You could argue either way if he was good or bad for economy (and people do). Personally, I think he was a bit of a mixed bag. Growth was actually slower than it was the last few years of Obama's tenure, but it was still consistent growth... And the global economy was slower too, so probably not a bad thing. I do think he had some good financial policies and some bad ones. The tarrifs, for example, didn't help anyone involved But yeah, overall, until covid, economy wasn't terrible, it was definitely his messed up social views that brought him down, not the economy. I would say the one important achievement of Trump's term in office is he managed not to start a war. First president in how long not to start a new war? I think the only one in my lifetime... At least he hasn't yet. Might start a civil war if he keeps trying to overthrow democracy.
The poor polling before Covid may have been down to the whole Russian voting investigation and attempt at impeachment. In all honesty, without Covid and the fallout from George Lloyd and black lives matter I think the economy would've held him in good stead and he would've won a second term. Having said that, not everything is black and white as a lot of the economy upturn in the U.S. was started towards the final couple of years under Obama. Fwiw I have no love of either. One's a complete imbecile and the other's a bit of a **** who went around dropping bombs on people all over the world because it was the easy thing to do.
Impossible to say. I don't think Covid changed many minds, only strengthened them for , or against, him.. it either made people hate him more, or dig in and defend him more. I think within the first year the vast majority of people had already made up their mind if they would vote for him again or not... Didn't matter who was running against him. People didn't vote for Biden, they voted against Trump. Result probably would have been the same two years earlier .. or regardless of who he ran against.
I agree, there's no doubt about it. But I think those events raised the turnout. Even Trump's. Had there been no Covid or BLM, and with the economy doing well, I don't think as many (on both sides) would've been as galvanised to go out and vote. You'll have a better idea of it all, I'm just basing it on a general feeling as an outsider looking in.
So, it's important to ask, why government try and squeeze money out of you: The answer, of course, is so that they can spend it. Now whether they should spend so much is a discussion for the politics thread... It definitely depends on whether your willy dangles to the left or right in your pants. So, yes, governments try and squeeze money out of you for their various projects If they don't get enough money to pay for the stuff they do out of taxes they take loans. Government debt in most Western countries is staggering. There is so much debt a large chunk of taxes just goes to paying off debt, and that chunk grows with time putting more and more pressure on governments to raise taxes. So, the more big companies skirt paying their allotted share by shifting money over seas, the more the national debt grows. The baseline debt that citizens have to pay just for debt alone without any government services adding on goes up. The amount of tax, even the most conservative of politicians would need to place on you does go up. I'm not going to argue for more or less taxes in general on people or corporations, for now, the point I want to make is, companies that are large enough can avoid paying taxes that are "expected" of them, that smaller companies can not. Companies are rewarded for being unscrupulous... And I don't blame them, if I had the option of paying 5% tax instead of 35% tax I'd take it in a heartbeat. Regardless of whether the tax rate is too high or too low, I think the tax structure should be free of loopholes and legal avoidance schemes. There shouldn't be loopholes available to foreign companies that aren't available to domestic companies.
I've never bought anything from Amazon, never hired an Uber. I don't mind people getting rich, but don't treat your serfs like ****s. The taxation loophole won't be closed because the rich make the rules.
Maybe i look at it simplistic. In a year of woe, when so many have struggled, he's created so many jobs, and kept many afloat.
I think you’ll find most children living in poverty come from families where at least one parent works. I know plenty of working people - lots - who don’t earn enough money to keep their heads above water. That’s not something that ever would have been the case 20 or 30 years ago, but it’s not uncommon now; certainly in London, where the cost of living is obscenely high.
This is a couple of years old. I doubt the situation has got better since 2018... https://fullfact.org/economy/are-people-work-using-food-banks/
