General politics

[PseudoSABR]

Climate change will shrink US economy and kill thousands, government report warns

 

Interesting timing on dropping the report. 

[Craig Arko]

Climate change will shrink US economy and kill thousands, government report warns

 

Interesting timing on dropping the report.

 

Thanks. Report(s) downloaded.

[Craig Arko]

The money shot: “Communities, governments, and businesses are working to reduce risks from and costs associated with climate change by taking action to lower greenhouse gas emissions and implement adaptation strategies. While mitigation and adaptation efforts have expanded substantially in the last four years, they do not yet approach the scale considered necessary to avoid substantial damages to the economy, environment, and human health over the coming decades.“

[PseudoSABR]

[Badsmerf]

Following the 538 live blog on the special election in Mississippi. Crack it out of you haven't followed one before, they do an excellent job.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Following the 538 live blog on the special election in Mississippi. Crack it out of you haven't followed one before, they do an excellent job.

 

I do love their live blogs. But, this isn't a real race....Hey, look, the overt racist won easily! A huge plurality of people in some parts of the country are racists, and support racists. And, they get to elect a disproportionate percent of the Senate. Yay.

[PseudoSABR]

 

I do love their live blogs. But, this isn't a real race....Hey, look, the overt racist won easily! A huge plurality of people in some parts of the country are racists, and support racists. And, they get to elect a disproportionate percent of the Senate. Yay.

Trump won the state by 18 points.  Hyde will win by less than 8 points.   Not a victory, but demonstrative that even in the deep south, Trump/GOP brand is not nearly as strong as it was two years ago.

[D. Hocking]

I was reading the comments on an article where she said she was not racist, but just a cowgirl.  I stopped when I saw someone bring up "Barry Hussein".  It is depressing that she got elected and so many people are defending her (including the president).  A lot of comments blaming the liberal left for making everything about race and her comments were innocent.

 

Her opponent was fairly careful on how he went after her, wanting to win over some of the more conservative voters.  I understand his thinking, but I wish he would have shown a little more emotion about it and brought up her overall history a bit more.

[gunnarthor]

 

 

At the end of the day, Mississippi should be ashamed of themselves.

[TheLeviathan]

 

At the end of the day, Mississippi should be ashamed of themselves.

 

Well, that long preceded this!

[Vanimal46]

https://twitter.com/michaelwhitney/status/1069625701878415362?s=19

 

He has a point..

[Mr. Brooks]

Interning for the minority senate leader is the opportunity of a lifetime. People will be lining up for this opportunity. Most of them would PAY big money for this internship. I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with it being unpaid. It's an investment, like college.

[Vanimal46]

Interning for the minority senate leader is the opportunity of a lifetime. People will be lining up for this opportunity. Most of them would PAY big money for this internship. I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with it being unpaid. It's an investment, like college.

Because millions of people can't afford to work 45-50 hours a week unpaid, nor do they have financial support from their parents to make it happen. That's why we keep breeding politicians from elitist families.

[Mr. Brooks]

Because millions of people can't afford to work 45-50 hours a week unpaid, nor do they have financial support from their parents to make it happen. That's why we keep breeding politicians from elitist families.

Those are fair points.

 

It would be more of a grind for someone without support, that's for sure. But it's relatively short term, someone who wants it bad enough could make it work.

 

I worked 85-100 hours per week for almost two years when I started my business, so there are enough hours in the day for someone to take this internship plus another job if they are dedicated, and willing to be miserable for a few months.

[Vanimal46]

Those are fair points.

 

It would be more of a grind for someone without support, that's for sure. But it's relatively short term, someone who wants it bad enough could make it work.

 

I worked 85-100 hours per week for almost two years when I started my business, so there are enough hours in the day for someone to take this internship plus another job if they are dedicated, and willing to be miserable for a few months.

I want the interns to focus on the job at hand and learn as much as possible while earning a fair wage. I'm sure there are people out there that could have made a difference in the political world but couldn't take the financial hit anymore.

 

To me, this argument is similar to minor leaguers. Someone can argue it's the opportunity of a lifetime to live their dream as a professional baseball player. They just have to suffer making less than $1k a month before making the big bucks. And I've been around here enough to know you want a living wage for minor leaguers.

[Mr. Brooks]

I want the interns to focus on the job at hand and learn as much as possible while earning a fair wage. I'm sure there are people out there that could have made a difference in the political world but couldn't take the financial hit anymore.

 

To me, this argument is similar to minor leaguers. Someone can argue it's the opportunity of a lifetime to live their dream as a professional baseball player. They just have to suffer making less than $1k a month before making the big bucks. And I've been around here enough to know you want a living wage for minor leaguers.

It's not similar.

This is a short term investment that is practically guaranteed to pay dividends in the future.

Minor league a baseball has no light at the end of the tunnel for 95% of them.

 

But, like I said, you make some fair points. So I amend my original response from, "I don't know any anyone would have a problem with this being unpaid", to "I don't have a problem with this being unpaid."

 

I view it as an investment. We don't pay people to attend college, and that's 4+ years. I don't think that someone who really wants this opportunity, I mean desperately, will endure any amount of misery to get it, which right or wrong, is probably the type of candidate Schumer is looking for, is going to let the financials get in the way. But, I could be underestimating how much impact that will have, I don't know.

[Mike Sixel]

 

It's not similar.
This is a short term investment that is practically guaranteed to pay dividends in the future.
Minor league a baseball has no light at the end of the tunnel for 95% of them.

But, like I said, you make some fair points. So I amend my original response from, "I don't know any anyone would have a problem with this being unpaid", to "I don't have a problem with this being unpaid."

I view it as an investment. We don't pay people to attend college, and that's 4+ years. I don't think that someone who really wants this opportunity, I mean desperately, will endure any amount of misery to get it, which right or wrong, is probably the type of candidate Schumer is looking for, is going to let the financials get in the way. But, I could be underestimating how much impact that will have, I don't know.

 

Poor people can't spend a summer not working. They can't. It's one reason why all the interns and future execs in MLB are from rich families that went to Ivy League schools. Unpaid internships are bad policy, and the democrats look like absolute hypocrites for continuing this policy. I'd bet he has millions of dollars in his reelection fund, or other funds.....

[Vanimal46]

It's not similar.

This is a short term investment that is practically guaranteed to pay dividends in the future.

Minor league a baseball has no light at the end of the tunnel for 95% of them.

 

But, like I said, you make some fair points. So I amend my original response from, "I don't know any anyone would have a problem with this being unpaid", to "I don't have a problem with this being unpaid."

 

I view it as an investment. We don't pay people to attend college, and that's 4+ years. I don't think that someone who really wants this opportunity, I mean desperately, will endure any amount of misery to get it, which right or wrong, is probably the type of candidate Schumer is looking for, is going to let the financials get in the way. But, I could be underestimating how much impact that will have, I don't know.

IMO an unpaid internship such as this is going to attract a subset of candidates. People who have financial support from someone else (parents or otherwise) to take the short term loss. The fact it is unpaid eliminates a larger percentage of people, mainly people of color, from the opportunity.

 

I would like to know, but don't know how to look it up, the conversion rate of interns who become paid politicians after their 1 year internship is complete.

 

Personally I only know 1 person who IMO would do great in a political role, but dropped out from the burnout as an intern after a campaign in 2014. He's probably one of thousands who came to the same conclusion.

[Mike Sixel]

 

IMO an unpaid internship such as this is going to attract a subset of candidates. People who have financial support from someone else (parents or otherwise) to take the short term loss. The fact it is unpaid eliminates a larger percentage of people, mainly people of color, from the opportunity.

I would like to know, but don't know how to look it up, the conversion rate of interns who become paid politicians after their 1 year internship is complete.

Personally I only know 1 person who IMO would do great in a political role, but dropped out from the burnout as an intern after a campaign in 2014. He's probably one of thousands who came to the same conclusion.

 

hell, I was a paid intern on the Hill in the 80s.......if they could afford it then, they can afford it now. And, ya, being there is both amazing, and enlightening. 

[TheLeviathan]

Our system has long cut out the average person from politcal office.  Everything is about nepotism and money.

 

It's not shocking that nepotism and money then drive policy.

 

Pay the interns.  "Great opportunity" is not an excuse for little or no wages.

[Mr. Brooks]

Poor people can't spend a summer not working. They can't. It's one reason why all the interns and future execs in MLB are from rich families that went to Ivy League schools. Unpaid internships are bad policy, and the democrats look like absolute hypocrites for continuing this policy. I'd bet he has millions of dollars in his reelection fund, or other funds.....

You are probably right about it being bad policy.

But, as I outlined previously, there are plenty of hours in the week to work two full time jobs.

Medical Residents work as much as 130 hours per week.

Perhaps not everyone can handle that, or don't want to, but I suspect that part of the reason for these highly sought internships being unpaid is to find the people who are driven enough to work 100+ hours a week and eat ramen 3 times a day, if that's what it takes.

 

But who knows, maybe I'm romanticizing something that doesn't exist. Maybe it will just go to some rich kid that has daddy paying his rent.

[ashbury]

I would like to know, but don't know how to look it up, the conversion rate of interns who become paid politicians after their 1 year internship is complete.

Our daughter interned for Harry Reid one summer. We're not rich but were able to subsidize her summer. That lumps us in with some of the elitists being talked about here I guess - I'm the son of a subsistence-farm girl and a SoCal citrus picker, LOL. We had some of the same qualms expressed here, about the system in place, but when push came to shove we gave our girl the support we felt she had earned.

 

As a data point, she is very unlikely to end up in politics. Non-profits has been more her thing, although she's on a track to do for-profit consulting for a few years. Her book has a few more chapters to write.

[Mr. Brooks]

Curious where Barack Obama fits into this theory that poor and working class are shut out of politics?

[PseudoSABR]

 

Curious where Barack Obama fits into this theory that poor and working class are shut out of politics?

Exception that proves the rule.

[Vanimal46]

Our daughter interned for Harry Reid one summer. We're not rich but were able to subsidize her summer. That lumps us in with some of the elitists being talked about here I guess - I'm the son of a subsistence-farm girl and a SoCal citrus picker, LOL. We had some of the same qualms expressed here, about the system in place, but when push came to shove we gave our girl the support we felt she had earned.

 

As a data point, she is very unlikely to end up in politics. Non-profits has been more her thing, although she's on a track to do for-profit consulting for a few years. Her book has a few more chapters to write.

That's great Ash! Your family is doing better than so many families out there that live check to check who can't afford that luxury. Especially an opportunity in one of the most expensive cities in America with Chuck Schumer...

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/us/politics/senate-paid-internships.html

[PseudoSABR]

The barriers to politics are manifold, intern pay probably lower on the list of reasons why there is little to none economic diversity in the ruling class.   

 

I mean most state and local offices pay so poorly that it excludes nearly any one who isn't wealthy or willing to live on crumbs.  Any middle class person raising a family, even with a partner having a decent job, would rarely take such risks.  

 

One reason why poverty continues to exist is that the lacking education, lacking work skills, poor habits/attitudes are passed on through the generations.  This is not a judgment, but an unfortunate fair generalization (one I don't blame the poor for).  

 

So a kid growing up in a poor household, probably hasn't heard about said-internship, much less has the requisite education, references, and grant/scholarship-writing-know-how.  

 

And when an exceptionally lucky (or plucky) poor kid breaks through, his kids don't suffer the same consequences he did, though his kid too may not be able to afford the education/experience to take on such a free internship.

 

My sense is that people from poor households get knocked off the path for Senate internship long before they reach the question of whether they can afford to take the job.  

[ashbury]

That's great Ash! Your family is doing better than so many families out there that live check to check who can't afford that luxury. Especially an opportunity in one of the most expensive cities in America with Chuck Schumer...

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/us/politics/senate-paid-internships.html

We were grateful to be in a position to do it. I guess I was trying to say it's not quite as impossible as the discussion was making it sound; it helped that she is naturally born frugal and subsisted a lot on ramen. But, we were grateful nonetheless, and recognized we were giving her a leg up that other families might not....

[Mike Sixel]

 

Curious where Barack Obama fits into this theory that poor and working class are shut out of politics?

 

I never said that.....but others did. I said unpaid internships are exclusionary. Of course, Obama did attend an Ivy league school......

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Curious where Barack Obama fits into this theory that poor and working class are shut out of politics?

Yes, because we all know how one example eliminates the problem.

 

No one is completely "shut out" of politics but we do a pretty damned good job of narrowing the field so that those who grow up in a privileged environment have an overwhelming advantage in politics.

 

And given that politicians are supposed to be a representation of our populace and its ideals, that seems like a pretty **** way to create that representation.

 

But hey, maybe you're right. Everything has been working perfectly in Washington lately, after all.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Two more examples of how the GOP continues to step away from the interests of democracy.

 

https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/673020090/in-states-they-lost-some-gop-lawmakers-rush-to-limit-new-democrats-power

 

Such an awesome party nowadays. I totally get why ANYONE would vote for any of them, ever.