COVID Economy

[tower912]

Start a third party.  Let me know what your platform and philosophy are and if I like it I will contribute.   I've done it before. There is nothing in the constitution that prohibits it. 

Before you start, I am well aware of the structural difficulties.   Challenges make life worth living.   Go big!   

[Hards Alumni]

The gerrymandering that takes place on the state level -- which includes U.S. House seats -- often makes it impossible for voters to force change. Districts are designed that let elected officials choose voters rather than the other way around. Southern states, especially, pack Black voters tightly into a few districts, clearing the way for Republicans to win a majority of statehouse and U.S. House seats even if Dems get more votes statewide.

Both parties do it, but the GOP has it down to a science.

Our country desperately needs a comprehensive voting rights law, one that will eliminate gerrymandering, mandate specific days/hours when polls are open, mandate the number of ballot drop boxes, create simple and unified rules for absentee voting, make it illegal for states to craft legislation that would let leaders of one party nullify votes they don't like, etc.

Until that happens, we can have lots of small, cosmetic changes but we won't have a system where every person's vote matters.

Unfortunately, I give about a 0.1% chance of that happening in my lifetime.

same.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Its hard to actually force change when 2 parties have a monopoly on everything. The occasional 3rd party candidate sneaks through, but not enough to make a difference. Primaries are worthless since whatever candidate we vote in is required to tow the party line or be booted.

They could vote for candidates who want to change how gerrymandering works, how campaigns are financed, all through the amendment process.

But none of these issues come close to being priorities for the electorate.  I doubt either crack the top ten.

[tower912]

Michigan just finished a bi-partisan reapportionment due to a 2018 vote that passed with 61% of the vote.  The same election that the voters directed the AG to make absentee voting basically universal in Michigan.   

The goal was to as best as possible end gerrymandering.

Both sides have elements that are ticked, so they must have done something right.   

T

[jesmu84]

Ranked choice voting

[jesmu84]

Whether science based or not, I love that the stated reason for reducing from 10 days to 5 days is because of the economy.

[Mutaman]

Ranked choice voting

Did not work out very well in the NYC  Mayoratorial race.

[MU82]

Michigan just finished a bi-partisan reapportionment due to a 2018 vote that passed with 61% of the vote.  The same election that the voters directed the AG to make absentee voting basically universal in Michigan.   

The goal was to as best as possible end gerrymandering.

Both sides have elements that are ticked, so they must have done something right.   

I finally just got around to reading a couple of articles on this gerrymander-free redistricting, which was done by an independent commission that includes Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Although, as you said, both sides are ticked off and both are threatening some kind of legal action, legal scholars seem to think this new map (or something very close to it) will stand.

I congratulate the voters of Michigan, from both parties, for doing what they could to take back their elections from the power-hungry lawmakers. If every state did something like this, we could take a major step toward having the democratic republic that was envisioned for America.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

In thinking about this, if you really wanted to introduce third parties into the system, you could create a House of Representatives that doesn't require geographic boundaries.  The only requirement in the Constitution is that the members are proportionate to the population of the state. 

Here's how it would work.  If a state gets 10 House members, each party would nominate 10 members in ranked order (or a primary would do it for them).  Then during the general election, people would vote for the party's slate.  If Republicans got 70%, and Democrats got 30%, then you would have 7Rs and 3Ds representing the entirety of the state.  In this scenario, a third party would only need 10% of the vote.  In a larger state like California, they would need even less.

No gerrymandering.  No safe seats.

[jesmu84]

Business>science/public safety

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/30/politics/biden-administration-shifting-covid-guidance/index.html

[jesmu84]

Anyone smarter than me care to weigh in on this thread?

https://twitter.com/LeftistMoniker/status/1476173986065223680?t=QV0QyPwdZ63HLPCuVWOwAw&s=19

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Anyone smarter than me care to weigh in on this thread?

https://twitter.com/LeftistMoniker/status/1476173986065223680?t=QV0QyPwdZ63HLPCuVWOwAw&s=19

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me because anecdotally we are having trouble hiring positions and there are vacancies all over. If this were all a PPP scam, the employment issues that exist in the real world wouldn’t actually exist.

[4everwarriors]

Anyone smarter than me care to weigh in on this thread?

https://twitter.com/LeftistMoniker/status/1476173986065223680?t=QV0QyPwdZ63HLPCuVWOwAw&s=19

Kan ya hold on 'til next weak? Eye'll ax anywon inn my neighboor's kindergarten klass ta chime inn, hey?

[Goose]

Doc

Way to get the day off to a fast start. I always enjoy laughing before 4:30am

[jesmu84]

https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1476310104379166725?t=Ot2H2MZUoS8-bBP9kaLwGQ&s=19

Oh ok then

[MU82]

This seems reasonable ...

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/01/06/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests/former-biden-advisers-call-on-the-administration-to-change-its-covid-strategy

On the day President Biden was inaugurated, the advisory board of health experts who counseled him during the presidential transition officially ceased to exist. But its members have quietly continued to meet regularly over Zoom, their conversations often turning to frustration with Mr. Biden’s coronavirus response.

Now, six of these former advisers have gone public with an extraordinary, albeit polite, critique — and a plea to be heard. In three opinion articles published on Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, they are calling for Mr. Biden to adopt an entirely new pandemic strategy — one that is geared to the “new normal” of living with the virus indefinitely, not to wiping it out.

The authors are all big names in American medicine; several, including Dr. Luciana Borio, a former acting chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, have held high-ranking positions in government. The driving force behind the articles is Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist, medical ethicist and University of Pennsylvania professor who advised former President Barack Obama.

They say the first thing the administration needs to do is to step back and take a broader vision, by recognizing that Covid-19 is here to stay. In one article, Dr. Emanuel and two co-authors — Michael T. Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert at New York University — pointedly note that in July, Mr. Biden proclaimed that “we’ve gained the upper hand against this virus,” which in retrospect was clearly not the case.

Now, they say, with the Omicron variant fueling a dramatic new surge, concerns have risen about the United States becoming stuck in “a perpetual state of emergency.” To be better prepared for inevitable outbreaks, they suggest that the administration lay out goals and specific benchmarks, including what number of hospitalizations and deaths from respiratory viruses, including the coronavirus, that should trigger emergency measures.

[forgetful]

This seems reasonable ...

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/01/06/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests/former-biden-advisers-call-on-the-administration-to-change-its-covid-strategy

On the day President Biden was inaugurated, the advisory board of health experts who counseled him during the presidential transition officially ceased to exist. But its members have quietly continued to meet regularly over Zoom, their conversations often turning to frustration with Mr. Biden’s coronavirus response.

Now, six of these former advisers have gone public with an extraordinary, albeit polite, critique — and a plea to be heard. In three opinion articles published on Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, they are calling for Mr. Biden to adopt an entirely new pandemic strategy — one that is geared to the “new normal” of living with the virus indefinitely, not to wiping it out.

The authors are all big names in American medicine; several, including Dr. Luciana Borio, a former acting chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, have held high-ranking positions in government. The driving force behind the articles is Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist, medical ethicist and University of Pennsylvania professor who advised former President Barack Obama.

They say the first thing the administration needs to do is to step back and take a broader vision, by recognizing that Covid-19 is here to stay. In one article, Dr. Emanuel and two co-authors — Michael T. Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert at New York University — pointedly note that in July, Mr. Biden proclaimed that “we’ve gained the upper hand against this virus,” which in retrospect was clearly not the case.

Now, they say, with the Omicron variant fueling a dramatic new surge, concerns have risen about the United States becoming stuck in “a perpetual state of emergency.” To be better prepared for inevitable outbreaks, they suggest that the administration lay out goals and specific benchmarks, including what number of hospitalizations and deaths from respiratory viruses, including the coronavirus, that should trigger emergency measures.

I agree with the bolded. Omicron was a game changer. We missed our window to gain a handle on COVID, largely due to certain entities pushing a conspiracy agenda to disrupt vaccination and suppression methods.

We need to be discussing, and moving towards a new model and a new normal. The problem is there are still distinct risks out there that current mitigation efforts suppress, so a rapid/abrupt switch may lead to a greater likelihood of COVID emergencies. I am confident that individuals are discussing these transitions, and watching Omicron data to gauge what the most prudent timeline, and format of these changes should look like.

[tower912]

The national sick out is currently underway.    It will continue for a few weeks.     The acceleration of the great resignation will follow.   

So, where shall we get the workers to fill all of these positions?    (Hint:   Time to rethink immigration policies)

[forgetful]

The national sick out is currently underway.    It will continue for a few weeks.     The acceleration of the great resignation will follow.   

So, where shall we get the workers to fill all of these positions?    (Hint:   Time to rethink immigration policies)

Or start to undo the almost 50 year trend in the gap between productivity gains and salary increases. Up until 1973, increases in productivity correlated with an increase in average salary for primary workers.

Since then, all productivity gains have led to an increase in corporate profits, and executive compensation.

[tower912]

Trickle down.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

This seems reasonable ...

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/01/06/world/omicron-covid-vaccine-tests/former-biden-advisers-call-on-the-administration-to-change-its-covid-strategy

On the day President Biden was inaugurated, the advisory board of health experts who counseled him during the presidential transition officially ceased to exist. But its members have quietly continued to meet regularly over Zoom, their conversations often turning to frustration with Mr. Biden’s coronavirus response.

Now, six of these former advisers have gone public with an extraordinary, albeit polite, critique — and a plea to be heard. In three opinion articles published on Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, they are calling for Mr. Biden to adopt an entirely new pandemic strategy — one that is geared to the “new normal” of living with the virus indefinitely, not to wiping it out.

The authors are all big names in American medicine; several, including Dr. Luciana Borio, a former acting chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, have held high-ranking positions in government. The driving force behind the articles is Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist, medical ethicist and University of Pennsylvania professor who advised former President Barack Obama.

They say the first thing the administration needs to do is to step back and take a broader vision, by recognizing that Covid-19 is here to stay. In one article, Dr. Emanuel and two co-authors — Michael T. Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease expert at New York University — pointedly note that in July, Mr. Biden proclaimed that “we’ve gained the upper hand against this virus,” which in retrospect was clearly not the case.

Now, they say, with the Omicron variant fueling a dramatic new surge, concerns have risen about the United States becoming stuck in “a perpetual state of emergency.” To be better prepared for inevitable outbreaks, they suggest that the administration lay out goals and specific benchmarks, including what number of hospitalizations and deaths from respiratory viruses, including the coronavirus, that should trigger emergency measures.

I tend to think we are knee-jerking to Fall 2020 responses that aren't always necessary. 

[ZiggysFryBoy]

The national sick out is currently underway.    It will continue for a few weeks.     The acceleration of the great resignation will follow.   

So, where shall we get the workers to fill all of these positions?    (Hint:   Time to rethink immigration policies)

Good, the illegals can teach in the public school system.  Problem solved.

[pacearrow02]

The national sick out is currently underway.    It will continue for a few weeks.     The acceleration of the great resignation will follow.   

So, where shall we get the workers to fill all of these positions?    (Hint:   Time to rethink immigration policies)

Rethink immigration policies only if you want to keep wages unnecessarily low.  Current landscape of employers desperate and fighting each other for good employees has helped improve wages almost overnight for thousands and thousands of Americans. 

Inject hundreds of thousands of immigrants into that picture and now the power gets shifted right back to the employers and away from the employees.

Honest question.  If a local district wants to give a 25% pay raise across the board to all their teachers in k-12 is that something that has to be voted on by the residents of the community or just negotiated with the union or something?

[Pakuni]

Honest question.  If a local district wants to give a 25% pay raise across the board to all their teachers in k-12 is that something that has to be voted on by the residents of the community or just negotiated with the union or something?

The laws differ by states. But in most, districts need voter approval for a tax rate hike above a certain amount or to fund borrowing( like a bond issue) that would require a tax increase to repay.
So, it would depend on how the district is able to fund any pay hike.
Generally speaking, though, the residents of the community get their say when they choose their elected leaders on the school board.

[Hards Alumni]

Rethink immigration policies only if you want to keep wages unnecessarily low.  Current landscape of employers desperate and fighting each other for good employees has helped improve wages almost overnight for thousands and thousands of Americans. 

Inject hundreds of thousands of immigrants into that picture and now the power gets shifted right back to the employers and away from the employees.

Honest question.  If a local district wants to give a 25% pay raise across the board to all their teachers in k-12 is that something that has to be voted on by the residents of the community or just negotiated with the union or something?

You're not honestly this stupid are you?  Unemployment is at 4.2% nationally.  That is in the natural level of 'full employment'.

https://www.bloomberg.com/quicktake/full-employment

There aren't willing workers to fill millions of job openings.  So you're suggestion is to let thousands of businesses 'fight it out' for workers that do not exist?  And what logic or rationale do you base this from?  Your feelings again?  Xenophobia?

It's fine, I know you haven't really thought this through either.  You just love to 'ask questions' or type the first thing that fires out of your brain.