Americans don’t get it

As I read several social media sites, include X, Threads, Facebook and TruthSocial it becomes painfully clear that way too many Americans have no clue what they are talking about, but are armed with a great deal of misinformation.

That misinformation often comes from sources pushing an agenda.

This isn’t about opinions, but facts and cause and effect.

Here are some of the topics widely misunderstood at several levels. Quotes are around certain words because we often don’t even define them accurately.

  • Social Security and how it’s funded
  • Medicare and exactly what it is and does
  • Foreign aid
  • “Welfare” spending
  • What the “wealthy” pay in taxes
  • “CEO” pay and its impact on workers and prices
  • How tariffs work
  • Health care costs and who is to blame
  • Health insurance and insurance companies

All these topics have been addressed over the years on Quinnscommentary.net

It matters little because misinformation often reinforces what people want to believe and facts be damned. Trying to solve a problem not using facts is counterproductive.

Proceed with caution. Vote based on facts.

Nobody stole the SS money, Medicare is insurance, not healthcare, we spend far less on welfare and foreign aid than most people think, the top 20% of earnings pay the majority of income taxes, tariffs are paid by consumers, CEO pay has no impact on workers pay, health insurance companies do not make high profits driven by individual premiums, we are all to blame for high health care costs.

If you don’t believe me, I fully understand.

12 comments

  1. why is anyone surprised–this is no big deal–even if you have the facts that doesn’t mean you will act accordingly—we all know that too much fat is not healthy and millions are obese–we know it but don’t act on it.

    some of us (watching Fox News) knew Biden had real cognitive issues and has for a few years (no 15-minute Super Bowl interview?)–was it disinformation of lying that main stream media was engaged in when they refused to report it? Carl Bernstein on Morning Joke with Mika said news folks long knew of the early onset dementia–even Carl–and he didn’t report it. How much do we hate Trump!!

    was it disinformation or lying when we were assured that Hunter’s laptop was most likely Russian disinformation–I mean 51 former National Security folks signed off on it–so it must have been a big deal.

    weren’t we told the Russians interfered in our 2016 election and without that Hillary would have won? No proof after a 3-year nightmare of accusations, hearings, and a special prosecutor.

    of course Trump still thinks he won in 2020–prove it say I!

    So you have a list–of misinformation (lies) that have been around for decades–the current ones are political–generated by politicians–pretty much the same folks who generated your list.

    what’s the distinction between misinformation and a lie? when they tell me Trump says he will be a dictator when he said : “I will be a dictator for a day and reverse Biden’s immigration policy and drill baby drill.” Are they lying or is it disinformation?

    Like

    1. “How much do we hate Trump!!”

      For three hours he watched the attack on the Capitol. His cabinet begged him to do something. His family begged him. Fox News begged him. It was his damn job to do something.

      57 Senators voted to impeach him.

      Only 57.

      That’s not misinformation.

      “Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain,”

      Like

      1. no excuse for Trump–no doubt after burning cities was justified by the left these loons felt they could do their thing–Trump was impeached–2 times–how many died in our cities that summer–how many businesses burned–how many homes destroyed–how many people prosecuted and /or held accountable-didn’t Pelosi refuse to call out the National Guard? didn’t Mayor Bowser refuse to call the National Guard? Does this justify Trump doing nothing?? NO!

        No excuses for Trump at all–but this man with dementia is now leading the country–where is the clarion call for the 25th Amendment we heard from Trump haters in 2018? he only functions from 10 AM to 4 PM so anything happening between those hours will go right by him–talk about people wanting to hold onto power.

        so go right ahead and vote for the old man who we all know is in an early stage of dementia–after the Afghan withdrawal debacle–the border invasion–defunding the police (let’s re-imagine policing), inflation as high as 9% (“it was 9% when I was sworn in”)–crime running amok in the cities, and his “partial invasion is okay” to Putin about Ukraine, you can have the guy.

        I just heard Dr. Jill tell us in Delaware that:” he’s all in!!!”” As I said to my wife: “but is he all there?” .

        they had the old man on the radio this weekend and fed the 2 questioners with 4 of the 5 questions he could answer–the host of one program was fired this morning–the old fool needs to be spoon fed questions.

        this weekend he told me he was the 1st female black VP and served with a black president–the left is taking transitioning just a bit too far.

        Like

      2. “Does this justify Trump doing nothing?? NO!”

        He should be in prison.

        Afghanistan my a*. Trump made a (questionable) agreement to withdraw May 1, 2021. Four days after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Trump ordered immediate withdrawal, but you know this. It would have been even more catastrophic. Why would he do that?*

        Forget about Pelosi, forget about the DC mayor. That’s a cop out. Trump fiddled while Rome was burning.

        Forget about inflation “as high as 9%”. I assume you know that was world wide inflation, caused by Covid issues, as was the 1.5% when Trump left office. A disingenuous argument at best.

        “defunding the police”: Biden?? I don’t think so.

        Yes, I will vote for the old man, if he is still on the ticket, and support Kamala Harris if it comes to that.

        I will vote as early as possible, because I may not live out the year (is that a dead person voting? So sue me.) But I hope to survive long enough to see trump lose and/or in prison.

        *Assume the worst.

        Like

    2. FWIW,

      Semantics; I don’t know that I hate Trump, but I firmly believe he should have been in prison three years ago, and for life.

      hate:/hāt/verb

      feel intense or passionate dislike for (someone).

      Then again, maybe I do.

      Like

    3. Half truth…

      “we were assured that Hunter’s laptop was most likely Russian disinformation…”

      It “might” have changed the results of the election, even though, salacious as it was, it had little, if any bearing on the quality of the candidate.

      Also…

      “Hillary Clinton would probably be president if FBI Director James Comey had not sent a letter to Congress on Oct. 28. The letter, which said the FBI had “learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.”*FiveThirtyEight

      C’est la vie, “Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been.”

      Chit happens. Forget about Hunter’s laptop.

      *caveat, from the same source:”The letter… upended the news cycle and soon halved Clinton’s lead in the polls, imperiling her position in the Electoral College.

      The letter isn’t the only reason that Clinton lost.”

      Like

      1. let’s start with Afghanistan–Trump made a decision and of all the policies left to slow Joe he implements that one and the implementation was horrible–former Joint Chief Milley (sp) testified on the Hill and it was damning–13 Americans dead–we left all sorts of weapons and aircraft–what a mess and some say it encouraged Putin

        the laptop obviously had information that most likely implicated the old man and his schemes to gather money through his deadbeat son–if there is nothing on it why 51 Nat’l Security folks asked by then campaign guru Tony Blinken to sign the document–the old man lied when he told us he had no information about Hunter’s business–you can listen to him calling Hunter at least twice when the money folks were in Georgetown–now he says he never benefited from the business he at first knew nothing about.

        would the election have been different if they had not lied about the computer–I have not a clue–I was upset that the NY Post had the story and social media shut down their ability to to get it out as the Dems used the Russian disinformation ruse.

        Hillary should have got off her fat butt and campaigned in Wisconsin & Michigan–her campaign paid $1 million to a Democratic law firm which paid a 3rd party to do the Steele dossier and falsely described the payments as “legal services” (sound familial?)–FEC fined the campaign $8,000–she skated–but Trump?? well it’s Trump!!!

        Comey is a 1st class jerk–hurt Clinton but she did “bleach” her computer to rid it of unauthorized classified documents –she is a piece of work as is Comey.

        of course the old man had years of classified documents all over his garage–told us he was totally unaware of them–then we learn from Mr. Hur that the old man shared them with his ghostwriter in 2018 and was paid $8 million for the book he was writing– he would have been charged by Mr. Hur but his memory and mental capacity would have saved him from being found guilty so why waste the time says the special prosecutor.

        sorry about inflation as it averaged about 2% during the Trump years–some countries had more and some had less–inflation is too much $ chasing too few goods which is why it peaked at 9% in 2022–the old man was told not to send out all those checks and dump all that money into the system as he had done it once before as had Trump–the critics were right and inflation–shortages do not cause inflation–if the $ supply is not inflated folks don’t buy certain items which they can’t afford.

        I could use your fallacious inflation argument for the old man’s employment rate which he takes full credit for–covid shut down the economies of the world–we had 10% unemployment until we opened up and then those jobs came back–the G7 nations are doing quite well, as are we, with employment–he really thinks he created jobs–50 years of government employment–he knows nothing about creating a job or a business.

        Stay well–good discussions.

        Like

      2. “the old man’s employment rate which he takes full credit for–”

        I do cringe when Biden “misrepresents” reality, they all do it, some more than others.

        “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

        May be not, that 9% ain’t going away, but does that mean Trump’s economy was better than Biden? No.

        Will the economy be better under Trump? I doubt it.

        Was the U.S. More respected by the world under Trump? Not according to any poll I’ve seen.

        Will the world be safer under Trump? I don’t see how.

        Most MAGA supporters say they support Trump because “he cares about us” he forfeited his salary, after all. He cares about no one more than his own ego. Not even his family.

        And worst of all, IMHO, as bad as Trump is, I propose that he may be nothing more than a useful idiot, because he has a large loyal following. He’s not a Republican (RINO). Not even a conservative. “I don’t like him, but I like his policies”??What policies? Somebody is pulling his strings. If I were Trump, I would be worried. If Republicans get the White House and congress, he may be expendable. Watch your back, Donald.

        Like

      3. Unemployment was 3.5% in Sept. of 2019 at a 50-year low and 19 consecutive months at or below 4%–African Americans –Hispanics–disabled were at record low rates–inflation averaged 2% under Trump—Biden shows low unemployment but inflation has been a disaster for them.

        all I want from either of them is to keep taxes, both corporate and personal, where they are and start cutting spending.–I think Trump gives me a better shot.

        The world is a tinderbox right now–would Trump make it worse?? hard to say but he can be a pain the butt so hopefully he doesn’t screw up Ukraine or Gaza.

        Biden fits your profile of being all for himself–it seems to me he suffers from mild dementia which does not get better–his family which benefits from his position is all for him continuing–nobody talks about what is good for the country only if they can defeat Trump-power and money which is what this family wants.

        his policies; (1) keep taxes where they are—(2) the de-funding the police attitude is gone–(3) immigration/illegal is a high priority —(4) the woke policies of government agencies ends–(5) the New Green Deal policies are looked at closely–(6) oil and gas exploration become a priority–(7) judicial appointments are conservative not activist liberals.

        Yes, Trump is a RINO–a pain in the butt–not a good man–but if you are running a dementia addled candidate your path to the White House is challenging.

        Stay safe and in the best of health–interesting back and forth

        Like

      4. Not surprising, we not only disagree on the candidates, but most of the policies. Time will tell

        Like

  2. There is no such thing as voting based on facts. Everyone has their own set of facts and that leads to an election where a person far off the norm can win. How else can you explain the extreme views of many Congress members. Most of the local political ads I see are bashing the other candidates for behavior that don’t even include the list of topics you mention. It’s also a given that voting records in office don’t line up with what I would want in many cases. Choosing an elected representative for any office from school board to President of the country can turn out as much disappointment as satisfaction. Maybe I’m just hard to please.

    Like

Leave a Reply