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Continue reading →: North Carolina: 2024 swing state in focus
Recently, I discussed how the political dynamics of the American Sun Belt have shifted in recent years due to political realignment, changes in migration patterns, and growing metropolitan areas in the region. My adopted home state of North Carolina serves as a good representation of such change. Politically, North Carolina…
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Continue reading →: Passaic, NJ: A Hidden Gem in American History
By Jordan Chester Route 21, Passaic, NJ (Street View). Google Maps. 2024-10-02 https://www.google.com/maps There are cities and towns across the United States that have played an important role in human achievement and forming modern America. One such city is Passaic, New Jersey – a community of around 70,000 people just outside…
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Continue reading →: The Great Wind Debate
By Jordan Chester At community meetings and on social media, people are expressing their opposition to wind energy projects – particularly in beach communities where there is concern with the aesthetics of such structures. Yet, 70% of Americans support the use of wind energy. A recent article published by Reporter…
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Continue reading →: Effective Presidential Campaign Advertisements Throughout History
By Jordan Chester Between now and election day, all of us are likely to see a multitude of political mailers, social media posts, billboards, digital advertisements, and television commercials. For most of the past seven decades, television has been a popular campaign medium to appeal to voters. So today, I…
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Continue reading →: Political Landscape of Sun Belt States: A 2020s Swing State Analysis
By Jordan Chester As I discussed in a prior blog post, the industrial states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin have served as battleground states for decades. Until recently, Ohio was in that category as well. Another more recent phenomenon has been the increasing competitiveness of Sun Belt states. As I…
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Continue reading →: Trends in the Food Industry: Consolidation, Price-Gouging, and Consumer Preferences
By Jordan Chester Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, announced an economic proposal during a speech in my adopted hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina last month in which she pledged to empower federal agencies to crack down on alleged anti-competitive practices and price-gouging in the food industry. …
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Continue reading →: Federal Reserve Signals Rate-cutting Cycle: Impact on Economy and Elections
By Jordan Chester During a speech to economists and others at an annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank will lower the federal funds rate a year after ending a rate-increase cycle intended to combat pandemic-era inflation. Powell’s language reinforced what…
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Continue reading →: The Politics of Climate Change: Addressing a key issue in a divided America
By Jordan Chester Climate change is an existential threat to all of humanity. Since the Industrial Revolution, carbon emissions in our atmosphere have increased by 50%. This has caused rising sea levels, higher global temperatures, a sizable increase in extreme weather events, an overtaxed electrical grid, declining crop yields, and…
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Continue reading →: The Politics Belt: The significance of industrial states to national politics & identity
For decades, media outlets have discussed presidential elections in the context of how either party could win over voters in industrial states, particularly Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It’s no secret that these four states have helped determine the outcome of multiple presidential elections, and they’ve hosted competitive races for…
A blog about public policy, politics, history, and more
Hello,
I’m Jordan Chester
Observations and Perspectives 