The bond market is warning that 45 years of Republican tax cuts and exploding debt may finally force ordinary Americans to pay for a party the wealthy already enjoyed...
In Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," one character reminds me of the Republican electorate: Blanche DuBois.
She's a woman of a certain age. A so-called "belle" of the South who stays high on her own supply of delusions.
Meanwhile, her whole inner infrastructure turns out to be spun-thin cotton candy. Not unlike the Kiddie Rapist-In-Chief's hair.
The R electorate have always depended on the kindness of strangers, i.e., the Trump Gang. A gang of selfish Reds who would NOT spit on their heads if their [the R electorate's] collective hair were on fire.
#VOTE for SANITY NOW
#HOW much more does Melania receive for the Harp Humiliation
#PERSONAL FRIEND Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr.’s 2026 Bahamas wedding, covering major expenses such as renting private islands, a $70,000 fireworks display, and event planning
Having been on three HOA boards and president of two, I can attest to the truth of Thom's essay. However, (Democrats, are you listening?), my HOAs had surpluses. I achieved that by pointing out the cost to replace the hot water heater for the building, our 2 elevators, and the roof of our 9-story building. Then I shared the life expectancy of each, pointing out that most were already past their life expectancy. Next, I showed how we could avoid a whopper special assessment by raising monthly fees vs a special assessment. The fee raise was almost unanimous.
But when, besides Bernie or Liz Warren, have the Democrats sincerely pointed out what Thom just did? Pay me now, or pay me later, but you are going to pay a whole lot more if you choose later.
Deferring budgetary responsibility to an ever-receding indefinite but presumably sunny future day is a peculiar disease of human self-governance. Republicans have learned to weaponize this tendency to crimp Democratic socio-political aspirations and rationalize racist and sexist policies with the familiar phrase, "how are we going to pay for that?" Meanwhile, tax cuts and defense spending are somehow immune to this fiscal law of gravity.
I like the way it connects the national to the hyper-local, but I wonder if there is a way to include how the state Republican policies have shaped taxes and public maintenance, within the states, through unsustainable extraction on their "economic engines?"
Great HOA/Santa analogies, Mr. H.
In Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire," one character reminds me of the Republican electorate: Blanche DuBois.
She's a woman of a certain age. A so-called "belle" of the South who stays high on her own supply of delusions.
Meanwhile, her whole inner infrastructure turns out to be spun-thin cotton candy. Not unlike the Kiddie Rapist-In-Chief's hair.
The R electorate have always depended on the kindness of strangers, i.e., the Trump Gang. A gang of selfish Reds who would NOT spit on their heads if their [the R electorate's] collective hair were on fire.
#VOTE for SANITY NOW
#HOW much more does Melania receive for the Harp Humiliation
#PERSONAL FRIEND Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr.’s 2026 Bahamas wedding, covering major expenses such as renting private islands, a $70,000 fireworks display, and event planning
#WHY The F, Junior?
And, both oddly and poetically, HOA's are notoriously corrupt.
Just like your government.
Having been on three HOA boards and president of two, I can attest to the truth of Thom's essay. However, (Democrats, are you listening?), my HOAs had surpluses. I achieved that by pointing out the cost to replace the hot water heater for the building, our 2 elevators, and the roof of our 9-story building. Then I shared the life expectancy of each, pointing out that most were already past their life expectancy. Next, I showed how we could avoid a whopper special assessment by raising monthly fees vs a special assessment. The fee raise was almost unanimous.
But when, besides Bernie or Liz Warren, have the Democrats sincerely pointed out what Thom just did? Pay me now, or pay me later, but you are going to pay a whole lot more if you choose later.
Deferring budgetary responsibility to an ever-receding indefinite but presumably sunny future day is a peculiar disease of human self-governance. Republicans have learned to weaponize this tendency to crimp Democratic socio-political aspirations and rationalize racist and sexist policies with the familiar phrase, "how are we going to pay for that?" Meanwhile, tax cuts and defense spending are somehow immune to this fiscal law of gravity.
Great piece, and thank you.
I like the way it connects the national to the hyper-local, but I wonder if there is a way to include how the state Republican policies have shaped taxes and public maintenance, within the states, through unsustainable extraction on their "economic engines?"