World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[dsheinem]

guns are bad....mmmmkay?

[marurun]

OK, finally found an article that looks at the data and reports on why Trump won in a way that cuts to the heart of the issue:

The story we’ve told ourselves — that working-class whites flocked to Trump due to job worries or free trade or economic populism — is basically wrong, the research papers released this week suggest.

They did flock to Trump. But the reason they did so in enough numbers for Trump to win wasn’t anxiety about the economy. It was anxiety about Mexicans, Muslims and blacks.
...
“I’ve got three words for you: scared white people,” Parker says. “Every period of racial progress in this country is followed by a period of retrenchment. That’s what the 2016 election was about, and it was plain as it was happening.”

To be clear: Neither Parker, nor the latest research, is saying that Trump voters are all racists. Most voting is simply party-line no matter who is running. What they’re saying is that worries about the economy, free trade and the rest were no more important in 2016 than in previous elections, but racial resentment spiked.

So, basically, Not All Trump Voters are racist, but the racists were the ones who made just enough difference to secure the electoral win. Without the racists, Trump likely would have lost. So, Trump's win is not:

Code: Select all

Trump supporters = racists

but rather

Code: Select all

Trump supporters = Republicans + swing voter/normally stay home racists.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new ... g-ignored/

[Ack]

Well, that's...depressing, to say the least.

[marurun]

So's the Atlantic article from late April that reports that escaping poverty typically takes 20 years of no major mistakes and keeping your nose clean. And one misstep can set you back to the beginning. And when you're in poverty, it's that much harder not to have setbacks.

[Ack]

Does that article compare that timespan across factors like age, ethnicity, education level, location, etc.? I think that would make for an interesting breakdown, to dive deeper into the issue.

[marurun]

Here's the link. It's an article discussing a book by an MIT economist. The economist author did look at a variety of factors. If I had more time to read I'd probably check out this book from my local library network. The headline is a little hyperbolistic. That almost 20 years amounts to 16 years of education, starting early, plus a bit, for example.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/ar ... ty/524610/

The author of the book, Temin, is just a J short of being a Virtual On contender. I'm just going to think of him as Temjin in my head.

[Ack]

That was a fascinating read, thanks. Some of the measures suggested are also common sense fixes that I feel we should be implementing anyway, such as better infrastructure. And let's face it, as much as I love the idea of privatization, free market principles, and enabling individuals to engage in entrepreneurship, there are some areas where the private sector has not helped things. Privatized prisons are a perfect example of how wrong things can go when private markets step into the public role.

Now, as for going back to the feeling of the Civil Rights movement...I have no idea how to even begin that. But we should at least be able to get some of this done. Hell, Trump partially ran on infrastructure improvements. Now we need to see it happen.

[marurun]

I don't think Trump is going to make the necessary moves on infrastructure. The proposed budgets coming out of the White House thus far strip funding for infrastructure and expect states to pick up more of the budget.

You are right, though, that prison privatization is a real problem. I think charter schools and efforts to privatize public education are equally problematic. There are a small number who do it well, but most turn into expensive boondoggles.

[Ack]

I don't mind some privatized education, so long as said education has a proven value. But trying to replace the entire system with it isn't going to work. Private prisons on the other hand are a whole lot worse, and I've heard rumors Trump wants to privatize air traffic control, which sounds like a nightmare.

[marurun]

I don't have a problem with private schools, but given the track record of most charter schools, I have a problem with privatizing public education using tax dollars. But I also have issues with the way many states fund education and pay teachers. Ohio's school funding methods were determined to be unconstitutional (state constitution) by the state supreme court, yet those methods have yet to be corrected. And the south pays teachers so little they cannot reliably attract good teachers. Privatization of public education won't fix either of those issues, however.