We’re in New Hampshire campaigning for Bernie!
Last night at midnight, our theoretical family bedtime, we were listening to the most recent episode of our favorite podcast, Chapo Traphouse. And they started screaming at listeners to go to New Hampshire to get people to vote for Bernie. “Go to Durham, New Hampshire! Bernie needs your help in Durham!”
I said to the kids, “We’re going. We’re going to Durham.”
The kids ignored me.
I said, “No really. Pack up your stuff. Boston is about an hour away from Durham.”
I had to look really firm in order to get the kids to believe me, but here is the thing: My oldest son thinks he wants to study political science, and he loves Bernie, and I don’t want him to try politics after he spends four years studying it. So I called an Uber and told the kids to pack Cliff Bars for breakfast and we left.
With the dog, one more important endorser of Bernie:
My youngest son said, “Wait. Am I bringing my cello?”
My older son said, “You’re an idiot.”
The Uber driver, “I need to stop for gas.”
I said, “Fine.”
I woke up when the car stopped. We were out of gas. At 2am in the middle of nowhere New Hampshire where gas stations were all closed. The Uber driver walked a block to a man sleeping in his truck. The man said that if we had cash, he would take us somewhere for gas.
My son said, “We’re leaving right now.”
I was so proud to have kids that could not only campaign but save their lives in an Uber disaster.
Even though I know you are always supposed to pack for the car breaking down, we didn’t. I gave my coat to the dog. As I watched the Uber driver getting into the red truck, I looked for the emergency number on the Uber app. It’s labeled HELP. I called to report that their Uber driver was probably being abducted. A recording said the helpline is out of service and will be fixed shortly. There was no other Uber in sight, but Lyft somehow popped up on my screen and offered to pick us up in 45 minutes.
Our hotel was two miles away, so we started walking.
I thought the walk would be scary but then I realized we are walking through a neighborhood of homes built in the 1700s. I pointed out architectural intricacies of the Live Free or Die colonists. I knew my kids were scared because they were genuinely interested in my proof that we were in a safe neighborhood.
Then the boys got bold.
They led the way and talked about how they will always remember how much I did to campaign for Bernie, and they will never call me a boomer again. Relief: I worried this would go down in the records as one of the times I endangered the kids’ lives. (By the way, if Uber’s lawyers are reading this, I think actually it’s Uber endangering lives by making people think there is actually a help button on their app.)
We knew we were going in the right direction when streetlights made a median glow like an election oasis.
Our hotel was full of campaigners, presumably asleep but we knew we were in the right place.
The next morning my kids were up and ready to go faster than ever before. As I walked out the door with the dog, I noticed someone didn’t have underwear on, which I took it as a sign of excitement and we headed to Durham.
At University of New Hampshire, we found the Bernie people. My kids were nervous and excited and everything they should be when they are learning about themselves. I wanted to take a thousand pictures but I also wanted to model the importance of being useful, which is not my strong suit. I said, “We are here from Boston. What can we do to help?”
The Bernie workers cheered and pointed the boys toward a table. I took pictures while the boys got training.
The boys listened and asked questions. And my older son said for maybe the first time in his whole life, “Mom take my picture too.”
When I was getting ready to go last night, I was so scared that I was making the wrong decision. Kids need stability. And I was telling my kids they can’t go to bed because we’re taking a road trip.
But I’ve spent decades writing about how you need to try a career to see if you’ll like it. Trying anything new is scary; I want my kids to be brave enough to try stuff to see if they will like it instead of pretending they know they will like it to put off the scary part for later.
I am actually shocked that my kids like campaigning, but to be honest I am shocked that I like blogging about campaigning: I support Bernie because the only way parents will to be able to spend time with their kids and earn money at the same time is if this country disentangles human value and economic value; we’ve been counting the wrong things, and voting for Bernie is a big step toward fixing that.
As a former adjunct faculty at UNH and former resident of Exeter NH, I love this post so much. Have a great day today in my old stomping grounds. Cow Hampshire may be quirky, but the people are great. Your kids will learn a bunch, being part of the process. Enjoy!
Bernie’s as much a Democrat as Trump is a Republican. It’s unfortunate that the USA doesn’t have a good true multiparty system. They may be convoluted, they may be frustrating, but it gives more people a voice and truly encourages and motivates people to work together and move things ahead. This partisan divide the USA is experiencing will only get wider before you come back together.
Campaign for Bernie, or whoever you think is the right choice, but Vote Blue No Matter Who. The Bernie supporters who refused to vote for Clinton in 2016 gifted us with four years of Trump.
I completely agree with you. The Bernie supporters clinched it for Trump. I hope they have learned better and that Penelope is explaining this to her kids.
Agree with Dave! Great and growing fear this will turn out ruining it again for democrates, as he did in 2016!
Bernie won the popular vote. And the people who voted are registered democrats. So it seems to me that the DNC ruined the election for the democrats by ignoring the will of the voters.
Penelope
that is just blatantly incorrect. Hillary beat Bernie in the primary.
I don’t see things that way. I see it that Bernie was beating Hilary. And the DNC intervened, to make sure Hilary won the nomination. And then the head of the DNC was fired for breaking the rules of the primary. These news stories were in mainstream media. I don’t think this interpretation is particularly controversial.
So the voters in the Democratic primary voted for Bernie and the DNC didn’t like that and put Hilary forward and then complained that voters didn’t vote for her in the general election. I voted for Hilary in the general election, but I wish I had never had. Because I’m totally disgusted that the DNC wouldn’t let the winner of the primary run in the general election.
If the DNC plays fairly during the primaries, then I’ll vote for whoever wins. If the DNC rigs the election because they don’t want a socialist at the top of the ticket, then I’m not voting for the democrats. If a socialist wins the primary then a socialist should be on the ticket.
Penelope
❤️❤️❤️Thank you for such a succinct response. I was a Bernie Sanders delegate from Pennsylvania in 2016 and everything that you say is accurate. And I love that you got in the Uber in the middle of the night to take your sons to campaign for Bernie Sanders.
And this is why democracy matters. The will of the people, not the whims of the few (whether they be Democrats or Republicans or some variant in between)!
Refusing to vote for the candidate who is 75% of what you want, often results in the outcome being 200% what you didn’t want. Can any Democrat argue that we’re better off with Trump than we would have been with Hillary?
But Bernie didn’t beat Hillary in popular vote. He never was even close to beating her in popular vote or regular delegates. Hillary beat him 55.2% to 43.1%. She received 3.7 million more votes than Bernie. She beat her in regular delegates by a similar margin. Apparently DNC did prefer Hillary to win and did prefer Bernie to get out sooner so that Hillary has a better chance in the general election.
Sincerely, for someone who can’t handle money or math and is frequently making impulse decisions and near bankruptcy, Bernie is the perfect candidate for you. Enjoy the consequences if he’s elected!
Love this story–love Bernie, too!
How fun! Homeschooling is sounding better and better.
I’m Trump all the way….but still love what you did Penelope. Your kids are lucky to have you. That adventurous Uber drive and upscale trail walk will be the talk of the table for years to come. Not to mention the excitement of the caucus itself. Thanks for your post.
Ditto. Great Momming. Adventures build resilient adults with grit (your word).
Personal opinion is that Bernie would be a disaster for the Dems in November.
In case you need confirmation, you’re utterly insane. Congratulations on that!
LIVING FOR THIS CONTENT! Love this please keep it coming :) So great to get your kids involved and participating in democracy the way that ALL of us should be… regardless of party.
This blog post was a roller coaster & really embodies what it feels like to endorse a political candidate as normal everyday person. Especially a parent. It isn’t safe. It isn’t comfortable. It isn’t convenient. But we do it anyways bc it MATTERS.
Would you like to change future of the capitalistic dictator (Mr. Trump) on the Socialistic one (Mr. Bernie)?
Yes. I think socialism would be fine. I don’t think capitalism is going so incredibly great that we can’t risk trying something more compassionate. As an aside, I’m always shocked that people who are completely screwed in the current system vote for the current system.
Penelope
Too true. Have a look at Brexit in about five years and many of the people who wanted it will have been crushed by it.
Thank you for modeling *engaged American* for your sons.
We have had socialism in America for decades~ Eleanor (from the desk of Franklin) brought us Social Security, the New Deal; LBJ brought us Medicare originally introduced by Eisenhower.
Is it we don’t like socialism or only those for *certain* beneficiaries?
Our current model is not working, and we need a new vista. And at age 66, I am game for something new, and it is time to invest in our youth and young adults especially education.
First step is to unseat Trump, his kids and his Cabinet and the corrupt US Senate.
We hardly have capitalism. About 90% of kids go to public schools. We have a central bank that manipulates the value of our currency. And, Trump in no way represents capitalism. He was a businessman, not a capitalist. Capitalism entails trading value for value; free of government coercion. Show me the areas of the economy where that applies.
Bernie is a bum who never worked a day of his life in private industry. and his wife bankrupted Burlington College.
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, the inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries” Winston Churchill
If you can point to any country where Socialism has worked (Scandinavia is not Socialist) let me know.
Socialism leads to Communism which leads to Stalinism which leads to mass famine, the Gulags, and the Killing Fields. Otherwise it is great. Socialism worked personally though for Lenin, Stalin, Hitler (a National Socialist), Mao, the Kims of North Korea, Pol Pot, Castro, and Hugo Chavez.
Welcome to New Hampshire!! This is so awesome! You’re a great mom for encouraging your kids interests! I think of the time you took your son to a dinosaur dig in CO (I think) when my son expresses a new interest! I want to go all in with him, like you. Also- we’re huge Bernie supporters here. If you need anything while you’re in NH – hit me up!
That’s funny that you remember the dinosaur dig. I was actually thinking of that last night. How fifteen minutes after we got there my son was like, OMG I would never want to do this. But we had a nice time together. I think the important thing for me about following my kids’ lead into oblivion is that going anywhere with the kids is nice because they’re my kids. So even oblivion is nice because we’re together.
Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. For example, I was overwhelmed with the Uber debacle and accidentally dropped the dog and then the dogged yelped all night long from a hurt foot and each time he yelped my younger son woke up and told me this was a stupid idea and we’re getting no sleep.
Penelope
My first reaction was to give advice to followup on the Uber disaster. Let Uber know you and the boys had a bad experience with one of their drivers. The more I thought about it, it became more apparent to me that would be out of character for you. Even though this experience of campaigning wasn’t all “sunshine and roses”, there were a lot of positive aspects to it. And it’s my belief that the last thing you want to do is create trouble for some Uber driver who needs the job and the money. It’s difficult to know why he allowed his car to run out of gas when he knew he had to stop and refill. Maybe that’s why he’s not even a competent Uber driver. I’m just glad things worked out. Also this – “My youngest son said, “Wait. Am I bringing my cello?” – makes me think how important his cello is to him. Hope your dog is doing better.
I enjoy your comments; you have been around here quite awhile. But I always have a chuckle wondering…
Are you crushing on Penelope?
Thank you, for supporting Bernie, for getting your kids involved, and for writing about it! This is my favorite post so far.
“My oldest son thinks he wants to study political science, and he loves Bernie, and I don’t want him to try politics after he spends four years studying it.”
This reminds me of a story told to me about my family doctor: he went to law school, passed the bar, started practicing law–and discovered he didn’t like it! So he went back to school and became a physician.
“Trying anything new is scary; I want my kids to be brave enough to try stuff to see if they will like it instead of pretending they know they will like it to put off the scary part for later.”
I’m reading the book “Refuse to Choose! A Revolutionary Program For Doing Everything That You Love” by Barbara Sher.
She states on page 90, “Our defense mechanisms are designed for caution.” Page 91: “Defense mechanisms are primitive and powerful, and they think everything new is a survival issue. Right or wrong, they affect you.”
Great story, agreed learning by doing is the way to go.
Cool homeschool adventure idea:. Spend 6 months in a socialist country (Scandinavian countries are not socialist). Lots of choices.
Another idea:. Have a refugee family move in with you for several months and help them get established.
Also helpful:. Volunteer on a regular basis at a homeless shelter with your kids.
Would those experiences be good for your kids? Beneficial to you? Beneficial to society?
Whoever votes for socialism and wants nothing to do with these kinds of experiences is not a real socialist.
I can suggest these ideas because we have done all of them. If you have any questions, let me know.
Have you considered, Katherine, that the things Sanders is actually proposing (e.g. single payer healthcare, free college) are exactly as “not really socialist” as the European countries that already have them?
What do you mean “is not a real socialist”?
Speaking for myself, I don’t care about if I am a real socialist or if Bernie is a real socialist of whatever. I can’t stand the way this country creates an insanely unfair playing field in favor of the rich. I don’t want to be part of a system where kids are born into poverty and can never get out. I’m not a millionaire and I feel a moral obligation to give up more of my inherited benefits to try to level the playing field.
I don’t have a political label for my feeling of sadness when I see poverty in my neighborhood. I just can’t stand it anymore, and I want to have a radical, major change in how we do things in this country. I want to vote to get rid of the current 1% completely. But also, I want to vote to give up the advantages that I have. They are not nice and not fair.
Penelope
What is the best way to get rid of the 1%?
Taxes? Who will disperse that money? O am asking sincerely.
Thankfully, I was born into and grew up in the poverty bracket. I don’t have to feel any guilt! Also, my husband, who also grew up in poverty, is our sole breadwinner as we are a homeschool family. We will never have a lot of money. Never pursued high income opportunities. My mother lives with us. How will the loss of the top 1% make life better for anyone? Just wondering how you envision that.
Or look at it this way: how do the current low taxes on the 1% make life better for anyone who isn’t a billionaire?
But isn’t it short-sighted to think there won’t be haves and have-nots under socialism?
I agree we need to help the less fortunate as one of our primary obligations (and I think by not doing so is where we’ve gone so wrong), but I see it as counterproductive to have a government that mandates “fairness,” because we all know people in power will always have a different idea of what is “fair” for them.
You want every one to be economically equal which is an impossibility. What we should look to achieve is that everyone has enough to meet their minimalist needs
I guess you are speaking to me though you used a different name. Can’t figure out why, but anyway… Bernie’s plans are not limited to those popular ideas your mentioned. You are probably aware of that.
Sorry, Katarina. I think my brain must have involuntarily translated your name.
Of course, Bernie Sanders, like other politicians, has positions on a broad range of current issues. Is there one with which you take exception? It sounds like you are all right with single payer healthcare and free college, which are his best-known positions.
Here’s a reference for his positions:
https://feelthebern.org
Is there anything specific there you’d like to disagree with? Or that would, if enacted, make the United States more socialist than a northern European country?
Quick response – and I am not trying to engage in an in-depth discussion or be persuasive.
1. Implementing large scale government managed operations in a country the size of the US cannot be compared to what/how things are done in a region as small and relatively homogeneous as Scandinavia. Scale matters. Culture matters. The same construct will not function the same in every context.
2. Bernie’s views on socialist policies are meeting some resistance even with unions right now. There is sub-text in his message which has more extreme regulatory implications and cost than most people are comfortable with.
3. Few staunch advocates of public education are true advocates of homeschooling. Btw, it is illegal in Sweden. Highly regulated to the point of being prohibitively expensive when it is allowed (can’t remember if it is Norway or Denmark.). I follow the public education thought leaders in the US and they strongly resist homeschooling.
It is inherently unequal.
4. Government as a “neutral” arbiter of economic justice is a lofty goal. Even Bernie is a lot richer than a lot of people I know, and without a product to show for it. Corruption is inevitable, gross inefficiency is guaranteed. His plans are too superficial to overcome these problems.
5. All of that said, our current system is corrupt and inefficient. Even if he wins, he will probably face enormous opposition, even within his party and find himself unable to implement almost anything he plans to do.
He is by far the most authentic candidate with Klobuchar following behind. He will need a lot of support to overcome the obstacles that his frenemies are going to throw at him.
Capitalistic countries with strong socialist policies are rare and their effectiveness is debatable. Many people feel very stifled in these countries.
German universities are free but you need to know by age 14 that you want to attend so you have to qualify to go to Gymnasium. Not American.
I could say much more but I already said too much. I have worked with State Department, I have lived in Germany, lived and worked in former Yugoslavia and conducted executive MBA study tours to Russia and Poland. I have lived a lot of scenarios and big social programs aren’t so simple as they look on paper.
I did not intend to go on so long. That’s more than enough from me.
Katerina, it sounds like now you’re rejecting Bernie on an effectiveness basis, rather than from a policy disagreement standpoint.
Fair enough. I don’t think he would be likely to be very effective either. But if he’s not likely to be effective, then perhaps worrying about us suddenly becoming more socialist than Sweden is a silly argument, no?
I won’t offer any political thoughts except to say you’ve shown your boys to move the needle and make a difference you must take action. But I love the spontaneity, the boldness you’ve shown the boys by taking the road trip! Ya’ll will always enjoy this memory too. Yay for so many life lessons on so many levels and the good time togethor!
Bernie is a millionaire. Why isn’t he giving it away? The same reason all you the system is unfair socialists aren’t. The same reason socialism doesn’t work.
In Scandinavia middle class people pay for their benefits. They don’t have an underclass but they’re getting one through immigration. Let’s see how they hold up.
In America the rich pay for excess middle class benefits. The poor aren’t poor so we subsidize their social breakdown. Thanks white liberals! You’ve wrecked many communities with your do good baloney.
Penelope is you despise unfair advantage why do you pay for tutoring sitters to tutor lessons? Who are you kidding? Communism aims to end meritocracy and elevate a class of privileged bureaucrats. We have that plenty in America but it isn’t all we have. Overwhelmingly billionaires support Bernie. They could all be not billionaires tomorrow. But they don’t want that. See “why socialism doesn’t work” Penelope you’d be lost in communism. It doesn’t reward movers and shakers of the verbal type. You’re not a networker in the sense of making deals and you’re not literary in the way people became famous in communist countries. You’d be stuck changing street lights. Nothing you say is backed up by the reality you live. Virtue signaling and envy can explain the Bernie phenomenon. The young have the most to lose. They’ll subsidize the old. I love the post. Yay adventure but you have no idea how evil socialism is. It forces. It squashes entrepreneurship. Disaster where it’s been tried. News flash France abandoned the Bernie plan. Tax people at a certain amount they’ll leave. But please explain yourself how you can be so competitive and indulgent to your kids take them out of public school and then say you hate the system. You could tutor underprivileged kids. Hell you could tutor your own kids. There’s zero reason to believe they’d fail in school and you know it. It’s called white affluent woman highly cutthroat competitive with secret raging envy (see Sheryl sandberg) looking to bring others down. I think you’re a GREAT FUN mom. You sound in many ways mentally ill and insanely self centered giving to spouses or anyone not your kids. And I think your competitiveness will be your downfall. Don’t live vicariously through your kids. Being a ceo isn’t the end all be all. You can’t seem to truly recognize success as having a job you like and a close knit family. Don’t think you’ll ever be happy sadly if you’re not lashing out at someone in anger even if it’s the bogeyman rich which in a sane world would include Bernie (rich off government!) trump Obama (rich off government vile!) bush Clinton (rich off government) I hate voting republican but at least they make their money or inherit it from someone who did. I wouldn’t vote Bernie because he’s inept never did a thing in government supports evil countries and hasn’t a clue. Trump is a different type of idiot but as long as he liberalizes the economy mostly I don’t care.
A great idea that has no chance of succeeding is not a great idea. Feasibility is essential to be successful. I don’t believe in setting anyone up for failure. And I also don’t want to be like Sweden. Might be silly thinking but I can live with that.
Thanks, P. This was really inspiring and clarified some of my own feeling about Bernie. And it’s a relief to hear other people are feeling as uncomfortable with U.S.A. as I am.
This reminds me of the early 2000s when people were protesting our upcoming involvement in the Iraq War. I was studying college journalism at the time and my son was a senior in high school. Because I had to work, I let him skip school and attend a protest in order to get the interviews I needed for an assignment. We both got in trouble for that (seriously? like I was a child?), but I still believe it was a good experience for him and one that involved him in history. Same for your sons.
Elect a Socialist (actually a Communist) such as that lunatic Sanders and you can all watch your hard earned 401k retirement investments go right down the toilet. As far as “Socialism compassion” tell that to the starving people of Venezuela, the ghosts of the tens of millions of starvation victims of Mao’s “Great Leap Forward”, the millions who starved to death in North Korea and on and on. Do any of you ever read history besides Howard Zinn’s fake book? That Old Communist Bernie Sanders has become the head of a cult of brainless millennials and aging radicals.
I have 2 questions –
First, if Durham was an hour from your starting point, why did you wake up in the out-of-gas Uber at 2am? What time did you leave? I love a bit of spontaneity as much as the next person but it strikes me that it would have worked a whole lot better for everyone to go to sleep and leave in the morning.
Second – you say you want to ‘try a more compassionate system’ – what about socialism in practice seems more compassionate? I get that theoretically it sounds more compassionate. But looking at history, in practice I just don’t see it. It always seems to bring about shortages and more deprivation.
My kids and I have seen 38 states. I can’t hush over this road trip. The Uber part was great but the rest it’s like, get out of the house.
Your kids did nothing and you did nothing to advance politics. A token feel good gesture for you. What did you do to make Bernie more electable? Nothing. To better anyone’s life? Nothing. Also I’m deeply distressed your sons are in an echo chamber but that’s what they’ll get in college too. I thought homeschooling would should be about a diversity of ideas.
I’m not a teacher. I homeschooled my kids. I’m sorry but you did not. Hiring tutors is not homeschooling. It’s the equivalent of the MOST PRIVILEGED private school. I know many will disagree but explain to me how private tutors is a homeschool. Right now there’s fusion academy. All private tutors. Phillips Exeter offers private tutoring. Hell there’s a camp near me that does so obviously that’s another model of school but it ain’t homeschool. So maybe the privilege you should be dismantling is your own. I’m literally nauseous at your Fake ness and bs and competitiveness because you’re a fraud. Vote Bernie. No one should he a one issue voter. But he is rabidly anti homeschooling. Don’t dare present him as someone who would make education fair. You can confiscate everyone’s money which means steal. But look at you. You claim poverty. Lady how in the world Do you pay for tutors if you’re poor. The poverty line for your household is about $25k. Didn’t you sucker people into providing that on Patreon for your personal assistant? Could you be ANY more spoiled, fake, and choosing and executing of your own privilege? I’m sure you won’t post this or any Meaningful reply because you only enjoy adulation or minor criticism. Your writing is the embodiment of pretentiousness and dull with an occasional interesting train wreck post though honestly as you get older you’re not much of a train wreck. You just get sad because we all get sad. Life gets lonely even with kids and I feel sorry that you’ve spent almost every adult mom year living vicariously through your kids believing fame and money equal success and simultaneously being rabidly envious of those better off while acting like queen s_____ any way you can. Calling it as I see it. I support REAL homeschoolers. Not rich private tutor celebrity talent homeschoolers. I’m happy for the latter but they’re not the same group. If your primary teaching isn’t from you it’s a private school at home.
As for direct research into socialism (not to disparage libraries) it seems to me that anyone who could afford to be a tourist to go to the U.S. is not poor.
A U.S. citizen could say hello to such a tourist from the east: New Zealand, Australia, Japan; from the west: Britain, France, Germany; the north: Canada.
Then ask: “You guys have socialized medicine. How’s that working out for you?” Nobody would say their system is perfect, and EVERYBODY would say their system is better than it was historically, BETTER than the U.S.A today. Seriously. No one wants to trade places with you guys. Don’t take my word for it. Just ask.
…Note: But don’t ask your own medical people. According to a Canadian married couple—fundraising for them made the front page of my city tabloid—the staff took X-rays before they returned to Canada because “they have socialized medicine up there” and the hospital staff worried that Canadians wouldn’t have X-rays. How the greatest country in the world can have the dumbest doctors is beyond me.
Relative to Socialism, I have Four Laws:
1. Socialism cannot work because it cannot compute prices (Mises).
2. The administrative state cannot work because the Man in Washington does not have the bandwidth to run the economy (Hayek)
3. Regulation does not work because “regulatory capture” (Stigler).
4. Government programs cannot work because you can never reform them (Chantrill).
You could look it up.
Then there is my dictum that the left is a Great Reaction, as in:
Socialism is a return to slavery; the welfare state is a return to feudalism; identity politics is neo-tribalism; reparations is neo-vengeance; activism is part medieval knight-errantry, part pro-regime street-thuggery, and part activisme, or gentry kids putting on a play; helpless victims are a return to sacrifice, social justice is good old loot and plunder.
While as a Libertarian I agree that pure socialism is not a good thing, I’m seeing the controlling aspects typically viewed as disadvantages of socialism in the US Republican party. It reminds me of Ayn Rand’s observation in “Atlas Shrugged” where the companies with the best lobbyists made the rules that benefitted themselves.
I heard a good quote around 2008 that I’ll paraphrase here. “We can’t socialize risk and privatize profits”. The bank bailouts were socializing the risks that the banks should have absorbed. In the recovery, the banks then privatized the profits and the American people didn’t see the advantages that they paid for except for the amounts that they’d borrowed. I spoke to small banks around my area that were solid at the time and they could have picked up the pieces from the large bank failures IMHO. The bank bailout rewarded bad behavior.
I’ll probably get replies saying hindsight is 20/20 but we’re seeing this same thing again with the Covid-19 bailout. The money should be directed at small businesses but I have a sneaking suspicion that big companies will come out of this better than ever and we’ll see a lot of consolidatation as the big companies swallow the smaller companies resulting in less choice.
I’m not saying Bernie is the answer, I didn’t want to see him as the Presidential nominee when he had a larger field to choose from but he’s closer to what we need than the field that is left. Just my 2 cents…
People who struggle in our society are naturally going to gravitate to someone who promises to rip it all out and magically establish “fairness”. Bernie’s popularity is a testament to the growing number of jealous misfits. But they’re not a majority yet, so if Bernie gets the nomination, Trump wins easily.
Ever thought how would it feel like to be transported back into time while driving? Or that if you knew the exact story while passing through a particular landscape, fallen building or old monument?
We too equally share this curiosity itch. And it seemed like an impossible dream until now. Post years of research and study we have accumulated a plethora of stories with just one tap!
And it is definitely one of the best road trip apps you can get on the net.