Understanding the 2018 Mexican Election

jerry

Well Known Member
About right. "AMLO’s critics portray him as a danger to Mexican democracy, and it’s true that his personal leadership style might test the strength of its institutions. But so would the election of any other candidate. AMLO’s election would also be a testament of democratic normalcy: he is the strongest opposition candidate confronting a deeply unpopular administration. The real issue, perhaps, is that Mexico’s greatest problems—massive inequality along with devastating crime and violence—cannot be fully resolved by its political system. In that, too, Mexico is hardly alone. It is merely one face of the great problem of our time, as oligarchic pressures crowd out democratic ones. MORENA’s slogan is “Mexico’s hope,” and Mexicans have sorely earned it. But what comes after hope
 

Stuart

Aye carumba!!!
Staff member
http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Nacional/02072018/1353488-AMLO-celebra-victoria-y-promete-reforma-radical-pacifica.html. Smashing victory nation wide....in Sonoyta armed men robbed the ballet boxes to keep the rats in power...
Was reading on this. Most brutal election ever. Over 120 candidates and campaign workers murdered. I hope Mexico is happy with their version of Bernie Sanders. I would be very apprehensive if I owned property there due to the "Robin Hood" effect of steal from the rich gringos and give to the poor in the form of higher taxes, fees, etc. Guess we'll see what happens. As the saying goes, socialism is great until you run out of other people's money.
 

jerry

Well Known Member
Was reading on this. Most brutal election ever. Over 120 candidates and campaign workers murdered. I hope Mexico is happy with their version of Bernie Sanders. I would be very apprehensive if I owned property there due to the "Robin Hood" effect of steal from the rich gringos and give to the poor in the form of higher taxes, fees, etc. Guess we'll see what happens. As the saying goes, socialism is great until you run out of other people's money.
Well Stewart we will see...I understand the sawed off grifter won reelection as the mayor...
 

Southbeacher

Well Known Member
Most of the so called socialistic countries in Norhern Europe rank higher in freedom indexes and also in surveys about regulation they rank as less regulated-good or bad.
Well, and Northern Europe is like managing a few, small social(istic) clubs in comparison to the vast populous / land mass of US. Hard to mess up.
 
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jerry

Well Known Member
Well, and Northern Europe is like managing a few, small social(istic) clubs in comparison to the vast populous / land mass of US. Hard to mess up.
. The current population of Northern Europe is 104,760,075 as of Sunday, July 1, 2018, based on the latest United Nations estimates. Northern Europe population is equivalent to 1.37% of the total world population
 

Southbeacher

Well Known Member
. The current population of Northern Europe is 104,760,075 as of Sunday, July 1, 2018, based on the latest United Nations estimates. Northern Europe population is equivalent to 1.37% of the total world population
Northern Europe is not a country. It is a region with relatively small nations.
 

Stuart

Aye carumba!!!
Staff member
Northern Europe is not a country. It is a region with relatively small nations.
And if you read upon the political climate in Northern Europe, there is a shift in support to strongly conservative groups and voting them into the power. The populace has smelled the roses, so to speak, and is tired of having up to 60% + of their income sucked up by taxes to support all the free shit. Can you blame them? The numbers don't lie. And now that the US has said "fund your own damn defense" expect these numbers to rise even higher.

Income and VAT taxes shown below (I didn't bother to list corporate tax rates):

Denmark - 55.56% (including 8% social security paid by the employee but excluding 0.42–1.48% church tax imposed on members of the national Church of Denmark) VAT - 25% (reduced rate 0% on transportation of passengers and newspapers normally published at a rate of more than one issue per month)

Finland - 25% to 67% depending on the net income and municipality, including 7.8% social insurance fees, employee unemployment payment and employer unemployment payment, which is on average 18% (2018). VAT - 24% (reduced rate of 14% for groceries and restaurants, 10% for books, medicine, transport of passengers and some others)

Norway - 46.9% (53.5% including 14.1% social security contribution by employer. All taxes include 8.2% pension fund payments). VAT - 25% (reduced rate of 15% for groceries, and 10% for transport and culture.)

Sweden - 67% including social security paid by employer. VAT - 25% (reduced rates 12% and 6%)

Think about those numbers for a minute. Outrageous. Sweden? Holy moly! Imagine 67 cents of every dollar you made being handed over to the government every week. And then an additional 25 cents of every dollar you spend being sucked in by the government.
 

jerry

Well Known Member
And if you read upon the political climate in Northern Europe, there is a shift in support to strongly conservative groups and voting them into the power. The populace has smelled the roses, so to speak, and is tired of having up to 60% + of their income sucked up by taxes to support all the free shit. Can you blame them? The numbers don't lie. And now that the US has said "fund your own damn defense" expect these numbers to rise even higher.

Income and VAT taxes shown below (I didn't bother to list corporate tax rates):

Denmark - 55.56% (including 8% social security paid by the employee but excluding 0.42–1.48% church tax imposed on members of the national Church of Denmark) VAT - 25% (reduced rate 0% on transportation of passengers and newspapers normally published at a rate of more than one issue per month)

Finland - 25% to 67% depending on the net income and municipality, including 7.8% social insurance fees, employee unemployment payment and employer unemployment payment, which is on average 18% (2018). VAT - 24% (reduced rate of 14% for groceries and restaurants, 10% for books, medicine, transport of passengers and some others)

Norway - 46.9% (53.5% including 14.1% social security contribution by employer. All taxes include 8.2% pension fund payments). VAT - 25% (reduced rate of 15% for groceries, and 10% for transport and culture.)

Sweden - 67% including social security paid by employer. VAT - 25% (reduced rates 12% and 6%)

Think about those numbers for a minute. Outrageous. Sweden? Holy moly! Imagine 67 cents of every dollar you made being handed over to the government every week. And then an additional 25 cents of every dollar you spend being sucked in by the government.
You need to get out more... people l
 

jerry

Well Known Member
Let's also remember much of the refugee crisis would have never happened if George Bush would have invaded the actual county that crashed a plane into the World Trade Center and left Sadam to keep everything else tamped down in his mess of a country.
 

dirtsurfer

Well Known Member
Forum Supporter
Let's also remember much of the refugee crisis would have never happened if George Bush would have invaded the actual county that crashed a plane into the World Trade Center and left Sadam to keep everything else tamped down in his mess of a country.
J: I often think of this, most if not all Arab countries are run better by despotic, cruel, inhumane rulers. Has there ever been a peaceful transformation of power in these countries? One more thing: think of the economic miracle Saddam could have developed with all of the oil money and all of the water he had, he could have had the West Germany of the Middle East instead of blowing hundreds of billions on outdated and semi-useless soviet military equipment. And you are correct, if we went in an took out Assad in Syria-which would be very easy, the country would remain even more of a mess than it is right now.

The question remains, “if your neighbor is beating the hell out of his wife how long do you stand around and watch?” Maduro in Venezuela is a good example of someone who needs to be taken out but who plays god?
 

dirtsurfer

Well Known Member
Forum Supporter
Most of the so called socialistic countries in Norhern Europe rank higher in freedom indexes and also in surveys about regulation they rank as less regulated-good or bad.
One more thing, if in the U.S. you add income taxes, sales taxes, state, county and municipal taxes and then the fees we pay for every government service we need, our taxes are higher than a lot of the so called socialistic countries.
 

Stuart

Aye carumba!!!
Staff member
One more thing, if in the U.S. you add income taxes, sales taxes, state, county and municipal taxes and then the fees we pay for every government service we need, our taxes are higher than a lot of the so called socialistic countries.
You'd have to prove that one to me against the numbers listed above. The effective tax rate for most middle income Americans hovers around 20 to 25%, even with sales tax and such. Obviously, the rich pay more, while the poor pay much less. Look up Earned Income Credit sometime. The poor get money back from the government that wasn't even paid in taxes.
 

Stuart

Aye carumba!!!
Staff member
You need to get out more... people l
Do you agree or not agree with what I posted, Jerry? Doesn't matter, really, the numbers are what they are. The point is still the same -- it takes a lot of taxes and money to run a socialist utopia.

When you open the doors to mass immigration of unskilled labor (Muslims in their case) that need to be sheltered, fed, and clothed, the burden upon working citizens gets even higher. It only works for awhile until the citizens revolt. Some of these countries that had open arms are waking up to the nightmare they have created and are in fact closing their doors to the unwashed masses. It's happening all over Europe. Italy refused to take a ship load of rescued Libyan immigrants this week. Told them to go to Malta instead.

I get out plenty, Jerry. Maybe you need to study up a bit on what's happening on the world stage, not just our own border. There are lots of parallels you can learn from.
 

Stuart

Aye carumba!!!
Staff member
Let's also remember much of the refugee crisis would have never happened if George Bush would have invaded the actual county that crashed a plane into the World Trade Center and left Sadam to keep everything else tamped down in his mess of a country.
Really? A "But Bush!" in this day and age? Lame, Jerry, lame. 2018 calling on line 1...
 

Stuart

Aye carumba!!!
Staff member
The question remains, “if your neighbor is beating the hell out of his wife how long do you stand around and watch?” Maduro in Venezuela is a good example of someone who needs to be taken out but who plays god?
Venezuela is collapsing under its own weight as I type this. We don't need to play God there. Maduro's days are numbered. I firmly believe the water crisis they are now experiencing will be the straw that breaks his back. The people will rise and take back their country. The protests in the streets are getting larger everyday. It will be bloody, but we don't need to be involved. So much for socialism there.
 

jerry

Well Known Member
Do you agree or not agree with what I posted, Jerry? Doesn't matter, really, the numbers are what they are. The point is still the same -- it takes a lot of taxes and money to run a socialist utopia.

When you open the doors to mass immigration of unskilled labor (Muslims in their case) that need to be sheltered, fed, and clothed, the burden upon working citizens gets even higher. It only works for awhile until the citizens revolt. Some of these countries that had open arms are waking up to the nightmare they have created and are in fact closing their doors to the unwashed masses. It's happening all over Europe. Italy refused to take a ship load of rescued Libyan immigrants this week. Told them to go to Malta instead.

I get out plenty, Jerry. Maybe you need to study up a bit on what's happening on the world stage, not just our own border. There are lots of parallels you can learn from.
. It is complicated and a matter of taste ...not something Phoenix College's Philosophy Dept ( pause for laughs) preps one for...

Norway has so many nice attributes - it's safe, clean, and affluent and has good schools and hospitals, a nice work/life balance, and very tolerant people, living the North American lifestyle in Norway on a reasonable budget is impossible (i.e. owning a few cars, living in a moderate to big house, eating out (or ordering out) when the mood strikes, buying cheap groceries at Costco, and putting away some money every month for an early retirement etc.).

This is not to say that everyone should live the North American lifestyle, but for better or worse, once you try it, it's easy to get hooked. This may explain why so many more Norwegian citizens live in the US than US citizens live in Norway

I frankly wish the US didn't have so many dangerous places in its cities (but it doesn't take long to learn how to recognize and avoid these areas, plus the violent crime shown so often on TV and in the movies spills out into the general population much less than foreigners might believe).

The US also definitely has more punk kids than Norway, which can be annoying. And the poverty that can be found in the US should be a source of disgrace to all Americans. Maybe Canada has it right?

A Norwegian expat friend who has lived in the US for the past 20 years summed things up nicely - at the early and later stages of life, Norway is nice. The education is good, there's not much to worry about, and when you're going to school, or you're retired, you dont get hit too hard by the high taxes. Plus consumption is relatively low at these ages, so the costs of things won't kill you (and taking public transportation won't be too onerous).

However, during the working years, and definitely after you have kids, the US is hard to beat, because a comfortable life is so incredibly affordable.

That said, everyone is different and personal preferences are key drivers on where a person should live. If you're reading this in either the US or Norway, consider yourself lucky, because you've already got it
 
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