The Race For 2024

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Hitler had a Jewish doctor. Biden had a Black employee. What's the difference?

Wow, defense of Hitler. You do realize he did other things than hire a Jewish doctor, right?

Dude, when people talk about drinking the kool-ade, they aren't talking about bathing in it.

When an average person hears someone say "Person A is like Hitler" they hear "Person A is Bad".

You're such a tool for Biden that when you hear someone say "Biden is like Hitler" you hear praise for Hitler.

No, we hear a silly, illogical argument.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Far-right “influencers” threaten protests at Trump rallies because he’s not being racist enough:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/08/18/trump-campaign-nick-fuentes-groypers-hard-right-criticism/

They’re also threatening to harass top campaign staffers and withhold their votes unless the campaign “lets Trump be Trump”.

A slightly less rabid influencer wonders if this is a psyop designed to trick F-head into blowing the election.

Sure seems like it’s starting to fall apart.

 

[Rhea]

Sure seems like it’s starting to fall apart.

Oh please. Please please please. I want fall apart.

 

[lpetrich]

I don't know if she's changed or what, but when I hear Kamala Harris speak these days, I am filled with admiration, joy and optimism!

The first few minutes of this interview help explain the change in Kamala's televised persona.

Full title: Alex Wagner On Watching Kamala Harris Embrace Her Own Joy While Trump Fails To Define Her - YouTube
AW claims that KH became more confident of herself when she became VP, and letting her real personality show. AW also said that Tim Walz is also showing his real personality.

 

[lpetrich]

'I am a better looking person than Kamala,' quips Donald Trump at Pennsylvania campaign rally - YouTube

He's not exactly Justin Trudeau.

In a recent podcast, which unfortunately I couldn't track down Farron Cousins (Farron Balanced, The Ring of Fire) claimed that Donald Trump was going through the first four of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's  Five stages of grief

• Denial
• Anger
• Barganing
• Depression
• Acceptance

Denial and anger are rather obvious, I couldn't quite get what FC described as depression, but he has done a form of bargaining: wanting Joe Biden to get back into the race.

I don't know if he will ever get to the fifth stage.

 

[lpetrich]

url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/econom...policies-heres-a-look-at-whats-in-them]Harris has proposed a slew of economic policies. Here’s a look at what’s in them | PBS News[/url]

After years of polling showing that Americans are worried about inflation, Harris is aiming to contain prices where they have often been most conspicuously felt — at the grocery store. She’s promising to, during her first 100 days in office, send Congress proposed federal limits on price increases for food producers and grocers. Harris also is seeking new authority for the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general in states across the country to enact steeper punishments for violators. She also wants to use government regulators to crack down on mergers and acquisitions among large food industry businesses that the vice president argues have contributed to higher prices.

Revealed: the true extent of America’s food monopolies, and who pays the price | Food & drink industry | The Guardian
Strictly speaking, oligopolies, since it's still more than one dominant company.

In fact, a few powerful transnational companies dominate every link of the food supply chain: from seeds and fertilizers to slaughterhouses and supermarkets to cereals and beers.

...
It also means those who harvest, pack and sell us our food have the least power: at least half of the 10 lowest-paid jobs are in the food industry. Farms and meat processing plants are among the most dangerous and exploitative workplaces in the country.

Overall, only 15 cents of every dollar we spend in the supermarket goes to farmers. The rest goes to processing and marketing our food.

The article also shows market shares for various foodstuffs.

We found that for 85% of the groceries analysed, four firms or fewer controlled more than 40% of market share. It’s widely agreed that consumers, farmers, small food companies and the planet lose out if the top four firms control 40% or more of total sales.

Then noting

During the 2020 election cycle, the food industry spent $175m on political contributions, including lobbying by PACs and individuals and other efforts.

...
About two-thirds went to Republicans.

More on this consolidation.

Until the 1990s, most people shopped in local or regional grocery stores. Now, just four companies – Walmart, Costco, Kroger and Ahold Delhaize – control 65% of the retail market.

“Corporate consolidation can drive up food prices and reduce access to food,” said Starbuck. “Supermarket mergers drive out smaller, mom-and-pop grocers and regional chains. We have roughly one-third fewer grocery stores today than we did 25 years ago, according to the US census bureau.”

Then noting

Last week Joe Biden signed an executive order to tackle the rampant concentration across the US economy - including food and farming. Biden called on government agencies to enforce existing antitrust laws and consider rolling back recent mega-mergers which boosted profits and power for a handful of corporations while hurting the rest of us. The order specifically directs the USDA to take swift action to protect farmers including by making it easier for them to sue meat processors for alleged abuses.

Seems like Kamala Harris is promising more of that.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If you prohibit price gouging it goes from being expensive to not being available.

It still exists and is available. But you might need to have someone compromised on film to get it.

Yeah, that's what my wife saw in China. The good stuff never made it to market, it was always diverted for trade. Favors, not blackmail. If you didn't know somebody you weren't getting it.

 

[Elixir]

Donald is prettier, he says.


But he is SO much stupider.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I just can't bring myself to muster up any kind of reaction to Trump. Been that way for a long time.

What's he gonna say next?

I don't care.

It's going to be some iteration of the same idiot-authoritarian bullshit nonsense we've heard for years.

However, maybe what Trump's bullshit is doing is numbing a significant portion of conservatives to whatever lackwit nonsense he wants to shoot out of his asshole-shaped mouth at any given moment. Maybe a lot of conservatives actually want to hear him say what he's going to do to help make their lives better, but they'll never that because Trump doesn't have any policies.

In this case, apathy is better than anger. Angry people get out and vote. Apathetic people watch NFL highlights on voting day.

 

[scombrid]

url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/econom...policies-heres-a-look-at-whats-in-them]Harris has proposed a slew of economic policies. Here’s a look at what’s in them | PBS News[/url]

After years of polling showing that Americans are worried about inflation, Harris is aiming to contain prices where they have often been most conspicuously felt — at the grocery store. She’s promising to, during her first 100 days in office, send Congress proposed federal limits on price increases for food producers and grocers. Harris also is seeking new authority for the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general in states across the country to enact steeper punishments for violators. She also wants to use government regulators to crack down on mergers and acquisitions among large food industry businesses that the vice president argues have contributed to higher prices.

Revealed: the true extent of America’s food monopolies, and who pays the price | Food & drink industry | The Guardian
Strictly speaking, oligopolies, since it's still more than one dominant company.

In fact, a few powerful transnational companies dominate every link of the food supply chain: from seeds and fertilizers to slaughterhouses and supermarkets to cereals and beers.

...
It also means those who harvest, pack and sell us our food have the least power: at least half of the 10 lowest-paid jobs are in the food industry. Farms and meat processing plants are among the most dangerous and exploitative workplaces in the country.

Overall, only 15 cents of every dollar we spend in the supermarket goes to farmers. The rest goes to processing and marketing our food.

The article also shows market shares for various foodstuffs.

We found that for 85% of the groceries analysed, four firms or fewer controlled more than 40% of market share. It’s widely agreed that consumers, farmers, small food companies and the planet lose out if the top four firms control 40% or more of total sales.

Then noting

During the 2020 election cycle, the food industry spent $175m on political contributions, including lobbying by PACs and individuals and other efforts.

...
About two-thirds went to Republicans.

More on this consolidation.

Until the 1990s, most people shopped in local or regional grocery stores. Now, just four companies – Walmart, Costco, Kroger and Ahold Delhaize – control 65% of the retail market.

“Corporate consolidation can drive up food prices and reduce access to food,” said Starbuck. “Supermarket mergers drive out smaller, mom-and-pop grocers and regional chains. We have roughly one-third fewer grocery stores today than we did 25 years ago, according to the US census bureau.”

Then noting

Last week Joe Biden signed an executive order to tackle the rampant concentration across the US economy - including food and farming. Biden called on government agencies to enforce existing antitrust laws and consider rolling back recent mega-mergers which boosted profits and power for a handful of corporations while hurting the rest of us. The order specifically directs the USDA to take swift action to protect farmers including by making it easier for them to sue meat processors for alleged abuses.

Seems like Kamala Harris is promising more of that.

How do we get the general population to pay attention to this problem long enough to matter. It isn’t like corporate consolidation and vertical integration are recent problems in the food system. Look at the back of the ice cream tub, Unilever. Peanut butter? Unilever. Shampoo? Unilever.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

No taxes on extra points!

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

From Politico:
"Historically, a party gets about a 4-point bounce from its convention, according to the book “The Timeline of Presidential Elections: How Campaigns Do (and Do Not) Matter.”"

538 has Harris leading in aggregate polls by +2.5%. So the historical 4% bounce plus current polls means a +6.5% lead for Harris. And September 18, Trump is scheduled to be sentenced for his 34 felonies. will that change polls? Young voters, especially women support Harris overwhelmingly. But historically have low voter turn out. But Roe vs Wade and project 2025 may boost turnout among young voters. Not by a huge amount, but if it adds 1% support for Harris, it will be welcome news for Harris.

And Vance now is the most unpopular VP pick, even lower than Sarah Palin was. The Democratic convention is August 19 - 22. Things may change fast. More Popcorn!

 

[TomC]

But historically have low voter turn out.

I sincerely hope that such polls don't result in the low turnout demographics deciding that they don't individually need to bother with voting come election day.

Like what happened in 2016. "Everybody" knew that Clinton would win and so millions of voters stayed home or voted third party or wrote in Sanders, and Trump took office and RvW was overturned.
Tom

 

[lpetrich]

Harris is calling for the construction of 3 million new housing units over four years, which she says will ease a “serious housing shortage in America.” She also plans to promote legislation creating a new series of tax incentives for builders who construct “starter” homes sold to first-time homebuyers.

She also wants a $40 billion innovation fund — doubling a similar pot of money created by the Biden administration — for businesses building affordable rental housing units. Harris also wants to speed up permitting and review processes to get housing stock to the market more quickly.

KH is now a YIMBY - Yes In Our Backyard - about housing, the opposite of NIMBY - Not In Our Backyard.

One kind of regulation that should be relaxed in many places is zoning, allowing more multifamily housing and more multipurpose buildings, like apartment complexes with small businesses in their ground floors.

Harris further says she can lower rental costs by limiting investors who buy up homes in bulk, as well as curbing the use of price-setting tools that she argues encourage collusion to increase profits among landlords. She also wants to expand a Biden administration plan providing $25,000 in potential down payment assistance to help some renters buy a home, so that it will include a much larger swath of first-time home buyers across the country.

Increasing the supply of housing should lower its price by supply and demand, making it less attractive for such investors and giving less motive for landlords to raise rents. But homeowners may grumble at how the value of their homes has gone down.

 

[lpetrich]

Harris wants to speed up a Biden administration effort that has allowed Medicare and other federal programs to negotiate with drugmakers to lower the cost of prescription medications, ...

Harris also pledged to work with state entities to cancel $7 billion of medical debt for up to 3 million qualifying Americans.

That's paltry compared to what charities like Undue Medical Debt have done. UMD brags about canceling some $13 billion in medical debt.

The vice president also proposed to make permanent a $3,600 per child tax credit approved through 2025 for eligible families, while offering a new $6,000 tax credit for those with newborn children.

Also wanting to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for some workers.

Harris wants to give families a big tax break for a new baby : NPR

The plan includes a major expansion in the child tax credit. Low- and middle-income families would get up to $6,000 when they have a new baby. And Harris said she wants to restore the pandemic-era program that gave families up to $3,600 per child.

A bigger child tax credit has also been proposed by Republicans. Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance said on Sunday that he would like to see it expanded to $5,000 per child.

Great competition.

What is Kamala Harris' plan for the economy? : NPR

“We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity to build a business, to own a home, to build intergenerational wealth — a future with affordable health care, affordable child care, paid leave,” Harris told a crowd in Atlanta last week, when for the first time in her nascent campaign, she put out details around her economic platform. “All of this is to say: Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.”

She pledged on “Day 1” to take on “price gouging.”

In her stump speeches, she ticks through plans to lower costs that echo the administration’s existing efforts: ban hidden fees and cap unfair rent hikes and prescription drug costs.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Harris is calling for the construction of 3 million new housing units over four years, which she says will ease a “serious housing shortage in America.” She also plans to promote legislation creating a new series of tax incentives for builders who construct “starter” homes sold to first-time homebuyers.

She also wants a $40 billion innovation fund — doubling a similar pot of money created by the Biden administration — for businesses building affordable rental housing units. Harris also wants to speed up permitting and review processes to get housing stock to the market more quickly.

KH is now a YIMBY - Yes In Our Backyard - about housing, the opposite of NIMBY - Not In Our Backyard.

One kind of regulation that should be relaxed in many places is zoning, allowing more multifamily housing and more multipurpose buildings, like apartment complexes with small businesses in their ground floors.

Harris further says she can lower rental costs by limiting investors who buy up homes in bulk, as well as curbing the use of price-setting tools that she argues encourage collusion to increase profits among landlords. She also wants to expand a Biden administration plan providing $25,000 in potential down payment assistance to help some renters buy a home, so that it will include a much larger swath of first-time home buyers across the country.

Increasing the supply of housing should lower its price by supply and demand, making it less attractive for such investors and giving less motive for landlords to raise rents. But homeowners may grumble at how the value of their homes has gone down.

Good to hear Harris mention investors who buy up near entire neighborhoods. They should lower the tax incentive for landlords with multiple single family homes.
Same with making babies. A tax break for the first two is fine but don't incentivize folks to create more workers to feed into the corporate machinery. I don't know what this infatuation is with having more kids. All they ever trot out is the same old same old about more workers needed to support retiring workers. That's a hell of a reason to make more people.

One problem with permitting of new affordable multifamily housing is builders will forever be asking for variances to code to jam too many units on too small a patch of land at the cost of sufficient parking for the residents and creating additional stress on community services. Affordable housing requires more parking as lower income folks often find the need to double up on their occupancy.

 

[Swammerdami]

One problem with permitting of new affordable multifamily housing ...

It may be a minor problem for the bigger issue, but I saw an interesting YouTube that explains why a simple rule prevents the U.S.A. from having the small charming apartment buildings found in Europe.

In the USA, apartment buildings with 4 (3?) or more stories must have TWO staircases. (In Canada the rule is even stricter.) This simple rule has a big effect. It means larger lots are required. It leads to apartments that have windows only on one side. The rule was adopted for fire safety, but has little value now, due in part to other newer regulations.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

How are lot sizes impacted in any significant way by a second stairwell? Also, many apartment building apartments have windows only on one side.

The issue with affordable housing, it is affordable housing and by nature, it is less than the adjacent housing, which can impact adjacent housing values. This leaves us stuck in a cycle of debilitating self-interest.

 

[Swammerdami]

How are lot sizes impacted in any significant way by a second stairwell? Also, many apartment building apartments have windows only on one side.

The issue with affordable housing, it is affordable housing and by nature, it is less than the adjacent housing, which can impact adjacent housing values. This leaves us stuck in a cycle of debilitating self-interest.

Obviously you didn't click on the video!

Having TWO staircases means TWICE the real estate is wasted on staircases. Thinking of PROPORTIONS, the way to diminish the proportionate cost of the 2nd staircase is for the apartment building to be BIGGER. Ok? The larger building means that the developer must purchase more contiguous land; this has costs and in fact may make it difficult to place the building at all.

'"Also, many apartment building apartments [in North America] have windows only on one side." -- Isn't that what I said in the post?

BOTH staircases must be accessible to ALL residents. A central hallway connecting staircases at opposite building ends is the usual solution. This means apartments will have windows on only one side (or two for the lucky one with a corner apartment).

European apartment buildings are smaller, and with a CENTRAL staircase. The apartments are easily arranged so that each has windows on two sides. A related issue I neglected to mention is that the constraints make U.S. apartments smaller, often single bedroom where THREE bedrooms would better meet market needs.

This may sound like nitpicking around a minor issue, but writing just now I think the Youtuber may have a point! This simple rule (the mandate for TWO staircases) may have big drawbacks.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

How are lot sizes impacted in any significant way by a second stairwell? Also, many apartment building apartments have windows only on one side.

The issue with affordable housing, it is affordable housing and by nature, it is less than the adjacent housing, which can impact adjacent housing values. This leaves us stuck in a cycle of debilitating self-interest.

Obviously you didn't click on the video!

It is a dubious claim, so no, I didn't watch the video.

Having TWO staircases means TWICE the real estate is wasted on staircases. Thinking of PROPORTIONS, the way to diminish the proportionate cost of the 2nd staircase is for the apartment building to be BIGGER. Ok? The larger building means that the developer must purchase more contiguous land; this has costs and in fact may make it difficult to place the building at all.

This is only relevant is one abuses math. A stairwell takes up much less space than an apartment takes up. Have two stairwells makes sense in the unlikely but non-zero chance a fire makes access to one stairwell impossible.

'"Also, many apartment building apartments [in North America] have windows only on one side." -- Isn't that what I said in the post?

BOTH staircases must be accessible to ALL residents. A central hallway connecting staircases at opposite building ends is the usual solution. This means apartments will have windows on only one side (or two for the lucky one with a corner apartment).

Or the stairs can be interior.

European apartment buildings are smaller, and with a CENTRAL staircase. The apartments are easily arranged so that each has windows on two sides. A related issue I neglected to mention is that the constraints make U.S. apartments smaller, often single bedroom where THREE bedrooms would better meet market needs.

This may sound like nitpicking around a minor issue, but writing just now I think the Youtuber may have a point! This simple rule (the mandate for TWO staircases) may have big drawbacks.

America's problem is suburban sprawl, spread out resources, lack of access to public transit, and people not wanting poorer people than them moving close by. Not a second stairwell.