President Biden's Infrastructure Plans

[Trausti]

Americans Give President Biden Lowest Marks Across The Board, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Say The Biden Administration Is Not Competent

And yet his agenda is still quite popular.

With who? He’s not a popular president. He can’t get the public to rally to his agenda. Most think he’s incompetent. The AZ and WV senators have nothing to lose opposing him.

 

[ZiprHead]

Hecklers impact public opinion on health reform datelined 2009 Aug 13

After two weeks of health care demonstrations and daily town hall disruptions in the news, Democrats seem to be losing ground on the reform debate.

A new USA Today poll finds 34% of Americans are now more sympathetic to the protesters' views, while 21% are less sympathetic. It's bad news for the White House.

They blame the bad numbers on misconceptions and misinformation. One misconception riling up crowds are the so-called "death panels" that some claim are part of reform.

I find it disturbing, those incidents of following KS around. Even though they were mild by the standards of what happened to Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham and those town halls.

I also note that KS has not had a town-hall event in years, for at least her Senate years. She also does not do interviews or appear on political TV shows.


But aside from that, she continues to be a fashion plate. When some people tried to ask her about something in a Senate office building, she wore a white shirt and a ruffled pink skirt. When some people confronted her in that ASU bathroom, she was wearing an ankle-length sleeveless pink dress wtih black and white rectangles on it. On the plane, she was wearing a black-and-white patterned dress with a neckline low enough to show some cleavage.

The only people she seems to care about is big-money lobbyists, and she may want money from them to feed her clothing habit. But then again, she may rent a lot of her clothes, as AOC and Ana Kasparian do.

I give KS a very wide understanding here. She's in a difficult spot. She represents an area that is to the right of the party that she is in. Furthermore, she (and Joe) are taking the blame for the difficulty in passing democratic policies. But the real problem for the dems is the razer thin margins that we have to deal with. If democrats want to pass democratic legislation that the right hates, then bust your ass and increase the democratic majority congress and the senate. The real problem here is that our tent isn't big enough. And to try to exclude people at the edge of the tent, is crazy!

Arizona is a blue state. They voted for Biden and have two D senators. The fact that Sinema's poll ratings are dropping like a block of blue ice from an airplane due to her recent actions should tell you all you need to know.

 

[ZiprHead]

Americans Give President Biden Lowest Marks Across The Board, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Say The Biden Administration Is Not Competent

And yet his agenda is still quite popular.

With who? He’s not a popular president. He can’t get the public to rally to his agenda. Most think he’s incompetent. The AZ and WV senators have nothing to lose opposing him.

You really need to stop being gulled by photoshopped images.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill remains quite popular: 56% support, 27% oppose.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook-pm/2021/09/27/poll-good-news-for-bidens-agenda-494486

 

[Harry Bosch]

Americans Give President Biden Lowest Marks Across The Board, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Say The Biden Administration Is Not Competent

And yet his agenda is still quite popular.

With who? He’s not a popular president. He can’t get the public to rally to his agenda. Most think he’s incompetent. The AZ and WV senators have nothing to lose opposing him.

Well, people are returning to work and the economy is starting to roll again. Hopefully you understand supply and demand?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So Minions and photoshop. Got it.

Also, is that a photoshop on a photoshop?

 

[TV and credit cards]

Labor Force Participation actually ticked down for the month of September, and this with the return to school and the cessation of unemployment benefits.

Child care was difficult to find before the pandemic and it has only gotten worse.
Four times as many women left the labor force as men during the pandemic and they apparently are not coming back. Good. It would be nice if we could get a generation of children actually raised by a parent.

Hopefully this will put pressure on at least child care subsidies portion of the Human Infrastructure Bill if not the bill as a whole.

I think of the seasonal hiring needed like real soon. Eek! Who will take these seasonal retail jobs? Then again we haven't enough truck drivers to get goods to the stores so maybe it will be a wash.

Should be an interesting Christmas. Maybe instead of the usual fighting is stores over product, Mr. & Mrs. Walmart will be pirating container ships sitting at anchor.

It looks like a perfect storm is brewing. My economic outlook: Christmagedon.

 

[Swammerdami]

Americans Give President Biden Lowest Marks Across The Board, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Say The Biden Administration Is Not Competent

The Gallup organization is the "gold standard" for polling in the U.S.; and for the past 94 years, they have famously asked the public

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way [enter President name] is handling his job as President?"​

Among the fifteen Presidents about whom Gallup has posed this question, who had the lowest average approval?

Show

Donald J. Trump

This poll question is asked frequently, over 100 times in the case of Trump. Among all such pollings, which is the only President who never exceeded 56% approval?

Show

Donald J. Trump, who never once even made it to 50%.

Hope this helps.

 

[Trausti]

 

[none]

What about wages rates?

 

[Swammerdami]

[snipped: 20-second sound-bite and indecipherable images]

Some people link to economists' papers or FRED graphs. Some people prefer random 20-second CNN sound-bites. You do you, Trausti!

And I wonder if Trausti even realizes that too-slow growth is an argument IN FAVOR OF increased stimulus like infrastructure building and childcare subsidies.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Americans Give President Biden Lowest Marks Across The Board, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Say The Biden Administration Is Not Competent

I had never heard of them before. Hmmm....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinnipiac_University

Small religious university.

 

[Trausti]

Americans Give President Biden Lowest Marks Across The Board, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Majority Say The Biden Administration Is Not Competent

I had never heard of them before. Hmmm....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinnipiac_University

Small religious university.

And?

Quinnipiac's polling institute receives national recognition for its independent surveys of residents throughout the United States. It conducts public opinion polls on politics and public policy as a public service as well as for academic research.[41] The poll has been cited by major news outlets throughout North America and Europe, including The Washington Post,[42] Fox News,[43] USA Today,[44] The New York Times,[45] CNN,[46] and Reuters.[47]

The polling operation began informally in 1988 in conjunction with a marketing class.[41] It became formal in 1994 when the university hired a CBS News analyst to assess the data being gained.[41] It subsequently focused on the Northeastern states, gradually expanding during presidential elections to cover swing states as well.[41] The institute receives funding from the university,[41] with its phone callers generally being work study students or local residents. The polls have been rated highly by FiveThirtyEight for accuracy in predicting primary and general elections.

 

[Trausti]

Maybe he should follow her into the restroom.

Joe Biden says Kyrsten Sinema is ignoring his calls

 

[lpetrich]

Back in 2010 Sep 18: Kyrsten Sinema on Twitter: "Phoenix hit 109 today. It's September 18. P.S. Climate change is real." / Twitter

Kyrsten Sinema Wants to Cut $100 Billion in Proposed Climate Funds, Sources Say - The New York Times

The Arizona senator, who started in politics as an environmentalist, is one of two centrist Democrats who could make or break a spending bill at the center of President Biden’s legislative agenda.

...
Last month, Ms. Sinema told The Arizona Republic, “We know that a changing climate costs Arizonans. And right now, we have the opportunity to pass smart policies to address it — looking forward to that.” In her 2018 run for the Senate, Ms. Sinema was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters. And she has expressed an interest in using the spending bill to enact a tax or fee on carbon dioxide pollution, which experts say could be among the most effective ways to mitigate global warming.

Jen Perelman on Twitter: "Corporate Special Interests Money is the defining issue of our time.

It is not left vs. right, blue vs. red, or even progressive vs. moderate vs. conservative.

It’s corporate vs. non-corporate & here is the proof. (pic link)" / Twitter
(with screencap of above story)

Jen Perelman ran for FL-23 last year, though she lost, accepting no corporate money like many other recent progressives.

 

[lpetrich]

The NYT tweeting on its article:
The New York Times on Twitter: "The $100 billion in cuts that Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona is said to want in major pending legislation could force Democrats to cut or shrink programs designed to help poor communities adapt to climate change. (link)" / Twitter
then
John LaBombard on Twitter: "Neither Senator Sinema nor our office have requested or demanded such cuts, nor have we ever heard of any such demands. Once again, the NY Times relies on anonymous sources and gets it flat wrong. Do better." / Twitter

That got responses like

Josh Leon on Twitter: "@jlabomb Instead of complaining on Twitter, maybe ask your boss to hold a press conference or even a town hall to clear up the “rumors”.

She had plenty of time to fly back to AZ to host a fundraiser with her corporate donors but can’t host a town hall? Don’t ya’ll ever get tired?" / Twitter

Dwayne Davis on Twitter: "@jlabomb If your boss was honest with her constituents and the American people, we would better understand what she believes in. Based on her votes and statements, she seems to be aligned with her donors and not the people who put her in office. Do better." / Twitter

Tim Steller on Twitter: "The replies to this tweet from @senatorsinema’s spokesman are so on point. If she doesn’t want to be misinterpreted, there’s an easy way to clear things up. Tell us what you want and why. Stop playing insider games." / Twitter

Why is KS hiding? What does she have to hide?

 

[lpetrich]

Ken Klippenstein on Twitter: "Kyrsten Sinema is teaching a class on fundraising at ASU, where activists confronted her last week.
Students learn “how to cultivate donors” and key concepts like “power” and “influence,” the syllabus states: (link)" / Twitter
noting
Kyrsten Sinema Is Literally Teaching a Course on Fundraising
What she was doing last Saturday, when those activists followed her into that bathroom.

Jake Sherman on Twitter: "Here is @BernieSanders on @Sen_JoeManchin and @SenatorSinema today — from @PunchbowlNews midday (pic link)" / Twitter

"You know I know Joe Manchin, I've known Joe for many years. know Sen. Sinema less well actually. And I'm not here to attack them, question their motives or anything else. Manchin's views, I know, are different than mine - there's no question about that. It's not a crime - people can have different a points of view. But the point that I am trying to make, the bottom line is when you got 48 people on one side, when you got overwhelmingly strong numbers from the American people on one side, when you got the President of the United States on one side, it is simply not fair, not right, that one of the people say my way or the highway. You know I've said this before this is true: believe that the current healthcare system is totally dysfunctional - totally dysfunctional. I believe absolutely that we have moved to a Medicare for all, single payer system. But you know what I don't know how many people in the senate support that, 15, 20 maybe - not the majority. I cannot go to Schumer and say 'Hey Chuck, unless you put Medicare for all reconsideration, I'm not going to vote...'

"My criticism of Sens. Manchin and Sinema is not their views, they're entitled to their views. disagree with their views, they are entitled to their views. But my strong criticism is it is wrong when the American people, when the President of the United States, when 96% of your colleagues want to go forward. It is wrong to obstruct."

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Twitter: "Most forms of means testing ignore the facts: ..." / Twitter

Most forms of means testing ignore the facts:
1. Simple income caps ignore cost of living differences in city/state
2. Even pre-COVID, 40% of Americans didn’t have $400 in savings. Poverty levels are far outdated, not good way to tell who needs help.
3. Most forms of means testing put in place arbitrary fiscal cliffs, add huge complexity that requires big administrative costs & erects barriers for neediest.
4. Universal programs—or simple means testing like 7% of income cap on childcare—are simple & universal.

Benefits for All or Just the Needy? Manchin’s Demand Focuses Debate - The New York Times - "As Democrats ponder cutting a $3.5 trillion social safety net bill down to perhaps $2 trillion, a proposal to limit programs to the poor has rekindled a debate on the meaning of government itself."

With Republicans routinely bashing them as the party of the rich, Democrats may have a hard time defending a plan that lavishes benefits on the leafy suburbs of Montclair and Chatham, N.J. But they also know that the most popular government programs — and the most stable ones — have been those broadly enjoyed, even by the upper reaches of the middle class, such as Social Security and Medicare.

Liberal Democrats, as well as some from politically competitive districts like Ms. Sherrill’s, argue that the bill’s benefits should be available to everyone. That would mean fewer programs — but more comprehensive ones.

“We don’t ask parents, when they send a child to first grade, how much money they make. We say bring that child in, and we’re going to do the best we can to give her a first-rate education,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, said. She added, “We build roads and bridges without asking who should be allowed to ride on them. We say everyone rides, because it makes us all better off.”

We also don't means-test military and police protection. Part of the success of those, and also Social Security and Medicare, is the lack of means testing. It builds a much bigger base of support for it.

 

[lpetrich]

fagottini on Twitter: "Kyrsten Sinema avoiding her constituents (vid link)" / Twitter

Cute, but I call bullpoop on that. KS is athletic, yes, and she does Ironman races. But the "KS" in that video is unusually athletic, able to do pull-ups with ease. She is also dressed in a black shirt and black pants, very plain by KS standards.

 

[Trausti]

fagottini on Twitter: "Kyrsten Sinema avoiding her constituents (vid link)" / Twitter

Cute, but I call bullpoop on that. KS is athletic, yes, and she does Ironman races. But the "KS" in that video is unusually athletic, able to do pull-ups with ease. She is also dressed in a black shirt and black pants, very plain by KS standards.

Good catch!

 

[thebeave]

fagottini on Twitter: "Kyrsten Sinema avoiding her constituents (vid link)" / Twitter

Cute, but I call bullpoop on that. KS is athletic, yes, and she does Ironman races. But the "KS" in that video is unusually athletic, able to do pull-ups with ease. She is also dressed in a black shirt and black pants, very plain by KS standards.

Good catch!

He's obviously been watching a lot of Columbo.