Why Are Things Unaffordable?
Posted By: DVC, 11/9/2025 1:12:06 PM
With the election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York, much conversation has been made of his appeal to “affordability.” As I’ve written previously, this is a noble conversation, but one that has been dishonestly framed (by Democrats and media) to date. [snip] First let’s look at the role that government has already played and its effect on affordability. What areas in the economy have seen the greatest increase in costs for the consumer? Education, housing, healthcare, and food. ronically, these are all areas of the economy that the government has interjected itself in the form of subsidies, regulations, government-backed loans, and transfer payments.
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Why Are Things Unaffordable?
13 replies
With the election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York, much conversation has been made of his appeal to “affordability.”
As I’ve written previously, this is a noble conversation, but one that has been dishonestly framed (by Democrats and media) to date. [snip]
First let’s look at the role that government has already played and its effect on affordability. What areas in the economy have seen the greatest increase in costs for the consumer? Education, housing, healthcare, and food. ronically, these are all areas of the economy that the government has interjected itself in the form of subsidies, regulations, government-backed loans, and transfer payments.
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
The new amount is roughly half the $667 million that a jury previously awarded to the pipeline company that brought the claims, Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access.
Greenpeace had asked State District Judge James Gion to rule in its favor on various claims before recalculating the damages. In granting some requests, the judge cited no evidence to review or duplicative damages
There have been countless examples of liberalism being a mental disorder. Here is another one: Two researchers from Western Michigan University have written a paper [snip] The paper argues that intentionally spreading alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat, could be not only morally defensible, but perhaps even necessary, in order to reduce animal suffering and combat climate change. Here are the authors, Parker Crutchfield and Blake Hereth, in their own words: Because promoting tickborne AGS prevents something bad from happening, doesn’t violate anyone’s rights, and promotes virtuous action or character, it follows that promoting tickborne AGS is strongly pro tanto (‘to that extent’) morally obligatory.
Walmart announced that it will eliminate synthetic dyes, along with 30 other ingredients, from its store-branded products by 2027.
In a press release on Wednesday, the company explained that the synthetic dyes would be removed from Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed, and bettergoods products.
The synthetic dyes being removed are FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Blue 2, FD&C Green 3, FD&C Red 3, FD&C Red 4, FD&C Red 40, FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C Yellow 6, FD&C Citrus Red, FD&C Orange B, and Canthaxanthin.
Other ingredients to be removed from Walmart store-branded products included Titanium Dioxide, Azodicarbonamide, Dicotyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate (DSS), Sucrose Polyester, Toluene, Anisole, Lye, Butylparaben, and Calcium Bromate, among others.
On September 14 in The Media, Charlie Kirk and guns, I engaged in a bit of informed speculation about the reported Mauser 98 rifle alleged to have been used in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I also suggested that if the assassin had never fired the rifle, if it was not properly zeroed for him, it’s likely hitting Kirk in the neck was an indication that he nearly missed. This assumes the killer was aiming for a chest or head shot.
Now we know the rifle was a Mauser 98, apparently “sporterized” by adding a modern polymer stock and what appears to be a relatively low-powered, inexpensive scope.
In his latest book, Lions & Scavengers, Ben Shapiro’s general thesis is that the people of the world can be placed into one of two groups: Lions and Scavengers. Conveying this theory using shorthand, Lions align with the typical American Thinker reader; they revel in the spirit of productivity, of creation, of success, of responsibility, of moral duty. Lions have merciful hearts. They have a healthy respect for tradition but are also great innovators. Scavengers, by contrast, are too angry and envious to be innovative. They are eternally revolting against nature, against authority, against the norms that make healthy civilizations function.
Her bravery has inspired the world. But in her hometown, her actions have met a muted response. To find out the truth, I visited the exact place in Dundee where the now-famous video of the Scottish lassie defending herself and her sister was taken. What I saw left me deeply shaken.
Dundee, a port city north of Edinburgh in Scotland, has been in slow-motion decline since the late 19th century. The intricately carved sandstone facades of its historic buildings are the only reminder of its glory days, when it was the world’s centre of jute fabric production.
A Degree of Perceived Nuisance
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Britain is being roiled by protests against its government’s feckless immigration policies. Enormous numbers of “asylum seekers” have been welcomed into that country, fed and housed. A disproportionate number of those migrants are single men, and many native Britons understandably see their presence as an invasion that is being abetted by their own government. The commission of many sex crimes by these migrants has been the chief source of unrest.
In a reversal of one of the most prominent biomedical investment trends of the past five years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on August 5 a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development efforts under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). To be clear, it is not a ban on mRNA, but the changes carry significant repercussions for mRNA vaccine research.
The decision affects 22 federal vaccine projects and nearly $500 million in research and development contracts. It follows what HHS described as a “comprehensive review” of data from mRNA-related initiatives launched during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
One of the places I visited during a trip to the Balkans in June was a large nuclear bunker complex on the outskirts of Tiranë, the capital of Albania. It’s a massive underground structure—five stories, 106 rooms, and a two-story-high assembly hall, all covering 32,000 square feet—and was built in the 1970s during the height of the Cold War to shelter Albania’s Stalinist leader Enver Hoxha and his inner circle. Dug by hand, the bunker claimed the lives of many laborers.
One could see it as the culmination of the many smaller domed concrete bunkers scattered across Albania’s landscape, cities, and beaches.
A computer is only as good as the data you put into it. That warning from the early days of computing -- garbage in, garbage out -- has never been more relevant than in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).
AI now drives everything from search engines to image generators, yet instead of providing objective, data-backed insights, it too often parrots progressive narratives, twisting facts to match feelings.
Case in point: despite U.S. Census Bureau data indicating that over 75% of Americans identify as white, AI-generated images of “typical Americans” often show mostly non-white groups. This isn’t intelligence. It’s indoctrination, built into algorithms by ideologues in Silicon Valley.
The strange ATF case of Patrick Adamiak
15 replies
Three years ago Patrick Adamiak was an E-6 in the Navy, on his way to finishing a military career. At 28, he had a private business selling popular gun parts and replica, non-firing weapons. Today, he’s nearing his third year in a federal prison, serving a 20-year sentence.
His life fell apart when the ATF decided to take an interest in him. They raided his home and found nothing illegal, just gun parts and entirely legal, semiautomatic guns. But these were the Biden/Garland years and guns of any kind, and gun owners, were in their crosshairs.
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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's wife, television writer Molly McNearney, revealed that she has lost relationships with some of her Trump-voting family members on the "We Can Do Hard Things" podcast on Thursday. Following her husband's spat with President Donald Trump over his show being temporarily suspended in September, McNearney told the podcast hosts that she felt betrayed after some of her family members voted for the current president. (Snip) "I've sent many emails to family, like right before the election, saying, 'I'm begging you. Here's the 10 reasons not to vote for this guy. Please don't," she recalled. "And I
Bandaged-up Biden says son Beau ‘should’ve
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ripping Trump 30 replies
been the president, not me’ in speech
ripping Trump 30 replies
Former President Joe Biden, wearing a seemingly fresh bandage on his head, told Nebraska Democrats Friday that his late son should have been elected commander-in-chief in 2020, not himself, in a speech ripping President Trump. (Snip) “When the love of my life, my oldest son, the attorney general of the state of Delaware – who should’ve been the president, not me – volunteered to go to Iraq for a year, didn’t have to, he came back with stage four glioblastoma because he lived in a burn pit just like those guys did on 9/11, and he died,” the 46th president
A federal judge has permanently blocked President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Portland.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued the 106-page ruling on Friday for the lawsuit filed after Trump sent troops to secure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.
The state of Oregon, the city of Portland, and the state of California sued Trump, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Defense Secretary Kristi Noem. [Tweets]
The ruling said that there wasn't enough violence at the protests to require the National Guard, and local police broke up the fights.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her husband Paul Pelosi have raked in more than $130 million in stock profits over the course of her congressional career, a report said. That’s a return of 16,930% over nearly four decades representing California, according to the New York Post.
The figure comes as Pelosi, 85, announced this week that she will not be seeking re-election after completing her current term in 2027.
With the federal shutdown into its second month, left-wing corporate media have invested no little energy in bemoaning the effect of the now unprecedentedly long shutdown on more than 670,000 furloughed federal employees, and the more than 730,000 others working without pay.
CNN last month reported on struggling federal workers whose emergency funds had evaporated, while the Associated Press reported: “Federal workers endure financial strain and fear layoffs as the government shutdown drags on.” An Oct. 27 commentary on MSNBC blamed President Trump and House Republicans for “abandoning federal workers who have now missed two paychecks.”
Germany's grand “Muslim Miracle” was supposed to save the country’s future. Instead, it broke it into a million pieces. About ten years ago, German leaders sold their citizens on a utopian plan: import millions of young Muslims to flood the workforce, rescue a collapsing pension system, and secure the nation’s prosperity for generations. The theory sounded far-fetched and absurd, but Germans bought into it. However, the reality was a total disaster. Fast-forward to today, and Germany is now raising its retirement age to 70. The German people were lied to. The plan to rebuild the workforce through mass immigration didn’t just fail; it cratered. It didn’t revive the economy
It was a good day this week when Nancy Pelosi announced her intention to retire at the end of this term. There has been speculation for years that she would retire soon, and it is finally happening. The problem? Her replacement may actually be much, much worse than her. The man who has been looking to replace her in Congress in State Sen. Scott Weiner. His record is so radical that we’ve actually discussed him many times here at PJ Media. He checks all the boxes for the radical left: fanatically obsessed with climate change lawsuits, a champion for “trans refuge” policies[snip]most extreme social experiment the Sacramento swamp can devise.
NYPD already losing officers with morale
plunging as anti-cop Zohran Mamdani prepares
to take reins 16 replies
plunging as anti-cop Zohran Mamdani prepares
to take reins 16 replies
An NYPD exodus is already underway, with a surge of officers quitting in the month leading up to anti-cop socialist Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win — and more might go if Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch exits, according to data and department sources.
The NYPD saw a 35% hike in cops of all ranks leaving in October – 245 police officers compared to 181 in the same month last year, according to Police Pension Fund data.
“Morale is down because everyone is concerned about the policies Mamdani wants to put in place,” said Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro.
As awful as the mayoral election outcome was for sensible New Yorkers, misguided Washington Republicans plan to use the results as a club to further punish the city.
If they succeed in hitting Gotham with enormous financial penalties for electing socialist radical Zohran Mamdani, the GOP wackos will end up penalizing all 8 million New Yorkers, including the 1 million who rejected Mamdani to vote for other candidates.
The efforts also could turn Mamdani into a martyr, which would boost his popularity and inspire far-leftist copycat candidates across America.
Another unintended consequence of the daffy congressional effort could be the death of the election chances of one of their own.
Why Are Things Unaffordable?
13 replies
With the election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York, much conversation has been made of his appeal to “affordability.”
As I’ve written previously, this is a noble conversation, but one that has been dishonestly framed (by Democrats and media) to date. [snip]
First let’s look at the role that government has already played and its effect on affordability. What areas in the economy have seen the greatest increase in costs for the consumer? Education, housing, healthcare, and food. ronically, these are all areas of the economy that the government has interjected itself in the form of subsidies, regulations, government-backed loans, and transfer payments.
In a series of statements from his Truth Social account, President Trump is recommending that congress bypass the subsides for insurance companies and instead send the funds directly to the healthcare consumers who can negotiate with their healthcare providers. I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over. In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people,
Thousands of Ballots Discovered in Maricopa
County 3 Days After Election: ‘Going
To Be Mistakes’ 13 replies
County 3 Days After Election: ‘Going
To Be Mistakes’ 13 replies
An election official in Maricopa County, Arizona, on Friday downplayed the discovery of roughly 2,288 ballot envelopes that were misplaced by poll workers and discovered days after the election. Two bins containing the envelopes with ballots were improperly left in a ballot drop box on Election Day, according to ABC 15, and were discovered three days later.
The sealed bins were processed and tabulated within hours of their discovery. Of those, about 30 envelopes showed evidence of signature verification issues, according to AZ Central, and it was unclear how many remained unresolved and uncounted by the deadline.
Comments:
Other People's Money......destroying the markets for many things. And the prices go up massively, where there are no actual free market choices.....just OPM, so who cares what it costs?