Author: patd

If It’s Not One Thing It’s Another

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Helene Live Updates: Southeast reels from deadly storm damage and heavy flooding (nbcnews.com)

  • At least 125 people have died as a result of the devastation Hurricane Helene has brought to Southeastern states, including dozens in flood-stricken North Carolina.
  • Entire communities are under feet of water in western North Carolina — at least 40 are dead in Buncombe County, which contains Asheville.
  • Helene made landfall in Florida last Thursday as a powerful Category 4 storm with winds of more than 100 mph — its remnants are dropping moderate to heavy rain in the Mid-Atlantic, with a risk of flash flooding.
  • Power is slowly being restored to affected areas, but more than 1.5 million energy customers are still in the dark.

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Major Longshoremen Strike Hits East Coast Ports (msn.com)

It’s unclear how long the strike will last and how expensive it will be, but a prolonged shutdown could deal a significant blow to the economy since the workers who handle shipping containers control major commercial choke points.

The showdown also presents a political problem for President Joe Biden, who has the power to suspend the strike. Doing so would take away workers’ leverage and could hurt the union-friendly president’s relationship with organized labor.

These people today don’t know what a strike is. … In today’s world, I’ll cripple you. I will cripple you, and you have no idea what that means.Harold Daggett, ILA president

What next?

From Rust to Trust

The way forward in the rust belt: pragmatic plans instead of broken promises.

Harris outlines $100 billion manufacturing plan, vowing pragmatism over ideology (nbcnews.com)

PITTSBURGH — Kamala Harris vowed to govern as a pragmatist who wouldn’t be captive to ideology in an economic speech Wednesday while outlining $100 billion in new investments in manufacturing, a major issue in this battleground state.

Harris proposed an “America Forward” agenda that calls for tax credits to boost investment and create industrial jobs, along with investments in artificial intelligence, science and energy development, as well as supporting American-made products.

“This plan will cost approximately $100 billion and will be paid for by a portion of the proceeds of international tax reform, which seeks to prevent a global race to the bottom and to discourage inversions, outsourcing, or international tax strategies designed by corporations to avoid paying their fair share to the United States,” the Harris campaign said in a fact sheet.

Harris also called for cutting red tape to build in the U.S. and endorsed eliminating “unnecessary” college degree requirements for various federal jobs, mirroring a policy Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro enacted.

“I promise you I will be pragmatic in my approach,” Harris told a tightly packed crowd here. “Because I believe we shouldn’t be constrained by ideology and should instead seek practical solutions to problems.”

[…]

She also said she would “invest in our industrial strength” and counter China’s global strength. She said that includes propping up factory towns — many in this area have suffered economically in recent decades.

She said she would work with Congress and businesses to “reform permitting” and cut red tape to boost job creation.

“My opponent, Donald Trump, makes big promises on manufacturing,” she said. “On Trump’s watch, offshoring went up and manufacturing jobs went down across our country. … He constantly got played by China.”