Category: Domestic Affairs

Weekly Jobless Claims Plunge to 199,000

Jobless claims reached the lowest level in more than 50 years. This is the lowest level for initial claims since November 15, 1969 when it was 197,000. The 71,000 slide marks the eighth straight week of declines, a reflection of a tight labor market that has companies scrambling to retain and expand their workforces.

Unemployment is still higher than it was before the pandemic, resignations are soaring, and employers are struggling to keep their workers. Workers are demanding higher pay and walking away from jobs that don’t provide a living wage or are just plain boring and don’t offer an opportunity for more satisfying work.

Inflation may be up but the economy is growing. Most businesses are seeing higher profits.

Thanks Joe, You Had Your Turn!

President Joe Biden is in serious trouble despite the fact that his infrastructure bill has been passed.  His social infrastructure bill of $3 Trillion has been striped down to a mere $1.75 Trillion and is looking to be stripped to an even smaller size. Inflation reports by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just reported that inflation rose 6.2% in the past year. Add to that the supply chain issues that are causing shortages in the things we want, the sloppy withdrawal from Afghanistan, the unconquered COVID-19 pandemic, the likely control of Congress passing to the Republicans next November and you have the formula for a one term president.

The infrastructure bill that will be signed on Monday November 15 will deliver $550 billion of new federal investments in America’s infrastructure over five years, including money for roads, bridges, mass transit, rail, airports, ports and waterways. The package includes a $65 billion investment in improving the nation’s broadband infrastructure, and invests tens of billions of dollars in improving the electric grid and water systems. Another $7.5 billion would go to building a nationwide network of plug-in electric vehicle chargers, according to the bill text. The public is not impressed.

In a new WaPo-ABC poll In a new WaPo-ABC poll

  • 63% of respondents said Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little or nothing” so far in his presidency. A full 45% said he’s done “little or nothing” — that’s worse than the numbers for then-Presidents DONALD TRUMP, BARACK OBAMA or BILL CLINTON at comparable points in their presidencies.
  • Just 31% said he’s kept most of his major campaign promises — also a worse figure than Trump, Obama or Clinton received.
  • 70% rated the economy as “not so good” or “poor.”

    While the 2024 presidential election is three years away likely candidates are laying their plans now. The winner will not be President Joe Biden nor past president Donald Trump. We want a unifier but politics will be getting in the way.

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

Every election results in one winner and losers.  The winner won the most votes.  That is the American democracy.  With two major political parties the winner will likely be a Republican or a Democrat.  The first national election was 1789.  The election system has made America the example for the rest of the world.

In Virginia, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe by a margin of 50.9 percent to 48.4 percent as of midday Friday. In New Jersey, Democrat Phil Murphy defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli by a nearly identical margin, 50.8 percent to 48.5 percent.

In Virginia, McAuliffe conceded defeat the morning after the election. In New Jersey, Ciattarelli refused to concede.

This is the new GOP response when their candidate loses an election. If we win no matter how close it was a fair election. If our candidate lost there was cheating and fraud.

This is all taken from the Donald Trump playbook.

If this becomes the standard then we can kiss the American democracy goodbye.

It’s all about Leadership

Thanks to a divided Democratic Party the original $3.5 trillion social safety net and combat climate change bill has been whittled down to $1.75 trillion over a decade.

The 1.5 trillion dollar infrastructure bill contains basic needs of the country such as roads, lead-free pipes, bridges, and funds for public transportation. These are clear necessities of the nation that fit the very definition of infrastructure.

So what’s the problem?

The progressive wing of the Democratic Party insists that both of these laws be passed together or they will vote for no bills.  Essentially they are saying if we can’t get what we want we would rather have nothing.  On the moderate side of the Party two senators want the $3.5 trillion bill cut to $1.5 trillion.

President Biden says it’s all about compromise.  The GOP is thrilled.  The Democratic Party is giving the Republicans a campaign gift in 2022. 

The Republicans will be telling everyone that the Democratic Party cannot govern.

The dictatorships of the world are clapping their hands with joy.  They are saying to their people “see, democracy doesn’t work.”

My question is not just why should these two bills be linked but instead why not introduce a series of laws to address different issues?  For example, why not create legislation to make Medicaid more accessible? Why not pass legislation that will enable Medicare to negotiate lower prices?  Why should these things be linked to anything else?

Public perception is everything.  As it stands today the Democratic Party is likely to lose both houses of Congress next November.  That will put President Joe Biden in the same category as other one term presidents.  Those who were unable to unify the nation and successfully address real issues.

It appears likely Americans will be voting for a Republican president in November 2024.  

Huddled Masses Are Not Welcome Here!

This is a title I really hated to post.

Statue of Liberty in New York harbor

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Words on the 1903 bronze plaque located in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

President Biden on Friday said the treatment of Haitian migrants this week was “beyond an embarrassment.” “It sends the wrong message around the world,” Biden said. “It’s simply not who we are.” But what he said was a lie.

America’s history on its treatment of immigrants trying to escape life threatening situation proves that fact.  Irish in the 1800s, Iraqis after the Sept. 11 attacks, Mexicans and Central Americans for decades — have encountered a hostile environment.  Mexican farm workers have been allowed into the Untied States to pick our fruits and vegetables but never given legal status to live in the United States.

On May 13, 1939, the German transatlantic liner St. Louis sailed from Hamburg, Germany, for Havana, Cuba. On the voyage were 937 passengers. Almost all were Jews fleeing from the Third Reich. The US State Department in Washington, the US consulate in Havana, some Jewish organizations, and refugee agencies were all aware of the situation. The passengers themselves were not informed; most were ultimately compelled to return to Europe where many died at the hands of the Nazis.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. Many Americans on the West Coast attributed declining wages and economic ills to Chinese workers. Although the Chinese composed only .002 percent of the nation’s population, Congress passed the exclusion act to placate worker demands and assuage prevalent concerns about maintaining white “racial purity.”

A month before the 2020 presidential election, Biden stumped in Little Haiti in Miami. Biden promised Haitians that he would ensure that Haiti and the Haitian people are treated with the “respect and dignity that they deserve.”

Mr. President you and your predecessors have failed to be uphold the promises made.  You should be ashamed but you probably aren’t. Someone should take President Biden to the Statue of Liberty.

America’s Billonaires

According to Forbes magazine the United States has more billionaires than any other country in the world, 724. The number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755–660 more than a year ago.

The world’s richest person is Jeff Bezos with a net worth of $113 Billion.

There is something wrong with a society that has hundreds if super wealthy citizens while thousands of citizens are struggling to pay for housing, food, and health care. What do you do with $100 million dollars? How many parties do you go to? How many cruises do you take?

I don’t expect our government to do anything about the issue. Congress can’t even agree to pay the bills for programs that have already been approved.

California’s Government is a Failure

Larry Elder was a gift to Governor Gavin Newsom. Follows are his views.

Elder opposes the minimum wage and gun control. He’s said he doesn’t believe that a gender wage gap exists, and has called the climate crisis a “crock”. He has suggested that fatherless families drive up crime rates in Black communities. During the coronavirus crisis, he has given a platform to Covid-19 conspiracy theorists, including a self-identified physician who promoted the false claim that coronavirus vaccines were being pushed in minority communities as “population control”. Elder has said he has been vaccinated but has vowed to repeal California’s mask and vaccine requirements if he wins the governorship.

The Elder platform is the reason Newsom was not recalled.

Forget the social issues that divide Democrats and Republicans. California’s state government has failed.

The list of things that our California government has failed to address is long.  Neither Jerry Brown nor Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party controlled legislature has addressed any of these issues in a meaningful way.

In the long term climate change is an issue but there are many other issues that demand immediate attention.

-The income gap.  California has more millionaires than any other state but also has one of the highest poverty rates.

-Low minimum wage law.  The low rate of pay perpetuates poverty.

-Homelessness. It’s not just the drug addicted and mentally challenged.  The poorly paid cannot afford an apartment.  Many are living in motorhomes.

-Lack of affordable housing.  Low cost housing units are in short supply and the building codes and zoning laws prevent construction due to regulations and high construction costs.

-Poorly managed state agencies.  Examples are the delays in payment of unemployment benefits, long lines at DMV facilities.  

 -High cost of college education. $46 per unit at two year community colleges.  State university’s fee is $396 per semester unit and $264 per quarterly unit.

-Water shortage.  Yes it is a natural disaster but where is the plan to ensure both agriculture and urban areas have adequate supplies?

-Death penalty.  A ballot measure retaining that law was passed by the public but Gavin Newsom has suspended its use.

-Bullet train. In their voter guides, Californians were informed of an estimate from the California High-Speed Rail Authority estimating that, “the total cost to develop and construct the entire high-speed train system would be about $45 billion.” Current estimates place the possible cost as high as around $100 billion.  Newsom has scaled back the project to 171 miles from Merced to Bakersfield.

-Taxes. California has the highest income tax rate in the nation.

First there is the issue of jobs that pay enough to live comfortably without the need for food stamps and rent subsidies.

The big employers have either closed or moved

  • Toyota: 3,000 jobs moved to Texas
  • Walt Disney: 2,000 jobs moved to Florida
  • Lockheed Martin: 5,000 jobs moved to Georgia
  • Rocketedyne
  • General Motors
  • Price Pfister
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise

When all of those companies left California the state government was silent in the press.

California needs new leadership.

Boston is About to Elect a Non-White Mayor

This is what scares White supremacists more than anything else.  White people are a shrinking part of America’s population.

Leading candidates for mayor of Boston

As reported in the Washington Post all the leading candidates are women of color.  The leading candidate for mayor of NYC, Eric Adam, is Black.  The leading Republican candidate, Larry Elder, in California’s recall election is Black.

Many states are passing voting restrictions to limit minorities ability to vote.  Those states are either in the South or are primarily rural agricultural with relatively small populations.

The next political battle is likely to be the congressional redistricting based on the 2020 census.  Look for many court battles.

What is worse is the divide that between White supremacists and the rest of us.  Those Whites actually fear their lives are in danger.

Hate is hard to combat!