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No Cap (Except on Insulin Prices)
America has this quirky little habit of making life-saving drugs unaffordable. While one vial of insulin is $12 in Canada, right across the border in the United States it’s $98. Thanks, drug companies!!! CEOs, please enjoy your 7-figure salaries and yachts and villas in France while patients struggle to afford your products.
In order to ease the burden of the high price of insulin, Democrats included a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that would cap insulin at $35 per month for seniors on Medicare. While the provision is a much-needed break for seniors who struggle to afford their healthcare costs, some House Republicans have proposed a repeal because, apparently, they are cartoon villains.
Data for Progress finds 79 percent of voters across party lines support keeping the $35 per month cap on insulin. This includes 82 percent of Democrats, 79 percent of Independents, and 76 percent of Republicans.
We know that Republicans feel like they’re supposed to be the antagonist in this drama we call the United States of America, but maybe try easing up a bit? You’re taking things a step too far and voters are clearly rooting against you here. Targeting senior citizens is generally not the vibe.
Read the full blog and polling here.
Here are some other highlights from DFP this week:
Thomas the Trash Engine.
Apparently, Sir Tophman Hatt was the villain all along. We should have known: anyone wearing a hat that tall is probably scheming.
And for real, there has been some major scheming going on behind the scenes. After President Obama implemented a safety rule in 2015 requiring electronically controlled brakes on all trains by 2023, railroad industry lobbyists fought against the regulation and it was eventually repealed by the Trump administration. Fast-forward to 2023, and a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derails in East Palestine, Ohio, creating an environmental disaster and forcing residents to evacuate their homes. How could this have been prevented? The electronic brakes!!! We somehow missed this episode of Thomas & Friends.
Data for Progress finds voters are (understandably) not very happy with rail companies like Norfolk Southern. Forty-nine percent of voters blame Norfolk Southern for the derailment in East Palestine, while 10 percent blame the Department of Transportation. Fifty percent of Democrats, 52 percent of Independents, and 47 percent of Republicans direct their blame toward Norfolk Southern. As they should. Maybe it’s worth spending extra money on brakes if it’s going to prevent toxic chemicals from seeping into the air and soil and water.
We also find voters think safety protocols should be improved on American railroads, which seems like a pretty reasonable ask. Eighty-nine percent of voters support setting higher standards for maintenance on railroads and strengthening safety regulations on railroad cars carrying explosive substances. To help improve conditions for rail workers, 80 percent of voters support ensuring that all railroad workers receive paid time off and 68 percent of voters also believe rail workers should have a salary increase.
Common-sense safety regulations and working breaks shouldn’t be such a dramatic request, but this is America and common-sense things are generally deemed unreasonable. So, railroad lobby, maybe get off your high horse (a form of transportation we’ll have to go back to at this rate) and comply with basic safety rules. Your dangerously large trains are clearly overcompensating for something, and it shows.
Read the full blog and polling here.
Jeez Louise, Minnesota will have clean energy by 2040 for cripes sake.
Minnesotans are known for being pretty nice and having an affinity for lakes, so it only makes sense that they're kind to our lovely mother Earth. What’s the point of having 10,000 gross, polluted lakes? Lake Superior needs to stay superior and she won’t settle for anything less. Gaslight, girlboss, great lake.
In between cups of Caribou Coffee, the Minnesota Democrats recently enacted a major piece of legislation that will lead Minnesota to achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2040, joining 21 other states that have clean energy goals. The rest of the states? Get your shit together. If Minnesota can “you betcha” their way to clean energy, you can too!
Data for Progress finds 57 percent of voters support generating 100 percent clean energy in Minnesota, including 90 percent of Democrats, 57 percent of Independents, and 24 percent of Republicans.
Minnesotans are clearly pumped about clean energy, but that’s still not enough for them. They’ve got more up their environmental sleeve and they’re gonna scoot right past ya to make it happen. Sixty percent of voters also support requiring new buildings in Minnesota to have zero emissions by 2036. This includes 87 percent of Democrats, 60 percent of Independents, and 32 percent of Republicans.
Minnesota’s climate policy is thriving and we absolutely love that for them. Yet, it’s time for other states to follow suit. Are we just going to avoid the 28 other states that don’t have clean energy goals? Start your clean energy journey America, it will be good for you.
Read the full blog and polling here.
It would be eggcellent if we knew what “cage-free” meant, @ Kroger.
Grocery stores are unexpectedly complicated places. Anything can be milk if you want it to be, and as The Good Place explained, when you buy a tomato you’re actually contributing to climate change and supporting toxic pesticides. The same goes for eggs, and it’s partially why we have an existential crisis when staring blankly at those little cartons. Hens raised for egg production are often confined in battery cages that prevent them from living their best hen lives. The cages are about the size of a home microwave, confine 6-8 hens, and increase the risk of salmonella. Not great! In 2016, Kroger committed to only selling cage-free eggs by 2025; however, they reneged on this commitment in 2022.
Why the change-up? Kroger claims there wasn’t enough consumer demand for cage-free eggs; however, Data for Progress finds consumers who believe they are purchasing cage-free eggs are often misled by the egg labels.
Forty-one percent of Kroger customers believe Farm Fresh indicates that chickens are not confined in cages and 45 percent of Kroger customers are unsure of what that means. Furthermore, 20 percent of Kroger customers believe Grade A eggs are cage-free and another 54 percent don’t know.
So Kroger, you might want to look in the mirror and realize that you’re actually the problem. Many customers are concerned about animal welfare and would much rather buy eggs from hens that have been allowed to perch, spread their wings, and gossip with the girlies. Most of us aren’t walking egg dictionaries, so instead of walking back on your promises, just be honest about your hens, you chickens.
Read the full memo here.
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