Didn't the FTC pass some click to cancel rule? All of a sudden, I was able to cancel a gym membership without having to go back to the gym to do it. Also canceled a car wash subscription. Both were accomplished in less than five minutes.
Harris' policies would have helped my sis buy our parents' home as a first time home buyer. I would have probably helped my parents with the in-home care that she proposed under Medicare. Those two stand out in my mind.
Trump lowering taxes did NOTHING for me last time, other than give my employer incentive to give us $1000 for our HSAs - that was what, 8 years ago?
"It was stopping giant grocery mergers that would have hurt competition and boned grocery shoppers"
Albertson's/Safeway successfully charges a premium for the privilege of shopping there, for some reason. Prices are at least 10%-20% higher on EVERYTHING as opposed to a competitor, like Walmart, or...umm...Kroger. Part of the merger plan was Kroger spending millions of dollars to find ways to bring prices DOWN, which shouldn't be hard, considering a can of Great Value peas costs 50 cents at Walmart, but a can of Signature Select peas at Albertson's costs $1.19. A 32-ounce jar of Rao's pasta sauce costs $8.64 at WinCo, while a 24-ounce jar of the same costs $10.99 at Albertson's. I, for one, was looking forward to that merger because it would STIMULATE competition between the three major grocery retailers in my area, and maybe bring down grocery prices for me.
But, ALAS, the Government decided to protect me from high prices by doing its level best to preserve the high prices.
What makes you think the three major grocery retailers won't become two, and then one, and then all prices rise? Because that's the logical result of mergers.
Also, don't believe monopolists when they tell you they're doing it for your benefit. They never do. They need to earn those millions back somehow, and that can only come from raised prices.
I'm just saying that it can't get any WORSE as far as Albertson's/Safeway is concerned. I'm mystified as to how they stay in business AT ALL when there's ANY competition, because, as I said, they plainly charge customers for the privilege of shopping there, and there's no perceptible benefit for me, at least. It's just a grocery store that I'll drive farther to avoid.
Also, "they need to earn those millions back somehow"--what millions are you talking about? The "price" of the merger/acquisition? Most of that is on paper, and not real-world money...the same way that "the highest corporate tax rate in the world" turns out to be one of the lowest, when loopholes and subsidies are taken into account.
Capitalism relies on supply and demand, and prices are routinely set according to the highest price a consumer will be willing to pay for a given product. When customers stop buying, prices go down. Gas was almost $7 a gallon on the west coast during the G.W. administration, but it came back down because people stopped buying it.
Americans in general REFUSE to do this. They CONSISTENTLY and DOGGEDLY dig themselves into a financial hole to PROVE that they can still BUY, DAMNIT. Therefore, they get the prices they deserve. It has nothing to do with mergers or acquisitions, and EVERYTHING to do with late-stage capitalism, and it's a vicious circle. As long as you make your payments, you can get credit, so you can prove that you can buy more stuff, and the more stuff you buy the more credit you can get as long as you keep making that payment.
That's why cheap-to-build cars cost $50,000, cheap-to-build houses cost $300,000, and somehow people believe the President controls all of that, which isn't even KIND OF the truth. Americans need to learn to speak with their wallets, and not rely on the government to do it for them, because THEN, and ONLY THEN, will things change.
The price of the acquisition, yes. Someone ends up with that money, otherwise why would they decide to sell? That money then leaves the company. If money leaves, you have less money so you need to earn more money to keep the company afloat.
Monopolies don't rely on supply and demand because they've gained control over the entire supply. They only rely on demand. This is especially harmful with essentials like water, food, shelter, and fuel where demand cannot go down far.
But you're assuming that the acquisition leaves the buyer with a mountain of debt, which obviously doesn't happen or there would be no incentive to make the deal in the first place. There IS no "long-term" in economics.
What happens in 'Murica, ever since the Reagan administration, is "supply-side" economics. Shovel the money UP. The rich know what's best. The rich start businesses. The rich "give" the poor jobs.
ALL of which is total bullshit.
I'm not sure that you and I actually disagree...we're just looking at the same thing from differing angles and commenting on how it looks from our individual viewpoints...perspective, if you will
I too think we're figuring out what the other means here, this is not a conflict, just two people trying to be understood :)
The acquisition exchanges liquid money (from selling assets or a loan) for assets, so there's no net loss according to the economists, but I don't listen to economists because I've noticed they're bad at math, logic, and economics.
There *is* wealth changing hands. The seller gains wealth and walks away with it so that has to come from somewhere. If that wasn't true and the economists were actually right we would have an infinite money hack by merging and splitting companies, then we could all do that a couple times and we would all be infinitely rich, and then nobody would ever have to spend time producing anything. :D
Friends, as we are scheduled for a January 20 meeting at the junction of "We Built This" and "I Bought This" may we -- at the very least -- definitively discover exactly who gives a shit and who does not.
Nice, but the reality of it is that the voters are stupid and no amount of facts will dissuade them from believing that Joe Biden made eggs cost $22 EACH!
Yep - most of those voters either are completely disengaged or watch Fox all day. The conservatives I know are big Fox viewers. Even if they're not actively watching, it's on, much the way my 9-1-1 and Seinfeld reruns stream all day.
The problem was it wasn't messaging. It was people believing in complete fanfiction. They were claiming Democrats were for things that in reality nobody was running. Democrat after Democrat told them the truth and tried to debunk. But the people were not inhabiting reality.
Do not let people off the hook for this. It has nothing to do with the economy. It's people believing in fanfiction because they really wanted President Klan Robe's ethnic cleansing. This is why this sort of populism is the nuclear bomb of politics. "Haitians are eating the dogs, they're eating the cats" was a winning message because a very large number of Americans are bigots. "Teachers are changing your child's gender with surgery" is a winning message because bigots want to believe.
And of course, never discount the impact of misogynoir. A Black woman in charge is a bridge too far for a lot of Americans...especially Republicans and squishy "independents," but also a good number of Democrats too. The type Democrats try kissing the ass of in the Rust Belt, the only ones who get to be called "working class."
The brand of Christianity being marketed today is SO FAR from any Gospel message, it's sent most who actually try to FOLLOW that message far from all churches.
Take all tax exempt status from churches that DARE to preach politics.
I’ve been wondering about this “rally” being held on January 19. Allegedly, there have been two shooters who made attempts on dump’s life. If a third attempt was made on January 19, and if this attempt was a success, what happens with the inauguration? Does Shady Vance immediately step into the role of president and take the oath? Does Joe Biden remain president until a new one is elected? The MAGAt universe is so fucking weird we need to be prepared for any eventuality.
NOPE! BIDEN is not eligible for more than two terms. Biden will resign on JAN 18. HARRIS will become president until the SCUSA can figure what the hell is going on! The MAGAS will implode. The birds will sing. The sun shall rise again! I'll drink to this.
Some clues over at EmptyWheel about how Tragic Mike Johnson got the votes (it was through cheating, of course, because Jeffries had the votes), and what's coming this week from the nasty Special Counsel David Weiss and the hero Special Counsel Jack Smith (each has a report, but only one wants to smear Biden) on or before January 10th: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/01/04/on-the-ambivalence-of-speaker-mikes-gavel/
In the short term, Joe Biden will be remembered for the things he did wrong. And there were lots of them, even if they were all trivial anecdotes like "I got the Ukraine prosecutor fired!"
In the long run, he will be regarded as one of two things: either a president who broke the powerful tendency of US politics towards a Christian nationalist dictatorship, or the president who merely delayed it for a few years. We'll know which it was in 10 years time.
Didn't the FTC pass some click to cancel rule? All of a sudden, I was able to cancel a gym membership without having to go back to the gym to do it. Also canceled a car wash subscription. Both were accomplished in less than five minutes.
Harris' policies would have helped my sis buy our parents' home as a first time home buyer. I would have probably helped my parents with the in-home care that she proposed under Medicare. Those two stand out in my mind.
Trump lowering taxes did NOTHING for me last time, other than give my employer incentive to give us $1000 for our HSAs - that was what, 8 years ago?
He wasted our taxpayer money on funding genocide.
Just have to take issue with one thing:
"It was stopping giant grocery mergers that would have hurt competition and boned grocery shoppers"
Albertson's/Safeway successfully charges a premium for the privilege of shopping there, for some reason. Prices are at least 10%-20% higher on EVERYTHING as opposed to a competitor, like Walmart, or...umm...Kroger. Part of the merger plan was Kroger spending millions of dollars to find ways to bring prices DOWN, which shouldn't be hard, considering a can of Great Value peas costs 50 cents at Walmart, but a can of Signature Select peas at Albertson's costs $1.19. A 32-ounce jar of Rao's pasta sauce costs $8.64 at WinCo, while a 24-ounce jar of the same costs $10.99 at Albertson's. I, for one, was looking forward to that merger because it would STIMULATE competition between the three major grocery retailers in my area, and maybe bring down grocery prices for me.
But, ALAS, the Government decided to protect me from high prices by doing its level best to preserve the high prices.
What makes you think the three major grocery retailers won't become two, and then one, and then all prices rise? Because that's the logical result of mergers.
Also, don't believe monopolists when they tell you they're doing it for your benefit. They never do. They need to earn those millions back somehow, and that can only come from raised prices.
I'm just saying that it can't get any WORSE as far as Albertson's/Safeway is concerned. I'm mystified as to how they stay in business AT ALL when there's ANY competition, because, as I said, they plainly charge customers for the privilege of shopping there, and there's no perceptible benefit for me, at least. It's just a grocery store that I'll drive farther to avoid.
Also, "they need to earn those millions back somehow"--what millions are you talking about? The "price" of the merger/acquisition? Most of that is on paper, and not real-world money...the same way that "the highest corporate tax rate in the world" turns out to be one of the lowest, when loopholes and subsidies are taken into account.
Capitalism relies on supply and demand, and prices are routinely set according to the highest price a consumer will be willing to pay for a given product. When customers stop buying, prices go down. Gas was almost $7 a gallon on the west coast during the G.W. administration, but it came back down because people stopped buying it.
Americans in general REFUSE to do this. They CONSISTENTLY and DOGGEDLY dig themselves into a financial hole to PROVE that they can still BUY, DAMNIT. Therefore, they get the prices they deserve. It has nothing to do with mergers or acquisitions, and EVERYTHING to do with late-stage capitalism, and it's a vicious circle. As long as you make your payments, you can get credit, so you can prove that you can buy more stuff, and the more stuff you buy the more credit you can get as long as you keep making that payment.
That's why cheap-to-build cars cost $50,000, cheap-to-build houses cost $300,000, and somehow people believe the President controls all of that, which isn't even KIND OF the truth. Americans need to learn to speak with their wallets, and not rely on the government to do it for them, because THEN, and ONLY THEN, will things change.
The price of the acquisition, yes. Someone ends up with that money, otherwise why would they decide to sell? That money then leaves the company. If money leaves, you have less money so you need to earn more money to keep the company afloat.
Monopolies don't rely on supply and demand because they've gained control over the entire supply. They only rely on demand. This is especially harmful with essentials like water, food, shelter, and fuel where demand cannot go down far.
But you're assuming that the acquisition leaves the buyer with a mountain of debt, which obviously doesn't happen or there would be no incentive to make the deal in the first place. There IS no "long-term" in economics.
What happens in 'Murica, ever since the Reagan administration, is "supply-side" economics. Shovel the money UP. The rich know what's best. The rich start businesses. The rich "give" the poor jobs.
ALL of which is total bullshit.
I'm not sure that you and I actually disagree...we're just looking at the same thing from differing angles and commenting on how it looks from our individual viewpoints...perspective, if you will
I too think we're figuring out what the other means here, this is not a conflict, just two people trying to be understood :)
The acquisition exchanges liquid money (from selling assets or a loan) for assets, so there's no net loss according to the economists, but I don't listen to economists because I've noticed they're bad at math, logic, and economics.
There *is* wealth changing hands. The seller gains wealth and walks away with it so that has to come from somewhere. If that wasn't true and the economists were actually right we would have an infinite money hack by merging and splitting companies, then we could all do that a couple times and we would all be infinitely rich, and then nobody would ever have to spend time producing anything. :D
Friends, as we are scheduled for a January 20 meeting at the junction of "We Built This" and "I Bought This" may we -- at the very least -- definitively discover exactly who gives a shit and who does not.
I'll bet the Devil will be there "looking to make a deal".
I for one shall sell my soul for Likes!
No soul selling here - just ask!
Nice, but the reality of it is that the voters are stupid and no amount of facts will dissuade them from believing that Joe Biden made eggs cost $22 EACH!
Yep - most of those voters either are completely disengaged or watch Fox all day. The conservatives I know are big Fox viewers. Even if they're not actively watching, it's on, much the way my 9-1-1 and Seinfeld reruns stream all day.
The problem was it wasn't messaging. It was people believing in complete fanfiction. They were claiming Democrats were for things that in reality nobody was running. Democrat after Democrat told them the truth and tried to debunk. But the people were not inhabiting reality.
Do not let people off the hook for this. It has nothing to do with the economy. It's people believing in fanfiction because they really wanted President Klan Robe's ethnic cleansing. This is why this sort of populism is the nuclear bomb of politics. "Haitians are eating the dogs, they're eating the cats" was a winning message because a very large number of Americans are bigots. "Teachers are changing your child's gender with surgery" is a winning message because bigots want to believe.
And of course, never discount the impact of misogynoir. A Black woman in charge is a bridge too far for a lot of Americans...especially Republicans and squishy "independents," but also a good number of Democrats too. The type Democrats try kissing the ass of in the Rust Belt, the only ones who get to be called "working class."
Every word of this.
"But he let teh gayz exist, and that pisses off Jeebus! tRump is Gawd's man!!!"
Screw the 1st Amendment- outlaw Christianity now before they kill off the rest of us...
The brand of Christianity being marketed today is SO FAR from any Gospel message, it's sent most who actually try to FOLLOW that message far from all churches.
Take all tax exempt status from churches that DARE to preach politics.
I’ve been wondering about this “rally” being held on January 19. Allegedly, there have been two shooters who made attempts on dump’s life. If a third attempt was made on January 19, and if this attempt was a success, what happens with the inauguration? Does Shady Vance immediately step into the role of president and take the oath? Does Joe Biden remain president until a new one is elected? The MAGAt universe is so fucking weird we need to be prepared for any eventuality.
NOPE! BIDEN is not eligible for more than two terms. Biden will resign on JAN 18. HARRIS will become president until the SCUSA can figure what the hell is going on! The MAGAS will implode. The birds will sing. The sun shall rise again! I'll drink to this.
Biden only served one term.
I'll drunk to this.
Somewhere I saw that the couchfucker is elevated and sworn in. If both are removed from the equation then Jesusbot McCovenant Eyes becomes president.
Biden is out no matter what on January 20.
I dearly hope Ann Telnaes continues to be able to speak truth to power and expose corruption:
https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/the-canaries-arent-doing-well
Some clues over at EmptyWheel about how Tragic Mike Johnson got the votes (it was through cheating, of course, because Jeffries had the votes), and what's coming this week from the nasty Special Counsel David Weiss and the hero Special Counsel Jack Smith (each has a report, but only one wants to smear Biden) on or before January 10th: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/01/04/on-the-ambivalence-of-speaker-mikes-gavel/
I wish he wouldn’t attend.
I wish he'd wear a cardigan in honor of President Carter.
Thank you for reminding us of this. Excellent article.
In the short term, Joe Biden will be remembered for the things he did wrong. And there were lots of them, even if they were all trivial anecdotes like "I got the Ukraine prosecutor fired!"
In the long run, he will be regarded as one of two things: either a president who broke the powerful tendency of US politics towards a Christian nationalist dictatorship, or the president who merely delayed it for a few years. We'll know which it was in 10 years time.
Kinda feel like dems should boycott the next election. Let a republican inherit a republican economy for once.
Your proposal ignores what would happen to America were your Schadenfreude satiated.
You mean, DON'T clean up their mess?! I like it!
Mess will still exist and continue to fester.
Democrats? Messaging strategy? HAHAHAHAHAHA
For my funeral I want multiple ceremonies in as many Christian Churches as can be booked.
What's better than like 9 different funerals!
Book one at a Synagogue and a Mosque too Cover all the bases!