Housing Bubbles And The Growing Precariate
A piece by Murray Dobbin in Rabble. “In these days of economic stagnation, misery and insecurity, housing bubbles and the growing precariate, it seems appropriate to speculate on what Shakespeare might have written today were he penning a modern rewrite of Henry VI. In declaring, ‘first let’s kill all the lawyers,’ his character was voicing support for Jack Cade, whose revolutionary vision cast lawyers as paper-shuffling parasites ruining the lives of the common people. In the past 25 years that ignoble role has been usurped by economists. I liked them better when economics was called the dismal science — now the profession is simply a self-satisfied apologia for the plunder of society’s wealth by the greedy and ruthless 1% — the ‘masters of mankind.’”
“Economics is no longer a science, if it ever was. It is a religion whose priests bend every effort to make the dogma of neoliberalism impervious to its disastrous outcomes. If it were a science the facts would long ago have prevailed and they would have denounced the ideology from the rooftops. Over 700,000 people would be financially stressed if interest rates rose by even a quarter of one per cent. One million would face that circumstance if they rose by one per cent. The Canadian Payroll Association regularly tracks people’s financial stress and its recent survey revealed 48 per cent of people said ‘it would be tough to meet their financial obligations if their paycheque was delayed even by a week. Almost one-quarter doubted they could come up with $2,000 for an emergency expense in the next month.’”
“I’m sorry, but that’s insane in a country that creates as much wealth as Canada does. But don’t expect ‘the profession’ to shed any light on this situation. Why? Because economists suffer from SIB — Self-Interest Bias, a condition rooted in their elitist role in society.”
“To distract us from our grim present and grimmer future the priesthood talks endlessly about the Bank of Canada’s interest rate as if changing it could actually improve peoples’ lives. But the Bank of Canada can accomplish one of only two possible results: nothing (by keeping rates below 1 per cent) or disaster (by raising rates and popping the housing bubble).”
“The fact is, those trapped within the context of neoliberal policies don’t have a clue what to do. But everyone knows it’s going to get worse.”
From Ian Welsh. “One should understand why people have lost trust in experts, the media and politicians. It is not difficult, it is the same reason people lost faith in Soviet Communism: promises were made that turned out to be lies: they were not kept. That order has now betrayed too many people, and it is falling. It will continue to fall. We are in the twilight of Neoliberalism (longer article on that later.)”
“But this is why people are going for ‘fake news.’ This is why people are willing to listen to demagogues. This is why people don’t trust the press (why should they, the press lied to them repeatedly, it is the original fake news). This is why they don’t listen when hundreds of economists say Brexit is bad (why should they, most economists missed the housing bubble.)”
From The Nation. “Periods of liberal advancement have short, fast lives. Obama came to office after 30 years of conservative dominance in politics—just as that dominance was collapsing, but before a new liberal vision of the economy could be firmly put in place. As a result, his economic platform was caught between two periods: one centrist and defensive against conservative assaults, the other growing more assertively liberal. Much was accomplished, but those accomplishments now appear to be fleeting.”
“The biggest challenge Obama faced was the Great Recession, a period in which unemployment skyrocketed to 10 percent and only slowly came down in the next eight years. This recession destroyed the consensus view that the Federal Reserve had an almost omnipotent ability to steer the economy, and that the most useful role for the rest of the government was to provide a good atmosphere for investment. But Obama struggled to replace that consensus with a broader vision of how (and for whom) the economy actually works.”
“Income inequality has continued to grow during his tenure, while wage growth has been sluggish. He failed to put more aggressive members on the board of the Federal Reserve, with some positions sitting vacant for long periods. Efforts to deal with bad housing debt and foreclosures—the real drivers of the economy’s weakness—weren’t pursued with the same vigor that bailing out the banks was.”
“Lacking a firmer liberal foundation, Obama then went to the opposite extreme, arguing that mass unemployment was driven by technology and uncertainty over the debt rather than weak spending. The response to the financial crisis was limited by the older consensus. There were no widespread criminal prosecutions for the fraud that occurred on Wall Street, whether it was selling bad mortgage packages, manipulating interest rates, or foreclosing on homeowners without any of the necessary supporting documents. Bankruptcy laws weren’t changed to prevent foreclosures; a wholesale restructuring of the ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks wasn’t on the agenda.”
From Southern California Public Radio. “The Oakland warehouse fire earlier this month hasn’t just raised anxiety with fans of the underground music scene, it could also affect Angelenos living in unpermitted housing. Jay in Koreatown said he’s lived in unpermitted housing in the past, and there should be a compromise between a crackdown and no regulation for places like the Ghost Ship. JAY: ‘What happened at the Ghost Ship is very rare. I see an overreaction going on here. If we pay just a little supervision to these spaces, they could be slated for living. Especially since they’re a reflection on how housing is so overpriced now, and we have this glut of open warehouse spaces that nobody is using.’”
From Realty Biz News. “Real estate analyst firm Redfin has revealed that a staggering 2.7 million Americans faced eviction in 2015, and further claims that figure is likely a very conservative estimate of the true number of U.S. families evicted from their homes in the past year. Redfin says the evidence suggests rents are out of control, families aren’t earning enough, and as a result they have to pay too much out of their wage checks to be able to make ends meet.”
“‘Evictions are a silent threat to America’s cities. As alarming as Redfin’s finding on evictions is, it likely undercounts the true number of families forced out of their homes each year since many evictions happen outside the court system,’ said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. ‘More families are renting than ever before, and roughly half of them are spending too much of their income on rent. Stagnant wages, a lack of affordable housing and escalating rents means that many families are living just a paycheck or two away from facing eviction, which can often lead to job loss or even homelessness. This is a national crisis that requires national attention.’”
“The worry is that this trend is accelerating. According to Redfin, there were 20 million renters in the U.S. in 2015, and more than half of these are ‘cost burdened’ – which means they’re forced to spend at least 30 percent of their income on rent, up from 15 million in 2001. Redfin also notes that rents have increased by 66 percent since 2000, while incomes have only risen by 35 percent during the same period.”
‘In sociology and economics, the precariat is a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which is a condition of existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. Unlike the proletariat class of industrial workers in the 20th century who lacked their own means of production and hence sold their labour to live, members of the precariat are only partially involved in labour and must undertake extensive “unremunerated activities that are essential if they are to retain access to jobs and to decent earnings”. Specifically, it is the condition of lack of job security, including intermittent employment or underemployment and the resultant precarious existence.[1] The emergence of this class has been ascribed to the entrenchment of neoliberal capitalism.[2][3]‘
‘The term is a portmanteau obtained by merging precarious with proletariat.[4]‘
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precariat
The first time I remember reading the term neoliberal was from Steven Keen, the Australian professor used it to describe the central bank/lending/globalism juggernaut he blamed for the housing bubble there. We are a long way from blaming subprime loans for this predicament.
Let there be Precarelite.
“We are a long way from blaming subprime loans for this predicament.”
How does government-sponsored ‘affordable housing’ fit into this framework?
“the precariat is a social class”
Oh, look, a condescending cute little term cooked up by “the betters” of academia in sociology and economics.
Why, it’s like Brangelina or Bennifer, how awesome!
Gee, I must be fabulous myself, because I can coin a word, too:
“Parasitariat.” Use it in a sentence, palmetto. Ok. “The precariat comes about as a result of the actions or inactions of the parasitariat in politics and finance.”
the precariat is a social class formed by people suffering from precarity
AKA, the lucky duckies, a demographic that’s been growing for decades, but especially mushroomed during the “recovery”
What would be some examples of “extensive unremunerated activities that are essential if they are to retain access to jobs and to decent earnings?”
I would guess:
Going into massive debt for an unnecessary college degree
Going into even more debt for unnecessary graduate-level degrees
Marrying for economic security instead of love (used to be just for women, now it’s both genders)
Gig-economy work, such as writing, for exposure instead of for pay
Unpaid internships (or volunteer work) where you do contribute significantly to the company instead of learning the trade.
Lucky-ducky work abuses such as:
unpaid overtime,
unpredictable work hours,
being “laid-off” during slow times during the day (like pizza delivery 2-5 pm)
being required to be available to report to work within hours, i.e. being on-call
And it doesn’t quite fit into “unremunerated,” but I would also count offering up your car for Uber and your house for AirBnb just to pay bills.
That is an excellent summation, oxide. And I would say it’s more than a guess.
‘In sociology and economics, the precariat is a social class formed by people suffering from precarity, which is a condition of existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare.
All of life is like this. There is no guarantee of anything for anyone. There was a very brief period of time, maybe 1946-1965, when things appeared to be different, and jobs and industries may have appeared to be stable. But nothing ever is. Just look at what happened in this election.
“But nothing ever is”
Exactly. Stability really does not exist, except for brief periods of time. And when there is “stability”, what follows is either advancement or decline, expansion or contraction, improvement or deterioration, depending on what actions are taken or not taken during the period of “stability”.
There are ways to help your chances of stability…
Live beneath your means
Come from a big family and have a big family
Save
Have lots of in demand skills
Network
Be a hard worker
Take some calculated risks
Don’t join the FSA
“Stability really does not exist…”
That’s why we have savings accounts.
True, and if we didn’t have the government increasing the money supply over the last century, each dollar saved would be worth a lot more.
There are people who inherit fortunes form their grandparents. They’re the ones who benefit from high interest rates.
FDR had offered a chicken in every pot….In modern day DC, there is a brick of cheese in every basket…Like I said, If the 10th amendment was enforced and there was autonomy to the states then the electoral college works just fine…Its a long read but worth it;
All this intrusion emanates from the legislative and especially the regulatory machinery in Washington. The city has become, in effect, the Brussels of America. So a wider and wider variety of businesses and organizations must be located there to lobby the government that decides their fate. (According to the Center for Responsive Politics, total spending on lobbying rose from $1.6 billion in 2000 to $3.3 billion in 2011.) These firms pay local taxes. So do their workers, who also buy houses, patronize stores, pay tuition at private schools, employ local doctors and lawyers, and so on. The regulatory superstate is turbocharging Washington’s local economy.
But it’s a loser for America. Even more than the old leaky-bucket system did, the regulatory superstate depends on inflicting pain on the rest of the country, pain that only Washington itself can relieve—if you pay up and have the right connections, that is. Washington’s fortunes and America’s are increasingly at odds. The region is prospering because it’s becoming something that would have horrified the Founders: an imperial capital on the Potomac.
http://city-journal.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b75d222a8ff4ade269f9efd3b&id=80042784a0&e=cc5188f607
Decentralization of power and deflation will help restore the middle class. More of states rights and term limits - 1 and DONE for every seat, including judges. No career politicians.
I emailed Trump that he needs to sever the ability for military brass to write contracts which then get awarded to their buddies, who then in turn employ the authors at very inflated salaries to practice their golf swing after they retire from the service. Contracts where the prime must be a small business that is owned by a veteran (especially disabled), etc. are all over the place. These guys have no idea what theyre doing and tons of money gets wasted in the process.
Decentralization is what business wants. You have to be a large corporation to push around the federal government, but smaller businesses can push around state and local governments and get in on the corporate welfare.
He will get right on that after his next round of SNL tweets.
Let’s render all of that discussion into two words:
Domestic Imperialism.
Laugh at me all you want, everyone. I coined that phrase myself about three years ago and have used it here numerous times.
It’s all anyone really needs to know about Washington DC.
‘Economics is no longer a science, if it ever was. It is a religion whose priests bend every effort to make the dogma of neoliberalism impervious to its disastrous outcomes. If it were a science the facts would long ago have prevailed and they would have denounced the ideology from the rooftops. Over 700,000 people would be financially stressed if interest rates rose by even a quarter of one per cent. One million would face that circumstance if they rose by one per cent. The Canadian Payroll Association regularly tracks people’s financial stress and its recent survey revealed 48 per cent of people said ‘it would be tough to meet their financial obligations if their paycheque was delayed even by a week. Almost one-quarter doubted they could come up with $2,000 for an emergency expense in the next month.’
‘Real estate analyst firm Redfin has revealed that a staggering 2.7 million Americans faced eviction in 2015, and further claims that figure is likely a very conservative estimate of the true number of U.S. families evicted from their homes in the past year. Redfin says the evidence suggests rents are out of control, families aren’t earning enough, and as a result they have to pay too much out of their wage checks to be able to make ends meet.’
‘The worry is that this trend is accelerating. According to Redfin, there were 20 million renters in the U.S. in 2015, and more than half of these are ‘cost burdened’ – which means they’re forced to spend at least 30 percent of their income on rent, up from 15 million in 2001. Redfin also notes that rents have increased by 66 percent since 2000, while incomes have only risen by 35 percent during the same period.’
I have nephew who lives in Vancouver. Even though he has a “real job” he lives like a pauper. Even though he has two roommates, over half his paycheck goes to paying the rent on the tiny apartment they share.
The idea of owning even a small condo is completely out of his reach, as the monthly payment would handily exceed his take home pay.
And he has a white collar, salaried job. I can only imagine what things are like in Vancouver for the lucky ducky crowd. I’m sure the government houses the single mothers and their broods (at least most of them), but everyone else is up the creek without a paddle.
And BC just announced a no interest down payment loan from the government.
B.C.’s new subsidy for homebuyers is pure politics and bad policy
Macleans.ca-16 hours ago
The response from economists and other housing experts has been nearly … months, the last thing the Clark wants to see is a slowdown in economic activity.
And their longest fixed rate is 10 years. But to get the lowest rate Canadians have to take a 3 year fixed rate. And no MID either (to be fair, their income tax rates are a little lower than ours), however sales tax can be as high as 15%. Small wonder canucks turn pale when rates rise a lousy 1/4 of a basis point.
Real economics is the science of human action. It is not a mathematical, hard science. Never was. Just because numbers can be used to describe certain aspects of economics doesn’t mean they lie at the basis of it. They don’t.
Economics is about human decision-making, both as individuals and as business entities (run by individuals.) Since it involves quantities of goods and services and is denominated in numerical money terms, this confuses many people.
Keynesian economics (which has been the dominant paradigm for nearly a century) is a mixture of nonsense and fraud. These folks are, as Nassim Taleb says, bs economists.
And, for many, their monthly health insurance premiums and tripled or quadrupled as well.
>>> enter commentary from new attitude here.
(C’mon, new attitude! Tell everyone here how the diminishing standard of living of 100 million individuals is their fault).
Yes, ACA is a scam, yet no one does anything about skyrocketing health insurance cost, highest in the world! Do nothing congress…
“Yes, ACA is a scam,”
And yet you called it a game changer and were crowing on the roof tops about how great it was. Now look at your failed experiment that the adults have to clean up.
RioAmericanInBrasil aka New Attitude who is too embarrassed to post under his old name, huh?
As I recall, Lola was pretending to be from Brazil when he was actually in the US using a Brazil proxy.
Ask Ben, not Rio. formerly Calif_h20
dont be too sad.
“…was pretending to be from…”
Ahhh, the good old internet, where people can be anything and everything they ever wanted.
Oh, that’s who you are. Yeah, you didn’t sound like Rio. Rio tended to have longer paragraphs and he almost never cut and pasted huge articles, preferring to provide his own commentary.
Yes, ACA was a game-changer for people who couldn’t get insurance any other way. And as an experiment, it is clear that it has failed, but not for the reasons Republicans wanted it to fail. Now it’s the Republicans’ turn. And they will fail too — spectacularly.
Donkey charade.
Oh, SNAP!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-18/judge-jeanine-slams-michelle-hopeless-comment-americans-rejected-you-and-everything-
‘When asked whether Obama was successful at bringing “hope” to America, rather answer the question, the first lady decided to attack Trump by saying that “now we’re feeling what not having hope feels like.”
‘Notice she didn’t bother to offer any supporting evidence of how exactly Obama brought “hope” to Americans….could that be because there isn’t any?’
Did the White House know of these rent increases? Did they know about the evictions? Oh, right, higher rents are supposed to push people into buying houses, which makes prices go up. But note the Canadian article about tiny increases in interest rates wiping house-holds out.
It was all very predictable. The response to a bubble disaster was to recreate the bubble. (Throw in the foam the runway for the banks).
Has there ever been a more tone deaf period of politics? Has it ever been more wrong headed? At its heart is dishonesty. Take the GSE’s. Established to make housing “affordable”, it now functions to make it ever more unaffordable. The names, terms, everything is meaningless. It’s the age of spin. Things like “free trade” are worshiped (And there really isn’t anything free about it. If you don’t believe me drive down to Mexico and try to engage in it).
Change Goldman Sachs can believe in. The investment Soros and Goldman Sachs made in Obama has paid off handsomely.
Mnuchin is from Goldman Sachs, fyi. 17 years. He also established the company SFM Capital Management with George Soros.
Decades ago, Joseph Sobran called this The Golden Age of the Con-Man. Still is.
http://fgfbooks.com/Sobran-Joe/2016/Sobran160721.html
“This is the golden age of the con man. He is no longer a marginal figure staying on the move to keep one step ahead of the law. In the absence of stable principles - the Decalogue, Ciceronian natural law, the code of the gentleman - the con man himself makes the law.”
“Richard Nixon got a bad reputation because in his day lying was still lying, since it was still believed that there was such a thing as objective truth. We are now in a post-Nixon phase of history, and what used to be called demagoguery is now called marketing. If enough people believe or “accept” an assertion, it is thereby ‘validated.’”
“Notice she didn’t bother to offer any supporting evidence of how exactly Obama brought “hope” to Americans”
As evidenced at 1:17 of the video found individer-in-chief link, Obama’s interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria shows how Moochelle and President Obama don’t have to offer any supporting evidence because the Bobble Heads nodding in agreement to their answers have been issued the questions to be asked days before the interview began.
http://www.infowars.com/divider-in-chief-obama-claims-whites-in-northern-states-very-different-from-southern-states/
More Bobble Head agreement in a hard hitting prepackaged CNN interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBgwuFM92i4
Prepackage | Definition of Prepackage by Merriam-Webster
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prepackage - 181k - Cached - Similar pages
Define prepackage: to put (a product) in a package before selling it.
”I think there’s a reason attitudes about my presidency among whites in northern states are very different from whites in southern states,” Obama said.
He did do better in 2012 in certain nearly all white states like Vermont, Minnesota, and Oregon than he did in the South. So it’s perfectly reasonable to say that northern whites liked him more than southern white people.
You could have been a CNN prepackaged Bobble Head Mighty.
Just ask the question, allow Obama to seamlessly start answering (because his people gave you the question in the first place) and then start bobbing your head up and down in agreement with the answer your producer told you he was going to give hours before.
Once again, the facts don’t matter.
“He did do better in 2012 in certain nearly all white states like Vermont, Minnesota, and Oregon than he did in the South”
So did Hillary you race baiter.
There’s no race baiting involved, just facts. I didn’t say that race was the reason for difference.
“I didn’t say that race was the reason for difference.”
conversation with meltdown:
meltdown: “i eat lots of vanilla ice cream. as a matter of fact, i eat only vanilla ice cream.
mr. scandals: oh, you like vanilla ice cream..
meltdown: “i didn’t say i liked vanilla ice cream.”
Don’t be a DebtDonkey.
Once again, you make no sense, tj.
Once again, you make no sense, tj.
i didn’t say i made sense.
Comment by MightyMike
2016-12-18 18:33:32
”I think there’s a reason attitudes about my presidency among whites in northern states are very different from whites in southern states,” Obama said.
He did do better in 2012 in certain nearly all white states like Vermont, Minnesota, and Oregon than he did in the South. So it’s perfectly reasonable to say that northern whites liked him more than southern white people.
Comment by MightyMike
2016-12-19 07:30:39
There’s no race baiting involved, just facts. I didn’t say that race was the reason for difference.
These contradicting messages brought to you by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
So we now we get into the fun world of definitions again. Apparently, race baiting is whatever you say it is.
I didn’t say that race was the reason for difference.
then what was the reason for the difference?
I think I understand what’s going on here Mighty, you banged your head on one of the rage cage bars after the election.
Put some ice on it and go back and see the Southern Poverty Law Center doctor on Jan. 20, 2017 but expect a long line.
no rage either
“no rage either”
if race wasn’t the reason, then you don’t have an answer, do you?
Don’t worry Meltdown. The CraterAdministrator will issue you some head gear.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave: When first we practise to deceive!
and,,,
Oh, what a bent bar in his cage: When Mighty can’t control his rage!
Trump said that it was his people who were angry. Next, they’re going to be disappointed.
Trump said that it was his people who were angry. Next, they’re going to be disappointed.
if race wasn’t the reason, then what was the reason?
There are a number of reasons. There’s a correlation with the level of education.
There are a number of reasons.
name a reason. (hint, you won’t be able to come up with one)
“There’s a correlation with the level of education.”
correlation is not causation. therefore it can’t be a causal reason. so the challenge remains that you can’t name a valid reason.
Correlation can be evidence of causation. Maybe you think that the phenomenon is beyond explanation. We’ll just have to leave it as a great mystery.
there’s no great mystery, meltdown. if you can’t give a reason other than race, it once again shows your racism.
mr. scandals nailed you. your inability to show a reason other than race, shows that you’re race baiting.
No, that’s false. I never said that race was the reason.
of course you didn’t say that. you’re trying not to say it! if you said that race was the reason you’d prove that you’re being racist.
the whole point is that there is no other reason. if there was, you’d gladly state it to avoid looking racist.
do you really think people don’t see how dishonest your answers are?
Which answer do you think was dishonest?
for one, that there “are ‘a number’ of reasons other than race”.
you’ve been nothing but deceptive and obtuse in answering because you obviously have no other answer. the only one that made sense was ‘race’ which you continue to deny. yet of course you have no other sensible answer.
Once again, I never said that race was a reason. You’re saying that it was dishonest of me to say that there are other reasons. That must mean that you think that there are no other reasons.
“Once again, I never said that race was a reason.”
show me where i’ve said that you said race was the reason.. you didn’t. you can’t because you’d then be outed as the racist you are. you are saying that there are ‘a number of reasons’ other than race. i’m saying you have no other reason. you’re making up the idea of those other reasons. they don’t exist. hence you’re being dishonest in this debate.
here’s what we said. notice that i never said that you said that race was the reason. not here nor in any other part of this thread.
what you said IMPLIED that race was the reason. you didn’t SAY it, you IMPLIED it. that’s why i’m asking you what other reason there could be. and that’s why you continue to tap dance around it. you don’t have any other reasons than race. so you have to back peddle. you have no choice. if you could have given a different reason than race, you’d have done it by now.
There are also the so-called social issues - abortion, gay marriage, gun control. People in the South have different attitudes about those things than Northerners.
here’s your first reply to mr. scandals in the beginning of this tread.
He [obama] did do better in 2012 in certain nearly all white states like Vermont, Minnesota, and Oregon than he did in the South. So it’s perfectly reasonable to say that northern whites liked him more than southern white people.
in the above reply, you’re only talking about the geographical area where whites liked or didn’t like obama as much. you never mentioned any social issue. the only parameter you mentioned was race, specifically whites. what would abortion, gay rights or gun control have to do with your answer? are there more gays in the north than the south? or maybe you think southern white like gun control better than the northern whites even though there’s more gun control in the northern states like minnesota? see? your canards make no sense. you continue to dance around the issue.
you clearly imply that southern whites are racists. there is no criteria given for why ‘northern whites liked him more’.. other than race.
you didn’t have to say any of that, meltdown. you could have left the whole thing alone.
but you continue to fan the flames of racism. incessantly. you continue to pick at the sore. you make things worse, not better.
there is no criteria given for why ‘northern whites liked him more’.. other than race.
No, there’s nothing in what I wrote there that gives any reason why one group of white voters liked the president more than another group of white voters.
there is no criteria given for why ‘northern whites liked him more’.. other than race
Once again, there was no mention of racism in those words that you quoted there (He [obama] did do better…). There’s nothing included there that implies the reason that one group of white voters voted differently than the other group. The implication is all in your head.
The implication is all in your head.
and in nearly everyone else’s that read your words. nice to know you’re not only a race baiter but a dishonest one.
There may be others with dodgy brains like yours, but they wouldn’t be thinking clearly. Facts are facts.
what a moron you are.
One basic set of reasons Obama won Northern states that Hill lost is because those states had working class populations that leaned democratic, but not necessarily by a whole lot.
Obama campaigned in states like Michigan and he saved a lot of manufacturing jobs in the auto industry (setting aside whether or not any of this was good fiscal policy). Obama actually offered people in the rust belt something worth voting for.
Fast forward 8 years and people who’s lives haven’t improved at all that voted for him. The good will based on jobs saved is now 8 years old and they see that Globalization is still rampant and Obama is trying to ram through the TPP which will drain away more jobs.
The margin in those states has shifted and the working class majority no longer believe the current democratic party has anything to offer them, and that is a pretty valid assessment given economic views and trying to shame them all socially.
I don’t like Trump, but the DNC took it upon themselves to lose those states by failing to offer a path out of the shit hole they are trying to dig us into economically.
But it could be worse, we could be Greece stuck in the EU.
To be pedantic, Ben, of course Obama brought plenty of “hope” to Americans. Big whoop. The real question is whether Obama gave people the *stuff* that they were hoping *for*. Answer: Obama did give some of it.
If you have to borrow for 15 or 30 years, it’s not affordable nor can you afford it.
‘Real estate analyst firm Redfin has revealed that a staggering 2.7 million Americans faced eviction in 2015, and further claims that figure is likely a very conservative estimate of the true number of U.S. families evicted from their homes in the past year. Redfin says the evidence suggests rents are out of control’
And this at a time when apartment construction is at a 30 or 40 year high. Apartments are supposed to be affordable housing. I was listening to a podcast in Phoenix with this CRE guy noting that they are building 10,000 units there, 95% “luxury”. They usually build less than 2,000 a year. The rents on these new units averaged more than a mortgage payment.
‘Economics is no longer a science, if it ever was. It is a religion whose priests bend every effort to make the dogma of neoliberalism impervious to its disastrous outcomes. If it were a science the facts would long ago have prevailed and they would have denounced the ideology from the rooftops.’
Like 30 years of money creation to stoke inflation that has only resulted in ever more deflation. And then they point to the lack of inflation as license to print even more. The “magic people” indeed.
‘The European Central Bank can still conjure up policy surprises if needed to combat economic shocks and restore euro-area inflation, Governing Council member Vitas Vasiliauskas said.’
“Markets say the ECB is done, their box is empty,” Vasiliauskas, who heads Lithuania’s central bank, said in an interview on Tuesday in Vilnius. “But we are magic people. Each time we take something and give to the markets — a rabbit out of the hat.”
“Markets say the ECB is done, their box is empty,” Vasiliauskas, who heads Lithuania’s central bank, said in an interview on Tuesday in Vilnius. “But we are magic people. Each time we take something and give to the markets — a rabbit out of the hat.”
Riiiight, until the bubble blows off in spectacular fashion and wipes out 50% of the market cap. Your corpse should be swinging on a pole, magic boy.
The obama legacy can be summed ad follows.
Jon Corzine is not in jail. Never even charged with a crime.
Now go eat your peas.
W’s only regret about his presidency? He couldn’t bail Corzine out.
From the Daily Oxide:
‘Donald Trump’s contemptible cabinet (with poll!)’
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/18/1611000/-Donald-Trump-s-contemptible-cabinet-with-poll
Some comments:
‘Monday is a day that will live in infamy: The day the electors hand the government of the United States of America to a Fascist dictator and his unqualified henchmen. I have no faith that we will be saved by rational thought or patriotism. Many of the electors involved are probably true believers and the rest will not buck the system. Unfortunately there is no waking up from this nightmare- it is only starting. I wish I was wrong.’
‘Oh my. It was bad enough, seeing those names trickle in. Seeing them listed all together? I think I’m about to die.’
‘This is a wrecking crew. Their job is to damage the federal government’s ability to function. They are not, from that perspective, crazy choices. That’s why I lurch between Calexit — trying to save what parts of the country we can — and bitter resistance until Americans regain their senses.’
Comedy gold!
I wish the left could understand the definition of fascism.
Smaller government is the opposite of fascism.
More competition for corporations is the opposite of fascism.
Un-nationalizing markets and industries is the opposite of fascism.
Having the government NOT pick winners and loser in business is the opposite of fascism.
Dismantling the Clinton Foundation is the opposite of fascism.
Less regulations that strangulate businesses and destroy new businesses is the opposite of fascism.
“All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.” - Benito Mussolini on understanding of fascism.
Hello Patriot Act!
yes, we need less gov. Know your history.
Mussolini would want to dismantle things the Clinton foundation. It would a source of power that would rival that of his party.
You don’t see Hillary is Muosillini?
The blindness of liberalism.
You ignored you own quote.
“I think I’m about to die.”
Need any help?
Sweet William has a new gig: writing anti-Trump screeds for the Daily Kos while compulsively stamping his little feet.
You’re causing enragement. You do know that don’t you?
Funny, how they don’t see subverting the law to get what they want as fascism.
It will be interesting to see how they react when the electoral college does its job.
I fully expect to see the MSM whinge about how the US is under occupation.
And the left needs to get over itself. Trump isn’t going to kick men out of the ladies room and he isn’t going to stop same sex marriage. The Daily Kos will still be there and left leaning Mayors will disobey Trumps executive orders regarding illegals without any major consequences (yeah, they’ll lose some federal grants, big whoop)
“It will be interesting to see how they react when the electoral college does its job.”
I’m glad you think the electoral college will do its job. I don’t mean to be concern trolling here, but I am not totally confident about that. For me, tomorrow will be a nail biter. I can’t believe we have to win this thing twice, it sux.
I think you should just relax tomorrow Palmy and schedule yourself for something relaxing and drama free. It is the Hillary delegates who will be wearing sackcloth. The delegates have a sworn oath to fulfill. We do not have to win the election twice. The US is a union of States and the Sates are sending their own delegates to vote according to the will of the people of their state. Have you heard of a single State Governor advocating betrayal of their own state? I have not. The key is to remember that we are a union of States.
I heard of one Republican wingnut Elector who thinks it would be cool to betray his duty, some mentally ill movie actors and a bevy of crying bed wetters who think they can change that they lost the election. They are wrong. If we were going to do what Hollywood told us to do we wouldn’t have elected Trump. Which we did.
Natty Ice Dude is going to wear his lucky yoga pants tomorrow.
Funny, how they don’t see subverting the law to get what they want as fascism.
It may be the law in some states, but it’s probably not illegal in most states for electors to be faithless.
That’s why I lurch between Calexit — trying to save what parts of the country we can
I love these posers and their threats. California is no more likely to secede than it is for all those countless Hollyweird celebs to make good on their threats to leave the country.
FYI I was only a lurker at DK, and I’ve barely gone there in the past two years. They changed the format to make it very difficult to read. They became virulently anti-Sanders just after Super Tuesday. And they still can’t seem to get beyond the SJW buzzwords, which is tiring.
lol@donk
“This is a wrecking crew.”
Ironically, that is exactly what I personally was coloring in the dots for on election day.
One of the best things about Trump’s victory is the pure schadenfreude of watching the “progressive” media’s daily paroxysms of rage.
The author slips in the idea of more spending
More Keynes bs
I want to peddle loans.
FBs are a dime a dozen.
AZ - damn son, you are making a killing, maybe you can get out of AZ some day.
do u want me to come to the bay area and live on the streets?
Big dogs in SF live high on the hog. Be a big dog.
best to be homeless in Santa Barbara, not so cold, lots of rich giving folks and lots of tree to hide in near the train tracks.
Time to put the smack on the jackals.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/18/world/asia/muted-us-response-to-chinas-seizure-of-drone-worries-asian-allies.html?_r=0
Trump’s first move should be to rid the federal government of anyone and everyone with a seriously delinquent federally-backed student loan.
If delinquent school loan deadbeats hang in w a gov job for ten years taxpayers are stuck w the loan
It would be easier to just deduct the loan payments from their paychecks.
We are currently enjoying the longest period of private sector job creation in American history.
This statistic also comes from the Forbes magazine article listed above. In fact, we’ve enjoyed 68 straight months of private sector job creation. That is the longest period of job creation since the Department of Labor has been keeping statistics.
Source: Obama’s Claim That Businesses Are in the “Longest Uninterrupted Stretch of Job Creation”: The Washington Post.
I like results–not talk.
Then you are going to just love DJT.
part time mcjobs
you get paid what you are worth. only you can prevent low pay.
u have to take whats there sometimes my friend. we have a lot of college educated folks flipn burgers.
if that’s the best you can do with your skill set and education and personality… that is what you get. The gov is not here to give you a good job.
“…if that’s the best you can do with your skill set and education and personality… that is what you get. The gov is not here to give you a good job.”
Wow, that’s an extremely poor response. You’ve got issues…
W sub 2% growth
Liking what one does not understand doesn’t really make it a good thing.
stay sad my friend.
Oh really
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-03/these-are-9-zero-hedge-charts-showing-obamas-recovery-angered-washington-post
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-15/harvard-debunks-obama-recovery-farce
New Attitude
I have also read of the new jobs created - massive number over a long time.
But, according to the Debt Clock, the American work force has declined by 2.3% over the last 16 years.
Can you explain please ?
Or, by saying private sector, are you referring to manufacturing - which has also declined - hugely.
Or, is it the service industry adding those McD jobs as the average pay has only gone up by 3.8% in the last 16 years !!
You and your Canadian logic. He is a willful idiot.
you get the job you earn. If you dont want to flip burgers, be better then the next guy at something you want to do. Most Americans are lazy and settle for Starbucks. Success does not come easy.
I’m not sure your density will allow for it, but let this resonate in your surely misshapen cranium: OPPORTUNITY IS DECLINING.
I’m right, you’re stupid.
The new America, even if you have only a 10th-grade education.
Awe, you’re not stupid. Just an idiot.
my friend made $200,000 in stock working as a barista at Starbucks for the last 10 years. He joined the FSA last year and has been traveling the country enjoying life.
But, according to the Debt Clock, the American work force has declined by 2.3% over the last 16 years.
That’s got to be false, considering that the population has grown considerably. On the other hand, 16 years ago was right at the end of the Clinton administration, which saw a few years of high growth and low unemployment. Those few years were quite unusual compared to the rest of the last 40.
Creswell, OR Housing Prices Crater 20% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/creswell-or/home-values/
The poor donks. The poor poor donks.
Record deliveries at the Shanghai gold exchange - are the compulsive gamblers pulling their money out of the insanely overpriced housing and stock markets and parking it in gold before their financial house of cards implodes?
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.mx/2016/12/shanghai-gold-exchange-deliveries-have.html
The New ECONOMIC Model has made people:
E X P E N D A B L E
Globalism and neoliberal economics exist to enrich a corrupt and venal .1% in the financial sector at the expense of everyone else.
There, fixed it for you.
Who gave us trickle down economics?
Village idiot. We have trickle up economics.
Get out of debt while you still can.
duh, but Reagan sold it as T-Down and people bought it….still do.
On the first day of Christmas Crater Administrator gave to thee, a RageCage and a Joshua Tree.
But…but…global warming!
http://www.breitbart.com/news/bitter-cold-weather-breaks-records-in-midwest-plains/
Global Warming is the battle hymn of the Globalists. I think some of the organ pumpers might be looking for a new gig.
The uber Globalists at Exxon do not believe in global warming.
They are miners. You pay them to dig things up. No pay, no dig.
ExxonMobil had a three-year federal income tax rate of just 15%, less than half the official 35% corporate tax rate. This gave the company a tax subsidy worth $6.2 billion from 2010-2012. In 2009, ExxonMobil reported $2.5 billion in U.S profits and got a federal tax rebate of $954 million.
moochers
Hollywood is coming to save us from those evil nationalists and populists. The oligarchs are siccing their pitt puppies on anyone who opposes globalism, neoliberal economics, and open borders.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2016/12/17/michael-sheen-leaving-hollywood-fight-rise-populism/
Hell or High Water is a great film, go to the theater! Arrival is good too, as is Dr. Strange.
easy.frickn. peasy
“go to the theater!”
Nah, I’ll just wait until it’s on the net or dvd. A lot less hassle and expense. The theater “experience” is not what it used to be.
We have $7.50 Tues with huge reclining seats, you order tickets online, no lines. Easy living. Smuggle in a can of Natty Light and m&m’s.
do they accept ebt cards at the theatres now?
Life is good, just work hard!
DJT is going to grab Michael Sheen by the p*ssy
Well, that’s pretty funny, but I think he’ll be on a short leash for a while.
The county taxman commeth
Look at the 2006 level and figure + 5-10 %
Ben Dover
stawks.houses.easy button
We need to deport our SJWs to Venezuela so they can experience first-hand what happens when you run out of other people’s money.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hundreds-arrested-venezuela-cash-chaos-vigilantes-protect-shops-191236132–business.html
Do they have too big to fail too?
“Do they have too big to fail too?”
No they just have big fat socialist like you RioAmericanInBrasil aka New Attitude. In this case he stuffed $5 billion into his bank account leaving the country to die.
I guess you are too embarrassed to post under your old name, huh?
Funny how all the liberal Hollywood elite all threaten to leave America for….
CANADA.
Why not Mexico or Venezuela???
They want to make America into Mexico or Venezuela but they don’t want to live in it first hand.
And Canada requires ID to vote too.
Racists
Notice how Sean Penn, Danny Glover, and Michael Moore have STFU about how wonderful Venezuelan socialism is.
http://blurbrain.com/oliver-stone-danny-glover-sean-penn-michael-moore-mum-venezuela/
Aleppo, before and after.
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-aleppo-before-after-destruction-2016-12
Tapped out ‘Muricans in our Obama-Fed-Goldman Sachs “recovery” get piling up the credit card debt.
http://www.businessinsider.com/american-credit-card-debt-nearing-all-time-highs-2016-12
The MSM called that post-2008 sag in the chart “households repairing their balance sheets.” The reality was bankruptcy judges discharging that credit card debt.
Santa Maria agents arrested for alleged real estate scheme
By Staff Report / Friday, December 16th, 2016 / No Comments
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A Santa Maria real estate sales associate was arrested on five counts of grand theft for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley announced on Dec. 15 that Angelo Naemi allegedly conspired with Steven Gonzales to falsify documents regarding a number of short-sale transactions. Gonzales, owner of CornerStone Real Estate in Santa Maria, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit grand theft as was Naemi, who is listed as a CornerStone sales associate.
The DA’s office investigated this case in conjunction with the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Office of Inspector General Los Angeles Field Office.
Must’ve failed to mail a big enough check to the DNC.
“Santa Maria…”
Wife and I used to visit their Costco once a month back when we lived in Los Osos; a pleasant drive with a dash of coastal views. Santa Maria RE was a bargain back then, but the crime level was too high for us to consider it. Great weather though.
“The worry is that this trend is accelerating. According to Redfin, there were 20 million renters in the U.S. in 2015, and more than half of these are ‘cost burdened’ – which means they’re forced to spend at least 30 percent of their income on rent, up from 15 million in 2001. Redfin also notes that rents have increased by 66 percent since 2000, while incomes have only risen by 35 percent during the same period.”
We’re in the renters club, and the ‘work two or more jobs’ club, but fortunately not in the ‘at least 30 percent of their income on rent’ club.
Ready or not, here comes interest rate normalization:
The Financial Times
US Interest Rates
Key global interest rate nears 1% for first time since 2009
A more aggressive Fed outlook sends three-month dollar Libor to seven-year high
December 16, 2016
by: Joe Rennison and Eric Platt in New York
The global benchmark interest rate for trillions of dollars of corporate loans, credit cards and derivative contracts is approaching 1 per cent for the first time since the US emerged from recession, as global markets reach the end of a turbulent week.
With the US Federal Reserve anticipating greater US economic strength in 2017, this has pushed the dollar to a 14-year high and spurred further selling across bond markets. The policy-sensitive two-year US Treasury note yield approached 1.3 per cent this week for the first time since 2009, after the US central bank indicated that it may raise borrowing costs three times during 2017, up from a prior forecast of two tightenings.
Alongside the bearish shift in bond markets, the stage has been set for higher borrowing costs for companies, with a key short-term US dollar money market rate, the three month Libor, climbing to a seven-year high of 0.997 per cent on Friday.
Analysts at Bank of America Merril Lynch expect Libor will set modestly higher through the end of the year, with the three-month ending 2016 between 1 and 1.05 per cent.
As rates rise, a flood of money has found its way into loan funds, as investors seek out the higher income paid by floating rate loans, unlike fixed rate debt. Bank loan funds have counted more than $3bn of inflows over the past two weeks, the greatest haul for a two-week period in more than three years, according to data from EPFR.
“Investors are saying we’ve got a new interest rate environment, [Libor] will be trending higher for a while. Let’s find leveraged loans,” said Daniel Kelsh, fixed-income strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas.
…
With the US Federal Reserve anticipating greater US economic strength in 2017, this has pushed the dollar to a 14-year high and spurred further selling across bond markets.
The Fed has a well-established track record of being the worst economic prognosticators on the planet. This is the same outfit of Keynesian lunatics that professes not to see the asset bubbles they’ve blown with their ultra-easy monetary policies. Meanwhile, yet another housing bubble bust is gathering steam, to be followed by yet another stock market crash as FBs start to walk away from their underwater “investments” en masse, just like 2007-2008. “Further economic strength,” my a$$.
dafuq? Really. Unfortunate. Photo. Someone should have told Hillary before they snapped it.
http://starecat.com/content/wp-content/uploads/hillary-clinton-holding-donuts-with-chloe-moretz-large-hole-small-hole.jpg
Man she looks old without 3 hours of makeup prep
Um, dude…that was WITH 3 hours of makeup prep….
HoRsEfAcE
No wonder Slick visits veal island.
I’ve seen pictures without the Hollywood caliber cosmetology. She looks like the crypt keeper.
2ban, lord love ya. And a Merry Christmas to you and yours. God bless us, everyone!
And God bless DJT
The fact you find that photograph interesting is just amazing.
Lord love ya, too, Mikey. And a Merry Christmas to you and yours.
It was highly amusing in a lowbrow sort of way.
And lord love ya, too, Ray K. And a Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Same to you, Palmy. Keep carrying the fire.
crushing.housing.losses.
The litmus test for any would-be reformers is how they deal with official corruption. The upstart 5-Star movement in Italy, headed by a former comedian, isn’t wasting time showing that they will not tolerate the endemic corruption of the Establishment parties that has led Italy to ruin.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/18/five-star-movement-strips-rome-mayor-of-important-decisions
stocks are fairly valued! lmfao
How far will they take this thing to get your money?
We will never have honest markets, sound money, or a responsible banking system as long as the corrupt and venal .1% in the financial sector, and their political enablers in the Establishment political elites, are free to defraud and break the law with impunity.
http://wolfstreet.com/2016/12/18/lest-we-forget-italys-blossoming-banking-crisis-is-also-a-huge-crime-scene/
The latest stamping of little feet comes from Crooked Hillary’s oligarch donors who in addition to not being able to cash in on the patronage and graft they paid for up front, might not make the grade for being invited to Hillary’s joyless “Thank you” fete for her plutocrat bankrollers. Their hissy fits are a joy to behold.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4014860/Now-Hillary-Clinton-s-mega-donors-furious-t-thank-party-loser-t-fit-ballroom.html
Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave. 37% of Republicans approve or Putin!!
Reagan is so 1980’s
HuffPos feminists won’t bat an eye over this Syrian refugee “columnists” basically saying the German women who were sexually assualted by bands of refugee men in Cologne last New Year’s had it coming.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/12/18/huffpos-syrian-refugee-columnist-women-blame-new-years-sex-attacks/
In October the HuffPo writer demanded all signage in the country be translated into Arabic, and his HuffPost columns make demands of more policing to protect migrants, more money from the German people, and even for state-sponsored smartphones for migrants.
Why stop there? He should as for free cars while he’s at it. I’ll bet Mutti Merkel will say yes.
Hingham, MA Housing Prices Crater 10% YoY
http://www.zillow.com/town-of-hingham-ma/home-values/
Pa. electors get police protection: ‘This is stupid’
Facing a wave of calls, Pennsylvania electors sounding unshakable
December 17, 2016 4:13 PM
By Angela Couloumbis and Karen Langley / Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG — Thousands of emails land in their inboxes every day. Copies of the Federalist Papers and other books urging political courage are being mailed to their homes. They are even getting phone calls in the middle of the night.
Such has been the life of Pennsylvania’s 20 electors for President-elect Donald Trump since the Nov. 8 election.
On Monday, they will travel to the state Capitol to cast their votes to assign Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence during what has, in the past, been a ceremonial and largely unnoticed event.
Not this year.
This time around, the electors will be greeted by organized protests, urging them to assign Pennsylvania’s electoral votes to anyone but Trump.
One elector, Ash Khare, said he and each of the 19 others have been assigned a plainclothes state police trooper for protection.
“I’m a big boy,” said Khare, an India-born engineer and a longtime Republican from Warren County, who estimates he receives 3,000 to 5,000 emails, letters, and phone calls a day from as far away as France, Germany, and Australia. “But this is stupid. Nobody is standing up and telling these people, ‘Enough, knock it off.’ ”
http://www.memeorandum.com/161218/p25
On another note, here is a site that tracks the vote of the electors. They’ll be filling out the map as the votes become available.
http://www.270towin.com/live-2016-presidential-election-vote-of-electors/
OTOH, supposedly we won’t know the results until January 6.
https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/key-dates.html
January 6, 2017
“The Congress meets in joint session to count the electoral votes. Congress may pass a law to change this date.
The Vice President, as President of the Senate, presides over the count and announces the results of the Electoral College vote. The President of the Senate then declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.
If a State submits conflicting sets of electoral votes to Congress, the two Houses acting concurrently may accept or reject the votes. If they do not concur, the votes of the electors certified by the Governor of the State on the Certificate of Ascertainment would be counted in Congress.
If no Presidential candidate wins 270 or more electoral votes, a majority, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution provides for the House of Representatives to decide the Presidential election. If necessary the House would elect the President by majority vote, choosing from the three candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken by state, with each state having one vote.
If no Vice Presidential candidate wins 270 or more electoral votes, a majority, the 12th Amendment provides for the Senate to elect the Vice President. If necessary, the Senate would elect the Vice President by majority vote, choosing from the two candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken by state, with each Senator having one vote.
If any objections to the Electoral College vote are made, they must be submitted in writing and be signed by at least one member of the House and one Senator. If objections are presented, the House and Senate withdraw to their respective chambers to consider their merits under procedures set out in federal law.”
They gotta have all these rituals and solemn ceremonies. So I’m not sure how much we’ll know today.
We are still in a bull market for homes in the west.
Remain calm. All is well. (After calling reports that its oligarch-owned Privatbank would be nationalized “Russian disinformation” - sound familiar? - the government has done just that.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/12/19/ukraine-leader-urges-calm-privatbank-nationalised/
Bill Clinton: Trump knows how to get ‘angry, white men to vote for him’
By LOUIS NELSON 12/19/16 08:08 AM EST
President-elect Donald Trump “doesn’t know much,” former President Bill Clinton told a local newspaper earlier this month, but “one thing he does know is how to get angry, white men to vote for him.”
Clinton spoke to a reporter from The Record-Review, a weekly newspaper serving the towns of Bedford and Pound Ridge, New York, not far from the Clintons’ home in Chappaqua, New York. The former president held court earlier this month in Katonah, New York, where he took questions from the reporter and other customers inside a small bookstore.
http://www.politico.com/
Gee, then I guess Bubba, Harry Reid, John Podesta etc. voted for Trump, seeing as how they’re angry white men.
coulter: “i’m going to watch them cry all night”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E8BqDK5-wY
It’s good to hear people speak out about “crying children” being scared of Trump because of Lying Mainstream Media and their Fake News.
1:34 - 3:05
yes, and it worked because the liberal reporter was no match for ann.
It’s as if the Snowflakes have never heard of the Electoral College.
Electoral College, unloved but everpresent, set to anoint Trump
Jerome Cartillier
AFPDecember 19, 2016
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump’s fiercest critics may be dreaming of a last-minute revolt, but the Electoral College, a peculiarly American institution, appears near-certain on Monday to select the 70-year-old real estate mogul as the 45th US president.
Its detractors — and they are many — have denounced an electoral system that flies in the face of the venerated “one man, one vote” principle, and which perversely encourages presidential candidates to campaign in only a few key states while ignoring whole swaths of the country.
But despite the torrent of criticism this method has faced for decades, no reform attempt has ever succeeded.
When American voters cast their ballots on November 8, they did not in fact directly elect the next occupant of the White House. Instead, they picked 538 “electors” charged with translating their wishes into reality.
Trump won a clear majority of those electors — 306, with 270 needed for election — despite dramatically losing the popular vote to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
http://kfiam640.iheart.com/onair/mokelly-48090/electoral-college-unloved-but-everpresent-set-15403028/
Merry Christmas, from Merkel’s Marauders.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/19/lorry-ploughs-crowd-christmas-market-berlin/