US Political News and Trump’s China visit

Look at the choices we get. The two parties are also beholden to powerful and wealthy donors, who want to continue the status quo. Things have gotten so precarious for the middle class that when older New Yorkers make appeals on what happened on 9/11, it doesn’t have the same appeal to the younger New Yorkers that want to know how their problems will be addressed today.

You’re right that many homeless wouldn’t take the housing offered, even if provided. But we still shouldn’t give up on them. Finding ways, within the budget allocated or maybe with a small increase, to make the system work better. The homeless shelters are horribly maintained and there are many mentally ill that go there.

If we had more funding for mentally ill and for drug addicts, we could make the shelter’s safer.

Getting the homeless off the subways would also make the subways more attractive to fare paying commuters, give the system more money to make improvements and generating more revenue for the city indirectly; which could go into more homeless, mental health, and drug addiction care.

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Many of the homeless just don’t make enough, so they would take the housing if offered. But there are also many addicts and mentally ill that need separate accommodations and supportive care.

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Of course, some people are homeless because they are just out of luck or money or both, so if you build low-income housing, it would help them, but what I should say is that it won't solve the issue completely. On the other hand, low-income housing still costs, as this is not "free housing," and unless the government can address the income inequality issue, that would still remain an issue

As for public transport, you need to figure out how to make it appealing to people. Port Authority Police can already move people on, but the main reason people are not taking Public Transport is that it's expensive and unsafe, which has been left in this state for years due to decay and neglect, and that's in turn because Public Transport usually loses money for its respective agency. That is not just a US problem. Queensland Government figure that out, and charge a token 50c for any public transport, instead of writing it off as a loss in public revenue, they write it up on the State's contribution to Green energy and renewable, I think if Mandani wins (which is very likely), then he probably need to look into the same plans


Finally, year after year of 2 two-party system IS the reason why people lost hope in Politics because literally you are just voting on "Dumb and Dumber", this is not going to change unless the US changes it election contribution law, or some crazy gazillionaire sponsor a third party to break the deadlock, otherwise we are just basically voting on the least of the worse. Election reform is needed, but it's not on the voter identity reform. But then both parties are more concerned about a power grab than anything else, fat chance it's going to happen.
 
Transcript of Trump Interview:

Reporter: That would be certainly very newsworthy. My understanding is what Russia did recently was test essentially the delivery systems for nuclear weapons, essentially missiles, which we can do that, but what not with nuclear weapons?

Trump: Russia's testing and China's testing, but they don't talk about it. You know, we're an open society. We're different.

We talk about it. We have to talk about it because otherwise you people are going to report. They don't have reporters that going to be writing about it. We do. No, we're going to test because they test and others test. And certainly North Korea's been testing. Pakistan's been testing.

Reporter: Not nuclear weapons is my understanding. North Korea has but not nuclear weapons.

Trump: They don't go and tell you about it. And you know, as powerful as they are (Russia and China), this is a big world. You don't necessarily know where they're testing. They test way under underground where people don't know exactly what's happening with the test. You feel a little bit of a vibration. Uh they test and we don't test. We have to test.

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Trump's focus is on nuclear program of China and Russia about whom he says they are testing. He only made a passing reference to North Korea and Pakistan. Then again referred back to China and Russia while saying 'as powerful as they are' (Time stamp of the conversation in the video is: 14:06 - 14:54. (Video attached as wel).

I hope people in our country may realise that not everything is always true, no matter how much you may want to flex your muscle. It's better to keep yourself grounded and close to reality. It serves the country better in that manner.
 
Trump's focus is on nuclear program of China and Russia about whom he says they are testing. He only made a passing reference to North Korea and Pakistan.

Exactly! and to further add to this, the most recent widely reported nuclear live test was conducted by North Korea in 2017 which produced a 6+ magnitude earthquake. Russians only tested delivery systems recently and Trump pounced on the opportunity to restart the Cold War Era Climate which directly reinforces his "America First" narrative.
 
Yes, you are being deliberately dishonest. The ACA will continue to be subsidized by tax credits for low income families who meet the requirements of the Act as passed in 2010. Those are permanent.

What you are referring to is the expanded eligibility requirements set forth in the ARPA in 2021. This was due to the impact on the economy from the covid shutdowns across the US. The Biden administration and Democrat-controlled Congress expanded the eligibility requirements to as much as 400% of the federal poverty level. It was them, and signed into law by Biden, that those expanded eligibility requirements would be temporary; ending in 2025.

Now, 2025 is here, and Democrats do not control the White House, House, or Senate. Otherwise, they likely would have simply extended the expanded tax credit premiums and eligibility requirements for another 4 years. Got to have that political football, you know. Republicans, since they are the ones who control the White House, House, and Senate, have elected to let the expanded eligibility requirements and tax credits expire.

The tax cuts for the "wealthy" that you're referring to are the result of the Big Beautiful Bill that was passed this year. In fact, here is what an AI search of the question resulted in:

Democrats did not include the expanded ACA premium tax credits in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" that was passed by House Republicans. This omission has been significant, as the enhanced tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025. Without these credits, many individuals purchasing health insurance through the ACA marketplace are expected to face substantial increases in their premiums.

Democrats have been advocating for the extension of these subsidies to prevent rising costs and maintain affordability for millions of Americans. The absence of these credits in the bill has raised concerns about the potential financial burden on those who rely on the ACA for health coverage.


In other words, Democrats had their chance and opted to not include knowing they could use this as a political football once the latest CR (HR1968) expired. They planned on this.

Now, remember I mentioned the expanded eligibility requirements were up to 400% of the FPL. Let's use a family of 4 as an example.

In the lower 48 states, the FPL for a family of 4 is $32,150. Depending on the circumstances, that same family of 4, with an income of up to $128,600, is eligible for coverage and the expanded subsidies under the ACA. Really, with a program like that, it comes as no surprise, at least to me, that many would opt out of an employer-offered program and go with coverage under the ACA. Less out of pocket? Hell yes.

I will say it again:

The Democrats manufactured this crisis back in 2021. And now, they are trying to blame Republicans for it.
The issue does not start with 2021; the issue with the ACA is that it was wrongly written, and it started on day 1 in 2010. The dependence of tax incentives to fund different coverage NEVER works, because different people have different needs, and you will at a point where people who don't need those services don't want to pay for them. What 2021 did is basically destroy our entire Medical infrastructure while destroying our workforce. When an increased number of people needed longer and more complex care they couldn't afford because most of these same people had lost their jobs during COVID, it exacerbates the issue

What Obama intended to do with ACA is to basically give universal healthcare and fund it like any country that had this service, like in Australia, where I currently live, Medicare was sponsored by a 2% medicare levy on tax payment, and that's also universal. The problem is, Obama did not make the framework of universal health care work, and it extended to the lower-tier income earners. Then Trump came up in 2017, he should have reformed or abolished the ACA (He promised to by the way), and it was not done because most ACA actually benefits Red States, and he saw that and basically just backed off this promise. And Biden didn't do anything on that, which led to the issue now.

1762175537859.png


On the other hand, your example is flawed, if you earn 120k sure, you can afford it, the issue is, according to the US Census, the median household income is only 84K


1762174599255.png

Which means most of them can't afford the ACA Premium. Just because they can get it with 400% FPL doesn't mean they can afford it. How are you going to afford that if you earn 84K and pay out 12k ACA premium?

Either shut the whole thing down, and not use tax credit at all, or give them the tax credit so it stays "Affordable", it's stupid to begin with to have a government program that costs the same or more than private health care, the current admin staying in the middle is the stupidest move ever.
 
Of course, some people are homeless because they are just out of luck or money or both, so if you build low-income housing, it would help them, but what I should say is that it won't solve the issue completely. On the other hand, low-income housing still costs, as this is not "free housing," and unless the government can address the income inequality issue, that would still remain an issue

As for public transport, you need to figure out how to make it appealing to people. Port Authority Police can already move people on, but the main reason people are not taking Public Transport is that it's expensive and unsafe, which has been left in this state for years due to decay and neglect, and that's in turn because Public Transport usually loses money for its respective agency. That is not just a US problem. Queensland Government figure that out, and charge a token 50c for any public transport, instead of writing it off as a loss in public revenue, they write it up on the State's contribution to Green energy and renewable, I think if Mandani wins (which is very likely), then he probably need to look into the same plans


Finally, year after year of 2 two-party system IS the reason why people lost hope in Politics because literally you are just voting on "Dumb and Dumber", this is not going to change unless the US changes it election contribution law, or some crazy gazillionaire sponsor a third party to break the deadlock, otherwise we are just basically voting on the least of the worse. Election reform is needed, but it's not on the voter identity reform. But then both parties are more concerned about a power grab than anything else, fat chance it's going to happen.
Next time I see Mamdani, I’ll pass along your suggestion on public transport.
 
Indian and Indian Americans have to realize this is the moment they need the help of the rest of the south Asians (like we use to be in the 90s) to rebuild the image of all.

It was this unity that is a major part of Mamdani’s rise.

It is also partially how the Chinese community gained wider acceptance in the US. Not by fighting issues between countries and finding a way to mutually co-exist; which paid dividends for the diasporas and all East Asian countries in general.

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The issue does not start with 2021; the issue with the ACA is that it was wrongly written, and it started on day 1 in 2010. The dependence of tax incentives to fund different coverage NEVER works, because different people have different needs, and you will at a point where people who don't need those services don't want to pay for them. What 2021 did is basically destroy our entire Medical infrastructure while destroying our workforce. When an increased number of people needed longer and more complex care they couldn't afford because most of these same people had lost their jobs during COVID, it exacerbates the issue
I will agree the issue originally started in 2010. The point I am making is it was exacerbated in 2021 thanks to the temporary provisions of ARPA. That is where the real problem came in.

On the other hand, your example is flawed, if you earn 120k sure, you can afford it, the issue is, according to the US Census, the median household income is only 84K
My example is not flawed. It is based off the Federal poverty level figures which eligibility under the ACA is based. Even if you are making $84K per year, chances are good you are working in a job where the employer offers health insurance. And, it wasn't that long ago where I was covering my kids, the employee contribution is nowhere near $12K per year. In my case, now, based on current copays through my employer, I would be paying less than $4500 per year. Granted, every company and situation is going to be different. My other point is if you opted out of employer-offered insurance because of the lure of cheap copays at the time, you've no one to blame but yourself.

When I turned 65, my employer would have loved it had I opted for Medicare Part B and D. I however remained covered by my employer until I elected to retire.
 

UPDATE on some big polls with the 2025 Elections tomorrow​


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"Pakistan has been testing. They don’t go and tell you about it. As powerful as they are, this is a big world. You don’t know where they’re testing. They test way underground."

- US President Trump about Pakistan testing its nuclear devices recently.
"پاکستان تجربات کر رہا ہے۔ وہ آپ کو اس کے بارے میں بتانے نہیں جاتے۔ جتنے طاقتور وہ ہیں، یہ ایک بہت بڑی دنیا ہے۔ آپ نہیں جانتے کہ وہ کہاں تجربات کر رہے ہیں۔ وہ زمین کے بہت نیچے تجربات کرتے ہیں۔"

— امریکی صدر ڈونلڈ ٹرمپ، پاکستان کے حالیہ ایٹمی تجربات کے بارے میں۔
Trump is stupid, he is just making a case for the US to start testing nukes again. Pakistan has not done nay more nuke tests.
 
Simply observe the dramatization...background siren ....Indians never fail to entertain!

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HAHAHAHA

I am impatiently waiting for Arnab and Bakhshi tag team to show up. I cant wait.
 
Simply observe the dramatization...background siren ....Indians never fail to entertain!

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What a ridiculous country and a horrific society.

There is good reason why Pakistan tests its nuclear weapons.
 
Simply observe the dramatization...background siren ....Indians never fail to entertain!

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I really don't understand this.

Did they get a random shalwar kameez salesman to present Pakistan side?
 

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