US Election 2024

I consider that a strength.

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So do I, but I have seen numerous people (Elon Musk, for example) that have made barbed comments at Biden as he has support the United Auto Workers Union which Musk despises.

The thing is, they can hardly come out and say that the problem with Biden is that he supports ordinary American workers. Iā€™m not even sure when a US president was pro-workers rights in this way. After FDR they have pretty much all been pro-business, pro-middle classes.

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What Musk says is surely irrelevant by now.

Biden should play up his support of the workers in contrast to his silver spoon slum landlord dodgy exploiter opponent.

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Heā€™s doing well on economy and crime? Oh dear lord, where are you from? What state do you live in?

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Nationwide. Check the statistics.

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Answer my question. What state do you live in here in the US?

This sounds like the kind of question that usually precedes a ā€œstats donā€™t show the whole storyā€ kind of claim.

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I donā€™t live in the USA, but, like many abroad, I take a keen interest in events there as I have many family and friends in the country. I have visited on numerous occasions, most recently in 2021. I have followed US politics closely since the seventies.
Added to which, the whole world is affected by the state of politics in the US, and we are obliged to take an interest in decisions made in Washington whether we like it or not.

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Since you donā€™t live here nor probably never visited around south side Chicago where I live at, donā€™t tell me crime is down.i have family members out in Oakland, who are constantly getting their cars broken into and crime is running rampant.

Nationwide, as I said. The pattern will never be uniform across the entire country.

So, youā€™re using the example of the worst places to argue that Biden is doing poorly in general, whereas the figures show the opposite.

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Again, you donā€™t live here to know that the crime is down nationwide. You never stepped foot in any of the major cities to see it in person. Come visit Oakland, St. Louis, Memphis, Downtown NY area, etc etc. I love when people who donā€™t even live in the United States tell me crime is down and our economy is thriving. Thereā€™s a reason inflation, immigration and the economy are the top talking points for this election. My grocery bill is roughly $360. Thatā€™s a week and half of groceries. I guess I should just say the economy and life style in North Korea are going great because certain state run articles say so!

Not worth engaging with the deplorables @Bekloppt. They are functionally illiterate and innumerate. Anecdata is their highest form of knowledge and living in trailers and coveting their cousin is just central to their identity.

Itā€™s clearly absurd to suggest that one has to travel to every corner of the world in order to have an opinion. I realise that knowledge of the rest of the world is somewhat deficient in the US, but we are constantly bombarded with information of all kinds about the situation in the country from an early age.
I have travelled extensively, particularly in the South and East and have visited NYC, Philadelphia, Miami etc on numerous occasions.
I have family and friends with whom I am in regular contact who keep me informed about their experiences.
Iā€™m not going to continue to justify myself, but I have every right to comment on an election that will be crucial for the future of the world.
Now Iā€™ll leave it to @Sweeting @Limiescouse and @RedOverTheWater to continue to engage with you.

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Canā€™t relate to be honest, no one locks our doors in Maine. Crime isnā€™t really an issue. With the obvious exception of the man last October who shot up Lewiston but he was mentally ill, trying to kill his ex who he thought was at the bowling alley so the issue there is the fucking second amendment bullshit but I suspect that isnā€™ a debate certain people want to have.

To be sure though things are expensive right now, although most of that stems from the fact that we are still in recovery from Covid. The US is recovering quicker than most but it doesnā€™t mean we are all the way there and its debateable if normal people are feeling those benefits yet. Buying a house is damn near impossible with the current interest rates, groceries are certainly expensive (but this appears mostly to be a choice by the companies, not the Government, to exploit consumers as prices are rising way faster than they should be - I believe Walmart just made a decision to finally reduce prices on a lot of items).

Anyway, the President doesnā€™t really have sole control over any of these things. The economy, crime etc may be talking points but they arenā€™t something a President can have much influence on so I donā€™t like to give credit or criticism over a metric that is difficult for one person to influence - especially when half of Senate will vote against anything because their politics are more important than the good of the country.

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So, policy wise, what are the important issues in your opinion?

Environment and abortion rights as the the big two.

My self-interested one would be home buying assistance or a reduction in mortgage interest, which currently sits around 7%, Maineā€™s average house price is now around $400k which is a huge jump from where it was pre-Covid. We had lots of people move here from Boston/NY etc when their companies offered remote work. They could keep their higher salary and move to a more iddylic life on the coast of Maine. The market boomed and the knock on effect is that young families are finding buying here to be almost impossible.

Long term policy aims would be to enforce greater controls on gun purchases but I know this is a long way away because the party on the other side of the aisle wonā€™t even engage with the debate.

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Thanks for your reply. Does either candidate have a good policy on housing/mortgages?

Anecdotal.

Personal stories are ok, to a point, but they massively skew oneā€™s perception if you are looking for an accurate broader picture.

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From what I understand Biden has a policy about offering a tax credit to first time buyers, which would reduce the cost by about $400 per month. Trump does not have a policy, about anything really, as far as I can tell.

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Heā€™ll probably try and tell you it was ā€˜anecdataā€™ as his cousin and sister both had the same experience :rofl: