Andy1
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Posts posted by Andy1
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12 minutes ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:
Just messing around last night after a long day.
We’ll see where this goes, of course, but I’d think Trump 2 feels like he has a limited time frame to enact change, and believes there are establishment Rs in the way.
On the EO front…is there a magic number you see as reasonable? Is it your belief that Obama issued 277 beyond reproach/righteous EO’s, and that Bush was hitting the sweet spot at 291? Because imo, just recapping numbers doesn’t tell a story whatsoever. In fact, how I does R outrage over Obama and/or Biden different than Democrat outrage over Trump? It seems to me you were fine with 277, but take issue with 278+ and a different agenda.
To be honest, the whole process seems a gigantic clusterf+ck to me regardless of who is running the show.
In my opinion, EOs should only be used to respond to respond to extraordinary crises or emergencies like 9/11, Covid, etc. Presidents on both sides have used them to avoid governing through congress and congress has obliged since they want to avoid responsibility and ownership for anything. This isn’t the democratic process as envisioned by those guys back in 1776. Governing should be hard. That is what forces compromise and moderation in practice which is what we need more of.
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1 hour ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:
Why do you hate the Prescripted, Andy?
(I’m trying to get out in front of this one and People of Prescriptions doesn’t cover it)
No hate here. My comment was just leaning into the fact that the entire Trump 2.0 presidency is about executive orders. Republicans own all three branches, yet congress seems to be sleep walking, letting Trump issue order after order with no enactment of law to implement his agenda. What’s Mikey doing these days? I remember the Republican outrage about executive orders when Biden or Obama issued them, but not a peep now.
For reference, in eight years Bush signed 291 and Obama did 277 EOs. In four years Biden issued 162 EOs while Trump 1 issued 220. In a bit over 100 days Trump 2 has already signed 146.
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1 hour ago, Big Blitz said:
His most “consequential” post ever
If he has a great plan to lower prices, then Republicans should make it the law, as Biden did with drug prices in the Inflation Reduction Act. These executive orders have no sticking power.
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1 hour ago, ComradeKayAdams said:
Some in media circles already are, though, which was my point. I’m referring strictly to their ECONOMIC politics, of course, and nothing else. Specifically: standard progressive protectionism versus Trump’s current tariff policies. You and I may find the conflation absurd, but the average American doesn’t follow politics nearly as closely as we do. Corporate establishment propaganda can be disturbingly effective on such people.
Do you understand now? Or do you want me to clarify my thoughts? I was basically providing commentary on political strategy and on how the word “socialism” is being misconstrued for the purposes of propaganda.
To elaborate a bit further, think of American politics as divided into 4 factions: far-left populist progressives who tend to vote for Democrats, centrist establishment neoliberals who also tend to vote for Democrats, MAGA dullards, and libertarians who tend to vote for Republicans. As Trump’s economy collapses and Bernie’s “Fighting Oligarchy Tour” surges in popularity, the other two factions (neoliberals and libertarians) seek to fill the power void by associating both populist factions (MAGA dullards and Bernie progs) with the unpopular economy.
Progressives should NOT rely on an emergent economic depression to counter the propaganda. They need to figure out how to communicate effectively with the American people. Even though I’m (apparently) not the best consultant on such matters, I’ll still recommend a simple visual display of two superimposed plots: one showing American worker productivity since the early Reagan administration, and another showing inflation-adjusted wage growth in that same time span. The observed difference in slope is the labor exploitation of the American Neoliberal Era. In theory, market socialism would eliminate the difference in slope. In practice, progressive taxation policies (as guided by professional economists) can suffice.
Thanks much for the clarification. I see your point now. You have better knowledge of economic theory than myself. The one thing I’m confident about is that a group of corporate elites will mightily enrich themselves along with Trump during his term. Lower income Americans will struggle due to the various impacts of the Trump tax. During this period and after, there will be a battle of ideas on what to do differently and those wealthy elites will push their corporate propaganda on the public and through the halls of Congress to prevent change. Here is the chart I think you are referring to.
One of Trumps advantages (?) is that he speaks at a fourth grade level. He does not speak about logical, rational, realistic solutions to issues. He does not explain complex issues. Instead his speech connects to many people’s emotions. Immigrants are rapists and murderers, Mexico will pay for the wall, America is getting ripped off by other countries, tariffs will force other countries to pay us billions and billions of dollars, we will be richer than ever before, etc. His message is unconstrained by reality. Trump has proven that a lot of the undecided Americans, who do decide elections, believe these types of emotional messaging.
Dems need to find a simple message and a messenger who speaks below college level language, to connect with the common, uninterested voters. They shouldn’t fall into the trap of campaigning on rational programs for real problems (CHIPS act was that) as the voters who decide elections don’t care about that. Their message needs broad appeal and drop the group identity politics. Given the nature of their supporters, that will be a challenge.
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28 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:
Pope Leo was ahead of his time.If both the far left and the far right are upset with Pope Leo, then he is probably doing his job well.
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13 hours ago, ComradeKayAdams said:
It’s not, though! We can’t just redefine socialism to mean “any government economic interventionism that we don’t like” or “a centrally planned economy.” In Trump’s economy, the workers definitely don’t own the means of production. Corporate oligarchs still have all the power and control the flow of wealth generation.
Moreover, I automatically distrust the motives of any neoliberal or libertarian author attempting to equate Trump’s economy with socialism. Most Americans still associate the social democratic policies of Bernie/AOC with that of “socialism,” and so the (inevitable) failure of Trump’s economy can then somehow be blamed on the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. It’s quite the predictable ploy we have grown to expect from our country’s corporate media!
Let’s all be clear on how progressive tariffs would differ from Trumpian tariffs. A three-stage plan from progressives:
1. Carefully crafted prior labor regulations that foster an environment for competitive wage growth and healthy work conditions.
2. Keynesian stimulus packages to expedite foundational shovels-in-the-ground projects and workforce training (a good example: 2022 CHIPS Act).
3. Targeted tariffs applied to a specific and limited set of overseas industries (chosen for reasons like national security and domestic macroeconomic growth balance).
And by comparison, a three-stage plan from Trump:
1. Broad tariffs imposed on every country and trade ally, with nonsensical and often exorbitant rates.
2. Nose picking as prices predictably soar and markets collapse.
3. Removal of tariff impositions, accompanied with braggadocious “art of the deal” claims.
Two key reasons why you should have known all along that Trump was an economic charlatan:
1. He thinks trade “deficits” are inherently bad, as if this kind of deficit is in any way similar to a personal/family budgetary “deficit!”
2. He claims his tariffs are to be used for tax revenue generation, even though successfully applied tariffs are intended to do the exact opposite…INHIBIT international consumption of goods!
Kay’s Super Profound Conclusion: So what’s REALLY going on here?? Well, some people in America are certainly benefiting from Trump’s economic machinations! In the progressive vernacular, these people are referred to as “corporate oligarchs.” Others will be much worse off, due to the regressive taxation effect of widespread price inflation on consumer goods (followed by macroeconomic contraction). Let’s call this group the “99%.” So now Little Susie gets 3 dolls for her birthday instead of 30, Little Joey gets 5 pencils for school instead of 250, and Commie Kay gets maybe only a few dozen Squishmallows (at most) for her new queen size bed instead of THOUSANDS. I think I speak for Susie and Joey when I say, “BLEEP you, MAGA Commies!!!”
It’s taken me a few rereads to see what you are getting at about the socialism comment. Every time dems propose modest tax increase, increases in fuel efficiency standards, health care, or just about any progressive social policy, the immediate reaction by the right is to scream socialism/communism. Now Trump (the guy with the golden toilet) is imposing the largest tax increase in history, telling Americans they should be happy with less, and all we hear is crickets from the right.
I totally agree with how progressive tariffs would and have differed from the moronic Trump approach. The Trump tariffs are on everything and everywhere, and that means they are really not about anything they claim. The reason for them is not about trade deficits since they apply to countries we have trade surpluses with. There is no national trade deficit emergency, which is what Trump declared, since we have had trade deficits for 50 years. They are not about curbing fentanyl (the justification originally used) since they apply to all countries. It’s not about returning jobs to America since they apply to everything, including products or food items we will never produce here. If it were about helping American companies, there would be stated policies, gradual implementation with predictability so business could plan and adapt and incentives would be offered. None of that applies. So by default, it’s about something they can’t say. And that answer is likely the greed for wealth and power of a megalomaniac and corporate greed of the oligarchs. Everything else is distraction for justification of their actions.
They can’t lie about the economy though. When store shelves are empty and prices are stupid high, people will know why. Companies will show the Trump tax on their invoices. Trump has put himself in quite a box of his own making. The pressure is on to deliver amazing trade deals. Otherwise he, his party and his economy will be a colossal failure. The extreme Trump agenda may be what brings a future public backlash favoring more social democratic policies and anti corruption legislation.
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So Trump now taps into Fox entertainment for yet another key position. He just can’t get enough of Fox in his administration as he hires only the finest, most qualified people. This just shows that you can get just about any job in government working for Donald if you first get your training at Fox. -
1 hour ago, 4th&long said:10 hours ago, Roundybout said:
Also it’s completely unacceptable that it took 9 years to immigrate. It should take 9 months, max. Preferably 9 weeks.
There's a lot of truth to this. If it wasn't so hard or took so long I'm sure more people would do it legally.
20 yrs ago, it was at least 10 years to get family members here legally, even if they were financially sponsored by an American citizen. That is ridiculous and a sign that the system is completely broken.
Before, Republicans always said that legal immigration can’t be fixed until illegal immigration across the border is stopped. Well, that time is now. Fact is, America needs a lot of legal immigrants to do alot of jobs Americans won’t do. A lot of jobs just need bodies we don’t have to do them. Instead, Trump and Republicans doesn’t want legal immigrants either.
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I hope I’m wrong but in the coming months, I fully expect Trump to insult, mock or demean Pope Leo. Trump will call it a joke or claim it is not an insult as he usually does. Trump will feel the need to knock the new Pope down a notch. A man on the world stage who draws bigger crowds and more admiration than him; and who speaks a message of love for others and who criticizes or opposes any of Trumps actions will drive him nuts. Interesting choice by the cardinals.
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54 minutes ago, Joe Ferguson forever said:
That article is 100% right. There is no longer a Free market. Instead Trump is using his power to determine winners and losers in his economy.
The tariffs are whatever he wants without the logic of policy behind them. All based on the phony rationale of a national emergency.
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This is quite an interesting thread with the discussion on theology and history of the churches practices, etc. Sounds like most of us, myself included, have a Catholic background regardless of which side of the political spectrum we are on. We all may be looking at each other in the church pews.
I just hope the Cardinals choose someone who can continue to speak truth to politicians and be a voice for peace, democracy and advocate for the poor, homeless and disadvantaged across the globe.Carry on chaps…
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Here is a good description of the impact of the Trump tax on an American company. This is just one example that you can multiply by thousands of impacts on similar businesses. Either the Chinese companies will sell product since they will be able to undercut American business on price or Chinese manufacturers will end up buying out the American brands as they sink in the Trump economy. Then China will own the brand and the manufacturing.
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This Trump stunt is typical for our psycho president. He always attacks and defiles what others revere. He attacks John McCain as a loser, POWs are losers, he insults pastors, he calls military generals idiots, he mocks disabled people, he mocks Gold Star parents, he says experts are idiots, he doesn’t put his hand on the Bible for his inauguration, and now he mocks the Pope.
He does all of this because of his psychological need to prove he is superior to everyone else. It comes from his damaged psyche and broken brain. If he insults and defiles what society respects, reveres and loves, he sullys his target and he gains power in his mind. He forces his supporters to choose who they revere more - Trump or his target. They almost always choose him, so their devotion to him grows as they can’t criticize his actions. … Just my opinion…
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This is all a bit weird. Singing the beautiful Amazing Grace over Trump as he is impatiently waiting for it to be over. All this for a dope who wouldn’t put his hand on the Bible at his inauguration. I wonder what he is thinking as they are all singing around him.
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3 minutes ago, Roundybout said:
“You will own nothing and be happy,” but MAGAAnd/or…. You will be happy working in a factory or a great coal mine!
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15 minutes ago, Westside said:
Only when it’s politicized like it is being now. I don’t remember all this bitching and whining the past four years from the leftists when EVERYTHING went WAY up in cost. Not a peep!
Yes, because that was inflation, and everyone understood it was a combination of pent up desire to spend with international supply chain disruptions due to Covid. That happened all over the world with the US being better than many nations. Prices rising now are completely due to Trumps tax when he was hired by a majority of Americans to reduce prices for the average family.
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7 hours ago, leh-nerd skin-erd said:
How many thousands are you thinking? 2,000? 3,000? 12,000?
And are you concerned generally about mandated expenses, or just the Trump tariff version? Because…I’m thinking a reduction on govt mandated tax would go along way to softening the blow. Income, sales, excise, etc…
I think the reports I’ve seen say an average increase in costs for a family of 3-5k per year. I haven’t seen any concrete proposals for reduction of taxes.
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2 hours ago, All_Pro_Bills said:
Most Americans when asked to commit to a sacrifice amounting to the slightest of an inconvenience would say "no thanks".
Agree based upon covid times. Wearing a mask is a slight inconvenience and remember the defiant opposition by many to that. Sacrificing thousands of dollars each year for the Trump tax is an exponentially higher level of sacrifice that is being mandated.
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This is such a complicated topic. To me it seems to be a failure of parenting, education system and society. American society glamorizes athletes and entertainers but ignores or belittles academic achievement. Glitz and glam sells so that is what our culture is about. Parents and kids are brainwashed by Tiktok, etc. Tech companies impose their algorithms on us, shaping our society, with no regulation by the government. People now have the attention span of a flea. If information can’t be presented in 10 seconds, brains shut down. We need public service announcements on parenting like the no smoking campaign of old.
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So Trump claimed he got 200 trade deals done. Poor Bessent has to go on tv explaining they are actually “sub deals”. 🤨 I’m pretty sure I have a sub deal done to buy a new car at my below invoice asking price. I’m not going to get ripped off by those dealers.
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Do laws matter?
Which ones must be followed by whom?At least it was encouraging to see Menendez, Dem from NJ, prosecuted for corruption by the DOJ under Biden. Would DOJ under Trump do similar? I doubt it. I’m sure there is plenty of corruption to find if they look for it.
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All the psychotherapy by tv analysts directed to Shedur is over the top. The kid has had every advantage he could get up to this point. No one is crying tears for all the other players, who have struggled from much harder backgrounds, who are still waiting to hear their name called. Whatever happens, Shedur is probably set for life, unlike so many others.
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Trump to issue EO lowering prescription drugs and pharmaceutical prices by 30 to 80 percent
in Politics, Polls, and Pundits
Posted
I get why people will support this EO. I just wonder if it is really legal. I’m no attorney so have no insight on that issue, but if it is legal, it would suggest that the President can order other private companies to lower prices too, just because he can with an EO. Why doesn’t he sign an EO ordering phone manufacturers and cell phone companies (or any other product) to lower prices 25%, or whatever he wants? That would also benefit everyone.
It all sounds like a big nothing for distraction as they try to cut Medicare/Medicaid.