The Nazi rearmament gave people jobs (but caused excessive government expenditure). Also, Hitler stopped most of the payment for reparations when he came to power.

That is true. But the resentment on Versailles treaty is not the only reason and it is far more complex. The US was basically providing money to Germany through loans, so that Germany can repay the reparations set by Versailles treaty (the United States along with Britain actually opposed the terms but the French insisted). Germany was actually on her way to pay the reparations and the economy boomed after World War 1. But, when 1929 came the Great Depression happened which means the United States had no more money to give, which means Germany also had no money to pay the reparations. This caused the country to default leading to hyperinflation.

Hitler refused to pay the remaining reparations and gave jobs to the Germans by rearming. However, this caused another inflation and impending bankruptcy which prompted Hitler to invade regions and then countries to plunder for more funds.

The German economy overheated because of excessive government spending to appease the people. The Nazis went to war in 1939 to stave off the impending economic collapse through plundering of other country’s resources.

Edit: to those who would say it was the Versailles Treaty to blame for Germany being bankrupt during the Great Depression, it is more complicated than that. Many argue that blaming the reparations clause from Versailles is basically a myth.

But the resentment on Versailles treaty is not the only reason and it is far more complex. The US was basically providing money to Germany through loans, so that Germany can repay the reparations set by Versailles treaty (the United States along with Britain actually opposed the terms but the French insisted). Germany was actually on her way to pay the reparations and the economy boomed after World War 1. But, when 1929 came the Great Depression happened which means the United States had no more money to give, which means Germany also had no money to pay the reparations. This caused the country to default leading to hyperinflation.

Hitler refused to pay the remaining reparations and gave jobs to the Germans by rearming. However, this caused another inflation and impending bankruptcy which prompted Hitler to invade regions and then countries to plunder for more funds.

You never know…

Last time I checked, according to surveys, most Americans don’t actually believe in trickle down economics. Some probably do, but most don’t.

Unless it is Margaret Thatcher who went back in time, then she and Reagan would fuck.

How can they be criminals if they have no trial?

I will be honest, I thought that Trump will continue with his fascist-adjacent/fascist-lite policies from his first term. Looks like in this term, he is out for vengeance and doubled down!

I always see xenophobia and racism as different level in the same category. Like, the former is “milder” and something as I, as an immigrant, could overlook. The latter is far more hateful and intolerant.

The far-right in Europe seems to have lost momentum a bit-- for now. The far-right parties in government in Sweden and Netherlands proved themselves incompetent and lost support. The support on German AfD stagnated. Meloni has shown to be more moderate than expected (well, not quite but that’s a long story). And Le Pen has been prosecuted, but I think this is not enough to actually kill the French far-right movement so long as the French government still practice neoliberal policies. But I think the major factor that made Europeans think twice now about gravitating towards fascism is after witnessing the shit show in America and Musk’s overt election interference in Europe. I should not be laughing, but what a laugh the three months of Trump administration has been!

Okay fascist.

Genetics play a role as well. Not to brag, but my siblings and I still look young for our age even though we are in our thirty’s. One of my friends also still looks good.

What you say overall though is correct that lifestyle plays a massive role. In my friend group, only me and my said friend still look great for our age, and perhaps because our jobs are more physically demanding. The rest of my friends have office jobs or working from home, so they do not get more physical exercise and gained weight severely. But having office jobs is not really even much of an excuse not to exercise. I work on shifts but I exercise when I get days off. To be honest, I find that too many people can be hedonistic and gets turned off by slight feeling of discomfort, which is why they don’t exercise.

To add on what @Higgs [email protected] said, credit to where it’s due, the privatisation did help the struggling British economy lift itself out of edging bankruptcy caused by the oil crisis. We have to admit that, sometimes, you need to tighten your belt. But, Thatcher went too far with gutting welfare and unions. Even some respectable conservatives at the time agreed that she went too far.

The Nordics are as capitalist as any most countries and still have billionaires. The difference is that they hold their politicians accountable. They also have strong unions (in fact, there is no minimum wage but rather it is negotiated between unions and employers). They have progressive taxation, and to deter rich people leaving with their assets, Nordic countries have capital flight tax.

The Nordics prove that capitalism with democracy works, but the difference is that they know they have to work for it. A lot of people around the world forget they hold the power as a collective and could pressure their representatives to do the right thing.

Switzerland and Nordics have been democratically stable for the longest time. Though, it does not mean that they won’t ever experience fascism at any point in the future. Americans didn’t think it will happen to them after all.

I personally feel that Trump’s first term is pretty less consequential in the world stage than the second term. But then this second term of his is only three months in, and it is already causing havoc that even the oligarchs are inconvenienced and thinking twice now about supporting him!

Post it on 4chan so that people will dismiss the leaks as fake and gay.

It has been years since I have read about it. I can’t find it now either. However, my search did mention that having single payer healthcare will cost California $500 billion annually, double the state’s entire annual budget as of 2024. https://www.wordandbrown.com/NewsPost/Single-Payer-2024

For now, California has been subsidising healthcare costs through existing programmes.

Yes and no. There are places that are 90% tribalistic and won’t vote for the opposing party. But more often than not, there are party flip in regions that used to be reliable for one party, but switch to another party. That is what happened with former industrial manufacturing hubs in Appalachia and Midwest when they used to vote Democrats, but switched to Republican thanks to jobs outsourcing. The working class weren’t provided with alternatives. Their people left, communities abandoned with no prospect, many became depressed and resort to substance abuse leading to both personal and generational trauma. These communities are ripe for emotional manipulation by demagogues.

I don’t know about New York, but California calculated that they can’t afford it on their own and need federal funding. Problem is, the politicians at federal level is beholden to for-profit medical sector.