Hedge fund managers REALLY want a recession. They particularly want high unemployment to reduce the pressure of raising wages which cuts into their primary function of pumping out dividends and stock buybacks to rich assholes.
I hated drawing this brain. My sympathies to anyone who had to draw Krang for any length of time for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
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We did this already.
Republicans will use the debt ceiling to hold the global economy hostage whenever they can because Democrats let them. If we weren’t so used to this charade, it would sound sillier than a Trillion Dollar Coin or flat out ignoring the ceiling because it’s unconstitutional under the 4th clause of the 14th Amendment.
This crop of House Republicans is even more deranged than the last time we did this default brinkmanship, so get ready to barter for those eggs you can’t afford if you aren’t already.
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Republicans riling up their base about stove regulations or sexy M&Ms is preferred over the past few years spent inciting them to commit terrorism against human beings. The latter isn’t culture war, just straight up war-war.
A lot of stuff gets lumped into “Culture War” because media considers it frivolous, even if it’s a serious issue with life or death consequences. They’ve probably already defined it down to include everything that isn’t about actual war or our precious economy. Or the Royal Family, who I’m still hearing about for some reason.
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There might be a Speaker of the House before anyone sees this, but not as of this posting. It is a pleasant change of pace to see “Republicans in disarray” be the media narrative of the week.
However, if the Democrats expelled and banned the Treason Caucus when they had the chamber and popular support following the coup, we wouldn’t be in this situation. At least they are (so far) not listening to idiot centrists’ calls for them to help the Republicans out of their own mess.
Six Republicans could end this by siding with the Dems, but governing isn’t really among any of their priorities. It’s all spectacle and obstruction to win the next election, so I guess we’re all screwed.
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This week’s Southwest Airlines debacle made regular holiday air travel look pleasant. COVID, flu, RSV (insert Gilligan’s Island theme song:) and the rest of the viruses we’re pretending don’t exist are causing people to be out sick from all sorts of essential jobs.
Southwest was apparently hit especially hard since they put all their post-shutdown profits towards stock buybacks instead of updating any of their infrastructure. Companies putting buybacks, dividends and executive payouts above improving anything else is what people mean by late-stage capitalism. Everything is getting worse, but LINE GO UP.
Way back in ancient times, I would fly Southwest from Baltimore to Providence often for just $69 (nice) and it would take about 1 and half hours, including what little pre-9/11 check-in hassle there was. Amtrak was over a hundred for 7+ hour trip. Trains haven’t improved, but airlines have pretty much sunk to or below their level.
I haven’t flown in a while. Hope I didn’t draw the seats looking too comfy.
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I’m abstaining from making any predictions about 2023. Not for lack of any ideas where things are headed, but because I don’t want to be too much of a holiday party pooper.
I’ll let COVID, RSV, and flu do that.
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Heading into the final weeks of the year and threw together some unrelated news gags together to get ahead of schedule. AI art is this year’s NFTs. Everywhere at the moment, but its ubiquity will be its undoing. Or so I tell myself.
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Democrats secured another Senate seat this week and that should improve the confirmation and committee process over there. But the House is in Republican hands, so we’ll be lucky if a bare bones funding bill can get through both chambers before another financial crisis.
My meta-commentary about 2024 isn’t technically about 2024, but consider me part of the problem.
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