usatoday OP t1_iumxaxe wrote
Reply to comment by Dredly in Hi! I'm Bruce Siwy, an investigative journalist for the USA TODAY Network's Pennsylvania state capital bureau. AMA! by usatoday
Lots going on here ...
No. 1: These disputes happen all the time at all levels. Once covered Johnstown City Council where residency was challenged seemingly every cycle. Can't imagine this issue vanishing overnight.
No. 2: Personally? Monetary policy. Inflation is a backdoor tax that hits everyone on some level by eroding our wages and savings. This directly impacts our quality of life and can lead societies down a dark road. Think hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.
No. 3: Credible journalism means being an eternal cynic of our political class. We need to report accurately and with tenacity. We also need to make sure we don't shake pom-poms for one party or the other. Network ownership, be it seen as left or right, should not impact the work we do, even if managers take a side on the opinion page.
No. 4: Yes, the increase in early mail-in voting means that the election starts much earlier than before. From a debate standpoint, that's almost irrelevant because the sides are increasingly unwilling to even go toe-to-toe with each other (such as in our gubernatorial race). For us though, it's basically a matter of digging into the candidates and issues much earlier than we had in the past. (And waiting much longer for results as county offices can't begin precanvassing all these mail-ins until the day of the election. But that's a whole other issue.)
Sweaty-Foot7952 t1_iun3pd1 wrote
Bingo on number two. If people can’t pay their bills and see their families, nothing else really matters
BluCurry8 t1_iunusi9 wrote
Sorry sweaty but the economy is always an issue in every election. There is always high prices and guess what they never go down, at least in my lifetime. So to worry about high cost of living without looking at lifestyle choices is not going to be solved by any politician, in fact it can and has been made worse by so many. The last tax cut was put on a credit card. At some point we will need to raise taxes or cut spending. The republicans want to cut Medicare and Social Security both funded by our payroll taxes rather than reducing write offs and making the wealthy pay more by raising the capital gains to be commensurate to earned income.
Sweaty-Foot7952 t1_iuofjd1 wrote
There has been a big change in peoples pocketbooks. When there aren’t volatile swings in economic circumstances, people have the luxury to focus on other things. When someone’s looking at retiring and they’ve lost 20% of their money or they have lost jobs due to extensive lockdowns or can no longer afford the same food and gas as they did a year ago because Inflation is the highest it’s been in 40 years, we are talking about major changes in lifestyle for a lot of people. I can say that in my 62 years of life, my economic circumstances have never done such a 180 as they have in the last year. Perhaps you did not experience a dramatic change in lifestyle in the last 2 years. And in ALL previous election cycles, I didn’t either.
You think people are really worried about abortion, trans rights and January 6 but the reality is when you can’t make ends meet, those things just aren’t as important
BluCurry8 t1_iuola2b wrote
So you completely ignored the fact that is the battle cry of every election. So voting for your short term circumstances is what puts you in the same position every two years. costs always go up. If you plan your life around gas well you have made your own bed. Corporations are making record profits during this period of inflation and we have record low unemployment. Seeing as the US inflation is lower than any other first world country we are doing pretty good. So keep on crying the sky is falling because of the price of gas. The better answer is don’t live your life pay check to pay check and if you are living your life pay check to pay check take a good look at how you spend your money and start cutting, because you clearly cannot afford your lifestyle. The cost of living always go up. If you thought that you would never have to pay more for things in a time of challenges you were living in a fairy tale to start.
[deleted] t1_iuoozcl wrote
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[deleted] t1_iupfbp9 wrote
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Sweaty-Foot7952 t1_iupjrp5 wrote
That is certainly your prerogative. But speaking as a woman, I can prevent pregnancy. I can’t prevent inflation, the value of my 401(k), job layoffs and lack of medical treatment due to lockdowns - except to vote.
Sweaty-Foot7952 t1_iupjx3d wrote
PS. Temporary or permanent sterilization is not illegal. There’s your control over your uterus
[deleted] t1_iupr04r wrote
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Sweaty-Foot7952 t1_iuprswc wrote
Lots of women get sterilized in their 20s. I was. But you do you. There are far more important issues to me than this.
bitterbeerfaces t1_iuqqzma wrote
Why, for a medical reason? Did you already have children? A single 23-year-old who has no children and no medical reason for a hysterectomy will be very unlikely to find a doctor Will tie their tubes. I was denied an IUD when I was 25 and the doctor told me that I might change my mind about having kids in the next 5 years. Hint I didn't.
Sweaty-Foot7952 t1_iur0v6f wrote
Like I said, you do you. I’m going to vote the way I want and nobody is talking me out of it.
bitterbeerfaces t1_iuqr3ic wrote
Do you really think I need you to be forced to continue continue being pregnant against their will? To potentially die while giving birth? To end up in poverty due to unpaid leave from work?
What happens to all of those unwanted children? There are currently 40,000 adoptable kids in the foster care system, and no one wants them.
300blakeout t1_iuqda4i wrote
You can’t control your uterus? Who controls it? That’s like saying you can’t control not smoking and you’re forced to put the cigarette in your mouth. You have complete control, your abortion argument is weak. It’s almost as if there’s ways to… not get pregnant?
psychcaptain t1_iunemb9 wrote
Number 3 seems like an excuse to not to actually do more than a cursory look at the candidates and their track records. Eternal cynicism is what gave Trump an advantage as the media tried to play both sides as equal, when the reality didn't reflect that.
As a group, the media should reconsider number 3 and the impact it is having on our nations discourse.
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