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Joe the magic Plumber, your average Joe or a campaign surrogate?

Discussion in 'Alley of Lingering Sighs' started by Ragusa, Oct 17, 2008.

?

Is Joe the Plumber for real or is he a campaign surrogate?

  1. He's a campaign surrogate.

    6 vote(s)
    40.0%
  2. He's the real Joe.

    9 vote(s)
    60.0%
  1. Gnarfflinger

    Gnarfflinger Wiseguy in Training

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    When people defaulted on the loans, who benefits fromt he Government buying them? The rich.

    When the government buys these bad mortgages, who is paying for it? Mostly the working people.

    The workers are paying to keep the wealthy in a luxurious lifestyle. That's exactly what Marx complained about.

    Socialism is not about the benefit of the rich, but the people in general. How does using taxpayer money to bail out a bunch of rich people from the consequences of their poor decisions do anything but hurt the normal working class people?
     
  2. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    Socialism is the redistribution of wealth. And actually, to have the govenment pay down the mortgage benefits, whoever is getting a home loan at lower rate. That person may or may not be rich, but may be middle-class. Not having your home foreclosed, even though you can't make the payments, is a benefit for whoever owns the home. Yes, it benefits the bank that made the loan as well, but it also helps the homeowner who may or may not be rich, at the expense of the taxpayer.
     
  3. Ragusa

    Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

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    To wit: Capitalism is about redistribution of wealth as well.

    [​IMG] The use of 'redistribution of wealth as a buzzword is misleading. I go so far calling the phrase on itself useless. The GOPers use if as a keyword for socialism? Nonsense. To wit: Capitalism is about redistribution of wealth as well.

    So Obama wants to change taxation? Well, taxation is mandatory, yes, as taxes always are. The difference between commie and capitalist redistribution of wealth is obviously the extent to which the transfer occurs voluntary from those who have it to those who do not or vice versa. If the coercive element was the deciding factor, all taxation would be socialism. And if redistribution of wealth was the matter then funding an army and paying the soldiers with taxpayer money would be socialism as well (and tax evasion would be fighting a guerilla war against socialism and thus a patriotic duty). Buying a good and in doing so giving the profit to a company is redistribution of wealth as well - if redistribution of wealth equals socialism then that is socialism too.

    If left unexplained 'redistribution of wealth' doesn't differentiate between capitalism and socialism but conflates both. I think that the wording was chosen intentionally, because this is not and never was to be about having an enlightened, rational discourse about national economics or taxation.

    Obama doesn't mandate anything near what socialism preaches - like nationalisation of important industries (hah, or banks - take that GOP) or even forcibly removing wealth through confiscations or the like. Faced with reality not even the ideologues in the GOP dare stick to their black & white model of free market capitalism all the time. Obama's tax plans are far, far away from confiscatory taxation as Americans would probably view Scandinavian taxation. Oh never mind: 'The socialists will take your wealth away! Booh!'

    :bs:

    The current hysterical fulminations on the US right about 'redistribution of wealth' are a palpably silly exercise in distraction and fearmongering. Nevertheless, they express a persistent ideological current in the US. For fun, just listen to this dangerous socialist:

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 19, 2015
    Chandos the Red likes this.
  4. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    Do you mean like this?

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27373962/
     
  5. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    Remember this guy? I forgot all about this fool, but it seems that he's still someone important to the conservative media. He even has a book deal in the works. Maybe it's a how-to-guide on fixing a pipe. I don't know what else an unemployed plumer would be writing about. Anyway it seems he's upset with Mac.

    And who would this guy be without McCain again? Just another unemployed plumer....

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28160772/
     
  6. NOG (No Other Gods)

    NOG (No Other Gods) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian

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    Unfortunately, giving most people 15 minutes of fame makes them think they deserve a year of it. If this guy manages to make some money selling a stupid book to idiots, I say let him do it.
     
  7. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    NOG - I was surprised at how ungrateful he was towards Mac. It wasn't just that Mac gave him his 15 minutes of fame, but that he more or less took-up this guy's "average Joe's" causes for him. I wish the politicians in my district granted me a fraction of that much acknowledgement.
     
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