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Norton
Social climber
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May 26, 2017 - 10:54am PT
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so, lets see here
some 14 million Americans now have healthcare through the expansion of Medicaid with the ACA
they have no monthly payment
how and why exactly does this piss you off?
guyman?
bet you have not read even a summary of the ACA, have you Honey Boo Boo?
hurt your little head when you try to think about stuff ?
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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May 26, 2017 - 11:10am PT
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In reality if there was no jerrymandering (ca version) then if the population was evenly distributed and voted to the left 59% of the time then every district would vote 59% for the left and the left would own every seat. But we aren't evenly distributed and I don't think that the 59% should win everything. I would love to see 59% of representatives representing the left in this case, not 49% and not 100%. How exactly you achieve this without changing our government is unknown to me.
I'm not sure what you mean by changing our government. But with districts that have one, winner-take-all, seat, I don't think you can.
Not much can be done with the Senate. But the House could have larger districts where each district had ten seats up for grabs. The party that gets ~40% of the vote gets 4 out of the 10 seats. As opposed to ten individual districts where getting 40% of the vote gets you zero seats.
You don't have to have a parliament to have proportional voting. You could still elect the president directly. The big change is you would have 10 House of representatives for a given district and districts would obviously get bigger. But they would still represent a specific place. (As opposed to having all 435 seats up for grabs in one national district which would have no local representation at all.)
Doing this would require a constitutional amendment, which isn't happening, so I realize it is no more than internet BSing.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 26, 2017 - 11:13am PT
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DMT, you're probably right. Both parties probably want to manipulate boundaries as much as they can to favor their interests, and the Republicans have simply been more successful at it, or the technologies to do it more effectively evolved at a time when Republicans happened to be in more power.
And Guy, to your point, saying Republican or Democrat is not constructive to solving the problem.
Proportional representation... lessons from the front lines:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_electoral_law_of_2015
from the article:
The territory of Italy is divided into 100 constituencies electing between 3 and 9 deputies depending on their size. For each constituency, the parties designate a list of candidates: "head of list" candidates can run in up to 10 constituencies, while other candidates are limited to a single constituency. Gender balance is promoted by requiring that, in each region, head of lists of either sex for the same party should not exceed 60% of the total; additionally, candidates in all lists must be in a sequence alternating by gender.
At the first round, electors receive a ballot allowing them to vote for a single party and for its head of list candidate (pre-printed on the ballot), and are given the option to express up to two additional preference votes for other candidates of that party, by writing their name next to the party symbol. If two preference votes are expressed, they must be of a different sex: otherwise, the second preference is discarded.
Only parties passing a 3% minimum threshold in the first round are assigned seats. If the party receiving the plurality of the votes passes a 40% threshold, it is attributed a minimum of 340 seats (54%). The remaining seats are allocated to the other parties in a proportional fashion, and no second round takes place.
If no party has been able to pass the 40% threshold, a second round takes place two weeks after the first one: this time electors receive a ballot where they are allowed to choose between the two parties that received most votes in the first round. The party winning the second round is attributed 340 seats, and the remaining 277 seats are allocated to the other parties in a proportional fashion, according to the results of the first round.
The proportional allocation of seats follows the largest remainder method. Each party receives a certain number of seats depending on its national result: these seats are then projected onto the 100 constituencies and attributed to the candidates of that constituency, starting from the head of list and then according to the number of preference votes.
This method evolved to give proportional representation while still ensuring a majority party control so that the government won't get stuck in deadlocked opposition and get nothing done.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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May 26, 2017 - 11:22am PT
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That's a pile of bs. Democrats equally guilty of gerrymandering. It sure is funny that only the side out of power clamors for rule changes, from electoral college to congressional districts. Never do they complain when their girls hold the power. Then its all hunkydorry.
Absolutely. If the Democrats didn't do also do that I would be pissed.
If the refs are going to reward a player (in say soccer or the NBA) for an obvious flop, then flopping is part of the game and you play to win based on the rules as called by the refs. On the rare occasions that I watch soccer, I find the flopping very annoying and pathetic (there is a reason I don't watch much soccer). But I don't blame the players for executing a winning strategy. I blame the rules and the refs.
Politics has [almost] always been a bare-knuckle affair that is played to win based on whatever rules (and interpretations) exist.
So I certainly don't expect Dems to refrain from gerrymandering just because gerrymandering screws up our politics and leads to results that are not in the public interest.
But I absolutely would like to see changes at the national level to reduce gerrymandering. I would like to see the Supreme Court actively fight gerrymandering. Or rather, the Supreme Court sets the precedent in a handful of cases and the lower courts do most of the fighting.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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May 26, 2017 - 11:48am PT
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Oklahoma went all red a while back. The Republicans promptly cut taxes on all sorts of stuff. The problem is that we have a balanced budget amendment.
The state went broke in the middle of an oil boom. Now they are cutting the snot out of all sorts of state functions. They are way beyond cutting fat. They are deep into muscle now.
They thought lowering taxes would bring in jobs, like they always do when they cut taxes. The only jobs that high tech firms sent here were some minimum wage call centers. Employment didn't come. We regularly graduate top notch teachers from our universities, which aren't bad, but they drive to Texas and make an extra 15 grand a year. It has been a big problem for a long time.
It would be laughable if it weren't so bad. They are frantically putting the taxes back, but it is too late for this year. So they are cutting teachers and other things that could make life better here. The only reason that I live in this stupid state is because of family.
We did recently have a very centrist democratic Governor. He balanced the budget every year. In good years we put the excess into the Rainy Day Fund. That was pilfered immediately by the Republicans.
Republicans like to spend money as much as Democrats do. The difference is that they don't pay for it.
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dirtbag
climber
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May 26, 2017 - 12:10pm PT
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Locker.... The CBD numbers ... you know that their track record stinks on these sorts of evaluations.
And its not like millions of people will be cut off from health care, completely.
Lots (millions) of people have "Health Care" that they can't afford to use....I don't call that HC at all.
I say get the federal government out of meddling in health care and lets see what happens. The Gov will still fund HC for the poor, like it always has.
I know- crazy talk to you socialist types who think it is the Federal governments duty to provide stuff to us.
Ok, so let's say the cbo is off by half, and "only" 12 million will be uninsured.
Feel better?
Face it, you've been had. He's not sticking it to the establishment: he is the establishment. His tax cuts resulting from slashing health care for millions of poor people will benefit him and his family, who are already enriching themselves through a myriad of conflicts and abuses of their offices (emoluments clause, anyone?). The only difference between him and traditional establishments types is that they are a bit more competent and less prone to stupidity. They also know how to keep their traps shut and not blab sensitive intelligence to the Russians.
We told you so.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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May 26, 2017 - 12:24pm PT
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Yes they can die....all 24 million... get real.
What did we have before?
Even when I was self-employed, I was able to buy a Blue Cross plan for my family for a pretty reasonable amount. IIRC it was less than $500/mo
and it took care of some broken bones and a bunch of kid visits.
people who I know who have coverage can't use it without spending like $14,000 first.
by by going climbing
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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May 26, 2017 - 12:31pm PT
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Yeah... Get government out of medicine and kiss all publicy funded medical research goodbye...Like Donald said , health care is a complex issue...
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dirtbag
climber
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May 26, 2017 - 12:35pm PT
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Yes they can die....all 24 million... get real.
What did we have before?
Thousands of deaths annually from lack of coverage; skyrocketig costs for everyone: catastrophic healthcare bills. You know, the good old days. Did you bother to pay attention then?
But trump thanks you for his tax cuts.
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10b4me
Mountain climber
Retired
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May 26, 2017 - 12:47pm PT
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I get that you democrats hate Trump as do many republicans (true blue party member --- George Will for example)
But he won because he is a stick in the eye to almost every established politician who has been feeding at the trough for decades
like Orrin Hatch, Mitch McConnell?
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Norton
Social climber
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May 26, 2017 - 12:47pm PT
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Idiot Wind
It's a wonder you still know how to breathe
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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May 26, 2017 - 01:41pm PT
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Idiot Wind
It's a wonder you still know how to breathe
That the best you can do NORTON?
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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May 26, 2017 - 02:32pm PT
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Even when I was self-employed, I was able to buy a Blue Cross plan for my family for a pretty reasonable amount. IIRC it was less than $500/mo
Oh yea? When I first got my own health insurance (as an individual) back when I was 25 or so, it cost me around 50 bucks a month or so. By the time I turned 40, I was paying $500 month and this was before Obamacare.
There is this thing called inflation. And this not so little thing that health care costs have been going up faster than inflation for a long, long, really, long, pre-Obamacare, long, long time.
And there is also this trivia little issue that older people have more health issues and health insurance, even pre-Obamacare, reflected that.
Getting rid of Obamacare isn't going to bring the $500/mo plan back now that you are 8 years or so older.
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monolith
climber
state of being
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May 26, 2017 - 02:44pm PT
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The CBO projects the AHCA to be nearly the same premiums as the ACA. Only diff is much fewer mandated benefits and dropping millions of insured.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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May 27, 2017 - 11:19am PT
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Trump is also confused by the ACA saying he never knew health care was so complicated...This after his non-stop campaign promise to repeal Obamacare... we have a an unqualified realtor posing as president meddling in something he has little understanding of... What could go wrong...? Maybe Trump's fragile ego requires his name being on the " Great " proposed republican plan the one that will likely create more bankruptcies and death for the American people..?
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thebravecowboy
climber
The Good Places
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May 27, 2017 - 11:36am PT
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will somebody plea$e think of the bottom line here?
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 27, 2017 - 03:18pm PT
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The bottom line is what most Americans will be pushed under, in an effort to extract every possible resource for those with the most power, until there is a collective will to fight back or until we are exterminated when machines can provide for the luxuries of the privileged class.
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Norton
Social climber
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May 27, 2017 - 03:36pm PT
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We will just have to storm the castle
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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May 27, 2017 - 05:59pm PT
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Breaking News
Kushner was setting up a communications channel using equipment at the Russian embassy to thwart U.S. surveillance systems of the pre-inauguration conversations. Trump’s initial national security adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, was reportedly also involved
Pence, Eric Prince, Manafort, Flynn, Page, Sessions, Tillerson, Murdock, Bannon, Rohrabacher, Ryan, McConnell and a hundred more all have ties to Russia
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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May 27, 2017 - 08:30pm PT
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WaPost
With state budget in crisis, many Oklahoma schools hold classes just four days a week
Funding for classrooms has been shrinking for years in this deep-red state as lawmakers have cut taxes, slicing away hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Class sizes have ballooned, art and foreign-language programs have shrunk or disappeared, and teacher salaries remain low.
Another significant consequence: A shorter school week.
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