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The Politics Thread

SystemSystem Administrator Posts: 199
edited September 2018 in Off-Topic

Welcome to the Politics Thread!

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semiticgoddess
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Comments

  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    For those who are curious about the old politics thread, you can view it here.
    ThacoBell
  • SorcererV1ct0rSorcererV1ct0r Member Posts: 2,176
    Balrog99 said:

    Fresh start, eh? I like it!

    Let's see how long it takes for this to become the Trump is Hitler, the US is Nazi Germany and we're all going to die from global warming unless we stop driving, heating our houses and having kids thread again...

    The problem of population IMHO is that poorest and unprepared people have a much bigger fertility rate.
    Balrog99
  • SorcererV1ct0rSorcererV1ct0r Member Posts: 2,176
    edited July 2018
    I was skeptical about global warring, but i live in a relative could city and each year the city is more hot... Now i changed my mind, believe that it exists but don't know if is caused by humans or not.

    About Trump being like Hitler and pro Russia(don't ask me how someone can be pro Hitler and pro Russia), lets suppose that Trump is extremely racist; Why he din't used his presidential influence to remove white minority countries from H1B visa program and adds Russia? Haiti was eligible to H1B visa program until 2017, Ethiopia is eligible and Russia is not eligible (list here http://www.h1base.com/visa/work/H2B Visa Eligible Countries Update/ref/1845/ )

    The merit based immigration is something that a lot of countries have. I an not pro or against Trump, just don't think that he is racist.
    Balrog99TakisMegasricoyung
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,366

    I was skeptical about global warring, but i live in a relative could city and each year the city is more hot... Now i changed my mind, believe that it exists but don't know if is caused by humans or not.

    About Trump being like Hitler and pro Russia(don't ask me how someone can be pro Hitler and pro Russia), lets suppose that Trump is extremely racist; Why he din't used his presidential influence to remove white minority countries from H1B visa program and adds Russia? Haiti was eligible to H1B visa program until 2017, Ethiopia is eligible and Russia is not eligible (list here http://www.h1base.com/visa/work/H2B Visa Eligible Countries Update/ref/1845/ )

    The merit based immigration is something that a lot of countries have. I an not pro or against Trump, just don't think that he is racist.

    I think Trump is a realist but also sees that fanning these flames gives him a pretty secure base. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that he really is a racist, but I also wouldn't be surprised to find out he's not. Open borders, however, I agree with him about...
    SorcererV1ct0rTakisMegas
  • SorcererV1ct0rSorcererV1ct0r Member Posts: 2,176
    edited July 2018
    Balrog99 said:

    I was skeptical about global warring, but i live in a relative could city and each year the city is more hot... Now i changed my mind, believe that it exists but don't know if is caused by humans or not.

    About Trump being like Hitler and pro Russia(don't ask me how someone can be pro Hitler and pro Russia), lets suppose that Trump is extremely racist; Why he din't used his presidential influence to remove white minority countries from H1B visa program and adds Russia? Haiti was eligible to H1B visa program until 2017, Ethiopia is eligible and Russia is not eligible (list here http://www.h1base.com/visa/work/H2B Visa Eligible Countries Update/ref/1845/ )

    The merit based immigration is something that a lot of countries have. I an not pro or against Trump, just don't think that he is racist.

    I think Trump is a realist but also sees that fanning these flames gives him a pretty secure base. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that he really is a racist, but I also wouldn't be surprised to find out he's not. Open borders, however, I agree with him about...
    The problem of the left is that they ignore part of reality. For example, when white minority countries

    Black Mexicans deported from Mexico to Haiti for "looking like a Haitian"
    http://www.hougansydney.com/whats-happening-in-haiti/black-mexicans-deported-from-mexico-for-looking-like-a-haitian-

    See, only by looking like an Afro Caribbean, the Afro-Mexican was deported, now imagine if it happens in USA... An Afro Caribbean have a much more easy time trying to move (legally or not) to USA than to Mexico. No path to citizenship, if someone hires him for illegal work, he will be punished, no affirmative action program...

    On China :
    China Deports North Korean Workers Forced Into Sex Trade
    https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/deportation-06122014162010.html

    Note that most North Koreans on China don't want live in China, they want move to South Korea. They should at least deport then to South Korea. When i visited Bariloche(Argentina), they asked how much money i was bringing, if i had a Hotel, etc. And yes, Argentina/Chile have a problem with illegal immigrants. At least in the left in Argentina don't advocate for affirmative actions and other programs like it. In Brazil there are affirmative action programs to protect the non white majority from the white minority. And who ended Slavery here? A blonde, blue eyed Princess(princess Isabel) and she lost her power after a coup. It was against the elite interest.

    Affirmative action program in a mostly mixed race country leads to silly situations like for example a light brown skinned guy being considered "white" in Rio de Janeiro and black in Santa Catarina...

    Trump at least is trying to end affirmative action program
    Trump Administration Calls on Colleges to End Affirmative Action http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-administration-calls-for-end-to-affirmative-action.html

    Affirmative action hurts whites and asians.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    edited July 2018

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    JoenSoThacoBellTakisMegas
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    In Finland there is an idea that the city should plan cheap housing options in expensive areas and expensive options in cheap areas. This is to prevent segregation. I would say it has seen reasonable success and cheaper rental apartments have gone on the market in higher end areas at least.
    ThacoBellGrond0smeagolheartTakisMegas
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    edited July 2018
    @deltago: I don't have an answer for that question, but I appreciate you bringing it up. It's very important to focus on actual policies in a thread about politics. Thank you for keeping things substantive.

    Since a few people have not apparently read the thread rules at the start of this discussion, bear in mind that Rule 3 specifically forbids stereotyping, and political affiliation is treated the same as race or sex under this rule. Criticizing ideas is fine, but making negative generalizations about large groups of people is not allowed here. Ascribing absurd views or sinister motives to other people is against Rule 1.

    Stereotyping people on the left or the right is not allowed. Ideas are worthy of criticism, but people aside from public figures are not subject to attack.

    Also, bear in mind that this thread is dedicated to politics, not games.

    EDIT: For those who are just now arriving at the thread, the comments in question have since been removed as of this writing.
    Post edited by semiticgoddess on
    JoenSodeltagoZaghoul
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811

    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    In Finland there is an idea that the city should plan cheap housing options in expensive areas and expensive options in cheap areas. This is to prevent segregation. I would say it has seen reasonable success and cheaper rental apartments have gone on the market in higher end areas at least.
    How does Finland dictate what gets built though? Here in Canada the developers would rather build high end buildings and houses as they will get more return for their investment than low end housing. Does the Finnish government compensate developers and landowners who build the affordable housing?
    ThacoBellTakisMegas
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    edited July 2018
    deltago said:

    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    In Finland there is an idea that the city should plan cheap housing options in expensive areas and expensive options in cheap areas. This is to prevent segregation. I would say it has seen reasonable success and cheaper rental apartments have gone on the market in higher end areas at least.
    How does Finland dictate what gets built though? Here in Canada the developers would rather build high end buildings and houses as they will get more return for their investment than low end housing. Does the Finnish government compensate developers and landowners who build the affordable housing?
    I'm not an expert but AFAIK it's usually done on land that the city owns. Therefore the question isn't "what do you want to build", it's simply "do you want to build". The renting of land from cities is pretty common overall. Perhaps not in Canadia? ;)
    ThacoBelldeltagoTakisMegas
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,366
    edited July 2018
    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    Do you mean GOOD affordable housing, or just 'affordable' housing? Do you mean housing for every individual, or every family? Do you mean affordable 'housing' or also the utilities and upkeep? If you say yes to utilities, does that also then include wi-fi and cable for everybody or just electricity, gas and water? That is not a simple question.

    Then there's the why of it. Is it to help the homeless? Many homeless people aren't homeless because they can't afford a place to live. It's kind of an alternative lifestyle from what I understand; think freedom from ties and responsibilities. I'm not sure they would even accept a free home in many cases, or would be in any state of mind to actually maintain one if they did accept it.

    If it's to help the poor, that's fine but they seem to have places to live in the US and Europe. They're not the greatest places of course but they are 'affordable'. I'd argue that the poor in the US are better off than the middle class in many countries in Asia or Africa. Picture large family units (some three generations) living in tiny housing units or apartments. They don't seem to complain about it as much either. Go figure...
    deltagoThacoBellTakisMegas
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Balrog99 said:

    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    Do you mean GOOD affordable housing, or just 'affordable' housing? Do you mean housing for every individual, or every family? Do you mean affordable 'housing' or also the utilities and upkeep? If you say yes to utilities, does that also then include wi-fi and cable for everybody or just electricity, gas and water? That is not a simple question.

    Then there's the why of it. Is it to help the homeless? Many homeless people aren't homeless because they can't afford a place to live. It's kind of an alternative lifestyle from what I understand; think freedom from ties and responsibilities. I'm not sure they would even accept a free home in many cases, or would be in any state of mind to actually maintain one if they did accept it.

    If it's to help the poor, that's fine but they seem to have places to live in the US and Europe. They're not the greatest places of course but they are 'affordable'. I'd argue that the poor in the US are better off than the middle class in many countries in Asia or Africa. Picture large family units (some three generations) living in tiny housing units or apartments. They don't seem to complain about it as much either. Go figure...
    No. More in lines with younger generations (think Later Gen Y and Millennials) not having the same opportunities to own property that Gen Xers and earlier have:

    take something like this article from Toronto, Ontario for example:
    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/07/18/toronto-condo-house-prices_a_23484784/
    A price of a condo now is what a price of an averaged detached home cost 6 years ago.

    So you have a good chunk of the population looking to purchase a house or property but are priced out of the market forcing to rent instead. Now there are benefits to renting as opposed to owning, but having a large renters market increases the prices across the board.

    So for example, 10 years ago, I rented a room (shared kitchen and bath with the owners, utilities included not wifi) for $300 a month. Today a same room is about $600 a month the price I could have had a bachelor apartment for that. Today bachelors go for $1000 a month.

    Utilities IMO is always Hydro (power), Water services, Heat (living in Canada its a must). These can be included in the "pricing of housing" but a lot of people have a hard time distinguishing between necessity
    and luxury even when it comes to these. Luxury is Cable and Wifi and should never be included. At least here, in Ottawa, there is enough places that offer free wifi that is shouldn't be an issue. Hydro prices are out of control here that a lot of people need help paying it but that is another topic.

    This story kinda triggered my thinking on it.
    ThacoBellTakisMegas
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,366
    deltago said:

    Balrog99 said:

    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    Do you mean GOOD affordable housing, or just 'affordable' housing? Do you mean housing for every individual, or every family? Do you mean affordable 'housing' or also the utilities and upkeep? If you say yes to utilities, does that also then include wi-fi and cable for everybody or just electricity, gas and water? That is not a simple question.

    Then there's the why of it. Is it to help the homeless? Many homeless people aren't homeless because they can't afford a place to live. It's kind of an alternative lifestyle from what I understand; think freedom from ties and responsibilities. I'm not sure they would even accept a free home in many cases, or would be in any state of mind to actually maintain one if they did accept it.

    If it's to help the poor, that's fine but they seem to have places to live in the US and Europe. They're not the greatest places of course but they are 'affordable'. I'd argue that the poor in the US are better off than the middle class in many countries in Asia or Africa. Picture large family units (some three generations) living in tiny housing units or apartments. They don't seem to complain about it as much either. Go figure...
    No. More in lines with younger generations (think Later Gen Y and Millennials) not having the same opportunities to own property that Gen Xers and earlier have:

    take something like this article from Toronto, Ontario for example:
    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/07/18/toronto-condo-house-prices_a_23484784/
    A price of a condo now is what a price of an averaged detached home cost 6 years ago.

    So you have a good chunk of the population looking to purchase a house or property but are priced out of the market forcing to rent instead. Now there are benefits to renting as opposed to owning, but having a large renters market increases the prices across the board.

    So for example, 10 years ago, I rented a room (shared kitchen and bath with the owners, utilities included not wifi) for $300 a month. Today a same room is about $600 a month the price I could have had a bachelor apartment for that. Today bachelors go for $1000 a month.

    Utilities IMO is always Hydro (power), Water services, Heat (living in Canada its a must). These can be included in the "pricing of housing" but a lot of people have a hard time distinguishing between necessity
    and luxury even when it comes to these. Luxury is Cable and Wifi and should never be included. At least here, in Ottawa, there is enough places that offer free wifi that is shouldn't be an issue. Hydro prices are out of control here that a lot of people need help paying it but that is another topic.

    This story kinda triggered my thinking on it.
    Ah, like how my parent's generation was able to buy a house AND afford property and maybe even a cabin up north without breaking the bank. Unfortunately part of the problem is that property is finite while human population continues to grow. Property is a resource that gets scarcer as population increases. Gas was also cheaper back then so a trek up north every weekend was a lot less expensive.

    The 'up north' reference might be a Michigan thing so I'll say that it generally means travelling to a lesser populated area to enjoy nature...
    deltagoTakisMegas
  • SorcererV1ct0rSorcererV1ct0r Member Posts: 2,176
    edited July 2018
    BillyYank said:

    (don't ask me how this geographical magical mutation works and changes the race of everyone who is born below an imaginary line, i never got it) but anywhere outside of EUA, he is white.

    I've seen you mention this before, so just to clear it up: Hispanic is not a 'race' in the US, it's an ethnicity. On the census forms, it's a separate question from race, so you can choose white/hispanic, native am/hispanic, etc.
    I never said that USA consider it as a race, but many Americans consider. For example, according to this guy "Latina is a skin color and a race." and Gisele Bundchen is not white



    This two guys was surprised because they found a blonde "hispanic"

    But that all changed one day when I went to my church, where I met a blonde-haired woman who hails from the South American country of Argentina. I told her that I had never seen or met a blonde-haired Hispanic before, and that if I had seen her just walking down the street, I would have never thought that she was Hispanic, because she certainly didn't look like it;


    What is shocking to me, is that people are shocked when anyone who isn't white has anything other than brown skin, brown eyes, or brown hair.

    http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/159532-Blonde-haired-Hispanics-and-Latinas-have-you-ever-seen-or-met-any

    An American asking "How come people from Uruguay are white and good-looking?" https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100613130250AAU61UQ

    And my USA teacher was thinking that she was in a "foreign classroom". I an not generalizing, but a lot of Americans believe that is a race, not just a group.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    deltago said:

    Balrog99 said:

    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    Do you mean GOOD affordable housing, or just 'affordable' housing? Do you mean housing for every individual, or every family? Do you mean affordable 'housing' or also the utilities and upkeep? If you say yes to utilities, does that also then include wi-fi and cable for everybody or just electricity, gas and water? That is not a simple question.

    Then there's the why of it. Is it to help the homeless? Many homeless people aren't homeless because they can't afford a place to live. It's kind of an alternative lifestyle from what I understand; think freedom from ties and responsibilities. I'm not sure they would even accept a free home in many cases, or would be in any state of mind to actually maintain one if they did accept it.

    If it's to help the poor, that's fine but they seem to have places to live in the US and Europe. They're not the greatest places of course but they are 'affordable'. I'd argue that the poor in the US are better off than the middle class in many countries in Asia or Africa. Picture large family units (some three generations) living in tiny housing units or apartments. They don't seem to complain about it as much either. Go figure...
    No. More in lines with younger generations (think Later Gen Y and Millennials) not having the same opportunities to own property that Gen Xers and earlier have:

    take something like this article from Toronto, Ontario for example:
    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/07/18/toronto-condo-house-prices_a_23484784/
    A price of a condo now is what a price of an averaged detached home cost 6 years ago.

    So you have a good chunk of the population looking to purchase a house or property but are priced out of the market forcing to rent instead. Now there are benefits to renting as opposed to owning, but having a large renters market increases the prices across the board.

    So for example, 10 years ago, I rented a room (shared kitchen and bath with the owners, utilities included not wifi) for $300 a month. Today a same room is about $600 a month the price I could have had a bachelor apartment for that. Today bachelors go for $1000 a month.

    Utilities IMO is always Hydro (power), Water services, Heat (living in Canada its a must). These can be included in the "pricing of housing" but a lot of people have a hard time distinguishing between necessity
    and luxury even when it comes to these. Luxury is Cable and Wifi and should never be included. At least here, in Ottawa, there is enough places that offer free wifi that is shouldn't be an issue. Hydro prices are out of control here that a lot of people need help paying it but that is another topic.

    This story kinda triggered my thinking on it.
    I don't see a problem. There isn't a right to own property. If you can't afford property in Toronto you can rent or own property outside of Toronto. You do what is within your means.
    Balrog99TakisMegas
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,366
    deltago said:

    Balrog99 said:

    deltago said:

    This thread is here for all discussions relating to public policy and current events in any country, domestic or foreign. The politics thread is open to anyone who is interested in politics and wants to contribute their own expertise or knowledge--or even just their personal thoughts and concerns--about current events.

    Ok, lets focus this a bit. There is one social issue I would love to get everyone's opinion on and that is:

    Affordable Housing

    How can this be accomplished without saturating the market and lowering all housing prices, without creating ghettos or less than desirable places to live in a city and without creating a suburban sprawl that increases property taxes as new essentials are needing to be built like roads and sewers?
    Do you mean GOOD affordable housing, or just 'affordable' housing? Do you mean housing for every individual, or every family? Do you mean affordable 'housing' or also the utilities and upkeep? If you say yes to utilities, does that also then include wi-fi and cable for everybody or just electricity, gas and water? That is not a simple question.

    Then there's the why of it. Is it to help the homeless? Many homeless people aren't homeless because they can't afford a place to live. It's kind of an alternative lifestyle from what I understand; think freedom from ties and responsibilities. I'm not sure they would even accept a free home in many cases, or would be in any state of mind to actually maintain one if they did accept it.

    If it's to help the poor, that's fine but they seem to have places to live in the US and Europe. They're not the greatest places of course but they are 'affordable'. I'd argue that the poor in the US are better off than the middle class in many countries in Asia or Africa. Picture large family units (some three generations) living in tiny housing units or apartments. They don't seem to complain about it as much either. Go figure...
    No. More in lines with younger generations (think Later Gen Y and Millennials) not having the same opportunities to own property that Gen Xers and earlier have:

    take something like this article from Toronto, Ontario for example:
    https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/07/18/toronto-condo-house-prices_a_23484784/
    A price of a condo now is what a price of an averaged detached home cost 6 years ago.

    So you have a good chunk of the population looking to purchase a house or property but are priced out of the market forcing to rent instead. Now there are benefits to renting as opposed to owning, but having a large renters market increases the prices across the board.

    So for example, 10 years ago, I rented a room (shared kitchen and bath with the owners, utilities included not wifi) for $300 a month. Today a same room is about $600 a month the price I could have had a bachelor apartment for that. Today bachelors go for $1000 a month.

    Utilities IMO is always Hydro (power), Water services, Heat (living in Canada its a must). These can be included in the "pricing of housing" but a lot of people have a hard time distinguishing between necessity
    and luxury even when it comes to these. Luxury is Cable and Wifi and should never be included. At least here, in Ottawa, there is enough places that offer free wifi that is shouldn't be an issue. Hydro prices are out of control here that a lot of people need help paying it but that is another topic.

    This story kinda triggered my thinking on it.
    Just visited the story link and think that is a GREAT idea! Considering my divorced status and that my family size is very small, that's something I may even have to consider when I get old(er).
    deltago
  • SorcererV1ct0rSorcererV1ct0r Member Posts: 2,176
    edited July 2018
    Dev6 said:

    (...)
    You live in Brazil. The country where a black female senator was literally murdered by the police. The guy that's probably going to be your next president, Bolsonaro, is a right-wing heavy-handed religious lunatic that has publicly said that brazil is a christian country and everyone else should GTFO.

    And don't even get me started on the way brazil treats the natives.

    So, mind telling me what "very progressive" brazil do you live in? Because such a thing doesn't exist.

    There are 61.000 homicides/year according to the official statistics. That is insane high. Nobody cares about it, but when a single leftist woman dies, there are international repercussions. At moment, there are no proof that was the police.

    Now why the country is progressive?
    • Affirmative action to protect the non white majority from white minority
    • The left wanna affirmative action not only on universities but on model agencies and on jobs.
    • Insane strict gun laws, who was approved despite the population will in a public referendum
    • Over 90% of the population is in favor of punishing teenagers for serious crimes. The state don't care
    • There are laws who literally put the woman above the man in case of homicide, despite over 90% of victims of homicide being men.
    • Racial discrimination have no "bail", is more easy to escape the jail by blinding/killing an person than by being racist.
    • Sex reassignment surgery is covered in public healthcare(SUS) but facial reconstruction is not.
    • According to many journalists, if you are more attracted to woman like Marina Ruy Barbosa than to woman like MC Carol, you are a racist.
    • One professor who just said that the there are no evidences that races who developed in different places have a similar intelligence had his house burned and was forced leaved the country and abandon his carrer. He was not killed because despite being born in Brazil, he had EU citizenship.
    And the list can go on. Bolsonaro on USA will be just one more republican candidate. Here he is popular because he is the first guy who is not lefitist. I don't like the "unionism" of him but he is the less evil of all candidates. And if he win, will be with almost no TV time, almost no publicity and all media against him.
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited July 2018
    I'd say two cops being arrested for being in the car where the shots were fired that killed her is pretty sufficient evidence, or at least enough to arrest them. Also, she wasn't just killed, she was assassinated. Political murders such as this one aren't just felt by the love ones close to the family, they are meant to intimidate others who agree with them into submission. Any targeted killing of this type is going to get more attention than a garden variety murder. This woman was apparently (again) assassinated because of her community activism:

    https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Brazil-2-Policemen-Arrested-in-Marielle-Franco-Investigation-20180724-0019.html

    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/rio-police-witness-linked-arrested-councilwoman-murder-56786622
    ThacoBellDev6
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited July 2018
    What about criticism leveled at class and power?

    You've normally been very fair, SG, and I really hope you continue to be. Yes, I admit, sometimes I use too strong a language and come across as very derogatory. I have no problem toning it down here - as sometimes I lose sense of the fact that I'm on a gaming forum and not blogging away like normal. I can come on way too strong at times and toss out a lot of pejoratives...but do those poor, privileged classes really need to be protected on a BG message board?

    What I'm saying is that I'm afraid the rules that are layed out preclude any attacks on privilege and power, seeing as how one cannot divide privilege and power from the privileged and powerful; therefore any political ideologue "left of Labour" has absolute zero say on this forum, because there is nothing really to say that differentiates someone far left of labour from labour itself, unless we get down to the specifics - i.e brass tacks. This being reform vs revolution, or in my view, symptom treating vs diagnosing the root cause. I, for one, am not interested in an echo chamber. I agree that the symptoms suck. But I'm not allowed to point fingers - which is very hard not to do.
    Balrog99
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,366
    @semiticgod
    May I request that there is at least a notification that a post has been deleted? This forum has been extremely civil compared to what the alternatives are out there on the rest of the web. The amount of passion behind posts might piss some people off but it also acts as an indicator as to the 'feelings' of posters rather than just logic. Politics is at least as much passion as it is logic...
    Stormvessel
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,366
    edited July 2018
    @Stormvessel
    I may disagree with your point of view but I really like hearing it. You're even further left than @jjstraka34 and @smeagolheart but don't post as often. Challenging people's views shouldn't be viewed as antagonistic unless it devolves into personal attacks IMHO.
    semiticgoddessStormvessel
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,366
    edited July 2018
    @jjstraka34
    I was in Moorhead a couple weeks ago to visit family but my dad did all the driving. I would love to have met you at a bar in Moorhead or Fargo but wasn't able to this time...
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited July 2018
    Balrog99 said:

    @Stormvessel
    I may disagree with your point of view but I really like hearing it. You're even further left than @jjstraka34 and @smeagolheart but don't post as often. Challenging people's views shouldn't be viewed as antagonistic unless it devolves into personal attacks IMHO.

    I appreciate you saying so.

    I don't post much here because it seems every time I try to do so it sticks out like a turd in a punch bowl - maybe I'm too impassioned. I seem to do better on Topix, WordPress, etc....there are a lot of turds in those punch bowls. :wink:

    As for being "further left", to be honest, while I do refer to myself as such so as to keep things simple, in truth I don't put much stock into "left" and "right", as I believe modern political discourse and policy is nowhere near so simple as one side or the other. Whereas "right-wingers" don't tolerate me much at all, the modern "left" aren't exactly crazy about my views. To the right, I'm a "commie" (which is understandable enough as to why they would at least think that). But even among the so-called "left" , my pro-rural, anti-elitist, anti-ID politics tendencies somehow constitute "elements of fascism".
    Balrog99
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