Message from @wahx
Discord ID: 497918052927799296
I don't like PragerU mostly due to their lack of introspection. Rarely in their videos do I hear "We believe this to be the case" or "although there is the possibility that" which is a huge red flag, lack of self awareness and critical thinking. They seem to think very strongly about things which I generally associate with stubbornness and stupidity. The geniuses I have met are confident, but constantly addressing nuances in issues rather than painting things as easy or obvious.
idk, I'm willing to have my mind changed about them though
If there's a few good videos I missed
if I can find it, it pertains specifically to this, i will dm it to you
It doesn't feel like they're exploring issues so much as just showing someone one perspective as though it's true
and these issues are far too complicated for that kind of reduction
obviously there are pros and cons to a large government, those nuances need to be explored not minimized
yeah send err
I don't believe as much that big governments are good, at least for the basis of america
for other countries it may be seen s better but with Americans the spirit, as we brits learned, don't like big government or excessive taxes
Americans have always resisted big government and excessive taxes, that's true. But tradition does not equal goodness, kindness, efficiency, or worth in any sense. But it does mean it should be considered seriously.
Traditions may exist for a reason, that reason should be examined. In the case of taxes, I can see the point that high taxes feel very disconnected from social improvement, because of the distance states feel from the government due to the size of america
But I don't think we should have higher taxes, really
I think the rich should have higher taxes.
The ultra rich mind you.
I guess that gets at what I think is the biggest problem of our time: wealth inequality.
though it has been tried, and enforced during a rather important time. The Great Depression, an awfully large government was in place to help make things better. And it did but with very little efficiency. As well as other places it has been done to an even greater extent and only proven the american Idea or at least supported it. Such as communism, an awfully big government coming with excess in just about every facet of it's income. And tyranny coming with it
and if I could just say something about wealth ineqaulity
Yeah implementations of communism have been disastrous, I agree.
For sure dude say everything you want to say.
Wealth Inequality is a large problem, but not near as big or as seen as portrayed. With the system in place in the United States it is a system of wealth growth and unequal wealth rather than under larger governments, at least in tendency, unequal or equal amounts of poverty
Sorry can you elaborate on that second sentence it confuses me
But basically you're saying it's not affecting us very badly
of course
and dudette
what do you make of this graph
With the economic system in the United States and slight decrease in size of government and decrease in taxes alongside national debt, the United States has people living in poverty growing to better living state. Even if they continue to live in poverty, they are going up in income and living quality. This is true for all three of the economic classes in the united states and other countries though rarer in other countries. It is an odd saying but if I need to clarify further please ask. Unequal wealth
You're right, standards continue to go up, standards going up is a good thing right?
correct
To me that feels at odds with this graph. Our standards go up enough so that the poverty level is roughly the same, but the wealthy now own vastly more wealth
If we cared about the standards improving, shouldn't we be frustrated that those standards are held back by the ultra rich?
Wouldn't we all, on average, have better lives if we had just some of what the 1% is making?
here's another way of looking at it
Our total wealth is growing nicely, but the average household is not seeing it
I'm a little curious, you got any graphs that are actually in date
that go to 2018? The census for this decade is underway, and has not been finished yet. I figured 2011-2015 were decent end dates
I can try, but we can see very broad trends fairly easily
Unless you think obama really turned things around...? lol
yes, though it would impede on the individuals at the top. As well as, in the United States, people like Trump give away that wealth on their own terms to make things better, Trump himself didn't necessarily give it away to homeless but gave his wealth (a portion) to improve the lesser. And the bottom though offers many very basic ways to increase in economic wealth, the previous system and current system of government support allows those that are on government aid to stay there and live fine. Which is why Trump pushed for food stamps to rather be care packages of food that was healthy and required them to prove work to stay on government aid
eh, we'll hold off onto it. Hey you know I know you say you're not big with the labels