nixluva wrote:
The Republicans simply had a better plan for taking over local governments. They know the right things to say to Rural and Religious constituents to get them to vote against their own best interests!!! They say things in a way that makes them sound beneficial when in fact they are not!!! They tap into racial fears and nationalist themes that they know a segment of the population believes in. With all of that the man just barely won the Electoral College based on less than 80,000 votes. He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 Million. Republicans should enjoy this last dance cuz they will not win another National Election with the direction of the nation's demographics.

This was a FLUKE. Those 80,000 voters that put Trump over the top are in for a rude awakening cuz a lot of those Rust Belt and Coal Mining Towns aren't coming back no matter what Trump promised!!! He lied to those people. All he did was what Republicans always do and that is say what the people want to hear but knowing they have no intention of actually delivering on all of the crap they say. The reason is that Republicans real clients are Big Business and the Rich. All this Populist propaganda made voters forget that the Republicans are backed by the Rich and Big Business. They don't give a F about the common people. Just like Trump didn't care before running for President.

and with the way the electoral college is set up - not everyone's votes count the same.

trump is going to double down on his rhetoric and lies. that won't surprise anyone. the issue here is he has the republican base in his hands and if the repubs challenge him directly, his tweets can destroy their voter base. the other issue is that the folks that voted him in (above middle to upper income white folks) will get tax cuts out of this and most likely already have healthcare through work - so what will effect most americans (in a negative way) will not effect them so they won't have immediate incentive to question him. the only opposition he will face will be the dems - which can help in some areas but can't do a damn thing in others.

djsunyc wrote:

nixluva wrote:
The Republicans simply had a better plan for taking over local governments. They know the right things to say to Rural and Religious constituents to get them to vote against their own best interests!!! They say things in a way that makes them sound beneficial when in fact they are not!!! They tap into racial fears and nationalist themes that they know a segment of the population believes in. With all of that the man just barely won the Electoral College based on less than 80,000 votes. He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 Million. Republicans should enjoy this last dance cuz they will not win another National Election with the direction of the nation's demographics.

This was a FLUKE. Those 80,000 voters that put Trump over the top are in for a rude awakening cuz a lot of those Rust Belt and Coal Mining Towns aren't coming back no matter what Trump promised!!! He lied to those people. All he did was what Republicans always do and that is say what the people want to hear but knowing they have no intention of actually delivering on all of the crap they say. The reason is that Republicans real clients are Big Business and the Rich. All this Populist propaganda made voters forget that the Republicans are backed by the Rich and Big Business. They don't give a F about the common people. Just like Trump didn't care before running for President.

and with the way the electoral college is set up - not everyone's votes count the same.

trump is going to double down on his rhetoric and lies. that won't surprise anyone. the issue here is he has the republican base in his hands and if the repubs challenge him directly, his tweets can destroy their voter base. the other issue is that the folks that voted him in (above middle to upper income white folks) will get tax cuts out of this and most likely already have healthcare through work - so what will effect most americans (in a negative way) will not effect them so they won't have immediate incentive to question him. the only opposition he will face will be the dems - which can help in some areas but can't do a damn thing in others.

The system is a joke now!!! You have States with almost no population that have the same level of representation as the most populous states. The Electoral College is outdated. Republicans did a very good but sinister job of Gerrymandering the districts so they can hold power.

In the end what Trump and the Republicans do now will probably anger enough voters to hurt them i the Midterms.

djsunyc wrote:

nixluva wrote:

djsunyc wrote:

nixluva wrote:
The Republicans simply had a better plan for taking over local governments. They know the right things to say to Rural and Religious constituents to get them to vote against their own best interests!!! They say things in a way that makes them sound beneficial when in fact they are not!!! They tap into racial fears and nationalist themes that they know a segment of the population believes in. With all of that the man just barely won the Electoral College based on less than 80,000 votes. He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 Million. Republicans should enjoy this last dance cuz they will not win another National Election with the direction of the nation's demographics.

This was a FLUKE. Those 80,000 voters that put Trump over the top are in for a rude awakening cuz a lot of those Rust Belt and Coal Mining Towns aren't coming back no matter what Trump promised!!! He lied to those people. All he did was what Republicans always do and that is say what the people want to hear but knowing they have no intention of actually delivering on all of the crap they say. The reason is that Republicans real clients are Big Business and the Rich. All this Populist propaganda made voters forget that the Republicans are backed by the Rich and Big Business. They don't give a F about the common people. Just like Trump didn't care before running for President.

and with the way the electoral college is set up - not everyone's votes count the same.

trump is going to double down on his rhetoric and lies. that won't surprise anyone. the issue here is he has the republican base in his hands and if the repubs challenge him directly, his tweets can destroy their voter base. the other issue is that the folks that voted him in (above middle to upper income white folks) will get tax cuts out of this and most likely already have healthcare through work - so what will effect most americans (in a negative way) will not effect them so they won't have immediate incentive to question him. the only opposition he will face will be the dems - which can help in some areas but can't do a damn thing in others.

The system is a joke now!!! You have States with almost no population that have the same level of representation as the most populous states. The Electoral College is outdated. Republicans did a very good but sinister job of Gerrymandering the districts so they can hold power.

In the end what Trump and the Republicans do now will probably anger enough voters to hurt them i the Midterms.

i think the determining factor for 2018 will be what happens with the ACA. if folks lose insurance after 2017, then repubs will be in trouble. if they come up with an almost identical replacement or something slightly better, then they won't lose any seats in 2018.

The Republicans sudden interest in healthcare is laughable!!! Before Obama passed the ACA they had ZERO interest in providing healthcare to everyone. ZERO!!! Also they've had 7 years to come up with a detailed plan to replace it and they have no idea what to do!

arkrud wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:So the rich win again...They managed to thrived after the economic down, near depression turn following the Bush administration.. The made tons of money in the stock market the last six years recovering to all time highs...They are the only ones benefiting from this economy...Now we elected a businessman in Trump who promises to cut their taxes and repatriate trillions of dollars that will go to stock buy backs and bonuses...Elimination of death tax will have the Trump kids salivating..The always manage to come up aces don't they...

We will watch as his supporters cheer this on...

When asked how will we know when America is great again?, Trump responded, I will tell you...

Objects fall down and earth circles around the sun.
Winners will win again and losers will lose again.

If you believe that only the few and elite should have power, and policy should cater the those few, why did you leave Russia?

Power should be with those who create wealth not with those who consume.

Why? How do these elites 'make wealth' single handedly? Do workers not create wealth?

To participate in wealth creation workers need place to work, materials, energy resources, etc.
All this needs initial investments to became available.
All this can be owned and organized by governments or by individuals.
First never worked for long reducing worker to lumpen.
Second is what we use and it works very well.
Worker selling his skills and time for his share in profits and does not need to invest anything more in wealth creation.
He participates in power by matter of democratic process.
Power participation is proportional to participation in wealth creation.
That's why the power of responsible elites is the only one which works.
To be responsible people have to have something to lose.
People who have nothing or little to lose have no motivation to preserve stability and progress.

Smackdog is expressing Marx's proletariat and the bourgeoisie class struggle.

Capitalism works but it has winners and losers . Ideally capitalism produces wealth with a sliding but fair distribution of surplus profits based on meritocracy but since the 70's there has been a expanding and unwarranted concentration of wealth at the top while wages for middle class have stagnated.

Im not proposing socialism, communism or any welfare state butcher widening in income inequality which has not occurred to the same degree in other western democracies . It's a U.S. issue that needs to be addressed . It won't be easy given advances in technology, global labor supply, demise of unions and prevailing emphasis on bottom line performance for shareholders.

As a whole, executive compensation in the U.S tends to be excessive and boardrooms should begin to reassess how compensation is dispersed but good luck with that given tie ins. Democracy not a plutocracy is the goal yet imbalances are obvious tilt and the dumbsss Supreme Court ruling on Super Pacs dont help

Anyway, I heard the influence of Bannon all over President Trump's inaugural speech. Many charge that Bannon is alt right and simply wants to restore a Judeo Christian white order but he is the one in that administration who bashes the faults of crony capitalism and his clear goal is for a wider distribution of income and wealth to the middle class.

President Obama's focus seemed to me to be on the lower income class, who fights for them remains to be seen. Think the focus will be to move away from any dependency by establishing better environments for upward mobility. Needless to say there will be gains and losses with that approach

meloanyk wrote:

arkrud wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:So the rich win again...They managed to thrived after the economic down, near depression turn following the Bush administration.. The made tons of money in the stock market the last six years recovering to all time highs...They are the only ones benefiting from this economy...Now we elected a businessman in Trump who promises to cut their taxes and repatriate trillions of dollars that will go to stock buy backs and bonuses...Elimination of death tax will have the Trump kids salivating..The always manage to come up aces don't they...

We will watch as his supporters cheer this on...

When asked how will we know when America is great again?, Trump responded, I will tell you...

Objects fall down and earth circles around the sun.
Winners will win again and losers will lose again.

If you believe that only the few and elite should have power, and policy should cater the those few, why did you leave Russia?

Power should be with those who create wealth not with those who consume.

Why? How do these elites 'make wealth' single handedly? Do workers not create wealth?

To participate in wealth creation workers need place to work, materials, energy resources, etc.
All this needs initial investments to became available.
All this can be owned and organized by governments or by individuals.
First never worked for long reducing worker to lumpen.
Second is what we use and it works very well.
Worker selling his skills and time for his share in profits and does not need to invest anything more in wealth creation.
He participates in power by matter of democratic process.
Power participation is proportional to participation in wealth creation.
That's why the power of responsible elites is the only one which works.
To be responsible people have to have something to lose.
People who have nothing or little to lose have no motivation to preserve stability and progress.

Smackdog is expressing Marx's proletariat and the bourgeoisie class struggle.

Capitalism works but it has winners and losers . Ideally capitalism produces wealth with a sliding but fair distribution of surplus profits based on meritocracy but since the 70's there has been a expanding and unwarranted concentration of wealth at the top while wages for middle class have stagnated.

Im not proposing socialism, communism or any welfare state butcher widening in income inequality which has not occurred to the same degree in other western democracies . It's a U.S. issue that needs to be addressed . It won't be easy given advances in technology, global labor supply, demise of unions and prevailing emphasis on bottom line performance for shareholders.

As a whole, executive compensation in the U.S tends to be excessive and boardrooms should begin to reassess how compensation is dispersed but good luck with that given tie ins. Democracy not a plutocracy is the goal yet imbalances are obvious tilt and the dumbsss Supreme Court ruling on Super Pacs dont help

Anyway, I heard the influence of Bannon all over President Trump's inaugural speech. Many charge that Bannon is alt right and simply wants to restore a Judeo Christian white order but he is the one in that administration who bashes the faults of crony capitalism and his clear goal is for a wider distribution of income and wealth to the middle class.

President Obama's focus seemed to me to be on the lower income class, who fights for them remains to be seen. Think the focus will be to move away from any dependency by establishing better environments for upward mobility. Needless to say there will be gains and losses with that approach

The plague of communism breaded in the swamp of socialist ideology is always planted by intellectuals who called themselves humanitarians.
That why the liberal US academia is more dangerous that drugs, guns, and alcohol together for the health of American society.
The proportion of wealth owed by the so called rich invested in economy and productivity tools is infinitely greater that the portion used for personal consumption. Contrary the middle class has very marginal investment share and most of the population has non.
When wealth is extorted from rich the portion rich used for personal consumption is not big enough to go around. So wealth is taken from the economy and it inevitably collapsed. Replacement market economy with government plan economy making matters even worth because nobody is interested in producing and creating wealth but only in access to distribution. Corruption became the only possible way of life.
The inequality perception is mostly the "Disease of red eyes" as it called in Russia. The jealousy of those who did not make it to rich and successful.
This disease destroyed great countries and civilizations and left them in the garbage dump of the history.

I agree that the corporate, state, and federal bureaucrats in US and elsewhere have disproportional compensation comparing to other working population.
This is the unavoidable corruption associated with people who have a hand in distribution of resources but do not produce anything.
To reduce the enormous quantity and influence of this bureaucrats is very important but hard task.
They are sucking efficiency out of the economy and governance. In my view this is the biggest challenge of our society.

arkrud wrote:

meloanyk wrote:

arkrud wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:So the rich win again...They managed to thrived after the economic down, near depression turn following the Bush administration.. The made tons of money in the stock market the last six years recovering to all time highs...They are the only ones benefiting from this economy...Now we elected a businessman in Trump who promises to cut their taxes and repatriate trillions of dollars that will go to stock buy backs and bonuses...Elimination of death tax will have the Trump kids salivating..The always manage to come up aces don't they...

We will watch as his supporters cheer this on...

When asked how will we know when America is great again?, Trump responded, I will tell you...

Objects fall down and earth circles around the sun.
Winners will win again and losers will lose again.

If you believe that only the few and elite should have power, and policy should cater the those few, why did you leave Russia?

Power should be with those who create wealth not with those who consume.

Why? How do these elites 'make wealth' single handedly? Do workers not create wealth?

To participate in wealth creation workers need place to work, materials, energy resources, etc.
All this needs initial investments to became available.
All this can be owned and organized by governments or by individuals.
First never worked for long reducing worker to lumpen.
Second is what we use and it works very well.
Worker selling his skills and time for his share in profits and does not need to invest anything more in wealth creation.
He participates in power by matter of democratic process.
Power participation is proportional to participation in wealth creation.
That's why the power of responsible elites is the only one which works.
To be responsible people have to have something to lose.
People who have nothing or little to lose have no motivation to preserve stability and progress.

Smackdog is expressing Marx's proletariat and the bourgeoisie class struggle.

Capitalism works but it has winners and losers . Ideally capitalism produces wealth with a sliding but fair distribution of surplus profits based on meritocracy but since the 70's there has been a expanding and unwarranted concentration of wealth at the top while wages for middle class have stagnated.

Im not proposing socialism, communism or any welfare state butcher widening in income inequality which has not occurred to the same degree in other western democracies . It's a U.S. issue that needs to be addressed . It won't be easy given advances in technology, global labor supply, demise of unions and prevailing emphasis on bottom line performance for shareholders.

As a whole, executive compensation in the U.S tends to be excessive and boardrooms should begin to reassess how compensation is dispersed but good luck with that given tie ins. Democracy not a plutocracy is the goal yet imbalances are obvious tilt and the dumbsss Supreme Court ruling on Super Pacs dont help

Anyway, I heard the influence of Bannon all over President Trump's inaugural speech. Many charge that Bannon is alt right and simply wants to restore a Judeo Christian white order but he is the one in that administration who bashes the faults of crony capitalism and his clear goal is for a wider distribution of income and wealth to the middle class.

President Obama's focus seemed to me to be on the lower income class, who fights for them remains to be seen. Think the focus will be to move away from any dependency by establishing better environments for upward mobility. Needless to say there will be gains and losses with that approach

The plague of communism breaded in the swamp of socialist ideology is always planted by intellectuals who called themselves humanitarians.
That why the liberal US academia is more dangerous that drugs, guns, and alcohol together for the health of American society.
The proportion of wealth owed by the so called rich invested in economy and productivity tools is infinitely greater that the portion used for personal consumption. Contrary the middle class has very marginal investment share and most of the population has non.
When wealth is extorted from rich the portion rich used for personal consumption is not big enough to go around. So wealth is taken from the economy and it inevitably collapsed. Replacement market economy with government plan economy making matters even worth because nobody is interested in producing and creating wealth but only in access to distribution. Corruption became the only possible way of life.
The inequality perception is mostly the "Disease of red eyes" as it called in Russia. The jealousy of those who did not make it to rich and successful.
This disease destroyed great countries and civilizations and left them in the garbage dump of the history.

I agree that the corporate, state, and federal bureaucrats in US and elsewhere have disproportional compensation comparing to other working population.
This is the unavoidable corruption associated with people who have a hand in distribution of resources but do not produce anything.
To reduce the enormous quantity and influence of this bureaucrats is very important but hard task.
They are sucking efficiency out of the economy and governance. In my view this is the biggest challenge of our society.

Understand the Trojan horse of socialist ideology. My focus is on the ridiculous compensation multiples of corporate officers that has emerged which is far out of whack with historical norms. You have replaceable CEOs and executives in place being granted ludicrous compensation while their workforces stagnate or are reduced due to their general incompetence.

Do we really think the Wells Fargo head of marketing should parachute with a $ 181 mil dollar package?

True talent should be recognized and rewarded but within the confines of reasonableness and relationship to value creation above and beyond replacement. The market at the top is very inefficient and not based on supply and demand but political networks. It is the risk taking entrepreneur that creates businesses and jobs for others who should reap any disportionatee rewards for implementing their visions not the white collar suit whose talent is compensated beyond reasonable multiples

meloanyk wrote:

nixluva wrote:

meloanyk wrote:

djsunyc wrote:

nixluva wrote:
The Republicans simply had a better plan for taking over local governments. They know the right things to say to Rural and Religious constituents to get them to vote against their own best interests!!! They say things in a way that makes them sound beneficial when in fact they are not!!! They tap into racial fears and nationalist themes that they know a segment of the population believes in. With all of that the man just barely won the Electoral College based on less than 80,000 votes. He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 Million. Republicans should enjoy this last dance cuz they will not win another National Election with the direction of the nation's demographics.

This was a FLUKE. Those 80,000 voters that put Trump over the top are in for a rude awakening cuz a lot of those Rust Belt and Coal Mining Towns aren't coming back no matter what Trump promised!!! He lied to those people. All he did was what Republicans always do and that is say what the people want to hear but knowing they have no intention of actually delivering on all of the crap they say. The reason is that Republicans real clients are Big Business and the Rich. All this Populist propaganda made voters forget that the Republicans are backed by the Rich and Big Business. They don't give a F about the common people. Just like Trump didn't care before running for President.

and with the way the electoral college is set up - not everyone's votes count the same.

trump is going to double down on his rhetoric and lies. that won't surprise anyone. the issue here is he has the republican base in his hands and if the repubs challenge him directly, his tweets can destroy their voter base. the other issue is that the folks that voted him in (above middle to upper income white folks) will get tax cuts out of this and most likely already have healthcare through work - so what will effect most americans (in a negative way) will not effect them so they won't have immediate incentive to question him. the only opposition he will face will be the dems - which can help in some areas but can't do a damn thing in others.
[/quote

The electoral college became an issue after the loss. Losers lament. His edge was widespread across counties and states . People know why the electoral college is in place and it worked as intended. California doesn't wag America

Your cynicsm towards President Trump is understandable but it remains to be seen how he'll impact.

He may be the Evil Empire as feared or he may be the change maker that is needed lifting most boats.

People will extract what they want from his talk and agenda

He certainly didn't refine his speech to appease establishment and his remarks were very targeted to improving the lives of the lower and middle classes

Time will tell

This isn't the 1st time the Electoral College has reared its ugly head and it's not the only issues with the way power is distributed in this country. The Majority in this country wants Gun Control, Living Wages, Healthcare for all etc. The wishes of the Majority are undermined by the way this country has things setup. The Republicans represent more GRASS than PEOPLE!!! I understand the reasons for this but the Republicans, Big Business and the Rich have taken advantage of this attempt to balance things!!! This is not right and it's been holding this country back from progress.

Trump does not have the support of the Majority in this country and his win was basically not representative of the wishes of the Majority. As was stated less than 80,000 voters put Trump over the top despite his losing the Popular vote by nearly 3 MILLION. Any system that produces that kind of result is flawed and needs some kind of correction. I know this won't happen.

The good thing is that now people are fully awake and I predict this won't happen again. Trump benefitted from some apathy and a few misguided and desperate people who voted for him even tho they should've known better. They already are starting to have buyer's remorse!!!

If the economy experiences real growth then President Trump will be reelected.

Dems are not much different than Pubs in their alignment with big business. The Clintons conned blacks back in 94 and Sanders would have been a better choice this year

arkrud wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:So the rich win again...They managed to thrived after the economic down, near depression turn following the Bush administration.. The made tons of money in the stock market the last six years recovering to all time highs...They are the only ones benefiting from this economy...Now we elected a businessman in Trump who promises to cut their taxes and repatriate trillions of dollars that will go to stock buy backs and bonuses...Elimination of death tax will have the Trump kids salivating..The always manage to come up aces don't they...

We will watch as his supporters cheer this on...

When asked how will we know when America is great again?, Trump responded, I will tell you...

Objects fall down and earth circles around the sun.
Winners will win again and losers will lose again.

If you believe that only the few and elite should have power, and policy should cater the those few, why did you leave Russia?

Power should be with those who create wealth not with those who consume.

Why? How do these elites 'make wealth' single handedly? Do workers not create wealth?

To participate in wealth creation workers need place to work, materials, energy resources, etc.
All this needs initial investments to became available.
All this can be owned and organized by governments or by individuals.
First never worked for long reducing worker to lumpen.
Second is what we use and it works very well.
Worker selling his skills and time for his share in profits and does not need to invest anything more in wealth creation.
He participates in power by matter of democratic process.
Power participation is proportional to participation in wealth creation.
That's why the power of responsible elites is the only one which works.
To be responsible people have to have something to lose.
People who have nothing or little to lose have no motivation to preserve stability and progress.

The basic principals of this I agree with as I believe most do. Though the sad part is that everyone working together for the development, evolution, growth etc etc.. of mankind as a species should be the motivation. The issues people have though is within the lack of accountability at the top in order maintain this process as well as for it to reach its full potential. Perfect example is the results of the Bush administration and the Obama administration. Obama was an elite who was about the American people. Morals and logic behind everything he wanted to do. Which is why he was able to turn around the damage left by Bush. All while being blocked at every turn from fully creating the type of necessary accountability that must be attached to this process. Elites have manipulated every aspect of this process for more wealth creation strictly for themselves and not as a whole. Elites need to fear being corrupt, as the consequences would be far more severe then the reward. At the same time those who strongly uphold moral code and or make sacrifices in order to do so should receive great benefits.

Yesterday before I headed out, flipping through the channels I started watching Adam ruins everything about the the internet. And he was breaking down how the "US has fallen behind in internet and affordability".
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/upshot/why-the-us-has-fallen-behind-in-internet-speed-and-affordability.html.

Downloading a high-definition movie takes about seven seconds in Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Zurich, Bucharest and Paris, and people pay as little as $30 a month for that connection. In Los Angeles, New York and Washington, downloading the same movie takes 1.4 minutes for people with the fastest Internet available, and they pay $300 a month for the privilege, according to The Cost of Connectivity, a report published Thursday by the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute.

For relatively high-speed Internet at 25 megabits per second, 75 percent of homes have one option at most, according to the Federal Communications Commission — usually Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T or Verizon. It’s an issue anyone who has shopped for Internet knows well, and it is even worse for people who live in rural areas. It matters not just for entertainment; an Internet connection is necessary for people to find and perform jobs, and to do new things in areas like medicine and education.

“Stop and let that sink in: Three-quarters of American homes have no competitive choice for the essential infrastructure for 21st-century economics and democracy,” Tom Wheeler, chairman of the F.C.C., said in a speech last month.

Followed up with "Why the government won't protect you from getting screwed by your cable company"
http://gizmodo.com/5830956/why-the-government-wont-protect-you-from-getting-screwed-by-your-cable-company

The cable industry is a patchwork of micro-monopolies. Or more accurately, natural monopolies: situations of little or no competition that doesn't break enough laws to get regulated. A natural monopoly occurs when it's so expensive to enter a market that it doesn't make sense for a competitors to come in. With cable TV, there's a massive fixed cost to enter a new market—putting in new cable lines. So, basically, whoever showed up first—or the company that bought them—has the legacy right of being the local cable company.

For decades, cable operators were allowed to set up exclusive regional franchises. A cable company would come into an area, and more or less tell the municipal area in charge of franchising that it needed an exclusive for the next, say, 12-15 years if it was going to build out lines. That ended in 1992 with the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act, but the damage was done.

Cable companies had already divided up the nation like Europe colonizing Africa. By the time regulation arrived, the land grab was already over.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/04/price-gouging-cable-companies

Internet service is costly because internet providers refuse to compete with each other, ensuring they can charge high prices. They rationalize it like this: even though the cable companies have a gross profit margin of around 97% – meaning 97 cents of every dollar they make is pure profit – they still have to pay to service cell towers and invest in broadband. They have expensive equipment to maintain, see? That's not monopoly pricing power. That's just basic subsistence.

Unfortunately, their arguments fail for two reasons: the first is that those companies are not actually investing in equipment as much as they would like you to think. There is a cable graveyard littered with "overbuilders" that tried to create fast, wide internet access networks to compete with the giant incumbents like Time Warner and Comcast. Those overbuilders failed.

Another problem with the argument is that "recovering fixed costs" is not a problem; the cable companies' networks are already bought and paid for, many times over. The cable companies have such incredibly high profit margins – "comically high" in the words of one Sanford C Bernstein analyst – that they don't have any problem covering their costs. The Open Technology Institute noted in a recent report, "cable companies invested over $185bn in capital expenditures between 1996 and 2011. But these networks generated close to $1tn in revenue in the same time period."

Over charging for lesser quality and value is an issue across the board in America today.

Way back you once stated that Americans success is based on working hard entrepreneurship. Yet when growing up and going to school how much effort is actually taught on developing this type of attitude and knowledge base? How much effort is put in teaching about investing, stocks, credit, etc etc etc... So that everyone can buy into the same visions and working together to uphold this structure?

An entrepreneur who starts his own local business and puts in the hard work and long hours to be successful. Not many would complain about these individuals getting the tax breaks. Morals and logic dictate that. But we use this ideology to give blue collar free reign.

gunsnewing wrote:Women marching in democratic cities putting a face next to their vote for
Hillary. How cute!!!

Now show us the rest of America.

You mean the minority that elected Trump?

They still dont get it evidently and will lose again in 2020