It is, but it’s also a very efficient and difficult to evade tax. For many EU countries the VAT revenue is equal or larger than the income tax revenue.

Most Europeans don’t mind it. You can control your spending, so VAT doesn’t hit us in inconvenient ways, like for example, taxes on cars and property.

European countries compensate poor people with good social programs. So in the end, poor people are getting more benefits than the VAT they pay.

The continuing American embargo on Cuba after the Cold War has always been toddler tantrum level of pettiness.

I thought Obama had finally closed that chapter, but I was wrong.

Remember when liberals agitated against Bush for the Iraq war?

Bush never went into genocide territory, this is way worse, but liberals are silent.

If Trump wins, at least Democrats might be against genocide again.

I really don’t understand why Americans support this.

It’s a disgrace.

Exactly. Every time the UN does something, people say “they can’t enforce it”.

Well, that’s the whole point of the UN. To resolve things without using force.

It’s a good design, designed by people who learned from the horrors of WW2.

It’s sad to see how many people nowadays forget those lessons and are itching for global war.

Because they manage to attract investment.

As long as investors are willing to give cash in exchange for equity, a company can operate on that cash and run at a loss.

He should have said almost every.

But thanks for pointing out the mathematical truth ☝️

Why doesn’t the USA or Europe just accept the Jews and let the Palestinians have the land?

Jordan especially has a ton of Palestinians. More than half of Palestinians already live outside of Palestine.

Your question actually boils down to, why don’t they take all the Palestinians so Israel can have the land?

And the answer is: they don’t want to be complicit in ethnic cleansing.

Totally with you here.

How did I end up on a timeline where I am vibing with Erdogan.

I agree. The rule based order only works if the rules apply to everyone.

And from a more realpolitik perspective: the Arab world is our (European) backyard.

We really don’t benefit from instability there.

Indeed - and I really hope it passes.

I thought about mentioning it in my previous comment. But basically, it’s another example that States hold most of the power. The States actually have the power to effectively replace the current system with a national popular vote if they choose.

Other examples are the IRV in Alaska and the district system in Maine and Nebraska.

Both elections exactly prove my point.

The federal system is set up to favor State power, which is why the US presidential election isn’t decided by popular vote. By design, Wyoming and California are considered equals in many respects.

It’s a bad system, but it’s very much entrenched in the constitution.

And it also requires critical mass. It’s basically impossible to enact meaningful change with a 50-55% majority. You need 60% or more to get big changes. And a majority of states.

A somewhat less pessimistic take: the system is set up to be self-stable.

And it was also designed so that States would have most of the power, not the Federal government.

At various points in history the common people did get benefits. New Deal. Universal suffrage. Civil rights. Abolition.

But it always requires a critical mass of the population to support change.

John Stewart always finds the best way to express what I’m feeling.

Regardless of the outcome, this election will go down as a shit stain on history.

I just hope the outcome doesn’t turn it into explosive diarrhea.

Israel only bombs terrorists, not civilians.

Your German nationality will now be revoked for thinking the wrong thought.

I know a lot of people don’t like the American First Past the Post system, but to be honest, even in a proportional system like here in the Netherlands, you end up with very similar dynamics.

Truth is, progressives are always a small minority, in every country. Because they are always ahead of the curve on change.

In the US, this means that you only get a handful of progressives in the most progressive districts and never a really progressive national government.

In the Netherlands, this means progressives are always represented, but need to compromise to form a government. And often, they even get skipped and the centrist and conservative parties form a coalition.

Truth be told, Biden is as progressive as you could hope to get in the USA.

And, while I do think it is important to criticize him - and even threaten to not vote for him - to enable him to move more towards the left, it is also important to vote for him.

Progressives always win, not through getting majorities, but because they have the right ideas and eventually the other parties catch up to them.

For recent examples, gay marriage in the USA or marihuana legalization are now law in the USA.

I am 100% confident that American policy on Israel will also shift thanks to progressive voices. And it will not require a progressive majority.

Americans still care about the price of oil, which is set in a global market and where Saudi-Arabia and Russia have more influence than the USA.

Obviously, the extremist Arabs that overthrew their own leaders are also to blame. Where did I deny that?

I don’t think you really have a lot of choices to be honest.

You’d first need to get new candidates to win a primary and then a general and the required majorities are lacking almost everywhere.

A more fruitful approach is to actually change public opinion.

It’s a long uphill battle, but it’s happening.

For decades, Israel and the US (and European countries) have pursued a policy to destabilize middle eastern regimes.

People don’t realize this, but there was a wave of Arab nationalism that was killed by sponsoring Islamic extremists. Had that not happened, the middle east would be much more secular today than it is.

Israel attacking and destabilizing Lebanon and Syria and the US maintaining a dictator in Egypt are part of this strategy.

In turn, this leads to hate towards the West and Israel by the Muslims affected.

It won’t stop as long as American voters care much more about gas prices than about human rights. American politicians are willing to sponsor genocide to have some control on oil prices in order to win elections.

Netanyahu and the right need more terrorists in order to justify further land grabs, so yes, that’s the goal.

Radicalize more people, so that those people strike back, then engage in war and take their land.

And yes, this is also how the Europeans and Americans took land from the natives during colonization.