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Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield
2. The system is terminally dysfunctional as a result of the influence of corporate money and corporate regulatory and legislative capture.
Democrats once believed that govt was a necessary check on corporate power. Now they seem to believe that govt should serve corporate interests first, but just make sure to give some charity to the people getting screwed as a result of the imbalance.
Modern Democrats seem to be fine with gross inequality as long as they're allowed to administer charity to those on the losing end. Yes, in the short term, this is better than Republican policies, which are cruel. But over the long term, it doesn't fix the problem. It only treats the symptoms.
GGG rightly notes that the Democrats support higher wages. That's true, and that's laudable. But you don't see them moving the ball on that issue at the national level, even when they're in charge. They don't dare even raise the prospect of doing what Seattle did across the country because their corporate benefactors would kill them if they did. Sure, maybe Booker and Warren and Bernie do it. But even they know, a bill to radically raise minimum wage will never happen, so demanding one is cheap and easy political points with the left, with little downside.
Term limits are the only cure. And the downsides to that fix are problematic for other reasons.
The agency problem in govt is simply not fixable.
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You're really not on top of the curve on these things, which are changing rapidly. For example, Minneapolis adopted a phased-in $15 minimum wage last year. St. Paul is considering one right now, and will probably adopt one. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the suburbs do too.
Which is to say Dems do not currently have the power to do anything nationally, and may not for awhile. But things are taking significant leftward turns locally where they do have the power to make change. The smart money should expect that to flow onto the national stage if Dems get the chance.
Watch the positions that Gillibrand is taking these days - Medicare for all, "jobs guarantee," etc. She's probably running for president, but to do it, she's moving to the left side of the party.
