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Comment by Kapura

5 days ago

This is the republican endgame: destroy anything of public value, privately capture all organs of a functioning state and divide them up for profit.

Meanwhile, Dems pissed away billions trying and failing to build things like high speed rail, rural broadband, and EV charging network. Somebody needs to figure out a way to make this stuff work.

  • Every example you have was blocked or disrupted by Republicans. And yet you're blaming Democrats for failing? What, exactly, are they supposed to do?

  • HSR is getting built; the USD successfully connected rural areas, though I agree that was pointless; EV charger build out is accelerating despite funds being illegally yanked back.

  • The thing is at least this are all good things that I want, and other people want.

    Meanwhile, the Republicans are actively making things worse, on purpose, and we're saving... let me just check here... oh, -2 Trillion dollars.

    Wow, what a steal! You're telling me I get less AND I pay more? Great!

  • They did. It was called DirectFile, and it was working great with overwhelmingly positive reviews.

  • These are all good aims, though. Everything in your list is a net positive for the country. Some problems are hard, though.

You could elect Democrats and it would be just as crappy. They'd just talk nicer to you.

  • They're usually better for the deficit (yes, really, if you just looked at the data and not rhetoric Republicans are who you'd vote for if you wanted to make the deficit worse) and sometimes do stuff like effective consumer protection enforcement, do a lot less of things like trying to sell off public land to extractive industries, haven't tried to use the civil service as a captured partisan tool & loyalist-reward program since like the 19th century, and occasionally get us at least baby-steps in the right direction like this now-removed direct filing program and the ACA (god knows what they might accomplish if those baby steps didn't keep getting completely wiped out every few years, perhaps they'd move beyond that! But I guess we'll never know because we keep electing Republicans)

  • Except when we DID elect Democrats we got the free Direct File tax service. so no, it's not "just as crappy"

  • >> You could elect Democrats and it would be just as crappy.

    Crappy for different reasons though. This tax filing thing was implemented on their watch, so they would not be the ones to dismantle it. Somehow we seem to get the worst ideas from both parties rather than the best.