# The "Far Left" is already being demonized **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 7, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994 "2020-11-07T17:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/401 "2020-11-12T04:02:18Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > What’s hard is to tell people what they don’t want to hear. …so centrists politicians take the easy way out. You are agreeing with me. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/402 "2020-11-12T05:38:21Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’d take 8 years of tax cuts over no tax cuts. I think most rational people would agree. Nah. Truly rational people realize that we are _all_ woefully undertaxed in the United States and our country suffers greatly because of it. I mean hey… I’d like my taxes to be a lot lower too. Even eliminated. I also want three and a half ponies. But I’m a realist and I understand that we run huge deficits here and on top of that have massive infrastructure and social program needs that won’t ever happen unless we pay our dues like advanced, civilized nations do. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/403 "2020-11-12T06:14:33Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > For a slogan, just go with Fix the Police. The ACLU has come up with “Divest and Reinvest”, works for me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/404 "2020-11-12T06:16:30Z")
" This is how much American workers saved **during the first year** after Trump tax overhaul" All the middle class tax cuts were phased out, the cuts for the rich were not. Yes, there was a bone for the middle class the first year, a small treat the next… and then a big kick in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/405 "2020-11-12T06:22:34Z")
_So when Biden said he was going to repeal the Trump tax cut, what he meant is that people making 15,000-20,000 per year will see a tax increase of 12.5%, people making 40,000-50,000 per year will see a 14.5% increase in their taxes,_ All the middle class tax cuts are being phased out, the cuts for the rich were not. Yes, there was a bone for the middle class the first year, a small treat the next… and then a big kick in the ass. So when Biden said he was going to repeal the Trump tax cuts, he meant only the ones remaining- on the wealthy. All the middle class ones will be entirely gone by 2025. And even those are a maybe, depending on your type of family what state you live in, etc. > **[Explaining the Trump Tax Reform Plan](https://www.investopedia.com/taxes/trumps-tax-reform-plan-explained/)** > > President Trump created a sweeping tax overhaul, which rewards the wealthy and corporations the most, has fizzled among voters. For the wealthy, banks, and other corporations, the tax reform package was considered a lopsided victory given its significant and permanent tax cuts to corporate profits, investment income, estate tax, and more. Financial services companies stood to see huge gains based on the new, lower corporate rate (21%), as well as the more preferable tax treatment of [pass-through](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pass-through_rate.asp) companies.4 Some banks said their [effective tax rate](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/effectivetaxrate.asp) would drop under 21%. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/406 "2020-11-12T06:24:21Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Truly rational people realize that we are _all_ woefully undertaxed in the United States and our country suffers greatly because of it. Yes, lower income people are already being ‘taxed’ at an extremely high rate by having to pay for overpriced medical insurance and drugs, overpriced higher education, etc., etc. Meanwhile huge corporations making vast profits avoid taxes or pay low rates. If corporations and the 1% were taxed at a reasonable rate, and lower income people paid slightly higher taxes but got good health care, good education, good infrastructure, etc. in return for it, the population as a whole would be far better off both financially and in terms of quality of life. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/407 "2020-11-12T06:40:25Z")
too bad IL voters didnt understand that. > **[Illinois Voters Reject ‘Fair Tax’ Amendment](https://news.wttw.com/2020/11/04/illinois-voters-reject-fair-tax-amendment)** > > In a blow to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and to his hopes of injecting billions of dollars more revenue into the state budget, Illinois voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment to overhaul how the state taxes income. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/408 "2020-11-12T06:40:26Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > So when Biden said he was going to repeal the Trump tax cut, what he meant is that people making 15,000-20,000 per year will see a tax increase of 12.5%, people making 40,000-50,000 per year will see a 14.5% increase in their taxes, and millionaires and billionaires will again be able to deduct state taxes and lower their tax burden. Yeah, those tax cuts are getting repealed anyway, with net INCREASES built into the bill in 2026. There’s no “repealing” those, they’re already repealed on a timer. The cuts for corporations have no such sunset. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/410 "2020-11-12T06:51:01Z")
I think the root of the problem in America is race. A lot of white people think ‘I don’t want them lazy n—s and them weird furriners to get anything for free.’ So they will vote against decent universal health care, education, etc. for themselves, rather than let the ‘undeserving’ also have them. See this excellent article (mentioned in another thread by @Left_Hand_of_Dorkness) ### [America’s Problem is That White People Want It to Be a Failed State](https://eand.co/americas-problem-is-that-white-people-want-it-to-be-a-failed-state-bac24202f32f) > Who voted, over and over again, to have worse lives? No healthcare, retirement, affordable education, childcare — no public goods of any kind whatsoever? White Americans did. What the? The question baffles the world. Why would anyone choose a worse life? The answer is that white Americans would not accept a society of true equals. “I won’t pay for those dirty, filthy peoples’ educations, healthcare, retirements! Why, their grandparents were my grandpappy’s slaves!” White Americans chose to retain power, supremacy, superiority, even in a failing society. They chose staying on top of decline and ruin, rather than prospering as equals. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/411 "2020-11-12T07:07:47Z")
That article is quite ludicrous. The USA with the highest GDP, only country to put men on the moon, 20/25 of the top universities, cultural giant of the world, etc. and we want the USA to be a failed state because we don’t think that open borders and unlimited handouts are a good thing? C’mon man! ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/412 "2020-11-12T09:15:40Z")
The USA is also the first-world country with the highest debt-to-GDP ratio, the greatest (and widening) gap between the rich and poor, declining life expectancy, a deeply divided society, a failing democratic system, and a declining world reputation. It’s still a huge economic and military power, but it’s in a steady decline. Maybe Biden can stop the decline a bit, but he has an uphill task. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/413 "2020-11-12T11:41:08Z")
This is all extremely sensible. What’s the chances of anyone following your plan? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/414 "2020-11-12T11:59:51Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > That article is quite ludicrous. The USA with the highest GDP, only country to put men on the moon, 20/25 of the top universities, cultural giant of the world, etc. and we want the USA to be a failed state because we don’t think that open borders and unlimited handouts are a good thing? C’mon man! You are just so cute when you’re shaking in your boots over imaginary socialism. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/415 "2020-11-12T12:10:59Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > > What’s hard is to tell people what they don’t want to hear. > > …so centrists politicians take the easy way out. You are agreeing with me. I like being agreeable but missed that I did it this time. AOC took the easy way out in a strongly blue district and won. [These women also took the easy way](https://www.vox.com/2020/11/10/21545632/election-house-democrats-houlahan-sherrill-slotkin-spanberger-majority), except that being in a different kind of district meant a different easy way. Dan Lipinski took what was the hard way, in a strongly blue district ,and lost. I don’t mean that political courage (saying what your voters don’t want to hear) is always bad. It depends on the situation. Since I want universal health care choices, as in the Netherlands, I like the Obamacare direction, and wish fewer Democratic politicians were in favor of single payer. Failure of Democrats, from strongly blue districts, to show that kind of political courage is a normal expectation and doesn’t make them demons. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/416 "2020-11-12T12:30:41Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > AOC took the easy way out in a strongly blue district and won …AOC took on the Democratic Caucus Chairman of the United States House of Representatives and she won. There was nothing easy about that. What are you even going on about now? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/417 "2020-11-12T12:43:29Z")
As radically right as the Republican party is, you don’t have to be “Far Left” to be demonized. Just being in favor of health care and human rights is enough. If Mother Teresa had run for president, they would have investigated and demonized her. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/418 "2020-11-12T12:59:30Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > That article is quite ludicrous. The USA with the highest GDP, only country to put men on the moon, 20/25 of the top universities, cultural giant of the world, etc. and we want the USA to be a failed state because we don’t think that open borders and unlimited handouts are a good thing? C’mon man! The left: our nation fails to provide for the needs of our most vulnerable population, and White people keep voting for racism instead of for meeting the needs of our most vulnerable people! That’s a huge failure of our nation! The right: Our nation, a failure? But our rich people are super rich! And the super-rich get to send their kids to amazing colleges! And do you have any IDEA how much money Disney is raking in? Also we had a great space program 50 years ago! How can you call that a failure?! Actually, I think that’s a pretty great summary of the differences between the US left and right. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/419 "2020-11-12T13:14:11Z")
I’ve got no problems with democratic socialist labels if that’s what they need to win local elections; the problem I had with the far left was the tendency to go on social media and attack moderate members publicly, even to the point of threatening primaries. The Democrats need to be a coalition party, a pragmatic party; they don’t have the ability to win elections through purity or polarization like Republicans can. There needs to be an understanding among party members that in your district, you do your thing, and in my district, I’ll do mine. And it goes both ways. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/420 "2020-11-12T13:47:31Z")
Yes, rest on our laurels and the accomplishments that were done by those who came before. That’s how we keep America great! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994/421 "2020-11-12T13:57:43Z")
You do know that the counties that went for Biden make up 70% of America’s GDP? > **[Democratic counties represent 70% of U.S. GDP, 2020 election shows](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/10/election-2020-democrats-republicans-economy.html)** > > Trump carried 2,497 counties that together generate 29% of the American economy; Biden took 477 counties that generate 70% of U.S. GDP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-left-is-already-being-demonized/924994.md?page=22)