Issue 12
December 20, 2023
1 Young voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Biden’s handling of Gaza conflict
2 Trouble strikes 2 maritime shipping routes
3 Marriage rates fall
4 Housing aid falls to lowest level in 25y
5 Trump barred from Colorado ballot
1860 South Carolina secedes from Union
1 Young voters overwhelmingly disapprove of how Biden handling Gaza conflict
Voters broadly disapprove of the way President Biden is handling the bloody strife between Israelis and Palestinians, a New York Times/Siena College poll has found, with younger Americans far more critical than older voters of both Israel’s conduct and of the administration’s response to the war in Gaza.
Voters between 18 and 29 years old, traditionally a heavily Democratic demographic, jump out. Nearly three quarters of them disapprove of the way Mr. Biden is handling the conflict in Gaza. And among registered voters, they say they would vote for Mr. Trump by 49 percent to 43 percent — in July, those young voters backed Mr. Biden by 10 percentage points. (NYT)
2 Trouble strikes 2 maritime shipping routes- Suez, Panama-simultaneously
Global trade is under threat again. This time from missile attacks linked to the Israel-Hamas war targeting commercial ships passing through the Red Sea, near the Suez Canal. That may force many vessels to take the longer but safer route around Africa and is boosting oil prices.
Panama Canal officials will cut available slots for ship transits by half this winter as extreme drought leaves the man-made waterway lacking enough water. (WSJ)
3 Marriage rates among Gen X, Millennials lower than prior generations
(@chamath)
4 Housing aid falls to lowest level in 25y
As the safety net has expanded over the past generation, the food stamp rolls have doubled, Medicaid enrollment has tripled and payments from the earned-income tax credit have nearly quadrupled.
After decades of rising rents, housing assistance for the poorest tenants has fallen to the lowest level in nearly a quarter-century. The three main federal programs for the neediest renters — public housing, Section 8, and Housing Choice Vouchers — serve 287,000 fewer households than they did at their peak in 2004, a new analysis shows. That is a 6 percent drop, while the number of eligible households without aid grew by about a quarter, to 15 million. (NYT)
A nation divided
5 Trump barred from Colorado ballot
Colorado’s supreme court ruled that Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president again and cannot appear on the state’s primary ballot. The extraordinary decision, which Mr Trump is sure to appeal to America’s Supreme Court, is the first to disqualify the former president based on a provision in the 14th amendment barring insurrectionists from holding office.
In a historic decision Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court barred Donald Trump from running in the state’s presidential primary after determining that he had engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
The 4-3 ruling marked the first time a court has kept a presidential candidate off the ballot under an 1868 provision of the Constitution that prevents insurrectionists from holding office. Similar lawsuits have been filed in nearly 30 states.
The decision is certain to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Washington Post, Economist)
Democratic take:
Republican take:
This day in history
1860 South Carolina secedes from Union
Following Abraham Lincoln's election as U.S. president, South Carolina became the first U.S. state to secede from the Union.
