NO DEAL: Railroad Union Sets Dems Up For One VERY Ugly ‘October Surprise’

There’s an inherent problem with taking credit in the good times. It exposes you to blame when those good times go sideways.

That describes our current situation with the railroad pretty accurately.

In Mid-September, Joe Biden was riding high. His supporters, not to mention the shambling husk of mediocrity himself, were making sure all the world knew that Joe Biden was the man of the hour who averted economic catastrophe by striking a deal with the railroads.

Here’s how CNN framed the story on a September 15th story under the title, ‘Biden claims huge win for unions, and himself, in tentative rail deal’:

President Joe Biden proclaimed a huge win for rail workers and organized labor Thursday after his administration brokered a tentative deal with freight bosses on long-sought improvements in working conditions and averted a potentially disastrous strike.
Biden has long been an advocate of trade unions, saying as recently as his Labor Day speech in Pittsburgh that “unions built the middle class.”
But his intervention – including calls with union leaders and bosses in the critical run-up to the deal on Wednesday night – helped lift the threat of a dispute that could have had serious consequences for the economy and still-roaring inflation after talks, led by his Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, lasted all through Wednesday and into the middle of the night on Thursday.
Here’s what the railroads and unions agreed to
The agreement in principle was a validation of Biden’s support for unions, a politically significant factor given the movement’s role supporting Democrats in November’s midterm elections. But it also averted a prolonged shutdown of freight rail that could have hammered the economy and hurt the President and his party politically and exposed him to Republican criticism. –CNN

Now that he’s taken credit, one must assume that Joe wants the electorate to associate him, personally, with the success or failure of this effort.

Oh what a difference a month can make. With elections just around the corner, that threat of massive rail strikes — together with the crippling impact it would have on the economy — is once again casting a long shadow over an already fragile economy.

The U.S.’s third largest railroad union rejected a deal with employers Monday, renewing the possibility of a strike that could cripple the economy. Both sides will return to the bargaining table before that happens.
Over half of track maintenance workers represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division who voted opposed the five-year contract despite 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. Union President Tony Cardwell said the railroads didn’t do enough to address the lack of paid time off — particularly sick time — and working conditions after the major railroads eliminated nearly one-third of their jobs over the past six years. — Josh Funk, AP

Supposing there was a strike, what kind of impact would it have on our economy?

By industry estimates, overall costs of a strike could reach $2 billion a day.
Costs could be higher, exposing the coal, chemical and auto industries most, said Jason Miller, interim chairperson at the Department of Supply Chain Management at Michigan State’s Broad College of Business.
“Those three sectors of the economy right away are going to essentially be crippled,” he said.
And he anticipates some companies could halt operations if there’s no deal by next month. — Marketplace

We’ve been comparing Joe Biden’s failures to people in living memory. But if this goes ahead, we might have to roll back the clock to the 19th Century to see infrastructure fail THIS hard.

Do you remember the Pullman Strike of 1894 from your history class? Do you remember how it devolved into an unstable situation resulting in riots and deaths? President Cleveland sent in federal troops to resolve the situation — contrary to the express wishes of Governor Altgeld.

It is impossible to predict what cascade of secondary consequences could arise from the disruption to supply lines if our rail traffic grinds to a halt. All we know is that we have no other means of transport adequate to compensate for the disruption.

If you thought Bideninflation was bad before, wait until you see what it would look like if rail traffic shuts down.

Psalms of War: Prayers That Literally Kick Ass is a collection, from the book of Psalms, regarding how David rolled in prayer. I bet you haven’t heard these read, prayed, or sung in church against our formidable enemies — and therein lies the Church’s problem. We’re not using the spiritual weapons God gave us to waylay the powers of darkness. It might be time to dust them off and offer ‘em up if you’re truly concerned about the state of Christ’s Church and of our nation.

Also included in this book, Psalms of War, are reproductions of the author’s original art from his Biblical Badass Series of oil paintings.

This is a great gift for the prayer warriors. Real. Raw. Relevant.