Examples of Democratic Party leadership

[Dryxi]

Analysis: 8 terrible numbers for Joe Biden in the new Pew poll

There's a tendency when a new poll comes out to look at the so-called "topline" numbers -- presidential approval being the main one -- and then move on.

amp.cnn.com

Here are eight OTHER numbers that tell the full story:

1. 44%. That's the percentage of Americans who say they are either "very" or "somewhat" confident that Biden can handle the challenges posed by Covid-19. Less than a year ago -- March 2021 -- that number was at 65%. Among Democrats, that number has absolutely cratered -- from 92% in March 2021 to 69% now.

2. 76%. That's the number of Democrats who say they approve of the job Biden is doing in office. It's down seven points from Pew polling last fall and down drastically from the 95% support of Democrats Biden enjoyed in March 2021. Around 1 in 3 Democrats (37%) "strongly" approve of the job Biden is doing.

3. 30%. Just 3 in 10 Americans are either "somewhat" or "very" confident that Biden can "bring the country closer together," which is one of the core pillars on which he built his presidential campaign. "Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together. Uniting our people. And uniting our nation," Biden said in his inauguration speech.

4. 20%. Only 1 in 5 Americans say that Biden will be a successful president. Among Democrats, only 1 in 3 say they feel that way. A plurality (43%) of Americans believes Biden will be an unsuccessful president. While he's only a year in, that sort of pessimism can be a self-fulfilling prophesy.

5. 72%. A large majority of Americans say that current economic conditions are either "fair" or "poor." Even among Democrats, only 36% say that the economy is either "good" or "excellent."

6. 35%. Asked whether they thought the economy would be better or worse next year, roughly 1 in 4 took the pessimist's view. Just 27% said it would be better than it is today, while 37% said the economy would be about the same as it is today.

7. 89%. That's the number of Americans who said that "prices of food and consumer goods" are worse today than they were a year ago. Of that 89%, 60% said prices were "a lot" worse, while 29% said they were "somewhat" worse. Another 82% said gas prices are worse this year than last.

8. 69%. Almost 7 in 10 Americans say that the coronavirus pandemic continues to be a major threat to the health of the economy. That number includes large majorities of Democrats (74%) and Republicans (66%).

The overall picture these numbers paint? A public that has lost confidence in Biden's ability to get us to the other end of this pandemic and that has turned negative about the broader prospects for his presidency. People are worried about the economy -- and Covid's impact on it -- while feeling the pinch of inflation on their daily necessities.

It's a remarkably grim outlook. And one that suggests that Biden's party is headed for a major comeuppance in November -- unless things change both drastically and soon.

 

[BarknPunkin]

Analysis: 8 terrible numbers for Joe Biden in the new Pew poll

There's a tendency when a new poll comes out to look at the so-called "topline" numbers -- presidential approval being the main one -- and then move on.

amp.cnn.com

#9. 306 Electoral votes - That's all the approval he needs.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Timing is everything....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bridge in Pittsburgh collapses hours before scheduled Biden visit to talk infrastructure | CNN

Ten people were injured when a snow-covered bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed Friday morning, hours ahead of a previously scheduled visit to the city by President Joe Biden to discuss infrastructure.

www.cnn.com

 

[schuylaar]

so is a taste of Monthly Child Tax Credit..WV wants it back, Senator Manchin.

Parents struggle after monthly child tax credit payments end

Losing the enhanced monthly child tax credit has made it difficult for some parents to afford necessities like diapers and day care. Democratic senators who support the enhanced credit are urging President Joe Biden to preserve it in his Build Back Better plan.

www.cnn.com

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

so is a taste of Monthly Child Tax Credit..WV wants it back, Senator Manchin.

Parents struggle after monthly child tax credit payments end

Losing the enhanced monthly child tax credit has made it difficult for some parents to afford necessities like diapers and day care. Democratic senators who support the enhanced credit are urging President Joe Biden to preserve it in his Build Back Better plan.

www.cnn.com

i've started to write this half a dozen times and keep starting over...so i'll say it as simply as i can, and deal with the fallout....
this seems designed to keep people in a welfare state, dependent upon a government they hate. it will just perpetuate the ghettos and the myth that those that live in them do so because they can't do any better for themselves...
yes it's a material help right now, but i don't think it's a healthy choice for families to be dependent upon government handouts to survive

 

[mooray]

i've started to write this half a dozen times and keep starting over...so i'll say it as simply as i can, and deal with the fallout....
this seems designed to keep people in a welfare state, dependent upon a government they hate. it will just perpetuate the ghettos and the myth that those that live in them do so because they can't do any better for themselves...
yes it's a material help right now, but i don't think it's a healthy choice for families to be dependent upon government handouts to survive

It's always tough to ride that line of helping people just enough to be humane, but not too much to create a dependency, because once a dependency is created, it only increases.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

It's always tough to ride that line of helping people just enough to be humane, but not too much to create a dependency, because once a dependency is created, it only increases.

thats exactly the thing...things are tough right now, but they aren't always going to be tough, and it seems like an incredibly bad idea for the government to subsidize families...we've gotten to the point that American farmers are getting 40% of their income directly from government subsidies
https://www.cato.org/commentary/examining-americas-farm-subsidy-problem#

 

[schuylaar]

i've started to write this half a dozen times and keep starting over...so i'll say it as simply as i can, and deal with the fallout....
this seems designed to keep people in a welfare state, dependent upon a government they hate. it will just perpetuate the ghettos and the myth that those that live in them do so because they can't do any better for themselves...
yes it's a material help right now, but i don't think it's a healthy choice for families to be dependent upon government handouts to survive

do you know what Familial Social Security Disability Insurance is, Roger?

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

do you know what Familial Social Security Disability Insurance is, Roger?

yeah, it's ssi money your immediate family can get if you get disabled, your spouse, ex spouse, and children under 18 or still in school up to...21?
theres a bunch of rules to it, i never had to deal with it, but had a friend that did...he was frustrated with it a lot, and it took them months and months to get it

 

[Fogdog]

It's always tough to ride that line of helping people just enough to be humane, but not too much to create a dependency, because once a dependency is created, it only increases.

Empirical observation of the conditions people being "helped" live under informs me that we are at very little risk of coddling the poor if we bumped up aid for food and housing. Maybe dental care?

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

Empirical observation of the conditions people being "helped" live under informs me that we are at very little risk of coddling the poor if we bumped up aid for food and housing. Maybe dental care?

i personally think we pay more than enough taxes to already have socialized medicine, just take about 20% of the military's budget and that should pay for the best insurance available for the entire country, with dental and eye...
there are people that legitimately need help, and they ought to get it, but in the mean time, we ought to be working very hard to fix the social problems that are the cause of people needing help.

 

[mooray]

Empirical observation of the conditions people being "helped" live under informs me that we are at very little risk of coddling the poor if we bumped up aid for food and housing. Maybe dental care?

I do agree that the income standards for most assistance programs, seem "fair", save for maybe some of the Covid distribution checks. If you're a family of four making $25k/yr, you probably need help, no getting around it. Not a fan of giving cash to people though, and definitely not a fan of anything like UBI. It's like drilling a hole in your boat that only gets bigger every year.

 

[Fogdog]

I do agree that the income standards for most assistance programs, seem "fair", save for maybe some of the Covid distribution checks. If you're a family of four making $25k/yr, you probably need help, no getting around it. Not a fan of giving cash to people though, and definitely not a fan of anything like UBI. It's like drilling a hole in your boat that only gets bigger every year.

Studs Turkel talked about a meeting he had with some big wig over lunch to discuss funding education.

He related his reaction when the big wig said "we can't just throw money at education". His response was "It can't hurt"

And, really, I don't see any harm in programs that will fund housing for those who can't afford it. Same with food. Same with healthcare.

The idea that we will create welfare dependency if a safety net exists to prevent people from living under bridges sounds truthy to me, meaning it sounds good but might not be true. Is there anything to share that supports your view that directing more spending to reduce hunger and homelessness will turn people into slackers?

 

[mooray]

Don't get me wrong, this perspective isn't from wanting to be a tightwad. I'm fully down with spending on education. That sounds like smart spending. I'm also not afraid to spend to reduce hunger and homelessness, but I question how. Because, we tend to be lazy as hell, so we think we can just write a check and fix something, but it's never worked that way, or it's never worked very well. People have a hundred different paths to homelessness, which means there are a hundred areas which need addressing and the lazy aunt method with her gift card probably doesn't get the job done. So, the problem I have with UBI is about efficiency, because it's really not cool to be lazy and wasteful with someone else's money. And you see the problem with that, right? They probably want you to be wasteful, because it feeds big corps. Profiting under the guise of compassion, giving you your own money of which they siphon. Bless their kindness.

 

[Fogdog]

Don't get me wrong, this perspective isn't from wanting to be a tightwad. I'm fully down with spending on education. That sounds like smart spending. I'm also not afraid to spend to reduce hunger and homelessness, but I question how. Because, we tend to be lazy as hell, so we think we can just write a check and fix something, but it's never worked that way, or it's never worked very well. People have a hundred different paths to homelessness, which means there are a hundred areas which need addressing and the lazy aunt method with her gift card probably doesn't get the job done. So, the problem I have with UBI is about efficiency, because it's really not cool to be lazy and wasteful with someone else's money. And you see the problem with that, right? They probably want you to be wasteful, because it feeds big corps. Profiting under the guise of compassion, giving you your own money of which they siphon. Bless their kindness.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) measures "social spending" in terms of:

Social expenditure comprises cash benefits, direct in-kind provision of goods and services, and tax breaks with social purposes. Benefits may be targeted at low-income households, the elderly, disabled, sick, unemployed, or young persons. To be considered "social", programmes have to involve either redistribution of resources across households or compulsory participation.

They list other categories of spending that roll up into what they call social protection.

• Social spending
• Pension spending
• Public unemployment spending
• Family benefits public spending
• Social benefits to households
• Public spending on incapacity
• Public spending on labour markets

In other words, UBI is not really sufficient and maybe not even the right answer.

What I can say is the US is not anywhere close to other similar nations in terms of social spending and it shows in many ways that are outcomes related to poverty. So, I don't understand your concern unless its just a philosophical one.

 

[mooray]

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) measures "social spending" in terms of:

Social expenditure comprises cash benefits, direct in-kind provision of goods and services, and tax breaks with social purposes. Benefits may be targeted at low-income households, the elderly, disabled, sick, unemployed, or young persons. To be considered "social", programmes have to involve either redistribution of resources across households or compulsory participation.

They list other categories of spending that roll up into what they call social protection.

• Social spending
• Pension spending
• Public unemployment spending
• Family benefits public spending
• Social benefits to households
• Public spending on incapacity
• Public spending on labour markets

In other words, UBI is not really sufficient and maybe not even the right answer.

What I can say is the US is not anywhere close to other similar nations in terms of social spending and it shows in many ways that are outcomes related to poverty. So, I don't understand your concern unless its just a philosophical one.

Short answer is that cash is inefficient to the goal(covering basic needs) and that UBI thus far has only been presented as an addition, not a replacement for anything, so it's adding a weight that only grows. As it is right now, just social security cannot keep up and runs out(i.e. reduced output to meet input) in 12 years and if that happens, some elderly people will literally die as a result. So, we're not even close to being in a position to consider increasing weight on a system that's not sustainable. Considering UBI right now is like when a teenager buys some trick aluminum heads for a motor that's knocking, it's completely irresponsible. All hypothetical regarding UBI of course, since it doesn't really exist, save for a few micro experiments.

 

[Fogdog]

Short answer is that cash is inefficient to the goal(covering basic needs) and that UBI thus far has only been presented as an addition, not a replacement for anything, so it's adding a weight that only grows. As it is right now, just social security cannot keep up and runs out(i.e. reduced output to meet input) in 12 years and if that happens, some elderly people will literally die as a result. So, we're not even close to being in a position to consider increasing weight on a system that's not sustainable. Considering UBI right now is like when a teenager buys some trick aluminum heads for a motor that's knocking, it's completely irresponsible. All hypothetical regarding UBI of course, since it doesn't really exist, save for a few micro experiments.

I don't know why you are so fixated on UBI. That is not my argument. Your hand wringing doesn't do it for me either. That bit about social security "about to fail" is a false argument too. It's been dragged down by conservatives and the failures inherent in capitalism.

The US lags most of the developed world in the health and well being of its poor. We are a democracy and might choose to accept that condition. But then again, our society is in crisis, in part because the numbers of poor are growing. Those people are voting in larger numbers and the conservative status quo is threatened. Republicans know this. They are doing their utmost to take the vote away from poor people to keep them down. So, it's not as if we can just stand about muttering nebulous truthisms like "can't throw money at it" and expect things to work themselves out.

 

[mooray]

Well in your quote it mentions social expenses comprised of cash as being one of the benefits, which would include UBI, but regardless of the form, I'm not a fan of giving cash as a means of trying to care for people's basic needs, save for earned retirement programs like social security.

Totally agree about healthcare and it's one of the reasons why I want to move to Europe. The US always ranks thirty-something in quality of care, which is a joke. As we age, that becomes really important.

My opinion is that people are lifted out of poverty by providing them with the tools to do so, like education and healthcare, which was a reason why I liked Bernie, even though he's not really liked by most around here.

Totally agree about voting too.

Not sure why social security's upcoming shortage is false, but then somehow being dragged down. Can't really have it both ways. The latter is the reason for the former and they're not going anywhere, so...be worried about it.

 

[Fogdog]

So much for Republican propaganda regarding the economy:

There were 4.6 million more job openings than unemployed workers in December

Job openings totaled nearly 11 million in December while the Great Resignation cooled off, according to Labor Department data Tuesday.

www.cnbc.com

• Job openings totaled nearly 11 million in December, more than 4.6 million above the total unemployment level, according to the Labor Department.
• The so-called quits level declined, signaling a slowdown in a trend known as the Great Resignation.
• Elsewhere, the ISM Manufacturing Index showed a big gain in prices, reflecting ongoing inflation pressures.

Oh yes, inflation. Yeah it was pretty bad last year. Workers wages outstripped inflation last year for the first time in a long while. Inflation is a concern, just saying workers have leverage now.

 

[Fogdog]

Well in your quote it mentions social expenses comprised of cash as being one of the benefits, which would include UBI, but regardless of the form, I'm not a fan of giving cash as a means of trying to care for people's basic needs, save for earned retirement programs like social security.

Totally agree about healthcare and it's one of the reasons why I want to move to Europe. The US always ranks thirty-something in quality of care, which is a joke. As we age, that becomes really important.

My opinion is that people are lifted out of poverty by providing them with the tools to do so, like education and healthcare, which was a reason why I liked Bernie, even though he's not really liked by most around here.

Totally agree about voting too.

Not sure why social security's upcoming shortage is false, but then somehow being dragged down. Can't really have it both ways. The latter is the reason for the former and they're not going anywhere, so...be worried about it.

Social security is a matter of political will, not some impending crash. Voters will not accept across the board cuts in SS payments.