IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 🎬 Holiday Film, Robert Reich Reacts 🛷

[appalachiablue]

"We all do better when we all do better."

It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra. It is based on the short story and booklet "The Greatest Gift", self-published by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1943, which itself is loosely based on the 1843 Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol. The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his personal dreams to help others in his community and whose intended suicide on Christmas Eve bring about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody.

Clarence shows George all the lives he touched and what the world would be like if he had not existed. 🎄

Although it was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, It's a Wonderful Life initially received mixed reviews and was unsuccessful at the box office.. Its copyright in the U.S. expired in 1974 following a lack of renewal and it entered the public domain, allowing it to be broadcast without licensing or royalty fees, at which point it became a Christmas classic. It's a Wonderful Life is now considered to be one of the greatest films of all time and among the best Christmas films. It is no. 1 on its list of the most inspirational American films of all time...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life

[dem4decades]

1. We're living in Pottersville now, Trumpville if you please.

[appalachiablue]

2. Absolutely.. The Rise of Trumpvilles from Project 2025...

- Forbes, 'The Rise Of Trumpvilles - Project 2025 Drives Economic Displacement,' By Solange Charas, Former Contributor. Solange Charas covers the intersection of governance, HR, and finance. Mar 14, 2025. -- Photo: Hoovervilles from the 1930's
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The specter of economic displacement is rising in the U.S., with eerie echoes of the Hoovervilles that defined the Great Depression. Today, growing homelessness, stagnant wages, and declining affordability are converging with the political landscape shaped by Project 2025—a proposed policy overhaul that threatens to exacerbate these challenges. If implemented, the consequences could accelerate the emergence of "Trumpvilles"—tent encampments of economically displaced individuals—driven by policies that weaken social safety nets, restrict worker protections, and amplify economic inequality.

-'Hoovervilles, 'Shantytowns,' in the Great Depression, 1931- 1940, named for U.S. President Herbert Hoover (R).
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As Ezra Klein discusses in his podcast entitled “Is Trump ‘Detoxing’ the Economy or Poisoning it?” Trump’s economic strategy and his administration appears willing to push the economy into ‘a period of pain, maybe even a recession,’ in pursuit of long-term economic dominance. The Economic Underpinnings of Modern-Day Hoovervilles. The forces driving today’s housing and economic crises are multifaceted.

Homeownership is increasingly out of reach for middle-class Americans, rent prices continue to surge, and eviction moratoriums—temporary buffers during the pandemic—have ended.

Project 2025’s proposed reductions in federal aid programs such as Medicaid, food assistance, and unemployment benefits could strip millions of critical resources at a time when inflationary pressures and stagnant wages have already squeezed working families. The Trump administration’s shift toward a mercantilist economic model, as discussed in Gillian Tett’s recent analysis, suggests that trade wars, fluctuating tariffs, and economic instability could disproportionately impact low-income and middle-class workers.

Simultaneously, labor market trends signal volatility. Automation, AI-driven job displacement, and corporate restructuring have increased job insecurity. If Project 2025’s pro-business deregulations move forward, including reduced labor protections and the elimination of DEI initiatives, businesses will face a new wave of worker discontent, potential productivity declines, and reputational risks. - Private Sector Responsibility: A Strategic Imperative...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/solangecharas/2025/03/14/the-rise-of-trumpvillesproject-2025-drives-economic-displacement/