DL Open Thread Sunday, March 7, 2021

Interesting article at Daily Kos examining the congressional districts with the biggest voting shifts in the presidential race from 2016 to 2020. The Republicans made big Latino-fueled gains in south Florida and south Texas, while Democrats picked up strength in some surprising areas — north Texas, nearly all of Colorado and, most surprising to me, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, which used to be as reliably Republican as Delaware’s Sussex County.

Sarah McBride continues to accrue good national press, this week from Rolling Stone, which said she “might be the most inspiring elected official in America.” Nobody has ever said that about Tom Carper or Chris Coons.

The city of Stockton, Calif., has been running an experiment in Universal Basic Income for the past two years, and the results are sure to be ignored by moral scolds who like to natter on about “incentive.” It turns out that the best way to get people out of poverty is simply giving them money.

Beginning in February 2019, 125 residents “who lived in census tracts at or below the city’s median household income of $46,033” were given a monthly income of $500. The money was distributed through the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) program and came with no strings attached. Residents receiving this basic income could use the money how they saw fit.

Now a new study looking at the results is showing great news: It seems to be working. It seems to be doing all of the things one would hope a good social safety net program would do. According to the new study, Stockton residents receiving the monthly stipend “were more likely to find full-time jobs, be happy and stay healthy.” One of the researchers, Stacia West, told The Guardian that her analysis of the results left her surprised. “These numbers were incredible. I hardly believed them myself,” she said.

Recipients of the stipend were “twice as likely to gain full-time employment than others.” Most of the money was spent on essentials like food, and money spent on alcohol or tobacco made up less than 1% of participants’ expenditures. After a year of getting the money, 62% of the people were paying off debt compared to 52% before the study. Researchers also said most people moved from being likely to have mild mental health disorders to “likely mental wellness”.

The not-in-disarray Republican Party has been hit with a cease-and-desist order from The Last Guy™, demanding they stop using his name for fund-raising purposes. He’ll run his own scams to fleece the flock, thank you very much.

A cottage industry is springing up around suing The Last Guy™, and legal experts think the civil suit filed by California Rep. Eric Swalwell against him and others has a chance of at least forcing him to testify under oath.

In Michael Moore’s first documentary, “Roger and Me,” the civic boosters in Flint, Mich., told him the workers who used to make cars could instead make lint rollers. Boxwood Road has replaced its GM plant not just with an Amazon warehouse — in great news for fans of demeaning, dehumanizing, jobs, they’re adding a customer delivery depot as well. Let the non-unionized delivery vans roll!

The state Department of Justice cleared police of wrongdoing in four shootings, one of them fatal. Couldn’t be helped, apparently.

Finally, if you are what you eat, congratulations, you’re part plastic.

The floor’s yours.