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Point: An Economic Agenda for the People

For another point of view, see: Counterpoint: Harris’ Price Controls Won’t Tame Inflation

As the warmth of summer finally begins to ease, an already feverish election season will continue heating up. So, let’s do a temperature check on the sliver of folks still deciding about their voting based on finances. Which candidate has articulated an economic agenda that will be most helpful to you?

The answer is that Kamala Harris has an economic agenda that would help the broadest section of the population in ways that are most helpful.

Let’s take a look at the top proposals from each candidate.

First, if you haven’t noticed, Donald Trump frequently goes into great detail about his personal grievances and topics of division. However, details on solutions to issues affecting most Americans, more often than not, come up short.

One of the more specific economic proposals is that Trump wants to double down on tariffs for imports — 10 percent to 20 percent on imports from all countries and upward of 60 percent on imports from China. We need to realize that while there are targeted reasons to deploy tariffs in certain circumstances, the benefit is hard to see as a long-term strategy.  Not only will this increase the cost of goods coming from other countries for American consumers already struggling with the effects of pandemic inflation and “greedflation,” but it will also hurt American businesses that sell their goods overseas. These factors seriously mute the intended potential positive effect of turning American consumers toward domestically produced goods.

Trump also wants to extend the tax cuts enacted during his first term. While these did bring down taxes for most Americans, the benefits are seriously imbalanced toward those already wealthy.

Trump also continues ranting against undocumented immigrants, offering crackdowns and deportations. I bring this up because, in addition to the human effect, this will devastate our economy.

Other proposals from Trump include not taxing tips or Social Security income, implementing regulatory reform, and more drilling for oil and natural gas, which he thinks will bring down inflation.

Vice President Kamala Harris has her economic agenda. These are not overly detailed, but compared to Trump’s brief rants, they do seem more so.

Harris has come out pledging to crack down on price gouging, even offering a ban on such activity. Past efforts on this haven’t always come to fruition, but highlighting the problem and making an attempt are worthy.

Harris wants to ease the cost of housing with a range of proposals, mostly tax credits to help first-time home buyers, incentivizing the building of starter homes and affordable housing, and developing unused public land to build more housing.

Harris also proposes increasing the child and earned income tax credit. Additionally, her more nuanced approach to the challenges of immigration works toward easing the pressure on the border. Still, it provides sensible pathways to citizenship that would minimize the effect on the economy.

On healthcare, Harris wants to open up more Medicare price negotiation eligibility, lower the cap on insulin, cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2,000, and extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.

Harris has an economic agenda more closely aligned with workers and organized labor. It’s essential that everyone benefits from fair wages, workplace protections, good benefits and a strong labor movement.

The candidates largely agree on a few items, like not taxing tips. However, Trump’s top-heavy, sound-bite approach to economic issues does not stack up to the more comprehensive Harris approach.

Harris provides a warm embrace to working-class citizens while the effect of Trump’s proposals leaves most people out in the cold.  Trump will claim he is out for you, but he is only out for himself. Those closest to him testify to this.  Don’t buy his lies; embrace the people who have your back: Vote Democratic.

Counterpoint: Harris’ Price Controls Won’t Tame Inflation

For another point of view, see: Point: An Economic Agenda for the People

Right problem, wrong solution. It’s one of the most familiar stories in politics.

Thanks to inflation, every American is paying higher prices for groceries and housing than before the pandemic. But politicians’ proposed solutions would make those problems even worse.

The right solution is to attack inflation’s root cause, a money supply that ran amok during COVID. When the amount of money grows faster than the amount of real goods and services, you get inflation. Conversely, inflation stays low when money and goods grow in sync.

In September 2024, we’re most of the way back to that point, but keeping inflation low for the long haul means reducing deficit spending, which neither party will do.

Instead of fiscal and monetary restraint, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris pledged to enact a grocery store price gouging ban “to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries.”

A problem with this is that the industry average for grocery store profits is 1.6 percent. This leaves little room for price gouging. For context, the stock market averages an 8 percent return.

This is a perfect example of the right problem, wrong solution dynamic. Price controls have failed everywhere they have been tried because they aim at symptoms of inflation and not its root cause.

Since COVID-19, grocery prices have risen at about the same rate as overall inflation. Inflation is the culprit here, not a sinister CEO cabal. Over the last year, grocery prices have gone up slower than inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While overall inflation was 2.9 percent over the last year, food prices rose 2.2 percent.

Housing prices also have a right problem, wrong solution story. Unlike groceries, housing prices are going up faster than inflation. But even here, price controls and price gouging laws will not make housing more affordable. The best way to make housing more affordable is to build more housing.

Instead, President Biden floated a plan to cap rent increases at 5 percent annually. Harris endorsed the plan soon after becoming the nominee. Rent controls create shortages. They reduce housing construction. They reduce the maintenance of existing housing. This has been the experience everywhere, from San Francisco to Minneapolis.

There just isn’t much the federal government can do here. Zoning laws and permits are mostly set at the state and local levels. Modernizing local codes and taking on NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) activists in city council meetings is a city-by-city project for which presidential candidates can’t take credit.

Harris’ rent control proposals are about virtue signaling, not substance. On an issue with little federal role, Harris is letting voters know she still hears their problems and wants to do something about it. That is a good message, but Harris supporters should not be defending price controls on the merits.

There are a few things the federal government can do. It can speed up federally required environmental reviews, which can average 4.5 years to complete before construction may begin. Removing tariffs on building supplies like steel and lumber can save thousands of dollars on homebuilding costs.

Instead of those helpful things, the administration is up to something else highly unhelpful.

The Justice Department has sued RealPage, which uses AI technology to comb through comparable real estate listings in various markets and suggest rents to landlords. This price-fixing lawsuit will do nothing to increase the housing supply.

It could actually keep rents higher for longer. RealPage’s algorithm brings price signals to markets faster than going through listings manually. If housing supplies do increase and rents go down, it will take longer to show up in market prices without algorithmic help, and landlords will collect higher rents for longer than if RealPage were allowed to operate.

Republicans are no better. Donald Trump’s proposed 20 percent across-the-board trade tariff would cause at least as much damage as Harris’ price controls. New tariffs would pile onto existing steel and lumber tariffs.

Both parties have identified the right problem — rising prices — but have proposed the wrong solutions. Our best hope is that these Harris and Trump policy promises are empty campaign rhetoric.

 

McCormick Promotes IVF, Keeping Kids Off Social Media at Langhorne Family Policy Forum

What makes a strong family? And why should politicians care?

Dave McCormick, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, took part in a panel discussion about strengthening Pennsylvania families in Langhorne Tuesday.

Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn and state Rep. Kristin Marcell (R-Richboro) joined McCormick, along with Priscilla Reim, a Republican committeewoman and business owner from Southampton. Temple University student and chair of the Temple Republicans Billy Walker also participated.

“People are having children less and less,” said McCormick. “It’s harder and harder to have families. And part of the reason it’s harder is because economically it’s becoming more and more difficult with the inflation that’s happened under President Biden, Kamala Harris, and Bob Casey.”

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D) is McCormick’s opponent.

“Casey’s voted for all those drivers of inflation,” McCormick added. “It costs a lot more to have kids, 22 percent from when President Biden took office.”

“It’s harder to get jobs,” said McCormick. “It’s harder to have a household that can afford kids.”

McCormick, who is the father of six girls from ages 17 to 23 in a blended family, would sponsor legislation to provide families with a $15,000 tax credit for fertility services like in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Reim struggled with infertility. She and her husband spent about $100,000 over five years before they were able to have their daughter, now 11.

McCormick noted a benefit he put in place to fund IVF for employees when he was CEO at Bridgewater “changed people’s lives.”

“Going through IVF is really emotional,” said Reim. She described various infertility treatments and complications that she endured. While some treatments were covered by her insurance, IVF was not.

“Over the next three years we went through four IVF treatments,” she said. For their fourth treatment, the couple used the money they’d saved for their wedding. “It was the last straw.”

“A lot of couples couldn’t afford one cycle, let alone four,” she said. “It’s a nightmare.”

Marcell’s stepmother also used IVF to complete their family. She remembers the difficulties her stepmother endured. “For us it meant a lot that we could complete our family that way,” Marcell said. “Thankfully, it worked…It’s a great miracle to actually have a child that way and to have your dream of a family and completing a family.”

McCormick offered a series of policy proposals to support families with young children.

“One of the key issues is allowing families to access faith-based community care,” McCormick said. He would also bolster school choice through federal tax credits for contributions to scholarship funds. And creating a tax-free savings account families can use to pay for up to $10,000 per year in childcare costs is another idea McCormick supports.   He would also double the federal child tax credit, which will be $2,000 per child in tax year 2025.

McCormick also said he would like to ban children under 16 from using social media, an idea polls show has growing support among concerned parents.

Marcell, a former school board member, has two children, 14 and 9. Recently, her daughter talked with a stranger over social media and wanted to go and meet them, said Marcell. Luckily, she told her mom.

“We talked about the reality,” she said. Social media platforms are there to get reactions and they become addictive, she said.  “I think there are a lot of issues to look at.”

“My daughter talked about fear of missing out,” said Marcell.  “All you want to do is get back on your phone… And unfortunately, it can create an unhealthy body image.”

At the state level they’re considering legislation, the Kids Online Safety Act.

“This is a huge issue all of us need to address,” she said.

Schorn said, “In Bucks County there are predators on various internet social media sites.” Law enforcement is looking out for them but “we need to continue to fund law enforcement, to make sure the men and women who are highly trained can receive those tips and follow through.”

A single image on Snapchat led to the arrest of a child predator.

“We do know it’s a rich environment for predators,” said McCormick.

Other criminals use social media to prey upon kids for fraud, Schorn said.

Walker believes social media has increased depression and suicide among kids and teens.

“When kids use social media at such a young age it becomes addictive like a drug,” he said, citing the U.S. Surgeon General. “It is addictive as cigarettes and triggers chemicals in the brain like drugs, like cocaine.” And 59 percent of teenagers are cyberbullied.

Social media can lead to anxiety, depression, anorexia and even self-harm. Suicide is a leading cause of teenage death, he added.

“I commend Dave [McCormick] for his willingness to take on the social media tech giants to fight social media,” said Walker.

When a reporter asked McCormick about his stance on abortion, he responded that in Pennsylvania, it’s settled law that’s “not going to change.” He believes there should be exceptions for the life of the mother, rape, and incest.

McCormick said more Pennsylvanians are worried about inflation.

“And that they can’t afford to have kids anymore because of the high cost of living. They struggle to have kids because of the high cost of fertility treatments. Those are pocketbook issues for many Pennsylvanians. I want to be proactive in trying to address those…I think if I can get people to listen, my message will resonate.”

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New Report Debunks Democrats ‘Shrinkflation’ Claims

You can’t watch TV without seeing a commercial from Sen. Bob Casey Jr. blaming inflation on corporations with “Greedflation” and “Shrinkflation” as the catchwords.

However, a new report is debunking Democrats Casey and President Joe Biden, who also uses the terms. According to the report from Americans for Prosperity, Casey has “cherrypicked” the data and does not account for corporate expenses before calculating profits.

The report, “The Bidenflation Blame Game: How Big-Spending Politicians Scapegoat Business,” by Kurt Couchman, AFP senior fellow in fiscal policy, andAFP Economic Policy Analyst Ilana Blumsack, lays the blame for inflation squarely on government spending rather than lawmakers’ businesses for higher prices or downsizing products.

Couchman told DVJournal “Congress and the White House need to get the spending and the debt under control. That is the urgent requirement for getting inflation and interest rates back under control. We need Congress to get serious about fixing the budgeting.”

Congress spent a lot and borrowed a lot during the pandemic and immediately afterward.

“And, of course, there had been rising deficits before that, but the pandemic spending splurge, all borrowed money, really drove up the debt,” said Couchman. “The Federal Reserve had to buy a lot of that debt. And then, it was the American Rescue Plan Act, $1.9 trillion of new borrowed spending, when the Democrats took control of everything that was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel’s back. That’s when we saw inflation immediately in March 2021, when they passed that thing, and then they kept building on it. They kept spending more and more money that we didn’t have. So that added to the inflationary fire.”

“The Biden administration approved $6 trillion in new debt,” he said.  In addition to the American Rescue Plan, there were the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips Act.

“And it only cooled off when Republicans gained enough seats to win control of the House of Representatives,” Couchman added.

As for Casey and Biden’s contention that the blame for inflation lies with greedy corporations, Couchman said that is not true.

His report shows corporate profits have remained relatively stable.

“Sen. Casey from Pennsylvania had claimed corporate profits were driving inflation over the last couple of years,” said Couchman. Casey’s November 2023 inflation report “just didn’t pass the smell test,” he said. “I looked at his methodology, and he used some funny timing. He looked at the second quarter of 2020, which was when the economy was pretty much locked down. And then compared it to two years after when we had basically recovered. And it turned out that he used a measure that wasn’t actually corporate profits because it excluded a bunch of really significant expenses, and profits are revenues minus costs.”

When you factor that in, “you see that corporate profits have only grown along with the broader economy,” said Couchman.

Casey did not respond to a request for comment.

Nate Sizemore, a spokesman for Casey’s Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, said, “Bob Casey is grasping at straws to distract voters from the truth. He rubber-stamped trillions in wasteful federal spending, fueling the war on energy, and creating the sky-high inflation crushing Pennsylvania families. Come November 5, voters across the commonwealth will hold Casey accountable for his disastrous economic record.”

AFP Regional Director Ashley Klingensmith said, “Real leaders own up to their failures when they’re wrong. What we’re seeing from members of Congress—including my senator, Bob Casey—is an immature and deceptive excuse to cover up a lousy voting record. Sen. Casey and many other lawmakers have voted in lockstep with President Biden but aren’t willing to own the consequences, apologize, or change course. But we at AFP-PA will ensure that Pennsylvanians know his voting record and encourage them to call his office and tell him to stop voting for an agenda that’s actively hurting the Keystone State.”

Couchman said there are major ramifications since the country’s debt is now nearly 100 percent of the gross domestic production (GDP).

“It’s estimated by the International Monetary Fund and others that somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of GDP is when debt drag starts to happen,” he said. “We’re at about 100 percent of GDP.” This could slow economic growth because “the government debt is crowding out the private sector.”  And people are starting to worry about whether the federal government can pay its “timely interest in principle on the debt,” causing uncertainty.

The housing market is already affected by higher interest rates on mortgages, credit cards, and car loans.

All this came from “too much spending, which came from bad decisions by Congress and the president,” he said.

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Inflation Drives DelVal Families to Food Cupboards for Help

Inflation bites during this era of Bidenomics. And poor families are the ones being bitten.

A recent study showed that for those households that used the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) increased pandemic benefits, 43 percent skipped meals last month, and 55 percent ate less because they couldn’t afford food. According to a report from Propel Inc., that was more than double last year’s rate.

Also, more households had utilities shut off or could not pay their rent.

Those households receiving SNAP are at or below the federal poverty line of $30,000 annually for a family of four.

According to the U.S. Census, real median post-tax household income in 2022 was 8.8 percent lower than in 2021.

The Census reports the poorest areas of the Delaware Valley include the city of Chester, Darby Borough and Darby Township, Sharon Hill, and Colwyn in Delaware County; parts of West Chester and Coatesville in Chester County; and Norristown and Pottstown in Montgomery County.

Liz Hagedorn, director of Nutritional Development Services, which is affiliated with the Archdioceses of Philadelphia, agreed inflation drives the need for more people to ask for help. Her organization sponsors 50 food cupboards in the five-county area.

Nicolino Ellis welcomes clients to the Jenkintown Food Cupboard.

“We are seeing the cost of not only food but also utilities and other items that families need just to get by have all gone up tremendously,” said Hagedorn. “And very few of those items have come back down in price. And we are seeing an increase at the food cupboards and people in the street, as well, coming in for more food.”

Nicolino Ellis, director of the Jenkintown Food Cupboard at the United Methodist Church, said he sees more people signing up for food.

As of Sept. 1, 2022, the church had 275 new families as clients. It has 382 new families this year, “over a third increase,” he noted.

And in August 2022, it had 870 visits (some families made multiple visits). This year, there were 1,165 visits to the food cupboard.

“That’s a massive increase,” he said. Inflation is partly to blame based on the increase of elderly people on fixed incomes who are coming in for food, he explained. They also have more Ukrainian refugees: 50 of 65 families who recently signed up are Ukrainian refugees “who had never been here before,” said Ellis, who greets clients as they drive in and seems to know everyone’s name.

“Last month, there were 76 new families,” said Ellis. “That’s a really high number.” In 2022, about 20 families a month signed up, he said.

Last Thursday, a steady stream of people drove up to get their food allocation. The food cupboard also offers personal care items and baby care needs like shampoo and diapers.

Jenkintown Food Cupboard volunteer Bess Kaufman fills a cart for a client.

Volunteers act as personal shoppers and fulfill the clients’ lists. They know their likes and dislikes. The food cupboard has 175 volunteers with 70 alternating weeks.

Ellis pointed out that giving fish to someone who does not like fish would be wasteful.

“We’re trying to eliminate some of the stigma of being food insecure,” he said. They also have a fund to help smaller food pantries in the area supply fresh food, not just “shelf staples.”

The food cupboard offers fresh fruits and vegetables, milk and almond milk,  eggs, various kinds of meat, and staples like rice and pasta. It has storage rooms in the building it rents from the church with shelving and refrigerators. It is raising money for a warehouse, he said. However, it will keep the present site for clients to pick up their supplies.

About a third of the food cupboard’s money comes from federal funds through the state and county, with the remainder from donations. Many religious institutions and schools collect food for it. Food is collected through Philabundance and the Share Food Program, and fresh produce is purchased from a distributor.

“Last year, we gave away almost a half million pounds of food,” he said.

Hagedorn thinks more people will feel the pinch in October when they must begin repaying their student loans.

“I think a lot of young people and older people are going to feel that squeeze in their budget, as well,” said Hagedorn.

“They’re saying the inflation rate has gone down,” she said. “That it’s more manageable. But I don’t see it. I mean, I know from my own personal experience when you go food shopping, have you seen the price of anything go down? No. I’m thinking, where are these people (who say that) shopping?”

More people are reaching out for help, she said.

“You know what Jesus said, ‘Everyone is your neighbor.’ So that’s what we do,” said Hagedorn.

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Counterpoint: Labor Faces a Partisan Divide on Most Important Issues

For an alternate point of view see “Point: This Labor Day Don’t Let Pols Take Credit for the Economy”

“In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, tens of millions struggle to put food on the table, find affordable housing, affordable healthcare, affordable prescription drugs, affordable childcare and affordable educational opportunities.”

That was Bernie Sanders, in New Hampshire last week, summing up some of the injustices at the source of many Americans’ discontent.

It’s Labor Day 2023. The election cycle will be moving into high gear, and 2024 could determine how much we can fix these problems or whether we move backward toward increasing inequality of income, wealth and access to education.

Let’s start with some good news: Over the past year, inflation has fallen from 9.1 percent to just 3.2 percent. Many economists, including Nobel Prize winners and others prominent in the profession, would say that the job is about done. The Fed’s goal is still 2 percent and will likely get there. But it doesn’t really have an argument that 3 percent is a problem.

In any case, the economists and others who said that inflation would become semi-permanent or accelerate turned out to be wrong. Those of us who saw no self-reinforcing mechanism — as with the wage-price spiral of the 1970s, where wages push up prices, which then lead to higher nominal wages, and so on — were correct. The spike in inflation was overwhelmingly caused by disruptions associated with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. And for these and other reasons, it turned out that inflation could recede without creating mass unemployment or a recession.

This is good news because the Fed, by raising interest rates, has actually caused most of the recessions we have experienced since World War II.

Instead, we have full employment. This is a big deal, not only for the millions of people who would otherwise be unemployed and their children. The historical record shows that when the economy approaches full employment, real (inflation-adjusted) wages increase. They increase more for lower-wage workers than for the higher paid, so inequality — by workers’ income, gender and race — is reduced. The bargaining power of labor, including unions, increases. This is all happening now and can accelerate with smart economic policies.

When the pandemic recession hit, we had the strongest stimulus ever, running deficits of 14.9 percent of GDP in 2020 and 12.4 percent of GDP in 2021. That is how we got back to full employment with record speed. Some 13.4 million jobs have been created since President Biden took office.

But the problems raised by Bernie Sanders — who strongly supports the successful economic policies implemented — remain. And there is a deep partisan divide over how to deal with them.

On the Democratic side, there is an emphasis on full employment and real wage growth. This includes meeting the climate crisis with major investments. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act have boosted manufacturing construction, which has doubled since the end of 2021.

The Biden administration has also been supportive of workers’ collective bargaining rights. On August 25, the National Labor Relations Board issued a historic decision that will make it more difficult for employers to violate labor law, as they routinely have done, to deny union recognition and collective bargaining. On Tuesday, the administration announced the first 10 medicines subject to price negotiations with Medicare — a landmark development for lowering drug costs.

Republicans hope to capitalize on the anger generated by the injustices they have by far taken the lead role in creating. We lost 5.8 million manufacturing jobs in the 2000s; the real (inflation-adjusted) median wage has barely grown from 1979-2019 (pre-pandemic); patent monopolies have been strengthened so that they cost Americans more than $400 billion annually just for prescription drugs (note at least five Moderna billionaires were created from COVID); unions now represent 6 percent of the private-sector workforce, as compared to a peak 35 percent in the 1950s; Republicans have repeatedly opposed minimum wage increases.

No Republican candidate raised their hand at the Milwaukee debate when asked to do so if they believed that human behavior is causing climate change. Republicans have also been trying to cut non-military spending as much as possible without regard to harm caused. And they have consistently opposed efforts to expand healthcare coverage for Americans.

Hence the partisan divide. This election could change the country and the world for decades to come.

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Midterm Election Dominated DVJournal’s 2022 Coverage

Looking back at 2022, the most significant stories the Delaware Valley Journal covered involved the midterm election.

The primary campaign for governor and lieutenant governor on the Republican side brought out many candidates. In contrast, on the Democratic side, only Josh Shapiro ran for governor while a few Democrats contested for the lieutenant governor’s nomination. Many Republicans supported Shapiro, who ran as a moderate.

The race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R) drew several candidates in both parties. Democrats fielded Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during the campaign, Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh, Philadelphia state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Philadelphia physician Kevin Baumlin, and western Pennsylvania Congressman Conor Lamb.

Among area Senate candidates, conservative author and commentator Kathy Barnette, Montgomery County businessman Jeff Bartos, Philadelphia lawyer George Bochetto, and Montgomery County lawyer Sean Gale all took part in a debate sponsored by the DVJournal that was broadcast on Pennsylvania Cable Network.

Celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz and hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick duked it out, spending massive amounts on television ads. With former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, Oz prevailed by a slim margin, only to lose in the general election to Fetterman. Fetterman’s poor showing in a late October debate failed to move the needle since many voters had already cast their ballots via mail-in voting before seeing it.

The DVJournal also sponsored an online debate for Republican lieutenant governor candidates.

The wide field of men and one woman running for the Republican nomination for governor also debated several times. State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) came out on top in the primary despite a last-minute play by party leaders to back former Congressman Lou Barletta. Locally, Delaware County businessman Dave White made a strong showing and Chester County attorney Bill McSwain enjoyed the deep-pocket financial support of Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs.

Shapiro, who spent millions on television commercials to paint Mastriano as an extremist, went on to handily win the governor’s race. Many believe redistricting in the Delaware Valley collar counties gave the Democrats a new advantage. Democrats defeated several incumbent Republicans, notably Todd Stephens in Montgomery County, Chris Quinn in Delaware County, and Todd Polinchock in Bucks County.

Other 2022 stories in the region included the saga of private utility companies buying up municipal sewer and water authorities. The DVJ has highlighted Pennsylvanians’ likely higher energy bills with Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), despite opposition from the state legislature.  And the state’s crucial Marcellus Shale natural gas industry remains under assault from the Biden administration’s embrace of the Green New Deal.

This year, many other DVJournal articles focused on parents who are at war with “woke” school boards and school administrators who impose critical race theory (CRT) and gender-fluid ideology on their students and critical race theory (CRT) and gender-fluid ideology on their students as well as stocking school libraries with obscene books.

The Delaware Valley Journal also brought readers the saga of the state House versus progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner that culminated in the House voting to impeach Krasner for mishandling of his official duties, which they allege is a significant factor in the skyrocketing crime rate in the city. An impeachment trial for Krasner is set in the Senate for Jan. 18.

While crime has been a big issue for DVJournal’s 2022 reporting, inflation was also a hot topic with skyrocketing prices for gas, food, and other goods biting into Delaware Valley residents’ budgets.

Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision weighed on the election, causing a rise in Democratic voter registration and driving some women, particularly women in the Delaware Valley suburbs, to the polls. Conversely, the increase in arrests of pro-life activists by the Biden Department of Justice has stirred up passion on the other side of the abortion issue.

And the local reaction to the war in Ukraine is also a concern, with many Ukrainian immigrants living in the area. DVJournal also brought our readers letters from a Ukrainian mother about what it was like to live in that war-torn country.

Amid all the other news vying for attention, the DVJournal has kept its eye on the sad case of the death of Fanta Bility, the 8-year-old girl hit by a bullet fired by police officers. Three Sharon Hill officers pleaded guilty in that case, and a federal lawsuit brought by Bility’s family is pending.

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Will DelVal Residents Purchase Organic Turkeys for Thanksgiving Amid Rising Food Prices?

With Thanksgiving almost upon us, will families splurge on organic turkeys instead of regular ones for the iconic meal.

Inflation has been rising in the Delaware Valley and throughout the U.S. Some families are concerned about whether they can afford to have this alternative turkey. For example, at Whole Foods Market, an Organic Heirloom Whole Turkey is $4.99/lb but offers a discounted price of $2.49/lb for Amazon Prime members.

While most families usually purchase traditional turkeys for Thanksgiving, many stores, including Giant, make sure they have enough in stock well before the holiday season.

“We start working on our turkey order early in the year to make sure we are set to meet the needs of our customers and ordered more turkeys than we sold last year, so we are confident in our supply,” Ashley Flower, spokeswoman for The Giant Company, told PennLive.

DelVal residents also must consider purchasing other side dishes for Thanksgiving. According to a study, Pennsylvania’s spicy candied sweet potatoes (which requires canned sweet potatoes, pecans, pumpkin pie spice, mini marshmallows, and orange juice concentrate) are 10.49 percent more expensive this year. This famous side dish now costs $30.97 this year, compared to $27.72 last year.

While the pandemic impacted the past two Thanksgivings, some families may wait another year to host a large gathering because of the increase in food costs.

Inflation has wreaked havoc on food prices across the country, with a rise of 11.2 percent for  all food costs this September compared to last year. The cost of groceries, in particular soaring by 13 percent, and for this reason, it appears families will sacrifice some of their usual traditional dishes or reduce how many people will be invited to this year’s meal. That is, according to a comprehensive study by Usko, a new free app that lets users analyze their Amazon spending and see how much products they regularly purchase have gone up due to inflation.

The company identified signature Thanksgiving dishes from each state and then broke down the ingredients for each to determine how much more each dish would cost this year compared to last year.

A survey of 1,000 respondents by Usko also revealed that over 21 percent of people believe the higher cost of ingredients would impact their plans this Thanksgiving. Indeed, for those wondering how much they spend either in-store or on sites like Amazon, a quick comparison with last year’s bank statement will likely prompt them to make changes to this year’s Thanksgiving meal. Those respondents also said they would be prepared to cancel the traditional Thanksgiving menu and choose a cheaper and low-cost meal instead.

In addition, over a third of those hosting Thanksgiving, this November plan to invite fewer guests to save money. Of those who are cooking, 68 percent also say they expect to have fewer leftovers this year, given the increasing food.

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TERZIAN: Vote Community First on November 8th

The new Republican Party in Chester County is forward-thinking and has been working hard to reach Chester County residents and engage voters. We are focused on relevant issues important to all Chester County residents, including escalating crime and drugs in our communities, a faltering economy that has caused significant distress for many families, and parents being shut out of decision-making concerning their children’s education.

The new Republican Party in Chester County is solution oriented. We are an inclusive organization. We welcome all those who support our vision to make the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness a reality for all.

Unfortunately, our opponents use highly charged rhetoric to divide us and have embraced failed policies that hurt our community. They use words like “extreme” to label and distract, and vilify those who disagree with them. We have a sitting member of Congress who claims to be bipartisan but called Republicans “diseased” and needing to be “cleansed”. They signal “hate has no home” but do not live up to this mantra. They preach tolerance but are intolerant of dissenting views. We reject their approach.

Our community deserves better.

For the new Republican Party in Chester County, it is about Community First. We understand and respect the value of relationships and working as a team. We believe, as neighbors and people of goodwill, and regardless of political party affiliation, that we can work together to make our communities safer and support the efforts of law enforcement.

We believe in economic opportunity for all and that support for small businesses is essential, particularly after the devastating impact of unreasonable closures. We believe that parents have valid concerns about the educational environment in which their children are being taught and that parents are not “domestic terrorists” when they express these concerns and their right to free speech.

Our opponents have attempted to make the debate about preserving democracy. But preserving democracy requires authentic leadership that invites opposing points of view, seeks to find common ground, and promotes an improved quality of life for all citizens. They have failed to meet this standard.

Clearly, this is a pivotal time for our county, our state, and our nation. All elections matter, but this one is critical. There is much at stake because the direction we choose will have an impact for generations to come.

Chester County residents have an important decision to make on Election Day. Do we continue to elect leaders whose failed policies have led to current problems? Or do we reclaim our communities by voting for candidates who advocate for common-sense solutions and policies that empower individuals, families, and businesses?

The answer is clear. We must elect leaders who prioritize their constituents and not their own personal agendas. On Tuesday, November 8th, the voters of Chester County should reject the status quo of higher crime, higher prices, and higher government interference in our lives. Our Republican slate of candidates from top to bottom will deliver an agenda that empowers and puts people first.

It’s time to restore hope and optimism in our community.

Vote Republican on Tuesday, November 8th.

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WHITE: It’s Time for Voters to Let Democrats Know Enough Is Enough

For an alternate viewpoint see: GUINEY: Your Freedom is on the Ballot This November

Nearly a year ago in December 2021, President Joe Biden declared inflation had peaked at 6.8 percent and predicted it would decline shortly and “rapidly.” In June, seven months later, we saw inflation surge by 9.1 percent. September was not much better, with prices rising 8.2 percent over the prior year. The state of our economy has had far-reaching impacts on working families and our seniors on fixed incomes.

The average 401k has lost 25 percent of its value due to the economic downturn. Since Biden took office, Americans’ monthly savings have fallen 83 percent. Mortgage rates are at 20-year highs, placing the dream of homeownership out of reach for too many individuals. Meanwhile, more than half of workers are seeing their real wages lag behind inflation by 9 percent, the equivalent of losing a full month’s pay.  Economists at the Dallas Federal Reserve have labeled it the “most severe” pay cut in 25 years. With income falling behind the rising cost of goods and services, it’s no wonder that so many Pennsylvanians are struggling.

In the Philadelphia region, electricity costs are up more than 20 percent compared to just one year ago.  The cost to fill up your car or truck at the gas station is nearly 60 percent higher than it was two years ago.  And consumers can expect more bad news in the coming months as home-heating bills are projected to reach a 25-year high. A trip to the grocery store is not much better. Since Biden took office, the price of eggs is up 98 percent, chicken breasts are up 46 percent, bacon is up 27 percent, flour is up 25 percent, and sugar is up 23 percent.

When asked just a couple of weeks ago if he is worried about rising inflation and its impact on families and seniors, Biden dismissed concerns, saying “our economy is strong as hell.” That denial of basic facts, the stubborn blindness to what Americans are seeing and experiencing for ourselves, shows the president and his Democratic allies are truly out of touch.

Rather than put forward real solutions to the problem, Democrats helped fuel the increase in inflation by injecting billions of additional funds into the economy. When that bungled plan did what many economists predicted it would – further fuel inflation increases – the Democrats decided to push through a bill funding a range of pet initiatives under the guise of legislation called the “Inflation Reduction Act.” Even before the bill was signed into law, Democrats were already backpedaling from the bill’s name, admitting that it would do nothing to curb inflation.

To be clear, it’s not just national problems that are causing issues. Amid the pandemic, Gov. Tom Wolf capriciously mandated the closure of tens of thousands of Pennsylvania’s small businesses but allowed big box stores like Kohl’s and Walmart to remain open. Many never fully recovered. Earlier this year, CNN reported that nearly 32 percent of small businesses in Pennsylvania were permanently or temporarily closed compared to January 2020.

Rising inflation, lost 401k savings, and declining real wages aren’t the only challenges Pennsylvanians are facing.  Activist prosecutors who care more about violent criminals than the rights of victims have created a culture where criminals are not being held accountable for their crimes. In Philadelphia, the homicide rate so far this year is 57 percent higher than the same point just three years ago. And we are increasingly seeing the violent crime spill out into suburban communities with carjackings and armed robberies of small businesses. The problem is only further compounded by the lingering impacts of the defund the police movement and the demoralizing effect it had on law enforcement. The result is that many police departments are struggling to fill vacancies. It could not come at a worse time.

The list goes on and on. Parents who were concerned about the failure of schools to return to in-person learning were dismissed and told there would be no impact on the education of children. New federal testing results say otherwise, showing between 2019 and 2021 the largest ever decrease in math scores and significant decreases in reading scores. And at the same time that schools are failing to provide these basic education skills, progressives are continuing to push political ideology in the classroom while refusing to provide parents with transparency on curriculum so that parents know what their children are actually being taught.

A lot has changed in the past two years, and not for the better. It is time for voters to send a clear message to the Democrats at the national, state, and local level. The Democrats claimed that the last presidential and federal elections, which provided them with narrow control of Congress, were a voter “mandate” to implement their radical ideas and increase the control that government exerted over citizens. If Democrats truly want a mandate, now is the time to give them one. Voters need to turn out and make their voices heard, letting Democrats know that enough is enough.

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