Democrats Have Destroyed the American Economy! But Also the Economies of Georgia / Florida / Texas Are Booming?
Pick one.
Before we start: I’m not sure what Vladimir Putin’s announcement about moving to “partial mobilization” means, but it probably means something.
Putin claims he is going to mobilize 300,000 reservists. In effect, he is pot-committing himself to Ukraine. Two things strike me:
(1) This mobilization probably won’t work. In America we hear “call up 300k reservists” and we have ideas about the professionalism, skill, and commitment of those reserves—and the speed and degree to which they can be successfully integrated with the existing first-line forces.
Russia is not the United States.
Mark Hertling rings this bell in a thread here. Even getting 300k reservists into the fight seems like something Russia might not be capable of doing in the near term. But whatever reserves they manage to wrangle will come in even more poorly trained, equipped, and motivated than the existing (decimated) conscript force.
Not a recipe for success.
At this point, the best opportunity for Russia to turn the tide probably involves the use of strategic weapons. And that comes with its own special downside risks.
(2) This mobilization may say more about Putin’s position internally than it does about the tactical situation on the ground in Ukraine.
I don’t know if this means that Putin’s grip is strong, or weak. You could read it either way. But I suspect we’ve moved past the point where Ukraine is about Ukraine. The object of this conflict now seems to be the survival of Putin’s rule.
1. The Heart Wants What It Wants
I am very confused about what Republicans believe concerning the state of the U.S. economy.
For example, here is Trump last weekend:
People are getting wiped out. . . . Surging food, energy and electricity prices are busting family budgets, crushing small businesses and causing shortages, suffering, mayhem and despair. . . . The economy is crashing. Your 401ks are collapsing. . . .
Under the Trump administration, we had the greatest economy in the history of the world with no inflation. Biden and the Democrat Congress created the worst inflation in 50 years and that’s going to get a lot worse . . .
But you’re going to see that 9.1% go way up. And that’s a tremendous number. It hadn’t been over 50 years since we’ve had a number like that. And then while socialist spending spree is thrown America into a recession. We’re now in a recession.
Sounds pretty bad! Kind of like American carnage.
But Gov. Brian Kemp says that the economy in Georgia has been awesome on his watch:
In Georgia, we protected both lives and livelihoods during the global pandemic. We passed historic tax cuts, raised teacher pay and brought the two largest economic development projects in state history to Georgia. We created record jobs, kept woke politics out of the classroom and off our ball fields. We brought violent criminals to justice, put more money in our schools and secured our elections.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis can’t stop talking about how amazing the economy is:
We will, fortunately, be able to confront our challenges with an incredibly favorable budget outlook and strong economic performance that has withstood unfavorable national headwinds . . .
Florida also leads the nation in business formations, which have increased by 61% since I took office in 2019. In 2021, Florida saw 114,000 more new businesses than second place California — even though California has a population that is 40% larger.
Freedom works. Our economy is the envy of the nation. And the state is well-prepared to withstand future economic turmoil.
And Gov. Greg Abbott thinks that the economy in Texas is purty durn good:
Governor Greg Abbott today delivered remarks at the East Parker County Chamber of Commerce Luncheon in Hudson Oaks. During remarks, the Governor championed Texas' robust economy and vigorous workforce. . . .
"Entrepreneurs and innovators are the leaders and job creators making Texas an economic powerhouse," said Governor Abbott. "From ranching, to the energy industry, to commercial real estate, and more, the Lone Star State offers the American Dream to Texans in every facet of our economy. Texas is the best state in the country to live, work, do business, and raise a family thanks to business leaders like the ones with me here today.
So . . . which is it?