2024 Elections: One Last Chance for Democracy

[Jimjamesak]

I don't think this is the message to go with.

Yeah it definitely isn’t.

Raceboarder, I get it. I’m in the same position as you. I work virtually paycheck to paycheck. I don’t own a home. I feel ignored by the Democrats. But pouting and throwing a tantrum by not voting because we didn’t get all that we wanted isn’t going to help our cause either. In fact, it makes things worse because now we’re easier to ignore because we’re not a reliable voting bloc.

None of the change we want is going to happen overnight. It’s going to take decades of work to accomplish anything. It’s now going to be even harder because now the currents we are fighting against are that much stronger.

[aparch]

Explain rent being 30% more in my area over the last 4 years. Explain groceries, as a whole, costing 30% more. Explain cars being 30% more.

All while my wages are up 15%.

[Jimjamesak]

I don't think that high rents are so much corporate price gouging as it is the cascading effects of high demand, increases in maintenance costs and property tax rates, failure to approve & build sufficient housing stock over the past 20 years (in large part due to NIMBYism from fear of renters), and longstanding consumer & developer bias towards SFHs in suburbs across the United States since 1950.

I'll concede there may be some padding/gouging by large property management companies who have profit targets they're expected to meet. By and large though, we simply need to build more MFH for young people and smaller households. We also need to change the perception that you've failed as an American if you don't own a strip of land between you and your immediate neighbors.

It’s really both plus a third factor.

There’s a limited supply of rental properties.

Most of the limited supply is owned by large corporations that can gouge prices.

The supply is becoming increasingly more limited because properties are being taken off the market and converted into vacation properties for AirBNB.

And it’s only likely to get worse because of the economic impact of the incoming tariffs.

[St. Clown]

The administration had the chance to address the issue. They didn't. That's why a huge chunk of potential voters walked to the other side.

People don't care how the sausage is made with things like this. They just care about results.

That's the point that seems to be missed. The Dems didn't convey that message to most of the country.

Genuine question: What more were you (or the people you know) expecting Biden to do regarding inflation?

I recall a stimulus check in 2021, from a relief package passed in 2020. Unless you’re expecting an annual stimulus check, I don’t know what to say. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, barely, and it was drastically pared down by Congress from what Pres. Biden and his team proposed.

Aside from that, the Federal government has very few tools to fight inflation that wouldn’t trample over individuals’ rights. The most they can do is to search out price gougers, which they did, specifically the example regarding the egg producers artificially inflating their prices beyond normal market conditions.

The Federal Reserve did amazing work to get inflation under control as quickly as it did. That’s not the Biden administration’s doing, but it’s another piece to the puzzle.

[psych]

I won’t speak for rufus, but I think he was being tongue-in-cheek telling Raceboarder what he needs to do to make ends meet, since he provided the Republican playbook to get ahead (or stay afloat). If not, I mean, we have plenty of a**holes on this board. We just do. I’m probably the poorest one on here, a one-income family RN whose wife stays home to watch our two not-quite-in-kindergarten-aged children. I live amongst more MAGA voters than the rest of you combined. I don’t care how smug and condescending Kepler, rufus, etc. are, even to me. I’m one of the middle class people Kepler wants to suffer, despite being as liberal and a more reliable Democratic vote in my life than him. So be it. I agree with what he wants out of his govt. And I’ll keep being a reliable Democratic voter, because I believe the facts laid out in front of me. And I’m able to find them.
Trix, I’m not sure if you paid attention, but Biden has tried, and continues to try, pushing through student loan forgiveness. I am directly affected by it, and have followed the updates almost daily since his first big blanket forgiveness idea was shot down by SCOTUS. Subsequent programs and ideas have been shot down and halted too. The dude is trying within the executive powers he’s provided. If you blame him for that, I don’t know what to tell you.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Yeah it definitely isn’t.

Raceboarder, I get it. I’m in the same position as you. I work virtually paycheck to paycheck. I don’t own a home. I feel ignored by the Democrats. But pouting and throwing a tantrum by not voting because we didn’t get all that we wanted isn’t going to help our cause either. In fact, it makes things worse because now we’re easier to ignore because we’re not a reliable voting bloc.

None of the change we want is going to happen overnight. It’s going to take decades of work to accomplish anything. It’s now going to be even harder because now the currents we are fighting against are that much stronger.

No no don’t worry prices will def come down now

i love the conservatard men suddenly showing up, gleefully rejoicing in how half the population has lost it’s rights.

keep those white male tears flowing cereal boy, at least you ruined the lives of women and girls

[psych]

Genuine question: What more were you (or the people you know) expecting Biden to do regarding inflation?

I recall a stimulus check in 2021, from a relief package passed in 2020. Unless you’re expecting an annual stimulus check, I don’t know what to say. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, barely, and it was drastically pared down by Congress from what Pres. Biden and his team proposed.

Aside from that, the Federal government has very few tools to fight inflation that wouldn’t trample over individuals’ rights. The most they can do is to search out price gougers, which they did, specifically the example regarding the egg producers artificially inflating their prices beyond normal market conditions.

The Federal Reserve did amazing work to get inflation under control as quickly as it did. That’s not the Biden administration’s doing, but it’s another piece to the puzzle.

It is not Biden’s doing, but Biden chose to keep Powell in place instead of canning him, because he probably figured the stability of keeping Powell in place would be better for the economy than picking someone he may have wanted instead.

[Jeb2020]

No no don’t worry prices will def come down now

i love the conservatard men suddenly showing up, gleefully rejoicing in how half the population has lost it’s rights.

keep those white male tears flowing cereal boy, at least you ruined the lives of women and girls

What right(s) were lost?

What women and girls lives were ruined?

[ericredaxe]

What right(s) were lost?

What women and girls lives were ruined?

Healthcare rights.

Say Josseli Barnica's name.

Supporters of anti choice policies are complicit in her death.

[RaceBoarder]

I won’t speak for rufus, but I think he was being tongue-in-cheek telling Raceboarder what he needs to do to make ends meet, since he provided the Republican playbook to get ahead (or stay afloat). If not, I mean, we have plenty of a**holes on this board. We just do. I’m probably the poorest one on here, a one-income family RN whose wife stays home to watch our two not-quite-in-kindergarten-aged children. I live amongst more MAGA voters than the rest of you combined. I don’t care how smug and condescending Kepler, rufus, etc. are, even to me. I’m one of the middle class people Kepler wants to suffer, despite being as liberal and a more reliable Democratic vote in my life than him. So be it. I agree with what he wants out of his govt. And I’ll keep being a reliable Democratic voter, because I believe the facts laid out in front of me. And I’m able to find them.
Trix, I’m not sure if you paid attention, but Biden has tried, and continues to try, pushing through student loan forgiveness. I am directly affected by it, and have followed the updates almost daily since his first big blanket forgiveness idea was shot down by SCOTUS. Subsequent programs and ideas have been shot down and halted too. The dude is trying within the executive powers he’s provided. If you blame him for that, I don’t know what to tell you.

Just to be clear, I too have voted straight Blue since 2016 and will continue to do so. I am just trying to provide context as we dig through the "what went wrong" phase here.

Yeah it definitely isn’t.

Raceboarder, I get it. I’m in the same position as you. I work virtually paycheck to paycheck. I don’t own a home. I feel ignored by the Democrats. But pouting and throwing a tantrum by not voting because we didn’t get all that we wanted isn’t going to help our cause either. In fact, it makes things worse because now we’re easier to ignore because we’re not a reliable voting bloc.

None of the change we want is going to happen overnight. It’s going to take decades of work to accomplish anything. It’s now going to be even harder because now the currents we are fighting against are that much stronger.

I get that change isn't immediate. I am just trying to provide context to the board here as we preform an autopsy on the corpse of the campaign that ended on Tuesday. It's looking like a demographic that I sit squarely in is what won this election. I am trying to provide context here on the board using numerous examples that I have brought up over the last few years where members of this board basically shrugged off my position.

The fact that Dems don't seem to do well reaching out to "suburban" low/moderate income households is a factor. I truly do mean it when I say that many on the right feel that their lifestyles (hunting/fishing, motorsports, county fairs, country music, culinary traditions, etc.) are firmly looked down upon from the left as a whole. Viewed as "Redneck/Hillbilly". It's a lifestyle that half of this country lives, but a majority of country just sees it as "dumb hillbilly **poop**". That's why they feel pushed away.

Monetarily, I am providing context for why people made the decisions they did. Again, coming at someone with a (low level) high school education with college level terminology and throwing your hands up when they don't understand it is what seemed to happen with regard to the perception of the economy.

Genuine question: What more were you (or the people you know) expecting Biden to do regarding inflation?

I recall a stimulus check in 2021, from a relief package passed in 2020. Unless you’re expecting an annual stimulus check, I don’t know what to say. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, barely, and it was drastically pared down by Congress from what Pres. Biden and his team proposed.

Aside from that, the Federal government has very few tools to fight inflation that wouldn’t trample over individuals’ rights. The most they can do is to search out price gougers, which they did, specifically the example regarding the egg producers artificially inflating their prices beyond normal market conditions.

The Federal Reserve did amazing work to get inflation under control as quickly as it did. That’s not the Biden administration’s doing, but it’s another piece to the puzzle.

Again, I acknowledge all of these things.

BUT you are using terminology that is lost on anyone who hasn't had a college level course in Economics. Explaining what the Fed is/does is lost on most of the population. To most it is just some backroom entity that does stuff that most people don't now about or understand. And yes, the Harris campaign promised to cut out price gougers. But they really don't have many examples to show people (this needs to be a "Show, don't tell" pitch to make a point with the masses). The current admin didn't do anything that normal consumers can point to and see that the price of _______ fell 30% over a short period of time.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Trix, I’m not sure if you paid attention, but Biden has tried, and continues to try, pushing through student loan forgiveness. I am directly affected by it, and have followed the updates almost daily since his first big blanket forgiveness idea was shot down by SCOTUS. Subsequent programs and ideas have been shot down and halted too. The dude is trying within the executive powers he’s provided. If you blame him for that, I don’t know what to tell you.

Trix knows that, but he's Blue MAGA and wants to just burn it all down. Good luck trying to have a conversation with him.

[Timothy A]

What right(s) were lost? What women and girls lives were ruined?

None. Trump is for exceptions.

1.5% of abortions are due to rape and incest. I think there are plenty of ways to avoid getting pregnant if you don't want to get pregnant, so in reality abortion is about people being sexually careless and trying to clean up a mess they created.

[trixR4kids]

Genuine question: What more were you (or the people you know) expecting Biden to do regarding inflation?

I recall a stimulus check in 2021, from a relief package passed in 2020. Unless you’re expecting an annual stimulus check, I don’t know what to say. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, barely, and it was drastically pared down by Congress from what Pres. Biden and his team proposed.

Aside from that, the Federal government has very few tools to fight inflation that wouldn’t trample over individuals’ rights. The most they can do is to search out price gougers, which they did, specifically the example regarding the egg producers artificially inflating their prices beyond normal market conditions.

The Federal Reserve did amazing work to get inflation under control as quickly as it did. That’s not the Biden administration’s doing, but it’s another piece to the puzzle.

He didn't even deliver the $2000 checks he promised. And I didn't expect him to do anything which is kinda the problem.

[Spartanforlife4]

None. Trump is for exceptions.

1.5% of abortions are due to rape and incest. I think there are plenty of ways to avoid getting pregnant if you don't want to get pregnant, so in reality abortion is about people being sexually careless and trying to clean up a mess they created.

No lives were lost? So that woman in Texas didn’t die because doctors had to wait so long to confirm she had a miscarriage before they’d provide her care?

[rufus]

Wow, trixie's really feeling his oats now that his cult leader is gonna be back in power.

Funny how he's been missing these past four years. But I guess that's what trolls do. Crawl out of their dark spaces every once in a while