Wednesday Edition

President Biden’s recent gaffes certainly aren’t easing concerns about his mental fitness. (The Daily Beast)

What Biden said Sunday that raised eyebrows: “When I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic and what happened was, Barack said to me, ‘Go to Detroit! Help fix it.’”

While speaking at a Jewish heritage event on Monday, Biden mistakenly claimed a U.S. citizen currently in Hamas custody was in attendance.

• Biden: “My administration is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already. And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg-Polin. … He is not here with us. But he is still being held by Hamas.”

What Special Counsel Robert Hur said about Biden in a report released earlier this year: “In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden’s memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013—when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’).”

Concerns about Biden’s health and cognitive decline go back years, and have been growing.

• A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll from 2021, Biden’s first year in office, found pluralities of voters disagreed that the president is mentally fit and in good health.

• A Pew Research Center survey from last month found 65% of voters have little/no confidence in Biden's physical fitness and 62% have little/no confidence in his mental fitness.

A big government stance on taxes is all well and good, until you realize it’s not that appealing to companies and investment. (Cato at Liberty)

It’s becoming more and more common for state and local governments to dole out subsidies and incentives to corporations.

According to a new analysis from Cato Institute scholar Chris Edwards, there’s a funny wrinkle to the current tax environment: States with the highest taxes on businesses also gives businesses the most tax breaks.

Why? Because high-tax states need to find some way to draw in businesses and investment.

• The downside is this isn’t an equitable arrangement, and some industries inevitably end up getting special treatment.

Edwards: “Politicians in high‐​tax states know that to attract investment under a bad tax structure they need to cut special deals. At the same time, politicians in low‐​tax states know that they do not need to dish out special‐​interest benefits because their economies are booming without them.”

It’s not just small government cranks — prominent American businessmen are now also warning about ballooning debts and deficits. (CNN)

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon in an interview with Sky News: “The sooner we focus on [the deficit], the better. … At one point, it will cause a problem… the problem will be caused by the market, and then you’ll be forced to deal with it and probably in a far more uncomfortable way than if you dealt with it to start.”

Hedge fund founder Ray Dalio in an interview with the Financial Times: “I’m… concerned about the softening demand [for government bonds] to meet supply, particularly from international buyers worried about the US debt picture and possible sanctions (against countries other than Russia).”

The United States’ debt sits at a record-high $34.5 trillion debt and deficits are growing. Here are some charts that put it all into perspective:

Spending’s growing way faster than revenue.

The amount the government spends for each American has skyrocketed.

Interest and mandatory spending are eating up a greater share of the budget.

“GEOTUS” or God Emperor of the United States, a joking term used by Donald Trump supporters, might hit differently for some Americans in the wake of Jan. 6. (Bloomberg)

At a recent focus group of undecided swing state voters, 7 out of 8 participants raised their hands when asked if they were concerned Trump would violate the 22nd Amendment and refuse to leave the Oval Office.

Polls have shown a small but not insignificant share of 2024 voters will cast their ballots with democracy top of mind.

• A recent Quinnipiac poll found 21% of independents and 8% of Republicans cite "preserving democracy" as a top issue.

• According to an NBC News poll from last month, 16% of voters consider "threats to democracy" the most important issue, President Biden leading Trump 81% to 14% among them.

• A survey by Priorities USA found that 1,500 likely voters in eight battleground states ranked Trump's "dictator" comment and calls to gut the Constitution as the most concerning of over two dozen statements or policies.

Cold water for Biden: Trump currently leads Biden in six out of seven battleground states.

Bubba’s Two Cents

The reality is this is probably a small group of people we’re talking about here. But in an election that we can expect to be razor close, they could be difference makers.

In a recent post to Twitter/X, Jacobin, a leading left-wing magazine and standard bearer for campus-style socialism, accused Walmart of paying workers “starvation wages.”

The “Community Note” Jacobin received in return: “Walmart non-corporate Associates’ average hourly wage is $17.50/hour with full-time benefits. Jacobin pays writers $0.07/word, so a Jacobin writer would have to write 250 words an hour continuously to make the same wage as a Walmart Associate, but without benefits.”