Althouse: "Democrats tend to lose whenever they forget that they are, first and foremost, the party of working American families."

July 31, 2024

"Democrats tend to lose whenever they forget that they are, first and foremost, the party of working American families."

"Since the days when FDR won four consecutive presidential races, voters have looked to the Dems to fight for economic growth, which brings jobs and opportunity; provide a safety net to protect the unlucky from disaster; and regulate the marketplace to keep cheaters, predators, and monopolists at bay. Somewhere along the way, Democrats lost the plotline: Gallup polls show that Americans generally trust Republicans to do a better job of managing the economy, currently by a margin of 53 to 39 percent. Successful Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — the only two leaders of their party to win reelection since FDR — made it happen by focusing like a laser on the economy.... ... Harris has to avoid the distraction of meme wars and juvenile name calling. Instead, she should stay laser focused on a proven issue on which she and Democrats can win. The economy, stupid."

Writes Errol Louis, in "The Memes Have Been Great. Now Kamala Harris Needs to Talk About This" (New York Magazine).

73 comments:

wendybar said...: The previous economy, not this inflated one from Progressive policies....Only weirdos think this is a great economy.; 7/31/24, 10:06 AM
MadTownGuy said...: "The Memes Have Been Great. Now Kamala Harris Needs to Talk About This"

Nobody tells Kamala what to talk about. She's "The General."; 7/31/24, 10:07 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Sorry, Errol! Boat sailed on all that during the B. Hussein Obama administration. Kamala is running for Cat Lady/Cool Kids President, she doesn't want anything to do with those icky strivers.; 7/31/24, 10:08 AM
robother said...: Is he allowed to call Kamala stupid? I know, it's a quotation, but still.... She is literally too stupid to get it. Just because she's laughing, doesn't mean the joke's not on her.; 7/31/24, 10:10 AM
Dave Begley said...: Too late. The Dems are owned by the green-industrial complex, the DEI-industrial complex, the Street, the software people, the teachers' unions, Big Pharma, BLM, and the childless cat ladies.

With the EV mandate, the Dems are out to destroy the auto industry and the oil and gas industry.; 7/31/24, 10:12 AM
Limited blogger said...: Centralized government control of all things is a winning strategy?

That's WEIRD!; 7/31/24, 10:13 AM
Static Ping said...: We keep playing this game where we pretend that the Biden-Harris administration never happened and Biden-Harris are the outsiders who are going to change the current failed policies. The economy is bad. Biden-Harris owns that economy. They can't argue they have the solutions now, because their solutions obviously do not work.

This is a unique election in that Trump also has a track record on the economy. The problem is Trump's economy was good until COVID wrecked everything. He gets to run on both his positive track record and being the outsider who will fix failed policies.; 7/31/24, 10:14 AM
Amadeus 48 said...: Is that the New York Magazine that has the coconut on the cover?

Totally legit; totally credible; totally brat.; 7/31/24, 10:16 AM
Butkus51 said...: name calling is deplorable. Like Hitler.; 7/31/24, 10:17 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Did he just wake up after a years-long nap? Were, Errol. Democrats were, as in used to be "the party of working American families." That ship sailed a long time ago. You're the party of billionaires and union bosses not the workers. Drag queens and dudes in girl's locker rooms not working people. LOL; 7/31/24, 10:19 AM
doctrev said...: The primary reason that the Rats are suffering with low-income minorities is that the economy is terrible for them. The oligarchs simply can't send them enough money to compensate (more than they normally do) without risking whites waking up.

The laptop class has too much control over both parties, but the difference is that the Republicans are punting them and their politicians out. The Democrats can't afford to lose them, or even reveal deaths from the jabs.

Which means they either have to move to "managed democracy," or risk being execute by the thousands.; 7/31/24, 10:19 AM
Sebastian said...: "The economy, stupid"

True, it's most important. And Dems have a decent record to run on.

Problem is, there's a bunch of other issues that also bug voters--e.g., border. Plus semi-prog econ policy also helps to smuggle in full-prog social policy. Not sure GOP can muster an adequate attack.

Like any Dem meme, the working families bit is propaganda, of course. Dems are becoming the party of three groups: the rich, single women, and people who get income/benefits from government. But the propaganda gives their coalition good vibes.; 7/31/24, 10:26 AM
Howard said...: He's recommending she change her campaigns slogan to Make America Great Again.

Of course to reproduce the bountiful economic boon to average Americans that was experienced from 1948 to 1973 the feds need to increase the marginal tax rate for the wealthy up to 85% again.; 7/31/24, 10:28 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Gold standard, too, Howard?; 7/31/24, 10:35 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Bold talk for someone who has to run defending Bidenomics.; 7/31/24, 10:35 AM
MadisonMan said...: I can't take anyone seriously who says that Democrats are (present tense) the party of working families.
Errol is blind to the current state of affairs. Living in a bubble does that.; 7/31/24, 10:37 AM
CJinPA said...: Remember "income inequality"? Dems replaced that talking point with "racial inequality."

Helping Americans who "work hard and play by the rules" (Bill Clinton) was replaced with touting a constant stream of new rules to accommodate an ever growing list of sexual minorities.

Some on the Right call it "cultural Marxism" and say it replaced the economic Marxism that once animated the Left.

Simply, a political party can't be all things to all people. (Or, maybe in an unprecedented three-month sprint to power you CAN.); 7/31/24, 10:39 AM
Scott Patton said...: " a safety net to protect the unlucky"
Just say "protect those that need it". There is no lucky or unlucky. It's not a thing. By using that nonsense word, there is an attempt to insert a concept into a sentence that is supernatural bullshit (new tag - hint, hint for our gracious host.)
Make no mistake, that concept will be invoked to take from the so called lucky (you know, just to even things up a little). The ultimate subjective label.; 7/31/24, 10:39 AM
Kevin said...: Working families don't chop the dicks off their minor children.; 7/31/24, 10:41 AM
Gusty Winds said...: You can't be the party of PDH elite liberal human resource women, and the ditch digging working class.

There is ZERO intersectionality between these two groups.

The former PRETENDS to care about the working class and people of color, but in reality they don't give a shit.

What's amazing is the Democrats have successfully aligned liberal women with the war mongers.; 7/31/24, 10:44 AM
Gusty Winds said...: Does anybody REALLY BELIEVE Kamala can speak intelligently about the economy?; 7/31/24, 10:45 AM
Gusty Winds said...: At last night's Atlanta Harris rally, and soon as the twerkers were finished, people started leaving.

Even people who support her can't stand listening to her.; 7/31/24, 10:47 AM
Howard said...: I don't know enough about economics to have an opinion on the gold standard, Yancey. Especially how you transition from a deeply entrenched Fiat monetary system back to a gold standard in a way that doesn't absolutely fuck over the middle class while further enriching billionaires.; 7/31/24, 10:48 AM
tommyesq said...: Barack Obama was "laser-focused" on the economy??; 7/31/24, 10:53 AM
Breezy said...: Here’s a novel idea, Errol: encourage people to vote for the person or party that is actually aligned with their priorities. Don’t try to put the working class back in the Dem bottle when it’s obvious they’re fleeing that party for a quite a few critical reasons.; 7/31/24, 10:55 AM
Jamie said...: How can Democrats run on the economy when, even if they don't exactly hew to MMT in the dark corners of their hearts, they act as if they do? How can Harris run on the economy when her response to Biden/Harris inflation is to "explain" that prices of goods are up, and that leads to stress in families, and they're very concerned about family stress - very, very concerned.

And Build Back Better is designed, actively designed, she emphasized, to reduce childcare and elder care costs, so there you go! Implied but not stated is that those reductions, if they were to happen, would reduce family stress. But not prices of goods.; 7/31/24, 10:56 AM
Assistant Village Idiot said...: Barack Obama was laser focused on the economy? Who knew?

The meme wars and juvenile insults are not a distraction, they are the point. Trump IS insulting, and often juvenile, but it has just been the Democrats hearing back what they have been saying since Truman.; 7/31/24, 10:58 AM
n.n said...: Google/Alphabet is experiencing virtual dysphoria forcing blogger schizophrenia.; 7/31/24, 11:06 AM
Dude1394 said...: Democrats have not been the party of working families ever since Obama was elected. He brought in 24/7 tribalism.; 7/31/24, 11:07 AM
Yancey Ward said...: "I don't know enough about economics to have an opinion on the gold standard, Yancey."

But you know enough about economics to have an opinion that 85% income tax rates were a good thing from 1948 to 1973?; 7/31/24, 11:09 AM
Michael K said...: I'll grant that Clinton was OK on the economy, especially after the 1994 election. Obama was a hard lefty who sounded better than he was. I took an Economics course in college and that made me a Republican. Today, of course, that would not happen today as the Left took over colleges since then.; 7/31/24, 11:10 AM
Original Mike said...: " a safety net to protect the unlucky"

Yeah, that's not what democrats do. Few disagree about protecting the unlucky. Democrats want to protect people from their own choices. It's always been their worst attribute, IMO. They absolutely refuse to acknowledge the negative incentives baked into their policies.; 7/31/24, 11:10 AM
Original Mike said...: Of course to reproduce the bountiful economic boon to average Americans that was experienced from 1948 to 1973 the feds need to increase the marginal tax rate for the wealthy up to 85% again."

How much money would that raise, Howard?; 7/31/24, 11:12 AM
CJinPA said...: Democrats have not been the party of working families ever since Obama was elected. He brought in 24/7 tribalism.

That was a more succinct way of saying what I said. "Occupy Wall Street" was 2011. He mainly ran for re-election on "financial fairness" against Money Bags Romney. His second term began in 2013. Ferguson/BLM was 2015. From there it was full tribalism, no looking back.

And then a guy road a gold escalator right into the void that was left.; 7/31/24, 11:25 AM
PM said...: There's more heavy lifting in NY mag's 'working American families' issue:
- The 15 Very Best Storage Bins
- The 12 Very Best Yoga Pants for Women
- 54 Famous People on their Favorite Scented Candles; 7/31/24, 11:30 AM
Big Mike said...: Franklin Delano Roosevelt died almost 80 years ago. As recently as 60 years ago Lyndon Johnson could sell The Great Society by pretending the benefits would flow to working class white families as much as to inner city unmarried mothers. But in the early years of this century the Democrat Party was bought by a shadowy group of billionaires for what, to them, must have seemed like chump change. Some of the names of these shadowy billionaires we know: George Soros and his sons, Tom Steyer (who has been keeping a lower profile these past couple years), and Reid Hoffman, who pleaded guilty to paying lefty trolls to infiltrate blog comments posing as conservative Republicans.*. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are also involved, but don’t seem to be core members of the cabal.

Democrats have hated small business owners for as long as I’ve been aware, which dates back to the 1960s. Obama’s comment about “bitter clingers” and Hillary’s “deplorables” remark are mileposts in their party’s transition away from supporting the workers. I have bad news for Errol Louis — his ship has sailed and it will take at least a generation for it to come back.

Credit to Donald Trump for realizing that (1) the Republicans had been supporting corporate America at the same time corporate America was giving its political donations to the Democrats, and (2) the entire American middle class, from manual laborers to skilled workers to small business owners to what some call the upper middle class, was looking for a political home. And he provided it.

_____________
* Don’t bother letting me know if that makes you think of anyone who comments here or used to comment here. I think I’ve worked it out.; 7/31/24, 11:32 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: "Yeah, that's not what democrats do. Few disagree about protecting the unlucky"

Without the "unlucky" the Democrat Party would cease to exist. Which means they have an essential interest in policies that create a large cohort of the "unlucky".

It isn't rocket science. It's human nature.

They practice the same dynamic with Black people as well. Democrats have to destroy them to save them.; 7/31/24, 11:38 AM
ron winkleheimer said...: "Of course to reproduce the bountiful economic boon to average Americans that was experienced from 1948 to 1973 the feds need to increase the marginal tax rate for the wealthy up to 85% again."

Off course the complete destruction of the industrial capacity of most of the world outside of the US had nothing to do with that. Oh, and the outsourcing of industry that started in the 70s had nothing to do with ending it.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2018/11/29/i-sent-my-dads-manufacturing-job-overseas-my-own-ended-not-long-after/; 7/31/24, 11:43 AM
Goetz von Berlichingen said...: How is Kamala going to run on 'the Economy' while simultaneously running from 'the Biden-Harris Economy'?

Ron Winkleheimer: I am sure that Howard was calculating the impact of WW2 on the post-war economy.

I mean, only an idiot would fail to take that into considera..... Oh!

Nevermind.

MfG
Goetz von Berlichingen; 7/31/24, 11:56 AM
Howard said...: This is the time period in which Trump harkens in his Make America Great Again slogan. Blue collar working men provided enough income for a stay at home Mom, 3.89 kids, 1.56 dogs, 0.39 cats, 2.14 cars, 1.73 college educations, inexpensive health insurance and a comfortable retirement.

Google AI:

The period between 1948 and 1973 is often called the "Golden Age" of the US economy, a time of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity that benefited people of all incomes and education levels. During this time, the US economy experienced:
Real GDP growth: A 169% increase
Employment growth: A 75% increase
Manufacturing job growth: A 30% increase
Per capita personal income: Almost double
Output per hour growth: A 2.88% average annual rate; 7/31/24, 12:19 PM
Lawrence Person said...: The most notable aspect of the Democratic Party, like all western leftwing parties, is their absolute loathing for the working class. Why do you think they call them "deplorables" and "bitter clingers" and seek to replace them at every turn with illegal aliens?

They're like the father in Parasite (only not nearly so nice) that simply can't refrain from wrinkling his nose at the smell of the working class.

Democrats don't represent the working class to America, they represent the Yale Faculty lounge and transnational leftwing activists to America.

In the 1950s, Democrats aimed their political pitch at blue collar guys who brought a lunch pail to work every day. Today, they seem to be aiming their political pitch at woke liberal arts majors screaming obscenities into cops’ faces.; 7/31/24, 12:27 PM
Goetz von Berlichingen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/31/24, 12:47 PM
ron winkleheimer said...: "This is the time period in which Trump harkens in his Make America Great Again slogan."

And that's a bad thing because?; 7/31/24, 12:55 PM
Hassayamper said...: Too late. The Dems are owned by the green-industrial complex, the DEI-industrial complex, the Street, the software people, the teachers' unions, Big Pharma, BLM, and the childless cat ladies.

Don't leave out the defense contractors. Just like the Wall Street moneybags, they used to be near the top of the Left's hierarchy of bêtes-noires, and chummy with the Republican Party of Mitt Romney and both Bushes, but that ship sailed with Barack Obama and for sure will not return under Trump.; 7/31/24, 1:02 PM
Deep State Reformer said...: You folks that are leaning Republican or are Trumpists or whatever combination of the two please remember the Big Red Mirages from the '20 & '22 elections. The expectations were high but the results were very disappointing to say the least. Instead the Dems actually remained in power in most states. In Michigan the Dems ran the table. They won the MSC, Gov, the state leg (both bodies), all the proposals and took a US an R congressional seat. These polls and shit showing a likey win aren't locked in. While I am a natural cynic and pessimist and I could be wrong here, I am pretty sure we aren't voting these boots off our necks. That may not even be an option any longer.; 7/31/24, 1:07 PM
dbp said...: The Democrats haven't been the party of the working class for some time and they openly look down upon the working class. The working class has caught on to this and have noticed that the GOP, which used to be the elite party, has always had respect for the people who put in an honest day of real work.; 7/31/24, 1:15 PM
Hassayamper said...: Of course to reproduce the bountiful economic boon to average Americans that was experienced from 1948 to 1973 the feds need to increase the marginal tax rate for the wealthy up to 85% again.

Not this ignorant shit again!

When the marginal tax rate was that high, all interest paid for any purpose whatsoever was deductible. There was no Alternative Minimum Tax or Generation Skipping Tax. Passive losses could be deducted against earned income, and the phantom passive losses that could be legally generated on things like oil wells, race horses, boats, and airplanes were astonishingly generous. All meals and entertainment were fully deductible if they had any business nexus at all (Jimmy Carter popularized the disparaging term "three-martini lunch" during the fight to cut back on M&E deductions.)

A thousand other similar loopholes existed that have since been abolished. Nobody with a decent accountant paid more than 25% net taxes, only a little higher than the 22% rate that today's top earners pay.

If we listened to the bird-brained tax policy proposals from worthless left-wing idiots like the former barmaid AOC, and put marginal rates back up to 80 or 90% without restoring any of the previous loopholes that brought net tax rates back down to non-confiscatory levels, the nation would fall into depression practically overnight as billionaires and their corporations offshored every penny they could.; 7/31/24, 1:24 PM
alanc709 said...: Democrats are the party of abortion, of slavery, of wealth transfer. What part of that helps everyday people? Liberals claim to care about the poor, but every policy they espouse ensures that not only the poor remain so, but the middle class get reduced to poverty.; 7/31/24, 1:25 PM
loudogblog said...: Howard said...

"Google AI:"

FYI, this is the same AI that told people to glue toppings down to pizza, take a bath with a toaster, People should eat one small rock each day, Obama was our only Muslim president, you should drink 2 quarts of urine very 24 hours to help with kidney stones and that a dog has played in the NHL.; 7/31/24, 1:31 PM
gspencer said...: "the party of working American families"

Ha! Archie and Edith named that one, "Those were the days!"

Today, the Ds are the party of the non-working."; 7/31/24, 1:37 PM
boatbuilder said...: Howard slept through the Reagan Administration, apparently.; 7/31/24, 1:48 PM
Leland said...: Successful Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — the only two leaders of their party to win an open Primary by presenting their case rather than having it rigged by leaders. That is part of their success.

As for being "The Party of the Working Class" (TM); how do you show that by rigging a Primary, throwing it out, and then handpicking a person that was never part of the working class and by all accounts got to where she is by being handpicked for doing and to do things other than hard work.

Also, if those meme's are "great", the bar for greatness in the Democrat Party is very low, but I'm repeating myself.; 7/31/24, 1:55 PM
Hassayamper said...: Without the "unlucky" the Democrat Party would cease to exist. Which means they have an essential interest in policies that create a large cohort of the "unlucky".

This is the fundamental axiom of American politics. The very last thing the Democratic Party ever wants to see is peaceful, prosperous, orderly neighborhoods where satisfied people with good jobs live in harmony with their neighbors of all races. They would never again hold power.

They WANT poverty, so there are plenty of jobs for unionized bureaucrats with toilet-paper college degrees to dole out scraps to life's losers.

They WANT crime, so there is a constant fearful clamor for government to "do something", which to them always means to confiscate as many weapons from as many law-abiding people as they possibly can.

They WANT racial hatred, it is essential to their divide-and conquer tribalism. If there is not enough real racism to keep the minority population angry and eager to take a punch at whitey at the ballot box, they will manufacture it. Jussie Smollett's supposed "lynching" was almost certainly done with the connivance of Kamala herself.

They WANT constant warfare and meddlesome interference in other countries' business, so they can embark on grandstanding Wilsonian/Carteresque missionary wars, impose censorship and a Stasi-style surveillance state, and scoop up defense contractor donations and kickbacks of American taxpayers' foreign aid from corrupt Third World bureaucrats and dictators.

They WANT shitty, disorderly, violent schools that teach children nothing but how to stick a dildo up your ass. It's an excuse for constant bond overrides and Federal handouts to make education "better" , but which only enrich the teachers' unions who are their foot soldiers at every election.

They WANT armies of violent, hateful foreigners to invade America, force down wages, overwhelm hospitals and public housing, hoover up welfare payments, and breed millions of pliant, ignorant, dependent losers who can be easily persuaded to vote for Democrats.

They WANT squalor. They WANT disorder. They WANT terrorism. They WANT misery. They WANT corruption. They always WANT what is worst for society as a whole, as long as it helps them seize and hold power, and loot the public treasury.

This is the essence of the Cloward-Piven strategy, and it has been ongoing since at least the days of the so-called Great Society. If you approach every question of politics with an eye towards whatever course will make Americans more angry, poor, fearful, dependent, miserable, and clamorous of being saved by aggrandizement of Big Nanny Government -- and I am talking demonstrated outcomes now, not the purported goals offered by Dem politicians -- you will always come down on the side of the Democratic Party.

They are the most evil group in American public life, and it's not even close. They are a criminal cartel. They are the enemy of everything America should be. If our forefathers could return and see us now, they would surely take up arms and do away with thousands of Democrat politicians and bureaucrats.; 7/31/24, 2:18 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger Howard said...

This is the time period in which Trump harkens in his Make America Great Again slogan.

Maybe Howard thinks there will another postwar boom after WW3. No, we will be the ones like Europe and Japan at that time. Clinton emptied out our industry and Obama did the same to the military. The next war we will be on the losing side if it is soon. It does make me wonder why the Biden Democrats are so eager to start one. The GOPe is almost as bad but they are a diminishing share of our party.; 7/31/24, 2:31 PM
Achilles said...: Howard said...

I don't know enough about economics to have an opinion on the gold standard, Yancey. Especially how you transition from a deeply entrenched Fiat monetary system back to a gold standard in a way that doesn't absolutely fuck over the middle class while further enriching billionaires.

In the area I live they are building a lot of houses. Right now it takes a crew of 5 people about a week to put together a solid 2000-2500 3-4 bedroom house.

They are able to produce houses so fast and so efficiently now it is very impressive. The price of houses should be down. It should take fewer wage hours to buy a house now.

But it isn't because the supply of money has far outpaced the increase in productivity.

Cost of goods is determined by how much money there is chasing the total goods produced.

The Fed and our Government have been printing off money at extreme rates. They have printed off this money and given it to their friends at Blackrock. Private Equity has been buying huge percentages of new homes built. None of that money produced any wealth. It just appeared and unbalanced the rather straight forward equation.

In addition this Regime and it's corporate cronies subsidize a class of mandarins that push DEI garbage and various HR department buillshit that produces no value. But it does close the "wage gap" between Men and Women.

Those are the reasons for inflation and that is the reason why the working class has been crushed by the Biden administration.

The Gold Standard did not allow them to do this.; 7/31/24, 2:33 PM
rehajm said...: Clinton was lucky to be present during the inflation of the tech bubble. Obama’s growth was so sclerotic his handlers tried to Jedi mind trick people by calling it The New Normal.; 7/31/24, 2:34 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: "This is the time period in which Trump harkens in his Make America Great Again slogan. Blue collar working men provided enough income for a stay at home Mom, 3.89 kids, 1.56 dogs, 0.39 cats, 2.14 cars, 1.73 college educations, inexpensive health insurance and a comfortable retirement."

Cool. Now cite non-American merchant shipping sunk, locomotives destroyed, factories bombed, housing razed, war debt incurred, men killed, agriculture stunted, countries occupied.; 7/31/24, 2:39 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: You don't import millions of Migrants, stop enforcing the immigration laws, open the borders, and hire 500,000 H-1b's a year, if you care about the working class.

The Democrats give poor people get welfare, blacks get Affirmative action and quotas, the Government workers, especially "educators", get paid off, liberal women get abortion, Gays get a pat on the back, the neo-cons get wars, and Leftwing Billionaires get to run everything.

The Democrats give the working class nothing. Go look at how Biden broke the Railway workers strike. Look at how he yawned over East Palastine. The Democrats gave us Medicare in the 1960s. That's the last time they truly gave the working class anything.

Fortunately, for the D's, the R's are the "Controlled opposition" and never take advantage. They'd rather cut Corporate tax rates.; 7/31/24, 2:54 PM
typingtalker said...: " ... she should stay laser focused on a proven issue on which she and Democrats can win. The economy, stupid."

And what part of the economy is hot hot hot right now? Can they spell AI?

Of course, everyone that can spell AI already has a high-paying job. Perhaps they should ask AI what it will take to win.; 7/31/24, 3:58 PM
cfs said...: Harris can't speak on the economy! If you find the video of her addressing inflation it is a goobley-gook of sentences in which she begins, "Inflation in when the cost of bread goes up...". That part is the extent of her understanding and the high-point of her answer. The remainder makes you think of a 12 years old with a book report due who has failed to read the book.; 7/31/24, 4:03 PM
Peachy said...: Kamala is US version of Maduro.

She is a liar and a fraud. But soon - she will lie that she cares about us.; 7/31/24, 4:27 PM
Rick67 said...: Except they are no longer (assuming once they were) the party of working American families. At this stage of American history they are the party of the elite.; 7/31/24, 4:36 PM
Old and slow said...: Blogger Achilles said...
In the area I live they are building a lot of houses. Right now it takes a crew of 5 people about a week to put together a solid 2000-2500 3-4 bedroom house.

I agree with your larger point about housing affordability. Builders are very efficient. The driver of housing costs is government regulation. That said, houses are not being built in 5 days. Average single family homes in the US take 7 - 12 months to complete, and a lot more than 5 guys to do it. Sure, when the stem walls and slab are poured, the framers can come in and build what looks very house shaped in a few days, but that's the least of the work. Build a few houses and let me know how long it takes you.

{Sorry if this comes across as a shitty tone, that is not how I meant it}; 7/31/24, 4:50 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Yes, I don't think we have heard Kamala Harris talking yet.

What the world needs now is a Kamala talk.; 7/31/24, 4:55 PM
Martin said...: "Democrats tend to lose whenever they forget that they are, first and foremost, the party of working American families."

The Dems have not been he party of working American families for at least 40 years probably closer to 60. They like to pretend but they have been the party of the very rich, corporations, and the government dependent for most of that time.; 7/31/24, 5:00 PM
mccullough said...: Errol is a swashbuckling name.

This guy is a pussy; 7/31/24, 5:04 PM
Robert Cook said...: "This is a unique election in that Trump also has a track record on the economy. The problem is Trump's economy was good until COVID wrecked everything."

Why is it a "problem" that Trump's economy was until COVID wrecked everything? Trump came into a good economy, left by Obama, and the good times continued. How much by sheer momentum and processes already in place, and how much particularly effected by Trump requires careful study...but I doubt most of it was Trump's doing. One cannot say Trump came in and made a great economy where there had been a bad economy...(no one but Trump, of course, as unashamed a liar as has ever existed). The reality is, Trump's most notable gifts were those he gave to the already wealthy. He did not work miracles otherwise, and he failed to accomplish many of his promises, his self-serving blah blah to the contrary. He was simply coasting...surfing along on the prevailing currents, until the hurricane tore the surf into a maelstrom.; 7/31/24, 5:37 PM
Arashi said...: The Democrats have been the party of the rich elite for as long as I can remember. They have not been for the working class except at election time since probably FDR. This is more election season BS. Just like their appeals to Blacks - all hat and no cattle. They want the votes and as soon as they get in office they go about making themselves richer and their friends richer. The rest of us get the boot.; 7/31/24, 6:23 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "Howard slept through the Reagan Administration, apparently."

Howard likes to forget the Reagan Era since it was when he was forced to begin his fluffing career.; 7/31/24, 6:35 PM
Drago said...: Yancey: "Howard likes to forget the Reagan Era since it was when he was forced to begin his fluffing career."

Au contraire.

The single most important event in the history of world, according to Howard, occurred during the Reagan admin: the attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut.

It is probably the single most often referenced event from Howard on Althouse blog. You see, it gives Howard an opportunity to try and blame Reagan directly for agreeing to the "experts" in the State Department and DOD to advance the establishment Middle East policy requirements and deflecting from all the current day New Soviet Democratical failures that Howard wants no one to dwell on.; 7/31/24, 6:57 PM
Lazarus said...: It's easier to make the other side's mediocre economic record look terrible, as Bill Clinton did, than to make one's own mediocre economic record look terrific, as Biden and Harris have been trying to do. It's easier to say that you will do better than to pretend that you have been doing well.; 7/31/24, 7:43 PM
Moondawggie said...: Howard said..."to reproduce the bountiful economic boon to average Americans that was experienced from 1948 to 1973 the feds need to increase the marginal tax rate for the wealthy up to 85% again."

Here's some reality, Howard: In 1960, the top tax rate was 91%, and all of 0.00235% of households had income taxed at the top rate.

So go ahead. Raise the marginal tax rate on the current top 0.00235% of households to 91%, and see how just much of difference that makes to the gigantic federal deficit we are currently running. https://taxfoundation.org/blog/some-historical-tax-stats/

As Dean Wormer in Animal House might say, "Being innumerate is no way to go through life, son."; 7/31/24, 11:12 PM
Rusty said...: Laffer had something to say about that, Howard.
You can't tax your way into prosperity.; 8/1/24, 7:56 AM