#5SmartReads - November 4, 2022

Hitha on the economy, a needed shift in the housing market, and the SLOP

Well, here’s a #5SmartReads first - sharing a Wikipedia entry as a read.

But it is very smart, and brings the receipts when it comes to showing who handles the economy better.

I dug into these numbers a bit deeper to see who was in control of Congress during these times. And when a Democratic president also had a term of Congress where the Democrats were in control, the economy grew in nearly all measures - job creation, GDP, stock market returns, etc.

There are other factors in play here that we’re seeing impact the domestic and global economy right now:

Blinder and Watson concluded that: “Rather, it appears that the Democratic edge stems mainly from more benign oil shocks, superior total factor productivity (TFP) performance, a more favorable international environment, and perhaps more optimistic consumer expectations about the near-term future.”

Oil prices? High, and with record high profits. International environment? Chaotic at best. And these do affect consumer expectations and total factor productivity performance.

But when you look at policies between the two parties, I’ll leave you with David Leonhardt’s words:

"Democrats have been more willing to heed economic and historical lessons about what policies actually strengthen the economy, while Republicans have often clung to theories that they want to believe — like the supposedly magical power of tax cuts and deregulation. Democrats, in short, have been more pragmatic."

“If I can’t bring you with me, I’m not going.”

This very much reads like the North Star of the self-proclaimed SLOP (Second Lady of Pennsylvania), Gisele Barreto Fetterman, who prefers the acronym over the formal title.

She’s created a cozy community working space and several mutual aid organization in Braddock in line with this ethos. Rather than moving her family into the Lieutenant Governor’s mansion in 2018, she opened the pool in the house to the public while also talking about the racial disparities in child drowning.

Hell, she met her husband - Lt. Governor and Democratic nominee to the Senate John Fetterman - by writing him a letter about his policy plan as mayor of Braddock.

There are many reasons why I’m canvassing for Fetterman this weekend and have been a vocal supporter of his - one being his presence in the Senate as someone with disabilities will hopefully bring the awareness and policy to support all Americans with disabilities, and cultivate greater empathy. I also am eager to see how Gisele will bring her own experiences and story within the hallowed halls of Congress.

I also can’t wait to see what she’ll dub herself as a senator’s spouse.

…and in the rush to normalcy and to the pre-pandemic norms, women’s financial health will only get worse.

As well as their health overall - mental, physical, and emotional.

This article will both piss you off and also give you some scripts and tools to advocate for yourself if your employer is now requiring in-person work.

The “how much must women sacrifice at the altar of conventional masculinity” conversation is a robust one in this Instagram post about Gisele and Tom Brady’s divorce, and it shows how deep this narrative runs in the psyche of men. This narrative is embedded in every facet of our life - our family and home, our work, and culture and society at large.

And if you are no longer content to live like this, please vote in this election and every election. The laws that are passed at every level (local, state, federal) will either uphold and protect this narrative, or help us write a new one.

While I’m deeply fascinated by celebrity culture, there are just a handful of celebrities that I respect and admire.

Selena Gomez is one of them.

Keyboard warriors on social media will claim that Selena’s discussion of her mental and physical health challenges are only to garner sympathy and pity and “aren’t such a big deal.” And anyone who has dealt with any of these knows how cutting and hurtful those comments are, because so many of us have endured them in silence because of these comments we read.

To be so open about her experiences with lupus and bipolar disorder, and building the tools and resources to help people at scale, is incredibly brave and smart. And to do it at such a young age is…well, I deeply respect and admire her for it.

I am so excited to watch this documentary (my plan is to wake up really early and watch it while walking on the treadmill, before the kids are awake). This interview with Gomez and the film’s director Alek Keshishian is why my alarm was set for 4:30 am this morning.

A bright spot in the sea of darkness that is housing news, I give you Cincinnati.

Specifically, The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority.

The agency has been quietly purchasing homes in Cincinnati previously owned by institutional investors that have gone under. They’ve invested even more money for repairs and to offer homes for rent at accessible prices, and to purchase the homes they rent.

There’s risk to any potential solution to big problems, and certainly The Port’s plan has plenty of it. But The Port is playing the long game - in establishing a steady supply of affordable homes that are in good condition, in offering homeownership workshops throughout the community, in helping prospective buyers prepare now for the next few years, and eventually in issuing mortgages at accessible rates.

This is incredibly inspiring, and I hope more cities and towns take note and take similar action.

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