No. of Recommendations: 9
bighairymike: OK, it has been brought up here before but here it is in cliff notes version, Border Security, Rampant Crime, Economy
We have been down this road before.... you cite statistics showing these problems do not exist.
No, we cite statistics that show you're misinformed.
Again: The new fourth-quarter numbers showed a 13% decline in murder in 2023 from 2022, a 6% decline in reported violent crime and a 4% decline in reported property crime. That’s based on data from around 13,000 law enforcement agencies, policing about 82% of the U.S. population, that provided the FBI with data through December.
When the final numbers are in, the decline in the murder rate will be the largest one-year decline that has ever been recorded.
Those are facts.
We've gone over border security: Trump killed a bipartisan immigration plan through Speaker Johnson that the National Border Patrol Council said: "The Border Act of 2024 will give U.S. Border Patrol agents authorities codified, in law, that we have not had in the past. This will allow us to remove single adults expeditiously and without a lengthy judicial review which historically has required the release of these individuals into the interior of the United States. This alone will drop illegal border crossings nationwide and will allow our agents to get back to detecting and apprehending those who want to cross our borders illegally and evade apprehension. While not perfect, the Border Act of 2024 is a step in the right direction and is far better than the current status quo. This is why the National Border Patrol Council endorses this bill and hopes for its quick passage.”
The people who work the border every day want this legislation passed. Trump and republicans killed it.
The economy is a mixed bag. We have the fastest, strongest recovery from the pandemic of any of the G7 countries. We have 15 million new jobs. Wage increases now outGDP growth smashed market expectations in Q4, rising 3.3% in seasonally adjusted annualized terms (Q3 2023: 4.9%). The Q4 reading was likely by far the strongest in the G7 and meant that the economy expanded 2.5% in annual terms over 2023 as a whole, above the prior decade's average of 2.3%.pace inflation. Inflation has declined from over 9% to about 3%. We have over a half-million new manufacturing jobs. On the flip side, gasoline prices are rising and have been stubbornly high after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But oil companies are posting record profits.
Likewise, grocery prices are stubbornly high as well, partially as a result of disruptions to the supply chain but more a result of simple greed. Most grocery categories are dominated by a handful of consumer packaged goods companies.
For example, he top 3 soft drinks companies, Coca-Cola, Pepsico and Keurig Dr. Pepper, control around 90% of the soda market. Overall, soda sales are up 56%, unit volumes are down 2% and prices are up 59%.
Kraft Heinz dominates the packaged cheese category at 65% market share. Category unit volumes are up just 6%, while prices are up 21%. In 2022-2023 Kraft Heinz profits skyrocketed from $225 million to $887 million, an increase of 448%.
Chocolate candy sales are up 34%, unit volumes are down 8% and prices are up 46%. The top 3 companies, including Hershey’s, Mondelez and Mars, control an 80% market share. Hershey’s saw a 62% increase in profits in 2021. Hershey’s 30 brands control at least 46% of the candy category.
Cereal dollar sales are up 17%, unit volumes are down 12% and prices are up 33%. The top 3 brands, General Mills, Kellogg’s, and Post Holdings own a 70% market share.
And on and on.
"Open Your Mind" indeed.
