Thursday, August 06, 2026
New Economist/YouGov Poll Shows Trump Job Approval Still Very Low
The chart above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between July 31st and August 3rd of a nationwide sample of 1,609 adults (including 1.473 registered voters). The margin of error is 3.6 points for adults and 3.3 points for registered voters.
"Establishment" Dems Don't Seem To Understand The Mood Of Voters This Year
That was not the outcome that "establishment" Democrats had wanted. They were afraid that the voting public, especially Independents, would view El-Sayed as too left-wing and opt for his Republican opponent. In fact, they pumped tens of millions of dollars into the Stevens campaign to defeat El-Sayed - so much money that El-Sayed was outspent by about an eleven to one ratio.
My personal view is that the DNC and other establishment Democratic groups should not have done that. They should not have sided with one Democrat over another in a primary. The Democrats in Michigan (and in other states) are not idiots - and they are not children who must be told by party leaders how to vote.
But even more important, the interference in a state primary race tells me the establishment Democratic groups don't really understand where the voting public stands in this election year. Michigan Democrats did not choose El-Sayed because he was a leftist. In fact, he and Stevens are probably very close on most issues facing the country. They chose him because they viewed him as a fighter - someone who would fight hard for ordinary Americans, and not give in to Trump or his corporate buddies when crunch time arrived.
And sadly, that is not how the party's elected officials are currently viewed. They are viewed by the public as being weak and ineffectual - unable or unwilling to fight hard against Trump, the GOP, or the billionaire oligarchs. Note the chart below:
Note that most Democrats don't think their current congressional leaders fight hard enough - and pluralities of Independent, registered voters, and adults agree with them.
The voters are not really worrying about left and right in this election. They want leaders who will fight hard to make life more affordable for ordinary Americans, and will fight hard to protect the rights and freedoms of ordinary Americans. This is true of both Democrats and Independents. They don't want someone who will return things to "normal". Normal was already bad - even before Trump made it worse. They want real fighters who will make things better.
Instead of worrying about how left-wing El-Sayed (and others) are, the establishment Democrats should be thankful for them. They are infusing a fighting spirit into the party - one that is badly needed! They need to stop trying to make the party more "centrist", and join the voters in fighting for a more equal economy and a government that protects the rights of everyone.
Democratic and Independent voters are looking for centrists or moderates. They are looking for FIGHTERS!
Wednesday, August 05, 2026
Another Poll Has Talarico With A Slim Lead Over Paxton In Texas
The Biggest Cost To The U.S. By The Trump Administration
From Robert Reich:
I used to think the major tradeoff was between “guns and butter” — between defending the nation and attending to our most pressing social needs.
That view put the federal budget at the center of debate. And it assumed a zero-sum game in which the more we spent on the military, the less we had for the poor. As Ike said in 1953, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”
But that old zero-sum game isn’t the biggest cost Trump is imposing on us.
Yes, Trump’s war in Iran and the $1.5 trillion he wants for the Defense Department next year will make it harder for us to meet the nation’s other needs. As will the dramatic cuts he’s made or proposed in public health, education, Medicaid and Medicare, and nutrition assistance.
Yet the biggest cost is the cost of doing nothing about three worsening crises that threaten the very survival of America and the world: climate change, AI, and widening inequality.
Almost all Americans — indeed, most human beings — are now subject to the escalating costs of climate change. How much more evidence do we need?
This summer has been a living hell. Wildfires have forced around 60,000 people to evacuate parts of Washington state, destroying hundreds of buildings and leaving thousands without power. Fires in Canada turned the skies orange and the air foul across a large part of the eastern United States. Millions of lives have been threatened by a deadly heat dome.
Even if Trump weren’t worsening climate change by subsidizing fossil fuels, simply doing nothing would be shameful enough because the crisis is growing so fast. Years ago, climate scientists predicted exactly what’s occurring right now. Trump’s lack of leadership — no, his outright sabotaging of global efforts to stop the planet from becoming uninhabitable — is one of the worst sins of his sinful regime.
AI’s dangers are also now upon us.
If you believe that humans are in total control of AI, you haven’t been paying attention. Recently, at least two of OpenAI’s models escaped a sealed testing environment and broke into the servers of another AI company. The AI models “reasoned” that the solutions to a cybersecurity test were on that other company’s servers, so the models snuck onto the internet and hacked into the other company’s solutions.
This is chilling. The possibility of AI models escaping human control to do horrendous damage to human life is growing exponentially. Here again, the Trump regime’s inaction is a huge cost that’s soaring by the day.
My candidate for the third existential threat is wealth inequality, which is also out of control. Billionaire wealth is surging to monarchical heights while the wages of the typical American aren’t even keeping up with price increases — meaning that most of us are getting poorer.
The problem isn’t inequality per se. It’s the consequences of inequality — especially widening corruption. Billionaires are using their wealth to bribe politicians to reduce their tax rates (which are already lower than most Americans face) and to stop lawmakers from regulating fossil fuels or AI.
Full circle.
Of course, there are still guns-versus-butter issues. Federal budget priorities are important. America faces a yawning budget deficit and can’t possibly do everything that needs to be done. Dollars spent on the military are literally taking food from America’s hungry.
Yet on the largest existential crises of our time, where the costs of inaction are rising to frightening levels, the solutions don’t require extraordinary government expenditure.
They require thoughtful environmental and AI regulations, and far higher taxes on the wealthy.
Democrats and progressives running for Congress, governorships, and other positions must speak out loudly and clearly about the rapidly rising costs of inaction on climate change, AI, and inequality.
Demand action. Educate the public. Condemn the Trump regime and its backers — Big Oil, AI, and the billionaire class — for threatening the very survival of humans on the Earth.
63% of Americans Have Under $500 Left Each Month After Paying Their Bills
This very disturbing report is from the International Business Times.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans are now living paycheque to paycheque, according to the latest SurveyMonkey Quarterly Money Survey, underscoring the financial strain many households continue to face despite a resilient labour market and slowing inflation.
The survey found that 63% of US adults rely on each paycheque to cover monthly expenses, while most have little or no financial cushion after paying for essentials such as housing, food, utilities and transportation.
The findings suggest that millions of Americans remain financially vulnerable, with many saying they would struggle to absorb even a modest unexpected expense or a temporary interruption to their income.
According to the SurveyMonkey survey, an overwhelming majority of respondents reported having less than $500 remaining each month after covering essential living costs.
Among all respondents, 20% said they generally break even each month, and 17% reported spending more than they earn, leaving them in a monthly deficit. Only a minority said they consistently have significant disposable income remaining after paying bills.
For households already living paycheque to paycheque, the picture is even more challenging. The survey found that 90% of those respondents have almost no money left after meeting basic financial obligations, while 47% either break even or operate at a monthly deficit.
Among respondents who reported ending each month with a financial deficit, the size of those shortfalls differed considerably.
The survey found 25% fall short by less than $100 each month, 26% report deficits between $101 and $250, 37% say they are short between $251 and $1,000, and 12% face monthly deficits exceeding $1,000
Those figures illustrate how even relatively small budget gaps can accumulate over time, often forcing households to rely on savings, credit cards or loans simply to cover routine expenses. The survey also found that ongoing financial stress is reshaping long-term personal and financial decisions.
According to SurveyMonkey, 61% of respondents said money pressures have forced them to postpone important life milestones. Those delayed plans include saving for retirement, purchasing a home, buying a vehicle, getting married, and making other significant financial commitments.
Rather than building wealth or investing for the future, many households report focusing primarily on covering immediate living expenses.
More than half of those surveyed said they feel more financially stressed today than they did one year ago. Among the biggest contributors to that stress were insufficient savings (45%), credit card debt (30%), auto insurance costs (25%), and medical expenses (23%).
The findings suggest that while inflation has eased from its post-pandemic peak, many households continue struggling with elevated everyday costs and limited financial reserves. The survey also highlights how little financial flexibility many Americans have.
Among those living paycheque to paycheque, 71% said even a one-week delay in receiving their wages would create financial problems. 50% described such a delay as a major hardship, and 21% said it would trigger a financial emergency. Only 23% believed a delayed paycheque would be a minor inconvenience.
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