2020 politics

[FrankNash]

Shameful!   But, I'm so proud of the Nashville citizens for coming together to support the future of Tennessee.  Mark my words the Tennessee 3 are the stars of the show!

 

[NashRugger]

And here I thought now living in Texas after living in the politically hilarious state of Missouri was bad...

This is such a shame and will have national repercussions, on either side. One of the more shameful and embarassing things my home state has done. 

Nevermind the overwhelming majority of the 95 counties being in economic turmoil and decline, let's stick it to Nashville and the minority party in the capitol building! 

[FrankNash]

^^^As a native Tennessean this is the saddest day in my 57 years as a citizen of this state.   It's straight up racism.

[PillowTalk4]

The Tennessee legislature has brought undeserved shame and disgrace on Nashville.  My heart goes out to the families that lost loved ones in the Covenant school shooting, the representatives that were crucified by their colleagues and the city of Nashville for being the stage for this spectacle.

 

[Armacing]

On 4/1/2023 at 10:03 PM, samsonh said:

Unrelated to the goldbugs(lol), I am planning my exit from Tennessee. Multiple friends of mine are doing the same. Not immediately, but this state is not where I will be in ten years. The toxic rural politics are pushing away many of us natives. 

I applaud your conviction to decamp to another part of the country that matches your politics.  If only more people in all states would follow your example and sort themselves geographically by political ideology we could have some true "pure-play" examples of which policies work and which don't.  We kind of have that with California, but there are still too many conservatives in CA to call it a pure-play socialist experiment.  For example, the proposal to provide free universal healthcare was defeated by conservatives in CA, and I lament that defeat.  It would have been awesome to see CA try to implement that and then go bankrupt, but there is still hope they will do it.  Maybe you can go to CA and while you're over there convince some free-market conservatives to leave and move to TN?  That would be super helpful.

12 hours ago, samsonh said:

Nashville (and a couple surrounding counties) are the one bright spot economically in this state

You need to get out of Nashville more because this is not the case.  And don't go lumping the "surrounding counties" into your bright spot claim.  The surrounding counties are red counties, so their economic success stands as a counter-point to blue Davidson county.  Let's look at blue Shelby county... How is their economy doing?

11 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

Who could defend people who, evidently, care more about noise levels than the lives of school children?  

I disagree with expelling elected officials, but your statement above is deluded.  You want to know who doesn't care about the lives of school children?  The people running that religious school, and all of the people running all of the schools in Nashville and Tennessee, for that matter.  The whole country is deluded in that they refuse to recognize the need for robust school security at every school.  Guns are not going anywhere, so quit pretending we are just one more mass-shooting away from guns getting banned, and start demanding meaningful security measures be implemented at every school - if you care about the "lives of school children".  Here is an example of a school that actually gets it:  https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/school-hires-combat-vets-with-rifles-to-put-down-active-shooters/

12 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

  I am dreading the inevitable economic repercussions Tennessee will likely suffer as a result of it's ever-intensifying effort to win the Crazytown 500.  

News Flash:  The companies coming here are doing so because of the free-market politics, not in spite of them.  If they were looking for socialist politics they would have located in California.  

[samsonh]

5 hours ago, Armacing said:

I applaud your conviction to decamp to another part of the country that matches your politics.  If only more people in all states would follow your example and sort themselves geographically by political ideology we could have some true "pure-play" examples of which policies work and which don't.  We kind of have that with California, but there are still too many conservatives in CA to call it a pure-play socialist experiment.  For example, the proposal to provide free universal healthcare was defeated by conservatives in CA, and I lament that defeat.  It would have been awesome to see CA try to implement that and then go bankrupt, but there is still hope they will do it.  Maybe you can go to CA and while you're over there convince some free-market conservatives to leave and move to TN?  That would be super helpful.

You need to get out of Nashville more because this is not the case.  And don't go lumping the "surrounding counties" into your bright spot claim.  The surrounding counties are red counties, so their economic success stands as a counter-point to blue Davidson county.  Let's look at blue Shelby county... How is their economy doing?

I disagree with expelling elected officials, but your statement above is deluded.  You want to know who doesn't care about the lives of school children?  The people running that religious school, and all of the people running all of the schools in Nashville and Tennessee, for that matter.  The whole country is deluded in that they refuse to recognize the need for robust school security at every school.  Guns are not going anywhere, so quit pretending we are just one more mass-shooting away from guns getting banned, and start demanding meaningful security measures be implemented at every school - if you care about the "lives of school children".  Here is an example of a school that actually gets it:  https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/school-hires-combat-vets-with-rifles-to-put-down-active-shooters/

News Flash:  The companies coming here are doing so because of the free-market politics, not in spite of them.  If they were looking for socialist politics they would have located in California.  

Armacing: I know you will hate to hear this: California’s economy crushes ours. They carry the US, and rural counties are dragging us down. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/lagdp1222.pdf

I travel often through rural TN, it is not going well in those areas. No jobs, no hope. As to the surrounding counties: I encourage you to check traffic coming into the city in the mornings from all directions. Nashville has the jobs and culture, and people commute in. This is reflected in tax receipts( we went over this once before and you misread and misinterpreted the data, lol).

 

Finally: let’s take a look at this graphic. Policy choices have an impact on lives.

[Argo]

On 4/7/2023 at 4:24 PM, samsonh said:

Armacing: I know you will hate to hear this: California’s economy crushes ours. They carry the US, and rural counties are dragging us down. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/lagdp1222.pdf

I travel often through rural TN, it is not going well in those areas. No jobs, no hope. As to the surrounding counties: I encourage you to check traffic coming into the city in the mornings from all directions. Nashville has the jobs and culture, and people commute in. This is reflected in tax receipts( we went over this once before and you misread and misinterpreted the data, lol).

 

Finally: let’s take a look at this graphic. Policy choices have an impact on lives.

Why don't you provide some form of data and analysis. This isn't fifth grade. Let's try to be intellectual in an adult scientific fashion. Where's the detail? Give us the demographics and their corresponding politics. Support your argument.

Edited April 11, 2023 by Argo

[samsonh]

21 hours ago, Argo said:

Why don't you provide some form of data and analysis. This isn't fifth grade. Let's try to be intellectual in an adult scientific fashion. Where's the detail? Give us the demographics and their corresponding politics. Support your argument.

There was a chart that you must have missed, that is pretty easy to interpret if you follow national politics at all. There as also a link to a BEA page that you must not have clicked that detailed economic growth in large, medium, and small counties respectively. I mean, it is in the  first line of the post, lol. 

 

Here is a nice primer on rural demographic trends: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/105155/eib-246.pdf?v=7574.3

 

First paragraph: The overall decline in population growth and increase in average age in rural areas affect the makeup and availability of the rural labor force. In 2021, people 65 years and older made up more than 20 percent of the nonmetro population for the first time in U.S. census history, up from 16 percent in 2010. In metro areas, just 16 percent of the population was 65 and older in 2021. During the 2010–20 decade, the nonmetro working-age population declined by 4.9 percent and the population under age 18 declined by 5.7 percent, while the population 65 years and older grew by 22 percent. The working-age population continued increasing in metro areas during the 2010s, although at a much lower rate than for adults aged 65 and older

 

I do hope the population growth that happened in 2021 continues for rural areas. I have trouble believing this is a trend and not a blip. Time will tell. 

 

I have pointed you in the proper direction. You can do a little work. Just a little interest in demographics or trends would tell you this is true. 

 

If you are interested in monthly tax collections by county to see how much urban areas in TN outperform per capita you can go here: https://www.tn.gov/revenue/tax-resources/tax-collections-information/monthly-fiscal-year-collections.html

 

I will not do the math for you but if you know how to use excel it is a fairly simple VLOOKUP. 

 

Hope that helps!

Edited April 12, 2023 by samsonh
Commentary

[Argo]

26 minutes ago, samsonh said:

There was a chart that you must have missed, that is pretty easy to interpret if you follow national politics at all. There as also a link to a BEA page that you must not have clicked that detailed economic growth in large, medium, and small counties respectively. I mean, it is in the  first line of the post, lol. 

 

Here is a nice primer on rural demographic trends: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/105155/eib-246.pdf?v=7574.3

 

First paragraph: The overall decline in population growth and increase in average age in rural areas affect the makeup and availability of the rural labor force. In 2021, people 65 years and older made up more than 20 percent of the nonmetro population for the first time in U.S. census history, up from 16 percent in 2010. In metro areas, just 16 percent of the population was 65 and older in 2021. During the 2010–20 decade, the nonmetro working-age population declined by 4.9 percent and the population under age 18 declined by 5.7 percent, while the population 65 years and older grew by 22 percent. The working-age population continued increasing in metro areas during the 2010s, although at a much lower rate than for adults aged 65 and older

 

I do hope the population growth that happened in 2021 continues for rural areas. I have trouble believing this is a trend and not a blip. Time will tell. 

 

I have pointed you in the proper direction. You can do a little work. Just a little interest in demographics or trends would tell you this is true. 

 

If you are interested in monthly tax collections by county to see how much urban areas in TN outperform per capita you can go here: https://www.tn.gov/revenue/tax-resources/tax-collections-information/monthly-fiscal-year-collections.html

 

I will not do the math for you but if you know how to use excel it is a fairly simple VLOOKUP. 

 

Hope that helps!

Stop running from the question.

Give us the demographics and their corresponding politics. Support your argument.

[samsonh]

4 minutes ago, Argo said:

Stop running from the question.

Give us the demographics and their corresponding politics. Support your argument.

Argo,

 

I have answered your question. But here you go one last time:

 

https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/rural-population

 

Rural population is shrinking. 

 

Here is the red blue map, showing rural counties are overwhelming red. 

 

https://brilliantmaps.com/2020-county-election-map/

 

An article discussing politcal views and rural/urban divide: https://source.wustl.edu/2020/02/the-divide-between-us-urban-rural-political-differences-rooted-in-geography/

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/08/10/shrinking-rural-america-faces-state-power-struggle

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/08/2020-census-shrinking-counties-voted-trump.html

 

 

None of this should be news to you if you pay any attention to national politics. 

 

 

[AsianintheNations]

Just for fun, I made a map of all the addresses submitted for candidates' petitions to run for mayor of Nashville in the upcoming election (publicly available from the election commission website). 4/15 within the I-440 or downtown loop, 7/15 within Briley Parkway. While many do work downtown in various government positions, I do feel like where they live could shape their perception of the priorities of the city, especially transit/pedestrian infrastructure. But then again, maybe not - the downtown marker corresponds to a candidate running on an anti-transit / small government platform.

Bonus stat: 8/15 of these locations have sidewalks.

This idea came to me after I recently got an unsolicited campaign text requesting donations ... because the handling of Taylor Swift ticket sales was unacceptable and somehow that should be a top priority of the mayor. That got me wondering how you could look around and identify that as the issue you're going to use to engage voters.

Edited May 7, 2023 by AsianintheNations

[samsonh]

Bump!

 

https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/05/10/analysis-how-nashville-and-its-suburbs-subsidize-tennessees-state-government/

 

 

[Pdt2f]

On 4/7/2023 at 4:24 PM, samsonh said:

Armacing: I know you will hate to hear this: California’s economy crushes ours. They carry the US, and rural counties are dragging us down. https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/lagdp1222.pdf

I travel often through rural TN, it is not going well in those areas. No jobs, no hope. As to the surrounding counties: I encourage you to check traffic coming into the city in the mornings from all directions. Nashville has the jobs and culture, and people commute in. This is reflected in tax receipts( we went over this once before and you misread and misinterpreted the data, lol).

 

Finally: let’s take a look at this graphic. Policy choices have an impact on lives.

I don’t think that graph is as simplistic as Republican rural counties vs Democratic urban counties. Many of the reddest parts of this map with the lowest life expectancies are the deeply democratic “Black Belt” running from central Louisiana through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and into eastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina, along with democratic voting American Indian counties in the west and Alaska. Nebraska and Iowa are Republican voting rural states where the vast majority of counties are blue on that map, with higher life expectancies. The map basically just seems to say that poverty leads to lower life expectancy, which is to be expected. For example, the bluest parts Tennessee and Alabama are Williamson (TN) and Shelby (AL) counties, which are both wealthy Republican voting counties. I believe Baldwin County, AL is also shaded blue, and it’s another relatively wealthy Republican voting county. I can’t tell for sure if it’s blue on that map but if it is, Rankin County, Miss is also the only blue shaded county in that state and it’s a Republican county as well. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Pdt2f
Content addition

[Luvemtall]

So here we are, a special session of the Tennessee Legislature and the GOP leadership is at it again. 
Silencing the voices of the very people who they work for, the will of the people not to happen under their Bullyingmenship . REALLY! They passed new “rules” just so they don’t have to listen to what the people of this state have to say! 
it’s utterly disgusting to watch such blatant hypocrisy and disregard to our democracy and constitutional rights. It’s mighty fine for the former guy , and all of them to always use the 1st amendment, but when it’s time for the tables to turn and the people want to speak it’s time to make new absurd laws. Pitiful!

[Argo]

2 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

So here we are, a special session of the Tennessee Legislature and the GOP leadership is at it again. 
Silencing the voices of the very people who they work for, the will of the people not to happen under their Bullyingmenship . REALLY! They passed new “rules” just so they don’t have to listen to what the people of this state have to say! 
it’s utterly disgusting to watch such blatant hypocrisy and disregard to our democracy and constitutional rights. It’s mighty fine for the former guy , and all of them to always use the 1st amendment, but when it’s time for the tables to turn and the people want to speak it’s time to make new absurd laws. Pitiful!

And also...

It's great they are passing laws to prosecute child sex traffickers as well as protect children from being  mutilated. Seems the other side is just the opposite. All so that pedophiles can have some fun and the medical industry can rake in the cash. The immorality of it all. Glad to see the real adults in the room choose to protect kids.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Argo

[UTgrad09]

 

1 hour ago, Argo said:

And also...

It's great they are passing laws to prosecute child sex traffickers as well as protect children from being  mutilated. Seems the other side is just the opposite. All so that pedophiles can have some fun and the medical industry can rake in the cash. The immorality of it all. Glad to see the real adults in the room choose to protect kids.

[BnaBreaker]

4 hours ago, Argo said:

And also...

It's great they are passing laws to prosecute child sex traffickers as well as protect children from being  mutilated. Seems the other side is just the opposite. All so that pedophiles can have some fun and the medical industry can rake in the cash. The immorality of it all. Glad to see the real adults in the room choose to protect kids.

Holding my tongue... holding my tongue... but I swear to god, why is this guy still allowed to post here?  We're all entitled to our political opinions of course, and it's okay if we disagree... many of us, myself included, make the occasional political post... and when it comes to Argo specifically usually I am fine with just rolling my eyes and moving past his usual robotic "adults in the room" BS... but things like the above are just so far beyond that... I mean the guy is straight up calling people pro-pedophile.  How is that not crossing the line?  

Edited August 24, 2023 by BnaBreaker

[titanhog]

7 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

Holding my tongue... holding my tongue... but I swear to god, why is this guy still allowed to post here?  

I don’t agree with most of what Argo says…but it’s this attitude right here from you guys on the left on this board that keeps anyone remotely conservative from posting.  I pretty much stopped posting on here (even though I’ve been a member for nearly 20 years) just because as a conservative, I feel so damned unwelcome…and feel like this is a liberals-only message board.  At least you guys could just stop being hypocritical and come out and admit you want this to be a “safe space” for liberals.

As a conservative, I’ve read conservative attacks on here one after another…and you guys don’t even have a clue.  In your self-righteousness, you just think you’re right…not that what you’re expressing is an opinion…just that it’s fact.  It’s an arrogance that frankly is pretty disgusting to read.  It used to not be like this…in the beginning…but now this board just seems to be filled with angry “shake my fist at the world and blame the conservatives for all of my ills” left-wing Urbanist fanboys.

I’ll eventually learn my lesson and leave for good, like I should have a long time ago…but I keep thinking I’ll come back to see things have changed.  But…sadly, they have not.

[BnaBreaker]

3 hours ago, titanhog said:

I don’t agree with most of what Argo says…but it’s this attitude right here from you guys on the left on this board that keeps anyone remotely conservative from posting.  I pretty much stopped posting on here (even though I’ve been a member for nearly 20 years) just because as a conservative, I feel so damned unwelcome…and feel like this is a liberals-only message board.  At least you guys could just stop being hypocritical and come out and admit you want this to be a “safe space” for liberals.

As a conservative, I’ve read conservative attacks on here one after another…and you guys don’t even have a clue.  In your self-righteousness, you just think you’re right…not that what you’re expressing is an opinion…just that it’s fact.  It’s an arrogance that frankly is pretty disgusting to read.  It used to not be like this…in the beginning…but now this board just seems to be filled with angry “shake my fist at the world and blame the conservatives for all of my ills” left-wing Urbanist fanboys.

I’ll eventually learn my lesson and leave for good, like I should have a long time ago…but I keep thinking I’ll come back to see things have changed.  But…sadly, they have not.

Hmm, if you're familiar with Argo's schtick, and aren't on board with it, then why you saw my post directed at him as a personal attack on you, or conservatives in general, I really can't say.  As I've gone out of my way to tell you many times before, I think you're absolutely awesome, and wish you'd post here more!  I'm not sure how I could be more welcoming than that.  In fact, I generally like all of the conservative voices on here as people, some of whom share their political opinions fairly readily, and as I just said, I have no problem with that.  It's okay if we disagree.  So I'm not sure why you're acting as if I'm suggesting conservative opinions in general be banned.  Argo (and all of his various alter-egos through the years) is the only forumer I've ever suggested deserved to be banned, not because he is a conservative, but because he regularly uses highly incendiary language (see above,) and to make matters worse, he really doesn't do much else around here.  I mean good grief, is it really such an unreasonable request to ask that calling people 'pro-pedophile'  not be allowed?  I feel like that's a preeeeeeetty low bar.      

Edited August 24, 2023 by BnaBreaker

[samsonh]

6 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

Hmm, if you're familiar with Argo's schtick, and aren't on board with it, then why you saw my post directed at him as a personal attack on you, or conservatives in general, I really can't say.  As I've gone out of my way to tell you many times before, I think you're absolutely awesome, and wish you'd post here more!  I'm not sure how I could be more welcoming than that.  In fact, I generally like all of the conservative voices on here as people, some of whom share their political opinions fairly readily, and as I just said, I have no problem with that.  It's okay if we disagree.  So I'm not sure why you're acting as if I'm suggesting conservative opinions in general be banned.  Argo (and all of his various alter-egos through the years) is the only forumer I've ever suggested deserved to be banned, not because he is a conservative, but because he regularly uses highly incendiary language (see above,) and to make matters worse, he really doesn't do much else around here.  I mean good grief, is it really such an unreasonable request to ask that calling people 'pro-pedophile'  not be allowed?  I feel like that's a preeeeeeetty low bar.      

Exactly. Also this is an urbanism forum. It’s going to lean to the left. 
 

not sure who Argo is exactly, but fieldmarshaldj called me a pedophile before he left. That was nice.

[Luvemtall]

First and foremost TitanHog , you are truly appreciated and your views and opinions really do matter. Since I signed into this forum, I have  always valued your input and stand behind many of your great ideas. My post above has nothing against you or Conservatives as a whole , as I’ve stated before I’m not left or right I’m independent and pretty much right in the middle. I like to think I’m an open minded American. I’ve lost my oldest son to the war in Afghanistan, and proudly fly Old Glory in my yard. I have many Conservative family and friends , who I respect and cherish. They are of the old school of Conservative values and politics, and respect the ideas of others and I also have a gay son legally married to a wonderful husband. My post above is about the new age of right wing extremism, from a select few, who feel that because they hold the super majority they have a right to change centuries of history and  to pass laws to mold the country into their ideological worldview. They want to control everything, from their views on guns to women’s health to who a person can love to the types of entertainment one can enjoy. It just doesn’t work that way! There needs to be a middle ground, a peaceful understanding between all parties and the openness to compromise on issues that matter and effectively address all of us . It’s just not acceptable that the voices of those who disagree with the path and actions of those in power are silenced , that’s the making of a Dictatorship and that’s not what The United States and its Democracy have stood for, or what so many have fought and gave their lives for. We as a whole are better then this , the current political climate is dangerous to all of us regardless of what side you support. We should not be picking sides and closing our eyes and minds to the other , we should be focusing on making sure this Country stays United and work together towards a better future for all its people. 

[Nathan_in_DC]

On 8/23/2023 at 11:57 PM, BnaBreaker said:

Holding my tongue... holding my tongue... but I swear to god, why is this guy still allowed to post here?  We're all entitled to our political opinions of course, and it's okay if we disagree... many of us, myself included, make the occasional political post... and when it comes to Argo specifically usually I am fine with just rolling my eyes and moving past his usual robotic "adults in the room" BS... but things like the above are just so far beyond that... I mean the guy is straight up calling people pro-pedophile.  How is that not crossing the line?  

I was about to say the same thing. This isn't a left-right thing, it's about common decency. This person is sitting here calling people pedophiles, that's not okay.  

Healthy political discourse is good. This board needs more right-leaning commenters. Having a good split of left, right, and middle who are capable of respectfully and thoughtfully laying out their theories and opinions is essential to positive discourse, especially when said discourse is by its nature political (which urban development often is). But this sort of stuff is hardly thoughtful or respectful...it's just trolling. You can't equivocate this behavior.

Just above this samsonh, Armacing, and Pdt2f got into a debate that was heated. It was an argument you might hear in any coffee shop or bar among people who know each other but have vastly differing viewpoints. And just as in real life, no one felt the need to call the other side a pedophile. Being a decent human being and talking to people like you would if you were face-to-face isn't that hard.

Edited August 29, 2023 by Nathan_in_DC

[Nathan_in_DC]

On 8/24/2023 at 12:16 AM, titanhog said:

I don’t agree with most of what Argo says…but it’s this attitude right here from you guys on the left on this board that keeps anyone remotely conservative from posting.  I pretty much stopped posting on here (even though I’ve been a member for nearly 20 years) just because as a conservative, I feel so damned unwelcome…and feel like this is a liberals-only message board.  At least you guys could just stop being hypocritical and come out and admit you want this to be a “safe space” for liberals.

As a conservative, I’ve read conservative attacks on here one after another…and you guys don’t even have a clue.  In your self-righteousness, you just think you’re right…not that what you’re expressing is an opinion…just that it’s fact.  It’s an arrogance that frankly is pretty disgusting to read.  It used to not be like this…in the beginning…but now this board just seems to be filled with angry “shake my fist at the world and blame the conservatives for all of my ills” left-wing Urbanist fanboys.

I’ll eventually learn my lesson and leave for good, like I should have a long time ago…but I keep thinking I’ll come back to see things have changed.  But…sadly, they have not.

You've been a presence on this forum for a long time, much longer longer than I have. You have a history of providing quality, well thought out, insightful comments. I truly hope you reconsider leaving, but rather engage people and provide counterpoints to the items you believe are self-righteous opinions stated as facts. I honestly want you to give some examples of where people have made you feel like you're not welcome as a conservative or Republican, or that this is a liberals-only place. I also understand if there isn't anything specific you can bring to mind, but rather just a general feeling of the trajectory of the board.

Turning this place into an echo chamber isn't a good thing for anyone. We all, both right and left, need to be kept honest, and I hope you are willing to play an active role in keeping this place sane!

[Luvemtall]

.33 cents for Premium! , but minimum wage was 1.15 in 1964. If you were lucky you could make 100.00 per week. Put things in perspective, it’s about the same ratios as today’s market. It’s just a numbers game , we could all make 100.00 per hour, but then gas would be 33.00 per gallon. 

[Armacing]

2 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

.33 cents for Premium! , but minimum wage was 1.15 in 1964. If you were lucky you could make 100.00 per week. Put things in perspective, it’s about the same ratios as today’s market. It’s just a numbers game , we could all make 100.00 per hour, but then gas would be 33.00 per gallon. 

The ratios are not the same.   The standard of living has definitely gone down.  A family used to live comfortably on one income, now they struggle with two incomes.  The Fed has been consistently inflating the money supply over the past 60 years to prop up wall street asset values and create the mother-of-all credit bubbles and that has been financed by the savings of everyday Americans.  The Fed's target inflation rate is above the interest rate they set for bank deposits, so what does that tell you?  They don't want you to save... but who can save, really?  The cost of essentials like housing and medical care  (both of which suffer from artificial supply constraints imposed by the government) has risen much faster than the widely referenced "Consumer Price Index".