Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by bmitc | Hacker News Reader

Full thread

bmitc

I would ask how this is legal, but then again, we wouldn't even be here if something being legal or not mattered.

View on HN

It's no different than promises to increase welfare or cut taxes that politicians routinely make.

Or pay off student loan debt, it's all crooked, both sides.

Please beware the false moral equivalence. Both sides is a position which advantages the incumbency.

What is your intent, beyond cynicism?

Biden promised $2000 and paid out $1400, still owes us $600 each.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/15/critics-say-bidens-covid-rel...

"Both sides" is such an absurd claim these days.

It's like saying that a murderer and a jaywalker are both criminals, so they're basically the same.

Lol I see you've never met a stallman type (ie your average hn disposition)

You’re right, the “both sides” claim really doesn’t work here.

Biden’s student loan forgiveness would have amounted to a gift of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to his most ardent supporters: young, college educated, poor people.

Trump’s proposal is a fraction of that, and all Americans would be eligible. If he’s trying to buy votes, he’s going to need to try a lot harder. This proposal is nothing like Biden’s vote buying scheme.

Have you missed where Trump himself and many of the wealthiest people in the U.S. have had integer multiples of their wealth over just the past couple of years?

> young, college educated, poor people

Oh yea, you're correct, who needs those? Let's feed the 0.01%.

Funny that you wake up and rise only now. Where was you righteous indignation when Republicans promises tax cuts? Can you point me to your contemporary reaction to "no tax on tips"? What made you react only now?

Exactly. And by doing so, we slowly allow jaywalkers to become murderers but still viewed as "oh, it's just another person jaywalking again".

This is much different than that. It's basically a direct bribe.

Yes it is different: he conditioned it on voting for him. And he is not claiming to improve any governmental system to finance this, like other politicians do when they promise welfare or tax cuts: he is saying the money is there, he is the only one who can use it, and whether you get it or not depends on giving him your vote.

It would probably make more difference if it was paid in advance :)

Actually people would have to be an idiot to settle for anything less from Trump.

When you think about it, if Trump genuinely trusted the average American, he would pay in advance.

OTOH, Americans will be able to see if they can trust Trump by whether or not he pays in advance no matter what.

Whoever's paying attention.

Even if legality did matter, the president has criminal immunity for official acts.

The insane SCOTUS ruled that the president could not be held accountable for illegal acts as long as it was deemed official acts of the US.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com