It’s just part of the code. “Globalist” is often especially about Jewish banking families, eg Rothchilds or Soros. Similar to how “urban” in the US is often code for ‘black,’ even though most of the people who live in urban areas are white. Dog whistles: words that communicate specific meaning within a community without being recognized by the larger population.

It’s not a hardship, though. I’m healthy with no chronic conditions, and I’ve made the specific choice to go with a HDHP to get the HSA, which I treat like a pre-tax Roth IRA. If some catastrophe happens, it’ll be easier to pay for surgery out of the HSA than a real Roth, but I don’t expect to see doctors until Medicare. I don’t even pay for glasses out of the HSA, because its future value is too great.

This is a perfectly rational individual choice to maximize my personal benefit, but it is terrible policy at the population level. It means there are less resources available for the small minority of people who do have expensive health issues, because I’m diverting my insurance premiums into a retirement fund. This is a recurring theme in right wing policy - it’s fine for people whose lives have no major complications, and people with special circumstances are too few to consider. You have to look out for yourself, and a few people will fall through the cracks, which is a borderline sociopathic attitude.

Individual, ACA. $7000 annual premium, $6500 deductible, $6700 max out-of-pocket, so it really only covers catastrophic care. 2023 HSA limit is $3850, up from 3650 in 2022 because of inflation. Please excuse me for rounding - that $350 makes all the difference.

Car insurance is to pay for the damage your accident does to other people. You probably have the optional coverage that also pays for damage to your own car, but that’s not why insurance is legally required. You can get repair insurance, but it’s generally ‘not worth it,’ because no one gets it, leading to a small premium pool and minimal risk spread. Kind of like low premium, high deductible plans do for health insurance.

I think the HSA is a big attraction for the GOP - tax advantaged encouragement to get more people investing more money in stocks. Practically, though it also means more people effectively self-insuring. My deductible is $6500, but I’m allowed to put $3500 into HSA, so 2 years’ HSA savings covers the deductible. Fine, for individuals that are reasonably healthy, but it reduces the pool of money that insurers have to pay benefits to people who do have claims.

Essentially incentivizing individuals to sabotage the system.

I mean, if you’re a Nazi, the new Xitter is definitely a better experience. He knows exactly to whom he’s pandering, which is how you get invited back to Fox. There’s going to be a lot of competition for the segment of MAGA that loves the fascism and xenophobia, but worries that Trump is too toxic to win big cities.

This is just an extended rationalization for apathy. I’m sorry to say, but government is boring. Politicians are boring. An exciting politician is probably trying to sell you a line of unrealistic, unachievable bullshit, and in the system the US has, by the time it gets down to the general election, your choices are Donkey, Elephant, and several flavors of Don’t Care. You can have more excitement and a greater sense of choice in the primaries, but voting twice in a year is too much work for even many ‘political’ people.

If positive messaging got people to the polls, I guarantee you would see positive campaigning: even 10% of the non-voters would be enough to swing any competitive race.

6 million registered voters didn’t even bother. One could argue that they’re just fine with, if not enthusiastic about, the current state of affairs. 4 million votes for, 3 million against, 6 million “Meh.”

Trump, and I think RFK jr, appeal to anti-establishment people. When the establishment media criticize them, it validates their anti-establishment credentials.

Media like them because they’re controversial, and controversy drives engagement. I’m sure they see RFK jr as the ‘left wing’ Trump and great for the bottom line.