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Iâll just leave this hereâŚ
So⌠what makes Springfield âindependentâ? Seems like itâs a heavily Republican area,.so probably Republican run. Is it because the elections are technically non partisan (which really just means that a party isnât listed on the ballot)? If thatâs the case, whyâs San Berdoo not listed as independent? Convenience? 
Republicans arenât hiding they donât care about the poor 
Uh, the rich wonât care. Theyâll keep eating egg white omelettes, too.
The rich wonât care because thatâs cheap as fuck; I would sign up for that every day and twice on Sundays, and switch everything to electric. I donât see how thatâs workable and wonât just lead to higher usage.
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Overall, rates will decrease by about 33% per kilowatt hour for all residential customers.
Yeah uh, shouldnât they be spending money on infrastructure upgrades so they donât burn down half the state every year, and have rolling brownouts the rest of the time? I donât get this one either.
California also is rolling out Net Metering 3.0, which is supposed to help the grid. This will suck for people who want to get solar going forward, because it cuts the amount that the utility pays for consumer generated energy by 75%, meaning that solar wonât be cost effective without also installing a very expensive battery to allow you to rely on your own solar generated power for most of the day and night.
The Leftâs only plan for fixing things is âsoak the rich.â At some point theyâre going to have to erect that border wall Trump wanted if soaking the rich is going to work long term:
A record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after the centre-left government increased wealth taxes to 1.1%.
More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left the country during the previous 13 years, it added. Even more super-rich individuals are expected to leave this year because of the increase in wealth tax in November, costing the government tens of millions in lost tax receipts**.**
Super-rich abandoning Norway at record rate as wealth tax rises slightly | Norway | The Guardian.
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San Franciscoâs decline continues apaceâŚ
Malls and large department stores, in general, are dinosaurs that havenât been doing great, all across the US, for years. Our local mall here (in suburban GA) went into foreclosure a little while ago, and is generally a pretty depressing place (the 1 time I go in every 2 years). Macyâs has closed like 200 stores in the last 5-10 years (spoiler: they werenât all in California), and theyâre not done yet.
Nordstrom is closing its SF stores because of safety issues and rampant crime, not because of changes in shopping habits. It was one of the cityâs flagship stores until Market started to go to shit.
They explicitly mentioned foot traffic.
Safety issue. The sidewalks are an open drug market, and the ground is covered with needles and human excrement.
So you know none of the other issues affecting most other large department stores are affecting this one store, how? Is Nordstrom also closing all itâs Canadian stores because of the crime in SF?
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That would encourage me to use as much as possible!
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Nordstrom was a flagship store in SF right up to the time things started to get really bad on Market St. The mall owner spelled it out pretty clearly:
âA growing number of retailers and businesses are leaving the area due to the unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees, coupled with the fact that these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of the area.â
Also, Nordtrom is in the process of opening five new stores in California, so itâs not a state-wide issue.
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Eh, mall owner losing major client⌠what you want them to say, âthis business model is dying?â
And theyâre opening 5 Nordstrom rack stores. Different business model.
Yeah, Iâm sure youâre much more aware about why business is declining right next to the Tenderloin than people who actually run a business there.
And theyâre closing the Nordstrom rack store in SF. Trying to run any type of business (other than the drug business) in an area of filth and rampant crime seems to be a losing proposition. Who wouldâve thunk?
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When I went back to the states my parents took me to some âgrand mallâ or something of that nature in the SF Bay area. It wasnât bad but I could tell malls in general got real depressing looking. In Austin just about all the malls I used to know and love (Highland Mall, North Cross Mall, etc.) either closed up completely (Highland Mall got turned into an ACC campus) or scaled back dramatically. Sears was extremely depressing right before they basically all went bankrupt.
What used to be the pride and joy of the American experience is now a shell of its former glory. Is it Amazonâs fault? I donât know. But many retail establishments of America was no longer a good place to hang out anymore. Either they tried to hang on but isnât going that well (like Walmart) or they went to the price gouging business model before shutting down (Radio Shack, Best Buy, etc.).
Shhhhh, youâre ruining the narrative that itâs all about California!
I donât know if it was ever exactly the pride and joy of the American experience⌠ha. Maybe the American suburban teen experience⌠But tastes change. Straight up malls falling out of favor, but mixed use spaces and outdoor malls are more popular (and generally a more pleasant place to be).
Best Buy, against all odds, is doing fine.