By Keith Tipton

For about 10 years, earmarks -- line items slipped into large, discretionary Congressional appropriations bills -- have chiefly been absent from headlines. Why? In the mid-2000s, the practice reached a peak of 14,000 earmarks in one year, and some of them turned out to be a tiny bit criminal (kickbacks), while others just brought shame on Congress for being wasteful and laughable. Congress has had earmarks since the very first session in 1789 (a pier in Pennsylvania). It's not a new phenomenon, but it got out of control to the point of pushback from Congressional leaders about the practice.

Now, why are these like cockroaches and ants? You can do your best, but you can't completely get them out of your house. "Hard" earmarks giving explicit funding for various projects were mostly stopped for the last 10 years, but "soft" earmarks took up the slack. These are suggestions or hints that the government agencies spending the money should consider a specific program or project for funding, and they are often treated as hard earmarks. Who is responsible for soft earmarks is more challenging to determine than who is responsible for hard earmarks.

The reason earmarks are in the news is that they were obviously popular in the past, and some want them allowed again. It is one of the powers of being a lawmaker to be able to slip into a money-related bill a little something for the folks back home, whether it be a tax break, new construction, or perhaps a research project at the local university. Some House and Senate members with long careers became famous for this. Incumbents can use funded projects to say, "See what I did for our district?" In a close race, an earmarking candidate will likely point to the money in hopes of gaining votes. While not a bad thing if the projects aren't wasteful or unethical, the problem is that they nearly always get funded without oversight or outside review of the merits of the proposals.

The current atmosphere of allowing earmarks is to create more "bipartisan support" for bills, such as President Biden’s $2.3-trillion American Jobs Act proposal. The idea is that if earmarks are allowed, certain "no" votes might turn to "yes" votes if they can slip in something specific to get projects done back in home districts.

Donald Trump was interested in earmarks in 2018, probably because he wanted to overturn the Affordable Care Act and wished to entice reluctant Congress members to support his efforts. Senators and representatives designating money for their districts are not breaking the law, but the history of such is that it gets out of control and becomes embarrassing, or worse.  

For the leaders of the House and Senate to tell their caucus members that, "Hey, we'll let you spend taxpayer money if you vote for certain bills" is bad form. Biden was elected to run the government far differently than Trump. The leaders of the House and Senate must do the same. Declaring earmarks as "okay" for the sake of getting bills passed is a soul-killing move. Democrats have to take the high road as much as possible to change the culture of Washington, and they have to reject the endorsement of earmarks as a result.

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Keith Tipton is an educator, dog person and proud Rice University grad who lives in Lubbock,Texas, with his wife and two kids.

By Charles Dervarics

After 10 years of hibernation in politically charged Washington, the much-derided earmark is making a comeback on Capitol Hill. Democratic leaders are promising a better, cleaner and more transparent version of this old chestnut through which lawmakers steer federal funding to favored (or important?) projects in their states without merit-based reviews.

For some in D.C., it’s time to cue the familiar refrain about the evils of political “pork barrel spending.”  In fact, earmark comes from an agricultural term in which farmers would mark the ear of pigs or cattle to note an animal’s ownership, age or gender. (As my father was a butcher, I always enjoy any side reference to the old family business). 

But earmarks have a long and controversial history in Congress. While some addressed key priorities in traditionally underserved communities, high-profile boondoggles such as Alaska’s ‘bridge to nowhere’ became an easy target for critics and the press. Back in 2010, earmarks for special projects totaled $16.5 billion, according to Citizens Against Government Waste. Though significant, however, that figure was just a drop in the bucket for all government spending, representing only half of one percent of the federal budget. 

Until the ban a decade ago, lawmakers typically added projects via specific language in appropriations bills or reports that accompanied such legislation. But the insular process meant some details didn’t emerge publicly until after a congressional vote.

What’s notable this year is that Democrats are pledging a more open and need-based process. Given President Biden’s emphasis on infrastructure, highway and transit projects are likely to be a significant focus of new earmarks. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure recently issued detailed criteria for projects, noting that all requests should appear on state/local priority lists and have letters of support from local leaders. Among other requirements, lawmakers also must certify that neither they nor any family members have a financial stake in the project.

"We have surrounded our new process with the transparency to assure projects meet federal and local standards,” said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., a senior Democrat on the panel. Other proponents argue it will give lawmakers, rather than government bureaucrats, more input in steering funds toward the local level. 

In the House Appropriations Committee, which sets spending for hundreds of government programs, leaders say that a lawmaker can request up to 10 earmarks – called community project funding – but must make all requests fully public.

Republicans appear divided, however. In a secret tally, the House GOP recently voted to participate in the earmark process. But the Senate Republican Conference upheld its previous ban on the practice, though individual members are not bound by that policy.

Proponents of the new approach say both Democrats and Republicans can share equally in the new earmarks, with some even suggesting that it may help diffuse tensions between the parties. Most also welcome increased transparency. At the very least, in butcher parlance, it should provide the public with more information about political sausage-making on Capitol Hill.

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By Stephen Macaulay

You can find this in the White House archival material related to the George W. Bush administrations:

OMB (Office of Management and Budget) defines earmarks as funds provided by the Congress for projects or programs where the congressional direction (in bill or report language) circumvents the merit-based or competitive allocation process, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the Administration to control critical aspects of the funds allocation process.

And there you have the long and short of it. Elected Official A wants to fill potholes in her district and so adds some money to a bill (an “add-on”) or manages to take part of the defined spending for her purposes (a “carve-out”). And if you drive on the road that resembles the surface of the Moon, you are very happy that Elected Official A has managed to get some asphalt for your area.

However, there is that little bit of language that is concerning “circumvents the merit-based or competitive allocation process.” Meaning that there is the very real possibility that Elected Official B might decide that Giant Corporation Inc. headquartered in his district would be very happy were there to be a new road built that would be essentially of benefit to Giant Corporation Inc. and only Giant Corporation Inc. — oh, and GCI has donated to the Elected Official B campaign or PAC or both — so monies are earmarked for the Giant Corporation Parkway.

That is probably not a good thing for the taxpayers. But hey, money is there for the earmarking!

There is another way of looking at this, but this way works only in the event that people actually pay attention.

Say that you live in a district that is adjacent to those of Elected Officials A and B. Your representative, Elected Official C, who you are sure doesn’t do much outside of make nonsensical speeches about nonexistent things or events, but does so in a way that you can see the vein throbbing in his forehead so clearly that it results in TV coverage.

The roads in your area cause bent tire rims galore. Giant Amalgamated Widgets has closed its operations because it didn’t think that it was getting sufficient infrastructure contracts, which means that there is a reduction in the tax receipts (assuming there wasn’t some sweetheart deal to attract GAW to your town).

What is the likelihood that if you are aware of what Elected Officials A and B did in terms of getting some funds you’re going to want to reelect C, who seems to be more interested in getting spittle on the surfaces of local TV crew microphones than anything else?

Let’s not be naïve: the gears of politics need grease, and the grease is money. That can work to your favor or to their favor.

An engaged electorate deserves things like smooth roads. Earmarks could be a way to get them.

And it is up to an engaged electorate to make sure that the grease works in their favor, not that of people like Elected Official B.

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Stephen Macaulay is pundit-at-large.

Go to the comments tab or email your thoughts to editors@thehustings.news on today’s News & Notes or any of the home page debates, including these recent posts:

•Nic Woods’ news analysis, including implications of the nation’s falling birth rate, on the preliminary 2020 U.S. Census results.

•President Biden’s attempt to reverse Supply Side Economics with FDR-style Keynesian economics.

•Debate of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Bill by Michelle Naranjo in the left column and Bryan Williams in the right column.

•Afghanistan: Is Now the Time to Leave? By David Amaya in the left column and Stephen Macaulay in the right column. 

•Braver Angels debate, Resolved: Deficit Spending is a Major Risk to the U.S. Economy.

•We debate Biden’s SCOTUS commission, with Chase Wheaton in the left column and Stephen Macaulay in the right column.

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THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2021

President Biden continues his campaign to sell his $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan infrastructure package to the public, as well as resistant Republican senators. He visits GOP stronghold Lake Charles, Louisiana, today, speaking in front of a 70-year-old bridge that is 20 years past its designed lifespan, AP reports.

DeSantis Signs Restrictive Florida Election Law – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, has signed a state law with new voting rules and penalties that constrain voting by mail, drop box use and handing out food and water to voters standing in long lines, The Washington Post reports. DeSantis says the legislation will ensure “the most transparent and efficient election anywhere in the country.” 

Restrictions include prohibition of mobile drop boxes and a requirement that local election officials staff all drop boxes and allow ballots to be dropped only in early-voting hours, subject to a civil penalty to the officials of $25,000.

Note: DeSantis has scheduled a signing ceremony at the West Palm Beach Airport Hilton near Mar-a-Lago, in a rally “for the best governor in the U.S.A.” DeSantis, who polled second in popularity after the ex-president at the CPAC convention in Orlando last February, is considered the lead prospect for running mate if Donald Trump chooses to enter the GOP nomination race in 2024. The Florida voter bill seems designed to lock the state in favor of such a Trump/DeSantis ticket.

•••

Arizona Secretary of State Complains of ‘Inadequate Ballot Security’ – Workers in a Republican-led audit of the November 2020 Maricopa County vote have left ballots and computers unattended, Arizona’s Democratic Secretary of State, Katie Hobbs, says in a six-page letter to her Republican predecessor, according to a report by The Hill. The Arizona GOP has hired Florida-based Internet security firm Ninja Warriors to conduct the second audit of last year’s presidential election ballots in the state’s largest county, which includes Phoenix. 

In her letter to former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, R, who is spokesman for the election audit, Hobbs says that auditors have been instructed not to speak with her office’s observers, and to not speak when the office’s observers are near their tables. The Hill quotes a Twitter account by the Maricopa Arizona Audit that says Hobbs was promoting “baseless claimes (sic) about this forensic audit.” 

Also on Twitter – Dennis Welch, political editor for CBS5 News/3TV in Phoenix posted video of an official overseeing the audit, John Brakey, saying auditors “are looking for bamboo fibers because of a baseless accusation that 40,000 ballots from Asia were smuggled here.”

Note: U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is about to lose her post as Republican Conference Chairman for opposing this sort of reaction to Donald Trump’s re-election defeat.

•••

France Joins Vaccine Waiver while EU Balks – France has joined the U.S. in supporting an intellectual property waiver on COVID-19 vaccines regarding patents and other protections under World Trade Organization rules, but others, including the European Union, have not yet joined in, according to the AP. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are also resistant, arguing that the patents protect against poor-quality knockoffs, and that the secondary drugmakers may not have the necessary manufacturing knowhow. However, the country now suffering a severe crisis over its surge of coronavirus cases, India, also is the world’s largest manufacturer of pharmaceuticals.

•••

Biden’s $1.8 trillion package polls positive — Fifty-eight percent of all U.S. voters support President Biden’s $1.8 trillion “American Families Plan” according to a Morning Consult-Politico survey. That number is based on 29% who “strongly support” and 29% who “somewhat support” the proposal. There are 13% who had no opinion, which leaves 30% in the “somewhat oppose” (12%) and “strongly oppose” (18%) categories.

Note: No surprise that 52% of Democrats are in the “strongly support” category, but what is a bit telling that things are not necessarily good in Mitch McConnell’s World of Zero Support is that 40% “strongly oppose” the proposal. So there is greater positive support from Democrats than there is negative support (assuming there can be such a thing) from Republicans.

The all-important Independents’ 20% “strongly support” and 34% “somewhat support,” goes beyond the majority mark, to 54%. Given there are 19% with no opinion, this leaves just 27% against it.

•••

Senior Hill Aides Predict Republicans Win House, Not Senate – Two-thirds of senior Capitol Hill aides polled by Punchbowl News say the GOP will win a majority of the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterms, while Democrats will hold the Senate. The new regularly published poll of anonymous aides, which PN calls The Canvass[VJ1] , conducted by independent polling firm Locust Street Group, says 66% of all polled, including 36% of Democrats, agree Republicans will flip the House. The poll says 66% of all polled agree Democrats will retain the Senate majority, with a 50-50 split among the Republicans polled and 82% to 18% among Democrats.

•••

Trump Ban Follow-Up – Yesterday’s News & Notes reported that a 20-member Facebook Oversight Board voted to retain the social media site’s ban on former President Trump. The board criticized Facebook for vacillating on the ban, however, as Wednesday’s decision keeps Trump off the site for only six months, after which the site may again reconsider. Trump is permanently banned from social media activity on Twitter and YouTube. –Edited by Todd Lassa, Gary S. Vasilash and Nic Woods

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Go to the comments tab or email your thoughts to editors@thehustings.news on today’s News & Notes or any of the home page debates, including these recent posts:

•Nic Woods’ news analysis, including implications of the nation’s falling birth rate, on the preliminary 2020 U.S. Census results.

•President Biden’s attempt to reverse Supply Side Economics with FDR-style Keynesian economics.

•Debate of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Bill by Bryan Williams in the right column and Michelle Naranjo in the left column.

•Afghanistan: Is Now the Time to Leave? By Stephen Macaulay in the right column and David Amaya in the left column. 

•Braver Angels debate, Resolved: Deficit Spending is a Major Risk to the U.S. Economy.

•We debate Biden’s SCOTUS commission, with Stephen Macaulay in the right column and Chase Wheaton in the left column.

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Please email your comments to editors@thehustings.news

Enter your opinions on today’s News & Notes, or any of the news topics below, or email editors@thehustings.news, and we will post them in this space. 

Scroll down one post to read Nic Woods’ news analysis on preliminary 2020 U.S. Census statitics.

Scroll down further to read these debate posts …

•Keynesian vs. ‘Trickle-Down’ economics.

•The George Floyd Justice in Policing bill.

•Afghanistan: Is now the time to leave?

•Braver Angels debate, Resolved: Deficit spending is a major risk to the U.S. economy.

•We debate Biden’s SCOTUS commission.

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021 

The birth rate in the United States fell to its lowest level since 1979, at slightly more than 3.6 million in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its Vital Statistics Surveillance Report released Wednesday. Last year marks the sixth straight year that the birth rate declined. Read Nic Woods’ news analysis on how that birth rate affects the U.S. Census on this page by scrolling down with the trackbar on the far right. 

Facebook Board Upholds Ban on Trump – The quasi-independent Oversight Board has voted to uphold Facebook’s ban on former President Donald J. Trump, the AP reports. Facebook was the first social media platform to ban Trump for inciting “violent insurrection” in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The board of 20 “international experts” ruled whether Trump may post to Facebook, normally a pretty libertarian platform for speech. The Oversight Board also faulted Facebook for the way it handled its initial decision, AP says. …

Meanwhile, Back at the Republican House Conference – Reps. Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, and Steve Scalise, R-LA, have fully turned on House of Representatives Republican Conference Chairman Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, and are working to remove her from the post and replace her with Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, Punchbowl News reports. Two other GOP House members, Reps. Jackie Walorski and Jim Banks, both from Indiana, have dropped out. We mentioned Banks as a lead candidate for chairman in this space yesterday.

Note: Never-Trumper Republicans are wringing their hands over how the MAGA wing of the party has retained and even strengthened control since the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, and how members of the party on Capitol Hill are enabling the ex-president to pull strings from Mar-a-Lago. The answer that keeps coming up is that, for GOP House and Senate leadership, bolstering its mostly white base with a candidate like Trump is the easy way out. After Mitt Romney’s defeat in his 2012 bid to unseat President Barack Obama, the GOP’s “autopsy” found that the party must expand its tent to attract ethnic and racial minority voters to survive. … 

The GOP clearly is ready to take the easy way again for 2022 and 2024, as state legislatures pass bills to constrict voting. 

•••

Yellen Shakes Wall Street -- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s remarks in an Atlantic magazine interview, released yesterday, “caused a brief panic on Wall Street,” The Washington Post reports. Yellen is quoted as saying, “It may be that interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure our economy does not overheat, even though the additional spending is relatively small relative to the size of the economy. It could cause some very modest increases in interest rates to get that reallocation.” The current rate ranges from 0% to 0.25%.

Note: The concern is inflation – rising prices of goods and services. There are various causes of inflation, including increases in production costs and surges in demand. Both of which seem to be the case right now, with supply chains being stretched by the pandemic and people relieving their pent-up demand by buying more goods. While Wall Street may be concerned that the cost of money is going to rise (an increase in interest rates would make it more expensive to borrow and, consequently, there might be a decrease in demand), it is clear that the economy is still in the midst of COVID recovery, so it may need a shot in the arm, which could mean that measures like increasing the interest rates to, say, a whole number might need to be taken.

•••

Will Democrats Go It Alone with Reconciliation? – As of today, the prospects for Senate passage of President Biden’s $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan will likely depend on Democrats using the reconciliation process it employed for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue (from COVID-19) Plan Act – or kill the legislative filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, has said that “zero” of his Republican colleagues support the infrastructure (American Jobs) plan and has set a top bid of just $600 billion for roads and bridges, according to the National Review.

So former Democratic U.S. representative and House Speaker Harry Reid, of Nevada, recommends ignoring Republicans, in a Tuesday opinion piece in the Las Vegas Sun :

The lesson Democrats should take away from 2020 is that ignoring the naysayers, plowing ahead with popular proposals and delivering the results voters want is not only good policy, but also good politics.

The White House plan is to give negotiations with the Republican Senate Caucus a chance up to Memorial Day weekend, and then – apparently – damn the filibusters, full $2.3 trillion ahead! But can Biden prevent the McConnell from getting Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-WV, to defect?

Note: The calculation seems to be this – Democratic Senate leadership must sacrifice the legislative filibuster (which will be an issue for them when Republicans gain the majority) to push through the infrastructure plan, which according to most national polls has solid public support, even among Republican voters. As the clock continues to tick, the Biden White House now has less than 18 months before the mid-term elections to get this done, and to show some positive economic results in the interim. The “unity” alternative is to continue to negotiate with Republicans and work to prevent a mid-term flip in the Senate, as well as the House. The ongoing drama with House Republican leadership (see above) only adds to the urgency. The GOP isn’t getting weaker from the Cheney vs. Trumpers struggle; It’s coalescing behind a vanquished president who may very well run in 2024 on a platform of dismantling everything Biden gets passed in the next three-and-a-half years.

•••

Chauvin Seeks Retrial – Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has called for retrial weeks after his conviction on two counts of murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd a year ago this month. Chauvin’s attorneys have cited jury and prosecutorial “misconduct,” without detailing any examples. However, a photo has surfaced of one juror attending a march in Washington last August, wearing a t-shirt that reads, “Get Your Knees Off Our Necks.” The photo has quickly become Fox News fodder.

–Edited by Todd Lassa, Gary S. Vasilash and Nic Woods

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Enter your opinions on today’s News & Notes, or any of the news topics below, or email editors@thehustings.news, and we will post them in this space. 

Scroll down one post to read Nic Woods’ news analysis on preliminary 2020 U.S. Census statitics.

Scroll down further to read these debate posts …

•Keynesian vs. ‘Trickle-Down’ economics.

•The George Floyd Justice in Policing bill.

•Afghanistan: Is now the time to leave?

•Braver Angels debate, Resolved: Deficit spending is a major risk to the U.S. economy.

•We debate Biden’s SCOTUS commission.

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Please email your comments to editors@thehustings.news

Are you ready for some gerrymandering in your state, based on these initial U.S. Census numbers? Should there be closer scrutiny of the numbers, to make sure redistricting is accurate and fair to states that have lost population and thus representation in the House of Representatives? Or should the count of non-citizens living in the U.S. be thrown out?

Whatever your opinion, we want to hear from you. This is your chance to comment on Nic Woods’ news analysis of the 2020 U.S. Census results. 

Whether you want to provide a sentence or a paragraph, all that we ask is that you be reasoned and respectful. Click on any of the three columns on the main page and scroll to the end of the column to leave a comment. Or email editors@thehustings.news.

You may also scroll down the page using the vertical trackbar in the far right corner of this page to read about …

•Keynesian vs. ‘Trickle-Down’ economics.

•The George Floyd Justice in Policing bill.

•Afghanistan: Is now the time to leave?

•Braver Angels debate, Resolved: Deficit spending is a major risk to the U.S. economy.

•We debate Biden’s SCOTUS commission.

_____
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By Nic Woods

Key takeaways throughout mainstream media last week from the U.S. Census Bureau’s preliminary apportionment data, delivered April 26 to President Joe Biden, was that population growth has slowed the most since the 1930s, to just 7.4% last year, and that the population shift to the South and West from the Northeast and Midwest continues.

But did it really?

The nation’s 24^th Decennial Census was the first done in the middle of a global pandemic that severely hindered how Census workers could do their job, even though it was also the first done mainly online. 

Their bosses in the Trump administration did them no favors by underfunding the process, insisting (even litigating) on a citizenship question that had been dropped decades ago because it guaranteed an undercount, embattling the process even further by trying to (illegally) remove the undocumented from the count, then ending the process abruptly starting in the summer despite Bureau pleas to allow them to complete the work.

They did the best they could, under the circumstances, but if you listened to Census Bureau spin April 26, you’d think none of that mattered. It does.

Instead of declaratively stating anything in the 2020 Census, we should add “more or less” to every statement.

• The US population (including Washington, D.C.) as of April 1, 2020 totaled 331,449,281, more or less;
• The population grew 7.4% from 2010, more or less;
• California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, lost a seat, more or less;
• Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Montana, Oregon and Colorado gained seats, more or less

Sure, it’s monotonous, so understandably the Census Bureau, even in a new administration, didn’t do that, but it helps make the numbers (slightly) more accurate. 

A quick aside: Texas and Florida did themselves no favors in 2020, delaying and completely defunding, respectively, Census efforts in their states. It’s also highly likely there was an undercount in population. If everything went as was planned after the prior Census, in 2010, Texas could have gained more than two seats and Florida more than one. So, joke’s on you!

Setting aside pandemic deaths, which were huge but probably not enough to move the needle, it only counts the folks who got their Census links by mail on time, had access to a working computer and broadband by April 1, didn’t fear (or hate) federal agents, and had the time and brain capacity to remember to fill out the Census by April 1. The April 1 deadline is not arbitrary – it was Census Day.

The data lack those the Census Bureau had to call (good luck getting someone on a land line these days) or visit after April 1 – folks who don’t own computers, the homeless, rural residents, the elderly, undocumented residents – and many libraries, which offer computers and broadband to those who don’t have a home setup, were closed because of the pandemic, adding another obstacle. 

***

At first glance, it looks like reapportionment and redistricting, based solely on initial takeaways from Census data, would heavily favor the GOP. 

Data show that whatever migration or population growth is occurring isn’t necessarily in favor of Republican voters. Take migration from California to Texas. Migrants could be from more traditional conservative areas like Orange County, but they also could be from people in cities like L.A. and San Francisco, who are seeking less expensive housing with ample room. But let’s be real – migrants increasingly have a tendency to sort with the like-minded, so conservatives are more likely to land in Frisco or Midland, while liberals are more likely to land in Austin or Houston.  

If self-sorting isn’t an issue, Texas, Florida and North Carolina, in particular, still have ways of getting around that to the GOP’s benefit. They are among the states gaining seats where Republicans control the legislature and the legislature draws the districts based on Census data. Of the states that gained a seat in 2020, Colorado is the only one where a commission separate from the (Democratic) legislature redraws the districts.

In Colorado, the political affiliation of its new residents matters less to a commission not beholden to either party but, in Texas and Florida, it has become akin to a God-given right for the dominant GOP to pick their voters and redraw the map to establish dominance that could last 10 years or more, depending on what happens in their 2030 elections. So, expect more of the same.

This doesn’t say that Democrats don’t do the same. They do. But one state, with one gain and a Democratic legislature calling the shots isn’t really going to change the current state of play, no matter how much they gerrymander.

Back to the slowing population growth. 

***

Basically, the U.S. has made it harder for immigrants to come, so fewer are coming. 

Further, our economy slowed after the Great Recession, which the 2010 Census noted. Mexico’s economy improved in the meantime, resulting in fewer immigrants from there as well.

If you’re collecting Social Security, you should be worried, because our native birthrate is low and there are fewer immigrants paying into, but not necessarily benefiting from, the Social Security system to make up the difference. 

Based on 2020 U.S. Census Data, our fastest growing demographics are those over 80 and those 2 and younger. Those 2-year-olds may start working in 2037, but their labor won’t be officially counted until the 2040 Census. Meanwhile, the oldest Gen Xers will reach retirement age – but not necessarily retire – in 2030. It’s too late to make up that 10-year gap. 

If the Census numbers are right, there’s not much we can do about it except finally fix our immigration system to boost our population growth to bolster entitlements. If our response now is “have more babies,” well, it’s a bit too late.

So, what’s happens now? 

The Census Bureau releases more detailed data “no later than September “that will be used by legislatures and commissions to redraw their districts. Then the fun begins! And we’ll have to live with the result for another decade.   

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Click on the Forum tab to read footnotes on Nic Woods’ 2020 Census news analysis.

Are you ready for some gerrymandering in your state, based on these initial U.S. Census numbers? Should there be closer scrutiny of the numbers, to make sure redistricting is accurate and fair to states that have lost population and thus representation in the House of Representatives? Or should the count of non-citizens living in the U.S. be thrown out?

Whatever your opinion, we want to hear from you. This is your chance to comment on Nic Woods’ news analysis of the 2020 U.S. Census results. 

Whether you want to provide a sentence or a paragraph, all that we ask is that you be reasoned and respectful. Click on any of the three columns on the main page and scroll to the end of the column to leave a comment. Or email editors@thehustings.news.

You may also scroll down the page using the vertical trackbar in the far right corner of this page to read about …

•Keynesian vs. ‘Trickle-Down’ economics.

•The George Floyd Justice in Policing bill.

•Afghanistan: Is now the time to leave?

•Braver Angels debate, Resolved: Deficit spending is a major risk to the U.S. economy.

•We debate Biden’s SCOTUS commission.

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The reason this site is called “The Hustings” is because the term refers to a political assembly at which two points of view were debated. The reason why there are three columns is because this permits us to provide the Left and Right positions with a central explanation of the subject running down the middle.

However, there is another aspect to this, which is where you come in.

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•Braver Angels debate, Resolved: Deficit spending is a major risk to the U.S. economy.

•We debate Biden’s SCOTUS commission.

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MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021

President Biden is willing to negotiate with Republicans over his $4-trillion in infrastructure and government benefits, including tax increases, up to Memorial Day. But he is willing to push the initiatives through without their support if the Republicans don’t negotiate in “good faith” with reasonable counter-offers. The administration’s push for the packages intensifies this week, and Biden is expected to propose at least two more big government programs by the end of May.

Reuniting Separated Migrant Children Begins – Four families separated at the Mexican border during the Trump administration will be reunited in the U.S., the AP reports. It is “just the beginning” of a broader effort, Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas said in comments at the border in San Diego over the weekend. “We continue to work tirelessly to reunite many more children with their parents in the weeks and months ahead.”

Two of the four families to be reunited this week include mothers who were separated from their children in 2017, one Honduran and the other Mexican. Parents are being allowed to return to the U.S. on ‘humanitarian parole ’ which allows immigrants in without threat of arrest or deportation. More than 5,000 children are estimated to have been separated from their parents while trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump administration beginning July 1, 2017.

Note: The Biden administration has been between The Donald and a hard place for much of its first 100 days, facing criticism for both “encouraging” a “record” rush of immigrants trying to cross the border from Mexico and Central and South America as a result of Biden reversing the former president’s immigration policies, and for crowding more than 20,000 children into 14 emergency intake centers. This week’s effort by the administration will relieve some pressure from the left but will continue to be fodder for the right.

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Cheney vs. Trumpian House Republicans – It appears House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, is about to face yet another attempt to remove her from the number-three leadership post by pro-Trump Republicans angry over her continued sparring with them, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, The Hill reports. Some House Republicans want to strip Cheney of her power ahead of a 2022 mid-term re-election campaign for which she surely will be “primaried” by a MAGA candidate hand-picked by the Office of the Former President at Mar-a-Lago. For her part, Cheney appears to be considering a run in 2024 for the Republican nomination for president.

Note: Liz Cheney, daughter of the tough former vice president, Dick Cheney, appears to be yet another canary in the coalmine that is the GOP’s future direction.

Editor's note: This news item originally called Rep. Liz Cheney the number-two leader. It has been corrected to say she is the third-most powerful House Republican.

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Angry Buzzing in the Beehive State -- Senator Mitt Romney, R-UT, was booed by members of the audience at a Utah Republican Party convention this past Saturday, according to The New York Times. However, the paper also reports that while the boos were “overwhelming,” some audience members “cheered and applauded” him. According to The Washington Post, Romney said to the audience, “Now you know me as a person who says what he thinks, and I don’t hide the fact that I wasn’t a fan our last president’s character issues.” The boos intensified. The Post reports, “He paused for a few seconds as the booing continued before asking the crowd: “Aren’t you embarrassed?”

Note: The answer to that question is probably “no.” Or that should be “NO!” Clearly there are people in the Republican Party who have forgotten the notion of shame. It is worth noting, however, that the Times reported “a vote to censure Mr. Romney narrowly failed.” The number of votes were 798 to 711. That is an 11% difference. Which means The Times is using a rather generous definition of “narrowly.”

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Cindy McCain Calls Arizona Vote Audit “Ludicrous” – Cindy McCain, widow of the late Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, called a state Republican Party audit of 2020 Phoenix-area votes “ludicrous” in a CNN interview last weekend. The Arizona GOP has hired Florida firm Cyber Ninjas, which has no experience auditing votes, to do just that for the November 2020 results in Maricopa County. Cyber Ninja founder Doug Logan has “offered pro-Trump conspiracy theories about the election,” according to Politico. “The election is over,” McCain told CNN’s State of the Union. “Biden won. “I know many of you don’t like the outcome, but elections have consequences.”

Note: Were McCain to speak at a convention of the Arizona Republican party, odds are that the boos Romney heard would be whispers by comparison to what she’d hear. Yes, boos turned up to 11.

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EPA to Propose Cuts in Use of Potent Greenhouse Gas – The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday will propose a rule to sharply cut the use of hydrofluorcarbons (HCL), the greenhouse gas widely used in air conditioning and refrigerants that is thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in producing greenhouse gases, The Washington Post reports. The EPA’s proposal is yet another reversal of a reversal. Former President Trump had rolled back a 2016 international agreement signed by the Obama administration to restrict use of HCLs. But the new proposal appears to have widespread bi-partisan support. Last year, Congress voted to cut HCLs by 85% over the coming 15 years as part of a broader omnibus bill. –Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash

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