American Politics Discussion Thread

[Mjmd]

I mean priorities of whom? He has quite a few accomplishments and if it wasn't for inflation I think Democrats might have kept the house. My pet act passed is of course the infrastructure bill. It was so long overdue and if Democrats had JUST done that during his presidency in the normal course of history, it would have by far been one of the most impactful long term accomplishments.

[darrelljs]

Inflation/recession and crime were the top two issues across party lines.  Biden spent his energy on climate, infrastructure and student debt relief.  The first two at least are laudable goals but not top of mind for most voters, and the third will actively hurt inflation.

Darrell

[Mjmd]

Crime is down from 2020 (which was a peak year for a lot of countries). Also, Republicans ran A LOT of commercials on, so is it just a issue because they pushed it? I know bail reform (which makes a lot of sense if you don't fear monger it) was all over WI commercials. They also went after paroles which wasn't really something Evers had control of.

We've talked about the myriad of reasons for inflation and I'm not sure I ever heard what the Republican solution was other than spend less, which most of the Democrats bills were paid for and deficit keeps going down (I know I know deficit vs debt, but also I don't consider this to be the major contributor to inflation). I do agree the student debt relief was done poorly. Talk about Tu Quoque arguments from the Democrats. If it was going to be done it should have been done as party of a sustainable long term plan for education. But for instance allowing government for Medicare to actually negotiate for drug prices was a nice actionable item that Republicans voted against. Things like shipping container rates are down to pre pandemic levels, so that will help with inflation pressures.

[darrelljs]

Republicans ran A LOT of commercials on, so is it just a issue because they pushed it?

Kind of irrelevant...

We've talked about the myriad of reasons for inflation and I'm not sure I ever heard what the Republican solution was other than spend less

Again, kind of irrelevant. The party in charge runs on their record, which is why they historically suffer in midterms. That said, spending less is a pretty good way to reduce inflation .

Darrell

[Mjmd]

So other than student loan relief, all the spending has been "good" spending. American rescue plan - would you rather have had a recession (more efficient than $9 trillion in quantitative easing which I would rate as a higher cause of inflation)? Infrastructure act - much needed and overdue and will help the economy for decades to come (including port improvements). Chips act - while normally I'm VERY against subsidies this one is a key sector for the future.

Deficit and debt can be bad, but there is such a thing as good government spending and most of the non recurring stuff has been good spending. As far as recurring spending neither side is exactly jumping up to cut the size of the army (and I mean just army not navy or airforce).

[Jowy]

Inflation is bad for the average citizen, and fixing inflation is bad for the average citizen. They will be unhappy regardless, but will never arrive to what the actual cause is.

Crime wave is a fabrication as much as the Immigrant Caravans are. Republican propaganda is effective. Their voters are detached from reality.

[Mjmd]

I also think Democrats are horrible at communication. There were very few ads to contradict Republican messaging. Crime - point to gun crime and easy access to guns, you can throw in threat to law enforcement. Inflation - point to record high profits. Obviously these are simplistic, but that is what advertising wars are about and Democrats FAIL at it.

[Gustaran]

  That said, spending less is a pretty good way to reduce inflation .

Darrell

Sounds a bit simplistic. The current inflation isn't necessarily happening because the US government is splurging on unnecessary items, but is primarily caused by a major rise in gas/energy prices.

Why Are Gas Prices Still High?

High demand for crude oil and low supply pushed gas prices upward this year. And though the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates five times so far in 2022—and is planning on more raises in the near future to nudge prices down—there are other factors at play internationally.
Crude oil, the natural resource used to produce gasoline and diesel fuel, has seen dramatic changes to its supply throughout the pandemic. When Covid-19 first hit worldwide and fewer people were on the roads, major oil-producing companies cut back on their oil production.

The war in Ukraine has hurt the global supply of oil. Russia, which produces about 10% of the world’s oil, is being sanctioned due to its invasion of Ukraine. The United States has completely banned Russian oil imports, further squeezing global supply.
Gas prices did start to slide over the summer as a variety of price-stabilization efforts brought relief, including a historic release from the Strategic Oil Reserve. But now, the announcement from OPEC+ to further cut the global oil supply means they’re bound to spike again.

Looking at these causes, I fail to see how "Most importantly, let's not spend any money on student debt forgiveness" is the best strategy to combat the underlying energy problems. On the contrary, it would probably be smarter to actually invest more money in renewable energy sources now and negotiate an end date for the use of combustion engines in cars if you want a viable long term strategy that protects the climate as well.

[Jowy]

I also think Democrats are horrible at communication. There were very few ads to contradict Republican messaging. Crime - point to gun crime and easy access to guns, you can throw in threat to law enforcement. Inflation - point to record high profits. Obviously these are simplistic, but that is what advertising wars are about and Democrats FAIL at it.

Democrats are afraid to go anti-gun and lose votes. At this point school children being massacred is so normalized that nobody cares unless they are directly related to the event. There was just another two mass shootings at schools this weekend. But you're right, if they would communicate how insane this is and how the only way to prevent it is to take the guns away, it would eventually pay off. But does that matter to these politicians if they suffer election losses right now?

On oil, it is basically controlled by a monopoly who can and will agree to drop production to raise prices and make more profit. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61188579

[Mjmd]

I think pushing common sense gun reform (modeled on Finland and Switzerland) is the way to go, and then saying "Republicans can't even stand for that". The truly strong "don't take away my guns" already vote Republican, so as long as you moderate your tone they would be fine.