Just listened to the podcast today and I agreed with a lot of it. I think Batya Ungar-Sargon made some valid points but she gets a couple things wrong and I'll just mention the most important.
At one point she said the Democrats wanted to decriminalize illegal border crossings as a form of class warfare against the working class. I think that as wrong for two reasons. One, I've never anyone on the left in public or private say anything like that (I don't claim to be all knowing, but if it was determinative, I'd expect to hear someone to saying it). Second, if that was the reason, it would be pretty easy to change course now that the left's view of immigration has become so unpopular.
Instead, the most common reason I justification for granting entry to virtually every migrant who wants to come is some variation of a kind of bleeding-heart utopianism ("the immigrants are fleeing poverty and violence and its cruel to deny them a better life"). That may not be the only reason, but it sure comes up frequently among the grass roots left. Now, here's the political problem: it's a lot harder to convince someone to change their mind if they have adopted a morally righteous position.
Thank you both, I've now learned hot to pronounce Ruy's last name as well as the expression noblesse oblige where I wasn't aware there was an accent acute or whatever.
I think Batya really has her finger on our pulse of working people, she correctly identifies our issues as well as what's working.
Trump economically was great for me and I'm sorry I didn't vote for him the first time around. As a sole proprietor I got a 20% tax cut on profits. Also, when covid hit, and many illegal immigrants went home, the competition for contracts changed. The companies with high numbers of illegal workers simply couldn't do the work, and much higher prices became the norm. All of a sudden the bank account for my kids college was growing, we began really pouring money not only into the IRAs but simply investing in Vanguard, most of our income.
I'm torn between parties, when the Democrats support policies no different than the Chamber of Commerce and the Koch Foundation. At the same time the highly selective colleges my kids think they might have a chance of being accepted at, don't want Asians and Whites, turns out my kids are doubly cursed.
So what really is in my best interest? I don't know. What I do know is that I'm again being underbid, and I'm often the only bilingual person on the job site. I'm set, I've made it, but what about others like me? Construction was always a place where no matter how badly you have messed up previously, if you are smart, and willing to work very hard, you could make enough to support a family. Not any more. I don't know what young folks are going to do. Working class wages need to double and people need security, in housing, in health care, in retirement.
Just listened to the podcast today and I agreed with a lot of it. I think Batya Ungar-Sargon made some valid points but she gets a couple things wrong and I'll just mention the most important.
At one point she said the Democrats wanted to decriminalize illegal border crossings as a form of class warfare against the working class. I think that as wrong for two reasons. One, I've never anyone on the left in public or private say anything like that (I don't claim to be all knowing, but if it was determinative, I'd expect to hear someone to saying it). Second, if that was the reason, it would be pretty easy to change course now that the left's view of immigration has become so unpopular.
Instead, the most common reason I justification for granting entry to virtually every migrant who wants to come is some variation of a kind of bleeding-heart utopianism ("the immigrants are fleeing poverty and violence and its cruel to deny them a better life"). That may not be the only reason, but it sure comes up frequently among the grass roots left. Now, here's the political problem: it's a lot harder to convince someone to change their mind if they have adopted a morally righteous position.
Thank you both, I've now learned hot to pronounce Ruy's last name as well as the expression noblesse oblige where I wasn't aware there was an accent acute or whatever.
I think Batya really has her finger on our pulse of working people, she correctly identifies our issues as well as what's working.
Trump economically was great for me and I'm sorry I didn't vote for him the first time around. As a sole proprietor I got a 20% tax cut on profits. Also, when covid hit, and many illegal immigrants went home, the competition for contracts changed. The companies with high numbers of illegal workers simply couldn't do the work, and much higher prices became the norm. All of a sudden the bank account for my kids college was growing, we began really pouring money not only into the IRAs but simply investing in Vanguard, most of our income.
I'm torn between parties, when the Democrats support policies no different than the Chamber of Commerce and the Koch Foundation. At the same time the highly selective colleges my kids think they might have a chance of being accepted at, don't want Asians and Whites, turns out my kids are doubly cursed.
So what really is in my best interest? I don't know. What I do know is that I'm again being underbid, and I'm often the only bilingual person on the job site. I'm set, I've made it, but what about others like me? Construction was always a place where no matter how badly you have messed up previously, if you are smart, and willing to work very hard, you could make enough to support a family. Not any more. I don't know what young folks are going to do. Working class wages need to double and people need security, in housing, in health care, in retirement.