SOURCES:
- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/15/biden-economy-bidenomics-poll-republicans-democrats-independents
- https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-poverty-rate-jumped-2022-child-poverty-doubled/story?id=103130527
- https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/31/63percent-of-workers-are-unable-to-pay-a-500-emergency-expense-survey.html
Enjoy your strong economy, everybody!
Linking this to just Biden is disingenuous and really buries the lede. This meme just divides us further in service of ignoring that the problem is the entire fucking system and not just one politician or one party.
Furthermore, establishing that the economy is strong is a necessary counterpoint to inevitable GOP talking points of āOf COURSE the rich canāt pay you more; the economy, she is vewwy sick right nowā.
Society is busted - but Biden trying to get the messaging out ahead of the GOP isnāt the sinister plot the OP seems to think it is.
well, it is primarily the āfaultā of one political partyā¦ itās just not the one currently residing at 1600 penn ave nw
I agree with you, but still think this is still an overly divisive take. This isnāt all directed at you or your comment - just some general observations that I want to share.
The fact is the damn near all federal politicians and their policies are in favor of their corporate and high-net-worth donors.
Democrats had the full trifecta after the 2020 election, executive branch and both houses of congress. The didnāt raise the minimum wage. Didnāt rollback trump-era tax cuts. At the end of the day, failed to take decisive action to reverse the wealth/income inequality plaguing the US.
The same during Obama administration - which set the stage for one of the biggest upward wealth transfers in history in the post-2008 economy.
Sure, both of these D leaders have made select changes that are against R policies (healthcare and student loan debt). But they arenāt our saviors. Theyāre undeniably shills for their big donors. Period.
This is why term limits and donor transparency (I.e., legislating against the Citizens United ruling) are necessary changes. We need actual fucking leadership. Ones who arenāt afraid of making moves that will piss off big donors. Ones who only want to be in politics for a few years to actually make the country better and improve lives for the masses. We simply do not have that option right now, outside a few rare examples.
It can happen. We just canāt be complacent with the current shit, no matter which uniform theyāre in. We need real change led by real leaders.
I used to think this exact same thing. Itās false & now a subversive #GOP talking point.
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2012/09/09/when-obama-had-total-control/985146007/
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The technical details of that article are valid. A simple majority doesnāt mean you can pass any legislation you want.
But it does mean you hold whatās usually called the trifecta by most who are interested in this sort of thing, and it also means your party should be at basically the peak of its power. Minimizing this fact is looking at the trees and missing the forest.
And even then, this article admits that Obama actually DID have this for 4 months. They could have had bills ready to go and sent them through like wildfire. But they didnāt. To say āitās not the democratsā faultā is letting these leaders off way too easily.
The republicans after the 2016 election were able to pass a comprehensive tax bill which greatly benefited the wealthy in exchange for minuscule and temporary benefits to others. They also repealed countless Obama-admin executive actions and fucking STACKED the courts. How? By using their majority powers to put things to a vote and winning over the few opposing votes they needed through bribery.
All without the full 60 seats this article claims is necessary. The democrats when they hold the trifecta should be able to do the same thing.
The democrats are not pulling their weight when they have the chance to. 60 seats or not, having the simple majority and the executive power should be enough to get shit done. They let republicans do it, then fail to do so when they can. Donāt let someone convince you they just havenāt had the chance and theyāre your saviors.
Did President Obama have ātotal controlā of Congress? Yes, for 4 entire months. And it was during that very small time window that Obamacare was passed in the Senate with 60 all-Democratic votes.
You: Why didnāt the Democrats 14 years ago do the same thing the Fascists just did in Congress?
That you are thinking this makes me doubt you were even cognizant of politics in 2009.
Obamacare did very little to actually change the insurance or medical industries and is a perfect example of what Iām saying. If you think the democratic leaders are willing to piss off big donors, youāre wrong. It provided more insurance access and subsidized the existing industry. It did NOT tackle the inherent problems with the US healthcare industry in any meaningful way. Was it better than the alternative? Absolutely. Was it the change thatās actually needed? Not at all.
Me: Democrats have held the trifecta TWICE since 2008 and had the executive leadership for all but 4 years. Thatās 11 fucking years as the President and 4 of those with majority of both houses on congress. They have had the power, full stop.
Republicans meanwhile held the presidency for 4 of those years, trifecta for 2. And got a massive tax cut, greatly increased control of the courts, and gutted multiple federal agencies and budgets with lasting consequences.
Your personal attacks are a little wild man. You have no idea how old I am or what experience I have. Iāll just leave it at I am extremely well educated, knowledgeable, and experienced in the political, legal, and economic spheres. Not armchair analysis bullshit. Real world understanding and experience of how this whole system works. With multiple degrees and the resume to back it up.
And the only thing I am saying is do not trust current federal leadership to do anything except keep their big donors happy. Thatās the system weāre in. Is one party better than the other? Absolutely. Has that party actually made progress in the fight for the people? Fuck no.
If youāre won over by a ābut they havenāt had 60 seats!ā argument and donāt think we need change thatās more than the current leaders or system offers, thatās pretty short sighted. You should be furious that these leaders arenāt doing more to help.
And what Iām saying is quit fucking spreading #fascist #GOP talking points.
We already know the democrats are a big tent. We already know they should be three separate parties. We also understand math, game theory & how what you want doesnāt fucking work at all with First Past the Post voting.
The #fascist #GOP is outlawing other voting methods for that reason.
Pick and support a fucking side, #fascists or everyone else.
You donāt think I can criticize my government? Because someone on the other team says the same thing?
I am absolutely pissed that democratic leaders have done jack shit when they have held so much power since 2008. And Iāll shout that from the top of any mountain.
Absolutely nowhere am I saying R leaders are better. Iām saying we can and should be pissed about this fact of D leaders. You are the one sewing discourse against someone that is calling for progress. Not me.
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While I donāt necessarily disagree with you, itās important to note that a centerpiece of Bidenās reelection campaign is āBidenomicsā. HEāS the one trying to link the current/future economic trajectory to his presidency here, not us.
Thatās just one of the many reasons this message feels so tone-deaf. It reminds me of those ridiculous āI did that!ā stickers that people were putting on gas pumps. Only now, itās the Biden campaign thatās basically saying āyup, we really did do thatā but for the entire economy.
And to add to this itās not only the strength of the economy, but also the effect that the strong economy is having on workers as a plank of his campaign is my biggest gripe. For a good number of people in my region gross wages rose over the last year or two, but nowhere near enough to meet inflation. The base rent alone on non-subsidized units have more than doubled since the pandemic with an anemic response in wages or public assistance. In fact, the wage increases a lot of service sector jobs are seeing has had an unintended consequence of driving people off of public assistance because theyāre now over the federal guidelines despite below AMI.
Do you know whatās in the āInflation Reduction Actā that Biden and the Democrats passed? This dude kicked pharma companies in the nuts and it sounds like you have no idea.
Did they now? When will the Pharma part take effect? Are court cases heading to the Supreme Court to overturn that function?
Personally, I donāt think the IRA means anything for Pharma companies. SCOTUS will get their backs and block anything that cuts their profits as unconstitutional. Itās 6-3 and they love love love Pharma companies.
Do you know anything about the act? Are you ājust asking questionsā?
Why donāt you look up the answers so you can contribute informed opinions.
Ah yes, as everyone knows, the economy is made up entirely of our interactions with pharma companies.
US Census data definitely hasnāt recorded a yet another year of decline for real median household income. Supplemental Poverty definitely didnāt see its first overall rise in the last year in over a decade.. Child Supplemental Poverty definitely didnāt double last year after maintaining a historic low due to the expiration of child tax credits. The Gini Index certainly isnāt maintaining its 50 year high.. Personal savings as a percentage of disposable income definitely didnāt decrease by 13% in three years. And in conjunction with all this, the ticking time bomb of the household debt service ratio is certainly not recently tending upwards and is projected to continue due to high interest rates
But yeah, totally, us stupid ungrateful American workers who went a couple years without wage growth and are further squeezed out of the possibility of homeownership probably just havenāt read the IRA. Otherwise weād join all you very well-read geniuses celebrating an inflation-locked price increase specifically for a portion of Medicare Part B and D biologics which lack generics and which doesnāt limit launch prices at all. Oh, and whose non-interference exceptions donāt take effect for another two years and are contingent on a good-faith agreement from a presidential cabinet position which has a very real chance of falling into Republican control. Specifically, the Republican who has already made overtures towards getting rid of drug rebates.
Crazy that some of us are not more excited about the economy. Probably just in our imagination, huh?
Pretending one party isnāt much more behind that kind of economy than the other is disingenuous as well. Dems at least try to put in benefits to support workers who arenāt paid a lot or in some cases have even tried to raise wages (which by itself is only a half step). Republicans are against benefits and against supporting wages.
So you can say one is misguided because theyāre trying to support both corporate and individual interests. But ignoring that half of the equation is not helpful.
You canāt just say both are equally bad as that simply justifies not voting or equating voting for either is bad. Yes, both parties are not āgoodā but one would be much easier to āfixā than the other.