All Questions
16,556
questions
244
votes
15
answers
53k
views
Why are so many Americans against Obamacare?
What is it about Obamacare that so many Americans are against such that it became an election pledge to repeal it?
I could understand a candidate promising tax cuts and then after being elected ...
- 1,967
222
votes
12
answers
61k
views
Why doesn’t the IRS just send me a bill for the taxes I owe based on the info they already have?
So it's time to file taxes in the United States and it occurred to me that I am required to provide a lot of information that the government already knows. For instance, I have to provide the contents ...
- 7,647
213
votes
18
answers
124k
views
Why is communism considered as evil (like fascism and nazism) in the United States?
In this question, a person asks why it's so easy to ban Nazi symbols and so hard to ban communist symbols: Why is banning communism symbols so hard to achieve as opposed to banning of Nazi symbols?
...
user17993
159
votes
9
answers
30k
views
Has there ever been a documented instance of the problem that net neutrality purports to solve?
The typical argument, seen here, goes like this:
Without net neutrality, cable companies could censor websites, favoring their own business partners.
Typically, proponents of legislation point to ...
- 1,565
151
votes
9
answers
33k
views
Why is President Trump making such a big deal about fake news, and specifically targeting reputable organizations like The New York Times and CNN?
The Trump administration has been targeting reputable news organizations like The Times and CNN, calling them "fake news".
What is this administration trying to accomplish here?
- 1,301
144
votes
1
answer
30k
views
Why is the Trump Administration often labeled as anti-science?
Is there any evidence that Trump and his administration are anti-science? And since when has the equation been drawn between conservatism and anti-science sentiment?
Allegations (from, for example, ...
- 2,180
140
votes
11
answers
24k
views
How did Trump's January 6 speech call for insurrection and violence?
I just read a transcript of Trump's January 6 speech.
It's mostly about election fraud and people that betrayed or supported him. This could cause people to become angry, but is hardly an incitement ...
- 3,004
138
votes
18
answers
47k
views
Why is populism seen as being negative or bad?
The definition that I found for populism is "support for the concerns of ordinary people". Democracy is form of government where the people rule by majority. If Democracy is considered to be "good", ...
- 1,433
132
votes
19
answers
53k
views
Why do European cities have so many homeless and beggars despite its high-tax welfare system?
Any European cities I have ever visited had homeless or beggars on the street. Or these people may not necessarily be homeless but it is clear enough that they are extremely poor and need help from ...
- 2,723
131
votes
16
answers
24k
views
Why are green parties so often opposed to nuclear power?
As far as I can tell, green political parties worldwide are almost all opposed to nuclear power.
Considering nuclear power is a low-carbon source of electricity (in fact, in terms of the total-...
- 997
129
votes
14
answers
31k
views
Why were pre-election polls and forecast models inconsistent with the election of Donald Trump?
As it's obvious now, pre-election polling and forecast models were inconsistent with the vote count in this election cycle as not many predicted a Trump victory.
Is there any particular reason why ...
- 46.5k
128
votes
6
answers
19k
views
Why don't Presidential debates disable the candidates' microphones while it's not their turn to speak?
I was watching the Biden/Trump Presidential debate and it was quite difficult to follow due to candidates speaking out of turn and constantly interrupting each other. Why don't these debates simply ...
- 52.7k
127
votes
15
answers
24k
views
Why does religion get a special treatment in anti-discrimination laws?
I am wondering about developed countries in general, but my experience (and the focus of this question) is the USA and Canada.
There are laws in place to prevent discrimination. It is illegal, for ...
- 1,502
126
votes
11
answers
22k
views
Why is it considered racist to say "White Lives Matter"?
Given the recent political upheaval and mass protests/riots with scores of people chanting "Black Lives Matter" on the streets, why is it considered white supremacist and racist to say "...
- 1,850
125
votes
15
answers
30k
views
Why is it that Bernie Sanders is always called a "socialist"?
As a German I really don't get calling Bernie Sanders a socialist. In every country in Europe he would be a social democrat at best, but somehow in the USA he's a "socialist" and "communist" you ...
- 1,113
120
votes
7
answers
30k
views
Why couldn't Republicans who voted to repeal Obamacare so many times under Obama do it under a Republican president?
I seem to recall that Republicans voted to amend or repeal Obamacare dozens of times when Obama was president. It was a meme that they had so many better ideas about health care. They seemed to be ...
- 2,702
118
votes
8
answers
16k
views
Why does the pardon of Arpaio show contempt for the rule of law?
Much of the criticism of Trump's pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has centered on the idea that this shows a disrespect for the "rule of law". For instance, John McCain said (as reported in ...
- 9,276
117
votes
17
answers
28k
views
Why does there seem to be a lack of conservative comedy and comedy-news compared to liberal?
In the United States there are a number of liberal comedians who emphasize their liberal status in their comedy, and in particular a wealth of liberal comedy focusing on recent events/news. To name a ...
- 8,973
116
votes
9
answers
20k
views
Why is Trump dubbing COVID-19 as the "Chinese virus" considered offensive, while many past epidemics have had similar naming schemes?
To preface this, I'm not a supporter of Trump, but I disagree with the way some major media outlets have criticized him over his nickname for COVID-19, the "Chinese virus". In addition, it is not ...
- 1,248
113
votes
13
answers
27k
views
What are the main reasons for why negotiating a proper Brexit deal has been so hard?
When the UK voted for Brexit, then it was generally expected that the pro-Brexit politicians had some idea of how negotiations for a Brexit deal would fare and what the outcome would be.
Now years ...
- 1,127
113
votes
18
answers
15k
views
Why hasn't competition between health insurance providers led to lower prices for consumers?
In the US, a common argument I've seen against a universal healthcare system is that removing the ability of private health insurance companies to compete will give rise to a natural monopoly in the ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
113
votes
11
answers
20k
views
Why is the climate change debate so often framed in terms of whether or not it's due to human activity?
This one has been puzzling me. When I hear debates about climate change, very often it seems like the debate has been centered around whether or not it is caused by human activity.
To me this aspect ...
- 7,208
111
votes
22
answers
27k
views
What is the capitalist answer to automation?
While we are not currently at total automation, we are inching closer. An Oxford Study from 2013 indicates by 2033 upwards of 45% of our job force could be automated. This automation, causing a ...
- 1,618
110
votes
6
answers
21k
views
Why are states purportedly performing assassinations with chemical and radioactive weapons?
Purportedly the Russian state assassinated Alexander Litvinenko by poisoning with him with:
radioactive polonium-210, believed to have been administered in a cup of tea
Alexander Litvinenko: ...
- 1,719
109
votes
3
answers
22k
views
"Putin enters a bar and proclaims, 'Next round's on the house!'" What's the point of this popular Russian joke?
I'm a student learning the Russian language, and I visit a popular Russian jokes website from time to time. There's a monthly rating list of new jokes on that website, and last month the top joke on ...
- 3,535
108
votes
10
answers
27k
views
Why is a border wall such a polarising issue in American politics?
I don't understand why this is such a big deal. Many countries around the world have a hard border with a physical barrier in place to stop illegal crossing/smuggling. It doesn't seem inherently ...
- 2,410
108
votes
15
answers
17k
views
What is the point of impeaching Trump?
By attempting to impeach Trump, Democrats will accomplish either of two things.
They will succeed in removing him from office. Mike Pence takes over. A career politician, well liked by conservatives, ...
- 701
108
votes
9
answers
38k
views
Why is Greece's debt considered a problem but not US debt, which is much larger?
Greece's and other southern European countries' debt has been considered a problem since the 2008 crash, and austerity measures have been forced to the people.
However the United States also have a ...
- 7,369
105
votes
12
answers
33k
views
Why is globalisation so disdained?
From what I can tell via the definition of the word on Google, globalisation seems like a fairly reasonable course of action.
Trade makes everyone better off in the long run, and it isn't as if we ...
- 1,395
104
votes
26
answers
41k
views
What is capitalism's answer to constant economic growth hitting the limit of the planet's finite resources?
We keep hearing a lot about economic growth in the media and this answer shows us why it is so important:
Therefore, we have three options:
A constant increase in unemployment. (Generally ...
- 52.6k
103
votes
18
answers
41k
views
How can I respond to Whataboutism?
While this uses examples that could be seen as supporting one side or the other, it is intended as a politically neutral question, to the extent that that is possible
This has come up more and more ...
- 1,394
100
votes
17
answers
30k
views
Why allow convicted criminals to vote?
According to a 1998 HRW report,
The United States may have the world’s most restrictive criminal disenfranchisement laws. We know of no other democracy besides the United States in which convicted ...
- 146k
97
votes
3
answers
13k
views
What can an independent election observer in Russia do if they notice irregularities?
In the recent Russian presidential elections on March 18, 2018, foreign reporters and election observers noticed irregularities, incidents of election fraud and general violations in the voting ...
- 1,331
97
votes
15
answers
10k
views
What is the purpose of democracy?
In many modern political debates democracy is often considered an unalloyed virtue: things are good because they are democratic. Things the people have voted for are good because they represent the "...
- 3,629
96
votes
12
answers
14k
views
Why does the US keep announcing what they think Russia is going to do in Ukraine?
There must be some motive here that I can't understand. For one I can easily think of reasons why the US wouldn't want to make public the things that they know, if not for any other reason than to ...
- 801
95
votes
12
answers
25k
views
Why is there no effective anti-gun lobby in the United States?
The National Rifle Association appears to be a very powerful lobby in the United States which seems to be very successful at preventing anti-gun legislation. Nevertheless, it would appear to be quite ...
93
votes
18
answers
18k
views
Do other countries guarantee freedoms that the United States does not have?
Lifelong citizens of the United States report that they are accustomed to hearing that the US is the "Land of the Free" and most patriotic celebrations seem to emphasize freedom as one of the unique ...
user12886
92
votes
5
answers
26k
views
Is President Trump right that there was violence on "both sides" in Charlottesville?
Today, President Trump claimed that there was violence on "both sides," and that alt-left and alt-right both shared blame in the incidents at Charlottesville, Virginia. Is this factually accurate? I'm ...
- 787
90
votes
14
answers
28k
views
Why do some people take issue with kneeling during the anthem in US?
These days the heated disagreement between President Trump and NFL players is all over the online media. What's wrong with Kneeling and why does he want them not to kneel and why do they still do it?
...
- 1,233
90
votes
6
answers
31k
views
Why was Trump winning the 2016 election, when I know so few people who admit to voting for him?
I am a well educated Republican, of generally conservative views. Pretty much every day I see and hear people talk about how poor of a candidate Donald Trump is. But he's winning primary after primary,...
- 3,198
89
votes
9
answers
21k
views
Why are the Taliban winning against the Afghan army?
According to the Wikipedia page on the current Taliban offensive, the combined Afghan army outnumbers the Taliban by roughly 3:1. The Taliban have less or worse equipment and vehicles, and the Afghan ...
- 762
89
votes
4
answers
20k
views
Could Ecuador get Julian Assange out of the UK by giving him some mail to deliver?
As mentioned in an answer to this question, the UK refused to declare Julian Assange an Ecuadorean diplomat, presumably as it would allow him to leave the Ecuadorean embassy and the UK without being ...
- 1,214
88
votes
10
answers
29k
views
Why does ISIS continue to do things to make their "enemy" even more determined to go after them?
Why do groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda continue use terrorism attacks, which only do temporary physical damage. It seems to have the primary effect of aggravating huge military entities such as N.A.T....
- 1,015
88
votes
9
answers
22k
views
Why is Elizabeth Warren's Native American ancestry a political issue?
In the past (perhaps during her Senate campaign), Senator Elizabeth Warren has mentioned that she has some Native American blood in her geneology. For some reason, Donald Trump has accused her of ...
- 9,276
87
votes
27
answers
31k
views
What is the capitalist answer to rail passenger transportation being non financially profitable?
In developed countries, rail transport is usually provided at financial loss, and needs to be subsidised by governments. In countries who have refused to do so (mostly on the American continent), ...
- 7,369
87
votes
9
answers
25k
views
Why is the British government so determined to arrest Julian Assange?
The UK government has put the Ecuadorian embassy in London on surveillance for years now. AFAIK, Wikileaks has not released any documents damaging to the UK government. Nor has it released any ...
- 1,069
87
votes
9
answers
20k
views
You have the right to remain silent, but why?
Many countries have laws that protect a suspect (or anyone else) from being forced to self-incrimination. For example USA have that codified in the fifth amendment and it's mentioned in the Miranda ...
- 917
87
votes
11
answers
18k
views
Do politicians use bug trackers or version control etc.?
As a programmer I'm comfortable with using version control and bug trackers, but how do politicians keep track of "issues"? Do they have any digital tools which allow them to work together on the same ...
- 1,013
86
votes
11
answers
25k
views
If "more guns less crime", how do gun advocates explain that the EU has less crime than the US?
As a naive European, I thought that the self-defense argument for guns in the US was mostly based on the high number of guns already in the country. In other words, I thought that the argument takes ...
- 16.2k
86
votes
6
answers
28k
views
Why do Indian reservations still exist in North America?
Both Canada and the US still have weird quasi-states on their territory for citizens of Native American/First Nation origins. However in the 21st century this appears to be quite an archaic concept, ...
- 52.7k