Jacob Stein, American Federation of Musicians Union, Local 200.
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Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee.
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Thatâs like pointing to a member of a gang that was the lookout driver during a bank robbery and saying âlook they didnât actually take a single dollar out of the tillâ. Also, your statement is hardly a ringing endorsement. Why donât you tell me one single way she has stood against the deregulation responsible for the financial rape of working/middle class people? Why donât you explain how itâs acceptable for her to accept hundreds of thousands of financial industry lobbyist money?
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You are so full of shit. I work 60 hours a week, have NO vices anymore, and live like a monk. And I can BARELY afford $600 rent. I donât make enough to save for retirement, take a vacation, call in sick, go to the dentist, buy real food, have a single unexpected emergency, etc ad nauseum. I am one week-long illness away from fucking ruin. Stop trying to shame working poor. Yeah, weâre just partying like rock stars off this independent contractor or minimum wage while all the wealthy sip bark tea and read Thoreau.
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Not to derail, here, but can I ask how thatâs possible? 60 hours per week at minimum wage would be about $1700/month. Even figuring in employer deductions for social security, insurance, and taxes, if you âlive like a monkâ with no additional expenses, you must be spending a lot on your gruel if you can barely afford $600/mo rent. Iâm not trying to argue with you, Iâm just genuinely curious as to the situation youâre describing and how itâs plausible.
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No no, I get it. I would be curious too. I donât get mininum wage, Iâm an âindependent contractorâ. âIndependent contractorâ is rapidly becoming the norm, and the American workforce is rapidly adopting this model of obligation free employement. My employer has zero obligation to me and zero liability. I have to pay $100 out of pocket to call in sick (unless I give 10 days notice!!!). Do a Google News search for âindependent contractorâ, youâll see why American corps are drooling and chomping at the bit to switch all of their under-employed over to this model.
So, to adress your next likely question, why in the fuck would any sane person do a job like that? In my case, a 16 year old drug possession charge that I was unable to afford a decent attorney to contest, and a state with very high unemployment. And I am well educated and have an impeccable work history 
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Oh, man, that makes way more sense, and I deeply sympathize. I have plenty of friends whoâre either independent contractors or, just as bad, professional temps. The latter are basically indentured servants who work a full-time job but give something like 30-40% to their temp agency and are on short-term renewable contracts with little to no benefits, so every month or so they hold their breath until the next renewal.
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Ouch. I hadnât heard about that. This is one of my problems with people claiming the econony is better because âunemployment is lowerâ. A lot of people have settled, out of desperation, for much much lower compensation, and are now considered âemployedâ. Itâs a race to the bottom. If someone gets hungry enough, theyâll work all day for a cup of rice.
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Seriously, this is why Iâm really starting to hate Obama: Because he took a lot of optimism and trust and buried it. Sanders would be doing a lot better right now if people didnât feel so burned from voting for Obama. I donât trust Sanders on a lot of things, but heâs hardly one of the lesser of two evils candidates that weâve been getting every election since I started voting. Heâs very obviously the best candidate in the field at present and I get very frustrated that so many people donât see that because theyâve got halcyon delusions about the Clinton legacy from 90s.
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I beg to differ. We need a change in the way business and government is done. Whether that comes about through a disastrous Republican/Neoliberal presidency that pushes us over the edge and forces the change from the bottom-up, or whether we have a concerted effort from the top to effect change, that change needs to happen. The argument that we need a Democrat, just because, well, theyâre just better, is more about identity and loyalty than dispassionate reasoning about what the overall outcome will be.
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Tell me about it. Iâm astonished at the number of people who show up at my store buying up our 1099 forms.
I say we need a Democrat because a Republican will stock the Supreme Court with hard-core conservatives specifically to undo any progress made in the past eight years.
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Who died?
At this point the Notorious RBG would be the biggest loss, but that could happen one, two, eight, or ten years from now. A bad or lukewarm Clinton presidency could guarantee a shit SCOTUS too, if followed by right winger. This is not a controllable factor in elections. Especially since RBG is well known to be waiting for a true progressive to retire. At this rate, sheâll die first.
Exactly, and thatâs why Iâm not willing to take the chance that the entire SCOTUS will live through a 4 or 8 year Republican presidency. Cruz/Rubio/Trump have all talked about their desire to put their own judges in there at the first opportunity. Even one ultraconservative judge could make the difference between progress and the end of Roe v Wade, same-sex marriage, and others.
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Really? Because thatâs statistically a pretty good bet.
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Thanks,
After reading about Jill Ellen Stein, her history and what she stands for, I like her. She has several things in common with President Obama.
President Obama was a community organizer in ChicagoâJill was born in Chicago.
President Obama attended and graduated from Harvard University (Harvard Law School).
Jill Ellen Stein attended and graduated from Harvard College, a undergraduate school within Harvard University. Harvard College is one of the most prestigious colleges in the U.S and world. Harvard College was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. History of Harvard College.
Jill went on to graduate from Harvard University (Harvard Medical School).
She would need more vetting of course, butâmaybe Jill would be a fine choice to be considered for a Presidential Cabinet position or administrative appointment by either Hillary or Bernie.
Hillary Clinton was outstanding in last nights debate with Bernie Sanders. Among other things she called out and exposed Bernie Sanders for trying to portray himself as the âGatekeeperâ of who is a liberal and progressive within the Democratic Party.
Bernie actually admitted that President Obama was a progressive. A far way from this 2011 quote from Bernie Sanders, that I posted in a previous post:
âThere are a lot of smart, honest progressive people who I think can be good presidents. I think one of the reasons that President Obama has moved as far to the right as he has, is he thinks he can go all the way; and no one will stand up to him"âBernie Sanders
Well, that fits the consensus I saw that Clinton fans thought she did better, and Sanders fans thought he did. As ever.
I donât understand Nate Silverâs take on it
He doesnât seem to understand that Sanders is running intentionally to the left of CIinton, because thatâs what he believes in. Why would he want to move towards Clinton - if you want a candidate with Clintonâs policies, pick Clinton. Sheâd be good at it.
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Totally agree, but the argument CAN and will be made that he is one. It canât be made fairly or factually, but it can be made in the media.
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All the should in the world does not make it counterfactual that some people are going to be arseholes, no matter who owns or does not own the means of production.
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