It is amazing to me that Red state voters don’t seem to understand that the people they elect at both the state and federal level have no interest in fostering their wellbeing; they have a very different agenda. Here is yet another example of this.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy Credit: Reuters / Brendan McDermid
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The spending-cut proposals unveiled by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday could fall hardest on people in Republican-leaning states, a Reuters analysis of federal spending data found.
McCarthy’s plan, which he presented as a condition for raising the United States’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, calls for cutting some agency budgets by 7% this year and capping their growth by 1% annually after that.
It also would impose stiffer work requirements on some benefit programs, which could reduce the number of people who receive them.
McCarthy only laid out broad contours on Monday, rather than unveiling finished legislation, which makes it difficult to determine the proposed cuts’ precise toll.
But a Reuters analysis of federal spending data indicates that his proposed domestic-spending caps could be felt most acutely in the states that backed Republican President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Those 25 states received roughly $172 billion in the last fiscal year for highway construction, housing, public health and […]
Here is a very important trend that I think is going to determine the 2024 elections, unless the Democrats screw up, which they are fully capable of doing. As this polling shows an increasing number, nearly a majority of voters are now Independents. The Republicans, because they serve interests in personal power and status, and serve the corporations and oligarchs that rent them have lost contact with anyone but the MAGAt fringe, but that cohort is a small minority. By themselves, even with gerrymandering, and voter suppression cannot win an election by themselves. And Independents are defined by the fact they fell no affiliation with either party. What they care about is fostering wellbeing. Look at the young people, look at the women. The overturn of Roe through Dobbs, and the daily gun violence, and the attack on libraries highly motivates them. The Democrats need to shout out their wellbeing programs loud and with enthusiasm. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are the successful path to walk, in my opinion.
We spend our days captivated by people with the most power and the biggest mouths. But it turns out a rising number of Americans want something else — political independence.
Driving the news: Gallup polling last month found that a record 49% of Americans see themselves as politically independent — the same as the two major parties put together.
By far the dominant U.S. party isn’t Democrats or Republicans. It’s: “I’ll shop around, thank you.”
Why it matters: This trend means rising future challenges to the might and money of the two traditional parties, and helps explain how volatile and evenly split our politics are. There’s no sign either will ebb any time soon.
What’s happening: Gallup analyst Jeff Jones says a big reason for this change is driven by younger generation.
“It was never unusual for younger adults to have higher percentages of independents than older adults,” Jones said. “What is unusual is that as Gen X and millennials get older, they are staying independent rather than picking a party, as older generations tended to do.”
ALEXANDER BURNS, Associate Editor for Global Politics - Politico
Stephan:
Here is another facet of the Great Schism Trend; one that has not gotten as much attention as it should.
Democratic Illinois Governor. J.B. Pritzker
In other times, Gov. J.B. Pritzker might have batted away my question as a contrived provocation.
But the Illinois Democrat was far from dismissive last week when I asked him whether he could imagine a scenario where a federal judge issued a ruling so wildly wrongheaded that Pritzker would decline to enforce it in his state.
“That’s not something that I anticipate having to do and that’s not something I would want to do,” Pritzker said. “I believe in the rule of the law and I believe in our Constitution.”
He added a note of grim realism: “And I know there are misinterpretations of our Constitution. We’ve all lived with that.”
It was a calibrated answer, indicating distaste for my hypothetical without completely ruling it out. And at this point, how could he — or any Democratic governor — foreclose the possibility that a rogue judge might precipitate that kind of clash?
Pritzker, 58, made plain in our conversation that he is not looking for war with the federal judiciary. Yet in many […]
This report on the decreasing level of personal hygiene amongst younger men in two populations — age 18–26 and 27–42 — I see as part of a larger trend, increasing obesity, Type II diabetes, a host of other afflictions, and a shortening lifespan. Also decreased fertility. I think additionally there is a strong psychological component. Men do better when service for social wellbeing is a cultural priority. That’s why our art and literature is filled with heroes. There are very few heroes in our politics today, which is why an increasing number of voters are now Independents.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK — More than seven in 10 (73%) Gen Z and millennial men admit they need an intervention when it comes to their self-care habits. In a recent survey of 2,000 men ages 18–26 and 27–42, over two in five (42%) revealed they need someone to confront them about their skin care regimen or lack thereof, as well as their diet (42%). Other aspects of their lives in need of an intervention include fitness levels (37%) and how much sleep they get (34%).
Amazingly, only 54 percent of young men brush their teeth daily, with far less washing their face (35%), flossing (30%), or moisturizing (19%).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of CeraVe, the survey also discovered that a third (33%) have no skincare routine at all. Forty-two percent first began practicing skin care between the ages of 15 and 17. What influenced men to start taking care of their skin? A first date (50%) and their first job (48%).
Brett Wilkins, Staff Writer - truthout / Common Dreams
Stephan:
More than 50 years ago, President, and former five star general, Dwight Eisenhower warned America about what he called the military-industrial complex. More than any president before or since Eisenhower understood the rapacious greed of the corporations that made up this sector of our economy. He was right. The U.S. has by far the largest military budget in the world at $767.8 billion in 2021. It is so large that is greater than the next seven largest national budgets combined. China’s budget is the next largest at $270 billion. In comparison, the other four nations had more modest outlays that same year, ranging from Saudi Arabia’s $53.8 billion to India’s $73.6 billion. Why is the American budget so large? Because the military-industrial corporations pour hundreds of millions into Congress to bribe both Republicans and Democrats to vote for this outrageous budget, which both Republican and Democrat Presidents signed off on. It is the biggest single grift going on in the United States. I want to be clear here. This is not about the military itself. Neither enlisted nor officers get anything like what they would get in the private sector. A private first class with 8 years of service gets $23,011.20 annually. The highest ranking general or admiral running what would be a multibillion-dollar corporation in the private sector gets $203,000 annually. What is going on here is the sheer greed of the corporations; it is one of the sweetest deals in America, and you and I are paying for it.
The average U.S. taxpayer in 2022 spent over four times as much on Pentagon contractors than on primary and secondary education, according to the annual Tax Day analysis published in recent days by the Institute for Policy Studies’ National Priorities Project.
NPP found that, on average, American taxpayers contributed $1,087 to Pentagon contractors, compared with $270 for K-12 education. The top military contractor — Lockheed Martin — received $106 from the average taxpayer, while just $6 went to funding renewable energy.
According to the analysis, the average 2022 U.S. taxpayer:
Paid $74 for nuclear weapons, and just $43 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
Spent $70 on deportations and border control, versus just $19 for refugee assistance;
Contributed $20 for federal prisons, and just $11 for anti-homelessness programs; and
Gave $298 to the top five military contractors, and just $19 for mental health and substance abuse.
“The main message? Our government is continuing to invest too much in the military, and in militarized law enforcement, and not nearly enough on prevention, people, and our communities,” NPP said.
