The fucker is already offering retirees "free" money by cutting taxes on Social Security income, which will blow a $1.6 trillion hole in the budget and increase the pace at which the entire system dries up and leaves us out to dry. And the scary thing is, some of these old idiots will fall for it.
Shit's gonna get crazy if his polling keeps slipping.
It was implemented under the Amendments of 1983, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support to save a program very much running on fumes. Two of the major compromises were a multi-decade increase of the retirement age (for Republicans) and an increase in payroll taxes (for Democrats). The tax on benefits took effect in 1984 and was designed only to impact upper income retirees. Then Clinton's Congress added a second income tier for taxation in 1993, and the income tiers have never been adjusted for inflation, so like the minimum wage it puts pressure on lower and lower income Americans the longer it goes unaddressed while the value of a dollar falls. In essence, the regressive burden is very much due to the failure of every Congress since that time to clean up the requirements.
To lay it at the feet of Reagan is...to put it mildly...overly reductive. Also you know damn well "fixing it" isn't what Trump has in mind.
It seems like there have been a lot of hints that he's scheming to win in spite of the popular vote, through electoral vote and certification shenanigans, maybe an attempt to just make the situation muddy enough in enough different ways that it goes to his stacked Supreme Court in a manner partially reminiscent of the bullshit that installed GW Bush in 2000.
That's a completely valid fear even if the predicted outcome was a landslide - the potential damage to our political stability is immense if he wins election. (He also might actively accelerate climate change and break a bunch of shit arguably more important than the American state).
Because the US has a fucked up system where a small state vote is worth more than a vote from a populous state.
It should be a simple popular vote and that's it. Kill the electoral college and hopefully the Overton window will go left when no Republican president is elected for a few cycles.
I think the Dems know that, but we need a real majority and we haven't had that since... Clinton? Obama had blue dog democrats and Biden had his two senators holding him up. We also are more willing to than ever to go with simple majority, too, which helps.
It would really turn the tide though, no way Dems aren't considering it if we can get enough votes.
Sure, but there's still absolutely a threat that people just don't vote for Harris. We need to actually win the election before we worry about anything after it going wrong. Assume the votes actually matter, and prepare for them not to. Don't assume they won't matter and not vote because that makes it so they don't even have to cheat and be exposed.
There is a 100% chance Trump will lose the election. He may attempt another coup, but that’s not winning. That’s flipping the table and shitting on the game board.
The chance of him legitimately winning is way, way higher than 0%. Now, that does not mean he isn't also planning a coup. It seems he and/or the republican party very much is putting plans in motion.
Regardless, don't get overconfident, don't get complacent.
Confidence is good, but underestimating your opponent is not.
That said, it does look like Trump is losing it, and if that continues, chances are good Harris will win.
But it's never over until it's actually over. As in the votes have been counted.
You must get your info strictly by reading Lemmy communities. It's easy to get that impression because we're a pretty liberal in general, but not every poll puts her ahead, and this one doesn't put her far ahead. We still need to work hard and get people to vote.