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DNC Moves Convention Online, Milwaukee Businesses Lose Out

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The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that the August convention where former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to accept his party’s nomination, is being moved mostly online and delegates should not plan to attend in person. For many businesses in the area, the decision means losing out on a highly profitable week they were banking on following COVID-19 lockdowns.

The New York Times, citing party officials, reported that the convention will be moved from  Milwaukee’s professional basketball arena. Moreover, state delegates will be asked to not travel to the event over health concerns.

The Wisconsin city will still be the base for much of the live streaming and virtual events. The host site was moved from the Fiserv Forum to the Wisconsin Center.

“Milwaukee would anchor the events for the week,” the DNC press release says. “Programming would include both live broadcasts and curated content from Milwaukee and other satellite cities.”

The release adds that Biden will still travel to Wisconsin and accept the title in person. “Vice President Biden intends to proudly accept his party’s nomination in Milwaukee and take the next step forward towards making Donald Trump a one-term president,” said Biden Campaign Manager Jen O’Malley Dillon.

The drastic decrease in expected guests means a lessened need for hotel rooms, meals, and shopping.

“John Vassallo, the owner of Mo’s, A place for Steaks and Mo’s Irish Pub was expecting a sell-out week during the convention and a busy few weeks leading up to it as guests arrived,” according to an interview by local station TMJ-4. “The scaled down convention now means less guests and all auxiliary events, including state delegation parties connected to the convention, have been canceled.”

Vassallo goes on to say that he lost several buyouts, and great amounts of walk-in traffic. “We were expecting the busiest year, busiest 30 days since 2008,” said Vassallo.

After weeks of closed inside seating and trying to survive on take-out orders, Milwaukee restaurants are struggling. In fact, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal is keeping a running list of Milwaukee restaurants that have had to close permanently. At the time of publishing, this list had ten restaurants closed forever.

As Democrats celebrate Biden in August, local businesses will see much less profit after months of struggling through lockdown orders.

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Economy

Kamala Harris Admits ‘American Dream’ Not Something We Can Count on ‘Much Anymore’

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Biden Kamala

Even presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris admitted that the American Dream has not been an easy feat under her administration with President Biden.

“I’m speaking with people of every background, in every area of the country, of every age, and you know, the idea of the American Dream was something that previous generations could count on. Not as much anymore,” Harris said in a Tuesday evening interview with NBC News NOW host Hallie Jackson.

During the sit-down, Jackson pointed out that the top issue for “so many voters” throughout the 2024 campaign trail has been the cost of living in the U.S. economy. She also cited an NBC News poll that found more voters think the Biden-Harris record has hurt them, rather than helped them.

“And I wonder, are the last four years an obstacle to you in this race?”

“First of all, let me be very clear: Mine will not be a continuation of the Biden administration,” Harris responded. “I bring my own experiences, my own ideas to it, and it has informed a number of my areas of focus, most of which are, on to your point, lowering costs.”

“I have been traveling the country. I am very clear, costs of groceries is still too high. The voters know it, I know it,” the vice president continued. “So part of my plan includes what we need to do to bring down the price of groceries, including the work I will do dealing with price gouging, something I dealt with when I was attorney general, something I will deal with going forward.”

In August, Harris’ campaign released a document saying that if she’s elected, her administration would work with Congress to “advance the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries; set clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive profits on food and groceries.”

The National Grocers Association (NGA), which represents independent grocers that are privately owned by families or by employees as well as wholesalers in that segment, has called for the law’s use to address pricing competition in the industry. Chris Jones, NGA’s chief government relations officer and counsel, previously told FOX Business that pricing from suppliers is one of the biggest issues the group’s members face in competing with larger rivals.

However, Fox Business notes that when asked about her economic plans last week by Fox News’ Bret Baier, Harris did not mention her price-gouging proposal.

“My plans for the economy will strengthen the economy, as have been reviewed by 16 Nobel laureates, Goldman Sachs, Moody’s and recently The Wall Street Journal, which have all studied our plans and have indicated my plans for our economy would strengthen our economy,” Harris said on “Special Report.” “[Trump’s] would make them weaker, would ignite inflation and invite a recession by the middle of next year. Those are the facts.”

Nonpartisan findings from the Penn Wharton Budget Model have estimated that Harris’ fiscal policies might add $1.2 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, while former President Trump’s economic platform could add $4.1 trillion in the same time frame, adds Fox Business.

 

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