Bernie Sanders

[rmt]

I know how the German system works, and it doesn't work like that, period. Not saying 101A is lying, just probably didn't get the right info. I know 101A is a standup person.

And other countries might be worse than the US... all I said is that there's plenty of examples of countries where College is free, not even admission tests and it works pretty well, including a secondary market for private, paid schools.



Uh, no, that's actually not true, but you're not well versed enough in economics to understand why that's not true. The question actually is much different, and it has to do with what do the people of the given country feel the role of the state should be in certain areas. That obviously varies from country to country, but taking the German example, they feel the state should provide education and health for it's citizens. What's even more interesting/extreme with Germany is that College is free even for foreigners. It's not uncommon for Americans to get a free College education in Germany.

If the Germans feel the state should provide education and health for its citizens, they have to accept whatever rules the state decides. Suppose there are x jobs in a field and x +100 people that year want to become an x. Doesn't the state then say we have to limit it to only x people and you 100 people must choose something else? If the Germans are willing to accept the state telling them what to do in return for free college, then that's their decision. I don't think that's gonna go down in the US.

[ElNono]

If the Germans feel the state should provide education and health for its citizens, they have to accept whatever rules the state decides. Suppose there are x jobs in a field and x +100 people that year want to become an x. Doesn't the state then say we have to limit it to only x people and you 100 people must choose something else? If the Germans are willing to accept the state telling them what to do in return for free college, then that's their decision. I don't think that's gonna go down in the US.

It doesn't work like that. People can move and work in other countries where there's demand. We're talking Europe here, you can take a train and be in Belgium in 45 mins. You can keep trying to find excuses why that system wouldn't work, but meanwhile in the real world, people do graduate, and have good careers. As I said, it's not uncommon for US students to earn a college degree in Germany basically for the cost of staying there, and come back to the US and build their careers here.

The main concern of the German government for entering College is that you have enough skills to keep up with it. For foreigners it might mean taking a one year course to sharpen your language and writing skills.

[ElNono]

Now I don't disagree with you that the US might never adopt anything similar. But IMO, it has everything to do with the moneymaking, not because there's no altruistic reason to do so.

[ElNono]

I mean, in this day and age we're still discussing what should be part of the contents of a school book... I'll be long dead by the time there's an actual discussion on what the role of the state should be when it comes to college education. We seem to have some flare ups about that discussion whenever somebody remembers there's like a trillion dollars in student debt and only going up, but those are normally reserved for campaign season.

[baseline bum]

Now I don't disagree with you that the US might never adopt anything similar. But IMO, it has everything to do with the moneymaking, not because there's no altruistic reason to do so.

LOL no . I can't believe what textbooks cost here for example. Thank jeebus for ebay and $15 paperback Indian editions of books. , I have saved money by ordering British printings of US textbooks.

[ElNono]

I almost forgot to add, I find it pretty galling that some of the same people that decry about mortgaging our children future when it comes to our national debt, are irreversibly supportive of exactly that when it comes to spiraling student debt.

[baseline bum]

I'll be long dead by the time there's an actual discussion on what the role of the state should be when it comes to college education.

Beetus flaring up? You'd think swimming the river would be good for that tbh.

[ElNono]

Beetus flaring up? You'd think swimming the river would be good for that tbh.

nah... but I don't have another 80+ years left...

[rmt]

Maybe the solution is financial education early in high school. It doesn't help that students choose to go to schools that cost too much. IMO, as a parent, I'd ban that US News and World Report College Ranking magazine - unless parents are easily able to afford sending their kids to "brand name" schools, don't even look at them. I have a daughter who was an excellent student and I let her know at the beginning of high school that I would pay for her to go for a state university. Anything else, she had to get a scholarship and I strongly discouraged ANY student debt - even for graduate school (meaning work, go part-time and use whatever tuition reimbursement the company offers). If I couldn't afford to pay for college, then go to cc/work part time and then local state uni.

[baseline bum]

State school is expensive as too. I couldn't believe in a span of about 10 years UTSA in-state tuition had increased to about what Rice was charging before.

[rmt]

My advice to any above average student is to do as many SAT practice tests as possible (unless you're a natural test taker). It's possible to raise PSAT scores 40+ points with extensive practice. Try to make National Merit in your state. Then many scholarships are available to you - full ride at University of Houston, almost full ride at University of Alabama, full tuition at Texas A&M, etc.

[baseline bum]

My advice to any above average student is to do as many SAT practice tests as possible (unless you're a natural test taker). It's possible to raise PSAT scores 40+ points with extensive practice. Try to make National Merit in your state. Then many scholarships are available to you - full ride at University of Houston, almost full ride at University of Alabama, full tuition at Texas A&M, etc.

Yeah, test books really help out. I raised my SAT a couple hundred points in about three months by buying two $10 books of practice tests and working a couple a week. No need to take an expensive class for it.

[Nbadan]

ummmmpppphhh..

[angrydude]

I almost forgot to add, I find it pretty galling that some of the same people that decry about mortgaging our children future when it comes to our national debt, are irreversibly supportive of exactly that when it comes to spiraling student debt.

That's because it's 1965 again and you can totally work your way through college.

[rmt]

State school is expensive as too. I couldn't believe in a span of about 10 years UTSA in-state tuition had increased to about what Rice was charging before.

State tuition varies WIDELY. Tuition at University of Florida (where I went) is $6310 per year which is very reasonable. Our National Merit students get a full ride from Florida Incentive Scholarship. Of course, ds DIDN'T do any preparation for the PSAT over the summer, got a 214 (which was the cutoff for Florida last year but it's a brand new test this year - the format's been changed) and I've gotta bite my nails till late August to see if he qualified.

[boutons_deux]

"UTSA in-state tuition had increased"

just another effect of "small govt". Repugs systematically cut funding for health and education so they can cut taxes and increase subsidies for their paymasters.

[ElNono]

That's because it's 1965 again and you can totally work your way through college.

I sense sarcasm... but, the world isn't moving back to 1965, and we're still largely peddling a college degree as a must to be compe ive in the market today (a storyline that is it's own can of worms, tbh)...

[DarrinS]

LOL no . I can't believe what textbooks cost here for example. Thank jeebus for ebay and $15 paperback Indian editions of books. , I have saved money by ordering British printings of US textbooks.

Back in my day, I just checked out the textbooks from the library.

[baseline bum]

Back in my day, I just checked out the textbooks from the library.

I had a friend from Iran and one from China and I'd give them about $25 and a list of the textbooks I needed every time they went home to see their families. I always thought they were illegal copies but it turns out they were 100% legal. It's just that outside of the US no one will pay $100 for a ing textbook. That's why I like buying science and cs books on ebay now. They're about $15-$25 usually to get shipped from India but cost like $7 if you bought them there. Same publishers too, they tried to sue to make importing their books illegal but the Supreme Court told them to off. But the publishers still write like "not for import to the US" on the books.

[boutons_deux]

Sanders Calls for Raw Count after Virtual Tie with Clinton

Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton squeaked out a win in the Iowa Democratic Party caucus by just 0.2 percent, prompting Bernie Sanders to call for a raw vote count on Tuesday to definitively determine the outcome of the virtual tie between the two candidates.

With all Iowa precincts reporting, Clinton beat Sanders by the remarkably narrow margin of 49.8 percent to 49.6 percent.Sanders’ campaign team has said that they do not plan to contest the outcome, but would like more information about what happened in the vote.

A raw vote count is typically not released in Iowa, but the progressive senator from Vermont has said that he would like that data to be made public.

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/new...0202-0024.html

I suspect Bernie suspects he won the raw count but lost the caucus count by 0.3%. Sorta like America electing Gore by 600K votes, then stolen OH, FL, and SCOTUS electing dubya and head.

[boutons_deux]

Scenes of ‘Chaos’ Across Iowa Leave Voters Wondering If Correct Winner Was Called on Caucus Night

“Chaotic” scenes across a number of Iowa precincts have voters wondering if the correct winner was called on caucus night.

The Republican winner does not appear to be a controversial issue, with Donald Trump conceding to Ted Cruz. But on the Democratic side, the close race has prompted Bernie Sanders and his supporters to raise questions about how the voting proceeded.

Hillary Clinton ended up winning by 0.29 percent, according to the Democratic Party. The final delegate equivalent was Clinton: 700.59; and Sanders: 696.82.

Sanders campaign staff told the Des Moines Register that they’ve found some discrepancies between tallies at the precinct level and numbers that were reported to the state party, and believe errors were made by untrained volunteers.

“We feel like that there’s a very, very good chance that there is,” said Rania Batrice, a Sanders spokeswoman. “It’s not that we think anybody did anything intentionally, but human error happens.”

Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire insisted that the count was correct, though, and said there will not be any sort of recount. Clinton declared victory and a spokesman said there was no uncertainty over who won. He also said the raw vote tally will not be released.

On a local level, though, volunteers, observers, and voters described scenes of “chaos.”

At precinct No. 42, for example, Jill Joseph, a Democratic voter who backed Sanders, said none of the 400-plus Democrats who came to vote wanted to be in charge, so a man who had originally just shown up to vote stepped forward.

As Joseph was leaving with the untrained caucus chairman, who is one of her neighbors, “I looked at him and said, ‘Who called in the results of our caucus?’ And we didn’t know.”

In Ames precinct 1-3, the crowd was so big and the check-in line was so slow that the voting started two hours later.

“There wasn’t a clear person in charge,” said Peter Myers, a finance major and member of the student government at Iowa State University, who caucused for the first time.

No one was there to lead the caucus, so “a pregnant lady took charge and counted the Bernie supporters, and a Hillary captain took the small group to a corner and counted the supporters,” he said.

In another precinct in Des Moines Polk County, footage later posted on C-Span shows Sanders’ supporters confronting officials about potentially miscounting their group’s votes.

Democrat Mary Ann Dorsett of Des Moines said there were 492 voters in her precinct, but only a few people to check them in.

“It was a very large room, so clearly they expected a large turnout. The lines snaked through the corridor and out the door. It took over an hour to check in. Republicans in the same precinct were seated long before this, and already listening to speeches,” she said.

“If all the smartphones were eliminated, it could have been 1820, and we were re-enacting the roles of a bunch of farmers sitting in a church hall, counting heads. Is this the 21st century? This may well be my last caucus unless the Democratic Party cleans up its act.”

While still trying to get a grip on what happened, Sanders campaign is also focusing on moving forward.

“As an empirical matter, we’re not likely to ever know what the actual result was,” Jeff Weaver, Sanders’s campaign manager, told theWashington Post.

He cited as complicating factors the narrow margin, the “arcane” rules of the caucuses, the delayed reporting of some precincts and the technology used to reports the results.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1957...-caucus-night/

IA caucusing, what joke. Wonderfully, rural, tiny IA is totally irrelevant to the final Presidential election (but they still get two ing Senators, eg, ball biter Joni Ernst.)

[spurraider21]

lol chaos

[boutons_deux]

lol chaos

yes, you saw it first hand

[boutons_deux]

What Would Sanders Do? An Analysis of His Proposals




Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed an ambitious program of social reform, including regulatory changes to raise wages and protect workers' rights, progressive tax reforms, and universal health insurance (Improved Medicare for All). Taken together, these policies would not only dramatically increase employment and national income, but would also raise wages, reduce poverty, and narrow the gap between rich and poor Americans.

The Sanders program will end wage stagnation. (See Figure 1.)

I project that, under the Sanders program, real wages would grow by 2.5% a year, returning to the growth rates of the late 1990s. Faster wage growth would result from 1) faster economic growth, which would raise wages by improving the bargaining position of workers, and 2) government regulations restoring the real value of the minimum wage and protecting workers' rights to overtime pay, equal pay for women, and workers' right to organize unions. In addition, universal health insurance financed through progressive taxation would lift the burden of health insurance premiums off workers and employers, freeing up employers' expenses on labor to be paid in higher money wages.

Faster growth, pro-worker regulation, and universal health insurance would all help push wages up. (See Figure 2.)

CBO economic forecasts imply that annual real wages for the average American worker will grow by about $1,300, or about 3%, for the next decade as a whole. Faster growth under the Sanders program would add about another $2,200 in average wages. Regulatory programs, notably a higher minimum wage, would add nearly another $3,000 - still more for women who would benefit from new pay-equity regulations. Finally, universal health insurance would add nearly another $5,000 for workers who would no longer have to pay private health insurance premiums. Only a small increase is expected in average wages from the Workplace Democracy Act - which would establish card-check unionization and first-contract arbitration - because these policies would likely do little to increase union membership.



Taxes on the wealthy would pay for widely shared benefits. (See Figure 3.)

Sanders would finance expanded infrastructure, universal free pre-K education, free public higher education, universal health insurance, and other programs with progressive taxation and through the elimination of tax deductions for rich individuals and large corporations. While the benefits of the increased spending would be widely shared, increases in income taxes and other targeted tax changes would be borne mostly by the richest Americans; almost half of the tax changes would be paid by the richest 5% and nearly 30% by the richest 1%. In addition, measures like a financial transactions tax and elimination of favored tax treatment for fossil fuels would promote greater economic efficiency by discouraging economically and environmentally harmful activities.


The Sanders program would dramatically bring down poverty. (See Figure 4.)

Since the 1960s, the U.S. poverty rate has remained stuck between 11% and 15%. Economic growth, as forecast by CBO, would do little to lower the poverty rate over the next decade. Faster growth and targeted increases in wages and Social Security benefits under the Sanders program, in contrast, would dramatically lower the poverty rate. Higher employment, higher wages, and, especially, increases in the minimum wage would lift virtually all working Americans and their families out of poverty. Increasing the minimum Social Security benefit and using a more appropriate price index to adjust benefits for inflation, meanwhile, would lift the elderly and disabled out of poverty.


Sanders's regulatory and tax programs would sharply reduce inequality. (See Figure 5.)

The ratio of the average income of the richest 5% to that of the poorest 20% has increased from less than 11:1 in the early 1970s to about 23:1 today. Economic policy and growth rates forecast by the CBO would allow this ratio to widen further - to over 27:1 by 2026. While faster economic growth due to the Sanders program would narrow differentials slightly, this effect is limited because faster growth also increases corporate profits. By raising wages at the bottom, the Sanders regulatory program - especially the higher minimum wage - would do much more to reduce inequality. By ensuring that the rich pay their fair share of taxes, meanwhile, Sanders's progressive-taxation program will also dramatically bring down inequality.



http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34675-what-would-sanders-do

[Pelicans78]

Those who dismiss Bernie do so at their own peril. He's a legitimate force who can become stronger throughout the nomination process.