Progressives (Liberals)

The novelist Elias Canetti liked to say: ‘I try to imagine someone saying to Shakespeare: “Relax!”’ – and Susan Sontag liked to cite him saying it. I, in turn, like to cite Sontag citing him, because I like to place myself in this lineage of people who work too hard and take things too seriously.

When I first read Against Interpretation and Other Essays (1966) in grad school, I fell in love with Sontag’s defiant excess and excessive seriousness – the very things that make her work endlessly relevant, and endlessly urgent. Love is not too strong a word for the fascination I have held for her, the mystery of transubstantiation at work that could lead her to take up familiar cultural touchstones – Jean-Luc Godard, Roland Barthes, Walter Benjamin, happenings, photographs, the critical project itself – and transform them into dazzling, death-defying essays. I took her as my own personal hero, to emulate in all things. With the bravado of youth I’d no doubt that if I worked really hard, and read everything, eventually I would reach her level of brilliance and erudition.

these things are IN PLACE NOW

Several countries are doing great with the changes Bernie is advocating.

Every other major country offers these rights to their citizens and the sky hasn’t fallen.

We need to tweak Citizens United and Glass-Steagal, begin to unwrap the corrupt crap our government has become and make life worth living for more than a small percentage of Americans.

Too many people in this country are barely getting by.

Nobody should die or go bankrupt because of an accident or a health crisis. There’s no excuse.

Too many people in this country are barely getting by.

Stats please

Four in ten Americans can't, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Board. Those who don't have the cash on hand say they'd have to cover it by borrowing or selling something.

The bright side? That's an improvement from half of adults being unable to cover such an expense in 2013. The number has been ticking down each year since.

Overall, the financial situation of American households has improved during the past five years, according to the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households report. It shows that in 2017, 74% of adults reported feeling at least "okay" financially, an increase of 10 percentage points from the first survey four years earlier.

"This year's survey finds that rising levels of employment are translating into improved financial conditions for many but not all Americans," Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard said in a press release, "with one-third now reporting they are living comfortably and another 40% reporting they are doing okay financially."

Still, many are struggling. Notable differences remain across race, ethnicity, education levels and geography. The report shows hardship continues for people working to repay college loans, cover emergency expenses and manage retirement savings.

For the first time the report also looked at the opioid epidemic, reporting that one out of five adults personally knows someone with an addiction to painkillers. Exposure does not vary much by education level or by local economic conditions.

Related: Millennials born in 1980s may never recover from the Great Recession

The study was drawn from the Board's fifth annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, which looks at the economic health of Americans. The survey of 12,000 people examined their income, employment, unexpected expenses, banking and credit, housing, education, and retirement planning in November and December 2017.

While showing that Americans' financial lives are moving in a positive direction, the report does raise some concerns about their most basic levels of financial stability: emergency funds and retirement.

"The finding that four-in-ten adults couldn't cover an unexpected $400 expense without selling something or borrowing money is troubling," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "Nothing is more fundamental to achieving financial stability than having savings that can be drawn upon when the unexpected occurs."

McBride suggests setting up automatic direct deposits from a paycheck to a savings account that can build some much-needed financial cushion.

He's also concerned about another finding in the report: fewer than 40% of adults think their retirement savings are on track.

"The burden is on us as individuals to save for our retirement," he says. "Take control of your financial destiny by contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401(k) via payroll deduction, or arrange automatic monthly transfers from your bank account into an IRA."

Related: How to save for retirement without a 401(k)

More concerning are the 25% of Americans with no retirement savings whatsoever, according to the report.

Some of this may be due to the lack of employer-sponsored retirement plans, as well as people piecing together several part-time jobs, which may not offer benefits.

The report found that while most workers are satisfied with the wages and benefits from their current job and are optimistic about their future job opportunities, challenges remain, particularly with irregular job schedules.

More concerning are the 25% of Americans with no retirement savings whatsoever, according to the report.

Lash wrote:

Several countries are doing great with the changes Bernie is advocating.

really? Which ones?
https://m.nasdaq.com/article/all-the-countries-that-have-universal-healthcare-cm757323
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Brunei
Canada
Cyprus
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kuwait
Luxembourg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Singapore
Solvenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom

Quote:

Every other major country offers these rights to their citizens and the sky hasn’t fallen.

What are "these rights?"
The right to see a doctor and get an education whether you are rich or poor.

Quote:

We need to tweak Citizens United and Glass-Steagal, begin to unwrap the corrupt crap our government has become and make life worth living for more than a small percentage of Americans.

This is nonsense. If only a small percentage of Americans thought life was worth living we would have a violent revolution on our hands.
We’re in the midst of a revolution.

Quote:

Too many people in this country are barely getting by.

Stats please
Seventy-eight percent of full-time workers said they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 75 percent last year, according to a recent report from CareerBuilder. Overall, 71 percent of all U.S. workers said they're now in debt, up from 68 percent a year ago, CareerBuilder said.Aug 24, 2017
Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck -

Quote:

Nobody should die or go bankrupt because of an accident or a health crisis. There’s no excuse.

You display your ignorance here. "Going bankrupt" is not the equivalent of being sent to a Poor House. It's actually a very forgiving process.
You display your Let Them Eat Cake mentality here. No one should lose everything and go in debt because they got sick or had an accident. Period.