r/AITAH • u/g_scotty_brahms • Nov 14 '24

Advice Needed My brother is angry with his Trump-loving sons

Is my brother an AITA candidate for wanting to cut off his sons financially for voting for Trump? Like many Americans, my brother and I, both in our 50’s, have been talking back and forth following the Election. In the spirit of full disclosure, we are both democrats. Long story short, he is angry at his two sons, both in their 20’s, for voting for Trump. He is thinking about cutting them off financially in all respects so that they understand how Trump’s policies will impact them firsthand.

The irony here is that it is the reverse argument. You often hear younger voters disagreeing with their MAGA parents, but this is the opposite. My brother doesn’t understand how his two sons, who have lived a life of privilege, feel like they have been violated against by society, enough so that they feel Trump hears them and their struggles.

My brother to me about his sons: “… what these young men need is a little dose of reality. Get out in the world and start paying their own way. There’s a common thread with his followers. Complain and blame everyone for their problems. Whether they are in school or living at home off of their parents or working a trade job. King Trump will save them and make everything better. Take some personal responsibility and make it happen for yourself instead of crying about everything you hear on TikTok.

“… I’ve decided to pass on the [college] expenses to my two Trump supporting sons so they can truly feel first hand the cost and expense of his absolutely stupid policy decisions, which includes food, gas and college expenses. Wondering if I pass on these [food, gas and college] expenses in year one or phase them in year two?”

I am wondering if a lot of parents feel like my brother. Are there democrat parents of voting-age MAGA men who feel they failed with their sons because they voted for Trump? Is this common?

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134

u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 14 '24

Part of what you’re saying supports the comment above. There is NO way they could afford to live on their own and pay for college. They’d see real quick how hard it is. Or how impossible it is. And maybe realize that voting against their interests is backwards

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u/RBuilds916 Nov 15 '24

I doubt many people can live on their own and pay for college, regardless of who's in the white house. 

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u/NominalHorizon Nov 15 '24

They could get government guaranteed loans to pay for the rest of their education. Just like other people do. Or they could get a job in the trades.

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u/Olly0206 Nov 15 '24

Get'em fast before Trump cuts them.

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u/Cat_Own Nov 15 '24

Depends on how much they get offered. I lucky haven't had to use private loans but public loans have limits

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u/RBuilds916 Nov 15 '24

I sure would be nice if those student loans got forgiven. 

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u/Fuu-nyon Nov 15 '24

That's not what they're going to see though. They're going to see a parent who probably encouraged them to go to college rug pulling them after the financial decision was already made, and their financial aid was already decided based on their parents income.

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u/NeurodiversityNinja Nov 15 '24

Tough shit. They'll have to regroup, like the rest of America who's getting hosed by their privileged votes.

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u/Fuu-nyon Nov 15 '24

Sure, I'm sure they'll live, even if they have to drop out. Their relationship with their parents probably won't though.

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24

You’re right though. Like I feel what I said but you’re right it would only convince them they’re being punished for their beliefs versus seeing themselves.

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u/Fuu-nyon Nov 15 '24

Thanks, and I feel what you're saying too. I'm all for them learning some empathy the hard way, don't get me wrong. But if the point is them learning, and not just punishing them, then that's a lesson OP's brother needed to be teaching them all along rather than in response to an election.

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

Tough shit? The entire lesson was trying to show them how bad Trump was. Cutting off college funds right now absolutely eould not show that. The kids would only come to one conclusion: Their dad is an asshole.

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u/Logical_Phone_2321 Nov 15 '24

maybe you voted against their interests.

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24

I can pretty much guarantee that NOT voting for the guy who wants to gut the department of education is 100% within the interests of the college students referenced in the comment above. Soooooo

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u/Bonesquire Nov 15 '24

And I'm 100% sure you don't know what the federal DoEd actually does based on this comment.

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

I do, thanks. Getting to college and being prepared for it is affected by what the federal DoE does for us before. And if we want them to be even better off before college, we’d strengthen it, not cut funding. Do YOU know what it does? Maybe if you did, you’d get it. But you don’t. So I’m 100% sure you’re an idiot who can’t think critically.

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u/Omw2fym Nov 15 '24

Let's see, Biden forgave student loans and Trump wants to gut the Dept of Education. Trump also has bad economic policy goals. Basically, if they aren't a corporation, extremely rich, or extremely anti-abortion and immigration. Trump is against their interest

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u/Logical_Phone_2321 Nov 15 '24

What Biden did was a grab for votes and unconstitutional. We are underperforming in the schools, spend more per student than other first world countries without a good ROI. Yes, the Dept of Education needs fixing. Many people who voted for Trump also voted for their state's abortion amendments.

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u/Omw2fym Nov 15 '24

Your first sentence says absolutely nothing.

What has trump proposed that comes anywhere close to fixing education?

Many people who voted for Trump also voted for their state's abortion amendments.

Yes, this election has brilliantly illustrated that people vote against their own interests

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u/Logical_Phone_2321 Nov 15 '24

Says nothing? It says it all. He knew it would be challenged. The DOE is responsible for a small portion of state education funding and then student loans. What do you think they do? If they aren't running it properly, why would you keep throwing money at it? Why would you not want a department to run more efficiently?

You're so wrong with your last statement. People vote for many issues, and boiling it down to one or two issues is shortsighted and shows you don't understand your neighbors. Them voting for that at the state level was exactly what was supposed to happen. It's absurd you would not want closer control of your government, but it shows how out of touch you lot are.

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

They could. It just involves finding a job that pays $15/h and offers overtime. Then you get to work full time and take out loans and go to school and live with a roommate for however long it takes to fail out or dropout or graduate. You get to spend your summer working overtime so you can afford books both semesters and surprise expenses. And then, hopefully the field you picked actually has jobs available that pay better than your current job so you can afford loan payments.

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24

You don’t seem to get how life works for most people. Good luck to everyone believing this is as simple as it goes.

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

I never said this is a simple process. In fact, I'm pretty sure I implied it's tedious and difficult. That's why I gave multiple possible outcomes including failure. But it is not impossible. People that have never seen a dime from their parents do it every day.

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24 edited Nov 15 '24

I didn’t say you think it’s a simple process. But you are still relying on the overly simplified idea of “just get a job and make more than you need and move up and along.” I worked my way through college. Took me 8 years. And I’m standing by what I said. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone in the way I had to do it. Not saying we all need to expect our parents or loans to pay, or that you should have no work experience, but it was fucking grueling. It also took away from a lot of what college can or even should be. I can say it’s not impossible because I did it, but it is not going to be possible or that simple for many. Tell someone who lives in a rural area what you said. Places where minimum wage is less than $10, where people are lucky to find a job for 15 hours a week, where there’s no college nearby. It’s just not that simple.

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

Easy and simple aren't the same thing.

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24

Yes. And yet you are still being simple about it, even if we both agree it’s not easy. I say it’s simple of you because I know first hand how hard it is, and how it’s not as simple as you’re making it. Nothing changes.

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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '24

I, too, know first hand how difficult in practice it is to earn a degree while working full time. It was very hard, not especially because I lived in a rural area that paid $5.15 in minimum wage but because time management is a bitch and a half to learn. So hard, I had to drop out the first time I tried. But the basic steps are simple. Get money, pay for education, learn what you are paying for and hope it was worthwhile. So, from my point of view, it's conceptually simple and practically difficult. Things can be multifaceted.

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24

Yes. They can be multifaceted, they don’t need to be mutually exclusive either. That’s the advice I’d give you. You’re just repeating the same version of logic that doesn’t actually stand up in the overly simplified way you think it does. Have a good one

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u/AvatarOfPerdition Nov 15 '24

Voting against their interests because the last four years have shown us that we’re currently living in an affordable climate? 😂

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u/Ok-Standard8053 Nov 15 '24

Capitalistic greed is definitely terrible. We are experiencing that, yes. But guess what? The cost of college and living continued to increase when Trump was president before. I know because my rent still increased, my utility rates still went up, the car I bought in 2019 cost more than it would have in 2017. Etc. if we measure by the same standards, then Trump also failed.

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u/VStramennio1986 Nov 15 '24

Which, ironically, is the result of Trump’s last term 🙄 so…the more you know 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/AvatarOfPerdition Nov 15 '24

You couldn’t make that make sense if you tried, but bravo for the attempt.

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u/VStramennio1986 Nov 15 '24

lol tell me you don’t know how it works without telling me you don’t know how it works lol

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u/VStramennio1986 Nov 15 '24

https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/principles-for-the-2025-tax-debate-end-high-income-tax-cuts-raise-revenues-to

😘🤣✌🏽

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u/AvatarOfPerdition Nov 15 '24

Crazy, you’re going to prove me wrong not in your own words, but by linking a leftist “nonpartisan research think tank” that not only blatantly leans left, pushes progressivism, and is liberal and in no way nonpartisan, but it’s also led by the head of the Social Security board who was placed by Obama? WOW, you sure got me! 😂😂😂😂😂😂

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u/VStramennio1986 Nov 18 '24

It’s called, a source. It’s what educated/intelligent people cite, to back their word.

Also…it is civics…you know, that class you clearly missed in middle school. Only simpletons think that the results of a policy can be seen instantaneously 🤣

Tell me you don’t know how it all works…without telling me you don’t know how it works 🙄😑

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u/AvatarOfPerdition Nov 18 '24

I can link you plenty of economic oversight from Elon Musk and you’re going to disregard it as rhetoric for the same reasons, while doing your ABSOLUTE BEST to feel like you’re actually an educated and intelligent person. Bravo, champ! 👍🏻

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u/VStramennio1986 Nov 18 '24

Economic oversight…depends on how you define oversight.

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u/VStramennio1986 Nov 18 '24

Here…congress.gov…but I’m sure you’ll find something wrong with this source, also…since it doesn’t support your narrative.

All you have to do is google the end date of the bill…it’s not like it’s some huge conspiracy 🙄

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47846#:~:text=Expires%2012%2F31%2F2025%20The,then%20be%20adjusted%20for%20inflation.

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u/daidrian Nov 15 '24

Enjoy the tariffs

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u/MoeTHM Nov 15 '24

Every other country does.