The 2024 Campaign Issues Being Taken for Granted:
What is not being covered as much as it should be on the campaign trail and more broadly this election cycle.
Feel free to check the entire blog archives from “Political Pulse” & “Salzillo Report” on the 2024 primary cycle, rural outreach, redistricting litigation, base dynamics, campaign organization, the current media landscape, the issues at stake, Project 2025, Build Back Better, the progressive movement, the true story about 2024 VP contender Gina Raimondo, and much more.
As the Democratic National Convention continues in Chicago, with a lot to see via C-SPAN, it is worth going over some of the topics and issues not being spotlighted enough this election cycle in the mainstream discussion.
Let me just say before that. Is there anyone who thinks the Ivy League duo of UPenn (Donald Trump) and Yale (JD Vance) can actually relate to the working class more than the daughter of Indian & Jamaican immigrants (Kamala Harris), and a farmer, school teacher, and veteran with small town roots in Nebraska (Tim Walz)? Anyways…
First, “it’s the economy stupid.” It is one to see the economy by the numbers and data, which are very clear. There's a good reason why President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris tout the strong economy so far, because it is there by the data & numbers over the last 3.5 years, compared to the 4 years of Trump-Pence.
But there is also the issue of inflation and the cost of living generally, which the Biden-Harris Administration has had to deal with in recent years. Let’s go over the rising costs more.
Let’s begin with price-gouging. Republicans say it is fake. Most recently, CNN’s very provocative conservative commentator Scott Jennings (please note that Scott Jennings is not an economist in any way) called price-gouging “a canard” that is “not true” and “made up.” The supposed truth from the same man who equated Trump with the insurrectionists and called him demented and crazy less than two years ago, whose credibility has now been questioned by his own fellow colleagues.
Here’s the actual truth. Price-gouging is a real thing. Greedflation & shrinkflation are not words that were made up for fun, unlike Bigrant crime or “Laffin Kamala.” When the first voices called it out two years ago, like former Labor Secretary Robert Reich (who is an actual economist and not just a talking head), they were ridiculed, mocked, and laughed at by the corporate establishment. But it turns out they were actually right.
Here’s the reality folks. A report commissioned by the Federal Trade Commission itself earlier this year found grocery chains to be guilty of driving up prices to pad their pockets for profit. Grocery chains, especially those like Walmart, Kroger, & Tyson Foods, also consist of significant monopolies in industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and more. More control of the markets means a greater ability to raise prices because there are few alternatives to go to. There used to be a day when Republicans like Theodore Roosevelt, the Bull Moose himself, understood that phenomenon in theory and in practice (also when the Republican Party was not nearly as pro-corporate and pro-elitist as it is today).
There have actually been oil price-gouging investigations not just by the FTC under Chairwoman Lina Khan, but also by Congress, including with ongoing legislative pushes and oversight pushes, and even in the form of lawsuits against 18 companies across several Western states. And forget pharmaceutical price-gouging and how healthcare costs here are twice as much as any other nation. Just look at Mylan’s Epi-Pens, Purdue Pharma, and those other big scandals.
And still under inflation, corporate profits have hit record highs over consecutive years including now in 2024, just as economic inequality remains around the highest it has been since the Gilded Age. So what does that say about today? That Corporate America knows how to do well in our nation and Main Street doesn’t? That’s voodoo economics at its best, much like the 47% comment back in 2012. But only in the Republican Party today can price-gouging be regarded as acceptable for the American people.
Even a key mouthpiece for Corporate America (Catherine Rampell, WaPo columnist and de facto press secretary for US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo) had to take a 180 on her initial position.
Harris-Walz & Congressional Democrats will target the problems of price-gouging, corporate monopolies, and private sector greed. Trump-Vance & Congressional Republicans are in total fantasyland pretending all is well and nothing bad exists. Greedflation & shrinkflation is no myth at all.
How about energy in the inflation matter? The truth is we are relying on a dying industry in fossil fuels. Fossil fuels were a major economic driver for decades in our nation, but they haven’t been in more than half a century. Most of the coal mining communities and oil towns have declined considerably from their good ole days. Coal, oil, and natural gas cannot revive these communities back. From a century plus of mining and extraction, the truth is we have already exploited the coal & oil supply available domestically, which is why we have been stuck relying on foreign imports from places like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, & Russia. Fossil fuels are a depletable dying energy supply that will not revitalize left-behind communities, though the industry surely will enrich the Republican politicians who rely on their blood money so much, not only to support dangerous projects that inflict damage on their own communities, but prevent new engines of economic development from coming in. Not to mention Manchinema.
You know what will lower energy costs and help us address the climate crisis? Renewable energy. Clean energy. Green energy. Using sources like solar, wind, biofuels, hydropower, geothermal, hydrogen cells, electric batteries, and more. The opportunities in developing a renewable energy industrial sector, a sustainable agricultural system, being a revolutionary leader in environmentally-efficient transportation & infrastructure, and in environmental preservation & conservation will go a long way for left-behind communities, and all of America. There’s the path to lower energy costs, a more reliable domestic energy supply with true independence, and a major remedy to the climate crisis.
Government spending? The only time Republican politicians ever complain about spending in regards to the deficit or inflation is when the money doesn’t go to the wealthy few millionaires & billionaires, the powerful special interests in Washington DC, or the military-industrial complex & its defense contractors. But count them out for anything and anyone else.
Sure, there has been a lot of spending that can account in some form for inflation. Here’s what they don’t mention. The Trump stimulus, which could have been avoidable if not for Trump inducing our economy into a historic recession with his poor handling of the pandemic, was probably even worse for inflation than anything that took place after him.
Take the Paycheck Protection Program (or more accurately, the Paycheck Predatory Program). Where did the loans from that program go? It went to places like Brown University, Yale University, and private schools such as LaSalle Academy, Moses Brown, Wheeler, and Lincoln? It went to high-profile restaurant chains like Shake Shack & McDonald’s. It went to all kinds of big law firms and lobbying entities. Not exactly paupers in need if you ask me. Much of the money was also lost permanently because of loan fraud. For the mega-rich that got it, where do you think the money went? Stock buybacks? Swiss bank accounts? Luxury homes? Hmmm.
And more Trump Tax Cuts, Trump Tariffs, and Dodd-Frank repeal are the solutions? Please.
As for immigration, it is true we have had a broken system for a long time. It might be the one thing the Biden-Harris Administration had struggled on the most for a long time, even with some factors beyond their control like the expiration of COVID protocols and the pandemic instability period.
Don’t just be alarmed about the mass deportation program proposed by Donald “Immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country” Trump, or his usual scapegoating of undocumented immigrants, and all immigrants honestly. Be concerned not about a border wall that has proven ineffective these recent years, or even how Trump merely wants to play politics on the issue and spoil any bipartisan compromises along the way that come up. Worry about the legal ports of entry, the fentanyl and sex trafficking impacting those on the border and elsewhere, and secure a pathway to citizenship for the DREAMers & DACA program recipients.
And not just that. It is true immigrants are hired for cheaper labor, something that Senator Bernie Sanders acknowledged back in 2007. If corporations and businesses want to hire immigrants, they should be paid the same wages as regular Americans, and those who hire migrants for cheaper labor should be held accountable for it.
Again, Harris-Walz & Congressional Democrats will address the issue. Trump-Vance & Congressional Republicans can only talk about it.
On crime, it seems Republicans can only go into Willie Horton mode on steroids. It seems to not have occurred to them based on their rhetoric that the War on Crime & War on Drugs were a complete failure. Their policies have failed over and over again beyond building a highly profitable and politically-aligned prison-industrial complex with mass incarceration matching that of China and Russia combined.
Democrats know the issue: the need to have a multi-pronged approach to criminal justice in our country and not fear-monger over certain public safety policies.
All of which speak to a growing consensus today, which is that trickle-down Reaganomics and Clintonian free market corporatism are failed economic doctrines that don’t really work. Project 2025 is a reincarnation of those stale ideas stitched together with weird culture war red meat grievances, and dangerous authoritarian tendencies added in. It is more of the same, and actually worse in many ways. President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda & the Harris-Walz 2024 campaign platform are the keys to undoing these failed politics and policies.
The reason for that is that unlike Trump-Vance, the Biden-Harris Administration understands what America is all about. The backbone of America is not Wall Street, Corporate America, or the many other outside special interests that are openly backing the Trump-Vance presidential ticket this cycle. It is the middle and working classes of this great nation. It is Main Street.
There is only one side that believes in universal, affordable healthcare for everyone regardless of income or race. There is only one side that believes education should be a right enshrined in our nation’s values regardless of zip code, and not privileged to just those who can afford it. There is only one side that not only acknowledges the climate crisis, but will address it in the best interests of all communities. There is only one side that stands for organized labor and all workers instead of belittling them with a proud union-buster. There is only one side that will take on monopolies in areas like Big Agriculture instead of pretending they don’t exist. There is only one side that stands for consumers over the bankers and businessmen who screwed Americans going back to the Great Recession. There is only one side that supports small mom-and-pop businesses over Big Business. There is only one side who believes the top 1% of millionaires & billionaires should pay more taxes than working men and women all across this country and do their part, instead of gutting essential social service lifelines. There is only one side who will do the hard work on building up the industries of the future and expanding our economy the way we have these last 4 or so years instead of rehashing overused stale bread policies. There is only one side that takes action on behalf of our soldiers & veterans instead of doing lip service for them. Only one side got the job done on infrastructure & transportation, in reshoring supply chains, in having fair trade, and in lowering costs.
And there is only one side standing unabashedly and proudly for democracy (hint: not Trump-Vance nor the Republican Party today). One where our founding documents cannot be “suspended” or “terminated.” Where elections are legitimate even if our side loses. Where the maps are fair and the ballot is accessible for every eligible voter without cracking-and-packing, or suppressing the vote in any way. Where freedoms are protected and guaranteed in our Constitution and not stripped away from half the nation like they were in 2022 and 2023. Where Americans have the right to not be shot on the streets, in a school, in a bar, in a restaurant, or any public arena by an AK-47 or an AR-15 loaded with high-capacity magazines and bump stocks. Where we can express ourselves differently and be the people we want to be in any way, while also living together with a common sense of patriotism and love for our country. Where immigrants are celebrated and not demonized. Where the Supreme Court has to comply with something we call “ethics,” and where campaign finance reform targeting the Big Money system we have now instead rewards merit over wealth. Where we side with democratic allies like Ukraine and Taiwan and protect human rights across the world. Where everyone should be treated equally, not more or less (more on much of this later).
Only one side believes in that vision to make America even better, and who won’t obstruct it in any way as Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Mike Johnson have tried to do, and that is the Harris-Walz presidential ticket and Congressional Democrats. This is the working class campaign we have been waiting for. This is the future we have been waiting for.