We need laws that protect the american people from themselves.

[shockey80]

The american people have forgotten all the lessons learned after the Great Depression. The American people learned nothing after the 2008 collapse. We went right back to trickle down economics. Perhaps the worst version of trickle down since the 1920s.

Whats completely crazy about trickle down economics is, it is impossible for it to work long term. It relies on paying for itself by strong economic growth. Sooner or later there is always a downturn and the debt goes through the roof. Also, because of deregulation corruption takes hold and this leads to economic destruction. It reminds me of subprime mortgages. You're OK for the first 5 years, after that you can't afford it and you go bankrupt.

In the next presidential election I will be looking for a candidate who runs on fixing these issues first.

New campaign finance laws. We have to get the big money out of our elections. The rich now control our country. The American people keep on voting for rich people ignoring the fact it is greed that is ruining their lives.

Get rid of citizens united. One of the worst decisions ever by the supreme court. It is destroying our democracy.

An individual tax on billionaires. One person should not be allowed to gather so much wealth that they become a threat to our democracy. Tax the fucking shit out of them.

Pass a law that requires all presidential candidates to show 10 years of tax returns. That will stop rich assholes like Trump from running for office. For some bizarre reason the American people like voting for rich people to solve their problems.

New gerrymandering laws. Gerrymandering fucks up our democracy. It opens the door for extremists to get elected, especially in the house.

In my opinion, The above issues must be taken care of first before we can move on and fix the many problems we have in our country.

[CrispyQ]

1. Convincing people to loathe paying taxes was a brilliant move by the GOP.

Instead of making the issue what we spend our tax revenue on, the GOP framed all taxes as bad & it was then easy to convince the public that using tax money for publicly funded elections was a waste. How many people check that little box on their tax form to direct $3 to a presidential election fund? How many even understand how it works?

A Checkbox On Your Tax Return Helped Kill Public Campaign Funding

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-checkbox-on-your-tax-return-helped-kill-public-campaign-funding/

You already hate tax season, and as you move wearily through the cold calculations of the 1040 form, you come across a familiar checkbox. It’s the one that requests permission to send $3 to the “presidential election campaign,” delivering cash to a bunch of politicians that you’re sure are awash in money anyway.

“What’s the point?” you might ask yourself. To fund more polarizing and negative campaign ads? You happily refuse to check the box.


By doing so, you joined 94 percent of Americans who also declined to make that checkmark. The share of tax forms with a checked box has been declining steadily for decades.

That widespread sentiment is one of the principal reasons why the public funding of presidential campaigns, long a goal of campaign finance reform activists, is dying. Because the checkoff has provided a reduced stream of money, public financing is no longer an attractive option for the major party candidates, who now prefer to let private citizens with money pay for their campaigns.

[logosoco]

5. I started clicking that "yes" box for both myself and my husband.

I did not understand it for years! Now I get it. I encourage my kids to do this on their returns as well. May not change things, but it's a nice easy way to make a small statement.

[CrispyQ]

6. Me too!

I keep that article bookmarked & post it often, especially around tax time. And on FB, too.

[Pantagruel]

2. No chance!

Arguments too logical but won't easily fit in sound bites.
I doubt if 1 in a 100 voters can explain gerrymandering but offer them an alleged tax cut and it's an easy sell.

The entire country needs to be sent back to school to review the basic principles of "civics" and economics.

[Yavin4]

3. Here's your mistake: "In the next presidential election..."

The problems that you are trying to address require a long term fix, and that means holding majority power in Congress for at least 10 year. Focusing on the next president does absolutely nothing. The president is pretty powerless on every domestic legislation.

You need to be focusing on electing people to the House and Senate first and foremost.

[shockey80]

4. We should win back the house this election, Not so sure about the senate.

In 2020 we will have a better chance to take back the senate and the Whitehouse. Thats when will have a chance to fix the problems I listed. Nothing will change until we fix these problems first.

[MichMary]

7. Actually,

this isn't "Trickle Down Economics," at least not as we knew it in the '80's. At that time it was believed that putting more $$$ in the pockets of the richest would result in increased spending which would thereby increase $$$ going to the companies.

This time around, most of the $$$ went directly to the companies in the form of tax cuts. The result has (so far) been raises and bonuses, and (in some cases) reduced prices to the consumer. It will be interesting to see how this difference turns out.