Asking as someone from the other side of the planet.

From the things I saw about the US election, the Dems were the side with plans for the economy - minimum wage adjustments, unions, taxing the rich, etc. The Republicans didn’t seem to have any concrete plans. At least, this is what I saw.

I don’t doubt Bernie Sanders though - he seems like a straight truth teller. But what am I missing?

  • @grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
    79•14 days ago

    What you’re missing is that all those plans you mentioned, while correct, were (a) just ‘plans’ with no follow-through to back them up and (b) too little, too late even if they were implemented.

    • The “fight for $15” (minimum wage increase) has been going on for so long with zero [Federal] success that, due to inflation, it ought to be renamed “fight for $30” by now.
    • The lip service given in supporting unions was belied by how Biden fucked over the railroad workers.
    • Inequality (the gap between the working class and the 1%) is continuing to spiral out of control and the Democrats had very little to say about stopping it. It’s important to remember that “tax the rich” was only supported by the progressive subset of the Democratic Party.
    • We need zoning reform coupled with switching from property tax to land-value tax, to stop enabling the hoarding of underdeveloped property by protecting it from market forces (i.e. real reforms to make housing affordable again).
    • We also need things like vigorous enforcement of anti-trust law and consumer protection laws, so that the public feels (and is) less exploited by corporations.
    • @Wrench@lemmy.world
      5•13 days ago

      The “fight for $15” (minimum wage increase) has been going on for so long with zero [Federal] success that, due to inflation, it ought to be renamed “fight for $30” by now.

      And the side that won has been fighting the minimum wage hike for “so long”. Who’s the enemy of the working class again?

      The lip service given in supporting unions was belied by how Biden fucked over the railroad workers.

      This is a lie that has been repeated time and time again. He fast followed the end of the strike with helping the workers get exactly what they wanted. He aided their negotiations AND got our supply lines back on line.

      Inequality (the gap between the working class and the 1%) is continuing to spiral out of control and the Democrats had very little to say about stopping it. It’s important to remember that “tax the rich” was only supported by the progressive subset of the Democratic Party.

      Again, which party is it giving the mega wealthy tax breaks? Who is appointing billionaires to run the government? Who controlled the House and prevented tax reform from going through?

      We need zoning reform coupled with switching from property tax to land-value tax, to stop enabling the hoarding of underdeveloped property by protecting it from market forces (i.e. real reforms to make housing affordable again).

      That is state level reform. Obviously.

      We also need things like vigorous enforcement of anti-trust law and consumer protection laws, so that the public feels (and is) less exploited by corporations.

      No argument there, but which party is constantly eroding our current regulations that protect consumers and workers?

      • @grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7•13 days ago

        The lip service given in supporting unions was belied by how Biden fucked over the railroad workers.

        This is a lie that has been repeated time and time again. He fast followed the end of the strike with helping the workers get exactly what they wanted. He aided their negotiations AND got our supply lines back on line.

        Nope, I did my homework on that one before posting it. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_railroad_labor_dispute :

        In September 2022, U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Roger Wicker introduced a bill that would have required labor unions to agree to the terms proposed by the Presidential Emergency Board, to prevent a strike. It was blocked by Senator Bernie Sanders, who noted that freight rail workers receive a “grand total of zero sick days” while railroad companies made significant profits. In the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We’d rather see negotiations prevail so there’s no need for any actions from Congress.”

        In late November, after some unions had rejected the agreement, Biden asked Congress to pass the agreement into law. On November 30, the House of Representatives passed the existing tentative agreement along with an amended version that would require railroad employers to ensure 7 days paid sick leave. On December 1, the Senate passed the tentative agreement with only 1 day of sick leave. President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law on December 2. The Biden administration’s intervention in the dispute was condemned by over 500 labor historians in an open letter to Joe Biden and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.

        Biden may not have aggressively attacked and ruined the railroad workers the way Reagan did with the air traffic controllers, but he definitely forced them to take less than they would’ve gotten if they’d been allowed to strike.

        • @jj122
          2•13 days ago

          I get what you are saying but it still isn’t the complete story. Yes he didn’t let them shut down a major pillar of our economy and at that time forced them to take an agreement that was basically everything they wanted except for off time. But his admin spent the months after getting those concessions from the railroads. The IBEW even thanked the admin for their work. He supported many other labor unions right to strike without interference.

          https://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/23Daily/2306/230620_IBEWandPaid

          • @grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1•13 days ago
            1. Still less than half the sick days the workers originally demanded, and deserved.
            2. The damage to Biden’s reputation re: supporting the working class was already done.
            • @jj122
              1•13 days ago

              Yep you’re wrong on 1. “The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters had asked railroads for seven days paid sick leave following the rejection of its contract earlier this month. Another union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, rejected its contract in September in respect of other unions negotiating for additional benefits, though eventually voted to ratify”

              https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/second-union-rejects-freight-rail-labor-agreement-strike/635078/

        • @Wrench@lemmy.world
          -1•13 days ago

          Well, you failed your homework assignment, then.

          Further down your own Wikipedia article

          In February 2023, CSX announced a deal to provide four days of paid sick leave annually, plus the option of converting three personal days into additional paid sick time with two unions.

          Citation from your own linked article

          Which also clearly states that the original agreement that included 7 days was shot down by Republican senators, which is why the 1 sick day had to be the first iteration. And also includes details on how Biden’s administration continuing pressure on the railroad companies that led to 7 days paid sick leave for two unions 3 months later, and then ultimately yielded 7 sick days for the majority of railroad union workers by half a year later.

          But yeah, keep intentionally misrepresenting recent history. It helped elect the guy who is so anti worker that he habitually stiffs his own workers of overtime, or refuses to pay them at all.

          • @grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2•13 days ago

            7 isn’t 15, which is what the workers were initially going to strike for (and deserved).

            More to the point, the damage to Biden’s reputation re: supporting the working class was already done. If he really wanted to show the working class he had their backs – which, again, is THE thing that’s absolutely necessary to combat fascist populism – would’ve been to respond to the Republican obstruction by saying “fuck that, if you won’t give them what they deserve I’ll support the damn strike!”

            But yeah, keep intentionally misrepresenting recent history. It helped elect the guy who is so anti worker that he habitually stiffs his own workers of overtime, or refuses to pay them at all.

            What in the time travel bullshit is this? You do understand that being honest about Biden’s fuck-ups now can’t do any more damage – and moreover, is necessary if there’s any hope to do better next time – right? If you’re going to accuse me of saying this stuff previously (when it would’ve been damaging), you’d better fucking bring receipts. Check my comment history. I’ll wait.

            And then you can fucking apologize!

            • @Wrench@lemmy.world
              -1•13 days ago

              7 isn’t 15, which is what the workers were initially going to strike for (and deserved).

              Have you ever heard of negotiating? You don’t start at the price you’d be happy with. The Unions have stated they’re happy with the result, why aren’t you?

              You do understand that being honest about Biden’s fuck-ups now can’t do any more damage

              What fuck up? Biden averted a major breakdown in supply chain, AND got the workers what they wanted. That’s a win, despite the repeated attempts at framing it as a failure.

              And no, I’m not going to spend a day digging through your history. If you’re repeating this gross misrepresentation of facts now, chances are high that you have before.

              • @grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
                2•13 days ago

                What fuck up? Biden averted a major breakdown in supply chain, AND got the workers what they wanted. That’s a win, despite the repeated attempts at framing it as a failure.

                What part of “it, and shit like it, cost Harris the election” do you not understand? It doesn’t matter that the workers eventually got what they wanted, quietly and after the fact, when the impression voters got was that Biden – and by association, Harris – was perfectly happy to collude with the Republicans to suppress their right to strike.

                And no, I’m not going to spend a day digging through your history. If you’re repeating this gross misrepresentation of facts now, chances are high that you have before.

                You’re literally refusing to check your own facts and then making baseless accusations about me. Pure hypocrisy.

                • @Wrench@lemmy.world
                  0•13 days ago

                  Uh huh. So you do your “homework” and call out that Biden forced the workers to take 1 day of sick leave instead of the 7 that they wanted (at that stage in the negotiations).

                  I present evidence that it was downgraded from 7 to 1 in the Senate because Republicans rejected 7.

                  I then present evidence that Biden’s administration leaned on the railroad companies until they in fact gave the majority of railworkers 7 sick days. With quotes on the Union heads attributing those gains to the Biden administration.

                  And then suddenly 7 days isn’t good enough to call that a “win” in your opinion.

                  And I’m the hypocrite.

      • @milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee
        2•12 days ago

        Again, which party is it giving the mega wealthy tax breaks?

        But that’s rather the point here, isn’t it? So much Democrat rhetoric and support comes across as, “they’re worse so you have to like us.” Not exactly inspiring to people whose livelihoods are struggling.