Want to understand what Trump is doing? Part 2

13% is a large proportion of the homes to be bought by "foreigners" in one year. In Wales that would cause a lot of ill-feeling. Perhaps Floridans who can't afford to buy a house have an opinion? If the MAGA had any interest in how other people feel about things, maybe hearing that opinion would clarify to them how people feel in Canada, Mexico, Greenland and wherever else their greedy eyes are fixed in the hope of turning a nice profit. However, they are unlikely to pay any attention, after all it is "just a business deal".

Some areas of Cornwall are empty in the winter. About 1 in 18 homes are second homes but in some seaside villages and towns the proportion is over 50%.

Casdon

I read an interesting article yesterday about the economic impact of Canadian snowbirds deciding to stay at home. Apparently they bought 13% of homes in the USA sunshine states last year, and are now trying to offload them quickly.

We'd a holiday home in Florida. Nice weather, easy flights, pretty area. Bought when prices were low after 2008 crash.

We're well rid of USA holiday homes. However, those investments were very lucrative - we sold in positive times.

Elegran

13% is a large proportion of the homes to be bought by "foreigners" in one year. In Wales that would cause a lot of ill-feeling. Perhaps Floridans who can't afford to buy a house have an opinion? If the MAGA had any interest in how other people feel about things, maybe hearing that opinion would clarify to them how people feel in Canada, Mexico, Greenland and wherever else their greedy eyes are fixed in the hope of turning a nice profit. However, they are unlikely to pay any attention, after all it is "just a business deal".

I've not read the article, but 'Sunshine States' are much more than Florida.

Travel from Canada to the US is down 70%. People are trying to sell renal houses in places like Florida and Arizona.

Florida is already struggling because people can't find home owners insurance.

Guess they are reaping what they sowed.

Ignore the above I’m just playing around trying to get the photo facility.

Here is the Snowbirds article, as imaround said, it specifically mentions Florida and Arizona. I can’t help thinking all power to the Canadians, they are making their feelings of loyalty to their own country very clear.
www.cnn.com/2025/03/30/business/canada-snowbirds-trump-trade-war-tariffs/index.html

I'd hope Canadians sell. Market is good, interest is low.

www.redfin.com/blog/is-now-a-good-time-to-buy-a-house/#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20the%20means,year%2Dover%2Dyear%20gains.

Making sure hungry Americans have access to food is no longer fiscally responsible. They are canceling shipments of food to pantries all over the country and canceling contracts with farmers.

Sadly, the worst affected will be Red states.

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/31/funding-cuts-food-banks-farmers/82705776007/

It's devastating to read. Not just the fact there are cuts, but the ruthless suddenness of it.

I can recall an interviewer with a farmer before the election who said she was voting Trump because it would be better for farmers. I think she farmed high end quality beef for high end customers tho, so might be protected.

Something I am starting to notice is that behaviors are escalating. On both sides. Not yet violence per se, it it could break out at any time. It's hard to explain. It feels like a pressure pot.

Tomorrow election will determine control of the House. And a ruling came out today that counties in Pennsylvania violated the constitution when they threw out 11,000 mailed in ballots.

Dems typically fare better during special elections, but this is not just any special election. This is super high stakes. Right now Dems have out fundraised the Reps in Florida, and are polling higher. But that is a VERY red part of the state.

Combine this with the fact that in several elections last week, Dems won seats in places that have been held by Rs for almost 50 years, I am going to be nail biting all day tomorrow I am sure, though I planned a day out so I am distracted.

I was going to put this on another thread, the one we talked about women's rights. But now I can't remember which one it was. So I am putting this here.

A judge in Texas is questioning the constitutionality HIPAA. You know, the 1996 law that keeps your medical information private.

They are wanting abortion records, but that is just the first step. Transgender people are next. Remember Texas has already tried to access out of state medical records of minors they suspected were getting gender affirming care in Washington.

It is very dystopia.

newhampshirebulletin.com/2025/03/31/repub/seventeen-states-want-to-end-an-abortion-privacy-rule-a-federal-judge-is-questioning-hipaa-itself/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJYHaFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfBKAb-BW7zYc-hikyRd4CPvuWQWCG7qopujFIXSOgr2AwKR3Qu6gamr0w_aem_YXhgyCJLsjs13Q8PL1s4oA#:~:text=The%20state%20of%20Missouri%20sued,%2C%20Ohio%2C%20South%20Carolina%2C%20South

If you're critical of Trump, then by its very definition, you're critical of the tariffs ALREADY in place on US goods.

Why should the US have to tolerate the EU having tariffs of 10% on its cars, when imported BMW's and Mercs only get 2.5%?

FriedGreenTomatoes2

If you're critical of Trump, then by its very definition, you're critical of the tariffs ALREADY in place on US goods.

Why should the US have to tolerate the EU having tariffs of 10% on its cars, when imported BMW's and Mercs only get 2.5%?

Surely equalising them is the fair way if you want nobody to be disadvantaged at the expense of another country.

Becaue Trump's motive for tariffs is not primarily a financial one, as a way of raising export money for the US, it is to use them punitively to bend other nations to his will - not just in trade balance, but in every field, including getting access to raw marterials and acquiring whole countries.

Because Trump is a man child who is harming people's lives for his own entertainment.

Tariffs, used appropriately, are not always a bad thing. He is not using them appropriately. He still believes that tariffs are a tax paid by other countries.

When he starts acting Presidential is when I will start taking him seriously.

Elegran

Becaue Trump's motive for tariffs is not primarily a financial one, as a way of raising export money for the US, it is to use them punitively to bend other nations to his will - not just in trade balance, but in every field, including getting access to raw marterials and acquiring whole countries.

Indeed!

I object to them like when they are using them as they are on Canada.

Like for like well thats a situation which surely demands sitting round a table.

imaround crossing fingers and toes in those elections tomorrow.

Just read this, can't work put the savings.

Trump Administration Live Updates: Layoffs of 10,000 Government Health Workers Begin

Credit, Kevin Lamarque/Reuters - Where Things Stand. Health job cuts.

The Trump administration has begun cutting 10,000 Health and Human Services Department employees whose jobs include regulating food and drugs, protecting Americans from disease and researching treatments and cures. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested the layoffs could tame the department’s $1.8 trillion budget, but less than 1 percent of its spending goes to staff.

Norah, mathematics is not the strongest point in these leaders.
Mr Trump has been quoted as saying that the new border controls have stopped the crossings by " more than a hundred per cent" and explaning that ratings were up by forty six per cent , he pointed out, helpfully, that this was more than half.
And whilst much of the DOGE savings seems to be fantasy, the cost of the children employed to break into systems seems oddly unquantified.

Chocolatelovinggran

Norah, mathematics is not the strongest point in these leaders.
Mr Trump has been quoted as saying that the new border controls have stopped the crossings by " more than a hundred per cent" and explaning that ratings were up by forty six per cent , he pointed out, helpfully, that this was more than half.
And whilst much of the DOGE savings seems to be fantasy, the cost of the children employed to break into systems seems oddly unquantified.

Perhaps your definition to "leaders" is not mine?

"A procedural rule vote to advance the House GOP package of bills for the week just failed because a bipartisan group of Republicans and Dems sank an effort by Speaker Johnson to kill a plan to allow remote voting for lawmakers who become new parents.

Rep. Pettersen - “ Don't fuck with moms. “"



Sen Cory Booker is currently getting close to a record 24 hour filibuster, talking in the house floor so no business cant get done.



Waiting on election results.

Wow. So no business can get done.

Can you explain a bit more about the purpose of the filibuster?

A filibuster is just a procedure that halts any business from being done on the Senate floor.

From wiki: A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out a bill",[1] and is characterized as a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision-making body.

It was first used in 1789, so a long history.

In response, the Senate designed cloture.

"In 1917, with frustration mounting and at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson, senators adopted a rule (Senate Rule 22) that allowed the Senate to invoke cloture and limit debate with a two-thirds majority vote. This rule was first put to the test in 1919, when the Senate invoked cloture to end a filibuster against the Treaty of Versailles."

The problem is that once cloture is instituted, it will force a vote but need a 2/3 majority to pass.

Neither side wants to give up the process because getting 2/3 of Senate on board is not an achievable objective with such divided politics now.

The Senate website has a ton of information about it if you want to go more in depth.

www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture/overview.htm

1. The record for the longest filibuster goes to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina who, according to U.S. Senate records, spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

2. U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York conducted the second-longest filibuster. He spoke for 23 hours and 30 minutes to stall debate on an important military bill in 1986.

3. U.S. Sen. Wayne Morse of Oregon, described as a "blunt-spoken, iconoclastic populist," conducted the third-longest filibuster in American political history.

According to U.S. Senate archives, Morse spoke for 22 hours and 26 minutes to stall debate on the Tidelands Oil bill in 1953.

4. The record of the fourth-longest filibuster in American political history belongs to U.S. Sen. Robert La Follette Sr. of Wisconsin, who spoke for 18 hours and 23 minutes to stall debate in 1908.

5. U.S. Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin spoke for 16 hours and 12 minutes to stall a debate on increasing the public debt ceiling in 1981. His rant was the fifth-longest filibuster in American political history.

www.thoughtco.com/longest-filibusters-in-us-history-3322332