Buffalo Chip, I'm with you.
I'd ban the * outta it, if I thought it was feasible and would lead to a better forum.
Not because I don't think it's interesting (I love politics), but because I don't think it belongs here, specifically because it brings too much toxicity.
HOWEVER, so many money topics automatically turn political because they are, by their nature political. Taxes. Health care. Types of retirement savings accounts. The list goes on.
There are financial forums that ban political topics. I believe both Bogleheads and E-R.org do so. The problem with this is twofold:
1) Their moderation becomes arbitrary. They allow topics to a certain point, then decide they've become political and ban people. It's not fair to those individuals who don't have clear-cut rules.
2) It leads to very heavy handed moderation, out of necessity. Many bannings occur. Many users get upset, it's more work, it's just a big cluster * the other way, if you do ban it.
And that's where I don't think it'd lead to the better forum. More heavy handed moderation, instead of treating people like the adults they are, would not be as fun of a place for anyone to visit.
Ultimately, I'd love to be able to not have politics here, or, even better, have it but have it be non-toxic. Unfortunately, that's not the world we're living in, right now.
So the best compromise we (the people running the forums) have is to have rules around how you argue. Don't be a jerk, for example.
We expect people to act like adults. Mature, not petty. To debate in good faith, using reason and facts. To be willing to change their mind, if presented with new evidence.
Anyone can have whatever opinion they want, if they can calmly present it and add thoughtful, provoking comments to the discussion.
And if people can't play nice, and act like the mature grown ups, then it doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum they lie, they don't belong here.