US Politics Mega-thread - Page 5758

On October 25 2016 09:00 plasmidghost wrote:
An important facet of any healthy democracy is the free exchange of ideas on how to run government, even if, and especially if, you disagree with them. Having only two viable choices is an awful form of government. Three's only slightly better, but it is an improvement nonetheless. I hate political parties and would get rid of them if I could, but that's not going to happen so I'll try to change the current system into one I want, where many political parties are seen as viable and people have far more viable choices for candidates at every political level. Therefore, I have decided to vote for Gary Johnson and hope that the Libertarian Party can become just as recognized as the Republicans and Democrats.

On October 25 2016 09:00 plasmidghost wrote:
An important facet of any healthy democracy is the free exchange of ideas on how to run government, even if, and especially if, you disagree with them. Having only two viable choices is an awful form of government. Three's only slightly better, but it is an improvement nonetheless. I hate political parties and would get rid of them if I could, but that's not going to happen so I'll try to change the current system into one I want, where many political parties are seen as viable and people have far more viable choices for candidates at every political level. Therefore, I have decided to vote for Gary Johnson and hope that the Libertarian Party can become just as recognized as the Republicans and Democrats.

On October 25 2016 09:06 Plansix wrote:
It wasn't always winner take all. The initial design was that second place was vice president. But that created its own set of problems that were addressed by the dual tickets. The design of the executive branch promotes a winner take all system because there is only one office to fill.

Edit: what kwark really means is that your opinions can be reflected in the senate and house, rather than the executive branch.

On October 25 2016 09:23 KwarK wrote:

1 job to fill isn't the problem. If the electoral college was scrapped and it was done by popular vote, or if the electoral college votes awarded in states was proportionate to the popular vote in states, voting in non swing states wouldn't be pointless.

On October 25 2016 09:03 Gorsameth wrote:The parties themselves are not the problem. FPTP is.
Any winner takes all election system will resolve itself to a 2 party system.

On October 25 2016 09:38 zf wrote:

Most countries that use FPTP don't have two-party systems. It's a phenomenon that's somewhat unique to the United States.

On October 25 2016 09:37 Plansix wrote:

Pretty sure they had that debate when they were writing it and decided that a pure popular vote would put to much power in the major population centers, rather than with each of the states.

On October 25 2016 09:38 zf wrote:

Most countries that use FPTP don't have two-party systems. It's a phenomenon that's somewhat unique to the United States.

On October 25 2016 05:26 biology]major wrote:
Lmao you guys are getting triggered real hard by those veritas videos.

On October 25 2016 09:51 KwarK wrote:

Care to name a handful? Obviously Parliamentary systems are a little different but with the exception of regional third parties which are competitive in their area but not nationally I feel like two party is the rule.

On October 25 2016 09:58 TheYango wrote:

James O'Keefe is a piece of shit human being who clearly demonstrated during the ACORN fiasco that he has no qualms with ruining people's lives to push his twisted "activism". So excuse me if I think the man doesn't deserve any publicity whatsoever.

The only reason the guy is still relevant at all is because Breitbart hired him anyway even after he was revealed to be a known fraud.

The cost of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is expected to rise an average of 22 percent in 2017, according to information released by the Obama administration Monday afternoon.

Still, federal subsidies will also rise, meaning that few people are likely to have to pay the full cost after the rate increases to get insurance coverage.

"We think they will ultimately be surprised by the affordability of the premiums, because the tax credits track with the increases in premiums," said Kevin Griffis, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

During a media briefing Monday, Griffis said the 2017 rates are roughly at the level the Congressional Budget Office forecast when the law was proposed. "The initial marketplace rates came in below costs," he said. "Many companies set prices that turned out to be too low."

Enrollment opens Nov. 1. For coverage effective Jan. 1, people need to pick a plan by Dec. 15. With a few exceptions, the last day to sign up for Obamacare is Jan. 31, 2017. Plans are available on HealthCare.gov and state-run exchanges.

While the average premiums on the benchmark health plans are increasing, the government says more than 70 percent of people buying insurance on the marketplaces created by the law could get a health plan for less than $75 a month for 2017. To get the best deal, people would have to pick a low-cost plan with limited benefits and take advantage of all the subsidies available.

People who already have coverage through the exchanges can often save money by switching plans, the administration said. More than three-quarters of people could save money by switching to the lowest-cost plan within the level of coverage, such as bronze or silver, that they've previously selected.

The Obamacare insurance exchanges are under strain after three major insurers pulled back from offering coverage in markets across the U.S. The administration says about 1 in 5 people buying insurance through the marketplaces will have only one company offering coverage.

It's in places like that where consumers will feel the most pain. "Where it really matters is where a big insurance company has exited and where that's going to leave just one company remaining," said Cynthia Cox, associate director of health reform and private insurance at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "For those people who live in that area, many people may have to switch plans. And they won't have much choice if they want to receive financial assistance and purchase through the exchanges."