Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 19
oday the unemployment rate is 4.2%. Inflation is dropping, now at 2.6%. Last month, 227,000 jobs were added nationwide. The gross domestic product is up nearly 5 percent from last year. Joe Biden has overseen a booming stock market, double-digit growth, and the lowest unemployment rate in decades.
Check back December 9, 2025
No. of Recommendations: 5
Today the unemployment rate is 4.2%. Inflation is dropping, now at 2.6%. Last month, 227,000 jobs were added nationwide. The gross domestic product is up nearly 5% from last year.
Joe Biden has overseen a booming stock market, double-digit growth, and the lowest unemployment rate in decades. Check back December 9, 2025
Yes and the S&P500 currently sits at 6,052.
Please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright positions, and you know where the emergency exit doors are...it's gonna be a bumpy ride!
No. of Recommendations: 1
oday the unemployment rate is 4.2%. Inflation is dropping, now at 2.6%. Last month, 227,000 jobs were added nationwide. The gross domestic product is up nearly 5 percent from last year. Joe Biden has overseen a booming stock market, double-digit growth, and the lowest unemployment rate in decades.
Trump will take credit and the MAGA cult will shower him with praise and say "promises kept!".
No. of Recommendations: 1
No. of Recommendations: 3
Wall Street is planning on profiting from the great gutting of America.
And somehow the poor MAGA fools think Trump is on THEIR side. Pathetic.
No. of Recommendations: 3
And somehow the poor MAGA fools think Trump is on THEIR side.He is on their side. They just don't view the conflict as being between them and Wall Street moguls. They see the conflict being between them and the upper-middle class. Ruy Teixeira summarized it well.
To put it bluntly, voters, particularly working-class voters, harbor deep resentment toward elites who they feel are telling them how to live their lives, even what to think and say, and incidentally are living a great deal more comfortably than they are. This is not the rich as conventionally defined by economic populism but rather the professional-dominated educated upper middle class who occupy positions of administrative and cultural power. By and large, these are Democrats in Democratic-dominated institutions. Looked at in this context, truly populist Democrats might want to say, with Pogo: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/economic-populism...IOW, the MAGA folks aren't in a fight with the 0.1%. They're in a fight with the upper 10%. And if they can join with the 0.1% to push back on the rest of the upper 9.9%, they'll gladly make that alliance.
No. of Recommendations: 6
Just got notice from Medicare, Part-B is going up 7.5%, from $172/month to $185/month, starting
in 2025.
I blame Trump. I thought he was bringing prices down on everything.
Did Trump actually lie about bringing prices down ?? I am trying
to process this, I thought everything Trump said was the Gospel Truth.
No. of Recommendations: 8
He is on their side.
Nah. He panders to 'their side.'
This is classic: working-class voters, harbor deep resentment toward elites who they feel are telling them how to live their lives, even what to think and say,
They feel that way because there's a lot of money to be made spreading that message to the lower middle and lower economic brackets, the "working-class voters". Limbaugh, Gingrich, and frauds like Trump use the power of mass media to spread misinformation to convince "working-class voters" that upper-middle class people, "elites" are the enemy.
The 10% are 'others'; a convenient buffer for the 1% . Trump creates a scapegoat very well.
No. of Recommendations: 2
They feel that way because there's a lot of money to be made spreading that message to the lower middle and lower economic brackets, the "working-class voters".
No, they feel that way because there's a huge gulf between someone making $500K per year and someone making $50K per year. The former is not in the same economic class as the latter. Neither of them is Bill Gates....but that doesn't create any natural economic affinity or overlap in their economic interests.
It's Democrats that have tried to convince themselves that the the lower middle and lower economic brackets and the top 10% (less the top 1%) can form a natural coalition because none of them are billionaires....but that's probably not true. Upper-middle income professionals simply have different economic interests than lower or middle class voters - to say nothing of the very different cultural values that correlate to income and education levels.
There is no 99% - because the folks at the bottom decile have no little more in common with the folks in the Top 9% in that group than they do with the 1%.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Hey...... what do you mean by Club 401k?
(Someone was on this for 15+ years,,,, ;) Too bad it became too late before the rest got a clue.
No. of Recommendations: 2
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/watch-apple-price-l...Thank you Mr. Trump! Hey, if half of America wants to screw themselves, the environment, the climate, and our allies, who am I to complain about the benefit to my stock portfolio? And solely for the sake of that, I'm hoping Trump's DOJ will quash the antitrust case against Apple. MAGA!
No. of Recommendations: 11
Hey...... what do you mean by Club 401k?
(Someone was on this for 15+ years,,,, ;) Too bad it became too late before the rest got a clue.
Too bad that someone prefers to engage in performing weird alt-personas communicating in little more than catchphrases, rather than actually having a real conversation with the people who try to talk with them.
When we've asked you "what do you mean by Club 401K," it was an effort to get you to actually clarify what you were trying to communicate, instead of constantly spouting a dozen or so phrases over and over again.
No. of Recommendations: 6
>>And somehow the poor MAGA fools think Trump is on THEIR side.<<
He is on their side. They just don't view the conflict as being between them and Wall Street moguls. They see the conflict being between them and the upper-middle class. Ruy Teixeira summarized it well.
To put it bluntly, voters, particularly working-class voters, harbor deep resentment toward elites who they feel are telling them how to live their lives, even what to think and say, and incidentally are living a great deal more comfortably than they are. This is not the rich as conventionally defined by economic populism but rather the professional-dominated educated upper middle class who occupy positions of administrative and cultural power. By and large, these are Democrats in Democratic-dominated institutions. Looked at in this context, truly populist Democrats might want to say, with Pogo: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/economic-populism...
IOW, the MAGA folks aren't in a fight with the 0.1%. They're in a fight with the upper 10%. And if they can join with the 0.1% to push back on the rest of the upper 9.9%, they'll gladly make that alliance. - albaby---------------
Absolutely, nailed it, sing it sister. Why has this post been up for 12 hours and I am the first to rec it?
The denial of reality by the liberals here never ceases to amaze.
No. of Recommendations: 1
oo bad that someone prefers to engage in performing weird alt-personas communicating in little more than catchphrases, rather than actually having a real conversation with the people who try to talk with them.
When we've asked you "what do you mean by Club 401K," it was an effort to get you to actually clarify what you were trying to communicate, instead of constantly spouting a dozen or so phrases over and over again.
****
Go personal all you like, I'll keep replying with current events - some explosive and fun, others electoral and administrative :)
But, glad that even The Campus realizes who Club 401K is :)
Kinda sucks when them ham and eggars beat Club 401K and now you people are reduced to hoping your little institutions make it huh?
Hey, the Campus understood something. Too bad it was during remedial session.
Summa-Cum-Lousy-and-Way-Too-Late :)
With any luck, kids playing Nintendo will flip a coin for who gets to be Luigi :)
No. of Recommendations: 9
Go personal all you like,
You're the one who brought it up. If you wonder why people kept asking you to "explain Club 401K," the answer is because you don't engage in direct conversation with people.
No. of Recommendations: 1
It doesn't take a Campus yum-yum to figure out who Club 401K is.
They know it was them :)
They just couldn't stand it.
But hey, others have spoken in my stead :). And on 1/6 they acted too.
Enjoy :) It's bigger than me. Haha popcorn time is only starting. There's still time to run back and get some juju-bees. Though I was a Mike and Ike guy though as a kid we had to bring our own food.
No. of Recommendations: 7
It doesn't take a Campus yum-yum to figure out who Club 401K is.
Jedi, I remember we used to actually have actual discussions over on TMF. What happened? Why do you only post like this now?
No. of Recommendations: 3
Nothing! Anyone who wants to have a non personal discussion - here I am.
But if someone is too late and too out of touch to figure out who Club 401K was for over a decade --- at least own up to it and say 'dammit the train left the station. What can we do now? How about we have stakeholders from all sides - even MAGA - talk for real---not shit Google links that matter on Campus. If someone is too insulated int he Bubble to realize who Club 401K is - until it's too late - and doesn't want to understand that perception IS reality in many people's minds --- well - they can whine at me all they like but in that moment, their democracy got just a bit shittier and their oceans got a tad warmer.....
BTW - "Jedi" was one of the few - who would go against his own side or admit his philosophy was wrong at times. Never just copy and pasting the latest dumbass SubStack or FOX shit.
No. of Recommendations: 5
"... IOW, the MAGA folks aren't in a fight with the 0.1%. They're in a fight with the upper 10%. And if they can join with the 0.1% to push back on the rest of the upper 9.9%, they'll gladly make that alliance."
That's depressing as hell. I'm glad I won't have to live too many years in this hellscape. I do feel bad for you young folks.
No. of Recommendations: 5
It doesn't take a Campus yum-yum to figure out who Club 401K is.
Jedi, I remember we used to actually have actual discussions over on TMF. What happened? Why do you only post like this now?
I wonder what happened to Jedi too.
No. of Recommendations: 3
Jedi, I remember we used to actually have actual discussions over on TMF. What happened? Why do you only post like this now?
Take a look at what most of the lefties on here direct toward each rightie for the answer...
No. of Recommendations: 4
ALBABY
I just said a long time ago -- - a few things: (This is when ol' Jedi cared.....and gave a shit )
1.)"Free Trade" - certainly benefits some - but it depresses others and Club 401K saying "here'a a tax credit" or "get a green job" doesn't cut it, and it's going to lead to an army of Americans - majority men - who cannot be men anymore. Cannot have a livelihood and cannot start families
Of course .)I was lectured with Google links and theory and then personally attacked and told "Beaver Cleaver - you want the old days when wives got beaten" --- Umm no, but wives had an easier time if the bills were paid and kids were happy and so was she. Since then she got tattoos, got named Kayleigh, works by the hour to try to support her baby - whose baby daddy is with the next broad. And YES it is true not only were these "white jobs" - but they were BLACK JOBS too. Take your Google links to these towns and lecture them - and get Barron elected next why don't you -lol.
2.)Immigration - I said unbridled immigration, mostly unskilled and in segments - NOT assimilated will lead to resentment amongst the locals - many of whom are already pissed that they are leaving the middle class. I said that IF the Melting Pot becomes a mosaic - it will ADD to the trivialization fire - because economics has already started the flame. I said that not having a common Americanism, a common pride, a common LANGUAGE, and a common history will make us easier to divide and rip off. by the Ruling Class. I said we have potential to be like some ancient societies - where to this day people from one state - barely talk to people from another state and therefore, are easier to be divided and defeated from within - JUST like Europeans did time and again to societies like that.
3.)CULTURE - I stated that yes, bad things happen to good people. Yes none of us are perfect. BUT I said the "fashionable" march away from the stable nuclear family - will hurt us economically, socially, educationally, politically. I said it'll make the public treasury more responsible for stuff DAD and MOM used to be responsible for - and it'll suck resources from vital things.
4.)FOREIGN AID - "% of gdp " "we sell weapons and make money!" - stick it up your 401K asses. I had the audacity to say - why do they have bullet trains and roads and health care - while we defend them? AND LOOK - THERE'S NOW BACKLAS
I got heinously personally attacked for all of this, especially for #3. Hochizen was the ONLY Leftist who talked with me about it on TMF and via email. He was with me on #1 already - but he came around on #2 and #3 - and I CAME AROUND TO HIM- where I noticed that simple "awshucks" and "common sense" had devolved into IGNORANCE on my side. We convinced each other. But ALL the other Leftists really went after me personally. They were too scared, too political correct. Sure, to this day their bullshit stats and links are there but the fact is, Wade and Kayleigh's American dream is "I paid my bills this week". Jamal and Yolanda were used to living that way thanks to Liberals sabotaging them. (Don't like the terminology? Come to the real world dipshits, lol).
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, Kwan, Abdul. and Samir are KICKING SOCIOECONOMIC ASS in America from the entry level up to the C-suite just ike I said they would why? Because those Beaver Cleaver antiquated extremist values are alive in well in those circles - that's why.
So now you got Club 401K as smug and out of touch as ever. Pushing the rest of America into MAGA's arms.
And you've done that from the USA to UK to France to India to Austria to Italy - to varying degrees
Bottom line: I was right on. Club 401K was dead wrong.
And now you are morphing into what I said " "A 1st world country, with visible 3rd world traits".
So yeah, when they kept going at me personally - I figured, screw it. Let all this happen. Cheer it on. and PUNISHMENT will take place.
in the end a few of them - got me banned just by FA'ING me when I called them "Sheeple" as if a 20 year poster should be banned for that. Oh well.
But, lol, here they are. Insolvent. Divided. Tribal. Violent. Unsafe. Not even relating to each other as people. Some richer. Some poorer. More fearful from top to bottom. Unable to do simple things to get ready for the future.
Believe me, I introduced many themes and topics that were NOT a part of the Sheeple FOX-MSNBC drumbeat.
Now - lol - it's too late.
Serious discussions? Get out of the campus mentality. Get a passport. Travel to America. Learn to understand their fears. If not agree - then at least respect and even empathize with their mindset. Learn that the S/P 500 isn't the end all be all to life in America for most Americans.
You People won't. :). Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa fiscal cliff, WW3, *official* post bill of rights America, that is where I"m taking you next.
Jaws 2 - this time, it's personal :) haha
No. of Recommendations: 1
"trivialization" was "TRIBALISATION" if there even is a word lol
No. of Recommendations: 9
Believe me, I introduced many themes and topics that were NOT a part of the Sheeple FOX-MSNBC drumbeat.
Now - lol - it's too late.
It's never too late. I guess I don't understand why you keep parroting the "Sheeple" "CLUB 401K" "BAAAAAA" memes over and over and over again, rather than talking about these topics. I suppose it scratches an itch for you. I just don't get it.
No. of Recommendations: 1
It's never too late. I guess I don't understand why you keep parroting the "Sheeple" "CLUB 401K" "BAAAAAA" memes over and over and over again, rather than talking about these topics. I suppose it scratches an itch for you. I just don't get it.
*****
Let me know when "Nazi!" "Hitler!" And all the other name-calling towards Bush Supporters and now Trump supporters stops.
Until then I know you don't get it - but yeah. I'll keep holding skunks up by the tail :)
Itch? Current events scratch all the itches I warned against, then predicted, and now cheer wildly.
No. of Recommendations: 7
It's never too late. I guess I don't understand why you keep parroting the "Sheeple" "CLUB 401K" "BAAAAAA" memes over and over and over again, rather than talking about these topics. I suppose it scratches an itch for you. I just don't get it.
Me neither. It's off-puting to put sheeple in your name, so he wants that. Where I was half the people on 401Ks were conservative. BAAA seems to refer back to sheeple. So he talks to the wall and proclaims himself wise, above the milling crowd. But Dope is the godfather. I could understand the old Jedi. This persona wants to not be understood, and is happy to make it not worthwhile to read him.
No. of Recommendations: 2
Me neither. It's off-puting to put sheeple in your name, so he wants that. Where I was half the people on 401Ks were conservative. BAAA seems to refer back to sheeple. So he talks to the wall and proclaims himself wise, above the milling crowd. But Dope is the godfather. I could understand the old Jedi. This persona wants to not be understood, and is happy to make it not worthwhile to read him.
***
I just wrote on multiple issues but it's "You Sheeple" who focus on me - yet again and that's cool!
The issues I wrote about - you deep down can't confront.
Sheeple indeed.
So keep it about "me" - that's ok. But from New York to Paris, my replies will keep on coming :)
Haha
No. of Recommendations: 2
No, they feel that way because there's a huge gulf between someone making $500K per year and someone making $50K per year.
I understand the classist gulch and agree that it's a dilemma for a democracy.
I'm merely argueing that Trump is a fraud who isn't actually 'on their side.' He merely panders to their concerns because it's extremely profitable.
Before we go any further... now that we have comfortably settled on 'elites' for one side, can we pick a word as its antonym?
"Working-class voters" suggests that 'elites' don't work. I know contractors who make very comfortable 6 figure incomes.
Mrs.Castorini: "That’s my house."
You mean the whole house?
"Yes."
My God, it’s a mansion!
"It’s a house."
I live in a one-bedroom apartment.What exactly does your husband do?
"He’s a plumber."
That explains it.
No. of Recommendations: 1
"He’s a plumber."
If you’ve ever had water damage to your house because of plumbing issues, you know a good plumber is worth their weight in gold.
No. of Recommendations: 1
I'm merely argueing that Trump is a fraud who isn't actually 'on their side.' He merely panders to their concerns because it's extremely profitable.
I think, though, that this is also a problem that Democrats have in structuring their coalition. This belief that motivation matters.
I frequently saw lots of justifications of the IRA that ran like this. That the Democrats should have got more credit for the IRA because it was "intended" to help the working class, or was "targeting" the working class, or was "designed" to help the working class - all while recognizing that most of the stuff that the IRA was eventually going to do hadn't actually started happening yet to any great degree. Or that Biden should have gotten more credit for being a very enthusiastic supporters of unions generally, that he walked a picket line.
But those specific things didn't actually translate into any material benefits during his term. It doesn't matter if the IRA was "designed" to help working class voters, if it didn't actually help working class voters (at least over the time frame relevant to the election).
I don't think MAGA supporters care whether Trump is doing what they want out of sincere belief or because he's pandering to them - what matters is whether he's doing what they want. Trump might indeed still be a closet supporter of abortion rights....but the evangelicals got their conservative justices. Trump might not actually care about whether higher levels of immigration suppress worker pay at the lower end....but he genuinely wants to restrict immigration. Etc.
No. of Recommendations: 12
"The denial of reality by the liberals here never ceases to amaze."
Go yell about Haitians eating cats and dogs.
No. of Recommendations: 9
But those specific things didn't actually translate into any material benefits during his term. It doesn't matter if the IRA was "designed" to help working class voters, if it didn't actually help working class voters (at least over the time frame relevant to the election).
IRA did not provide the instant gratification the 'working class voter' wants to see. The USA is a big-ass ship in a very rough sea. That's just the way it is. It's not a popular message.
I don't think MAGA supporters care whether Trump is doing what they want out of sincere belief or because he's pandering to them - what matters is whether he's doing what they want.
Trump is doing what they want- NOT doing what they NEED. Without rehashing all the specifics needs(debt,deficit,healthcare,immigration control,lower prices,etcetcetc) what he has done is pander to the cultural war 'wants' with a corrupt supreme court that is now the tool of oligarchs.
So the MAGA coalition voter gets what they want (guns, bibles, sticking it to the LGBTs) AND the oligarchs get what they need: a plutocracy that hurts the 'working class voter.'
No. of Recommendations: 1
IRA did not provide the instant gratification the 'working class voter' wants to see. The USA is a big-ass ship in a very rough sea. That's just the way it is. It's not a popular message.
Because it's wrong. It's not "just the way it is" - it's the result of choices.
Partially it's the result of what the Democrats chose to do. The original BBB was vastly larger, and filled with all sorts of things that benefited the working class. It was a choice to select - out of all those things - the ones that were mostly green infrastructure projects that would take years before groundbreaking. If they had less green provisions, and more child tax credit extension (for example), the benefits would have flowed more immediately.
But also, the fact that it takes forever for public infrastructure efforts to break ground is also the result of choices. It doesn't have to be the case that it takes several years from when Congress approves a project before it starts getting built - that's the result of lots of choices about permitting processes and who (and when) those decisions have entry points for challenges and a host of other regulatory process questions. It's groups within the Democratic coalition that resist any efforts to streamline or speed up those reviews. Their objection to those changes aren't irrational - they have goals and priorities that they're trying to advance - but the consequence of keeping those procedures in place is that government spending takes a very long time to turn into real-world work.
Spending on projects is a major public policy lever for the Federal government - and it's a lever that the Democrats (far more than the Republicans) like to use. But it's the Democrats that have made it much more difficult for that lever to work the way it used to. So when the Democrats choose to make pulling that lever a big part of their major legislative efforts - without making any changes to how it works - they're not going to get much political bang for the buck.
No. of Recommendations: 1
If you’ve ever had water damage to your house because of plumbing issues, you know a good plumber is worth their weight in gold. = AW
----------
Some here would sneer at the blue collar uneducated plumber-worker, laboring unaware of the vast issues being handled by the elites around him. Complex issues that the lowly plumber cannot perceive for lack of an advanced degree in something useful like the evolution of primitive cultures in Africa.
No. of Recommendations: 12
IOW, the MAGA folks aren't in a fight with the 0.1%. They're in a fight with the upper 10%. And if they can join with the 0.1% to push back on the rest of the upper 9.9%, they'll gladly make that alliance. I disagree. Trump won because lower-middle income voters thought they were doing worse than 4 years ago. They just want to see some progress in their personal finances. There is no fight with some other income group.
In the last 16 years, Democratic presidential candidates gained votes from the richest third and lost votes from the poorest third. Why is unclear. Maybe the richest third realize Democratic presidents are better for the overall economy and the climate. Maybe the poorest third are concerned about trade policies, immigration and inflation.
Democratic-Republican margin (% pts) in US presidential elections, by income group, change 2008 to 2024:
Richest third: Increased from -25% to 7%
Middle third: about zero
Poorest third: Decreased from 25% to 0%
Exit polls of the presidential election in the United States in 2024, share of votes by household income, Harris Percent minus Trump Percent
Under 30k: 4%
30k to 50k: -8%
50k to 100k: -5%
100k to 200k: 4%
Above 200k: 6%
Trump won in the 30k to 100k household income bracket, or about 20th to 60th percentile. This group has a tighter budget to live on, and so was more affected by inflation. Real Median Household Income fell 1.5% per year between 2019 and 2022, because of the pandemic and the ensuing inflation.
2023 Household Income at Selected Percentiles
18,980 for the 10th percentile
80,610 for the 50th percentile (median)
234,900 for the 90th percentile
Annual Growth Rate of Real Median Household Income:
From To Years CAGR
2007 2012 5 -1.6%
2019 2022 3 -1.5%
1989 1993 4 -1.4%
1999 2004 5 -0.6%
2004 2007 3 1.4%
1984 1989 5 1.9%
1993 1999 6 2.3%
2012 2019 7 3.1%
2022 2023 1 4.0%
Real Median Household Income in the United States
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N
No. of Recommendations: 4
lizgdal, great post, I had not seen that breakdown before.
No. of Recommendations: 13
BHM: Some here would sneer at the blue collar uneducated plumber-worker, laboring unaware of the vast issues being handled by the elites around him.
You seek division where it does not exist.
One of my best life-long friends is a retired union plumber. His son is a union plumber and his grandson is a union plumber. They hunt, fish, and vote blue. They're not hateful rightwing anti-science election-denying dimwits. They are aware; they get vaccinated, they wore masks, they don't rape or abuse women, and they understand that clean air and water require science based policies. They appreciate expertise in other fields just as their expertise in safe plumbing is appreciated.
No. of Recommendations: 11
...the blue collar uneducated plumber-worker, laboring unaware of the vast issues being handled by the elites around him.
Can Trumps new administration (Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Howard Lutnick, Linda McMahon, Scott Bessent, David Sacks, and Dr. Oz)
take America back from the out-of-touch elites?
No. of Recommendations: 15
In the last 16 years, Democratic presidential candidates gained votes from the richest third and lost votes from the poorest third. Why is unclear.
Do you think the pervasiveness of dishonest electronic media from an unscrupulous right-wing might have something to do with it?
Let's face it... inflammatory right wing lies promising 'they can fix it' are a lot more enticing than reality.
Trump didn't fix shit.
No. of Recommendations: 8
BHM: Some here would sneer at the blue collar uneducated plumber-worker, laboring unaware of the vast issues being handled by the elites around him.
Many years ago I decided it would be hard for me to vote Republican because that party has, for a very long time now, been on the side of the wealthy and powerful. They have somehow managed to convince many average Americans that they are on their side. That's a sad joke.
You keep inverting reality. That's what garbage media has done to the right leaning brain.
No. of Recommendations: 4
Can Trumps new administration (Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Howard Lutnick, Linda McMahon, Scott Bessent, David Sacks, and Dr. Oz)
take America back from the out-of-touch elites?
Sure, the billionaires are on your side. They understand you better than anyone. Right?
