The Buc Zone

Might rename the title. I dunno. But I do want to get into this because this is the Congressional Progressive caucus' stated legislative agenda...it's very own Project 2025 if you will and I already have problems with it.

https://progressives.house.gov/_cache/f ... 4.docx.pdf

First thing first is the lack of Medicare for All.

● Lower Health Care Costs and Expand Health Care Access:
○ Expand Medicare drug price negotiation to cover all drugs and ensure those lower
prices for all Americans including those without insurance, and make
taxpayer-funded drugs affordable for all.
○ Publicly manufacture select generic drugs and offer them to consumers at a fair price.
○ Close the Medicaid coverage gap, expand Medicare to include dental, vision and
hearing, and lower the Medicare eligibility age.
○ Crack down on private equity in healthcare, Medicare privatization, overcharging and
corporate tax avoidance.
○ Increase funding for all public health care systems, including community health
centers, behavioral health providers, Indian health providers, rural and veterans’
hospitals, and non-law-enforcement first responders for health emergencies.
○ Address health crises by investing in maternal and infant mortality, particularly in
communities of color, and mental health and substance use treatment and
prevention, particularly for the opioid epidemic.
○ Remove medical bills from Americans’ credit reports and stop collectors or creditors
from targeting or discriminating against those with medical bills.

Really broad for an election year wishlist. I like the public manufacture of generics and the expanded Medicare coverage, but this shit got filtered through the fuckin DNC.

Strengthen Pell Grants and Loan Forgiveness Programs.

Where's the goddamned tuition free college?

Provide Public Banking for All: Advance options for low- or no-cost financial
services including post office banking and Federal Reserve checking accounts.

Absolutely this.

emby wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 11:47 am

Strengthen Pell Grants and Loan Forgiveness Programs.

Where's the goddamned tuition free college?

Provide Public Banking for All: Advance options for low- or no-cost financial
services including post office banking and Federal Reserve checking accounts.

Absolutely this.

Pell grants are already pretty solid. Loan forgiveness needs to be a thing for sure though. And tuition should be wholly subsidized. I got my degree from a community college and I still had to take out loans to cover the cost.

The Outsider wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 1:01 pm

emby wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 11:47 am

Strengthen Pell Grants and Loan Forgiveness Programs.

Where's the goddamned tuition free college?

Provide Public Banking for All: Advance options for low- or no-cost financial
services including post office banking and Federal Reserve checking accounts.

Absolutely this.

Pell grants are already pretty solid. Loan forgiveness needs to be a thing for sure though. And tuition should be wholly subsidized. I got my degree from a community college and I still had to take out loans to cover the cost.

My school just so happened to set it's tuition at the Pell Grant Maximum.

Free tuition. How about get off your ass and work. I have never had a job where they didn't have tuition reimbursement. Even my first job at Red Lobster offered it

kaimaru wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 2:10 pm Free tuition. How about get off your ass and work. I have never had a job where they didn't have tuition reimbursement. Even my first job at Red Lobster offered it

You think the degree just gets handed to you?

Maybe where you went to school.

emby wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 3:45 pm

kaimaru wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 2:10 pm Free tuition. How about get off your ass and work. I have never had a job where they didn't have tuition reimbursement. Even my first job at Red Lobster offered it

You think the degree just gets handed to you?

Maybe where you went to school.

University of Maryland hands out degrees? I am saying you can work part time at a chain restaurant and pay for college tuition. People wanting to be "full time" students and get it for free is not something I would ever support. How is that fair to everyone who paid their way through employer reimbursement instead of drinking with their roommates and friends every weekend?

kaimaru wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 7:46 pm

emby wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 3:45 pm

kaimaru wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 2:10 pm Free tuition. How about get off your ass and work. I have never had a job where they didn't have tuition reimbursement. Even my first job at Red Lobster offered it

You think the degree just gets handed to you?

Maybe where you went to school.

University of Maryland hands out degrees? I am saying you can work part time at a chain restaurant and pay for college tuition. People wanting to be "full time" students and get it for free is not something I would ever support. How is that fair to everyone who paid their way through employer reimbursement instead of drinking with their roommates and friends every weekend?

Everybody has to suffer like you did? Or go to war for it like I did?

There's nothing virtuous about that. You're just gatekeeping.

kaimaru wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 2:10 pm Free tuition. How about get off your ass and work. I have never had a job where they didn't have tuition reimbursement. Even my first job at Red Lobster offered it

I was going to write something sassy back at this but it's not worth it. I'll just leave it at this.

There is one thing that I think common sense should dictate but most people seem ignorant of it. What is the best way to elevate a country in every way? To have the healthiest, most educated populace possible. Free healthcare and post-secondary education would be a major boon for the state and the rest of us.

Smarter, healthier people lead to better leadership, more informed decision making on all levels, a certain level of resistance to propaganda and dis-information that is exponentially greater than what we see out of the American people today. Not to mention that healthier people are more productive, they live longer, generally they work longer, etc.

Being against something because you didn't have it is tantamount to being fucking retarded. May as well throw on a MAGA hat if you're going to be that purposefully stupid, because the shit I just said doesn't take rocket science to figure out. It takes like 45 seconds of reasoning if you have more than a couple of brain cells to rub together.

Okay, I guess it did get a little sassy.

@The Outsider @emby

My thoughts posting above was mostly thinking about debt forgiveness. To those I stand on the platform that you knowingly willingly took that debt, pay that debt. It is up there to me as the government paying off credit card debt. I don't have a mortgage, but if the government really wanted to boost the economy and help Americans, I would support that over education loans.

I am not against free education, but there are better things we can spend federal money on. Education alone is not going to make everyone less racist, less likely to manipulate less intelligent/educated, less likely to abuse systems and people. As long as religion and people wanting to control how others live exist, it won't fix this country. There are far more important thing like healthcare, specifically for the disadvantaged, that to me is foremost. I feel that money is better spent on housing problems and infrastructure than free secondary education.

In the end, I would not be upset if future secondary education is free. Four year degrees are free and anything after is your cost along with those wanting to get multiple four year degrees. You can go back to calling me names now