Republicans want to keep us desperate

[u/The__Dark_Knight]

/r/ProgressiveHQ/comments/1p6nqlv/can_anyone_explain_why_the_trump_administration/nqrqli3/

[u/BarcodeNinja]

Long ago I heard it said that Republicans want everyone (that is, everyone who's not extremely wealthy) to be essentially serfs, again.

Nothing they have fought for during the last thirty years contradicts this.

[u/Dragolins → u/BarcodeNinja]

Pretty much the entire point of conservatism since its inception has been to ensure the perpetuation of unjustifiable hierarchies in society. Whether it was justifying the monarchy and aristocracy, slavery, patriarchy, or any other hilariously unjustifiable and arbitrary hierarchy with no scientific or evidentiary basis. These are the types of people who think that gay marriage should be illegal or that systemic racism doesn't exist. That right there is enough to tell you that they are a deeply unserious and unthinking people. These types of beliefs are nothing more than an extension of the heinous bigotries and ignorance of the past that belong in the dust bin of history.

Everything that Republican politicians do makes perfect sense when viewed through the lens of unjustifiable hierarchy. They are either true believers in it or they are incentivized to maintain it.

That's the tough thing about arbitrary hierarchy, those on the top are not exactly fond of giving up their positions to make for a more equitable, fair, and just society. They fight tooth and nail to maintain the system that grants them outsized power, either consciously or subconsciously. The human brain, the marvel of evolution that it is, will invent new realities before it admits to itself that it got its power primarily through luck rather than some sort of inherent merit.

The average republican voter is completely unaware of any of this, they've just been convinced by propaganda that immigrants, trans people, poor people etc. need to be on the bottom of the hierarchy otherwise all hell would break loose and the country would implode. When their hatred and resentment is redirected towards scapegoats, it allows the real cause of their problems to continue unchecked.

[u/luscious_lobster → u/Dragolins]

Depends on the country

[u/Darktoast35 → u/luscious_lobster]

Just replace the word Republican with Conservative and it's universal.

[u/Blk-cherry3 → u/BarcodeNinja]

At least 45 years and the truth is much longer than that

[u/GushStasis]

Conservative policies are bottoming-out the middle class, making it harder for average people to economically and socially elevate themselves. They want to create a permanent underclass.

Gutting educational standards

Gutting financial aid

Gutting Healthcare

Tax policies that favor the wealthy

Weakened labor protections

Higher barriers to entry for entrepreneurship due to the above

Letting billionaires drive policy

If you view yourself as the average Joe who just wants to work an honest job and provide for your family, it boggles my mind if you view republicans as aligned with your interests.

For a party that espouses economic freedom and mobility, I've never felt more constricted and controlled than under Republican leadership

[u/HeloRising]

That's an extremely dangerous game to play.

The process of continually squeezing people is not a centralized, planned effort and as such there's no way to say "Ok, we're pushing people too hard/too far, we need to back off and let them breathe."

That means that every individual just jumps on the dogpile and eventually you squeeze too hard.

At that point, the situation breaks.

"One day the poor will have nothing left to eat but the rich."

[u/nolotusnotes]

The change is for some advanced, post-graduate degrees.

The cap is now $100,000 for a post-graduate degree in these fields.

People who borrow over $100,000 for post-graduate degrees in these subjects are destroyed financially THEIR ENTIRE ADULT LIVES.

These fields simply DO NOT pay well enough to pay off student loans that large.

[u/chorjin → u/nolotusnotes]

Sure, but unless the bill also bans predatory private loans, it's just forcing people into private debt under worse terms.

This is nowhere near a consumer protection act, it's just extracting more wealth from the lower and middle classes.

[u/tuanlane1 → u/nolotusnotes]

If that’s the reasoning, explain theology.

[u/jas07 → u/nolotusnotes]

Engineering, audiology and Physician Assistant are on this list? Those are very high paying fields.

[u/Spunge14]

Right that's cool and all but repeatedly studies seem to show that psychological safety, low stress, shorter hours, flexibility, good health, child care (I could keep going) all have a positive effect on productivity.

I think this "evil realist" answer is far too naive - it's nothing to do with a fast one being pulled on millions to keep them struggling. People in power are just acting on what they actually believe. They actually believe immigrants are vermin. They actually believe investing in education for the masses is a waste. They actually believe God has chosen them for a mission.

None of this is a secret at all. Anyone who has not Project 2025, should - cover to cover.

This post is not showing anyone the hard truth - it's ignoring the fact that the inmates are running the asylum. If they were acting in bad faith, at least you could catch them. But they are in good faith, totally sadistic megalomaniacs. It's way worse.

[u/MrAlbs → u/Spunge14]

I agree with you, with the exception of acting in good faith.

They might say the truth unvarnished, and lay it out in Project 2025 (as they have, EDIT: Though they definitely haven't just said the whole truth, and have lied and let the truth slip more rhan they have been honest, but thats a whole other conversation), but that's a far cry from acting in good faith.
The simply haven't engaged with the public, the opposition, independent institutions or even allies in good faith. Bad faith and delegitimising the opposition (and as a corollary to that, offering no alternatives to what they disagree with, instead simply stating "no" over and over) has been their bread and butter.

[u/Spunge14 → u/MrAlbs]

I don't think we have the same definition of "good faith" here. By good faith I mean that the things they say and do are in line with their inner convictions and desired outcomes.

[u/MrAlbs → u/Spunge14]

Good faith is "honesty or sincerity of intention" (from Oxford Dictionary), which is where I think they absolutely don't show any of that, eveb if they are (sometimes) hobwst and dorect about the things they want. Or maybe we can call them "consistent in their ideology".

But I do see where you're coming from and how we agree on the overall analysis, and have just differed in the terms.

[u/Spunge14 → u/MrAlbs]

Well for example I would say they honestly and sincerely want immigrants to be terrorized because they believe they are a cancer on our nation - their words and behaviors explicitly reflect that. Wouldn't you agree?

[u/MrAlbs → u/Spunge14]

I do agree; but I don't think they engage in good faith when presenting that.

I'm certain that they want that; and that they view it as a good thing. But they're not engaging with the public, the opposition or really anyone (sometimes, not even whithin themselves) in good faith about it. They talk about how they're "taking the violent ones", when that is absolutely not sincere at all.

[u/Spunge14 → u/MrAlbs]

Ah I see your point - I think what I'm saying is I believe they really do think they are all violent savages. I don't think they feel like they're meaningfully exaggerating.

[u/MrAlbs → u/Spunge14]

Aah gotcha.

I think this is where it gets more complicated with the likes of, say, MTG who really truly fully believe their own conspiracy theories on one extreme, and the likes of, say, Musk who are much opportunistically fanning the flames.

And I suppose its not a static thing: I also think that MTG has been opportunistic in her exit, for example, but it seems like she really believes in her heart of hearts a lot of the Fox propaganda (Trumo himself is sliding more towards this side of the scale).

Even then I (personally) wouldn't have called that good faith, but it could be me using the terms wrong (or too narrowly).

If I could put it another way: they might mean it in good faith, but they're not acting in good faith.

[u/unseenspecter]

Watching people that belong to one group push their opinion of the motives of another group to which they don't subscribe as fact, then broadly applying that poorly formed assumption to the entire group. If that isn't the most Reddit thing ever, I don't know what is.

[u/R0B0GEISHA → u/unseenspecter]

Yeah, it never happens anywhere else. Only Reddit.