{"id":121381,"date":"2024-11-02T23:44:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-02T16:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=121381"},"modified":"2024-11-02T23:44:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T16:44:45","slug":"listen-to-business-owners-and-voters-in-erie-pennsylvania-they-could-help-decide-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=121381","title":{"rendered":"Listen to business owners and voters in Erie, Pennsylvania. They could help decide the White House."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>ERIE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 It wasn\u2019t much when he bought it, but Michael Hooks has made the old garage his own haven. And the city of Erie knows it. Half a dozen cars honk as they pass by one October afternoon, the people hanging out of car windows to wave hello at him.<\/p>\n<p>About a dozen cars await servicing in the shop as a dog Hooks adopted the day before barks in its new cage. Exercise equipment, motorcycles and power tools abut the kitchen on the side of the renovated building where his wife cooks a meal. At 6 feet, 2 inches, and with a sturdy build, Hooks has a graying beard and a head of curls he says could be laced with snow flurries by this time of year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got to be one of the only Black businesses on this street,\u201d he says, noting that his repair shop stands on Peach Street, one of the city\u2019s main traffic arteries. He appreciates the greetings from passersby. But he says many people who know him from the neighborhoods where he grew up will never step foot in the shop. Almost all his customers are white.<\/p>\n<p>Hooks, 58, is a member of a coveted demographic in this year\u2019s election \u2014 a Black man and a business owner in a swing state. Both presidential campaigns have targeted Black entrepreneurs with their messaging, offering a range of economic policies and legislation that each side says will boost the careers and lives of African Americans.<\/p>\n<p>How Erie business owners and voters such as Hooks view each candidate\u2019s economic vision could determine control of the White House. Erie County has gone for the candidate who won Pennsylvania in every presidential election since 1992. Both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris have visited the city of 94,000 in recent weeks. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cErie is a pivot point,\u201d said Rhonda Matthews, co-founder of Erie Black Wall Street, a business group that supports local Black entrepreneurs. From population rates to business startups, the future of Erie\u2019s economy and politics have shown where the country may be heading. \u201cI think if you want to know about what\u2019s happening economically writ large in the country, you can look and see what\u2019s happening in Erie.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Concerns about \u2018a lack of predictability\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Harris has rolled out a series of economic proposals meant to tackle affordability and boost small businesses. Trump has stressed his promise of sweeping tariffs, new corporate tax cuts and an unprecedented crackdown on illegal and legal immigration to the country. <\/p>\n<p>Local leaders are weighing the impact of each agenda on their plans to renew the Rust Belt. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lack of predictability would be the worst possible thing,\u201d said Drew Whiting, CEO of the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, which is directing more than $100 million in private investment to the downtown area.<\/p>\n<p>Whiting praised federal policies such as Qualified Opportunity Zones, which are meant to spur economic development in low-income communities and were created as part of the Trump administration\u2019s 2017 tax overhaul, as well as the investments in Erie enabled by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law spearheaded by Democratic President Joe Biden. <\/p>\n<p>But Whiting added that \u201cbroad brush\u201d policies such as Trump\u2019s proposed 20% tariffs on all foreign goods threatened to be \u201can inflation bomb that would crush small businesses\u201d like those he works with. Whiting viewed Harris\u2019 proposed investments for small businesses to be a potential boon. A no tax on tips policy, which both Harris and Trump favor, would be a welcome innovation for workers, he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Infobox\" data-module=\"\" data-gtm-region=\"What to know about the 2024 Election Today's news: Follow live updates from the campaign trail from the AP. Elections, explained: We answer your election questions. Ground Game: Sign up for AP's weekly politics newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday. AP's Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Infobox-items RichTextBody\">\n<p><b>What to know about the 2024 Election<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Harris campaign has zeroed in on affordability as a key concern of voters amid rising inflation. Her proposals to punish companies that gouge prices and her promises to expand support for health care and child care are issues where the campaign believes they can lower costs for working families. Trump, by contrast, would lower the corporate tax rate to 15%, extend his tax cuts and further cut other individual and family taxes, including by eliminating taxes on Social Security. <\/p>\n<p>Most mainstream economists agree that <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-inflation-tariffs-taxes-immigration-federal-reserve-a18de763fcc01557258c7f33cab375ed\">Trump\u2019s proposals would worsen inflation<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Local business owners who spoke with The Associated Press expressed cautious optimism about Harris\u2019 proposals to support small businesses, though most were largely skeptical about the impact that federal policy could have on their lives. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s just so many factors, things to consider from right here and global factors,\u201d said Gus Paliouras, owner of New York Lunch, a local diner. Paliouras\u2019 family immigrated to the United States from Greece and bought the diner in 1970, when it was one of dozens of bustling businesses on top of a post office, school and church. Now Paliouras\u2019 diner is the only storefront left on the block.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI try to keep it like Geneva in here,\u201d he said, referring to the city in famously neutral Switzerland. \u201cIn this town, we could have Trump, Kamala and Kennedy supporters sitting right next to each other at the bar.\u201d Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was in the race until August, when he suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.<\/p>\n<h2>One business owner sees his city\u2019s divisions<\/h2>\n<p>Hooks considers himself a survivor.<\/p>\n<p>Born and raised in Erie, Hooks grew up in poverty and with few options, support or direction for his life. At 23, he was sentenced to 30 years for dealing marijuana. He served eight years in prison, an experience he described as \u201cthe best thing that ever happened to me.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Prison was the first place Hooks was exposed to scripture \u2014 the Bible and Quran \u2014 as well as stories about travel, business and history.<\/p>\n<p>While he has transformed his circumstances and overcome \u201ctrials and tribulations that made me a better man,\u201d he finds the distinctions that some draw between poor, working and middle-class people to be meaningless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s because we have people in this country that want to be better than someone else,\u201d he said in a recent interview. \u201cYou drive a Toyota Camry, I drive the Lexus. It\u2019s the same &#8230; car. It\u2019s just a different name, but it\u2019s a higher status.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor example, (Harris) says she wants to give us a $50,000 tax break or whatever,\u201d he added, referring to the vice president\u2019s proposed tax credit for new small businesses. \u201cBut that could never come into fruition with people that think they better than somebody, but you live next door to me, and your sign says Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his car care company, Hooks now runs a food catering business. On the weekends he goes back to the neighborhoods where he grew up to feed, clothe and cut hair for kids for free. His charity efforts are focused on making sure children never have the experiences he once faced.<\/p>\n<p>Hooks is skeptical of the ability of politicians to change fundamental problems facing everyday Americans, but says he\u2019ll be voting for Harris. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump had the opportunity to be great,\u201d Hooks said, but called Trump\u2019s first term a \u201cdisaster.\u201d Hooks said he preferred \u201cgoing with someone who may at least try and help the little guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n              appId : '870613919693099',\n          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };\n  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/black-entrepreneurs-election-harris-trump-erie-pennsylvania-5056e4316b17641ab2fb5e8942009085\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ERIE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 It wasn\u2019t much when he bought it, but Michael Hooks has made the old garage his own haven. And the city of Erie knows it. Half &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=121381\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}