The Fed hits the coronavirus panic button and makes things worse

The politics of mismanagement should be the headline of the day. Donald Trump does not understand how markets function but is living in fear that the United States is heading into a recession as we approach an election. Fed chair Jerome Powell seems more inclined to do Trump’s bidding then do the right thing. The right thing is do nothing. I’ve not sold any of my stocks. Panic just results in losses. I believe the country will survive. It’s Trump who is in a panic!

The stock market’s reaction to the coronavirus is big news. Dow Jones Industrial Average had largest point decline in the history of the index! The S&P 500 had dropped more than 11% from Monday through Friday, which made for its biggest weekly decline since the 2008 financial crash.

Last week’s showing was indeed rare. The final week of February 2020 rates as the third- worst Monday-through-Friday by performance by the S&P 500 since 1976.

So the Fed reacting to what it believes will be a harsh condemnation by President Trump slashed interested rates by a half of a percentage point.

But the market seemed to understand that there is the expectation of a recession and that concern has resulted in another 800 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A drop of more than 3%.

If this drop in the stock market is a signal for a coming recession the answer to support the economy will have to be federal stimulus like infrastructure projects and perhaps a temporary reduction in payroll taxes. I doubt the Democrats will do either before the election. After all they will see a recession as an opportunity to win both the presidency and the senate.

Joe Biden’s campaign got a last-minute defibrillation in South Carolina

That was the headline posted by The Week magazine.

Joe Biden may have won the South Carolina primary but as the Democratic Party nominee he will be totally destroyed by Donald Trump. It’s not just the name calling that any Democratic Party nominee will be will have to endure. Trump has been collecting a long list of reasons not to vote for Biden. First will be his son’s overpaid earnings in Ukraine. Another will be his opposition to forced busing as defined by Kamala Harris. Yet another will be his treatment of Anita Hill in the Supreme Court hearing in the approval of Clarence Thomas.

Finally have you listened to Joe Biden? He does not have a single proposal on helping the working and middle classes of this country. Bernie Sanders is correct when he says working people incomes are no better than they were 40 years ago. Actually they are worse. Forty years ago it took just one person in a family of four to make ends meet. Today it takes both husband and wife working full time to make it in America.

Michael Bloomberg is the Moderate Republican parading as a Democrat

Michael Bloomberg supports the idea that climate change is a real problem needing human intervention, supports a woman’s right to an abortion, and he supports tougher gun control laws but on other topics high on the Democratic Party agenda his views are in opposition to their views.

He has a history of supporting Republicans for office including the Bush-Cheney ticket in 2004. He once called Social Security “a Ponzi Scheme.” He opposed raising the minimum wage. He blamed the 2008 Great Recession, in part, on laws against predatory lending. He denounced Obamacare and Dodd-Frank. Until recently he stood by his Stop and Frisk NYC police policy. He was an apologist for the Russian takeover of Crimea and has a long record of making demeaning comments about women.

Now that he is running for president in an obvious field of liberal leaning Democrats his views for this election cycle have conveniently come in sync with his opponents. Politico.com summarizes those views.

If the primary objective of the Democrats is to make Donald Trump a one term president then perhaps Bloomberg is the right choice. After all money for the campaign is unlimited since Bloomberg is the 17^th wealthiest person in the world. That fact is according to Forbes magazine.

That magazine estimates his wealth at $61.9 billion As of February 2020. He earned his fortune through his financial information and media company Bloomberg LP, which he co-founded in 1981 and now owns 88 percent of the business.

Should Americans vote for him to be president? Every candidate has flaws. We are all going to have to overlook flaws when we make our choice in the voting booth. How badly do we want to remove Trump from office?

To Hell with You! Money is More Important than Anything Else!

Sadly it is greed that drives Americans. We want the biggest house. We want the most luxurious cars. We want the most expensive jewelry. Scrooge McDuck simply reflects that attitude.

In America’s richest town, $500,000 a year is now below average. That is the headline of a bloomberg.com article. Under Politics on the same website is an article titled Soak-the-Rich Tax Plans Take Hold in the Entire Democratic Field.

USNews.com reports that In the U.S., there are 607 billionaires, up from 586 last year and 404 in 2010, and 14 of the world’s 20 richest are from the U.S. CNN reports that Most U.S. jobs pay under $20 an hour and 18 million jobs pay $10 or less an hour. Fast food workers seem to be the lowest paid group at $8.81 per hour.

The Walton family heirs are billionaires but the average wage for a full-time, hourly worker at Walmart is $14.26 an hour. And while Jeff Bezos just purchased a home in Los Angeles for $165 million (.13% of his total wealth) the typical Amazon Warehouse Worker makes $14 per hour.

Is it any wonder that Bernie Sanders is the front runner in the Democratic Party primaries?

Swapping Michael Bloomberg for Donald Trump won’t change the fact that protection of the rich from taxes is a reality. Income from property owned and interest/dividends received are taxed at lower rates than earned income. We need a new way of enabling all Americans to live comfortably without the fear of loss of their home and accumulated wealth brought on by high medical bills and other unforeseen expenses.

Where are the ideas other than socialism? None of the Democratic Party candidates has an idea other than a wealth tax. Joe Biden’s response to the question at a town hall was we’ll find a way. Debate moderators never ask the difficult questions.

Four more years of Donald Trump seems the likely outcome in November.

Donald Trump is obtaining a big boost from the Democratic Party

Donald Trump was happy to see the circular firing squad at the Las Vegas debate.

Clearly Michael Bloomberg was seriously beaten by all the other candidates on tonight’s debate. But with all of his money he will most likely continue splashing the air waves and the internet with his “Mike will get it Done” advertising.

Elizabeth Warren was clearly the debate winner who attacked most of the others but was especially tough on Bloomberg when she said, “A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians, and no I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.” Whether those attacks puts her into a number one, two or three position in polling remains to be seen.

The question that was not as asked by the moderators should have been How do you intend to win against Donald Trump in purple and red states? Bernie Sanders, the current front runner among Democrats is a socialist by his own admission. Socialism is a dirty word in this country. How can he possibly win in those states? The answer is he can’t.

Trump is thrilled by the latest polling. If Sanders is the Democratic Party nominee you can count on Donald Trump winning a second term.

Joe Biden it’s Time to Graciously Step Aside – You Need to Go Now!

Like Marvin K. Mooney, Joe Biden does not know when it’s time to leave.

“After a fourth-place finish in Iowa and a fifth-place finish in New Hampshire, it’s time to take a good, hard look at former vice president Joe Biden, the once-dominant, now-floundering Democratic “front-runner.” Not to get too technical about it, but I would like to postulate that the Democratic front-runner should be, you know, in front” writes Washington Post commentator Molly Jong-Fast.

She is correct. Joe Biden has hidden from the media for just one reason. He does not want to come under any scrutiny. He has refused most interview opportunities including appearing on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC pro-democratic party program. Finally today he appeared on Meet the Press where Chuck Todd did not ask him one hard ball question. Instead Biden spoke about how he is a progressive but offered not one new idea that all other candidates haven’t all spoken about. His lack of passion was on display. I cannot imagine an army of volunteers stepping up to participate in a Joe Biden campaign against Donald Trump.

Trump has successfully eliminated Biden as the Democratic Party nominee. Perhaps that was all planned. Perhaps Trump believes that no other Democratic Party nominee would have a remote chance of winning in November. I would disagree with that idea. The Hunter Biden job in Ukraine was the knife that killed Biden’s race. Biden’s defense of his son was a miserable failure. Calling a female student “a lying dog-faced pony soldier” at a rally when she asked about the Hunter Biden affair only made things worse.

Joe, you need to end your campaign before you are embarrassed by more losses. I suggest you enjoy your grandchildren. Take a cruise in the Caribbean or on the Mediterranean. Oceania Cruise lines offers some really great experiences and most of their passengers are about your age. Dr. Seuss is correct. You need to go Now!

Hottest Economy in the World

The reality is that you can make the statistics lie. The United States government has been telling these lies for decades. Presidents of both political parties have promoted the lies. They keep telling the lies because Americans are gullible. If the next president is a Democrat he too will tell us the same lies.

Bloomberg versus Trump – Ain’t We Got Fun

Donald J. Trump is, according to Forbes, worth $3.1 Billion.
Michael Bloomberg is, according to Forbes, worth $61.8 Billion.

So what? After the first billion dollars what difference does it make?

Bloomberg seems to be inching up in the Democratic Party polls. He could become the Democratic Party candidate against Trump.

Let’s leave the name calling aside.

My question is which of these people really cares about middle class and working class Americans?

My opinion? Neither of them.

Their main objective is to preserve their wealth and the wealth of their friends.

When I bought my first home I qualified for the mortgage without including my wife’s salary. Over the years my salary raises did not keep up with inflation. Today it takes two salaries to sustain a household. Presidents during those years were both Democrats and Republicans. It made no difference. I continued to fall behind.

Which party will make a difference to middle class and working class families?

Neither Donald J. Trump nor Michael Bloomberg give a God-damn about you.

We are fucked. We have been fucked and most of us are too stupid to realize it will just keep happening!

Like the song says: “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

Ain’t We Got Fun

Bill collectors gather ’round and rather
Haunt the cottage next door
Men the grocer and butcher sent
Men who call for the rent
But within a happy chappy
And his bride of only a year
Seem to be so cheerful, here’s an earful
Of the chatter you hear

Ev’ry morning, ev’ry evening
Ain’t we got fun?
Not much money, Oh, but honey
Ain’t we got fun?
The rent’s unpaid dear
We haven’t a bus
But smiles were made dear
For people like us

In the winter in the Summer
Don’t we have fun
Times are bum and getting bummer
Still we have fun
There’s nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get children
In the meantime, in between time
Ain’t we got fun?

Just to make their trouble nearly double
Something happened last night
To their chimney a gray bird came
Mister Stork is his name
And I’ll bet two pins, a pair of twins
Just happened in with the bird
Still they’re very gay and merry
Just at dawning I heard

Ev’ry morning, ev’ry evening
Don’t we have fun
Twins and cares, dear, come in pairs, dear
Don’t we have fun
We’ve only started
As mommer and pop
Are we downhearted
I’ll say that we’re not

Landlords mad and getting madder
Ain’t we got fun?
Times are so bad and getting badder
Still we have fun
There’s nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get laid off
In the meantime, in between time
Ain’t we got fun?

When the man who sold ’em carpets told ’em
He would take them away
They said, “Wonderful, here’s our chance
Take them up and we’ll dance”
And when burglars came and robbed them
Taking all their silver, they say
Hubby yelled, “We’re famous, for they’ll name us
In the peppers today

Night or daytime, it’s all playtime
Ain’t we got fun?
Hot or cold days, any old days
Ain’t we got fun
If Wifey wishes
To go to a play
Don’t wash the dishes
Just throw them away

Streetcar seats are awful narrow
Ain’t we got fun?
They won’t smash up our Pierce Arrow
We ain’t got none
They’ve cut my wages
But my income tax will be so much smaller
When I’m laid off, I’ll be paid off
Ain’t we got fun?

Best of luck Joe

Joe Biden was and is a very decent human being, despite some mistakes, and an effective legislator and later Vice-President. But his time has passed and I agree with those who feel he’s running out of duty and concern for country. He has lost his spunk and I honestly believe he does not have it in him to come back with a quick punch when the Orange Hulk starts stalking him on the debate stage (as he did with Hillary) while hurling insults and threats of locking him up.

You see, I believe Biden made a huge tactical error in not forcefully fighting back when attempts to smear him and his son on Ukraine came to light. Faint denials were not enough, he should have gone on a media blitz demanding that Trump present proof, demanding that an open and public investigation be initiated and even suing Trump for defamation. He did none of those things thus allowing the cloud of malfeasance to fester and grow. In addition, as a politician Biden should have known that being pure and innocent is not enough because one has to give the “appearance” of such. Thus, he should have anticipated that the optics of Hunter Biden joining Burisma were not good and could be exploited for political gain by a corrupt opponent in the future and he should have warned Hunter, such as it’s happening now.

Biden’s inability to see the optics lead to him refusing to appear on Sunday morning political programs while other Democratic presidential hopefuls jumped at every opportunity to appear. Pete Buttigieg appeared on five of those programs of Sunday February 9.

That Biden was grieving is understandable but not a good enough excuse. Best of luck Joe and many thanks for your service to this country.