Political Digression Thread -- Save UP! Move the politically focused stuff here

[15895]

Ok. Here’s some good Political news   
 

 

“With a shortage of millions of homes nationwide, we need to utilize every resource at our disposal to increase housing supply, which in turn, given the high demand, will help with rent levels and purchase costs,” HUD deputy secretary Adrianne Todman said during a press briefing.

The new initiatives include:

• The Department of Transportation issuing guidance on how nearly $35 billion in funds can be accessed for new construction and office conversions at or near transportation centers. 
• The Commercial to Residential Federal Resources Guidebook will have a series of programs that will provide low-interest loans, grants and tax incentives in order to facilitate conversions. 
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development will offer billions in dollars in funding for conversions under the Community Development Block Grants program.
• The General Services Administration will expand its Good Neighbor Program to promote the sale of surplus federal properties that buyers could potentially redevelop for residential use.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/27/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-takes-action-to-create-more-affordable-housing-by-converting-commercial-properties-to-residential-use/

Edited October 30, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[kermit]

^ Not to thread police but I think this good news belong in Misc Uptown thread, not this cesspool. 
 

[LKN704]

7 hours ago, Larry Singer said:

Wow! Talk about "not" being specific. Who is the "entire group of people" that I "vilify?" Where does genocide come into the picture? Can you find Gaza on a map? 

Please re-read your post. I'm not even going to retype what you posted because I find it so disgusting. 

I actually can identify Gaza on a map. I would strongly advise you not to comment on this issue before you say anything further. You clearly don't know what you are talking about. 

I have a master’s degree in international Affairs where I focused on Middle East conflict, and I have a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution. I work in international affairs/national security on Middle Eastern affairs. I've been working almost 65-hour work weeks since the beginning of October. I know what the f* I am talking about.

[15895]

25 minutes ago, LKN704 said:

Please re-read your post. I'm not even going to retype what you posted because I find it so disgusting. 

I actually can identify Gaza on a map. I would strongly advise you not to comment on this issue before you say anything further. You clearly don't know what you are talking about. 

I have a master’s degree in international Affairs where I focused on Middle East conflict, and I have a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution. I work in international affairs/national security on Middle Eastern affairs. I've been working almost 65-hour work weeks since the beginning of October. I know what the f* I am talking about.

 I *hate* when MAGA defaults to “can you find it on the map?”

I always assume it’s projection that they don’t know where it is or the history or politics behind the country or areas they’re asking others if they can find it on the map. 

I get people may not be so well-versed in global affairs, global politics, etc and I don’t want to be disrespectful to people who don’t know, I don’t think there’s anything with nothing knowing etc. but if your response to me is “can you even find it on the map” questioning my intelligence…my response will be “of course I can find the biggest F-ing country in Europe on a map” as if it just appeared out of nowhere and not home to some of the largest battles in WWII, etc. 

As if out of nowhere, the Palestine issue just happened overnight and no one has heard of it otherwise. 

I imagine Larry Singer to not even know what Brazilians speak. So I dont think he needs to be giving geography quizzes.  
 

Thats why I’m not really bothered by his posts. I feel like I’m not talking with someone on my level & I dunno. I’m not going to expect someone who talks about Biden and Demonrats, Nancy Piglosi, transgender people are scary, snowflakes,  Burisma, Biden is being played by an actor etc. to be able to conversaste with me about global politics, affairs or history. 

Edited October 30, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[Professor]

4 hours ago, kermit said:

Seriously? 

tell us again why you don’t believe the Donald can get a fair trial in Fulton County (I have linked to your incredibly racist previous explanation below)

I would also agree that the majority of people who have served, payed taxes and votes are not racists and are anti-nazi (just like the vast majority of Americans). I’m just not sure you belong in that group based on what you have written here (again, see below).

 

So you consider my answer "incredibly" racist?  I have no time to waste explaining anything to snowflakes and apologists. You know what I meant, and that it was true unless you are blind or stupid. 

[kermit]

41 minutes ago, Larry Singer said:

So you consider my answer "incredibly" racist?  I have no time to waste explaining anything to snowflakes and apologists. You know what I meant, and that it was true unless you are blind or stupid. 

Your answer was unambiguous, and I asked you directly if I misinterpreted you. You did not protest my conclusion that you were being openly racist. If somehow I was wrong after all that then you should let us all know.

Why don't you think donald can get a fair trial in Fulton County?

Edited October 30, 2023 by kermit

[Professor]

33 minutes ago, LKN704 said:

Please re-read your post. I'm not even going to retype what you posted because I find it so disgusting. 

I actually can identify Gaza on a map. I would strongly advise you not to comment on this issue before you say anything further. You clearly don't know what you are talking about. 

I have a master’s degree in international Affairs where I focused on Middle East conflict, and I have a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution. I work in international affairs/national security on Middle Eastern affairs. I've been working almost 65-hour work weeks since the beginning of October. I know what the f* I am talking about.

 You have a Ph.D. in "Conflict Resolution?"  Never heard of such a degree. Is that like communications or chat line? How much did it cost?  I have years of hands-on experience in the Middle East. I lived in Saudi Arabia and Iraq and traveled most other countries. I was also a participant in the Gulf War including Desert Storm.  I also have advanced degrees with serious areas of concentration. Have a good evening. I am going to escape from this place. I'd rather be back over "there" fighting or as we called it, "peace keeping."

[Professor]

55 minutes ago, kermit said:

Your answer was unambiguous, and I asked you directly if I misinterpreted you. You did not protest my conclusion that you were being openly racist. If somehow I was wrong after all that then you should let us all know.

Why don't you think donald can get a fair trial in Fulton County?

Refer to my last sentence. Trump is white, strong, and tough on crime.  The majority of judges and committee members in that area have openly discussed their hate for Trump. They don't want a strong white pers, and judges want the freedom to arrest and release. That's all I need to say. 

[kermit]

1 minute ago, Larry Singer said:

Refer to my last sentence. Trump is white, strong, and tough on crime.  The majority of judges and committee members in that area have openly discussed their hate for Trump. They don't want a strong white pers, and judges want the freedom to arrest and release. That's all I need to say. 

My bad Larry, you are clearly not racist at all.

[Professor]

14 hours ago, kermit said:

My bad Larry, you are clearly not racist at all.

Thank you. I knew we could come to an agreement. Maybe we can settle the issues overseas.  

[15895]

Moving a conversation to NC politics:

 

For those who are against the NC GOP legislators:

- Why are you against the NC GOP?

- Why do you think NC is on the wrong path?

- Why do you think NC Dems deserve a chance at power in NC? 

- What broad policies make the NC Democrats better for? 
 

Does anyone here think the NC GOP legislation has made NC prosperous but just disagree with them fundamentally on issues such as abortion? 
 

What states look like success and which look like failure to you?  Is Texas better off than California? 

These should be super easy questions. And if it’s not & wishy-washy. Then perhaps the NC Dems don’t deserve your support (other than only on certain non-negotiables such as abortion restrictions, LGBT rights, etc. that don’t really require any spending, large investments etc).

It’s super easy to demonize Larry Singer. But how easy is it to back higher corporate tax-rates. Higher taxes on the wealthy. Less subsidies for billionaire corporations (absent of sufficient guarantees of xyz investment and return on public funds). A return to & larger focus on Fuel/Gas taxes & lower annual vehicle property taxes (which disproportionally burdens the lower 50% of NCians while lessening the burden on the wealthier and companies) and subsidizing green mobility infrastructure? 
 

& no. I’m not a Republican. I’m a far left liberal who realizes we cant win state legislatures unless we strongly and unequivocally champion our ideologies and tell the people why we deserve to govern & make the case… 

How many people against the NC GOP will stand by the NC Dems when BofA, American Airlines, Truist, etc balk at NC Dems if they threaten to leave or scale back operations over corporate taxes and returning to historical tax rates in general? It’s a huge part of their platform… How many people will stand with the NC Dems when inevitably some companies “rethink” their growth in the state? We have to be prepared to explain WHY our policies are good…

 

 

Literally. The gas tax in NC is lower now than in the 1920’s….

Edited November 3, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[15895]

And to reiterate.

Who is ready to return NC back to before the Tea Party wave and remind people what Democratic rule in North Carolina looks like?

 

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[kermit]

18 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

For those who are against the NC GOP legislators:

- Why are you against the NC GOP?

- Why do you think NC is on the wrong path?

- Why do you think NC Dems deserve a chance at power in NC? 

- What broad policies make the NC Democrats better for? 

 

 

1) They are actively waging the culture war here which makes it harder for us to recruit and retain highly skilled people. Manufacturing is less than 10% of total employment nationwide, it makes no sense to go all in on that. (see HB2, the Bathroom Bill -- that was entirely unnecessary along with the abortion ban). Once upon a time NC was a progressive enough place to attract and produce the talent necessary for a world-leading tech center (RTP) and a world leading retail banking center. The UNC System was also one of our largest “export” industries, its being quickly diminished. The creation of new post-industrial success stories ain't gonna happen under GOP dominance, and they are gonna chase away many of the folks who are already here supporting those success stories.

2) Yes, NC is on the wrong path! The GOP is eating our seed corn. Things are rosy now in terms of tax rates, but school systems at every level are getting starved, rural hospitals are shutting down (although hopefully medicaid expansion will help slow that), 50% of our counties are loosing people, while (simultainously) infrastructure statewide (particularly in cities) is woefully underfunded (the gas tax is low but NCDOT is operating at a huge deficit), incomes have been declining relative the national average for many years as well. The state can survive this poor planning for a little while, but eventually its gonna bite us in the ass. (see above about recruiting skill people to live and work here) and we have all experienced the atlantafication of Charlotte, Atlanta is the poorest big city in the US and has little worth emulating (other than some pretty great food).

NC GOP’s anti-science policies have also put us behind the 8-ball on climate change. Between very low-lying coastal communities and three of the  most auto-dependent urban clusters in the world we are going to be economically devastated.

3) Policy aside, I think Dems are owed a fair shot to be elected at the ballot box. The currently gerrymandered system leads to their dramatic under representation based on total votes cast for dems (vote totals consistently show we are a 50/50 state). There is a reason why the statewide offices of gov and AG are occupied by dems, NC voters still want them in government.  The GOP gets away with asinine policies in large part because they have nothing to fear at the ballot box. In terms of explicit policy, Dems are much better at providing for the needs of urban areas, elevating the state beyond low wage manufacturing and (when they were in power) there was MUCH less of an urban-rural divide.

4) Its been a while, but Dems have clearly shown that they are better at running a state that can be part of the modern economy, attract  higher wage industry and improve quality of life for residents, The ONLY  thing the GOP has shown they can do is cut taxes and ignore the will of the people. Can anyone name a promising, forward looking policy initiative created by the GOP in NC?

Has the GOP done ANYTHING positive for NC other than mindlessly trim tax rates? The regular GOP MO is to burn up fiscal reserves and taxing capacity, fudge things up, and then turn over the government to the dems to clean everything up. The dems get the heat for the necessary fiscal repairs and the GOP returns to power to destroy via budget cuts again.

All that said, I agree, the dems do an incredibly crappy job of articulating why they are the only competent pols. Mayor Pete and Jeff Jackson (and Bill Clinton) come close to doing this, but they are lonely voices.

I haven't heard Larry Singer say a word about actual policy here, I demonize him because of his blatant and unrestrained racism which he appears to not even recognize.

Edited November 4, 2023 by kermit

[15895]

15 hours ago, kermit said:

1) They are actively waging the culture war here which makes it harder for us to recruit and retain highly skilled people. Manufacturing is less than 10% of total employment nationwide, it makes no sense to go all in of that. (see HB2, the Bathroom Bill -- that was entirely unnecessary along with the abortion ban). Once upon a time NC was a progressive enough place to attract and produce the talent necessary for a world-leading tech center (RTP) and a world leading retail banking center. The UNC System was also one of our largest “export” industries, its being quickly diminished. The creation of new post-industrial success stories ain't gonna happen under GOP dominance, and they are gonna chase away many of the folks who are already here supporting those success stories.

2) Yes, NC is on the wrong path! The GOP is eating our seed corn. Things are rosy now in terms of tax rates, but school systems at every level are getting starved, rural hospitals are shutting down (although hopefully medicaid expansion will help slow that), 50% of our counties are loosing people, while (simultainously) infrastructure statewide (particularly in cities) is woefully underfunded (the gas tax is low but NCDOT is operating at a huge deficit), incomes have been declining relative the national average for many years as well. The state can survive this poor planning for a little while, but eventually its gonna bite us in the ass. (see above about recruiting skill people to live and work here) and we have all experienced the atlantafication of Charlotte, Atlanta is the poorest big city in the US and has little worth emulating (other than some pretty great food).

NC GOP’s anti-science policies have also put us behind the 8-ball on climate change. Between very low-lying coastal communities and three of the  most auto-dependent urban clusters in the world we are going to be economically devistated.

3) Policy aside, I think Dems are owed a fair shot to be elected at the ballot box. The currently gerrymandered system leads to their dramatic under representation based on total votes cast for dems. There is a reason why the statewide offices of gov and AG are occupied dems, NC voters still want them in government.  GOP gets away with asinine policies in large part because they have nothing to fear at the ballot box. In terms of explicit policy, Dems are much better at providing for the needs of urban areas, shifting the state away from low wage manufacturing and (when they were in power) there was MUCH less of an urban-rural divide.

4) Its been a while, but Dems have clearly shown that they are better at running a state that can be part of the modern economy, attract  higher wage industry and improve quality of life for residents, The ONLY  thing the GOP has shown they can do is cut taxes and ignore the will of the people.

Has the GOP done ANYTHING positive for NC other than mindlessly trim tax rates? The regular GOP MO is to burn up fiscal reserves and taxing capacity, fudge things up, and then turn over the government to the dems to clean everything up. The dems get the heat for the necessary fiscal repairs and the GOP returns to power to destroy via budget cuts again.

All that said, I agree, the dems do an incredibly crappy job of articulating why they are the only competent pols. Mayor Pete and Jeff Jackson (and Bill Clinton) come close to doing this, but they are lonely voices.

I haven't heard Larry Singer say a word about actual policy here, I demonize him because of his blatant and unrestrained racism which he appears to not even recognize.

Your response is exactly what I imagined your response to be, tbh. Rationale, thoughtful, critical thinking. In another thread I alluded to “some posters on here” & you were actually top of mind. 

Ignoring the Gerrymander, it is just going to be an incredibly tough battle (IMO) to overcome the narrative that the GOP is better for the economy & better for the working class. NC Gov went Dem while also voting for Trump twice & Republican senators (which I still attribute to people wanting a check on GOP crazy but thinking they’re better for the economy). It’s going to be even more tough when Dems propose rolling back tax cuts if AA warns they may have to scale back operations in NC… if BofA, Truist balk, if the chamber of commerce says companies are Re-thinking NC for expansion vs. TX/TN. When lower income people think they’ll be taxed too. When Republicans mention the word California. As if rolling back NC tax cuts that started to occur in 2013 is this radical thing that’s never been done in NC before…

Over time on here, I’ve seen people start to cite more & more lower corporate tax rates as a positive & parroting other GOP propaganda talking points. Ever since Covid, the GOP talking point of everyone fleeing blue state metropolitan areas has exploded as people still rely on Covid era numbers to justify ridiculous MAGA talking points. Yeah. We were also supposed to be walking around in bubbles and airlines were going to make breathing tubes right now…

The real truth is, Blue politics have lifted people out of poverty. Provided education. Have had sustained growth. Provided health care. Increased life expectancy. Lower suicide rates. Lower homicide rates. And areas ran by Republicans received some lower taxes on housing (though higher in other areas that typically skew towards favoring business and the wealthy.) We can’t perpetuate their lies that progressive politics are leaving blue areas hollowed out, decaying areas… It’s their politics literally reducing peoples life expectancies. It’s their policies leading to economic decline. It’s their policies leaving people in poverty. Not NYC… It’s time to Re-shift the narrative & hit back. Not go along with their lies that Boston, NY, Seattle etc. are opposite of Dallas, Charlotte, Miami. We’re on the same team… with shared ideals, policies, goals, etc. 

(& it’s hard to see on this map but NYC added 800K people & over 1M in its metro areas despite being hard to see).

 
 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD

[kermit]

58 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

 

I understand your point about landslide counties. However, I gotta make an unrelated public service announcement about choropleth election maps like the one above. These maps imply many more rural voters than actually exist -- land doesn't vote, people do (and the map above implies a GOP landslide which certainly did not occur). Maps like the above which are published nearly everywhere contributed to the narrative of the Big Lie.  Election maps that are proportional to population rather than land area create much more realistic interpretations of actual voting.

[geography nerd digression]  Alaska's representation on maps in the above style can be doubly misleading. Alaska is actually 3 times the size of California, but always displayed as a reduced scale inset. The vast majority of Alaska's land area (nearly everything outside of the Anchorage-Fairbanks 'metroplex') leans heavily to the left, so the actual Blue voting space on US election maps would be very close to 50-50 in most elections if Alaska had its 'county' results represented at the same scale as the lower 48. (Alaska is generally reported as a single unit due to its sparse population). To be fair the state is majority red, but (for some reason) you intend to suggest that the amount of space that votes blue or read is somehow important (its not), then accurate representation of Alaska is necessary). The Alaska map below is not to true scale, but it is closer to its actual proportional sizing than what you see on most election maps.

(and thank you for the complement, and for moving this discussion to this thread)

Edited November 4, 2023 by kermit

[Guest]

On 10/30/2023 at 5:06 PM, Larry Singer said:

 You have a Ph.D. in "Conflict Resolution?"  Never heard of such a degree. Is that like communications or chat line? How much did it cost?  I have years of hands-on experience in the Middle East. I lived in Saudi Arabia and Iraq and traveled most other countries. I was also a participant in the Gulf War including Desert Storm.  I also have advanced degrees with serious areas of concentration. Have a good evening. I am going to escape from this place. I'd rather be back over "there" fighting or as we called it, "peace keeping."

How about you do “this place” a favor and once you “escape”, stay away. All I’ve seen you do since you joined this community is stir up conflict and blow dog whistles, or frankly just normal whistles. I’m tired of reading your condescending, ignorant posts and have enjoyed visiting this site significantly less since you joined. But my guess is you’ll be back posting here as soon as your real life isn’t interesting enough and you desire some stimulation from antagonizing strangers. I’m sorry mods, but does this man have to say the  n-word or something similarly blatant to actually get punished? This is a community, start treating it like one.

[15895]

7 hours ago, kermit said:

I understand your point about landslide counties. However, I gotta make an unrelated public service announcement about choropleth election maps like the one above. These maps imply many more rural voters than actually exist -- land doesn't vote, people do (and the map above implies a GOP landslide which certainly did not occur). Maps like the above which are published nearly everywhere contributed to the narrative of the Big Lie.  Election maps that are proportional to population rather than land area create much more realistic interpretations of actual voting.

[geography nerd digression]  Alaska's representation on maps in the above style can be doubly misleading. Alaska is actually 3 times the size of California, but always displayed as a reduced scale inset. The vast majority of Alaska's land area (nearly everything outside of the Anchorage-Fairbanks 'metroplex') leans heavily to the left, so the actual Blue voting space on US election maps would be very close to 50-50 in most elections if Alaska had its 'county' results represented at the same scale as the lower 48. (Alaska is generally reported as a single unit due to its sparse population). To be fair the state is majority red, but (for some reason) you intend to suggest that the amount of space that votes blue or read is somehow important (its not), then accurate representation of Alaska is necessary). The Alaska map below is not to true scale, but it is closer to its actual proportional sizing than what you see on most election maps.

(and thank you for the complement, and for moving this discussion to this thread)

Agreed on the land not people.

What I’ve been trying to get at. When pro-urban/Dem leaning people parrot MAGA false narratives that the Bos-Wash corridor, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Bay Area , “Hollywood” (LA) are dying, failed, looting, rioting, people fleeing, blah blah blah, which happen to be the areas that typically tend to have Blue trifectas… that typically have pro-choice laws, that have more pro-LGBT laws… I just don’t understand how one can look at those areas in the fleeing/dying narrative yet still be so supportive of the Democrats… it doesn’t quite make sense to me. 

 

 

and speaking of land not voting & people voting…

People from Coastal liberal cities aren’t real Americans. So why should we do what people in NY or Seattle want. They’re just a few liberal cities. Northern Virginia isn’t real Virginia, they should break off and be part of DC. Denver skews Colorado, they don’t represent real Colorado. Austin is just full of liberal california transplants. Charlotte isn’t really NC, why should we do what one city wants. (Yes, I’ve literally seen all the above said before) 

lol, At some point…. 1/2 of Americans I suppose aren’t “real” Americans or reflective of “real” America per the GOP.

I don’t trust the vote in metro Atlanta. I don’t trust the vote in Milwaukee. I don’t trust the vote in Detroit. I don’t trust the vote in Philadelphia. (We all know about the attempted coup) 

 

[kermit]

1 hour ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

 I just don’t understand how one can look at those areas in the fleeing/dying narrative yet still be so supportive of the Democrats… it doesn’t quite make sense to me.

I may have missed a tone / sarcasm shift here, if so please pardon me.

These places are not dying by any reasonable definition -- its all a BS right wing nutjob narrative. The people who live in places like California can see for themselves that dem policies are working better than right wing nutjobbery. Does California have a problem with homelessness? Absolutely, but so does Texas, Utah and Idaho. Are people leaving California? Yup, but the folks moving out are lower and lower-middle class who end up bringing incomes down in the places they move to (this has been happening in NC for 25 years). The folks who remain in California are super highly skilled and super high wage (along with an underclass who can't afford to move out but that is certainly not unique to California). While it might be shedding people, California is getting wealthier, more productive and more innovative than ever before (where is the AI industry located? in San Francisco, a 'dying city'). The folks who are doing well don't generally give a crap about inequality.

The right wing media simply lies about quality of life and economic change in the US. They try to make us think that Chicago has a higher violent crime rate than North Charleston, SC (it does not), they try to make us think that California is in economic decline (it is not). They try to make us think that urban life is a constant nightmare. The only way they can justify their crapty mindless policies is by making people think the alternative is much worse than it actually is. Its all misdirection, the GOP is just the smoke and mirrors party.

It really should not be hard for Dems to speak the truth and point out that productivity is declining pretty much everywhere that isn't a top 50 metro, life spans are getting shorter and education quality is declining rapidly (have you seen a library in a Florida school?). Eventually people in red states are gonna realize that medical schools won't accept home-schoolers who think evolution is a conspiracy theory and actual physicians will refuse to work there and decent health care will be impossible to obtain without traveling to a Blue State.

Edited November 5, 2023 by kermit

[Professor]

19 hours ago, MothBeast said:

How about you do “this place” a favor and once you “escape”, stay away. All I’ve seen you do since you joined this community is stir up conflict and blow dog whistles, or frankly just normal whistles. I’m tired of reading your condescending, ignorant posts and have enjoyed visiting this site significantly less since you joined. But my guess is you’ll be back posting here as soon as your real life isn’t interesting enough and you desire some stimulation from antagonizing strangers. I’m sorry mods, but does this man have to say the  n-word or something similarly blatant to actually get punished? This is a community, start treating it like one.

How about you do me a favor and respond to your own crap. I don't think that anyone on this board needs you to jump in and defend them. If you are looking for the "n-word" used in postings, you are in the wrong place. If your feelings are hurt and you are angry or sad, you might need to find a more sensitive place to sound off. 

[LKN704]

16 hours ago, kermit said:

I may have missed a tone / sarcasm shift here, if so please pardon me.

These places are not dying by any reasonable definition -- its all a BS right wing nutjob narrative. The people who live in places like California can see for themselves that dem policies are working better than right wing nutjobbery. Does California have a problem with homelessness? Absolutely, but so does Texas, Utah and Idaho. Are people leaving California? Yup, but the folks moving out are lower and lower-middle class who end up bringing incomes down in the places they move to (this has been happening in NC for 25 years). The folks who remain in California are super highly skilled and super high wage (along with an underclass who can't afford to move out but that is certainly not unique to California). While it might be shedding people, California is getting wealthier, more productive and more innovative than ever before (where is the AI industry located? in San Francisco, a 'dying city'). The folks who are doing well don't generally give a crap about inequality.

The right wing media simply lies about quality of life and economic change in the US. They try to make us think that Chicago has a higher violent crime rate than North Charleston, SC (it does not), they try to make us think that California is in economic decline (it is not). They try to make us think that urban life is a constant nightmare. The only way they can justify their crapty mindless policies is by making people think the alternative is much worse than it actually is. Its all misdirection, the GOP is just the smoke and mirrors party.

It really should not be hard for Dems to speak the truth and point out that productivity is declining pretty much everywhere that isn't a top 50 metro, life spans are getting shorter and education quality is declining rapidly (have you seen a library in a Florida school?). Eventually people in red states are gonna realize that medical schools won't accept home-schoolers who think evolution is a conspiracy theory and actual physicians will refuse to work there and decent health care will be impossible to obtain without traveling to a Blue State.

I think they were likely being sarcastic. 

We’ve addressed the right-wing narrative that there is a mass California exodus for Texas/Tennessee/Florida on this board excessively, but after just being in California, I have to say there is something odd going on with the California population and I think we will eventually see that it shrunk even less than previously reported. 

When I was there, I kept getting/seeing ads for TX/ND/TN "mailbox services" that will help you reregister your cars, get a new driver's license, create an out-of-state corporation, etc. to essentially cheat the California tax system and make it appear you moved out. I’m willing to bet this is much more prevalent and widespread than we are led to believe.

It also looks like the California real estate crisis appears to be softening. Rent prices have eased and even become stagnant in some areas and it looks like home prices have begun to fall. 

My best friend and her husband live in Austin. They lived outside Santa Barbara for five years prior to moving to Austin in 2019. They know scores of other Californians who moved to Austin during the pandemic and more than half of them have either moved back to California or are in the process of doing so. My friend bought a house in 2020 during the pandemic and they are planning to sell it and move back to the Santa Barbara area in 2025 – even if they have to rent again. She finds all the people who moved from the Bay Area (and then move back) to be amusing … Austin has all the problems of the Bay (expensive housing, homeless, traffic, techbro monoculture) without any of the benefits (great weather, diverse natural beauty, world-class food, world-class universities).

It’s worth pointing out that most of the "California exodus" area MAGA-type folks who feel out of place in California. Contrary to popular belief, they're not bringing liberal California politics with them. If anything, they are making the places they move even more conservative. My friend says some of the people she met in Austin who moved from California and plan to stay have told her things like “I am glad to finally live somewhere where I don’t have to keep my [bigoted] views to myself.”

[kermit]

 

Sorry, my sarcasm detector got broken earlier this week. But, at the risk of making my tone-deafness even worse, I'll reinforce your points with some data.  I pulled this from bea.gov showing actual economic output (GDP by state), California continues to chug along as the locomotive pulling the American train. Population change is often irrelevant to the macro-economic health of a place, and in California's case this appears to be true (and the same data indicates that population growth in NC and TN is not a benefit to the economy). You may well be correct, the California 'exodus' may be more of a mirage than reality.

[apologies for getting my wires crossed on the initial (now edited away) version of this post]

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by kermit

[Windsurfer]

37 minutes ago, kermit said:

 

Sorry, my sarcasm detector got broken earlier this week. But to continue to be tone deaf, I'll reinforce your points with some data.  I pulled this from bea.gov showing actual economic output (GDP by state), California continues to chug along as the locomotive pulling the American train. Population change is often irrelevant to the economic health of a place, and in California's case this appears to be true (and the same data indicates that population growth in NC and TN is not a benefit to the economy). You may well be correct, the California 'exodus' may be more of a mirage than reality. [apologies for getting my wires crossed on the initial (now edited) version of this post]

 

Awesome information. Thanks. Kind of a stick in the mud for the party that praises population growth at any expense.

[kermit]

In an actual democracy, last night’s election results in Virginia (and Ohio and Kentucky) would give the NCGA a considerable amount of agita about the future electoral impacts of their 12 week ban. Unfortunately in our fake democracy, gerrymandering will most likely protect the NCGOP from any actual consequences at the ballot box and allow them to continue to ignore the will of the people.
 

Edited November 8, 2023 by kermit

[15895]

Lol @ the election results on top of a massive shocker of a midterm in 2022 & all the special elections since.
 

The GOP is a mess focusing on conspiracy theories, doubling down on MAGA and their obsession with Transgender folks. 

[15895]

It’s literally impossible to keep up with the billions, billions & billions the Biden administration is raining down for urban areas (of states that accept).

The latest announcement , $16 Billion for further “NEC” (Northeast Corridor (the Boston-Washington rail corridor)) improvements. 

$22.4 Billion has been dedicated to the NEC corridor for fiscal years 2022-2026. The rail investments move projects all up & down the corridor from decades of waiting to all at once. It’ll transform everywhere between Boston & Washington including the respective states. 

Republicans have been trying to block all NEC funding and have been preventing upgrades for years largely led by Ted Cruz (the NEC serves millions a day and has a larger amount of passengers than airlines). Regional rails will be able to operate more like RER in Paris. 

Republicans want to slash funding for Amtrak by 70% specifically in the NEC (in addition to no further investments) 

https://rollcall.com/2023/11/06/northeast-corridor-gets-16-billion-amid-amtrak-fight/

VA GOP was poised to aggravate DC’s Metro funding. Dems retained power and the next day they’re already trying to block Highway expansion studies in the DC area, particularly 495. They say it’ll just lead to more congestion and we should instead invest in Metro expansion, of which Metro already has a $35 Billion budget for future expansion & Capital Improvements.

Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Jose, Seattle, Minneapolis, NYC, Boston, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles are receiving historical federal investment for rail transit with the feds paying up to 90% in some cases. 
 

Republicans in TX rejected high speed rail money and it’ll likely just go to California. 

NC House GOP leader we know his positions.

My point that I know isn’t lost on people…. Vote… Blue… Democrats are the party of optimism, hope, community, investment in country. Republicans are the party of hate, division. They have zero legislative plans, they have zero policy priorities. They took weeks to even select a leader. Their leader doesn’t attend debates. 

Our politicians, leaders, regional leaders are doing the best jobs to make generational change.
 

 

2024 will be a historical win for Democrats. 
 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by AirNostrumMAD