upton (R) was our rep for nearly 30 years and he's one of the few Rs that voted to impeach during Pres. Trump's first term}, MAGA, Chicago-transplant liberals, union dems, and the democractic base of cities like Benton Harbor.
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u/jeffinbville 19h ago
And, Columbia Township which is so red Crayola had to rename their crayon something else.
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u/Top-dog68 20h ago
Protested in gaylord today. Glad to take a stand, as little as I did, I did something.
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u/Mayaanalia 19h ago
You are amazing, thanks so much for standing up for our country the way our founding fathers meant us to. This is more than a protest, it is our civic obligation to ensure justice for all.
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u/Frantic_Fanatic13 4h ago
I was downtown yesterday for work and was able to watch it. I was happy to see how many people came out, but even more so the positive reaction by the public. sure there were assholes rolling coal but a lot of people waving, and giving a thumbs up. One dude drove through blaring “American idiot” getting people pumped lol. Also, people weren’t inhibiting traffic AND they left parking for the businesses. Good job!
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u/The1Zenith 21h ago
I came to the post hoping for pawpaw fruits. 🥺
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u/Shapacap 20h ago
I'm trying to find a tree I can buy
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u/The1Zenith 20h ago
I went to horticultural event in Genesee County years ago where they were giving out free young pawpaw trees. I think it was through MSU agricultural extension. Try giving them a holler.
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22h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Michigan-ModTeam 22h ago
Removed per rule 2: Foul, rude, or disrespectful language will not be tolerated. This includes any type of name-calling, disparaging remarks against other users, and/or escalating a discussion into an argument.
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21h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Mayaanalia 19h ago
How do you propose we make this a better country?
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u/Vegetable-Cherry-853 13h ago
It's pretty obvious how to make this a better country. 1 Cut Pentagon by 25%, and stop supporting or fomenting endless wars overseas. Ukraine, I'm looking at you 2. Cut government spending at the federal level so it is 25% of GDP 3. Audit the Federal Reserve 4. Lower inflation by stopping QE or any other form of money printing or debt monetization 5. Remove NIMBY zoning so massive house building can be built so lower middle class can afford starter home There, I fixed the country
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u/Mayaanalia 12h ago
I really do appreciate this thorough response.
I can agree with at least part of #1, #3 and #5.
I also agree with cutting government spending through true efficiency gains (for example, probably most of the cutting of federal consulting contracts are probably effective at reducing cost without actually reducing value to the people). However, I would prefer to cut the deficit through a alternative minimum tax for people/companies who get too many tax breaks AND wealth tax for billionaires.
I think most of the money we give through Social Security and other direct welfare programs are 1) A moral good and 2) go directly back into American businesses because lower income people spend most of the money that they get on basic cost of living.
So if I were to name my top 5:
- Decrease income inequality through targeted taxation on the extremely rich (100x millionaires+), free university education for middle and working class students (maybe targeted towards STEM), free vocational training, minimum wage increases, better worker protection and more. Expand labor union protections to empower workers.
- Healthcare - Expand Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, create taskforce to create clear policy to END healthcare debt and unfair insurance claims denials.
- Shore up social security. No max income for social security deductions from wage (currently doesn't tax after a certain amount. ) Identify other ways to increase inflows.
- Reduce executive power for overreach for all future presidents.
- Remove most of the tarrifs, these are going to destroy the economy.
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u/Vegetable-Cherry-853 7h ago
University is free, at least at U of M for quite a few middle income students. Free tuition makes sense if those degrees actually help our economy. I do not believe that all education is worthwhile, as some do. I disagree that taxing the extremely rich will even make a difference. Our interest on our debt is now $882 billion per year. I think we would soon run out of billionaires after the first year or two And, the only way these billionaires could cough up the tax would be to sell their stocks, which would certainly depress the market even more and hurt union pensions and 401k plans. The only long term solution is to realize that all fiat currencies eventually self destruct, due to governments and citizens wanting more than they are willing to pay for. This debt bubble will pop, regardless of which party is in power.
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u/Mayaanalia 5h ago edited 5h ago
Yes, I think it would make sense to give free tuition to any student whose family makes less than 120k as long as the major that they choose is an economically beneficial one. This benefits both them and the wider economy. I would propose the free degrees go to stem, business, any other fields that are understaffed such as nursing and medicine. Most colleges are not currently free, and many middle and low-income students graduate with debt.
Most proposals for a federal wealth tax proposed only a 3% or some other small amount for the wealth above the threshold. So, they probably stay billionaires for a long time. And, a 3% sell off for only a few thousand individuals would not cause very much stock volatility. They do have millions in cash reserves. Also, if it doesn't work, the tax can be cut. I think it would certainly be worth trying.
Currently one of the biggest experiments on the American economy ever done is taking place with the tariffs, so if we are comfortable experimenting with that why not experiment with something that could be more impactful for wealth inequality?
And the idea that all fiat currencies will always collapse is questionable. If you look back far enough, every civilization collapses for a variety of reasons. There was a bronze age collapse, nothing to do with fiat currency, for example.
If our civilization collapses, I don't think it will be because of fiat currency, I think it will be the polarized political environment. Both sides are constantly being fed hateful partial-truths about each other, and they truly believe the other side is both immoral and stupid. This is not healthy.
Edit: Political polarization and wealth inequality both may cause our beautiful civilization to collapse. I think wealth inequality worsens polarization since working people feel their hope dying, and they blame that on whatever is top of mind. If they only had true opportunity, we might not have this political divide as it is today.
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u/Michigan-ModTeam 18h ago
Removed per rule 2: Foul, rude, or disrespectful language will not be tolerated. This includes any type of name-calling, disparaging remarks against other users, and/or escalating a discussion into an argument.
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u/First_Names_Only 21h ago
They‘re right outside of where I got my first pair of glasses.