The Biden Presidency

[rederob]

They were handing money everywhere.
Here's a few examples of the previous stimulus bills:
$85.5m for assistance to Cambodia, $134m to Burma, $1.3bn for Egypt and the Egyptian military, which will go out and buy almost exclusively Russian military equipment, $25m for democracy and gender programmes in Pakistan, $505m to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
There was a further $33 mill for Venezuela, $500mill to Israel,$300 mill to counter China.

And you're worried about rushing them through?
Just to be clear both sides engaged in this. Trump pointed it out ( regardless of showboating for the election or not).

Trump managed to get the US economy buzzing back after covid. And it wasn't from regulating and taxing the sht out of everything. And once again Covid happened and money was spent. But you can hide behind that fact by just quoting figures without context.

He was a high spending president. Didn’t agree with a lot of it, or his claims. But he pointed out inherent flaws and threats correctly.
Execution he failed. But majority of presidents never shot in the right direction to begin with.

First, your above reference to stimulus spending related to a Bill in December that sailed through the House of Representatives by 359-53 and the Senate by 92-6m so it had bipartisan support.

Next, Trump failed to ignite the US economy, turning around Obama's record of increasing levels of industrial production:

Yes, the US stock market rose, led by American companies with the greatest level of globalised footprint (eg, Microsoft and Apple), or exposure to China's manufacturing base (eg Tesla, Nike, Home Depot and Walmart).

You seriously need to get your facts straight before you post. And try to post on Biden in this thread, not Trump!

 

[moXJO]

First, your above reference to stimulus spending related to a Bill in December that sailed through the House of Representatives by 359-53 and the Senate by 92-6m so it had bipartisan support.

Perhaps read what I wrote instead of further half truths.

"Just to be clear both sides engaged in this"

Trump vetoed it and wanted more spent on the US people (doubled as an election sweetener).

Or keep misrepresenting what I wrote.

 

[rederob]

Perhaps read what I wrote instead of further half truths.

"Just to be clear both sides engaged in this"

Trump vetoed it and wanted more spent on the US people (doubled as an election sweetener).

Or keep misrepresenting what I wrote.

Yes, I reiterated the point that it was a measure that both parties favoured as it also incorporated essential budget matters that would have closed down the Bureaucracy.
Despite Trump already having lost the election, he rejected a Bill he did not understand and was unwilling to input into in the first place, so incompetent was he.
But again, you are in thee wrong thread.

 

[moXJO]

Yes, I reiterated the point that it was a measure that both parties favoured as it also incorporated essential budget matters that would have closed down the Bureaucracy.
Despite Trump already having lost the election, he rejected a Bill he did not understand and was unwilling to input into in the first place, so incompetent was he.
But again, you are in thee wrong thread.

Deflection. Original post was about democrats. You decided to sideline.

 

[rederob]

Deflection. Original post was about democrats. You decided to sideline.

On the contrary.
After @Joe Blow deleted one of your posts and made a point about how this thread lacked decent content your very next post was this:

It's basically Obama/Trump lite in most regards.

Where were you the first 4 years of Trump?
Now you think it's a problem?
I'd say the problem began a while back and this is the end result.

US politics has so far been one big cluster fluck.

So your posts continue your theme of falsehoods and distortions, and regularly invoke Trump in a thread about Biden's Presidency.
It's tedious correcting your points, especially as you continue to rehash points covered in threads about Trump.

 

[moXJO]

On the contrary.
After @Joe Blow deleted one of your posts and made a point about how this thread lacked decent content your very next post was this:

So your posts continue your theme of falsehoods and distortions, and regularly invoke Trump in a thread about Biden's Presidency.
It's tedious correcting your points, especially as you continue to rehash points covered in threads about Trump.

You don't correct them though do you. Weak deflection at best.

I'd say my deleted post stands. So far you have put up some weak attempts and a chart that basically showed your lack of context.

 

[rederob]

You don't correct them though do you. Weak deflection at best.

I'd say my deleted post stands. So far you have put up some weak attempts and a chart that basically showed your lack of context.

Here is what was requested:

Is this thread ever going to rise above petty personal slights, endless bicking and ten second clips of Joe Biden from Twitter?

There is so much of substance to discuss, but nothing of substance ever gets discussed.

Here's a list of Executive Orders signed by Joe Biden. Surely there's something there to discuss? Biden freezing out the Saudis ahead of the publication of a US intelligence report on Jamal Khashoggi's murder? Worth debating?

I don't care if you love Biden or hate him, just post something interesting or thought provoking please.

I'll give this thread another week, and if nothing changes I'll consider it a lost cause and close it.

Apart from your pro-Trump lies and distortions you have no interest beyond slights on posters, so hopefully @Joe Blow closes the thread.

 

[moXJO]

Here is what was requested:

Apart from your pro-Trump lies and distortions you have no interest beyond slights on posters, so hopefully @Joe Blow closes the thread.

Perhaps don’t try to distort what's actually posted. All your "corrections" were false, or a half truths. Your other tactic is to say it's "lies".

Anyway
I don't envy Biden. He has to appease the progressive factions in his party. Need a few months to see where his directions land.

 

[sptrawler]

well it looks as though things are returning to normal in middle East, that didn't take long.

One man dies after rocket attack on US airbase in Iraq

At least 10 rockets are launched towards a military base in western Iraq that hosts United States, coalition and Iraqi forces, in what appears to be the first retaliatory attack after the US struck Iran-aligned militia targets last week.

www.abc.net.au

 

[The Triangle]

well it looks as though things are returning to normal in middle East, that didn't take long.

One man dies after rocket attack on US airbase in Iraq

At least 10 rockets are launched towards a military base in western Iraq that hosts United States, coalition and Iraqi forces, in what appears to be the first retaliatory attack after the US struck Iran-aligned militia targets last week.

www.abc.net.au

Need confirmation they were American made rockets fired by CIA trained terrorists. Then we're back to normal.

 

[basilio]

Need confirmation they were American made rockets fired by CIA trained terrorists. Then we're back to normal.

Very dark ...indeed.
But thinking back . How apposite

 

[Smurf1976]

I don't envy Biden. He has to appease the progressive factions in his party.

I'd argue that "progressive" and "conservative" are terms which have been partially hijacked and don't necessarily mean what they used to mean.

Much like the word "dropped" now has an opposite meaning to its former one in some contexts.

 

[sptrawler]

I thought that now Trump was gone and the Democrats were in, the average American was going to be looked after instead of business.
U.S politics certainly are weird.

US Senate passes Biden's $2.5 trillion COVID stimulus package, but ditches minimum wage increase

After an all-night session in the chamber, what could become one of the largest government spending programs in US history moves a step closer to becoming law, but those Americans hoping for an improved minimum wage miss out.

www.abc.net.au

From the article:
The extended unemployment payments, which are to be paid out on top of state jobless benefits, proved to be the most contentious part of the bill.

The House bill had set the supplemental benefit at $520 a week, but Senate Democrats finally agreed to knock that down to $390.

The House bill also featured a measure to more than double the minimum wage to $US15 ($19.5) per hour, which the Senate also rejected.

Moderate Democrats feared that the higher jobless benefits and minimum wage hike would overheat the economy and hurt businesses in rural states.

 

[sptrawler]

Looks like the U.S is having a bit of an issue rolling back some of Trumps policies, it could end up like Australia did where the Government had to do a back flip, it wont look good for Joe but the alternatives could be far worse.
I hope the fencing contractors haven't gone home.

US Detained Nearly 100,000 Migrants at Mexico Border in February, Sources Say

It’s the highest tally for the month of February since 2006

www.voanews.com

 

[basilio]

Biden is spending trillions on repairing and restoring essential national infrastructure. Bridges, roads, water supplies all the critical elements that keep a country functioning.
And of course these all require workers. Powerful stuff.

Don't expect Biden to trumpet lofty aims for his rescue plans – he's simply Mr Fix-it | Robert Reich

Under Trump, every week was infrastructure week but nothing got done. His successor is avoiding the big sell. It’s smart politics

www.theguardian.com

 

[basilio]

Worth highlighting how broad and deep the proposed Biden program will be. It offers the first decent opportunity to improve the basic living conditions of the 80% of the US that struggles to stay afloat. It will also modernise a national infrastructure that everyone recognizes is failing.

With Joe Biden’s own audacious New Deal, the democratic left rediscovers its soul

After Trump’s ruinous tenure, the new president is seizing a unique moment to act

www.theguardian.com

‘It’s bold, yes, and we can get it done.” So declared President Joe Biden launching his $2tn plan last week to overhaul US infrastructure – ranging from fixing 20,000 miles of roads to remaking bridges, ports, water systems and “the care economy”, care now defined as part of the country’s infrastructure. Also included is a vast uplift in research spending on eliminating carbon emissions and on artificial intelligence. And up to another $2tn is to follow on childcare, education and healthcare, all hot on the heels of the $1.9tn “American Rescue Plan”, passed just three weeks ago.

...What makes the politics work so well is Trump’s legacy in uniting Democrats as never before while dividing Republicans. Biden knows the danger of the midterm elections in 2022, having seen his Democrat predecessors lose control of the Senate, House or both, so introducing gridlock. His bet is that his popular programme, proving that big government works for the mass of Americans, rather than wayward government by tweet, will keep divided Republicans at bay. Better that than betting, like Clinton and Obama, on the merits of fiscal responsibility, which Republicans, if they win power, will torch to serve their own constituency.

But the overriding driver is the pandemic and the way it has exposed the precariousness of many Americans’ lives. It has re-legitimised the very idea of government: it is government that has procured and delivered mass vaccination and government that is supporting the incomes of ordinary Americans. Unconstrained US capitalism has become too monopolistic; too keen on promoting fortunes for insiders; too neglectful of the interests, incomes and hopes of most of the people. An astute politician, Biden has read the runes – and acted to launch a monumental reset. Expect more to come on trade, company and finance reform and the promotion of trade unions.

 

[sptrawler]

Well if Biden pulls this off it will be impressive, good on him for having a go.
But it is good that he is making an effort , the basic wage in the U.S is deplorable.

Joe Biden wants to double the US minimum wage. But not every struggling American is happy about it

Joe Biden has made two financial promises that seem set to collide. He's pledged to give American workers a long overdue wage rise, while also vowing to create millions of jobs. Can he do both?

www.abc.net.au

From the article:
Joe Biden has made two financial promises that seem set to collide. He's pledged to give American workers a long overdue wage rise, while also vowing to create millions of jobs.

American employers are saying they can't afford to do both.

Currently, the federal minimum wage is $US7.25 ($9.39) an hour.

It hasn't risen in more than a decade. A 38-hour week brings in just $US275.50 ($356).

 

[IFocus]

Insight to the workings being Bidens policy's, gives one hope.

To understand why Joe Biden has shifted left, look at the people working for him | Joel Wertheimer

The president’s radical domestic plans have been shaped by a new generation of staffers moving through the West Wing, says former Obama staffer Joel Wertheimer

www.theguardian.com

 

[sptrawler]

Sounds as though the U.S is getting a bit bogged down, unemployment still higher than pre covid and tax increases hitting resistance.

Biden Tax Hikes Are Hitting Resistance, With ‘No Room for Error’ By Bloomberg

Biden Tax Hikes Are Hitting Resistance, With ‘No Room for Error’

au.investing.com

From the article:
Weeks after President Joe Biden pitched the first major set of tax increases since 1993, signs are mounting that anxiety among congressional Democratic will significantly temper any increases that manage to pass Congress.
With the economic recovery still leaving more than 8 million Americans without jobs compared with before the coronavirus pandemic, some Democrats are wary of criticism that higher taxes could damage growth. Moderate Democrats in the House -- vital to holding the party’s slim majority in next year’s elections -- are well aware of Republicans’ success in tarring the Obama administration’s spending and tax plans in the 2010 midterm elections.
Biden’s proposal to increase the corporate tax to 28% from 21% hit a roadblock early on, with moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia saying he preferred 25%. Another element -- a dramatic hike in the capital gains tax, especially for the wealthy at the time they inherit assets -- has recently been subject to potential easing, with the staff of House Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal floating options,

 

[sptrawler]

Looks as though the relaxing of border rules has caused a few headaches.

Unauthorized US-Mexico Border Crossings Reached 20-Year High in April

Same data suggest that increases in border encounters may have hit a plateau

www.voanews.com

Orbelina would rather live on Mexico’s streets than face the gang that wants her teen daughters

After giving her life savings to Mexican traffickers to get across the border into the United States, Orbelina de Leon Lopez attempted to cross with her 16 and 14-year-old daughters in search of a better life. Instead they were immediately deported back.

www.abc.net.au