Domestic consequences of the 2024 US presidential election: the quickening

9600man

Ars Legatus Legionis
12,839
Will need to check—but the quantitive easing being done in the economy leading up to Trump 1.0 was in part due to dealing with the economic stresses from the GFC. Some have argued that it was carried on for longer than it needed to be.

I’m pretty sure the QE was done by Steve Mnuchin (a guy who looks like if Justin Long and Fred Armisen was the only data set Dall-E had to create an image of a human being*) during Trump’s first term. It was DT’s hang up on having record high Wall Street numbers.



* my 2025 version of the “if x and y had a baby” joke.
 

karolus

Ars Legatus Legionis
10,846
Subscriptor++
I’m pretty sure the QE was done by Steve Mnuchin (a guy who looks like if Justin Long and Fred Armisen was the only data set Dall-E had to create an image of a human being*) during Trump’s first term. It was DT’s hang up on having record high Wall Street numbers.



* my 2025 version of the “if x and y had a baby” joke.
Per this article, it was using both in 2007-2008 during the GFC, as well as during the pandemic. It's a controversial measure that most economists would agree should only be used in extraordinary circumstances.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bjn

wco81

Ars Legatus Legionis
32,465
The original QE was during Obama's terms.

That's why Republicans hate it, it brought the economy back and the stock market soared under Obama. There were many advocating the Austrian School approach, let everything crash because the bounce was going to be faster and steeper. Also scaremongering about "bond vigilantes" punishing the Democrats for the $800 million stimulus, which Susan Collins among others cut down from about $1 trillion.

This was the Fed under Ben Bernanke. When they couldn't lower rates below zero, they just increased the Fed balance sheet, which was literally going to a computer and changing values in a program or spreadsheet.

Republicans didn't like the stock market rebounding. They called it asset inflation or bubble due to QE, not because the Democrats presided over a real strong economy.

A lot of people lost jobs and homes in the GFC but slowly a lot of people recovered though not all. They didn't punish Obama in 2012 for it the way they punished Harris and Biden in 2024.

Republicans dominate traditional media (Fox News) and social media, hence the vibe-cession.

Inflation was the worst since the '80s but it was nothing compared to the GFC. At least the unemployment rate was low so there were jobs to be had. Yeah, I know people claim they had to work 3 jobs to make ends meet. Compare that to not being able to get jobs or losing homes.
 

Macam

Ars Tribunus Militum
2,292
Will need to check—but the quantitive easing being done in the economy leading up to Trump 1.0 was in part due to dealing with the economic stresses from the GFC. Some have argued that it was carried on for longer than it needed to be.

QE was done in part as a result of the GFC, since there was growing concern about asset quality, given that that was a large driver of the GFC and interest rates were low, which limited the Federal Reserve's ability to maneuver. Republicans hated it because it worked and was being done while they were out of power, thus potentially diminishing their electoral prospects.

(Nominally, it was about 'fiscal discipline', but I'm well past the point where I'm going to take Republican talking points at face value, given their long and repeated history of massive deficits, debt, and spending when in power and when it's politically expedient for them. They have never cared about actual fiscal discipline in my entire lifetime and I'm not young.)

Inflation is still not within the target range of 2% (at ~2.9%) and I suspect the Fed will probably hold tight given that much of literally everything Trump is proposing will be massively inflationary and they will need to hold their powder dry in case mass deportations, massive unpaid tax cuts for the wealthy, massive deficit spending, and wide, high tariffs drive us into economic trouble. Spoiler alert: It will.

Anyway, eggs are still expensive, the Ukraine war is still going on, and he hasn't beaten inflation despite being well past DAY ONE, so promises made, promises broken, as usual*.

*unless you're ultra rich or beat and killed cops in his name
 

Da Xiang

Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
6,848
Subscriptor
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...ation-of-jfk-rfk-and-mlk-assassination-files/

  • The Executive Order establishes the policy that, more than 50 years after these assassinations, the victims’ families and the American people deserve the truth.
  • Specifically, the Order directs the Director of National Intelligence and other appropriate officials to:
    • (1) Present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F. Kennedy assassination records; and
    • (2) Immediately review the records relating to the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations and present a plan for their full and complete release within 45 days.

Desperately looking for any scrap of evidence that maybe one good thing will come out of the Trump presidency? This one might help. I'm looking forward to seeing what might be revealed in these documents.
 

fractl

Ars Praefectus
3,487
Subscriptor
The original QE was during Obama's terms.

That's why Republicans hate it, it brought the economy back and the stock market soared under Obama. There were many advocating the Austrian School approach, let everything crash because the bounce was going to be faster and steeper. Also scaremongering about "bond vigilantes" punishing the Democrats for the $800 million stimulus, which Susan Collins among others cut down from about $1 trillion.
Was that meant to be $800 billion? Otherwise, $800 million is just in the noise of economy.
 

Nekojin

Ars Legatus Legionis
31,766
Subscriptor++
Hegseth is all but confirmed as the Secretary of Defense. A man who doesn't have the talent to run a car wash is about to be in charge of our military. The final vote is tomorrow, but there's not really any indications that the Republicans will suddenly change their mind and deny his admission.
 

wallinbl

Ars Legatus Legionis
13,762
Subscriptor
So Florida is on the hook to pay for their next hurricane? That'll be interesting to see....
He's wrong about killing off FEMA, but not wrong about the fact that it doesn't work well. I know several who lost everything in the hurricanes last year and are still waiting on any kind of answer from FEMA. It's not an uncommon story. It's incredibly slow and there's almost no information along the way. And, you're not allowed to spend any money doing any of the recovery or repair work until you get blessing from FEMA. If you do, they won't cover anything. It's been months, and these people are living with friends and family, while none of the repairs on their houses can even be started yet.
 

wireframed

Ars Legatus Legionis
17,278
Subscriptor
He's wrong about killing off FEMA, but not wrong about the fact that it doesn't work well. I know several who lost everything in the hurricanes last year and are still waiting on any kind of answer from FEMA. It's not an uncommon story. It's incredibly slow and there's almost no information along the way. And, you're not allowed to spend any money doing any of the recovery or repair work until you get blessing from FEMA. If you do, they won't cover anything. It's been months, and these people are living with friends and family, while none of the repairs on their houses can even be started yet.
Sounds like maybe FEMA needs MORE funding, not less...?

I can't help wondering if Trump forgot he owns some expensive real-estate in Florida? Aka. the state that got hit by 3 of the worst hurricanes in history within the last 7 years?
 
He's wrong about killing off FEMA, but not wrong about the fact that it doesn't work well. I know several who lost everything in the hurricanes last year and are still waiting on any kind of answer from FEMA. It's not an uncommon story. It's incredibly slow and there's almost no information along the way. And, you're not allowed to spend any money doing any of the recovery or repair work until you get blessing from FEMA. If you do, they won't cover anything. It's been months, and these people are living with friends and family, while none of the repairs on their houses can even be started yet.
This is not a USA-only problem, other disaster relief agencies in other countries have the same sort of delays when dealing with long-lasting damage from major flooding.

Turns out major infrastructure disruptions over large areas are hard to fix.
 

Soriak

Ars Legatus Legionis
12,847
Subscriptor
Sounds like maybe FEMA needs MORE funding, not less...?
More funding patches over problems, but it doesn't fix them and it's usually not sustainable. If you have workers enter information from paper forms into a computer system, you can speed up the process by hiring more workers. But the real problem is that people shouldn't be submitting paper forms.

Money for rebuilding after disasters generally also prohibits changes to the building. So if you wanted to make improvements that would make it less likely for the house to burn down again, you're out of luck. If you want to rebuild in an area that is less prone to wildfires, you're also out of luck. The only thing you're allowed to do is to put the same house back in the same place. But don't worry: you'll get another payout when it burns down again.
 

yd

Ars Legatus Legionis
22,586
Subscriptor++
Y'all might want to start being careful about getting married....

Red states looking to bring back 'covenant marriages' as per here

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...take-away-no-fault-divorce-option/ar-AA1xBud9

Indiana looking to end no fault divorce by requiring a 'witness' to testify a marriage is irretrievable - certainly nothing could go wrong in a situation where one of the parties is subject to domestic violence, no sir, no siree

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/l...esco/531-753b25ad-2025-41ac-b757-bd8c477e16d0

Christofacist taliban.
 

wallinbl

Ars Legatus Legionis
13,762
Subscriptor
Indiana looking to end no fault divorce by requiring a 'witness' to testify a marriage is irretrievable - certainly nothing could go wrong in a situation where one of the parties is subject to domestic violence, no sir, no siree
One assumes these states would allow gay marriages to be dissolved without such hurdles... because they'd say they were 'irretrievable' at inception. And, the current SCOTUS wouldn't see any problems with that distinction.
 

DarthSlack

Ars Legatus Legionis
23,282
Subscriptor++
Per this article, it was using both in 2007-2008 during the GFC, as well as during the pandemic. It's a controversial measure that most economists would agree should only be used in extraordinary circumstances.

The thing about the Fed is that pretty much no matter what they do, there's going to be a chorus or two of critics. It's kind of the Fed's job to do unpopular things.
 

Sajuuk

Ars Legatus Legionis
13,153
Even more media capitulation. Apologies if already mentioned.

CNN Boss Warns Star Hosts to Avoid Trashing Trump’s Record

CNN journalists avoided mentioning the most sordid elements of President Donald Trump’s past—including his felony conviction and two impeachments—during inauguration day broadcasts after the network’s top boss told them to show some deference to the most powerful person on earth.

That’s according to a report in media news publication Status, authored by the well-sourced erstwhile CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy.

During a routine editorial meeting on Sunday, meant to plan the extensive logistics of an inauguration, CNN CEO Mark Thompson told journalists to avoid “pre-judging Trump,” Status reported.
 

wireframed

Ars Legatus Legionis
17,278
Subscriptor
Even more media capitulation. Apologies if already mentioned.

CNN Boss Warns Star Hosts to Avoid Trashing Trump’s Record
The most powerful person on earth, yet could likely not outmaneuver a wet paper bag, nor fight his way out of one. Sad!

I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that the 4. Estate has proven as useless in holding the powerful accountable than the other branches of government, especially given their track record during his first term and his campaigns. But it is still disappointing.
 

Wheels Of Confusion

Ars Legatus Legionis
75,625
Subscriptor
When you thought Hegseth couldn't get any worse:

turns out he endorses batshit insane Christian extremists
Honestly, I just assume this about all of them. Saves time.

I mean, are we really pre-judging at this point? Aren't we just judging based on past behavior?
Exactly. It's post-judging Trump to judge him based on things he did.
"Don't mention his long history of criminality, endorsing violence, illegal actions in office, and campaign finance violations. That's pre-judgement!"
 

Embattle

Ars Tribunus Militum
1,679
Sounds like maybe FEMA needs MORE funding, not less...?

I can't help wondering if Trump forgot he owns some expensive real-estate in Florida? Aka. the state that got hit by 3 of the worst hurricanes in history within the last 7 years?

FEMA has been underfunded for decades, it gets caught in a loop because it uses today's funds for previous disasters and thus next year's funding will go back to this year's requirements and so on, eventually the same day the funding hits FEMA the money will be gone.
 

yd

Ars Legatus Legionis
22,586
Subscriptor++

Wheels Of Confusion

Ars Legatus Legionis
75,625
Subscriptor
In my opinion, I don't think pete has the mental horse power to actually explain what 'cultural marxism' is nor what 'critical race theory' is. Its just boogey man words for low intelligence knuckle draggers at this point with people like him.
Those same bullshit terms like "cultural Marxism" were levied at Barack Obama, notably our most Marxist president ever who nationalized all means of production and collectivized the farms.
 

GohanIYIan

Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
9,902
In my opinion, I don't think pete has the mental horse power to actually explain what 'cultural marxism' is nor what 'critical race theory' is. Its just boogey man words for low intelligence knuckle draggers at this point with people like him.
He was valedictorian of his high school and went on to graduate from Princeton and Harvard. He's still wildly unqualified to lead the justice department, but these are markers of a person who is probably intelligent.
 

DarthSlack

Ars Legatus Legionis
23,282
Subscriptor++
He was valedictorian of his high school and went on to graduate from Princeton and Harvard. He's still wildly unqualified to lead the justice department, but these are markers of a person who is probably intelligent.

Or just someone with access to connections. Morons get into Princeton and Harvard as well.
 

yd

Ars Legatus Legionis
22,586
Subscriptor++
Or just someone with access to connections. Morons get into Princeton and Harvard as well.
Indeed, trump graduated from Wharton....not exactly a flattering graduate. And yea, valedictorian of a high school, whatever, I am not going to look into the guy but depending on where, that might not be saying much either.

From anything I have seen of him speaking, he comes across as a bit.....dim.