Category: Domestic Affairs

Hypocrisy On Display

This is the perfect example of a two faced individual who has managed to sell not just Democrats but all Americans a very big lie.

I am definitely not a supporter of Donald Trump. Joe Biden may be marginally better as president of the United States but at best he will return America to a world of broken promises that have been a hallmark of the Democratic Party.

In the 1970s, Biden opposed busing black students to desegregate schools and sponsored anti-busing legislation — a position that California Sen. Kamala Harris highlighted in a scathing exchange in the first Democratic presidential primary debate last year.

Biden defended not only busing but segregation in a 1975 NPR interview. “I think the concept of busing … that we are going to integrate people so that they all have the same access and they learn to grow up with one another and all the rest, is a rejection of the whole movement of black pride,” Biden said, adding that desegregation efforts are “a rejection of the entire black awareness concept, where black is beautiful, black culture should be studied, and the cultural awareness of the importance of their own identity, their own individuality.”

On a radio interview today, May 22, Biden,

“You’ve got more questions?” Biden replied. “Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”

NBC News pool reporter said she was able to listen to Biden’s opening remarks but was “quickly kicked off the phone call” once the likely Democrat nominee opened the floor to questions.

This youtube video cannot be denied. I will be voting for Biden as I hold my nose.

The Intercept is an online news publication of First Look Media, owned by Pierre Omidyar. Its editors are Betsy Reed, Glenn Greenwald, and Jeremy Scahill.

 

Dither

The one thing you can say about Donald Trump is his opinions, ideas, and plans will be reversed within minutes. Although sometimes it might be days. These changes apply to both domestic and foreign affairs.

It’s called dithering or indecisive behavior.

The latest is his decision to end the coronavirus task force. Yesterday his plan was to ‘wind down’ the force by May 30. Today Trump, reverses course and says coronavirus task force will continue ‘indefinitely.’

As recently as the end of March Trump praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping on his handling of the growing coronavirus outbreak. On March 3 Trump said “He’s now president for life, president for life. And he’s great,” “And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday,” Trump said to cheers and applause from supporters. Now Trump says China’s handling of the coronavirus is part of a plot to make him lose re-election.

At the end of June 2019 Trump announced that Chinese manufacturer Huawei will be able to once again purchase goods from U.S. technology companies.

After a public backlash, President Donald Trump has changed his mind on US immigration after signing a new order ending the controversial family separations at the US border.

Jun 20, 2019 – President Trump reportedly gave the order to bomb Iran in response to its alleged downing of a US drone before eventually changing his mind.

What will tomorrow bring? Like any entertaining soap opera. Tune in!

US GDP turns negative, worst since 2008

US GDP shrank at a 4.8% annualized rate in Q1 due to the coronavirus pausing the economy.  It is the biggest decline since the Great Recession as depicted in the graph posted here. 

Are we in a recession? Most experts agree that a recession happens when the economy shrinks for at least two fiscal quarters in a row — in other words, six months.  Note that this report is the period ending March 31.  That is a period that does not include all the massive layoffs that has resulted from the coronavirus that started in mid-March.  That leads me to suspect a recession was on the way even before the virus had really impacted the country.  We can all see where this is going.   

Some economists are predicting a rapid turnaround once stay at home orders are lifted.  Personally, I can’t imagine sitting in a restaurant until their is a vaccine for covid 19. I might walk through the mall and I will defintely go places to take picures with my mask in place. The Hollywood Bowl and other theater settings are out of the question.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

U.S. Debt to Surge Past Wartime Record, Deficit to Quadruple

Let’s start with understanding the difference between U.S. Debt and U.S. Deficit.

In simple terms, a budget deficit is the difference between what the federal government spends (called outlays) and what it takes in (called revenue or receipts). The national debt, also known as the public debt, is the result of the federal government borrowing money to cover years and years of budget deficits.

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Today this item was posted on Bloomberg News website.

U.S. Debt to Surge Past Wartime Record, Deficit to Quadruple

By Christopher Condon and Dave Merrill

April 21, 2020, 5:00 AM

The U.S. budget deficit may quadruple this year to almost $4 trillion. Projections from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) say that by 2023 U.S. debt held by the public will surpass records set in the post-World War II years. (1)

And these projections only include spending enacted so far—in a three-month-old crisis that has seen emergency Congressional appropriations top $2.3 trillion. Additional spending is almost certain as the coronavirus pandemic destroys millions of jobs and thousands of businesses while slashing tax revenues for local and state governments.

Even before the crisis, U.S. debt-to-GDP had more than doubled to 79% in 2019 from 35% in 2007. Deficit hawks, already hard to find, disappeared once the virus shut down whole swaths of the U.S. economy. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act) legislation passed on a unanimous voice vote. Lawmakers understood that frugality made no sense in the face of impending economic collapse.

Will the candidates for president in the November election even touch this issue?  Probably not.

Cry-babies just Can’t Handle the Stress of Staying Healthy

“Waah, it’s not fair. I want to go out and shop. I don’t care who it hurts.”

Los Angeles County on Saturday reported 81 new deaths related to COVID-19, the county’s highest one-day death toll from the disease by far. In the last week, deaths among L.A. County residents have roughly doubled and now stand at more than 570. This was reported in all the local newspapers.

Meanwhile just 40 miles away in Orange county California (really part of metropolitan Los Angeles) a group of more than 100 protesters converged on Huntington Beach on Friday in a demonstration against California’s coronavirus stay-at-home rules, part of a series of national demonstrations organized by conservative groups. One demonstrator carried a “Live Free or Die” banner and another reading “Defy Fascist Lockdown.”

I guess cry babies are just that. Do these people wash their hands after using the toilet?

U.S. Jobless Claims Top 20 Million Since Start of Shutdowns

New jobless claims reported today totaled 5.2 million filings for this past week. That brings the total seeking aid in a month of coronavirus-related shutdowns to 22 million workers and showing a broad shock for the U.S. labor market.

This graph shows the unemployment claims is off the chart. Notice where the unemployment rate was during the Great Recession. The graph goes to 6 million initial claims showing how disastrous the situation is now.

Thursday’s report also showed 12 million Americans received unemployment payments in the week ended April 4, a record. That is up from 7.4 million the prior week, which exceeded the highest level set in the 2007-2009 recession.

The maximum benefit in California is $450 per week.  An additional $600 will be added to that amount thanks to the CARES act passed by congress regardless of the California unemployment benefit.  It’s anticipated that the additional payments will last four months.  If your salary was $40,000 per year your weekly benefit is $385.  To qualify for the $450 benefit your annual income must have beeen at least $50,000 per year for the past year. Incidentally CARES stands for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security.

Who is to blame?

An Unmitigated Disaster

The president of the United States takes no responsibility. Those are his words.

While the number of new deaths from the coronavirus has slowed, the number of new cases has continued to climb. The real question should be how many people have the virus that are self-quarantining themselves but are unknown to the data collectors. The number of new cases has exceeded 30k every day, except one, starting April 2.

Meanwhile the total of new unemployment claims in the past three weeks exceeded 16 million people (BLS figures). Bloomberg Economics created a model last year to determine America’s recession odds. The chance of a recession now stands at 100%, confirming an end to the nation’s longest-running expansion.

The “stable genius” did not believe there would be a widespread epidemic in the United States. He fired the entire pandemic response team in 2018. On March 19, 2020, former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ​called the changes elimination. He tweeted: “The Obama-Biden Administration set up the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense to prepare for future pandemics like COVID-19. Donald Trump eliminated it — and now we’re paying the price.”

This graph compares unemployment today to the unemployment during the 2008-2009 Great Recession. The United States is already in a recession and will remain that way for the first half of the year, according to a survey of 45 economists. The assumption is that everyone will be going back to work very soon.

In an interview on Fox News on today Friday April 10, Surgeon General Jerome Adams emphasized that “now is the time for us to continue to lean into” the social-distancing recommendations first issued in mid-March and extended last week until the end of April.

“There are places around the country that have seen consistently low levels. And as we ramp up testing and can feel more confident that these places actually can do surveillance and can do public health follow-up, some places will be able to think about opening on May 1,” Adams said.

“Most of the country will not, to be honest with you, but some will,” Adams continued, “And that’s how we’ll reopen the country: place by place, bit by bit, based on the data.”

The End of The Shopping Mall?

Coronavirus closings: Macy’s, Apple, Sephora say they’ll reopen soon. But will they?

While it is impossible to forecast the recovery once the coronavirus crises has passed, you can easily see the result will be an impact on many store chains from restaurants to clothing retailers. The question is will shopping habits be permanently impacted?

Sears, JCPenney, Neiman Marcus and J. Crew were some of the most distressed companies prior to the outbreak, according to analysts. Forever XXI was in the process of being bought by Simon Shopping Centers.

7th Ave in Times Square April 7 2020
7th Ave in Times Square April 7, 2020

The Cheesecake Factory has seen a decline in same store sales decline as far back as August 2017. Most recently the CEO sent a letter to all the property owners saying they are unable to pay April’s rent at all 300 of their locations.

Sephora, a subsidiary of LVMH, announced that all stores in the U.S. and Canada will close indefinitely due to the spread of COVID-19.

We are all buying everything on line. Parking at my nearest malls has always been a challenge. Unless you just like window shopping why would you go to a mall? I’m not the only person asking this question. I will miss JCPenny.