(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . I fell into the NextDoor cesspool and kept getting pulled deeper. Help me! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-11 I live in very blue Southern California. Many Americans who don’t live in SoCal believe that everyone who lives here must be a flaming liberal. I have proof that it’s not so. I joined the NextDoor community app several years ago to stay in touch with the neighbors and neighborhoods around me. I have since been inundated with stories of invasions by homeless people, drug dealers, stolen cars and catalytic converters, trash, exhibitionists, rude teenagers, lunatics, and a litany of other abominations that inevitably get tied to some behavior or other by Joe Biden and the Democrats. I have never personally experienced ANY of the abominations commonly viewed by my neighbors, so I have to assume I am either extraordinarily lucky or blind. My experience with NextDoor suggests that Republicans have too much time on their hands and use it to complain bitterly about Democrats on NextDoor. Honestly, I really do try to ignore it, but today I stumbled on this thread, which started innocently enough with a simple statement of fact. It quickly devolved, and I just couldn’t help myself. Author • 2 days ago • Fresh news: Flush with $80 billion in new funding, the IRS is aiming to ramp up audits of wealthy taxpayers and large corporations, according to a strategic operating plan it released Thursday. The 150-page plan also includes a lengthy list of proposed changes intended to improve customer service, upgrade the agency’s notoriously outdated computer systems, boost hiring, and even “explore making it easier” to file tax returns directly with the IRS for free. Author: or $545,759 per citizen - Tip: make more immigrants citizens? Me: That's actually grossly wrong. The program will pay for itself many times over, resulting in a net profit per citizen, not a cost. It's clear from the responses down thread that many of the [Southern California] billionaires are terrified that their complex tax schemes will be revealed and that they will be forced to ante up, maybe even wind up in jail. Those of us who pay our fair share every year are thrilled by this news. Sad to see Republicans advocating for defunding the police - the only political party that ever has. It didn’t take long before the decline in quality of life in the US was lamented and Dems were maligned. Person2: it always amazes me how people justify what’s going on in the United States right now I don’t know if you’re blind or if you just don’t care I don’t want to say you’re stupid but you’ve got to look at what is going on. Do you enjoy paying five dollars a gallon for gas do you enjoy the cost of things at the market now do you enjoy the fact that thousands of illegal immigrants are pouring in through our borders do you enjoy the fact that art [sic] strategic reserve has been depleted. Do you enjoy the fact that China is knocking at our door, buying up land, etc. My response: The average price of gasoline in the US today is $3.79 per gallon. That's among the lowest in the world. In China it's $4.40. In Canada it's $4.87. In Spain, it's $6.74. In France, it's $7.92. In Hong Kong, it's $11.21. Here's the link: (https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/gasoline_prices/) Inflation in the US as of Oct 2022 was 7.7%. That ranks among the lowest in the world. In Mexico, it was 8.4%. In Germany, it was 10.4%. In Italy, it was 11.8%. In the Netherlands, it was 14.3%. In Turkey, it was 85.5%. Here's the link (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-which-countries-have-the-highest-inflation/). All I can say is Thank God for Biden and the Dems for keeping gas prices and inflation under control. Biden opened up US reserves to keep gasoline prices stable. Regarding immigration, I refuse to argue about the cruelty of Republican officials who have stripped children from their parents as punishment for trying to escape desperately oppressive gangs and poverty. I would ask you what you would do for your children? Person3: Why doesn’t anyone have meaningful conversations around cutting government spending? Why are they increasing spending ever [sic] year? Me again: Those discussions happen all the time. People who want to cut government spending can never identify which programs should be cut. The House Republicans can’t come up with a budget that cuts spending and they have been studying the issue for decades. Person4: you do not have a clue as to what is going on in Washington. Have you heard the term RINO? Me: I understand extremely well what is going on in Washington, since I watch numerous news programs (everything except Fox News, because Fox agreed in a court settlement that they are not news and no intelligent person would take them seriously), I have heard the term RINO, and I have no idea what relevance that has, since my statement is true regardless. Person4: lots of news companies get sued, loose [sic] and have to pay out. Not just the one incident you cite at Fox News. Just my opinion, but you are only getting one side of the story. You are not getting the rest of the story or any exculpating evidence. Me: The specific case that found that Fox does not present news was significant because their defense was that they are not a news organization, but an entertainment business. They also stated that no reasonable person would take their arguments seriously. Here's one link (https://www.npr.org/2020/09/29/917747123/you-literally-cant-believe-the-facts-tucker-carlson-tells-you-so-say-fox-s-lawye). The judge agreed. No other news organization has ever made that statement. Person4: then you are for all the pork barrel projects in Washington. Apparently you do not think there is any corruption in Washington and every [sic] is just fine. Me: Thanks for providing specific concerns. I am against corruption by any and all politicians. I believe that any corrupt politician should be prosecuted and imprisoned if convicted. I believe there are plenty of examples where corrupt politicians have been convicted and I hope that trend continues. I'm expecting to see many indictments against corrupt politicians coming in the next few months and I'm glad you agree. Regarding pork barrel projects, I guess it depends on whether the specific project provides a benefit for the constituents of that legislator. All legislators try to bring benefits to their constituents, often in the form of federal money, because it strengthens and modernizes their districts and states. The most powerful legislators tend to bring the most money to their districts, and as a result they get reelected. The NASA Johnson Center was built in Texas because Lyndon Johnson was a Senator. Military bases all over the country are prized by their legislators because they are a conduit for federal money. I was an overseer for a modernization project for space-qualified electronics many years ago, and I was delighted to learn that a company in a rural Western state had received pork barrel funding years earlier to address that exact problem. That early funding prepared the company to become a significant player in space electronics that government programs like GPS could then rely on for future products. Our government is not perfect, maybe even terrible, but it is the best form of government that any human has yet devised. Person2 you liberals watch pure propaganda Me: Is this snark, irony, or projection? Here’s another part of the thread, which I did not contribute to, but found especially telling. Person2: boy you sure are biting [sic] the wrong goods that they’re selling. Do you know how many IRS agents they plan to hire? He wants to hire 87000. That’s not staffing properly. That’s bringing back the Gestapo. Person5 The IRS received 165M returns in 2021. The IRS employs 78,000 people, 50,000 of whom will retire in the next five years. Perhaps Google questions like “How many people does the IRS employ?” You’ll find some interesting facts on which to base opinions. Person6: sad that you compare patriotic US citizens willing to do this thankless job of collecting money LEGALLY DUE to the US government with the gestapo. More right wing extreme hysteria on display here. There was much more to the thread, but I just got tired of it. We all yelled, and no one’s mind was changed. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/11/2163276/-I-fell-into-the-NextDoor-cesspool-and-kept-getting-pulled-deeper-Help-me Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/