Re: the meme here, a reader opines: Brandon has nothing to do with it. No politician had anything to do with it.
I agree that, generally, U.S. presidents tend to get too much credit when things go right, and too much blame when they head south.
Yet in this case it’s unclear, to me at least, how much credit Biden actually deserves for what appears an extremely robust economy, as measured by job growth, stock market valuations, inflation control, etc.
One can identify a great number of public sector investments that are aimed at rebuilding/expanding infrastructure, bringing manufacturing jobs (especially cleantech) back from overseas, expanding energy security, and post-COVID recovery. One can add, of top of that, that these investments are simply paying off precisely as they were intended.
Many economists are surprised that so much growth was possible without, for instance, huge rates of inflation causing rising interest rates that in turn sent us into recession. It wasn’t that long ago that the idea of a “soft landing” was something of a pipe dream.
Granted, all this is not an easy pill to swallow if you’re a Republican, praying for a meltdown going into election season, but it does seem to be the case.
I know not everyone agrees with me (e.g., my wife) but I will be surprised if Trump completes his term in office.
Congresspeople want to be re-elected, and for most of them, this is the only thing motivating their actions. How many of them want to be thought of as someone who supported a criminal president who brought this country to its knees?
There are two types of people. OK, there may be many different types of people, but there are at least two.
First are those of us who stand for the idea: live and let live. We don’t deliberately step on ants, and we support the rights of the poorest people in the Western Hemisphere to enter the United States to escape starvation and the threat of death by the Mexican drug cartels to pick our crops and live here, for months at a time, to live in the U.S.
Until Donald Trump rose to the U.S. presidency and gave us all permission to be our worst selves, virtually all of us felt this way. Were migrants a problem before about 10 years ago?
The other type is those like Christian Castro, who takes (took, past tense) great delight in tormenting the most world’s poorest and most desperate.
The story here from the New York Times:
Law enforcement officials on Friday arrested an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant this year and lying about it.
The agent, Christian J. Castro, 52, was caught in Texas after investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tracked him down, according to the Hennepin County attorney’s office, which had charged him this month with four counts of second-degree assault. He faces an additional charge of filing a false police report.
The shooting, on Jan. 14, set off violent protests at the height of the Trump administration’s immigration operation in Minnesota this past winter.
“Today’s arrest is a critical step forward in our prosecution of Mr. Castro,” Mary Moriarty, the attorney in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, said in a statement.
It’s amazing how often we hear that the Democratic party’s platform can’t be “We’re Not Trump.”
Of course, I agree that Democrats have to stand up for lower prices, quality education, affordable healthcare, etc. But right now, the critical agenda item is removing this criminal sociopath from public office.
-
Climate Change10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Renewable Energy7 months agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits
-
Greenhouse Gases11 months ago
嘉宾来稿：探究火山喷发如何影响气候预测