Murphy for WI

For those who followed my political campaign for US Senate, I've just started a new page, Liberal Capitalism. There, I'll be doing videos talking economics and politics, all on video, to help delve into the topics of today. I hope you'll join me there!

“We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried, in war is the only place where those weapons are at,”

“We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at,”

Context matters. Commas matter. But most importantly, his meaning behind this statement matters. And if your focus is solely and wholly on "he said he carried weapon in war!" then you are deliberately missing the entire point of his statement.

Those weapons should only be used for war. That's his point.

(And if you drop the "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!" bu****it rage comment, it will be deleted.)

Someone commented that Chuck Schumer voted against the contraception protection bill, and I apologize for not commenting initially, and now I can't find the post.

He did technically vote against it - after enough republican senators had voted against it to kill it. He did that for procedural reasons, as it will allow him to bring the bill up again in the future. It's a weird and convoluted Senate rule. So no, he's not actually opposed to the bill - he actually brought it up.

This is a huge mistake by politicians. A majority of people under 30 use TikTok as a primary source of news and information. But less than 50% vote - the youngest generation ALWAYS votes at the lowest percentage, not just this generation.

Which means if we, as politicians, want to reach that hugely untapped potential voting population, we have to meet them where they are - TikTok - and also HOW they want us to engage - which means actual engagement with authentic responses. Not simply using it as a soap box.

If there's anything I learned in the two campaigns I participated it, it's that voters, or potential voters, regardless of political ideology, want to be heard. Responding to them - even those who disagree with you - is the best and most effective way to build trust.

Political Debate Is Rife on TikTok. Politicians? Not So Much. Very few politicians, including the top candidates for president, are on the hugely popular video app — perhaps ceding much of the political discussion to others.

So I received this comment today regarding student loan forgiveness:

“Adam Murphy nothing is free. So it is costing us something. Stop living in fantasy land that estimate mean something and stuff is free.”

And here’s an example of common sense. Something anyone and everyone has probably thought - nothing is free.

There’s no free lunch.

And common sense would be wrong.

All our economic growth is based on things being “free.” On their being a surplus for producers and consumers — which is profit for businesses that they reinvest or spend, and prices for consumers that are lower than they would be willing to pay.

I know that seems weird, but it’s how economic growth happens, and it means we are getting something for free - profits or some level of product/service that we would pay more for.

Regarding the student loan forgiveness, the estimates are that it will pay for itself and increase GDP by 0.1% over ten years. In other words, it will cost us nothing, make us ever so slightly richer as a nation, and help tens of millions of people… and yes, for free.

Hi there, everyone.

I think it's worth understanding the policies and repercussions of the Wisconsin GOP, and really, the GOP nationally. (read to the bottom, please!)

The ACA (Obamacare) was written into law in 2013, and implemented in 2013, and so we now have a reasonable amount of data to look at.

In Wisconsin, under Scott Walker and the WI GOP, they refused to accept federal money toward the expansion of state medicaid (Badger Care), and they refused to set up a state-wide insurance exchange, and so we only have access to the federal exchange.

Now, that did a couple of things. First, it means that there is less competition between insurance companies, which drives up rates. There are some counties in Wisconsin that have only one insurance company associated with the ACA, and monopolies are not known for competitive pricing. So, we can take a look at state by state comparisons, and on average, we will see that states like Wisconsin have higher ACA rates and had larger increases over time, due to a lack of competition.

We also know that the "fiscally responsible" GOP refused to accept the federal subsidies for the ACA, and so far I believe that number totals over $5 billion for the residents of Wisconsin. That money would have been designated to increase the number of people eligible for Badgercare based on poverty level incomes, and would have also increased the portion the federal government pays for all Badger Care recipients. In other words more Wisconsin residents would have been covered and it collectively would have cost ALL residents of Wisconsin less than it does now.

But the GOP refused, and at the federal level, voted over 70 times to revoke the ACA, despite not having any actual health care plan of their own.

Unfortunately though, fiscal idiocy aside, we now know that there are even worse repercussions.

Recent economic and health analyses show a direct causal relationship - in other words, correlation AND causation - between the ACA and health outcomes.

Specifically, over the range from 2013-2017, those states that accepted federal money from the ACA to increase the number of people on state Medicaid, not only saved money, not only saw more people on insurance, but also saw a 9.4% improvement in mortality.

In other words, as plainly as I can put this... The WI GOP and the national GOP, while playing politics, have not only cost us all billions of dollars here in Wisconsin, but their decisions have literally killed people.

That is who the GOP is.

(to download the .pdf of the recent study...)

www.nber.org

From a professor of economics at Harvard. A breakdown on some of the data associated with student loans now, compared to the mid-1970s.

Part of the problem is that tuitions (and consequently loans) have risen about 4x - 5x the rate of inflation. And much of that has been caused by easily accessible, non-collateralized loans.

Opinion | Why I Changed My Mind on Student Debt Forgiveness Our current system of student loans and college funding is at odds with what we hope to achieve by encouraging people to go to college.

So there’s been a lot of discussion recently about what a recession is or is not.

A generic and publicly used simple definition is: when Real GDP declines in two consecutive quarters.

Real GDP is adjusted for inflation, and has flattened in the last two quarters, that’s true. Nominal GDP (measured in todays dollars) is still climbing. But, for perspective, since Biden took office, Real GDP has grown 7.6% in 6 quarters, which is still well above the pace of the last 40 years. Even with inflation and even with the recent slow down.

The real definition of a recession is much more complicated, involves multiple variables like unemployments changes, wages, inventories, etc., and is determined by the NBER - National Bureau of Economic Research.

Not the media. And not politicians.

As with everything in macro economics, it’s rarely a hard and fast science. This isn’t chemistry. And this last two years has been like no economic period before it.

Here’s some historical and economic context:

WiscoTakes on TikTok with .0 Hi Nick, don't you think it would be beneficial to use your platform to educate your constituents rather than mislead them?

How do we best connect with potential voters? For me, in 2022, TikTok was a large part of my connection with voters.

And now I’m working with candidates and subject matter experts across Wisconsin and the country, to create content that answers questions and legitimately engages with voters, in or to help restore trust.

Is TikTok the next digital frontier for politicians seeking the youth vote? Wisconsin politicians are using comedic TikTok videos to engage young voters ahead of the midterm elections.