Ask A Genius 591: To Move or Not
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2021/05/22
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Rick Rosner: So, Carole and I have been looking at where we might move at some point in our lives, obviously towards our older years because we’re already fucking older. I’m 61 and Carole turns 57 in two months.
That urge to find someplace else to live was to add some urgency under Trump and then under Biden. It seems more relaxed, but that’s not it. But things could still go back if the midterm elections in 2022 go to the Republicans.
But by getting elected, it, basically, bought us four years to get out if we need to get out. Because even if the Republicans win the House, the Senate, in 2022, we won’t have the presidency and they won’t be able to fuck things up too fast.
We’ll have the two years from 2022 to 2024 to deal with Trump as President with that a little bit like Germany in 1932, 33, 34. It’s a situation with Hitler just coming to power, but things aren’t so crazily fucked up, yet.
But people who are skittish or smart started to leave early. I mean Hitler started doing shitty stuff, but the shitty stuff ramped up in ‘35, ‘36. I want to say ‘37. If you were smart and prudent, you might have started to get out of Germany if you were Jewish or some other undesirable thing by ‘35.
With the statistics under Trump, it felt like Germany in the early 30s. Now under Biden, it doesn’t feel like that. But if the clock starts ticking again, if the Republicans win the House or if they don’t, and if the Democrats can pass a voter rights law, federal voting rights law, to replace the voting rights and bad rulings against the Supreme Court.
A few years ago, the Supreme Court said that we could get rid of voting rights mandates in the southern states if they cleaned up their act. John Roberts led a court in determining voting rights. So, voting rights protections went away.
Now, there’s new legislation that the Democrats are sponsoring to try to get it back. If they managed to get that passed, that’s a lot of protection. But historically, the Republicans over the past 80 years have only been more popular than Democrats in terms of people calling themselves Republicans or Democrats.
Only 2 out of the past 80 years. The Republicans have shitty ideas. They don’t govern for the people. When they win, based on built-in things like the Electoral College, they have built in advantages that the smaller states have more power and bigger states.
I don’t want to go into all that. But Republicans have built in electoral advantages. They have a built in disadvantage in that everybody fucking hates the Republicans. if everybody is allowed to vote, if voting is easy, Republicans don’t win.
So, we need the voting legislation. If the Voting Rights Act passes and isn’t thrown out by the Supreme Court, then America is in reasonably good shape. If it isn’t, if it doesn’t pass, and if the Republicans take over part of the government, then I start looking more concertedly at that move.
Carol’s mom is 88, my mom is 87. It’s tough to move because of them and all because you have to sell everything and leave the country you’ve lived in.
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