The Beast

What ideas do you have to help workers who are impacted by automation?

If he gets Arizona he would be at 264 and would need one of Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, or North Carolina to win. This is based on the CNN math. “We are moving towards 270 votes, but we haven’t won yet.”

Aside from raising taxes or ignoring unfunded liabilities, I’m not sure how legislators improve the state’s finances. I think taxing retirement benefits would be a tough sell but possibly necessary with those collecting pensions leaving the state. Even if people won’t agree with that, there is definitely a spending problem and an issue with revenues in the state. I’d like to see a pension reform measure put on the ballot to have people vote on it with the messaging being that it is to keep pensions and retirement benefits for current employees but reducing pensions for future retirees so that the system works better. Otherwise I fully anticipate getting a property tax increase because of not meeting these liabilities. I often said privately to some moderators my displeasure of closing down the Filibuster because I felt that I learned more here than anywhere else with comments, thoughts and educated opinions with civil conversation. You don’t get that on Facebook and it is something lacking in our society. I have always felt that we should educate ourselves on opposing viewpoints and engage in conversation with people who we disagree with. Soxtalk is the perfect place to do so since personal attacks are minimal and there aren’t snarky memes and mud slinging as there are on Facebook. Thanks to @Chisoxfn and the admins and moderators for allowing conversation for the election. I appreciate it! Can I ask what would you make you excited about them governing or what you aren’t excited about? What messaging could Democrats use to be more appealing, in your opinion? How do you think the Democratic Party could do better with messaging and policies to appeal to Latino voters? I hope so but understand if this is just not possible. If anyone wants to have conversations about politics in a PM thread when this ends, let me know. Like I said, I learn a lot from each of you and think we need more civil discussion to grow as a country. What policies from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party would work for voters, particularly the groups that the party underperformed with in this election?

Looks like Lauren Underwood is in a tight race with Jim Oberweis to keep her seat in Congress, Sean Casten is in a fight with Jeanne Ives to do the same and the Illinois Fair Tax will fail based on the math we are seeing.

What do we know about what is going on on Michigan?

Do you have any suggestions for an alternative with a pandemic and people not being able to early vote in every state? I think it is smart to count separately, especially if Trump takes it to the Supreme Court and they need an accurate count of mail in ballots.

Are they considered received and on time? Could they get thrown out? That’s my concern.

I could be completely wrong and speculative, but the margins and turnout appear to be getting more competitive in states like Texas and Georgia. Add in a possible Trump win and they could be in the wilderness in 2024.

I agree. The votes are moving too slowly to make any definitive statements on the race. It’s too bad Biden isn’t winning convincingly but our country is just so divided. Long term tonight might not be the best for the GOP.

What solution do you propose for workers and current employees whose jobs will be automated away or whose industry is going away because there are more competitive forms of energy (coal miners, for example)? That is one thing I would love to ask blue collar workers since they tend to believe Trump’s statements on bringing these jobs back. UBI might not be the answer but at least Andrew Yang is one of the few political figures I have heard who addressed these problems.

Gary Johnson and Jill Stein both were a factor, along with low turnout and an unpopular candidate in Hillary Clinton.

What policies are the third party candidates proposing that the two major parties aren’t?

I would like to know why people vote for mostly fringe third party candidates that aren’t viable. The closest was Perot (and then Nader?). People I know who complain about a two party system offer no reforms or alternatives to make a third party vote viable.

And yet, none of the blue collar supporters I have read about that support Trump question that it might be automation that took or will be taking their jobs instead of trade or immigration. Trump and Biden wouldn’t know about solutions but at least Yang addressed it in the primary. I hope he addresses it if Biden wins since that will be something that needs to be addressed for lots of Americans.

Cut Wims and elevate Ridley. Give the former fourth round pick a shot instead of running a former seventh round pick out there. They have seen enough of what Wims can do, change up personnel and put Ridley in.

How do you address what happened on the Texas and New Jersey highways?

One of my favorite sites, https://thebulwark.com, had articles declaring Trump as being toast and then other perspectives came on saying otherwise. Where do you think the polls could be wrong and where do you worry that people won’t vote? I’m not saying you’re wrong, just curious.

I guess I would also add that I don’t want to see a majority progressive Democratic Party like I don’t want to see a mostly Trumpian Republican Party. The current Democratic congress is mostly left of center but there are more progressives being elected. It would seem that a party with balance would be better at advancing initiatives we have discussed. I still don’t understand why they didn’t pass that Gang of Eight bill, unless Boehner just didn’t want to give Obama a win.

Let me try and clarify. Since the Democrats lost control of the Senate, McConnell has blocked most legislation that has come to his desk and a Supreme Court nominee. The house also was controlled by republicans during the time when the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill was being considered. Since 2019, bills have sat on McConnell’s desk and didn’t get considered. Since 2018, Democrats in Illinois have had a supermajority and have passed lots of tax reforms, but haven’t considered any structural debt reforms for unfunded liabilities. For example, pension reforms haven’t been mentioned and Madigan wouldn’t entertain these (he is another issue since he has been in power forever and he can’t be term limited). Going back to health care, I watched the all of the Democratic primary debates and the arguments for expanding the ACA and Medicare for All. My understanding is the same as yours in that the Individual Mandate was originally something Romney passed in MA, and I believe framework of the ACA might have been a Heritage Foundation proposal. The issue that I have with the more progressive health care plan is the cost, the lost of many jobs across the health insurance industry and collectively bargained health care plans that would be lost with a government plan. I guess from my standpoint, I don’t like how the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and the Freedom caucus and people like Mitch McConnell don’t really leave much room for negotiations or bipartisan legislation when some bills prove it is possible as do people like Joe Biden. I don’t like how in my local example, one party can control for decades and ignore reforms that are badly needed to make retirement benefits fair for taxpayers and retirees. Perhaps I want to see incremental change in some areas (health care) and more reform in other areas (immigration, climate change) and a balance (balanced budgets) but I just don’t feel it is possible with one side in power (like in Illinois) or with the wings of the spectrum (like the ones I have mentioned) to get things done.

True, but wouldn’t it be nice if we were governed by centrists and leave the polarization behind us with the wings being voted out? ? I’m glad that the progressive wing don’t wield as much power as the usual moderate wing does. We could use more people in then problem solvers caucus.

One day the darkest side of those suppressing votes and peddling crap that brings us to 1950 will fall and hopefully a new party will be born. The GOP should have followed the autopsy report from 2012 but didn’t. The post-Trump Republican Party needs a new identity and I hope it isn’t Josh Hawley at Tom Cotton but more like Larry Hogan.

Do voters have any recourse on Monday and Tuesday if their votes get thrown out? That’s what I’d want to know.

I’m very sorry to hear all of this. My deepest condolences.

Let’s add the other La Russa supporters to the thread to go with KnightsOnMintSt. It’s only fitting. Green Line, Jerksticks, ChiSox1917, brett05, IWokeUpLikeThis, tray and greg775.

Edited. Just keeping a list for later in case they don’t win a World Series with La Russa. And if I’m wrong I’ll gladly eat crow. Oh, and pointing out how much of a throbbing time piece greg775 has for the hire.