this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2025
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[–] UsernameHere@lemy.lol 64 points 1 day ago (13 children)
[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 11 points 23 hours ago (11 children)

"Entitlement Reform" has been a watchword in both parties going back to the Reagan Administration.

Democrats will tell you they've got an innovative exciting new solution to slow the rate at which health care costs rise, then shift a bunch of public sector money over to private sector subsidies.

Republicans will tell you they're cutting fat out of the system, then transform a bunch of public sector spending into private sector tax breaks.

Healthcare gets more expensive and less accessible. Each team blames the other one. A few socialists in some of the bluer states suggest we try a public Medicare-for-All model, then get primaried out of office in the next cycle by a pack of lobbyists in blue waist coats.

"Ah, but the pawl and the gear are clearly two different components doing separate things!" I cry, to any sucker who will listen.

[–] UsernameHere@lemy.lol 3 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Voters chose the option furthest right so the government shifted right. This happens every time the left most option isn’t chosen.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 5 points 19 hours ago

Voters chose the option furthest right

Politicians picked their voters in order to guarantee this outcome. Gerrymandering, mass disenfranchisement along social and ethnic lines, vote caging, intimidation, misinformation, straight up sabotage of voting venues... It happens all the time in liberal democracies, particularly in poorer, more homogeneous, and more rural neighborhoods.

As soon as the politicians fuck up on the math and a socialist breaks through (as with AOC beating Crowley back in '18 or Mamdani trouncing Cuomo last week), you get to see the "moderates" and their conservative cats' paws rush in to subvert the popular will.

This happens every time the left most option isn’t chosen.

The joke is how quickly a government will move to the right when the left-most option is chosen.

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