Has nothing to do with real estate, but our neighbors on this side of the world really should be our strongest trade partners. From Quartz:
The US imported more from Mexico than China for the first time in decades
For the first time in two decades, US imports from Mexico surpassed those from China, according to data from the US Census Bureau, signaling a shift in global trade due to tensions between the US and China.
The US’s trade deficit, which represents exports minus imports, with China fell, with imports falling 20% to $427.2 billion last year, noting that consumers and businesses in the US also turned to Canada and countries in Europe and Asia to import goods such as auto parts and raw materials. Meanwhile, exports from Mexico to the US were worth $475.6 billion, staying close to last year’s number.
While the US’s total trade deficit slimmed to 18.7% last year, its exports around the world increased in 2023. However, the report shows US consumers and businesses bought less goods such as crude oil and cellphones, leading imports to fall.
In January, US Census Bureau data showed that US imports from China from January to November 2023 fell over 21% when compared to the same period the previous year, while US imports from Mexico grew almost 5% at the same time.
The Census Bureau also reported that Chinese imports to the US from January to November 2023 made up 13.9% of the US’s total imports—its lowest level since 2004. At the same time, Mexico’s share of total imports to the US grew to 15.5%, which was a record high.
The recent fall in Chinese trade with the US is partially due to high demand during the pandemic, the New York Times reported, noting that during the pandemic, US consumers bought many Chinese-made products.
Foist
By the way, this is how you fix the illegal immigration problem.
GOP elite needs cheap labor and won’t fix anything. Capitalism 101
Grim says:
February 8, 2024 at 6:02 am
By the way, this is how you fix the illegal immigration problem.
Now that the El Salvador president has jailed the criminals, let’s throw a Tesla production plant down there and employ some folks.
This is good news and lately, I’ve noticed “made in” labels on clothing and objects reflecting it.
If Leftwing’s representations about himself are true (not challenging them), why would he be seeking a political revolution? Revolution is talked about by the oppressed. Why would a guy who is making money, driving a fancy car and f*cking women half his age plus 7 want to change anything?
Truly impressed by your hubris on a regular basis.
Juice; Thanks for the link on the Nat Geo article.
1987: The Pres of El Salvador does not mess around. The WSJ article says he has imprisoned 15k or more gang members. Massive jail in the jungle. No visits allowed. The gang leaders can no longer run their gang activities from jail. The capital city is much safer now, no more shake down money from shop keepers etc. The President easily won re-election.
re: “By the way, this is how you fix the illegal immigration problem.”
Yes Mexican make up a large portion of border jumpers, but haven’t we given them enough of our industry already? Are we now just a nation of shop keepers? What is next ship the remaining programming jobs to Mexico?
Our biggest export was our jobs and auto industry to Mexico, because our biggest import are cars, truck and parts from Mexico is the second largest automobile manufacturing nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States.
Sure we could probably do the same with the other central and even south American nations. It would benefit everyone for example if we took over Venezuela before China gets an even stronger foothold there. Every month there are something like 30,000 Venezuelans trying to cross the border illegally fleeing that hellhole in South America. A quick US invasion, a new constitution, a democratically elected government that approves a free trade agreement and before you know it they will stop coming to our borders trying to cross the Rio Grande.
We don’t need a revolution. We really only need to fix three simple things.
1) Campaign Finance/Election Reform – No more lobbyists, no more Super PACs, no more Foundations. Each candidate gets a small equal loan from the government. If you can garner 5% of the vote in the primary, you need not pay it back. All appearances will be on PBS and of equal length. 15 days prior to primary, government produces a Voter Information Guide. Each candidate gets one page/250 words to describe their platform. Same with General. Gotta get the money out of politics.
2) Term Limits/Corporate Board Limits/Investment Limits – Ten years max, regardless of elected or appointed position at all levels of government. Federal to Local. You may not serve on a corporate board for ten years post service. You can not invest in individual stocks while in service and must wait ten years post service.
3) Accountability – Every government department, Fed to Local, will be reviewed by independent auditors from the private sector. These reports will be made public. Failure to increase productivity to acceptable levels will result in replacement of staff. This will probably more than pay for itself ten times over and would probably turn our deficits into surpluses. Auditors/Consultants will be paid out of savings.
Boom. Stutopia.
The current system was designed by Leftwings people for Lefwing’s benefit. Reagan, Trump, Supreme Court, US Senate, economic elite, it’s all Lefwings people.
Campaign finance, etc, were all designed by Leftwings people to benefit Lefwings candidates. We live in a world designed by them.
Their talk of revolution is nonsense. It’s basically a desire to return Black people to pre 1960’s Civil Rights.
Old realtor says:
February 8, 2024 at 7:41 am
If Leftwing’s representations about himself are true (not challenging them), why would he be seeking a political revolution? Revolution is talked about by the oppressed. Why would a guy who is making money, driving a fancy car and f*cking women half his age plus 7 want to change anything?
Truly impressed by your hubris on a regular basis.
“I’ll take Dem corruption and personal enrichment over coat hangers,morons and a President who repeatedly lies to his supporters that he is a constitutionalist and freedom lover while claiming to be above the law and restricting rights if it guarantees the Christian vote. So much for separation of church and state. Sorry. Again, I’ll stick with corruption.”
Thank you for your honesty. Love you like a brother but can we now drop the facade that you are a ‘centrist criticizing both sides equally’?
Lib – Campaign Finance/Election Reform at this point requires a constitutional amendment. 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United, which allows unlimited election spending, striking down many laws passed by Congress on first amendment grounds. Corporations are people, and even states cannot pass laws restricting their spending.
Limiting “independent political spending” from corporations and other groups violates the First Amendment right to free speech. Yes here we are today…Billions of dollars in federal election spending.
There was an argument made by Justice Stevens that legal entities are not “We the People” for whom our Constitution was established, totally right and totally ignored when it came time to vote.
BTW President Obama at the time had a majority in both the House and the Senate. They spent all of their time working on Obamacare instead of campaign finance reform.
There may never be another constitutional amendment. The bar has been set too high.
The last one passed 42 years ago the 27th amendment took 202 years, 223 days for the States to ratify. It was political, it simply delayed congressional raises to take effect until after the next election. 202 years!!
The 26th gave 18 year olds the right to vote, that was 53 years ago it was designed to nullify the youth who claimed they would not be drafted (Vietnam) if they could not vote.
This experiment in Democracy has really ended, pretty soon the AI (a corporation) will decide who gets to be elected. It will direct it’s billions in $$$$ earned by front running trades into campaign finance spending to the candidate it chooses to further it’s interests of AI Domination.
“Plus, in this case, the Republicans said no more war spending without a border crisis solution. This is what they asked for.”
“And I could have sworn last year the House said no more war funding without border reform.”
And whom are these Republicans of which you speak?
Every Member (House and Senate) has a voice. That voice is representative of their constituents. Each is unique.
The Senate and House are for practical purposes split 50/50. Every vote matters. I am not aware of any Republican, House or Senate, who has given their vote to a proxy in this matter. To the contrary, many from the beginning have been vocal that they would not support this bill.
Failure of any bill to pass either chamber is a failure of the leadership of that chamber.
When McCarthy/Johnson can’t pass a bill in the House, it is their failure.
When Schumer can’t pass a bill in the Senate (60 votes required for cloture) it is his failure.
Bottom line leadership – Schumer for the Dems and the relatively new Lankford for the Repubs – thought they had the votes for what they constructed. They didn’t. Their bad. Back to the drawing board, gentlemen, for something that satisfies 60 Senators and the House.
The system is not broken, it is working as intended. The voice of each Member in our representative democracy is actually being heard here. The difference now is this measure cannot be steamrolled through by ‘buying’ votes unrelated to the topics at hand with your taxpayer dollars as this is not an omnibus spending bill…no pork to hand out. Schumer/Lankford-McConnell thought they corralled enough votes merging these three issues together as drafted. They didn’t.
Failure here is a feature, not a flaw.
Do the math yourselves…isolate the votes for each of the three issues alone and Venn it. The intersection is less than 60 votes and won’t clear the House.
I suspect a lot of it is Chinese goods…filtered through Mexico to avoid tariffs.
yeah…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-09-14/supply-chain-latest-china-companies-bypass-us-duties-by-going-via-mexico?embedded-checkout=true
“Very Stable Genius says: The current system was designed by Leftwings people for Lefwing’s benefit. Reagan, Trump, Supreme Court, US Senate, economic elite, it’s all Lefwings people.”
Leftwing says: you’re a clueless idiot.
30/40/Old….seems as you age you take on Pumpkin-esque traits, viewing what others say through your own prism then attributing that altered view to the original speaker…
I have never called for ‘revolution’.
Your misperception that I seek some sort of overthrow is incorrect. The reality is much more simple, my views derive from who I am and what I’ve experienced.
I grew up in flyover country with a father who was a machinist in an area so populated with American manufacturing plants there were too many to count. A couple dozen, easily. Not one remains. He was laid off sometime during my high school years. My mother worked in a pizza ‘factory’ to assist with her children’s college tuition costs, laying pepperoni on plain pizzas as they passed by on a conveyor line before they were shrink wrapped and flash frozen for delivery to supermarket freezers. She was elated when she was hired for a night time cleaning crew at the electric utility as it was a pay bump and had healthcare and a pension.
I left home at 18, never went back. I had every alphabet soup of aid and loans to get through college. Work study, and a regular job too at university. On graduation I was fortunate enough to work full time in an industry, at a time, and in three international capitals that provided me with all the benefits that one would expect to accrue. But I do not forget where I came from, nor that the majority of the country remains there.
That background and those experiences inform my opinions and my visceral distaste of Establishment figures. Especially those born on the third base line who continue to wreak havoc on the mainstream population. (Mitt, you out there? Hey, can a current Bush remind me how many generations went through Yale and Skull and Bones?). And there is a special hell for those types on the Left, as they with intent understand their policies and activities are long term negative for these populations yet persevere for their own personal benefit while lying directly to the faces of these people that they ‘feel their pain’.
So, yeah, if that makes me a revolutionary paint me that color and hand me a Che beret. I’ll gladly wear it.
Otherwise these Establishment politicians are a cancer for this country, and one that has metastasized enough to threaten the survival of the patient.
D-FENS re: “filtered through Mexico”
A company I once worked for used to ship product to Mexico. There is an automatic 16% value-added tax added for direct shipments from China. To get around that they would ship to the US and then truck it south to Mexico, the paperwork was all changed too most likely illegal under Mexican law.
Mexico has very strict laws on imports. Remember that giant sucking sound ala Ross Perot? That was actually jobs moving from Mexico to China… They don’t like China that is for sure. Much of the work they could have gotten from Apple for example, well Apple’s assembly partners Foxconn etc, I don’t think they every opened plants south of the border like they promised…
“By the way, [Mexican trade] is how you fix the illegal immigration problem.”…”Yes Mexican make up a large portion of border jumpers…”
https://www.voanews.com/a/diverse-nationalities-professions-among-migrants-at-us-mexico-border/7100889.html
“In the past, most of the migrants entering the U.S. or apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border were coming from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
In the last few months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have noticed a change. Now the majority are fleeing Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti. “
“facade that you are a ‘centrist criticizing both sides equally’?”
It’s alright brother. When Trump gets elected, you will see what I was saying. He is not fit to do anything but maybe sell used cars.
Never disagreed with you there Lib.
3B, check out SOFI’s article on credit card debt, which came out today. Looks like I guessed correctly.
https://www.sofi.com/article/money-life/us-consumer-spending-could-hit-roadblock-per-this-data/
“Despite the increase in select delinquencies, the story looked differently for other loan types , including student loans and mortgages, where delinquencies remained below pre-pandemic levels. This contributed to the overall delinquency rate remaining well below pre-pandemic levels as well at 3.1%.”
I mentioned Venezuela for a reason. 25% of the entire country population has fled in the last 10 years with many making the long land trek here something like 30,000 every month. That is an Army of expats that could easily be trained and sent back to liberate their own people. I don’t think there is any real hope for the Barbados Accords to succeed there. Maduro will do whatever he wants to stay in power, he is even trying to Annex 1/2 of Guyana and their oil.
And TPR just released earnings that were strong. Easily a 50%er with a nice dividend to boot.
Left can you drop the façade that you are apolitical and would ever vote for a Dem.
Obama technically had a majority, but the GOP had 40 plus Joe Lieberman so they could block anything coming to a vote. That’s a standard play for them these days.
Can we also file the “Joe has dementia claim” is just a retread of the Hillary had a brain aneurism we got in 2016. Joe is in great shape. When was the last time you saw a dementia patient on a mountain bike.
The other harbinger of stupid is Joe Rogan. I remember someone in her quoting him as gospel. I cant wait until he gets that Pulitzer Prize for live streaming a Wiki Lookup.
Gary I pointed out to Nom years ago that the only ones in here who watch “Left wing media” are those on the right.
My favorite from the dealer is the 50K brake job on the Prius. Regenerative braking on Hybrids and Electrics means less pad wear and very little heat cycling on the brake fluid.
Also the Immigration arguments miss a few points. The first is that the low wages put downward pressure on the cost of goods. The second is that the services you claim they benefit from (schools etc) are already there. If the kid is born here they are a citizen and have the same rights as your kids. The DACA kids are not eligible for a lot of programs like financial aid and immigrants (legal or not) are not eligible for programs such as Social Security.
“I had every alphabet soup of aid and loans to get through college”
So you are a Clarence Thomas, climb up the ladder and kick it off the wall when you get to the top?
He fell off the bike.
Juice,
“That is an Army of expats that could easily be trained”
For all intent and purpose we are and behave like an empire. Look up history and see what works. The French have “The Foreign Legion Corps”. The British had the Scottish, Irish, Indian, Kenyan ,etc branches under the Royal military.
The sad thing about the geritocracy in power is their apathy based on cheer lack of imagination and cynicism that comes from old age. All branches of the military except the Marine Corps can’t find recruits. We all see the gathering clouds.
The US needs a Foreign Legion Corps. Those immigrants crossing the border illegally either be deported or sign up for an 8 yrs stretch (open to children/parents and singles time required to become English literate, acculturate and kept separated from where you came from as you can’t leave the US and must have limited communication until completion, learn skill sets and fight a war or two ) and like the French Foreign Legion when time is up you get your new identity and french nationality.
Just look at the age group of those that attacked the NYPD cops. All of perfect military age and all need the military discipline and guidance to be their North star as they are coming from anarchic crapholes.
False equivalence. I do give you credit for referring to them by their correct acronym and not the whitewashed moniker foist out there to fumigate the truth.
. The DACA kids are not eligible for a lot of programs like financial aid and immigrants (legal or not) are not eligible for programs such as Social Security.
The “Very Stable Genius” moniker is irony reflecting back on itself. An idiot criticizing an idiot, both vain and wrong, coming from different directions.
“Left can you drop the façade that you are apolitical and would ever vote for a Dem.”
Never professed to be apolitical, I’m highly political. But with zero fealty to any Party. If Bernie squeaked through I would have hit that. Give me some firebombers, I’d hit them. Problem is, for both Parties until recently, you get to Congress and figure out very quickly you are a Delta house plebe…sit down, shut up, and do what you’re told. Care to venture why even the “Squad” has been MIA since Sept 2022?
“So you are a Clarence Thomas, climb up the ladder and kick it off the wall when you get to the top?”
Hardly. But I support policies that actually help at need populations, not politicians who say they do while lining their (and their friends’) pockets on the back of policies that have failed, some for generations.
Left,
You want firebombers but you aren’t calling for revolution. LOL. How about hanging a picture of the 1/6 rioters on your wall? Does that qualify as revolution? And you recently used the word “change” in a comment about immigration law where “revolution” would have been more correct.
Call me names. I couldn’t care less.
OldFogiexxxxxxxx
We are in a perpetual war, INA 329 (path to citizenship through military service) is still in effect since Sept. 11, 2001 – present, and previous conflicts. Not sure of the actual numbers but many non-citizens join the military for a path to citizenship. There are restrictions of course, but every year a few thousand do join.
Biden’s latest legislation however he just wants to wave a magic wand instead…..poof you are a citizen….
Left,
Perhaps not shocking but many grew up with same story, even in tony NJ. Grandfather worked in sand dunes of LI and lost eye and fingers. My father worked his way up from nothing and got to service academy then management level. Still, my best friends growing up in western Morris county had parents that worked at Conrail or M&M/Mars. Even Bergen county was a lot of blue collar Italian or Irish who cut hair, ran pizza place or worked as mechanic. The flyover vs non-flyover is a lot of hogwash, built by ever expanding debt tied to WS. That has created these chasms and now one side Rs has created anti union bs bc they sold their souls.to investor class. Flyover people think Trump attacking unions will make their lives better? So gullible
Libturd says:
February 8, 2024 at 8:10 am
“We really only need to fix three simple things…”
Nothing wrong with any of these proposals, but they only address symptoms, not the problem. There’s actually only one ‘problem’ that needs to be fixed — the size of govt. As we know, govt is inherently inefficient and govt positions are inherently prone to corruption. Since govt is a necessity, the best we can do is keep it small — your recommendations are tiny band aids on a big, giant festering sore.
Think of the smallest form of govt that (some) people interact with — the homeowners association — and you realize that even at that level it’s sometimes difficult to ensure efficiency and transparency. My HOA in NJ is roughly 50 homes, and for ~20 years was run by 3-4 guys who would sometimes plow our shared walkway and hand deliver bills (to avoid using stamps) to save us all a few bucks — completely efficient and transparent ‘govt of the people, by the people…’. My HOA in FL is roughly 2500 homes and we occasionally get complaints of board members using association funds to have lunch with the general manager — so with just a small jump in size of ‘govt’ you begin to lose efficiency and transparency. So when you get to municipal, county, state, fed govt, those things literally become impossible.
Resenting the government, advocating for drowning government in a bathtub and then claiming some moral high ground based on the delusion that somehow God thinks “you” are right is pathological.
Watching a news channel designed to remind Christian White people how wrong everyone else is while lying to their audience of mouth breathers and simpletons.
Pathetic .
You owe me a new tablecloth.
BRT says:
February 8, 2024 at 10:43 am
He fell off the bike.
List of states that America’s state department has meddled in for $200, Alex.
“In the past, most of the migrants entering the U.S. or apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border were coming from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
In the last few months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have noticed a change. Now the majority are fleeing Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti. “
Hey ahole that was elected “for the people” of America.
Instead of voting for giving billions of aid somewhere else, fix the f’n pothole I just hit last night with the f’n tax dollars given to you by me.
Capiche?
If they ever succeed in opening that thing they call the Constitution the elected roaches will add so much of their flavor to it-to the point it will become unrecognizable.
That is not something you want these roaches to do.
True. I have all streaming services. At nite I watch Sports or some high quality show.
Right now I rewatching The Sopranos 25th yr anniversary on HBO, and Nicole Kidman “Expats” on Amazon
“ Gary I pointed out to Nom years ago that the only ones in here who watch “Left wing media” are those on the right.”
“You want firebombers but you aren’t calling for revolution. LOL…Call me names. I couldn’t care less.”
OK, how about clueless in that ‘firebombers’ was not literal?
“How about hanging a picture of the 1/6 rioters on your wall? Does that qualify as revolution?”
Nope. Don’t support violence or destruction of private property. The ability (no, the right and responsibility) of citizens to protest en masse in place to challenge their government? You betcha.
“And you recently used the word “change” in a comment about immigration law where “revolution” would have been more correct.”
Pretty much full on opinion now, huh.
Anytime a minority tries pushing their opinion on the majority it ends in tears.
Anytime a minority tries pushing their opinion on the majority it ends in tears.
It’s what democrats rely on. It’s the ingredients they use to manufacture mini insurrections on a regular basis. It’s how they create division. It’s the tried and true method used to massage votes and secure power. It’s the reason people run for office as a democrat because it’s easier to swim with the tide than against it.
OT – found a really good guitar tech in my area.
Much needed maintenance on some pretty decent gear.
My 92 Candy Apple Red Les Paul is dialed in.
Monkey branching Canadian style
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13061863/Sophie-Trudeau-moved-pediatric-surgeon-months-separation-Canadian-PM-Justin-announced-claims-ex-wife-married-Argentinian-doctor-father-two-22-years.html
Are you kidding, the party who signed nafta, admitted China to the wto and is flooding the country with third worlders is the defender of the working class.
That myth has been shattered. It’s not 1961 and jfk isn’t president. The left gave up on the working class a while back.
The working class, largely white Christians are the mouth breathers who the left holds in contempt. Now that they’ve left the democrat party the left elite have decided they no longer have any use for them. They are working to replace them from the third world as quickly as they can.
I think the working folks have been abandoned by both parties.
Though the GOP likes replacement theories which stokes anger.
Rinse & repeat.
HMB
It’s never about putting children first when you are out monkey branching.
However, she insisted the new relationship had resulted in unspecified security concerns ‘to which the children are exposed while in their father’s care’ and requested a court order to secure their two children’s privacy and protection.
‘Ana had thought the parties had reached an agreement that the (children) would not interact with the new partner, but Marcos has not respected that and it has caused the (children) discomfort and anxiety,’ she is said to have claimed in the petition.
LAX says:
February 8, 2024 at 2:37 pm
I think the working folks have been abandoned by both parties.
This is a valid statement. The question is were they ever?
Theory, strategy whatever you want to call it the left is openly doing it.
Now that the working class has become a political liability the left has targeted them for destruction. White Christians make up the backbone but it’s increasingly Latino. You know, those pickup driving, Fox News watching pro life files who you loathe.
Many of the Latino immigrants as well as many other immigrant groups are very conservative in their social views. Just saying.
Most liberals are white working class Christians. Question – would Jesus be a conservative or a liberal? There is your answer. Jesus sound nice but you like racism and guns more . Ds see through that thin veil easily.
…would Jesus be a conservative or a liberal?
He’d be the lead guitarist in ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd’.
Forgot the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV1V8aZ5B2U
Is Tucker Carlson in Russia asking for Putin’s blessing to become Trumps VP?
Nice Talladega Nights quote Ed. I think it was lead vocalist
Feeebird!
“Is Tucker Carlson in Russia asking for Putin’s blessing to become Trumps VP?”
He already is. He is just trying to make it more acceptable.
I can’t wait to hear the cotton balls Tucker plans to throw.
It’s the fastest who gets paid and it’s the fastest who gets laid.
– Ricky Bobby
2:53 I think the earlier iteration of the Dems made some strides, but once nafta and other mechanisms for making Rich White Men richer, hit, it all became a shell game.
We’ve gone round & round here on minimum wage. That seems to be a largely democratic construct that says let’s pay the people actually doing the work.
US citizens are likely the most brainwashed in the world.
I don’t expect you to understand what I mean by this.
Cheers.
Very Stable Genius says:
February 8, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Is Tucker Carlson in Russia asking for Putin’s blessing to become Trumps VP?
NAFTA was Bush Seniors legacy.
Catchy name, will it get a matching logo?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will be played in a stadium called
NEW YORK NEW JERSEY STADIUM.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be known as Atlanta Stadium for the 2026 World Cup. Gillette Stadium will be referred to as Boston Stadium. AT&T Stadium will be called Dallas Stadium, and so on and so forth, you get the gist.
https://www.outkick.com/sports/fifa-renames-metlife-stadium-new-york-new-jersey-world-cup-final-2026
Fabius Maximus says:
February 8, 2024 at 4:38 pm
“NAFTA was Bush Seniors legacy.”
You’re a liar! And an anti-Semite. And a Dem stooge. And…
In any case, this is from Politico…
“The deal approved by the United States, Canada and Mexico 24 years ago eliminated virtually all tariffs and trade restrictions among the three nations. Its passage marked one of Clinton’s first major legislative victories…”
Phoenix
I think her ex is pretty sketchy.
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” it said. “Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”
Later in the report, the special counsel said that the president’s memory was “worse” during an interview with him than it was in recorded conversations from 2017.
“He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’),” the report said.
Biden also had difficulty remembering the timing of his son Beau’s death, as well as a debate about Afghanistan.
“He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died,” the report said.
Who exactly is running the country?
For you Ed..
$10 Chex Mix riles up travelers: ‘We have failed as a society’
Chex Mix has become the symbol of overpriced airport snacks
No one expects to get a good deal at the airport. Not on flights. Not on parking. And definitely not on food or drinks.
Even though we all know prices won’t be friendly after we pass through security, it still stings. How else can you explain the dozens of passengers banding together online to catalogue the cost of airport Chex Mix?
It began Monday, when Kylie Brakeman shared a list on X of how much the savory cereal snack costs at three different airports.
“Started doing science,” she wrote. “Feel free to report any data you have.”
She included a screenshot of prices she’d documented in her iPhone Notes app: $9.99 at LaGuardia, $5.99 at Indianapolis International, and $4.76 at Dallas Fort Worth International.
Brakeman travels a lot for work – not as a statistician or airport retail consultant, but an actor, TV writer and comedian. She says she was expecting some laughs and a “small but enthusiastic response” from the post, and instead got a deluge of responses. Her findings had struck a nerve.
“We have failed as a society” one person wrote in response to the $10 Chex Mix.
Strangers across the country replied with examples they’d seen in recent travels. Others added examples to a shared Google spreadsheet that Brakeman created after her Notes app was getting too cluttered. At Boston Logan International Airport, some reported the same 8.75-ounce Chex Mix bag costing $5.69. At either of Chicago’s airports, it’ll run you more than $12.
By comparison, the same bags of Chex Mix were priced at $4.19 at a CVS in downtown D.C. on Wednesday.
“It’s crazy to me,” Brakeman says. “It’s the same bag. It’s the same chips.”
It’s not the first time airports have come under fire for charging mind-boggling prices for everyday items. In 2022, LaGuardia Airport (home of the $9.99 Chex Mix) went viral for charging as much as $27 for a single beer. The public outrage inspired the port authority overseeing New York City airports to tighten its consumer protections for food and drinks. (Last year, New York Times columnist David Brooks complained to social media about a $78 meal at Newark Liberty International Airport; most of that was his bar tab.)
Airport upcharges do not come as a surprise to Lawrence J. White, professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
“It’s just well understood there’s a captive audience and that’s what retailers are going to do,” he said.
Concessionaires can set their own prices but may be limited by governing forces, including local law.
According to Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) research, more than 80 percent of airports use a retail and concessions pricing methodology called “street pricing plus.” This allows vendors to adjust pricing to reflect the additional costs of operating within an airport environment, a spokesperson for the council said in an email. By ACI-NA’s findings, about two thirds of airports cap pricing at 10 percent higher than street pricing.
Under Los Angeles World Airports policy, vendors have been allowed to charge street pricing plus 18 percent since 2010. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, it’s street pricing plus 15, authorized by legislation in December 2021. Meanwhile, at Salt Lake City International businesses are obligated to stick to street pricing, a move inspired by Portland International Airport. At BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, it’s street pricing unless vendors want to match another local airport’s price for an item (up to street plus 10 percent).
Even within airports, prices may vary from store to store, as stores under the same chain (like Hudson News) may have different owners. That’s why you’ll see multiple Chex Mix entries for the same airport with different prices in Brakeman’s spreadsheet.
White said that’s about the same as you’d see in your community; the price of a bag of Chex Mix may vary from the convenience store by your office to the grocery store near your house. “It’s basically the retailers’ perspective on, ‘Oh the customers are willing to pay,’” he said.
But unlike your neighborhood grocery, which has to think about repeat customers and its local reputation, airports have less to lose from charging exorbitant prices.
“The people passing through the airport are not going to be there tomorrow or the day after,” White said. “And if they do come back a month later, they may have forgotten their vow never to buy the Chex Mix ever again.”
The ACI-NA spokesperson said it’s “important to understand that pricing strategies are highly localized” and that “[s]imply put, the cost of doing business in an airport environment is considerably higher than outside an airport, and consequently, prices for products and services at airports are higher than at shops outside the terminal,” the spokesperson said.
Restaurateur Rick Bayless, of Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless – one of the most popular airport restaurant businesses in the country – says there are many factors that require vendors to charge more for the same product than they might in town. The main one is rent.
“You think, ‘downtown restaurants, the occupancy costs are high.’ They are, but nothing like what it is to be in the airport,” Bayless said.
His occupancy charges at Chicago O’Hare are set by two factors: first, how much the city leases the space for (American airports are usually owned by local, federal or city government), and second, “you have to pay the airlines that have gates around you because they bring in your customers.”
“And the busier the airport, obviously, the more expensive occupancy costs will be,” he said.
But in the case of Chex Mix, Bayless insisted that “somebody’s trying to gouge.”
The ACI-NA spokesperson said airports usually conduct pricing audits to ensure compliance. In the meantime, if you’re mad at the prices, White recommended bringing your own food.
“You can’t do that with liquids, but you’re not going to get any grief from TSA if you want to bring a bag of chips,” he said. “It goes through the X-ray machine just fine.”
Small are you having some Kelly Ann Alternative Facts.
While Clinton signed the final ratification and the side agreements, the drafting and the heavy lifting was done by Senior.
You having some Kelly Ann Alternative Facts.
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-signing-the-north-american-free-trade-agreement
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/03/672836578/remembering-bush-41-how-has-nafta-shaped-the-global-economy
A little Georgia Rock: https://youtu.be/-au7RGIMcwE?si=r10aLxBvFPztrP7l
Fab? Law of the land is how we operate.
H.R.3450 – North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 103rd Congress (1993-1994)
https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/3450/titles
Special Counsel Robert Hur says Biden will not be charged with any crimes. He is an “elderly man with a poor memory”.
Five hour interview from prosecutors and that is their conclusion. I won’t go into detail as we all know Sleepy Joe needs his naps.
Fab: What is the point of your comments? Both parties supported it, and Clinton and Clinton signed it. You appear to imply it was a Republican thing , and not the fault of the. Democrats. Both parties supported it, as did Clinton a Democrat who signed it.
3B – Some people are like Joe Biden they have holes in their memory. Don’t prosecute Fab over it.
https://time.com/vault/issue/1993-11-29/page/29/
Foreign Buying Saves 10-Year Treasury Auction
• There has been a concern — a deep concern — that foreign buying of U.S. Treasuries was waning to the point of wondering how the U.S. was going to pay for mounting debt obligations without the contribution from global buyers.
• Demand from global central banks, long time buyers of Treasury notes, has been declining for a variety of reasons, including China’s transition away from the dollar. China, at one point, held approximately $1.3 trillion of Treasuries, and was the largest foreign buyer and holder of U.S. notes. Today, they own less than $800 billion. Japan, the largest foreign owner of Treasuries, has also been fairly quiet in terms of purchases, but hedging costs began to dent the rationale for being active bidders.
• Yesterday’s record 10-year auction saw foreign buying, “Indirect Bidders” outpacing domestic buyers, “Direct Bidders,” as foreign buyers were responsible for 70.1% of overall demand. This was the largest foreign purchase since February 2023.
• It’s worrying why domestic interest in the auction was weak, and why foreign interest was particularly strong.
• Perhaps international investors are more concerned about geopolitical risk and stocking up on Treasuries, still the most important risk-off refuge.
Incompetent Elites Make Trump Look Appealing
His supporters don’t love everything about him but are sick of being disdained and misgoverned.
By John H. Cochrane
Feb. 2, 2024 4:52 pm ET
Democrats and traditional Republicans are flummoxed. How are 4 in 10 of our fellow citizens ready to vote for Donald Trump? Democrats deplore Trump supporters as racists who must be saved from their ignorance. Traditional Republicans dream that some policy plan or another attack on Mr. Trump’s character might sway his voters.
We ought to listen instead. What motivates Trump supporters? Simple: They want their country back.
They might have lost a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan. What was the sacrifice for? In the botched peace and withdrawal, they concluded that the foreign-policy elite don’t know what they’re doing. They are hesitant about Ukraine, Iran and Taiwan because the same crew is in charge. They’ll back an America that fights to win, but they don’t want their sons and daughters to die for America only to lose slowly.
In the 2007-08 financial crisis, they lost a house, a job or a business. They learned that the people in charge of the financial system don’t know what they’re doing. ObamaCare sent them a health-insurance card that doesn’t work well when they get sick. They wonder: Do any of the policy wonks who promote this stuff actually use it themselves? They looked at Hillary Clinton and saw her insincerity, her nonprofit collecting millions, the way she said Trump supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables.” They gambled on Mr. Trump.
Then the establishment blew up. They saw the Federal Bureau of Investigation harass Mr. Trump’s appointees, much of official Washington fashion itself “the resistance,” the Russia-collusion hoax, years of pointless investigations.
In 2020 Covid hit. Trump supporters initially went along, trusting institutions. But the pandemic soon exposed the politicized incompetence of the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the scientific establishment. Lockdowns destroyed lives. Officials made up rules and ramped up censorship. Inquiries about whether the virus came from a lab leak, or anything negative about masks or vaccines, became “misinformation” subject to censorship. Trump supporters saw media, tech companies and national-security bigwigs suppress the news of the Hunter Biden laptop just in time for the election.
When schools went remote, parents found out what was actually going on inside the classrooms. Teachers were coaching students to hate themselves, their country and their religious traditions and sexualizing young children. The FBI treated angry parents as domestic terrorists. After Oct. 7, Trump supporters learned that universities are incompetent and politicized and disdain people like them. They saw that once-trusted mainstream-media outlets had become political advocates long ago.
Voters see the chaos of a dysfunctional immigration system spill into their neighborhoods. They see crime overwhelming and shutting down cities where officials refuse to enforce laws. They see the homeless invading public spaces.
They aren’t proud of Mr. Trump’s actions after the 2020 election. But 91 felony counts, some brought by prosecutors who campaigned on a promise to get Mr. Trump, and most unrelated to the election? Bonnie and Clyde didn’t have this much legal trouble! And now disqualifying Mr. Trump from the ballot? “Destroy democracy to save democracy” is no longer a joke. The existence of the deep state seems to be confirmed with every outrage.
Why aren’t Trump supporters properly grateful for Bidenomics? They understand the economy is just recovering to something like normal after the pandemic. They are smart enough to know that big spending programs will go down a rat hole into someone’s pocket. They know that a mountain of debt must end badly. They see the river of wasted money and the surge of inflation, more evidence that macroeconomic elites don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t want to be force-fed electric cars and trucks. They’re sick of washers that don’t wash, toilets that don’t flush, showers that don’t clean.
Why are these voters inclined toward Mr. Trump? Well, there is no better way to stick it to the elites than to vote for the man who drives them most crazy.
This election isn’t about employment, spending promises or 12-point policy plans. Voters everywhere want the basic institutions of American society and government to return to a semblance of apolitical competence. Warren Harding’s “return to normalcy” after the first Progressive Era might be a good slogan.
What should Nikki Haley do? Show that she understands this deep frustration. Explain how she will fix the country’s institutions and why Mr. Trump won’t or can’t. What should Mr. Trump do? Understand that this election isn’t about him. He is but the vessel for these voters’ hopes for their country. His personal vendettas will keep him from office.
What should Democrats do? Listen. Stop screaming your talking points and hyperventilating that Mr. Trump is a dictator in waiting. Stop falling into the obvious trap. Mr. Trump is gifted at provoking ridiculous overreaction from his opponents. You promised moderation, openness, conciliation and simple competence. You delivered the opposite. It is still possible to acknowledge, listen and pivot.
Mr. Cochrane is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and author of “The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level.”
By John H. Cochrane is Gene Fama’s son-in-law and former Chicago Booth professor.
Pure partisan swill, chi. It was all the dems. Clearly Trump admin did such good during his 4 years. Here is a reality check – women are still p*ssed about abortion. The Rs have lost every election since..wait until Ds bring out those guns and Orange d&mbass on put on spot for his appointees. Good luck.
The only person opposing NAFTA was Ross Perot. Clinton sent Al Gore to “debate him” and Ross Perot wiped the floor with him now that we know the facts 30 years later. But the public ate up Gore’s low IQ BS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi8OOAKuGQ
Where your criticism of small gov shit for brains comments?
3b says:
February 8, 2024 at 7:09 pm
Fab: What is the point of your comments? Both parties supported it, and Clinton and Clinton signed it. You appear to imply it was a Republican thing , and not the fault of the. Democrats. Both parties supported it, as did Clinton a Democrat who signed it.
Juice Box says:
February 8, 2024 at 7:12 pm
3B – Some people are like Joe Biden they have holes in their memory. Don’t prosecute Fab over it.
https://time.com/vault/issue/1993-11-29/page/29/
Overall at the end of the day the best diagnosis is the lack of tactital, strategic and operational empathy and humility or better said as lack of Noblese Oblige of the meritocracy that underpins the neo-liberal economic and neo-conservative foreign principles and policies.
Leftwing’s post about his upbringing clearly shows the present socio-political structural system lack of ability to pay it forward. They are blind to the underlying ideas of the old sayings of “drinking from a well dug by someone else and being warmed by a fire lit long ago”.
In fewer words, everyone hates the smart alecky eggheads nerds and the nerds don’t realize why. Trump is just the jerk giving wedgies.
Watching the clips of the Putin interview come out bit by bit on Tuckers feed.
I am totally shocked this happened.
Yet I can’t stop watching.
Tucker did not even ask what flavor ice cream Putin likes. What a lame interview.
Tucker has balls. He asked Putin to his face to release WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich, right then and there so he could take him home. Putin said they are looking for a trade and are negotiating via official channels.
Boomer got his so Fukc everyone else. Old, greedy and rapacious conservative people making the world a worse place.
Then those old greedy rapacious conservatives look at their creation and blame the younger generations.
NobleseOblige ButtersTheBread says:
February 8, 2024 at 8:59 pm
Leftwing’s post about his upbringing clearly shows the present socio-political structural system lack of ability to pay it forward. They are blind to the underlying ideas of the old sayings of “drinking from a well dug by someone else and being warmed by a fire lit long ago”.
Ten 417
“Anytime a minority tries pushing their opinion on the majority it ends in tears.”
LAX, totally agree. And 50.0% +1 is just as dangerous.
Several of us post occasionally how to ‘fix’ the system often in a too long post [raising my hand…]
Simplest and cleanest solution?
2/3rds.
For any and all legislative actions. Budget. Court appointments. Social issues. Taxes.
Doing so would immediately take 80% of bills under consideration off the table (the vast majority of which likely shouldn’t have been there anyway).
Congress’s calendar would be greatly reduced, ie. less time and power to fuck up your lives.
And best? By definition if something passes with 66% it has the backing of a clear majority and is not nearly as divisive as something jammed through by a minority or 50+1.
Wow, two thirds of the country united behind a concept before implementation…sound good?
“Incompetent Elites Make Trump Look Appealing. His supporters don’t love everything about him but are sick of being disdained and misgoverned…What motivates Trump supporters? Simple: They want their country back.”
Nice share chi.
Resonates with my personal post yesterday. While not a Trump supporter I certainly see by background why 47% of the country – most of whom reside in flyover country – support him.
It always amuses me when the Left with a straight face argue that there is some messianic complex rampant in nearly HALF of the population [uh, yeah, that makes perfect sense]….They are so myopic they don’t even realize their view is that famous cover of the New Yorker magazine, having little clue of what exists west of the Hudson…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_of_the_World_from_9th_Avenue
Legacy dying media, attempts to change the subject about the war and why it is still going on between Russia and Ukraine.
“Putin walks away with propaganda victory after Tucker Carlson’s softball interview” —-> CNN
Washington Post also part of the legacy dying media basically spends their entire page attacking Carlson.
“For Carlson, it was an opportunity to bolster his relevance” Err which talking head is more relevant these days and gets more eyeballs?
“In Moscow, Carlson was a bystander for much of his own interview”
“On Fox News, Carlson was a master of combative interviews”
Washington Post fails to inform readers these interviews are always negotiated terms beforehand. Do you think he was just allowed to ask any question especially about the WSJ reporter?
jake Tappers tweet did not even attribute Carlson he must be seething with jealousy.
At least Pravda aka NT Times was a bit nicer.
“Putin Calls on U.S. to ‘Negotiate’ on Ukraine in Tucker Carlson Interview” —> NYT
BINGO! PRIZE for the NY TIMES. Get to the table and end this war, what more do you need Joe Biden to get elected? Putin just gave you an out and even perhaps a win in 269 days from now…
We have that cover hanging on (get this) our older son’s bedroom wall. Elite indoctrination?
Sleepy Joe….take some pills and think back 40 years……
Channel Ronald Regan……Geneva Summit in 1985…or Reykjavik Summit a year later.
Who could forget this moment if you were alive back then watching the news on CBS, NBC or ABC? A svelte Ronald Regan saunters down the stairs to meet Mikhal Gorbachev to begin the talks in 1985 to finally end the cold war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qOGj0iQ5hw
Damn truth….
BRT says:
February 8, 2024 at 8:43 pm
The only person opposing NAFTA was Ross Perot. Clinton sent Al Gore to “debate him” and Ross Perot wiped the floor with him now that we know the facts 30 years later. But the public ate up Gore’s low IQ BS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fi8OOAKuGQ
I recall, Ross Perot being “All ears.”
Man this country loves a catchphrase.
BRT – Yes Perot was right. The slums around the plants in Mexico are still there, and many of our towns and cities in the rust belt that used to manufacture vehicles are now slums or ghost towns themselves. Just picking on the auto industry but 88 percent of vehicles produced in Mexico are exported, with 76 percent destined for the United States. It was not a two way street that Gore said NAFTA would become.
Tax base was also eroded and yes we printed about borrowed so much to make up for it we now have a national debt of 33 trillion. For reference back when that debate took place with Perot and Gore the Nation debt was only 3 Trillion. Inflation adjusted to today that amount is only 5.5 Trillion. Out debt continues to explode with no end in sight 33 Trillion and growing at an unsustainable rate.
Setting aside how I feel or don’t feel about Tucker: I really don’t understand why Putin did this interview. It really waters down his image as a serious scholar of history and the modern day tsar he envisions himself to be.
Putin sitting down with the TV dinner guy turned Fox reporter? It’s Putin’s way of reaching out to our proletariat. What kind of influence does the proletariat have on the war? Popular vote?
Bizarre
“We have that cover hanging on (get this) our older son’s bedroom wall. Elite indoctrination?”
Or intellectual challenge…only time will tell.
Hopefully that’s on the wall at home, and not at college…lol.
It’s at home. We made him hang a silly NJ thing at college so he remembers why he’s in Florida.
Ha!
Boomer – What else is there to know? Putin has to win an election this year too.
NT Times called it correctly. ““Putin Calls on U.S. to ‘Negotiate’ on Ukraine”
“In Moscow, Carlson was a bystander for much of his own interview”
Carlson was not there to interview Putin. He went there to ask Putins approval to be Trumps VP
UnStable… – two can play that game.
At Biden’s last meeting in Switzerland with Putin he handed him a list of “critical” US infrastructure that should not be targeted for attacks.
Who declassified this information? There needs to be an investigation and a special prosecutor appointed. I want to see the translator brought in for questioning about what was said off the record.
Did Biden do what Obama did? Did he tell him he needs more time before the next election?
There is a new thread…stop posting here….
“Tucker has balls.”
Yes they are in a box he hopes to get back at the airport.