• Wooster@startrek.website
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    1 year ago

    He amplified his crackdown on soaring prescription drug costs, hidden fees for cable and air travel and corporate “price-gouging.” He also promised to “keep fighting to bring down costs.”

    Following the links the above quote, the CNBC articles suggests we can expect progress on the first two items (prescription drug costs and hidden fees), but there’s nothing I read in the linked article about dealing with price gouging other than some stern words. Maybe something is indeed in the works, but it wasn’t obvious to me at the least.

    Instead of taking a routine victory lap, the president doubled down on the war, pledging to do himself what the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have not: Make things cheaper.

    […]

    It is a marked tone shift from the president’s typical reactions to positive inflation data.

    I do appreciate this narrative shift—transitioning from tone-deaf/gaslighting to acknowledging that key issues still aren’t addressed.

    • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      He’s trying to thread the needle, and to me it’s kinda working. He won’t be effective on most of it, I’m sure, but I’ve given up hope of effective government and just like it when it makes nice sounds.

      • Jaderick@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I feel like the biggest reason he won’t be effective is that he’s against pure obstructionists in the GOP. They have no desire to govern and somehow won the House.

        • Wooster@startrek.website
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          1 year ago

          That and the biggest donors, on both political sides, have everything to lose from following through on stopping price gouging.

        • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          Oh yeah, it’s totally the GOP’s fault. 100%. Just like the last 40 something years since Reagan. Which is why I’ve given up hope.

          Note: I am not being sarcastic. The GOP broke our government.

          • AlternatePersonMan@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            The reason inflation and price gouging continues under Biden? Inflation got better. And 40 years of deregulation and corporate mergers that never should have happened… That’s pretty difficult to tackle in a 4 year term.

          • TheFonz@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            You mean a super slim majority with two “moderate” democrats holding every vote hostage?

            • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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              1 year ago

              This is the same shit we heard before when Obama was president. Republicans somehow manage to pass a ton of their shitty legislation, so maybe it’s just that Democrats don’t really give as much of a shit about the people as they say.

              • TheFonz@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Because not all Dem senators have the same electorate base whereas republicans (although lately we’re seeing a shift away from this) tend to fall lock step in line. Sinema and Munchin come from very purple states so their seats were never secure. It’s not enough to have a slight majority. Also, the Senate is being held hostage by republicans right now with ever more polarization. I don’t have an answer but to just pin it on the president is asinine. We need to show up to local elections and midterms.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Oh man that’s right…

              Too bad we didn’t elect the guy with decades of Senate experience who.promised he’d be able to get Republican senators to vote for the Dem platform when a Dem Senate seemed impossible…

              What’s that?

              That guy did get elected? And then as soon as he took office he did a 180 and said as president there’s nothing he could do to change their mind and immediately gave up on the bulk of his campaign promises?

              Huh…

              • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
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                1 year ago

                You might remember that because of the filibuster, 41 Senators can block a bill from advancing, and despite that, quite a lot of bills got passed 51-50. Mitch McConnell could have stopped any and all of those bills if he wanted. It’s probably not a coincidence that those passed and that Biden and McConnell have had a generally cordial relationship for decades.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Democrats know all they have to do is say the right things and people will keep voting.

      Biden has no intention of doing anything meaningful on inflation.

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Neither of the choices you’d vote for are viable either, unless all you care about is war spending.

          I will be voting third party.

                • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  You’re here criticizing me for supporting third parties.

                  You just spent the last three years watching more than 200 billion dollars, unbudgeted, get added to an already trillion-dollar war budget. You watched the right to bodily autonomy evaporate, and the response from the party you gave power to change that was just to fund raise. You’ve watched zero action as housing scarcity has escalated, and likewise zero action on wages, education, and health care costs. (Unless we’re giving credit for speeches without any subsequent action.)

                  And you say I’m the principled fascist, watching Democrats allow it to happen or so concerned with making money off their positions that they ignore it.

                  You have to ignore so, so many things you make excuses for in order to come that conclusion.

                  • jabeez@kbin.social
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                    1 year ago

                    So, for that to be me “projecting”, all the ills you describe that haven’t been solved to your liking must equal fascism to you? You either have no clue what projecting is, or no clue what fascism is, or I guess probably both. Anyway, cool theory bro, keep both sides’ing and doing your part to help literal fascists back into power, they’ll surely get on solving all those things! Un-fucking-real, there are seriously still people that witnessed 2016-2020, then 2020-now and are like, yeah whatever, both sides hurr durr. I try not to hate, but damn, you fucking people, you’re seriously going to fuck us all with your nonsense.

                  • Goblin_Mode@ttrpg.network
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                    1 year ago

                    Every issue you’ve described is something actively fought for and put forth by Republicans. The same Republicans who hold the house and, subsequently, the ability to pass legislation to fix these things.

                    Democrats, or I guess in this specific case Biden, has no ability to just snap his fingers and grant: bodily autonomy, re-write the war budget, programs for housing scarcity, education, livable wages, or health care. To claim otherwise or that he is just toting people along while actively avoiding responsibility is either showing that you have literally no idea what you’re talking about or is just straight misinformation.

                    I do not love Biden and I adamantly disagree with some of his decisions such as his response to the Israel/Palestine conflict. But he has done some serious good with his time in office. Expanding access to live saving medication for seniors, providing an actually reasonable student loan repayment plan, modernizing the internet infrastructure for millions of homes in the mid west, and shifting much of the Federal governments facilities to use green energy just to name a few.

                    I truly wish 3rd party candidates stood any sort of chance in a general election, I really do. But as it stands currently they do not, history has shown us that over and over and over again. So you have 3 choices: vote for the party that actually perpetrated those above issues and has made it perfectly clear they will do so again, vote for the lesser evil that while horribly flawed has actually done some serious good in addition to frankly just not promoting an authoritarian ethnostate, or toss your vote out and pray for the best.

          • SeedyOne@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            Today on Lemmy, which is dumber?

            -Distilling an entire presidency to what happens in proxy wars (the RU one admittedly being an amazing deal for the US against a long term adversary).

            -Voting third party in '20/'24

            • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              the RU one admittedly being an amazing deal for the US against a long term adversary

              You chickenhawks say the same things about every war. I remember 2003 when Iraq was going to last six months and cost 30 billion. “Mission Accomplished”. Back then you told us it was a bargain because Saddam had uranium.

              Voting third party in '20/'24

              What’s dumb is seeing 40 years of conservative outcomes and the progression of fascism under a Democratic president and then telling us to do more of it.

              • PugJesus@kbin.social
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                1 year ago

                Ah, “Genocide bad, unless it happens to Ukrainians, who cares about them?”, a classic of “Both Sides!” fans.

                • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Nope. Read it again.

                  You missed the point.

                  Then again, you chickenhawks just repeat what the news tells you to anyway, so maybe you shouldn’t read it again. I’d hate for you to get a headache.

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                    1 year ago

                    Then again, you chickenhawks just repeat what the news tells you to anyway, so maybe you shouldn’t read it again. I’d hate for you to get a headache.

                    Oh no. Not the news. How terrible, following the news. I wish I was enlightened enough to get my knowledge of world affairs through online games of Telephone rather than books and reputable news sources.

              • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                Back then you told us it was a bargain because Saddam had uranium.

                I don’t remember this, care to provide some justification? The way I remember it is that Americans were tricked into being afraid of Saddam and his WMD and it was sold as a preemptive move to a bunch of people still reeling after the 9/11 attacks.

                Russia is actually a major adversary, this is not secret. They are also acting like aggressive imperialists. I would be hesitant to get boots on the ground, but helping Ukraine defend itself is both a win for us, and the right thing to do.

                I don’t see how they’re really comparable.

                • whofearsthenight@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  Holy shit I’ve argued with you a few times, this comment is actually something I can totally agree on.

            • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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              1 year ago

              There’s always going to be some Trump-like figure waiting in the wings if you demand that we continue limiting ourselves to these two parties alone.

              • Cornelius_Wangenheim@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                That’s not remotely true. If you look at the demographics data, we basically have to just hold on until the Boomers die. Once that happens, Republicans will be a severe minority if they don’t change their politics. Then the left can go back to its usual circular firing squad without risking American democracy.

                • whofearsthenight@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  Then the left can go back to its usual circular firing squad without risking American Democracy.

                  Jesus fucking Christ thank you. Republicans just line up to be cucked by Trump and their worst policies. Americans, even Republicans, aren’t in favor of these abortion bans, but Trump goes out on the circuit being like “you know, I got those judges in there” and that’s a win for him. More benign, but Ted Cruz can have Trump call his wife ugly or whatever and just hop right back on that dick without even enough time to grab some mouthwash and wipe down with a towel.

                  Meanwhile, the someone anywhere sneezes, Biden doesn’t say “bless you” fast enough and that’s the fucking news cycle.

          • Okkai@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            Which one are you voting for?

            I’d like to find a viable 3rd party candidate that can win the presidential election and disrupt the 2 party system we currently have.

          • Stovetop@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Better to at least support whichever candidate is less likely to destroy the country while we wait for a better one to come and save it.

            • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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              1 year ago

              Ah, the “just wait til next time to vote for the person you want” argument that we see repeated every two years ad nauseam. That’ll surely fix things.

              • dumpsterlid@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                I agree with the spirit of what you are saying, but if you live in a swing state there is definitely an argument to be made about pragmatic damage control. I don’t judge either way, if you don’t feel like someone has earned your vote it isn’t your fault that they haven’t earned your vote.

                I also agree that voting for the slightly less shitty candidate isn’t going to fix anything in the longterm, but sometimes the best choice for the well being of people is damage control. Damage control isn’t a strategy, but sometimes it is the best tactic within a broader strategy. That being said, fuck all that noise when people get upset at you for voting third party. You aren’t the person that created a rigged system that doesn’t provide meaningful choices for you to choose from. Someone can disagree with you on how best to fix that, but getting angry at you for choosing a different approach is just people taking out their anger on you for the system being rigged and broken.