Extreme Commanders

ixcuincle wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2025 3:35 pm what will haunt him forever is the handling of Israel - Gaza where he waffled between both sides and continued to arm Israel with funding and weapons which angered Palestinian supporters in the US. When they refused to show up in droves, called him "Genocide Joe", and didn't vote, it was the edge Trump needed to win the popular vote and electoral college.

I think you are over estimating the impact of his position on Palestine on the election. 1.34% of the US is Muslims. Based on exit polls, over 60% of them still voted for Harris. Trump's fraction increased but the increase was at most ~15% of Mulsims. That turns into like he got 0.2% of the population voting for him than 2020. That isn't enough to turn the election and certainly not the popular vote from 2020 or even 2016.

And that ignores a more pro-Palestinian stance would have likely lost Harris votes on the other side.

2.4% of the US is Jewish. There are more Jews in the US than Muslims (and based on exit polls about 78% voted for Harris)

This is just unacceptable. Biden has been a complete failure here. Its often said that Democratic presidents leave office with smaller deficits than when they took office. If Trump is running a larger deficit at the end of his second term than what we have now, there is something really wrong:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/14/budget- ... r-ago.html

When we look back it’s possible that the greatest failure of Biden was appointing Garland and allowing Trump to skate, focusing instead on prosecuting the rioters and not the leader.

hail2skins wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 2:17 pm This is just unacceptable. Biden has been a complete failure here. Its often said that Democratic presidents leave office with smaller deficits than when they took office. If Trump is running a larger deficit at the end of his second term than what we have now, there is something really wrong:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/14/budget- ... r-ago.html

This is the ticking time bomb decades in the making when interest rates rise. The deficit is growing because of the cost of interest payments on the debt.

Joe is giving his farewell address at 8p.

Corcaigh wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 2:46 pm This is the ticking time bomb decades in the making when interest rates rise. The deficit is growing because of the cost of interest payments on the debt.

Anybody see Trump taking the MMT "thought experiment" about printing large value bills seriously, ordering Treasury to print a couple of 100 billion dollar bills (with his picture on them), giving them to China, and daring China to act like they don't count towards paying down part of the deficit?

Don’t know if anyone watched this fair-well address but he just seemed tired, sad, and old.

Corcaigh wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 2:46 pm

hail2skins wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 2:17 pm This is just unacceptable. Biden has been a complete failure here. Its often said that Democratic presidents leave office with smaller deficits than when they took office. If Trump is running a larger deficit at the end of his second term than what we have now, there is something really wrong:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/14/budget- ... r-ago.html

This is the ticking time bomb decades in the making when interest rates rise. The deficit is growing because of the cost of interest payments on the debt.

What are “other mandatory expenses”? Is that bureaucracy labor cost increases???

SWIM wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:59 pm

Corcaigh wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 2:46 pm

hail2skins wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 2:17 pm This is just unacceptable. Biden has been a complete failure here. Its often said that Democratic presidents leave office with smaller deficits than when they took office. If Trump is running a larger deficit at the end of his second term than what we have now, there is something really wrong:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/14/budget- ... r-ago.html

This is the ticking time bomb decades in the making when interest rates rise. The deficit is growing because of the cost of interest payments on the debt.

What are “other mandatory expenses”? Is that bureaucracy labor cost increases???

The website https://www.crfb.org/blogs/government-s ... ps-growing says …

The bulk of the remaining spending increase – 1.1 percent of GDP – comes from non-health and non-Social Security “other mandatory” spending, which totaled 2.7 percent of GDP in 2019, peaked at 10.5 percent of GDP in 2021 as a result of pandemic-related spending, and is now projected to reach 3.7 percent in 2024.

A small portion of the increase between 2019 and 2024 is due to lingering COVID relief – mainly the Education Stabilization Fund. But most is the result of higher spending on student loans (especially due to recent executive actions), spending for deposit insurance under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) following last year’s troubles in the banking sector, and increased spending on veterans and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (partially due to legislation and executive actions).

SWIM wrote: Wed Jan 15, 2025 9:56 pm Don’t know if anyone watched this fair-well address but he just seemed tired, sad, and old.

I know folks can be outliers but in my personal experience working with company executives once people get into their 70s they have measurably less energy and stamina than even in their late 60s. And Joe was more than 10 years past that.

I’ve said it before but I thought he was too old in 2020, but he was acceptable if he was able to beat Trump.

I’m sure he IS sad because of how it ended, and he still believed he could win.