A grab bag today.
Biden misses the point. Yesterday Pres. Joe Biden attended union rallies in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh to celebrate Labor Day. But only one out of 10 American workers belongs to a union. If Biden really wanted to connect with labor he would have visited the loading dock at a Wal-Mart or the kitchen of an assisted living facility. This just underscores how Democrats just don’t see (much less understand) about a fifth of American voters.
Don’t tax my gift. A handful or states, including Wisconsin, would tax the up to $20,000 in student debt that Biden would forgive. My question is why any state wouldn’t. It is income just as surely as if someone wrote you a check. And yet, Gov. Tony Evers has said that he’ll try to get that changed so that people getting up to $20,000 won’t have to pay a few hundred dollars in taxes on the gift. This is progressive because…?
Why Michels? The Club For Growth, after a decade’s hiatus from playing in Wisconsin politics, took the gloves off and the check book out to attack Rebecca Kleefisch and support Tim Michels. The question is why? Kleefisch was every bit as conservative as Michels and, if anything, she seemed to have a better chance of defeating Evers. My theory is that this was a dust up between Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker. They are not fans of each other. Tommy backed Michels over Walker’s Lieutenant Governor when he seldom gets involved in primaries. I asked someone close to Tommy about that and he denies it, but he also doesn’t offer an alternative explanation. Since Kleefisch didn’t hesitate to back Michels this doesn’t seem to indicate a rift that would impact November. But curious minds want to know.
The fat lady hasn’t sung yet. Take heart Brewers fans. The Crew is only two games out of the playoffs (well, so, three if you count the tie breaker) after a come from behind win in Colorado yesterday. And the team tends to finish strong in September.
Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos 
Biden rightfully sees the decline in union membership as a big problem, as should all Democrats. Its decline has correlated with an explosion in income inequality. Politically, unions have been the traditional bond between left-of-center politics and the working class. In the absence of a strong labor movement, a left party will end up becoming the party of the intelligentsia, which is what we have right now in the U.S. Democratic Party. Hence the woke language, etc.
Yes, he should visit the workers at Walmart. And he should tell them about why they should unionize. This was why the 2012 recall was so flummoxing. Democrats were mounting a vociferous campaign to protect the bargaining rights of a small group of people but they didn’t explain what unions could do for everyone else. It’s time that change, and Biden recognizes it.
Finally, polls show unions are more popular now than at any point since the 60’s:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/398303/approval-labor-unions-highest-point-1965.aspx
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I don’t disagree. I’m for unions. I’m just noting that it’s no longer the case that when we talk about labor we’re talking about unions.
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If Biden wanted to connect with labor he wouldn’t be touting an “Inflation Reduction” act that will increase inflation. It’s insulting, and right on the heels of student loan forgiveness that will also be inflationary (if it really happens).
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My understanding is that most economists think the Inflation Reduction Act will have no impact on inflation, one way or the other.
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