This Week in Politics

By Sydney Carroll

Hello, friends! Ever struggled to read the news because the words were too big or it required too much prior knowledge to understand the subject? Well, fear not! Here I’ve decided to break down the major news stories happening right now in layman’s terms, so that you can know what’s going on in the world and hopefully understand it too. 

On Russia/Ukraine

This is pretty much what everyone’s talking about: will there be a world war three? And while my personal answer is no, others may differ. The basic summary of the conflict is that Russia plans to take over Ukraine, and their reasoning is divided into 3 categories:

1. Resources. Tons of natural gas pipelines run through Ukraine, and they would have uninhibited access to all of those pipelines.
2. Power. One, Russia just wants power over all of Eastern Europe, and expanding through taking over Ukraine, a former soviet territory, is a way to potentially regain land. Second, Ukraine was in talks to join NATO, a group of allies including the US that promises defense resources to member nations. Through taking over Ukraine, Russia would deny Ukraine the opportunity to join NATO, and thus assert its hegemony over the US and its allies by taking away a potential Eastern European member state. 
3. Attention. Genuinely. All Putin wants is to get Biden and Jinping (China’s president)’s attention, even if it means invading a major nation. 

Will Russia do it? My thoughts are no, but others believe adamantly that plans to seize Ukraine are well underway.  Think of it this way: Russia is Kanye, Ukraine is Julia Fox, the US is Kim, and the allies are Pete Davidson. In order to get Kim (USA)’s attention, Kanye (Russia) is going to start dating Julia Fox (Ukraine) and literally won’t shut up about it or how much it hates Pete Davidson (the allies). Kim is going to ask Kanye to stop, but Kim knows the same thing about Kanye that the US knows about Russia: you can’t fight crazy. The US has taken action against Russia by joining with other nations to impose sanctions (restrictions on trade) on Russia, but usually US sanctions on Russia don’t work. The US also deployed troops to Russia which is sure to increase pressure, but at the end of the day Russia is gonna do what Russia is gonna do, even if the whole world tells them not to. 

On Omicron

COVID is much like assembly – every time you think it’s over, something else happens. However, omicron does provide a promising sign of the pandemic slowing. Traditionally, epidemiologists have found that a pandemic will mutate into a less virulent strain before becoming an endemic (a common sickness like the cold or flu). While omicron’s symptoms are less severe than that of Delta or Alpha, it’s important to note that for the immunocompromised and unvaccinated, COVID still provides great risk. However, as mask/vaccine restrictions are easing nationwide, the nation may soon be returning to our pre-COVID way of life – but we’re not out of the woods yet. 

On Midterms

Midterm elections take place 2 years into a presidential term, but they don’t actually involve the president. Midterms, rather, are for congress. Because members of the House of Representatives serve 2 year terms, every member is up for reelection every midterm and presidential election. However, the Senate is a bit more confusing as their terms are 6 years and they’re quite staggered in terms of when people are up for reelection, so midterms are always a toss-up in terms of who is up for reelection. Because midterms are taking place this November, campaigns are beginning to heat up. Now, how you feel about midterms depends entirely on your political party. Republicans/Conservatives? Sit back and relax. Democrats/Liberals/Leftists? Lie face down on the ground and cry. Basically, for the past 2 years Democrats have had control of the presidency (Biden), the House of Representatives (10 member majority), and the Senate (weird one person majority that would take too much time to explain). As you can see, the Dems don’t exactly have a sweeping majority, and they’re likely to lose both the House and potentially the Senate in Midterms. This is for 3 key reasons:

1. Every 10 years, the lines of the districts to vote are redrawn because of the census. As the census took place in 2020, lines are being redrawn right now for midterms. Republicans are taking advantage of the fact that they control redistricting committees in 38/50 states, and are gerrymandering. Basically, gerrymandering means that they’re redrawing districts to make sure Republican votes count more. It’s confusing and not something you really need to learn here, but definitely look it up. 
2. Biden isn’t doing too hot. His approval rating is in the toilet even though he’s objectively not horrible. How the president is doing directly affects which party people will vote for in midterms, meaning that people won’t necessarily be voting for Republicans, but rather voting against Biden. 
3. Democrats had the majority for 2 years and really didn’t accomplish much outside of the infrastructure bill. Now I could go into a detailed explanation about the filibuster and Joe Manchin, but once again, outside of my jurisdiction. See google. Basically what you need to know is that people don’t like that Dems didn’t do anything and will vote against them. 

However, like any other election, midterms can be swung in any direction by the slightest change in the political sphere. Take what’s happening right now with a grain of salt, as it could change at pretty much any minute. 

On Inflation

You’ve probably gone to the gas pumps or supermarkets recently and noticed a MAJOR jump in prices. Well, this is all due to inflation. Inflation is the phenomenon that occurs when there is more demand for goods than there is supply of goods – for instance, right now people need gas, but there isn’t enough gas for everyone. So, prices go up because that makes the product more valuable. The media is blaming high inflation on everything from COVID to Biden to China – just pick your poison. The good thing to know is that while the majority of news sources are sounding the alarm on inflation, economists are forecasting that we’re currently in the peak of inflation right now, and that things should calm starting in April. Inflation is similar to a breakup – it’s going to get worse before it gets better. However, given that we’re in the thick of it right now, it’s safe to say inflation will be receding from here on out.