Politics

Trump Calls for Fed’s ‘Boneheads’ to Slash Interest Rates Below Zero – The New York Times

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Trump Calls for Fed’s ‘Boneheads’ to Slash Interest Rates Below Zero – The New York Times

Mr. Trump’s request is extraordinary for several reasons. The United States economy is still growing solidly and consumers are spending strongly, making this an unusual time to push for monetary accommodation, particularly negative rates, a policy that the Fed debated but passed up even in the depths of the Great Recession. It is also typical for countries with comparatively strong economies to pay higher interest rates, not the “lowest” ones.

Negative rates, which have been used in economies including Japan, Switzerland and the Eurozone, mean that savers are penalized and borrowers rewarded: Their goal is to reduce borrowing costs for households and companies to encourage spending. But they come at a cost, curbing bank profitability.

While it’s unclear how effective they have been as a policy tool — some research suggests negative rates could curtail lending — they are increasingly a reality in much of the world as central banks rush to support economic growth and investors look for safe assets

I think we can all agree on who is the bonehead here.

The Secret Files of the Master of Modern Republican Gerrymandering | The New Yorker

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The Secret Files of the Master of Modern Republican Gerrymandering | The New Yorker

Thomas Hofeller preached secrecy as he remapped American politics from the shadows. The Republican Party operative, known as the master of the modern gerrymander, trained other G.O.P. operatives and legislators nationwide to secure their computer networks, guard access to their maps, and never send e-mails that they didn’t want to see published by the news media. In training sessions for state legislators and junior line drawers, he used a PowerPoint presentation that urged them to “avoid recklessness” and “always be discreet,” and warned that “emails are the tool of the devil.”

Hofeller did not follow his own advice. Before his death, in August, 2018, he saved at least seventy thousand files and several years of e-mails. A review of those records and e-mails—which were recently obtained first by The New Yorker—raises new questions about whether Hofeller unconstitutionally used race data to draw North Carolina’s congressional districts, in 2016. They also suggest that Hofeller was deeply involved in G.O.P. mapmaking nationwide, and include new trails for more potential lawsuits challenging Hofeller’s work, similar to the one on Wednesday which led to the overturning of his state legislative maps in North Carolina.

No person is Illegal

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No Person is Illegal.

That’s what the signs often say, protesting the president’s official actions and unofficial remarks and tweets about immigration. But did you ever take time to think about the meaning of the word illegal?

Here is how the Merriam Webster Dictionary defines illegal:

not according to or authorized by law

I think too often we view law on its face as as a legitimate authority, when in many cases its just a justification for the coercion by the government against private citizens and businesses. Law doesn’t have any force on its own – it only exists as a justification for legal action.

While undoubtedly law is good in the sense it limits the power of government and provides predictability and certainty for citizens and businesses – law is not moral or right.

To be illegal is not to be a bad person or entity but it does subjects an individual or business to the risk of prosecution or court judgement against the entity for violating a set out policy by law makers.

Why do I sort of like Trump?

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I still can’t fully put my finger on why I sort of like Donald Trump.🙄 He says such vulgar, awful things. Bar maybe his opposition to new wilderness areas and gun control, I can’t figure out on much that we would agree with. I certainly disagree with him on international trade, international relations, climate change, or energy policy more generally. Trump doesn’t seem to have many good policy ideas.

That said, Donald Trump taps in my anger, and that of many Americans about the dysfunction in Washington DC, and the elitism of the establishment which seems to always know what’s right and proper without actually understanding the issue at hand. It’s great the technocrats seem to know what always is right, but there should be somebody in government challenging them and questioning what is right for our country.

Astroturf

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It’s quite popular to call political movements you disagree with astroturf groups today.

An astroturfing is defined on Wikipedia as:

Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. It is a practice intended to give the statements or organizations credibility by withholding information about the source’s financial connection. The term astroturfing is derived from AstroTurf, a brand of synthetic carpeting designed to resemble natural grass, as a play on the word “grassroots”. The implication behind the use of the term is that instead of a “true” or “natural” grassroots effort behind the activity in question, there is a “fake” or “artificial” appearance of support.

It seems like the astroturf narrative plays well into the ideological left that believes that any group that disagrees with its ideology must either be fake or brainwashed.

But obviously that isn’t the case all of the time. A lot of people have diverse opinions and different ways to look at issues as they come from different backgrounds.

Groups both on the left and right both seek funding from foundations and special interests. Getting a message out and organizing large groups of people is very expensive. It takes money to get protest permits, to transport people on buses to the protest site, feed volunteers and make their time feel valuable.

Mass movements often require an elaborate press operation, to help them get their message out. Sure, a grassroots movement can have volunteers doing press calls and even designing social media graphics for sharing but it’s often better to have professionals handling press who know how to reach out to press and make a story newsworthy.

I don’t think it’s necessarily bad that grassroots groups lean on big money to get their message out but I do think it’s important to listen to all sides of the debate and recognize that monied interests might have certain preferences that the grassroots backing them might not fully agree with.

Money in politics is like an amplifier on a stereo system. It doesn’t change the music but it can make it louder and distort the sound. But like an amplifier, money doesn’t mean much in politics if there isn’t popular support behind the message.

Most of the time when I hear the accusations of astroturf, I think people are jt trying to silence a message they disagree with.

Labor Day Weekend and Trump

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It’s rained the past three years on Labor Day Weekend. While no single storm can be linked directly to election of President Trump, the trend of rainy weather on Labor Day correlates closely with his election.