The worst sequel to Speed

Sorry to say, but you’d better get those bootstraps ready

This list is right about those three times leading to economic catastrophe (1828 also caused a recession). But it’s missing all the other times mass tariffs caused depressions in the US: 1816, 1837, and 1890 resulted in depressions from 1816-20, 1836-43, and 1893-95, respectively.

The history of the US is the history of devastating cycles of economic depression until the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, monetary policy, fiscal stimulus, banking regulation, and other economic tools moderated the boom-and-bust cycle that dominated the first half of US history. These were the lessons of that era. WW2 may have lifted the US out of one depression, but it was these tools that kept future ones at bay.

Oh yeah, and because Congress wrested control of tariff authority from the executive branch and then used them sparingly until 2025.

FYI, a US depression will be a global depression, and the effects will be felt worse in many countries.

Edit: I forgot which channel I was in, lol. Oh well.

I had a stroke (really, a multi-stroke trauma event). I spent many days in the hospital under close supervision. Unlike Fetterman, I listened to my doctors, took an extended leave of absence from work, slept almost the entire time so my brain could heal in those critical days and weeks, took my medication, and went to physical therapy.

Fetterman reportedly didn’t do any of that.

I recovered fully. Fetterman clearly did not. In his current state, he should step down for the sake of everyone, especially himself. The stress of his job is about the worst possible thing he could do to himself.

The Judicial system, which includes the Supreme Court, is a branch of government.

It wasn’t fine. ATC hasn’t been properly staffed in decades, and many of them are functioning alcoholics because they can’t get mental health support or they’ll be forced to take unpaid leave for 6 months.

Like everything else, Trump made it all worse, but ATC has been struggling since before Reagan due to chronic underfunding. It’s been getting worse as more and more of them retire. Trump made it worse by firing the replacements who had undergone years of training. When things began to derail, they hired back the ones that had already retired.

There’s no game plan. Congress has no game plan in place to fix this. I’m not a both sides kind of person (check my comment history), but most elected officials in Congress are completely incompetent. It goes without saying for this administration as well.

As one example, the current problems in Newark are because there are just 20 ATCs that work that airport (from Philadelphia by wire) and 5 of them went on leave. This in turn caused downstream effects in other places because airlines cancelled flights or had to reroute. Think about that: the Northeast aviation system begins to fall apart if a single-digit number of people who normally work 6 days a week, who work overtime, decide to take leave.

The reason they went on leave is because they lost all communications for like 90 seconds when they were tracking a couple dozen flights. These people are such nervous wrecks and it came so close to a major aviation disaster that they had to go on leave to recuperate from the stress.

Ah yes, swift boat veterans for truth, 2024 edition

It’s incredible how someone is so committed to doing the wrong thing in every situation. Next he’ll outlaw sunlight and children’s laughter.

Of course the right took a side in this lawsuit that has nothing to do with anyone besides these two.

By sheer coincidence, it’s the anti-woman side. Again and again.

No, it’s cool. The DNC is thinking about running Harris again. That is a very smart decision by very smart people and it will turn out very well

“So if you want me to be able to push back, that requires me actually going and talking with DOGE.”

No, you jagoff, it means passing legislation, which is literally your only job.

God help you if you page too far into the results. Eventually it will just run out of memory and crash.

Without exaggeration, this may be the stupidest chart I’ve ever seen in my life.

A declining trend line of Musk’s spending cut promises means by end of year he’ll apparently start promising $2T in new spending by DOGE according to these geniuses.

Purely punitive. They haven’t raised the federal gas tax since 1993 or adjusted it for inflation, and the federal highway fund is set to dry up in just a few years. So in response they levy an outrageous and disproportionate tax on 2% of drivers rather than across the board.

Removing the $7,500 tax rebate, stopping the EV charging station expansion, removing emission rules, levying this tax, and then having the nerve to say it’s about “fairness.”

I own an EV, and with how little I drive, if I paid a gas tax it would be literally $25 annually for me.

The most important thing a centrist wants you to know any time they give their political opinion is how much more enlightened and intelligent they are than you.

Forever alone gutter troll

Recession and job losses are just politics to them. They won’t face existential risk to their livelihoods.

As much as I’d like to move to Europe or elsewhere, and I seriously considered it in 2016, I found that I’d take a severe pay cut for my industry (regardless of taxes). To stay around my current compensation, I’d most likely have to stay in the western hemisphere for remote work in the US, but I also don’t think Canada is far enough away.

I also really like my house and have invested a lot into it, so selling it right now for what it’s worth will be difficult. I don’t think I’d be able to sell it before the recession hits anyway. If it’s a depression, I’ll be screwed wherever I am.

I could go someplace in East Asia, but their companies have an awful work / life balance.

But I’m widely traveled and speak a second language at a functional level, so I feel I could live anywhere if I didn’t care about my assets or maintaining my current cost of living.

It’s a tough decision. I wish my blue region could just peacefully exit the union by vote, but I know it would only bring war.

As a kid, I used to wonder while reading history books why anyone who wasn’t a Nazi would stay in 1930s Germany. I feel like I’m answering that question in real time.

I know what you mean, but it’s a given they’re gonna be evil, so the best case scenario is they’re evil and incompetent.

Swap the election order and it may not have been quite so clear cut. Though this order is probably for the best, as most Americans wouldn’t have paid attention to the MAGA hangers-on winning in other countries and would have elected the cruel buffoon regardless.