Democrats are hoping that national social issues like abortion & gay marriage will help this November but most voters — particularly independents & Latinos — put the economy as their #1 issue
Again Thom pulls the facts out for all to see. I’ve read these statistics before somewhere but appreciate having the facts listed here so simply. The economic issues are so complex for most Americans to understand and it’s easy to blame the Biden presidency for everything going haywire right now. Fortunately I discovered the EPI research articles and webinars which are good resources for an average reader like myself who is far from a financial expert. As Elizabeth Warren said in a recent interview “the feds are a one trick pony “ and the current financial situation requires multiple approaches to reverse the financial pain felt by Americans. She pointed out that CEO’s compensation is at an all time high as well as rabid price gouging by so many corporations that their behaviors are affecting the affordability of goods and services for American consumers. So instead of trying to work with Democrats to address these issues Republicans double down on bogus scare tactics and stupidly reinforce the trickle down flawed economic policy they always resort to. The reality is they have no viable platform to address Americans’ economic troubles other than to hold lower and middle class workers in contempt and vote for lower taxes for the wealthy minority.
No big surprises here for me. As for Eisenhower though, he spent the Treasury on things of lasting value - like an entire interstate highway system. For those of you not as old as I am (75), you have no idea how many lives that saved! Yes lives saved. Every time our family went on a road trip, we’d come across at least on terrible car accident. My mother would always ask the police as we finally drove by - How many? Meaning “deaths”. Because there always were. That changed significantly after interstates opened.
Thom -- On point, over and over again, many thanks. This is almost perfectly brief, yet comprehensive: Rs suck at economics.
My contribution attempt is Jerome Powell. He is conducting election interference, not economics.
Some could say he, and the whole Fed board voting with him, is like an ignorant old doctor bleeding the patient, because that didn't kill the patent last time and they don't know what else to do. ( and Volcker and Greenspan damn near did kill the patient, just this way, just not quite . . . I'm particularly frustrated that Krugman seems to be fully on board with the 'inflation' echoes, no caveats . . . )
Except Powell knows full well that Putin is the problem, and the Saudi cabals, and their ilk, and he has to know raising interest rates only amplifies Putin's program, and that view sickens me -- because they have to know, and if they know they are making extra efforts to lie in public and damage our republic, perhaps for a generation, perhaps longer. Everywhere in our public published discourse, people who should know better, and maybe do, parrot the idiocy: 'Inflation! Boo!'
War profiteering, price gouging, and the related injuries are *not* inflation!
We read 5% wage increases caused 10% price increases. Come again?
Congress would need to act. Robert Reich has advocated windfall profits taxes, but that would be slow and might not even come home to most citizens. Not a bad idea, but we need more.
We need to act like we are at war with dictators and dictatorship, and mobilize our economy with money and jobs to increase our security and prosperity, starting with real infrastructure investments, and probably including direct payments to families with children. We needed to do that earlier this year, but now, who knows . . . ?
so many fronts, so little time . . . hoping for a miracle, best luck to US -- b.rad
ps as someone who has 2 fancy engineering degrees and an uncommon US patent registration, and other experience and talents, looking for decent work for 3 years, the constant harangue that there are so many jobs, no one to work, is just another lie. I could even have trained for many of the jobs I have seen posted over and over again, by now. More than anything, we face a wall of lies.
There seems to be malevolence on the part of Democratic leadership in failing to make these points to the American public. Messaging for Democrats has always been a disaster. Carville's famous "It's the economy, stupid!" slogan during the Clinton campaign is a notable exception., but then what did Clinton give us? A surplus, yes, but also NAFTA and very Neo-Lib welfare reform. The last Democratic president with vision was Carter. The fact is, the Democratic party leadership is complicit in the Neo-Lib agenda. There are plenty of voices out there that could be promoted and that give a clear and easy-to-digest picture of what's really going on, like Thom Hartmann and Robert Reich. If the Democratic Party leadership was interested in what was really good for America, these would be the people in charge of messaging
Price. Gouging. Polls have shown that people are aware of what is happening. It is happening all over the world. Transport cost goes up 10% so the manufacturers and retailers jump on it to get an extra 10%. The fossil fuel industry is going to make everyone hurt; they will not go quietly into the night. It just makes me want to "kill them" all the more, because they couldn't even be decent about this after the pandemic, when price stability is more important than ever.
The history and facts are a beautiful thing, thanks Thom. You started by talking about the Latino vote. I've noticed that every time the polls show Dems gained ground, someone in the media makes damn sure they punch back with bad news.
I am going to beat my drum in answer to how the Latinos skew left; they do. However, it's about the brain, stupid---not just the economy. A certain percentage of them are going to be conservative by their nature.
In their efforts to seize control of the House and Senate, Republicans around the country are attacking their Democratic opponents on criminal justice issues. The focus on "crime and safety" is an effort to shift attention away from abortion rights and "onto political terrain that many of the party’s strategists and candidates view as favorable." https://popular.info/p/criminally-deceptive?r=1lh5w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
As one of the growing number of voters who have become an Independent Voter, and one who keeps looking for voters to simply send all incumbent senators and representatives home I applaud Mr. Hartman's fact loaded essay. Well done! Senators and Representatives need to serve for a limited time, and then come back home to tell us what we need to do to make all our lives better.
US voters have failed both Economy 101 and Social Studies 101 each and every year in the last 50 years. Most voters have been lazy, or simply too busy or too poor, to stay on top of the shenanigans pulled year after year by the Kings and Queens we have re-elected by an overwhelming 90% ratio each voting cycle. We rubber-Stamped all the Washington, DC and State representatives! Allowed them to vote themselves life-time healthcare and pensions that are similar to the Golden Parachutes Corporate CEOs get. We are responsible for our mess, we the voters.
An overwhelming percentage of voters, in all three voting categories are exhausted by the continual emphasis of Democratic candidates on peripheral social behavior issues. Rome has been burning for 50 years now. The current younger generations are the first ones ever in US history to saddled with mortgaged sized student loans, inadequate health care, no pensions aside from what Social Security will have and a work load that has taken over most of their free time. The Boomer Generation Voters allowed all that to happen on their watch, and that is shameful.
Anecdotal discussion: A Baby Boomer tells young people in the family: "You better get busy saving some money for your retirement. Don't count on Social Security being there for you." Instead, some of us politely intervene with: "That's not a positive narrative. Why don't we focus on doing whatever it takes to make sure the Social Security Program is going to be funded so our young people can focus on raising their children?"
It might be more productive for the Democratic Party's candidates to leave all the peripheral issues alone for the next 10 years and focus on shoring up our young people's ability to pay their rent, pay off their student loans and get Health Care For Everyone without Senators Murray and Durbin's covert aide for the pharmaceutical industry.
Mr. Hartman citations:
In fact, here are the year-end budget deficits or surpluses left to the next president by:
• Carter - $78.9 billion deficit
• Reagan - $152.6 billion deficit
• GHW Bush - $255 billion deficit
• Clinton – ($236 billion) surplus
• GW Bush - $1.14 trillion deficit
• Obama - $584.6 billion deficit
• Trump - $3.1 trillion deficit
If you’re noticing a trend, it’s pretty obvious: Republicans run up huge debts that Democrats then do their best to fix.
Democrats are hoping that national social issues like abortion and the threat to gay marriage and birth control will provoke a big win against Republicans this November. But most voters — particularly independents and Latinos — put the economy as their number-one issue.
Here it is, thanks! ( and thanks to zfacts . . . ! second look, whoa, what is going on there? )
The Republican National Debt.
This is unfortunately 'as a percentage of GDP.' More unfortunate, I'm sure most of the Obama debt is W hangover, and you may also recall that the Rs immediately started lying about that. Imagine.
Late post, I know, it wasn't easy to find this even after just a few days, but very much appreciated to have the data at hand and in a graph! . . . best luck to US -- b.rad
ps the debt is shown in relation to GDP because, I suspect strongly, one of Buffett's long standing metrics about financial health is that the debt should be smaller than GDP. That is insane. That is like saying, if you make $75K, you can only take out a $75K mortgage. Buffett is responsible in so many ways, compared to other bazillionaires, but it's hard to believe he and his echo chamber hasn't been called out about that, yet . . . imagine, a huge financial fact hiding in plain sight . . . ( We the People have more than $130 Trillion in net -- net, net, net! -- household wealth . . . ! )
Again Thom pulls the facts out for all to see. I’ve read these statistics before somewhere but appreciate having the facts listed here so simply. The economic issues are so complex for most Americans to understand and it’s easy to blame the Biden presidency for everything going haywire right now. Fortunately I discovered the EPI research articles and webinars which are good resources for an average reader like myself who is far from a financial expert. As Elizabeth Warren said in a recent interview “the feds are a one trick pony “ and the current financial situation requires multiple approaches to reverse the financial pain felt by Americans. She pointed out that CEO’s compensation is at an all time high as well as rabid price gouging by so many corporations that their behaviors are affecting the affordability of goods and services for American consumers. So instead of trying to work with Democrats to address these issues Republicans double down on bogus scare tactics and stupidly reinforce the trickle down flawed economic policy they always resort to. The reality is they have no viable platform to address Americans’ economic troubles other than to hold lower and middle class workers in contempt and vote for lower taxes for the wealthy minority.
No big surprises here for me. As for Eisenhower though, he spent the Treasury on things of lasting value - like an entire interstate highway system. For those of you not as old as I am (75), you have no idea how many lives that saved! Yes lives saved. Every time our family went on a road trip, we’d come across at least on terrible car accident. My mother would always ask the police as we finally drove by - How many? Meaning “deaths”. Because there always were. That changed significantly after interstates opened.
Thom -- On point, over and over again, many thanks. This is almost perfectly brief, yet comprehensive: Rs suck at economics.
My contribution attempt is Jerome Powell. He is conducting election interference, not economics.
Some could say he, and the whole Fed board voting with him, is like an ignorant old doctor bleeding the patient, because that didn't kill the patent last time and they don't know what else to do. ( and Volcker and Greenspan damn near did kill the patient, just this way, just not quite . . . I'm particularly frustrated that Krugman seems to be fully on board with the 'inflation' echoes, no caveats . . . )
Except Powell knows full well that Putin is the problem, and the Saudi cabals, and their ilk, and he has to know raising interest rates only amplifies Putin's program, and that view sickens me -- because they have to know, and if they know they are making extra efforts to lie in public and damage our republic, perhaps for a generation, perhaps longer. Everywhere in our public published discourse, people who should know better, and maybe do, parrot the idiocy: 'Inflation! Boo!'
War profiteering, price gouging, and the related injuries are *not* inflation!
We read 5% wage increases caused 10% price increases. Come again?
Congress would need to act. Robert Reich has advocated windfall profits taxes, but that would be slow and might not even come home to most citizens. Not a bad idea, but we need more.
We need to act like we are at war with dictators and dictatorship, and mobilize our economy with money and jobs to increase our security and prosperity, starting with real infrastructure investments, and probably including direct payments to families with children. We needed to do that earlier this year, but now, who knows . . . ?
so many fronts, so little time . . . hoping for a miracle, best luck to US -- b.rad
ps as someone who has 2 fancy engineering degrees and an uncommon US patent registration, and other experience and talents, looking for decent work for 3 years, the constant harangue that there are so many jobs, no one to work, is just another lie. I could even have trained for many of the jobs I have seen posted over and over again, by now. More than anything, we face a wall of lies.
There seems to be malevolence on the part of Democratic leadership in failing to make these points to the American public. Messaging for Democrats has always been a disaster. Carville's famous "It's the economy, stupid!" slogan during the Clinton campaign is a notable exception., but then what did Clinton give us? A surplus, yes, but also NAFTA and very Neo-Lib welfare reform. The last Democratic president with vision was Carter. The fact is, the Democratic party leadership is complicit in the Neo-Lib agenda. There are plenty of voices out there that could be promoted and that give a clear and easy-to-digest picture of what's really going on, like Thom Hartmann and Robert Reich. If the Democratic Party leadership was interested in what was really good for America, these would be the people in charge of messaging
This is depressing.... but, I’ll keep my chin up and use these facts you’ve shared when discussing the midterms.
I am worried that this election will be our last chance to save our democracy if Republicans take Congress.
This article is the most important read for all interested in facts. I hope it is not preaching to the choir.
Price. Gouging. Polls have shown that people are aware of what is happening. It is happening all over the world. Transport cost goes up 10% so the manufacturers and retailers jump on it to get an extra 10%. The fossil fuel industry is going to make everyone hurt; they will not go quietly into the night. It just makes me want to "kill them" all the more, because they couldn't even be decent about this after the pandemic, when price stability is more important than ever.
The history and facts are a beautiful thing, thanks Thom. You started by talking about the Latino vote. I've noticed that every time the polls show Dems gained ground, someone in the media makes damn sure they punch back with bad news.
I am going to beat my drum in answer to how the Latinos skew left; they do. However, it's about the brain, stupid---not just the economy. A certain percentage of them are going to be conservative by their nature.
For the media, it's the horse-race, stupid.
Criminally deceptive, by @JuddLegum
In their efforts to seize control of the House and Senate, Republicans around the country are attacking their Democratic opponents on criminal justice issues. The focus on "crime and safety" is an effort to shift attention away from abortion rights and "onto political terrain that many of the party’s strategists and candidates view as favorable." https://popular.info/p/criminally-deceptive?r=1lh5w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
As one of the growing number of voters who have become an Independent Voter, and one who keeps looking for voters to simply send all incumbent senators and representatives home I applaud Mr. Hartman's fact loaded essay. Well done! Senators and Representatives need to serve for a limited time, and then come back home to tell us what we need to do to make all our lives better.
US voters have failed both Economy 101 and Social Studies 101 each and every year in the last 50 years. Most voters have been lazy, or simply too busy or too poor, to stay on top of the shenanigans pulled year after year by the Kings and Queens we have re-elected by an overwhelming 90% ratio each voting cycle. We rubber-Stamped all the Washington, DC and State representatives! Allowed them to vote themselves life-time healthcare and pensions that are similar to the Golden Parachutes Corporate CEOs get. We are responsible for our mess, we the voters.
An overwhelming percentage of voters, in all three voting categories are exhausted by the continual emphasis of Democratic candidates on peripheral social behavior issues. Rome has been burning for 50 years now. The current younger generations are the first ones ever in US history to saddled with mortgaged sized student loans, inadequate health care, no pensions aside from what Social Security will have and a work load that has taken over most of their free time. The Boomer Generation Voters allowed all that to happen on their watch, and that is shameful.
Anecdotal discussion: A Baby Boomer tells young people in the family: "You better get busy saving some money for your retirement. Don't count on Social Security being there for you." Instead, some of us politely intervene with: "That's not a positive narrative. Why don't we focus on doing whatever it takes to make sure the Social Security Program is going to be funded so our young people can focus on raising their children?"
It might be more productive for the Democratic Party's candidates to leave all the peripheral issues alone for the next 10 years and focus on shoring up our young people's ability to pay their rent, pay off their student loans and get Health Care For Everyone without Senators Murray and Durbin's covert aide for the pharmaceutical industry.
Mr. Hartman citations:
In fact, here are the year-end budget deficits or surpluses left to the next president by:
• Carter - $78.9 billion deficit
• Reagan - $152.6 billion deficit
• GHW Bush - $255 billion deficit
• Clinton – ($236 billion) surplus
• GW Bush - $1.14 trillion deficit
• Obama - $584.6 billion deficit
• Trump - $3.1 trillion deficit
If you’re noticing a trend, it’s pretty obvious: Republicans run up huge debts that Democrats then do their best to fix.
Democrats are hoping that national social issues like abortion and the threat to gay marriage and birth control will provoke a big win against Republicans this November. But most voters — particularly independents and Latinos — put the economy as their number-one issue.
ps, the National Debt is a lie. A L-I-E, using a lone peripheral fact out of crucial overwhelming context.
We have more than $135 Trillion in net US national household wealth. ( US Federal Reserve )
The official National Debt number is around $31 Trillion. ( US Treasury )
Elementary math: $135 Trillion - $31 Trillion is . . . way positive. More than $100 Trillion. Not a debt. NOT! A! DEBT!
This is a line Democrats should be able to run on:
" The Rs are lying to you, again. You are rich. "
one of these days, maybe, if people say it often enough, best luck to US -- b.rad
Sources: Wealth, US Fed ( .gov ) <https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/distribute/chart/>
Debt, US Treasury ( .gov ) <https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/national-debt/>
Here it is, thanks! ( and thanks to zfacts . . . ! second look, whoa, what is going on there? )
The Republican National Debt.
This is unfortunately 'as a percentage of GDP.' More unfortunate, I'm sure most of the Obama debt is W hangover, and you may also recall that the Rs immediately started lying about that. Imagine.
Late post, I know, it wasn't easy to find this even after just a few days, but very much appreciated to have the data at hand and in a graph! . . . best luck to US -- b.rad
ps the debt is shown in relation to GDP because, I suspect strongly, one of Buffett's long standing metrics about financial health is that the debt should be smaller than GDP. That is insane. That is like saying, if you make $75K, you can only take out a $75K mortgage. Buffett is responsible in so many ways, compared to other bazillionaires, but it's hard to believe he and his echo chamber hasn't been called out about that, yet . . . imagine, a huge financial fact hiding in plain sight . . . ( We the People have more than $130 Trillion in net -- net, net, net! -- household wealth . . . ! )