US election 2016

[Dr Gloom 19814]

that's not to say all politicians aren't are weapons grade cunts by the way, who will abandon their principles for power. but when it comes to choosing your leader you have to go for the least cuntish option. she wins hands down

[Rayvin 4964]

In the short term, yes. I agree. It's the long term I'm fearful for.

 

Also the tax bit - looks to me like she's eliminating loopholes and making sure the wealthy pay the same as the middle. That's not progressive, that's the minimum standard surely. Progressive would be if she rolled out a tax hike... Have I misread it?

Edited November 8, 2016 by Rayvin

[Dr Gloom 19814]

it's pretty progessive as far as america goes, where socialism is considered a dirty word by most. 

 

here's a nice analysis of the two candidates policies in the FT. i know who i'd be voting for if i were a yank

 

 

Mrs Clinton is more wary of free trade than she once was, but her “stronger together” catchphrase repudiates Mr Trump’s nativism. It reflects the former secretary of state’s leanings towards engagement with the world and a rejection of her rival’s attacks on women, Muslims, Mexicans and others.

Mrs Clinton’s policies fall somewhere between the centrism of former president Bill Clinton and the progressivism of her former rival for the Democratic nomination Bernie Sanders, who pulled her leftward in their battle in the primaries. They represent a deliberate effort to walk a fine line as she strives to keep two different factions of the Democratic party together.

 

Mr Trump has touted ideas that have changed multiple times and defy conventional classification. He has spurned Republican orthodoxy by promoting protectionism, criticising big business and announcing plans that would send the national debt soaring. But his positions on healthcare, climate change and Wall Street are classically Republican.

Trade

Mr Trump has condemned the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact as a “horrible deal” and said he would announce his intention to renegotiate or withdraw from the Nafta pact with Mexico and Canada on his first day in office. He has also pledged to declare China a currency manipulator and threatened to impose punitive tariffs on some Chinese and Mexican imports.

Mrs Clinton has criticised the TPP, reversing her stance on a deal that she had travelled the globe supporting as secretary of state. But her broader approach to trade is less hostile than Mr Trump’s. She stresses the need for trade pacts, but says they must be “smart and fair”.

Immigration

Mr Trump’s pledge to build a wall on the US-Mexico border is the symbolic heart of his hardline stance on immigration. He wants to deport approximately 11m unauthorised immigrants, who are mostly Hispanic, and has said Mexico is sending “rapists” to the US. He has also proposed a ban on Muslim immigration, inspired by terrorism fears.

Mrs Clinton’s ultraliberal stance is at the other end of the spectrum. She has strongly criticised her rival for “condemning whole categories of people” and sought to court the Hispanic vote by committing to comprehensive reforms that would give unauthorised immigrants a path to full citizenship.

Budget

Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton have made expensive promises that mean neither would reverse the growth of the US’s nearly $20tn national debt (including future social security payments), according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Eschewing fiscal conservatism, the Republican’s plans would add $5.3tn to the debt over the next decade. That reflects a sharp drop in tax revenue and only a modest cut in net spending, as savings from Obamacare and Medicaid are offset by increases in spending on defence and childcare.

Mrs Clinton’s plans would increase the debt by $200bn over a decade, the CRFB estimates. She would raise more revenue from personal taxation, but would also oversee a splurge of spending on college education, paid family leave, infrastructure and healthcare.

Corporate tax

Mr Trump is proposing to slash the top rate of corporate income tax from 35 per cent to 15 per cent and would allow companies to deduct the cost of investments from their taxable income. He also wants to deter tax-cutting cross-border deals known as inversions by imposing a one-off 10 per cent tax on companies’ offshore cash, which currently goes untaxed.

Mrs Clinton has not proposed a change to the headline tax rate. She has taken a tough line against inversions, vowing to impose an “exit tax” on companies doing the deals. Her other proposals for big business are modest. She has championed her plans to help small businesses, which include a catch-all tax cut for expenses and simplified tax filing requirements.

Personal tax

Mr Trump would deliver the biggest tax cuts to high-income earners in both dollar terms and as a percentage of income, says the Tax Policy Center. The top rate of tax would come down from 39.6 per cent as the Republican reduced the number of tax brackets from seven to three: 12 per cent, 25 per cent and 33 per cent. He also wants to let families deduct childcare costs from their taxable income.

Mrs Clinton wants the rich to pay more tax and has proposed three specific measures. As a result the highest income 1 per cent of households would account for more than 90 per cent of an expected increase in tax revenue, according to the Tax Policy Center. Other measures, such as an expanded child tax credit, would help poorest households the most.

Wall Street reform

Mr Trump has tangled with banks as a businessman and called them “total killers” in the primary campaign but he has since softened his tone. He has pledged to dismantle the post-crisis Dodd-Frank reforms, which banks revile and blame for stifling lending. He has also criticised his rival for taking donations from Wall Street.

Mrs Clinton has not echoed the calls of leftwingers to break up big banks but she has praised Dodd-Frank and called for it to be expanded to cover the lightly regulated shadow banking sector. However, the leaked transcripts of closed-door speeches to Goldman Sachs suggest she is more sceptical about Dodd-Frank’s benefits than she has let on.

Infrastructure

Both candidates agree on the urgent need to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in fixing America’s dilapidated transport infrastructure.

Mr Trump has lamented the US’s “third world” airports and transit systems and promised to renew them with a programme even larger than his rival’s. But he has been vague about the numbers. He has proposed to fund it partly by selling government infrastructure bonds.

Mrs Clinton advocates a five-year $275bn infrastructure plan, which she would fund through reforming US taxation of global earnings to tap corporate cash piles overseas. Most of the funds would go to direct public investment but $25bn would go towards an infrastructure bank.

Healthcare

Mr Trump has adopted the Republican mantra that President Barack Obama’shealthcare reforms must be “repealed and replaced”. He has seized on forecasts of rising insurance premiums to bolster the argument that Obamacare is failing. He has not set out a comprehensive alternative but says he would knock down the walls between state-based markets to encourage competition.

Mrs Clinton has celebrated Obamacare for delivering health insurance to 20m Americans who had lacked it but acknowledges that it needs some fixes. She wants the White House to have the authority to block unreasonable premium increases and cap prescription drug costs. She also supports creating a government-run healthcare plan as an alternative to private insurance.

Gay rights

Mr Trump has not played on the “culture war” issues that animate some conservative Republicans. Although he has consistently opposed same-sex marriage, he told the LGBT community after a massacre at a gay nightclub this summer that “I will fight for you”. He said the same thing in a speech at the Republican convention, drawing unexpected cheers.

Mrs Clinton has not sought to use gay issues against her rival but she supports same-sex marriage, having dropped her opposition to it in 2013 as public opinion shifted. She says the US needs a Supreme Court that stands up for the rights of LGBT Americans, noting that too many are targeted for harassment and violence.

Energy and climate change

Mr Trump denies that emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activity are warming the planet, saying instead that climate patterns are changing naturally. He has called climate change a “hoax” cooked up by China. He has vowed to unleash the full force of fossil fuel energy and put laid off coal miners back to work.

Mrs Clinton says climate change is a serious threat and supports Mr Obama’s efforts to cut power-sector emissions. She backs an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Although she called for tight restrictions on fracking during the Democratic primary, a leaked email has suggested she is not so hostile.

[Park Life 70]

Yeah he sound crazy and she sound well balanced and progressive.

[Renton 17746]

"If she doesn't though, we get a rerun of this in 4 years time with someone potentially more dangerous than Trump."

 

I'm actually struggling to think who could worse than this sex clown horror monster.

 

Well, I hope he doesn't give me nightmares tonight and the US has seen sense by tomorrow.

[Tom 13836]

The idea of the US "seeing sense".

 

They're shooting each other at the polling stations man ?

[Dr Gloom 19814]

Yeah he sound crazy and she sound well balanced and progressive.

 

you're joking right? what is progressive about trump? his opposition to same sex marriage, kicking out immigrants, climate change denial or is it his tax cuts for the super rich?

[Dr Gloom 19814]

i'm dreading waking up tomorrow, fearing a brexit mark II

[Happy Face 29]

you're joking right? what is progressive about trump? his opposition to same sex marriage, kicking out immigrants, climate change denial or is it his tax cuts for the super rich?

Clinton opposes same sex marriage.

[Park Life 70]

The Clinton's are probably the greatest scam artists in the history of America and believe me the competition is stiff. If Bill isn't doing coke and dialing hoes in the big house by the weekend it will mean Trump won.

[Rayvin 4964]

"If she doesn't though, we get a rerun of this in 4 years time with someone potentially more dangerous than Trump."

 

I'm actually struggling to think who could worse than this sex clown horror monster.

 

Well, I hope he doesn't give me nightmares tonight and the US has seen sense by tomorrow.

 

 

If there's one thing we excel at as a species, it's breaking through the glass floor of degradation. It'll be someone as bad as Trump but more articulate, IMO.

[Rayvin 4964]

The Guardian is showing Trump ahead in Florida... not sure how accurate their information is or exactly how this works though.

 

EDIT - it's by district, so is entirely meaningless at this point. False alarm for ewerk

Edited November 9, 2016 by Rayvin

[Park Life 70]

The Guardian is showing Trump ahead in Florida... not sure how accurate their information is or exactly how this works though.

 

EDIT - it's by district, so is entirely meaningless at this point. False alarm for ewerk

Yeah it's the Republican parts coming in first...

 

The first sign will be Virginia...Neck and neck atm. If it's really close then might not be a walkover for Hillary overall.

 

Democrats through everything at it last couple of days.

Edited November 9, 2016 by Park Life

[Rayvin 4964]

Well it sounds pretty clear cut to me. As much as it'd be amusing to see this go close, the papers seem quite relaxed about it.

 

Clinton and the status quo. The fabled third term will be achieved. All will be right in the middle classes. And after all, isn't that what matters, in the end?

[Meenzer 14031]

There's shaking things up and there's throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

[Meenzer 14031]

Haha, wait a minute, here we go. The Brexit narrative is unfolding...

[ChezGiven 0]

Looks like Trump has done it

[Meenzer 14031]

I've had my safety bet on him for about 45 minutes now, at least. Not that money is going to be worth anything after this.

[Gemmill 34422]

Fuck me, the mad cunts are sending him to the White House.

[ChezGiven 0]

Unbelievable scenes

[Gemmill 34422]

Be honest Chez, are you sat up in bed with your Make America Great Again cap on?

[Gemmill 34422]

Parky's on the bidet wearing his.

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

[Gemmill 34422]

If I still worked in the US, I'd go on a pussy grabbing spree at work today. High fives for the blokes, low fives for the lasses.

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

Well they do say we're the 51st state