"If there's ever been a time to discuss serious campaign finance reform, it is now. We are sliding into a new era of American oligarchy, and unless we take decisive action, the integrity of our democracy is at risk.
This is like saying, "hey, guys, we really need to talk about taking steps to prevent a fire," as the house is burning down.
I also wonder what their definition of "decisive action" is. I get the impression that it involves a lot of talking, and not much else.
The World3, global system dynamics model projects global food production peaking this decade. That doesn't necessarily mean that's for certain what's going to happen. It's only a projection, and only one model, but I think it's an important model. It's a projection based on the assumption that there are physical limits to growth. That assumption seems pretty irrefutably true to me. There is a finite amount of energy and other resources available to us on the planet, seems inevitable that we will hit some hard limit(s), eventually. The World3 is an attempt to project when we might hit those limits, and, if the World3 projection is accurate, it might be soon.
Also, the new Honda Prologue EV is just a Chevy Blazer, but people are snapping them up. Apparently, the way to sell GM EV is to slap a Honda logo on it.
It's true, Chevy has earned a reputation for being low quality, while Honda has a much better reputation. Also, Chevys are usually just uglier, in my opinion, especially the interiors. I really hope Chevy can use this opportunity to reinvent themselves and start making more desirable vehicles, but in the meantime at least the Ultium platform is selling, in some form.
It won't necessarily destroy the EV market, but it will make it less competitive. Elon Musk is ok with ending the Federal tax credit because he believes it will hurt Tesla's competitors more than it will hurt Tesla, and that will help Tesla get closer to full monopoly power. Nearly 50% of all EVs sold are Teslas, I expect that to go up.
The company that I think has the best chance to compete with Tesla is GM. Their Ultium platform will allow them to deliver quality EVs at affordable prices. As of Q3 2024, GM is selling the second most EVs, though they are still only selling a fraction of Tesla's numbers.
For EVs, affordability is key, and GM has positioned themselves well to compete with Tesla on price. However, the GM brands aren't exactly the most popular, and it's hard to say if GM will be able to overcome that and convince American EV buyers that GM EVs are worth considering. Which is unfortunate, because GM, of all the legacy, domestic auto makers, has committed themselves to EVs the most.
You're right, I shouldn't say they've embraced their populist wing, I should say they've captured it, or harnessed it. Trump doesn't necessarily care about any of those populist ideas, he just knows that saying he cares about them helps him win elections.
The Republicans eventually embraced their populist wing, because they've accepted that's their best chance to win elections. The Democrats, on the other hand, have been very reluctant to embrace their populist wing, because they view populism as dangerous and a threat to democracy. They think that because that's what the scholars and academics say, and Democrats try to be very technocratic.
Overall, the survey finds that 54% of the public are “comfortable and prepared to support” Trump as president. That’s down two points from when he took office in 2016. Some 41% are not comfortable, up five points from 2016. So, despite having won the popular vote in this election compared to 2016, Trump takes office for the second time with somewhat less net support in the poll.
That's not too surprising. I don't think Trump's coalition has grown much, or at all, since 2016, but I do think the coalition that elected Biden in 2020 has fractured, and that's how Trump won a second term in 2024.
I think this is a lesson for those of us who support economic populism: even though many, if not most Americans agree on many economic issues, we don't agree on everything. I don't know that we can say we have a majority consensus movement. I think there is a movement that has a plurality, and that's the Trump movement. As much as many of us might find that pretty disheartening, I think it is nonetheless true. Of the two main populist movements in the US, the progressive populist movement is simply not as large as the right-wing, Trump populist movement. I don't know if people like Fetterman are just more aligned with the Trump movement ideologically, or if they're moving to the larger populist movement for strategic reasons.
Sanders seems like the only member of the US upper house that is willing to speak honestly and engage in haram speech that goes against local provincial orthodoxy.
He is, and he's loved by millions of Americans for it, and also hated by essentially the entire political establishment for it.
This is like saying, "hey, guys, we really need to talk about taking steps to prevent a fire," as the house is burning down.
I also wonder what their definition of "decisive action" is. I get the impression that it involves a lot of talking, and not much else.