@Neven, thanks for posting that. I watched the original and that is Meghan McCain's default mode. She's an improvement on her predecessors; the panel is four to one and the others are liberal (NOT neoliberal), and she does tend to yell and talk over the others. Whoopi is wonderful. They had just had Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on, who was brilliant; I think once she encounters real government she's going to be practical while not abandoning her ideals. But she has everybody freaked out (Martin Gisser wishes it was Social Democrat instead of Democratic Socialist, and I see his point) and has slightly increased Republican poll numbers while energizing the progressive wing. You're quite right; we are clueless about the benefits of European-style socialism.
McCain Sr. is dying of brain cancer, and I don't care for his politics, but he is honest and he does try sometimes to be fair, unlike the sewer creatures running things these days. He got almost twice as much from the NRA as anyone else (~$6 million) and Meghan's idea of weekend fun is the shooting range.
The View does model a female kind of disagreeing without being disagreeable (even with the "meltdown" there's affection there).
Republicans have forgotten that the "good old days" they aspire to were accompanied by high taxes for the wealthy and regulations about health care and pensions etc. which were good for everyone. Nixon privatized the Post Office (I mentioned it in a complaint and got a visit from the feds, which I was too naive to realize at the time!). They don't realize that privatizing means somebody is going to make a profit. The criminalization of poverty proceeds apace, and the market in inflated luxury goods is awash in money.
Here is some US tax rate history (hope you can ignore lousy formatting; here's the original:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States#History_of_top_ratesReagan: 1980-1988; Bush2: 2000-2008
Lowest Top Rate Income over: Modern equivalent
1950 17.4% 84.36% $400,000 $4.07 million
1951 20.4% 91% $400,000 $3.77 million
1952 22.2% 92% $400,000 $3.69 million
1953 20% 91% $400,000 $3.65 million
1964 16% 77% $400,000 $3.16 million
1965 14% 70% $200,000 $1.55 million
1968 14% 75.25% $200,000 $1.41 million
1969 14% 77% $200,000 $1.33 million
1970 14% 71.75% $200,000 $1.26 million
1971 14% 70% $200,000 $1.21 million
1981 13.825% 69.125% $215,400 $580 thousand
1982 12% 50% $85,600 $217 thousand (Reagan)
1983 11% 50% $109,400 $269 thousand
1987 11% 38.5% $90,000 $194 thousand
1988 15% 28% $29,750 $61.6 thousand
1991 15% 31% $82,150 $148 thousand
1993 15% 39.6% $89,150 $151 thousand (Clinton)
2001 10% 39.1% $297,350 $411 thousand (Bush)
2002 10% 38.6% $307,050 $418 thousand
2003 10% 35% $311,950 $415 thousand
2013 10% 39.6% $400,000 $420 thousand (Obama)
Trump tax cuts will significantly lower the top rate. Clinton had to give in to the Republican majority and lower the rate on investment income to 15%. The wealthy pay much less. Social security is a flat fee on income up to $128,100 and nothing after that. (Medicare is similar.)