Hello Sirthinksalot,
Hi Politalker,
You are one of the few liberals on here who I believe is sincere when you say you don't hate Trump.
Thank you. That was nice of you to say. And I should also say that I really appreciate the way you handle your arguments as well. It's to the point, with no animosity. It's respectful and mature, so it comes across well.
You have started threads urging others not to be hateful toward Trump supporters. I appreciate that.
I think it is important to respect the office. To me, that is like respecting the Constitution which establishes the office. He was duly elected to that office, so in that capacity he deserves the respect the office commands. And also, I believe a view comes across with more credibility if it is not dragged down with a bunch of emotional garbage.
I don't believe many of the other side's anti Trump positions are bona fide however. Far too many involve blatant mischaracterizations of Trump's words and positions.
Precisely. I see all that stuff as detracting from the crux of the matter. We have a valid argument. For me the challenge is to accurately voice it. Anger is not a logical argument. It's a reaction.
Increasing costs on businesses kills jobs. Increasing costs on individuals drives down economic activity. These things are self evident. Mandating that businesses and individuals utilize more expensive green energy increases costs on both.
That's true, but if all businesses face the same costs then it cancels out, giving none any advantage. We have to not only think of profitability, we have to think of society and what these businesses mean to society in the macroscopic sense.
I agree that we are already adapting. We will continue to do do. I fully support green energy, as long as its use is voluntary and not mandated by government.
I appreciate that view, but I don't think voluntary actions will be enough. Many of the things that make America great (social programs, environmental standards, good regulations,) were not arrived at voluntarily. The problem is that while many 'get it' and understand the beauty of win/win philosophy, giving some back, 'priming the pump,' so to speak, far too many see no value in that and forego it. Win/lost philosophy hurts, leaves messy damage behind that comes back to haunt. Such as polluted and spoiled waterways that were once pristine mountain streams prior to 'mountaintop removal' to get at the coal. I look at that and see it as foolish. I think the distant future will judge us harshly for doing that and destroying those habitats in a desperate stab to get at the coal during a time when we know we can transition away from dirty coal. Polluting more in that way did not create any more jobs, and the coal company owners don't need any more profitability. Blankenship is rich enough. He doesn't need any more millions, and allowing him and others like him to get richer does not help our economy at all.
