At least with the election of Trump we don't have numerous think pieces (and sweet sweet consulting cash) about how Democrats just need to pretend to love Jesus more.
I always thought that stuff was wrong politically, but also really offensive to actual religious people (I am not one). Just hit the love Jesus button often enough and the rubes will believe you.
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
All In All
As I've said a few times (I've said everything a few times by this point), a wall doesn't keep people out (or in). Armed guard towers do.
Difference Between The Parties
Of course there is. I know there is and I'd never suggest otherwise. But you can forgive "normal" people for not being clear on exactly how.
The US federal minimum wage peaked in 1968 at about $10.81/hour in 1968 in 2016 dollars (inflation adjusted). It is currently $7.25 in today's dollars. Maryland's minimum wage is currently $8.75/hour and is scheduled to be increase to $10.10/hour in 2017, still about a buck an hour lower than it was in 1968 (adjusting for presumed inflation).
Per capita GDP is about as twice as high as it was then.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett on Monday vetoed legislation that would have made the wealthy county the first jurisdiction in Maryland to require a $15 minimum wage.
Leggett (D) said boosting the wage to the level embraced by national progressive activists, including former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), would harm Montgomery’s economy and its ability to compete for jobs in the Washington region.
...
Leggett left the door open to considering a revised bill, contingent on a study of the economic impact of a $15 minimum wage on the county’s public, private, and nonprofit sectors. His other conditions for signing a revised bill include extending the wage hike’s phase-in to 2022 — two years after the District will begin requiring a minimum of $15 an hour — and including an exemption for small business and youth workers.
The US federal minimum wage peaked in 1968 at about $10.81/hour in 1968 in 2016 dollars (inflation adjusted). It is currently $7.25 in today's dollars. Maryland's minimum wage is currently $8.75/hour and is scheduled to be increase to $10.10/hour in 2017, still about a buck an hour lower than it was in 1968 (adjusting for presumed inflation).
Per capita GDP is about as twice as high as it was then.
Unfair Competition
Normally we think that sweetheart tax deals and similar at least steal jobs from one state and move them to another so there's some local justification for it (increase the tax base even though we aren't making them pay any taxes!!!). Of course, quite often it's just screwing other local companies.
pssst..don't tell them about what's going in New Jersey...
Can the largest mall in America get built without some financial help from Miami-Dade County?
That’s the question well-funded opponents of the American Dream Miami project want answered before county commissioners give preliminary approval Wednesday to a zoning change needed to build the $3 billion retail theme park planned for Northwest Miami-Dade.
The large malls that would compete with American Dream want commissioners to preemptively ban the planned six-million-square-foot complex from pursuing a special taxing district that could divert millions of dollars from Miami-Dade coffers and into infrastructure expenses that developer Triple Five would otherwise have to pay.
pssst..don't tell them about what's going in New Jersey...
In It To Win It
As I've been gently saying for a couple of months, with great responsibility comes great responsibility. Too many times I've seen what happens when people who were given lots of your (probably) money to save the world from destruction piss it all away. What happens is that they get rich.
The consequences of failure of this magnitude never fall on the people responsible for it.
Rival campaign managers from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s respective presidential bids are set to join forces on the lucrative paid speaking circuit.
In joint appearances across the country, Robby Mook and Corey Lewandowski will offer a “future-focused look at why Trump won” in what their speaking agency, Leading Authorities, promises will be an “entertaining pair sure to keep any audience engaged,” according to the Washington-based firm’s website.
The consequences of failure of this magnitude never fall on the people responsible for it.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Where's My Reward
When you thought becoming president would fill the dark holes of despair inside you, but instead...
The bad press over the weekend has not allowed Trump to "enjoy" the White House as he feels he deserves, according to one person who has spoken with him.
The Mall Is Flat
Clearly frightened of the competition from the American Dream.
More mall landlords are choosing to walk away from struggling properties, leaving creditors in the lurch and posing a threat to the values of nearby real estate.
As competition from online shopping batters retailers, some of the largest U.S. landlords are calculating it is more advantageous to hand over ownership to lenders than to attempt to restructure debts on properties with darkening outlooks.
That, in turn, leaves lenders with little choice but to unload the distressed properties at fire-sale prices.
Don't Be Savvy
Resist the tendency to think that you are "in on the joke," that you know what politicians really mean, that seemingly incomprehensible strategies have a grand purpose behind them, and that, most importantly, only those with deep insight can divine what they are.
If you can figure out it, the rubes can too.
If you can figure out it, the rubes can too.
Life Goes On
Sometimes people get on a "why can you post about X when TRUMP ARGLEBARGLE" and, yes, there are few things more important than the catastrophe being imposed on our country and the world, but there are also many things in the world and they don't all stop happening.
Right Thing
Yes, the junior senator from New York is doing the right thing. The opposite of that is some senators are doing the wrong thing. I wish we didn't have to explain this.
The Heroes We Need
People always park in crosswalks around here. It's bad. It's unsafe. There are a lot of elderly people in the neighborhood who do, yes, walk places. They need access to the crosswalk and the associated curb cuts (the good kind, not the garage front kind). There's a bit of an enforcement hole, as the state authority tasked with enforcing parking violations tends not to patrol areas without permit parking, and the cops understandably think they have better things to do. Cars also block sight lines, making accidents more likely. There neeeds to be more enforcement. People get enraged by this idea.
There are a lot of ways to improve the parking situation - such having more residential parking permit areas (permits are really really cheap) to cut down on the number of people who just use it to store their beaters and people who use it as a parking lot for the bus line - but too many people prefer the "just let me park wherever the fuck I want" solution (blocks need to vote to get permits, many refuse), which doesn't really help. Also, too, it's unsafe.
There are a lot of ways to improve the parking situation - such having more residential parking permit areas (permits are really really cheap) to cut down on the number of people who just use it to store their beaters and people who use it as a parking lot for the bus line - but too many people prefer the "just let me park wherever the fuck I want" solution (blocks need to vote to get permits, many refuse), which doesn't really help. Also, too, it's unsafe.
Scary Times
The press knows, or soon will know, the scope of what we're dealing with. Unlike past presidents with issues, who at least surrounded themselves with some semi-competent people, Trump has surrounded himself with sycophantic incompetents. Republicans are completely corrupt, and those nasty Dems just turn everything (according to the institutional press) into a partisan problem. You know, both sides.
It is at times like these when a press imbued with some respect and authority is about the only possible check there is left. I do not think they are up to the task.
It is at times like these when a press imbued with some respect and authority is about the only possible check there is left. I do not think they are up to the task.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Somewhere Out There
While it's true that people abroad get a bit more US-related news than we get of other countries and generally know a bit more about things here than we know of them, it isn't actually the case that people in other countries spend all day thinking about the US. We aren't actually the center of their universe, just the biggest star on the horizon. They have their own politics, own culture, own daily bullshit, own memes and favorite cats on the internet sites, etc. It really ain't all about us.
Policy Matters
One thing our political press is usually (not always!) very bad about is engaging with the fact that policy actually matters, that it isn't just some debate club. Making it harder to access legal abortions will make people die. Making health insurance coverage worse will make people die. It's very rude to point it out, and it's also very true.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)