First aid for the economy

By
Dr. Luis Contreras
-
484

Honesty and integrity are needed to heal the economy

Last Friday, Trump tweeted, “Without the horror show that is the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, the Stock Markets and Economy would be even better.” Let’s break down these lies.

Lying with statistics

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issues a monthly report. Last Friday the November numbers were released, and the GOP was overjoyed. But looking at the number of jobs and the fake unemployment rate for November says nothing about the economy. The U.S. is $1 trillion in the hole for 2019 – the budget deficit – and owes $23 trillion – the national debt.

Stock markets are not the economy

Trump tweeted, “Stock Markets Up Record Numbers. For this year alone, Dow up 18.65%, S&P up 24.36%, Nasdaq Composite up 29.17%. It’s the economy, stupid.”

Wealthy people buy and sell stocks hoping to make more money, just like playing the ponies. If you don’t bet, it does not matter which horse wins. If you are working two part-time jobs the Dow doesn’t matter!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the average price of one share of the 30 largest U.S. public companies. The New York Stock Exchange is the main trading center in the U.S. S&P and the Nasdaq are similar indices for other sectors of the economy.

Fear, uncertainty, and greed drive the stock market. Trump can crash the stock market with lies, attacks on the Federal Reserve Board, and gabbing about trade with China. The corruption at the White House and the attacks on our allies were clear once more at the U.K. NATO meeting.

The economy is sick

Some people have most of the money, and most of the people have barely enough to pay their bills. In January 2019, the U.S Treasury borrowed one trillion dollars to pay for tax cuts for the rich.

Using tariffs as weapons is an abuse of power. Trump has abused his office by imposing extraordinary tariffs and lying to America middle class who are paying higher prices. Americans are paying for the billions of dollars given as political bailout to Big Ag while small farmers sell their land.

Claiming “tariffs are creating billions and billions of dollars in revenue” is like stealing from your children to pay the bills and lying about it. During the fiasco at NATO Trump said he will decide when to lift tariffs and may wait until the 2020 election. He likes it the way it is because Americans are quietly paying 100 percent of tariffs on imports!

Trump does not have unlimited power to set tariffs. Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.” The Trade Act of 1974 allows the president to impose a 15% tariff for 150 days if there is “an adverse impact on national security from imports.” After 150 days the tariff expires unless extended by Congress. Trump’s tariffs are illegal.

Profits before people and planet are killing the U.S. economy.

Ecologists understand every project creates waste and pollution and depletes natural resources. Trump’s EPA has eliminated the Clean Water Act and many other protections, ignoring the consequences of fracking and mining.

Healing the economy

The economy, like the environment, is where we live, learn, and work. Strong economies adapt to changing conditions. A healthy economy is like a family, caring for the young and the elder, and investing in education, health, and the future. Families know how to share and care with compassion.

Eliminate the 2017 tax cut

To heal the economy the first step is simple. Rollback the tax cut!

At the end of 2017, Republicans gave millionaires and corporations a massive tax cut. U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) said, “We have a unique opportunity to deliver tax relief of a historic nature to hardworking Americans.” The result is a trillion-dollar hole per year, without jobs. In 2018, the top 50 wealthiest members of Congress had a net worth between $9 and $136 million.

Call your Congressman and demand economic justice. A mass strike may be needed.

Dr. Luis Contreras

8 COMMENTS

  2. UPDATE:

    A new CNN report, Dec 12, confirms the poor health of the economy: “Jobless claims jumped to a two-year high” – This contradicts their Dec 6 report on a booming economy issued before the Impeachment hearings.

    The new CNN report says the data from the BLS was available at the time …

    ============================= =======================

    (CNN) — The number of Americans filing for their first week of unemployment benefits suddenly jumped last week to the highest level in more than two years.

    The number of initial claims rose to 252,000 in the week ending December 7, an increase of 49,000 from the number of claims filed the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday.

    That’s higher than the 213,000 claims economists had expected and marks the highest level since the week ending September 30, 2017.

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/12/economy/unemployment-benefits-jobless-claims/index.html

  4. Big numbers are difficult to understand. Everyone knows what $100 or $1,000 means. Some know what $1,000,000 and $1,000,000,000 are … no one understands trillions

    Jan 28, 2018 – For the second straight year, the Treasury Department will have to borrow $1 trillion to pay for the government’s growing budget deficit, a consequence of juiced government spending and smaller revenues as a result of the 2017 tax cuts

    https://www.axios.com/treasury-borrowing-debt-government-spending-tax-reform-a5f699d6-31a9-41b1-861a-02329a744797.html

  5. On November 2, 2017, U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) said,

    “We have a unique opportunity to deliver tax relief of a historic nature to hardworking Americans. … I will continue to work with my colleagues to pass a pro-growth bill that simplifies the tax code, benefits hardworking Americans and creates jobs at home.”

    Boozman also promised thousands of great jobs would be created, a crazy idea Ronald Reagan named “trickle-down-economics.” It sounds good, but has never worked, rich people love their money, wealthy people did not get rich by handing out $100 bills.

    Reagan was an actor, not an economist, but he made people feel good.
    https://youtu.be/DavgzfxQBZc?t=85

    https://5newsonline.com/2017/11/02/boozman-releases-statement-on-new-tax-reform-bill/

  6. You know what they say about con-artists who love to make stories as they go

    At a press conference in London Tuesday last week, Trump told reporters that signing of a US-China trade deal is entirely at his discretion. He indicated that an agreement may not come until 2020, or later.

    “I have no deadline,” he said. “In some ways I think it’s better to wait for after the election, if you want to know the truth.”

    > US stock futures turned negative after Trump’s comments, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury plunged.

    A good friend says, there is no magic pill, you can’t fix stupid!

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/03/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html

  8. Unless you have a great job with benefits, working 5 days, 40 hours per week to pay your bills and save for a rainy day, you may be unemployed. For example: you work 2 part-time jobs, you have a dead-end job just to pay your bills, you can’t find a job in your area at all, you got laid-off and no one is hiring, you give up looking for work after weeks of trying, etc.

    There are many ways to measure unemployment. It all depends how you define the labor force, and what you want to show. The following CNN article, based on the November 2019 labor statistics, makes false and dangerous statements. It is so bad, I decided to write this op-ed on the broken US economy.

    “Donald Trump now has an obvious path to a second term”

    “The latest economic numbers — 266,000 jobs created in November, unemployment at a 50-year low — make one thing very clear: President Donald Trump has a path to win a second term next year. Presidents get credit when the economy is strong and blame when it is weak.”

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/06/politics/donald-trump-economic-numbers/index.html

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