money.
This is Part Five. Part One is here.
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As we’ve already covered, anecdotal stories are dangerous - they aren’t statistics - but I’ve also read a fair share of stats. I haven’t yet had a conversation with a Trump supporter that doesn’t boil down to two things (f not abortion), the first of which is something to do with money. Either the country making a lot of it, he or she personally making a lot of it, or someone taking their money and giving it to someone who shouldn’t get their money.
Money, money, money. I’m so sick of talking about money but I’m an American so let’s talk more about it.
Economy. The economy is doing great is the argument. Or was before COVID. Can we talk “the economy” for a second? The USA is now in the most debt it’s ever been in, using just about any metric you can find. We’re setting quarterly records, annual records, percentage records, GDP records, I mean good god, there isn’t one debt record we aren’t setting. So, can we just say that is not a functioning economy? Of course, it works short term. Of course! But unless you’re willing to say I’m a millionaire if I borrow a million dollars on a credit card tomorrow - or from China - then we actually don’t have a great economy, which means a day of reckoning is coming. It can’t go on fumes forever.
Let’s pretend we have a great economy though. Job numbers are up (or were) and unemployment was down, etc… there are plenty of arguments that the economy was doing well. I’ll give you that. I’ll also give you that the economy is all due to Trump - (we will pretend it was not already growing at a steady pace under Obama and just continued under Trump. We’ll also pretend George W. didn’t absolutely annihilate the economy before Obama. I’ll also give you that our trade deficit with China is not the highest it’s ever been - which it is. I’ll also give you that Trump didn’t react to COVID and is harming it more… shit, I’ll give you everything. I really will.)
I will pretend that Trump has saved and made America’s economy great. I really will.
Okay, is there anything else? Literally? I mean do you actually care about anything other than the economy? If you’re a Christian, well you can’t serve both money and god but I think everyone is long over that. If you’re not a Christian who pretends Jesus matters, or a more honest American who doesn’t pretend to give a shit about Jesus, is that your legacy to the world? I have money and I got more money! Even the liberal Hollywood rich atheist celebrities admit that is a very empty way to live but you can’t? Really? I don’t believe that.
It’s not really about making more money is it? It’s about who is spending your money or who is getting it who shouldn’t be.
Socialism. Next.