Assuming you were replying to me, I’m speaking of the long-term trends for coal. The next year or two could see increases, but there is no long term stability indicated from anything I’ve read.
The CPP targeted coal fired power plants to make them impossible to run. So they HAD to convert to natural gas or die. There are more dual fuel plants out there now as a result. The need for kwh is only growing and nat gas has scaled back and prices have normalized. It’s a wait and see game with the new EPA.
Had Hillary won coal would have 100% died in the US in the name of carbon reduction. While the rest of the world keeps happily burning billions of tons.
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Thank you to those who answered the questions. I didn’t consider these talking points but I understand that they were Liberally phrased. It seems most of the Trump followers don’t take any of this at face value. But the most terrifying thing so far is that he has followed up on most of what he has said he was going to do. There are soo many parallels to dictatorships. I thought Republicans would have to hate that out of principle, but they don’t or didn’t.
Mexico “Talking point”
I didnt take that at face value. What he actually said was something about sending the military in to take care of the drug cartels.
But reading between the lines that’s the same thing the USA is doing in the middle east…but they seem to just be setting up shop to control oil.
COAL Sorry to those who lost jobs, that isn’t Obama’s fault. It is progress. Just as the oil industry is currently fighting progress to stay relative some day they too will be out of a job…or the planet will be uninhabitable. In the future most will not work (automation). Jobs are not necessary for most of us buuut money and the fucked up value system it enforces.
CHINA Trump has recognized Taiwan as an independent country (morally correct or not on that issue) it has enraged China. He has also disputed China’s claim to the South China Sea. And direct Steve Bannon quote “We’re going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years”, which would have been irrelevant 2 years ago now means a shit ton because he is the “Chief Strategist” to the president. If that is not poking a bear WTF is?
CENSORSHIP Scientists now must run all information through the whitehouse before releasing it to the public. That is as literal a definition of censorship as you can get. Climate Change is banned from use. “Alternative facts” is also a form of misinformation, propaganda or censorship. Alternative facts is a term coined by the Trump administration, not liberal figure heads.
ACA Every civilized country in the world has universal health care. Rather than paying for bombs they pay for their citizens to be healthy. Revolutionary concept.
OIL Along with Health care civilized countries are also working to use renewable energy sources. Only USA, China and Russia are fighting this.
Muslim NOT a Ban That is exactly what it was called by the Trump administration and Trump himself. Big business is clearly relevant here as it is the only context that makes sense of everything Trump is doing.
IRAN Trump’s “notice” has began to materialize as they have now applied sanctions to Iran. Iran has a shit ton of oil and doesn’t do business with Trump.
This is wishful thinking.
TRUMP vs CLINTON
The problem with Clinton is you couldn’t trust a word she stole from Bernie. The problem with Trump is he might actually do the shit he says.
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Too bad the support system for the unemployed isn’t stronger. Your way of life would not have been affected by anything more than a vacation.
Government aid isn’t meant to subsidize big corporation payroll, it was meant for the exact situation of people losing their jobs to the changing times.
Wrong. Government aid is meant to buy votes and create a permanent underclass of dependent voters.
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Oooookay LOL
Let’s say that it is true it was created to win votes for the Democratic Corporation.
It gives money to people who need money. What better use of tax money than to give it to people who in fact need it?
Um, no. Some cynical politicians may use it toward those ends, but that is not what it is meant to do.
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Food. Shelter. Clothing. No direct cash payments.
I like how the mormons do it actually. If you are poor and down on your luck you go work on their farms or build houses for the poor. They teach you skills so you aren’t poor and dependent permanently.
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Cash is the the most efficient way to accomplish this.
For the record I would be all in on the mormon way too and I would guess so would 99% of those receiving assistance.
Most receiving assistance are not bums or lazy. Most work 40 hours a week for poverty wages.
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Giving cash to an alcoholic, an addict, or someone with bad money habits doesn’t help them. It actively hurts them. I’d much rather hand a recovering addict $50 worth of eggs, milk, produce etc… than hand them $50.
Even the food stamp program gets seriously abused.
Have a food dispensary in every tough neighboorhood. Right next door have an employment office with social workers. We need trillions of dollars in infrastructure spending? I found your workforce.
I would take this soooo much further. Basic necessity food would be free to people under a certain income.
We live in an era where if priorities were drastically changed every person in the USA (eventually on the planet) could live in a world happily with out concern for their next meal or where they are going to sleep at night. Countries like Denmark are a great example of this.
These drastic changes would actually be really simple, tax the rich, increase min wage to $20 and poverty level to $50k.
These are the numbers are in ratio of when (make) “America Was Great” (again).
There was a reason why every thing worked so well, when every rat is fed they don’t eat each other.
It is no coincidence that racial inequality has become such a huge issue recently. I almost think that republicans dont give a shit about these things they just use it to distract the public from their BS tax cuts.
Serious question, everyone won’t be happy with this $20 minimum wage, in fact the you need about $75k a year to have enough money to be happy. There is research on this look it up if you need to. Everyone who is not making this much will want more and be jealous of the “rich” people who have more than that. Why not raise the minimum wage to closer to $40 an hour to accomplish that?
Are you saying the minimum wage was close to the equivalent of $20/hour at some point in the history of the U.S.?
-The second link is the closest thing I could find to referencing a $20 minimum wage.
Ah, but that’s what it does in fact do. Meant too or not.
That’s about all it really was for me. A post on facebook followed by a brief phone call and I was back to work. But I’m in a major city and have a good choice of options for my skill set.
Through out the whole coal belt though, thousands of jobs just went poof! Gone. Not just the guys working under ground, but through all related industries- construction and maintenance, fabrication, machine and materials supply, transportation etc.
Its not like whole populations can just go get another job either. In some of the further out regions, It’s pretty much the only game in town for over 100 miles or so. When a company like Alpha Natural Resources has to shut the doors- you’re talking about 15K people going home. Then throw in Peabody Energy and a couple others.
There are federally funded retraining programs. To do what? Go where? We’re talking about an area from the state of Indiana to upstate New York.
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Didn’t see your follow up post before I wrote my previous response.
Do you actually want to understand anything, or are you just showcasing that you have it all figured out and that your countries social programs, energy resources, and public policies are better?
What country are you in?
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I do but I am also curious as to why these plans are not considered options and how Trump supporters feel about them.
Also most of Trump supporters seem like they are just dismissing these as if they didnt or arent happening. Most of my response was just verifying that they are in fact happening.
And Mexico.
I am obviously very much in favor of that. I see no reason the US couldnt be better than it was. $20 just seems much more palatable to most people resisting than $40.
Ideally I would put a cap on maximum wage being limited to 100 times the lowest paid employee (with loop holes obviously negated).
After you consider how much cheaper general life was back then I think the equivalent income would be around $20.
The very link you used shows that minimum wage has dropped over the last 50 years. It accounts for inflation but not that every person needs so much more shit just to survive in an ever more sophisticated world. Everything from smart phones and laptops to cars and micro waves.
Denmark’s minimum wage really isn’t what makes it amazing but by the time you factor in all of the government provided services that minimum wage is considerably more effective to live off of.
People had to be much more resourceful. My grandparents and the large majority of people in general had a garden and several fruit trees, and were also very good at canning.
Because they wanted to eat, and save up to some day buy a car. Or maybe even a Tv!
People are all too quick to complain about money if they think they can get it from someone else, but as soon as they have to take action or compromise even one iota, its pants shitting all around to blame everybody else.
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@SkyzykS - I knew you wouldn’t disappoint. I don’t agree with everything you wrote, but again I think you’ve done a better job than most Trump supporters I’ve interacted with (in person or over the Interwebz) articulating your perceived positives. Thanks.
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