The Political Thread

[Chris]

Also I'm never buying a house or even a new car at this point lmao

Federal Reserve leaves its key rate unchanged but sees two cuts this year

Federal Reserve officials expect inflation to worsen in the coming months but they still foresee two interest rate cuts by the end of this year, the same as they projected in March.

apnews.com

Federal Reserve officials expect inflation to worsen in the coming months but they still foresee two interest rate cuts by the end of this year, the same as they projected in March.

The Fed kept its key rate unchanged for the fourth straight meeting Wednesday, and said the economy is expanding at “a solid pace.” Changes to the Fed’s rate typically — though not always — influence borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and business loans.

The central bank also released its latest quarterly projections for the economy and interest rates. It expects noticeably weaker growth, higher inflation, and slightly higher unemployment by the end of this year than it had forecast in March, before President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs April 2. Most of those duties were then postponed April 9. The Fed also signaledit would cut rates just once in 2026, down from two cuts projected in March.

 

[Butters]

Also I'm never buying a house or even a new car at this point lmao

Federal Reserve leaves its key rate unchanged but sees two cuts this year

Federal Reserve officials expect inflation to worsen in the coming months but they still foresee two interest rate cuts by the end of this year, the same as they projected in March.

apnews.com

Federal Reserve officials expect inflation to worsen in the coming months but they still foresee two interest rate cuts by the end of this year, the same as they projected in March.

The Fed kept its key rate unchanged for the fourth straight meeting Wednesday, and said the economy is expanding at “a solid pace.” Changes to the Fed’s rate typically — though not always — influence borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and business loans.

The central bank also released its latest quarterly projections for the economy and interest rates. It expects noticeably weaker growth, higher inflation, and slightly higher unemployment by the end of this year than it had forecast in March, before President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs April 2. Most of those duties were then postponed April 9. The Fed also signaledit would cut rates just once in 2026, down from two cuts projected in March.

I bought a car in 2015 and the interest rate was 4.8% I think. I purchased another one in 2021 and the interest rate was like 9% and I had a better credit score than in 2015.

 

[Barry Poppins]

I still, at almost 30, don't have a credit card to my name.

 

[Chris]

I still, at almost 30, don't have a credit card to my name.

I didn't for the longest time and then realized I was actually losing money bc of the benefits they have. I make like $50 a month cash back and I don't pay interest bc I keep it paid without leaving a balance. I pay weekly bc it helps my mental budgeting but as long as you pay once a month, you get charged 0 interest and get hard cash benefits

 

[Chris]

I bought a car in 2015 and the interest rate was 4.8% I think. I purchased another one in 2021 and the interest rate was like 9% and I had a better credit score than in 2015.

When I bought my current car in 2020 my credit wasn't that great, so I got a "bad" rate of like 4.6% lol people would kill for that now

 

[Barry Poppins]

I didn't for the longest time and then realized I was actually losing money bc of the benefits they have. I make like $50 a month cash back and I don't pay interest bc I keep it paid without leaving a balance. I pay weekly bc it helps my mental budgeting but as long as you pay once a month, you get charged 0 interest and get hard cash benefits

Yeah, for what it's worth, I don't exactly *need* one at this point. I own my own property, have my own vehicle, and I have enough retirement benefits that I'm not in a money-pinch, I just need to watch my own spending habits.

 

[Chris]

Yeah, for what it's worth, I don't exactly *need* one at this point. I own my own property, have my own vehicle, and I have enough retirement benefits that I'm not in a money-pinch, I just need to watch my own spending habits.

Yeah I was the same way, I had no need for one at all so didn't see the point and I had to be convinced lol But the point is the benefits not the "option to go into debt" that's the trap that you don't take lol you can treat the card just like a debit card and pay it off daily if you wanted, just don't go over a month and get charged interest. And the benefits can be really good.

Discover matched my first year cash back entirely with no limit so I got like $350 extra a year after I signed up on top of the $350 I'd already accumulated each month. But after that first year I got a chase one instead that has higher cash back percentages. I just use the discover now when I happen to make any of their purchases that are 5% cash back which changes every quarter. So just trying to remember which card to use can be a pain and I only have two lol idk how people manage like 10

 

[Chris]

Karen Read found not guilty of murder in retrial

Prosecutors in Massachusetts retried Read in the murder of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, after a mistrial was declared last year.

www.nbcnews.com

Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman whose widely watched murder trial ended with a hung jury last year, was acquitted of second-degree murder Wednesday after prosecutors retried her in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer.

A Norfolk County jury also acquitted Read of two lesser charges — motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision that caused the death of John O’Keefe.

Read was convicted of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.

 

[Loochblade]

And Trump just cut the Trevor Project from the suicide hotline

Cue republicans celebrating kids commiting suicide again, just like they have before with trans kids. And cowards pretending it's not happening if they have a moral inside them somewhere but still can't stop voting for these outright genocidal fucks

About that story:

 

[Switchblake]

I honestly can’t understand what’s going through someone’s brain to stop the suicide hotline from being able to direct someone to the Trevor project if it is in fact, it’s own autonomous resource, but thank God at the very least that it is still operational. Hopefully the word can spread and make sure everybody knows that they can still call the number directly.

 

[Switchblake]

In fact, I’ve reblogged and quoted this post on Bsky.

 

[Loochblade]

I honestly can’t understand what’s going through someone’s brain to stop the suicide hotline from being able to direct someone to the Trevor project if it is in fact, it’s own autonomous resource, but thank God at the very least that it is still operational.

I mean... it's obvious what goes through their heads really. The people behind this and those who celebrate these administrative decisions simply want to kill off all those ungodly LGBTQ "abominations" and save their children from the woke, liberal, gay agenda.

 

[Chris]

I think logically the suicide hotline workers will be compassionate enough to direct anyone needed to the other number too as long as they're aware, I can at least take solace in that. But yeah if not clear from my first post, the hotline isn't dead or anything, it'll last as long as they have funding, that part is just going to be harder now. The issue is when you call the hotline, you have to option to get sent to various specific hotlines for your individual issue, this one is now not an option. And I really don't think the suicide hotline callers are the group of people you want having to jump through hoops to get the help they need

 

[Barry Poppins]

Welp. Trump's going to the war room.

 

[Loochblade]

Welp. Trump's going to the war room.

And it's probably a worse outcome than the movie War Room.