Biden Administration misc. activities

[In2ition]

Other than a few folks like Romney, Sasse, Murkowski, and Collins, there's no point in trying to work with any congressional Republicans. They just work to obstruct everything the Dems want to do. Old-style legislation was that you worked with the other guys to find compromise. But that was based on a model where if you worked together, you could actually find something that made everybody happy enough to vote for it. That seems to be totally gone now. Nobody in the GOP is willing to reach across the aisle and compromise. Their entire party ethos is based on "owning the libs" now. So you might as well just ignore them and legislate as you see fit. Their constituency is a bunch of old dying white racists anyway. Let them and their party literally die off and move the country on without them.

I think there is a lot of truth here about the Reps and they should get called out. Calling every Rep a racist is so on brand for you. Should Reps call all Dems some horrible name too? How does that improve relations to step across the aisle? I think you are forgetting to get your own house in order too. There is a lot of evil shit that the Dems try to do and should be called out for it. Killing off thousands upon thousands of jobs in the name of climate change, while doing so is causing more pollution, causing more poverty, raising gas prices that affect the poor most, and NOT actually having jobs for them to go to during a pandemic and economic recovery is EVIL AF. All while not actually realizing that the energy used to power electric cars is in many places, coal. Oh, how about raising the cost of Epi pens and Insulin? Super helpful to the poor and needy. Actually sounds incredibly hypocritical, imo. BTW, don't worry about the GOP, they are the walking dead and don't even realize it.

[AmareIsGod]

If you filed individually for 2019 and didn't exceed $75,000 in income, you were eligible. If you filed jointly with your significant other and didn't exceed $150,000 in income, you were eligible. Did you get the first round and not the 2nd or neither?

[ShelC]

Other than a few folks like Romney, Sasse, Murkowski, and Collins, there's no point in trying to work with any congressional Republicans. They just work to obstruct everything the Dems want to do. Old-style legislation was that you worked with the other guys to find compromise. But that was based on a model where if you worked together, you could actually find something that made everybody happy enough to vote for it. That seems to be totally gone now. Nobody in the GOP is willing to reach across the aisle and compromise. Their entire party ethos is based on "owning the libs" now. So you might as well just ignore them and legislate as you see fit. Their constituency is a bunch of old dying white racists anyway. Let them and their party literally die off and move the country on without them.

If they're replaced by conspiracy spewing radicals like Greene, Howley and Gaetz (among others), we're no better off. And what's worse, their supporters love them for "fighting back against the system" and being "non-PC" so they dig in even more and send more money for support. Those Rs are nothing more than reality TV villains, but that resonates with the base. I'm surprised Omarosa hasn't decided to run for office somewhere.

[ShelC]

Killing off thousands upon thousands of jobs in the name of climate change, while doing so is causing more pollution, causing more poverty, raising gas prices that affect the poor most, and NOT actually having jobs for them to go to during a pandemic and economic recovery is EVIL AF.

I might be wrong, but I don't think the Dems are just sitting around rubbing their hands together deviously laughing about the jobs being lost as we transition away from fossil fuels. Climate change is real and progress needs to be made moving away from coal and oil. If anything, the Rs are doing more damage by continuing to promise to keep a dying industry alive just to secure votes. They all need to come to a solution, which isn't easy, but the Rs fight it every step of the way, essentially delaying the inevitable.

Good article with a lot of good quotes and input from people in the know and on the ground

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/31/bidens- ... rkers.html

Now as the Biden administration outlines its climate change policies, one of the more challenging goals is making sure fossil-fuel driven economies, like coal towns from Appalachia to the Illinois Basin, tribal nations and Powder River Basin in the Western U.S., are not left behind. Amid the slew of executive orders on climate change signed by President Biden on Wednesday was an interagency working group on coal and power plant communities and economic revitalization.

The Obama administration created the Power Initiative in 2015 to focus on economic development in regions like Appalachia, and even though Congress refused to approve an initial Trump administration budget request to scrap it, funding levels remain too low for the challenge. “I think the Power Initiative under Obama was a good start, but it just wasn’t anywhere near enough money,” said Brandon Dennison, head of Appalachian economic development firm Coalfield Development

...if there is real follow-through and it is coordinated with the local representatives, it could be one key to moving politicians and stakeholders past a jobs debate that has often devolved into sound bites. Backers of projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline cancelled by the Biden administration cite the thousands of jobs lost. From the corporate world, a growing number of the largest companies say renewable energy is an engine of job creation.

While the overall number of jobs to be displaced are relatively small compared to the overall economy — 1.7% of the labor force — and the estimated 34,000 jobs lost per year through 2050 are far less than millions forecast in new job creation related to the energy transition, they are “also a matter of strategic politics,” according to the UMass research,

“The transition is happening, but it feels for lots of people like the transition has been forced on us,” Dennison said. “The worst thing we can do is lie to ourselves or be told coal will come back. ... Even when coal was booming we still led the nation in poverty and poor health outcomes. We have generational challenges we need to overcome. It’s so deep,” he said

“We are looking at an industry that is going away basically,” said Jeff Whitehead, executive director of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, which has worked on coal miner job transitions and says the effort requires nothing short of a “rural czar” in the White House.

“We’re working on changing a way of life and economy, and that is a more intense, longer-term transition. It is not something you can just throw money at and train a few people and it goes away,” Whitehead said. “In Appalachia and in eastern Kentucky coal fields, the industry as a driving force of economy was already struggling but it was the mainstay of the stability there. ... Going away permanently might be down the road, but the facts are the facts. Do I think coal will boom again and we will have in eastern Kentucky or other places a massive workforce again? No, I don’t, and if you proceed with that mindset then you are just putting yourself further behind the curve of transition.

“I think one of first things this nation should do, from the level of Biden down to the grass roots is stop with the demonization of fossil fuels,” Leiserowitz said. “The CEOs knew better, what they knew, when they knew it, is a different conversation. But the working class, the oil drillers and coal miners, they built modern America, they risked their lives to go into mines and do the dirtiest, most dangerous work in the country. These people and communities deserve to feel proud of what they did. And now that we’re in this race against time it is our responsibility as a society to not leave them, or the landscapes in which they live, behind.”

[In2ition]

If you filed individually for 2019 and didn't exceed $75,000 in income, you were eligible. If you filed jointly with your significant other and didn't exceed $150,000 in income, you were eligible. Did you get the first round and not the 2nd or neither?

Both are based on 2019 taxes and I filed jointly with my wife. We got the 1st round, but not the 2nd round.

[AmareIsGod]

If you filed individually for 2019 and didn't exceed $75,000 in income, you were eligible. If you filed jointly with your significant other and didn't exceed $150,000 in income, you were eligible. Did you get the first round and not the 2nd or neither?

Both are based on 2019 taxes and I filed jointly with my wife. We got the 1st round, but not the 2nd round.

I filed my taxes online yesterday. You are asked about it at one point, whether you receive the first round, second round or both. If you were missed on either or both, you will get those as part of your return this year.

[In2ition]

Killing off thousands upon thousands of jobs in the name of climate change, while doing so is causing more pollution, causing more poverty, raising gas prices that affect the poor most, and NOT actually having jobs for them to go to during a pandemic and economic recovery is EVIL AF.

I might be wrong, but I don't think the Dems are just sitting around rubbing their hands together deviously laughing about the jobs being lost as we transition away from fossil fuels. Climate change is real and progress needs to be made moving away from coal and oil. If anything, the Rs are doing more damage by continuing to promise to keep a dying industry alive just to secure votes. They all need to come to a solution, which isn't easy, but the Rs fight it every step of the way, essentially delaying the inevitable.

Good article with a lot of good quotes and input from people in the know and on the ground

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/31/bidens- ... rkers.html

Now as the Biden administration outlines its climate change policies, one of the more challenging goals is making sure fossil-fuel driven economies, like coal towns from Appalachia to the Illinois Basin, tribal nations and Powder River Basin in the Western U.S., are not left behind. Amid the slew of executive orders on climate change signed by President Biden on Wednesday was an interagency working group on coal and power plant communities and economic revitalization.

Yes, probably in the long run, but you can't pull the rug out from under people and not have something to immediately move to. How is this not understandable to some politicians who probably mean well enough?

The Obama administration created the Power Initiative in 2015 to focus on economic development in regions like Appalachia, and even though Congress refused to approve an initial Trump administration budget request to scrap it, funding levels remain too low for the challenge. “I think the Power Initiative under Obama was a good start, but it just wasn’t anywhere near enough money,” said Brandon Dennison, head of Appalachian economic development firm Coalfield Development

There isn't enough actionable information here in this to know exactly what was involved and how long it would take to make any sweeping comments on this plan. I'm just to lazy at the moment to look into it at this moment.

...if there is real follow-through and it is coordinated with the local representatives, it could be one key to moving politicians and stakeholders past a jobs debate that has often devolved into sound bites. Backers of projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline cancelled by the Biden administration cite the thousands of jobs lost. From the corporate world, a growing number of the largest companies say renewable energy is an engine of job creation.

Once again, sure in the future, but jobs lost now aren't immediately being replaced. Most of these people are not independently wealthy that they can just sit on their hands and wait for the jobs to appear in the future.

While the overall number of jobs to be displaced are relatively small compared to the overall economy — 1.7% of the labor force — and the estimated 34,000 jobs lost per year through 2050 are far less than millions forecast in new job creation related to the energy transition, they are “also a matter of strategic politics,” according to the UMass research,

“The transition is happening, but it feels for lots of people like the transition has been forced on us,” Dennison said. “The worst thing we can do is lie to ourselves or be told coal will come back. ... Even when coal was booming we still led the nation in poverty and poor health outcomes. We have generational challenges we need to overcome. It’s so deep,” he said

On paper, sure it's relatively small. So we just forget about them and tell them to install solar panels or learn to code? If you don't have immediate plans that can be immediately taken, you are just an a-hole, using "talking points" too.

“We are looking at an industry that is going away basically,” said Jeff Whitehead, executive director of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, which has worked on coal miner job transitions and says the effort requires nothing short of a “rural czar” in the White House.

“We’re working on changing a way of life and economy, and that is a more intense, longer-term transition. It is not something you can just throw money at and train a few people and it goes away,” Whitehead said. “In Appalachia and in eastern Kentucky coal fields, the industry as a driving force of economy was already struggling but it was the mainstay of the stability there. ... Going away permanently might be down the road, but the facts are the facts. Do I think coal will boom again and we will have in eastern Kentucky or other places a massive workforce again? No, I don’t, and if you proceed with that mindset then you are just putting yourself further behind the curve of transition.

“I think one of first things this nation should do, from the level of Biden down to the grass roots is stop with the demonization of fossil fuels,” Leiserowitz said. “The CEOs knew better, what they knew, when they knew it, is a different conversation. But the working class, the oil drillers and coal miners, they built modern America, they risked their lives to go into mines and do the dirtiest, most dangerous work in the country. These people and communities deserve to feel proud of what they did. And now that we’re in this race against time it is our responsibility as a society to not leave them, or the landscapes in which they live, behind.”

I know that change is inevitable, but it's like cutting off your perfectly functioning and healthy arm knowing that in the future medical technology will advance enough that you be able to regrow it better than ever. It's not about inevitable change, it's about immediate actionable jobs to replace what we are dependent on. It sure would be nice if some magical new clean, infinitely available and renewable energy source was discovered, but it hasn't happened yet. Every clean energy source now depends in part on fossil fuels. This seems to be a fact lost on many.

[In2ition]

If you filed individually for 2019 and didn't exceed $75,000 in income, you were eligible. If you filed jointly with your significant other and didn't exceed $150,000 in income, you were eligible. Did you get the first round and not the 2nd or neither?

Both are based on 2019 taxes and I filed jointly with my wife. We got the 1st round, but not the 2nd round.

I filed my taxes online yesterday. You are asked about it at one point, whether you receive the first round, second round or both. If you were missed on either or both, you will get those as part of your return this year.

It's funny you say that, because I just came up to that question when filling out mine this morning. I'm not worried. I'm sure there are some that are though and I hope that they can get their money quickly.

[In2ition]

I don't know why Biden reversed this. Do any of you know why? It doesn't make any sense to me.

[ShelC]

Is there actual proof he's a diabetic or is he just anti-Biden, anti-Dem and trying to make a point? Going thru his Twitter feed, he seems extremely far-right and doesn't even seem genuinely upset in the video. Plus he's so upset about his meds that he's been tweeting and RTing jokes, general nonsense and right wing stuff probably 4-5 times every single hour? Seems kind sus.

With regards to the increase in medical cost, it's part of the incoming admin reviewing Trump's healthcare policies. More than likely, the Trump admin cut those costs his final days in office knowing Biden might be not be able to uphold some or all of them - in a way sabotaging the new admin and giving his critics ammo. Here's a site outlining things. A lot are on pause until March 22nd while under review. It's unfortunate for those who can't afford the medications but let's not act like this starts and ends with Biden.

https://www.modernhealthcare.com/policy ... inal-rules

[Nodack]

I don't know why Biden reversed this. Do any of you know why? It doesn't make any sense to me.

Nice try...

Fact check: Biden administration delays implementation of Trump rule on insulin, EpiPens

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/fac ... 254921001/

The claim: President Joe Biden is 'reversing' an executive order put into place by Donald Trump to reduce patient costs for insulin and epinephrine.

A user on Facebook claims President Joe Biden is now "reversing" Trump's executive order. “This is NOT a partisan issue and will harm Americans,” reads the Jan. 22 post, which has almost 1,000 shares.

Another social media user claimed Biden has ended "the savings for epi pens and insulin."

Biden's White House chief of staff, Ronald Klain, announced a regulatory freeze of “any new and pending rules” as Biden took office on Jan. 20. The freeze on the insulin and epinephrine rule is effective until March 22.

According to Bloomberg Law, "A regulatory pause is a common tradition among incoming presidents to ensure that the unfinished policies from the prior administration align with the new one."

The National Association of Community Health Centers, among others, expressed support for the new administration's move, saying the Trump rule would not have lowered the cost of insulin and EpiPens for most Americans who use them, as advertised.

In a Jan. 25 statement, it also said the Trump rule reflected "a fundamental misunderstanding" of federally qualified health centers and the 340B drug program, placing extensive administrative burdens on them.

“The stated aim was to cut drug prices. However, it triggered alarm among safety net providers and bipartisan lawmakers because it would accomplish the opposite of what the Trump Administration intended — ultimately making it harder for health centers to provide affordable life-saving services and prescription drugs — especially during the pandemic,” the association said.

It pointed out that the only patients affected would be those using the health centers.

The overall prices of insulin and EpiPens across the country are not affected by the Trump administration regulation or the recent action by the Biden administration, the health center association said.

[Nodack]

Why are insulin prices going up? Chuck Grassley explains it
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2 ... ey-explai/
Our ruling
Grassley said that insulin prices have dramatically increased because of manufacturer, health plan, and pharmacy benefit manager practices. He’s right. Innovations alone aren’t enough to justify the extreme increases in price that have raised insulin costs over the years.

PBMs, with their complicated discount negotiations; and manufacturers, with their continuing drive to increase earnings, both play a role. So do drug stores, pharmacies, and other suppliers who want to be competitive in the marketplace by offering consumers discounts. But the discounts don’t go to everyone with diabetes, and when they do, they vary from vendor to vendor.

Multiple studies in recent years, testimony in public hearings, the drug’s pricing history, and sourcing in federal government reports show examples of complicated procedures related in large part to negotiated discounts for some vendors adding to overall insulin costs.

We rate Grassley’s statement True.

[ShelC]

Yea all of that too.

[In2ition]

You guys are right. I didn't vet this person in this post. I also don't take insulin or need an epi pen, so I don't regularly purchase them, or have ever purchased them. Thank goodness no one in my family has either, and I hope they never have to in the future. Whether it was disingenuous on his part to post that message, that's horrible of him if he doesn't actually have diabetes. Whether this happens to anyone else, that truly takes and needs this medication, you are saying that the costs haven't been changed? Ok, I'm going to have to take your word for it.

"David Tridgell, a Minneapolis endocrinologist who has had Type 1 diabetes since he was 15, wrote in The Washington Post in 2017 that patients with Type 1 diabetes tend to use two or three vials of insulin per month. At the current cost of one vial of Humalog 50/50, these patients would spend $780 to $1,170 on their insulin every month. Type 2 Diabetes patients can require even more insulin per month, sometimes requiring six or more vials, Tridgell wrote. This would add up to $2,341 or more every month."

I believe these prices are way too high, and I doubt that anyone here disagrees with that. If you do, please let me know. There has to be a way to lower these, especially for those that are honestly hindered by them. It shouldn't cost more than most mortgage payments to take a medicine that is required. If it's the PBMs that are hindering it being lowered, than they need to be addressed. If it's the insurance companies, then that needs to be addressed. At some point along the process there is a bottle neck or faucet that's raising these prices in a way that is being passed on to the ones that can't afford them, and that's the individual customer. I tend to be a little skeptical of legislators that have been in Washington for over 10 yrs, saying they are genuinely working to address this situation. It wouldn't surprise me if there is evidence that they are part of the problem to not address it justly.

[ShelC]

Of course the prices are too high and health insurance costs are too high and medical bills are too high. It's been that way for decades and only getting worse because health insurance companies and Big Pharma buy politicians and write bills and lobby like every other industry. And like every business and industry they care about profits. Probably the hardest thing to do is take massive amounts of money away from those who have it. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Wall St, the Military Industrial complex....all of these industries need a reset which includes telling them to cut costs and salaries to drive prices, costs, contracts down but that affects profits which affects markets. It's a shakeup that's been needed but nothing people really want to stomach. At least that's my interpretation and thinking about it.

[In2ition]

Of course the prices are too high and health insurance costs are too high and medical bills are too high. It's been that way for decades and only getting worse because health insurance companies and Big Pharma buy politicians and write bills and lobby like every other industry. And like every business and industry they care about profits. Probably the hardest thing to do is take massive amounts of money away from those who have it. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Wall St, the Military Industrial complex....all of these industries need a reset which includes telling them to cut costs and salaries to drive prices, costs, contracts down but that affects profits which affects markets. It's a shakeup that's been needed but nothing people really want to stomach. At least that's my interpretation and thinking about it.

I agree. All of it needs a major major MAJOR overhauling.

[AmareIsGod]

Of course the prices are too high and health insurance costs are too high and medical bills are too high. It's been that way for decades and only getting worse because health insurance companies and Big Pharma buy politicians and write bills and lobby like every other industry. And like every business and industry they care about profits. Probably the hardest thing to do is take massive amounts of money away from those who have it. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Wall St, the Military Industrial complex....all of these industries need a reset which includes telling them to cut costs and salaries to drive prices, costs, contracts down but that affects profits which affects markets. It's a shakeup that's been needed but nothing people really want to stomach. At least that's my interpretation and thinking about it.

I agree. All of it needs a major major MAJOR overhauling.

It's too bad we wasted 4 years never really coming up with a different health plan than Obamacare. Trump kept ripping Obamacare with no true alternative ever presented with details.

Trump: "Obamacare sucks!"
Society: "What do you propose instead?"
Trump: "I have something much greater in mind!"
Society: "What is it?"
Trump: "It's not Obamacare!".

Seriously. The guy had 4 years and never came up with a concrete replacement or alternative. Fucking ridiculous.

[In2ition]

Of course the prices are too high and health insurance costs are too high and medical bills are too high. It's been that way for decades and only getting worse because health insurance companies and Big Pharma buy politicians and write bills and lobby like every other industry. And like every business and industry they care about profits. Probably the hardest thing to do is take massive amounts of money away from those who have it. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Wall St, the Military Industrial complex....all of these industries need a reset which includes telling them to cut costs and salaries to drive prices, costs, contracts down but that affects profits which affects markets. It's a shakeup that's been needed but nothing people really want to stomach. At least that's my interpretation and thinking about it.

I agree. All of it needs a major major MAJOR overhauling.

It's too bad we wasted 4 years never really coming up with a different health plan than Obamacare. Trump kept ripping Obamacare with no true alternative ever presented with details.

Trump: "Obamacare sucks!"
Society: "What do you propose instead?"
Trump: "I have something much greater in mind!"
Society: "What is it?"
Trump: "It's not Obamacare!".

Seriously. The guy had 4 years and never came up with a concrete replacement or alternative. Fucking ridiculous.

I agree that he needed to come up with something better.

[Indy]

Of course the prices are too high and health insurance costs are too high and medical bills are too high. It's been that way for decades and only getting worse because health insurance companies and Big Pharma buy politicians and write bills and lobby like every other industry. And like every business and industry they care about profits. Probably the hardest thing to do is take massive amounts of money away from those who have it. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Wall St, the Military Industrial complex....all of these industries need a reset which includes telling them to cut costs and salaries to drive prices, costs, contracts down but that affects profits which affects markets. It's a shakeup that's been needed but nothing people really want to stomach. At least that's my interpretation and thinking about it.

I agree. All of it needs a major major MAJOR overhauling.

So you support socialism? Not capitalism?

[In2ition]

Of course the prices are too high and health insurance costs are too high and medical bills are too high. It's been that way for decades and only getting worse because health insurance companies and Big Pharma buy politicians and write bills and lobby like every other industry. And like every business and industry they care about profits. Probably the hardest thing to do is take massive amounts of money away from those who have it. Big Pharma, Big Oil, Wall St, the Military Industrial complex....all of these industries need a reset which includes telling them to cut costs and salaries to drive prices, costs, contracts down but that affects profits which affects markets. It's a shakeup that's been needed but nothing people really want to stomach. At least that's my interpretation and thinking about it.

I agree. All of it needs a major major MAJOR overhauling.

So you support socialism? Not capitalism?

Hell the F NO!! I do not, nor would I ever support a system close to Communism. I think it's about as evil of a construct as every imagined.

I think this capitalism that we have, along with the entire system needs to be overhauled.