The American civil war was fought between 1861 to 1865. It resulted in the deaths of an estimated 620,000 people. America’s current uncivil war began near the end of the 20th century; ramped up a little at the beginning of this 21st century; accelerated in the second decade of the century, and, has moved into nearly full-fledged and continuous conflict since Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2017. There are not many dead yet from this escalation. But this war has affected … [Read more...]
It’s Time to Forget About GDP and Think IEW
After it was officially announced that the U.S. GDP had grown at an annualized rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter of this year, President Trump provided remarks to the press on the South Lawn of the White House. As is his want as a “serial exaggerator”, Trump made several claims that were not entirely factual. They included: “…the economy grew at an amazing rate of 4.1. percent.” “We’ve accomplished an economic turnaround of historic … [Read more...]
The USA: No More Poor?
Are there no more poor people in the United States of America? That’s what the following statement in the report, Expanding Work Requirements in Non-Cash Welfare Programs (Expanding Work Requirements Report), recently released by the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) implies: “Based on historical standards of material well-being and the terms of engagement, our War on Poverty is largely over and a success.” Is that assertion correct? Have the … [Read more...]
American Big Business Stifling the American Dream
In our book Renewing the American Dream published in 2010, we provided the following conceptualization of the American Dream: The American Dream is the opportunity each and every citizen has to realize one’s personal potential and to achieve success, generally measured as economic security. The fundamental elements of the dream are getting educated and working hard in order to have a good job that pays decent wages, provides adequate benefits, puts food on the table, a … [Read more...]
The “Stable Genius” Revealed
Donald Trump has recently re-asserted that he is a “stable genius.” When we first heard Trump’s proclamation we thought he meant he was good at working in a building with stalls for horses. Seriously, we recognize that Trump intended to communicate that he was a rock steady person with a very high IQ. Trump has been bragging about his IQ for some time. We shared our opinion on the President’s IQ in a Huffington Post blog titled “Alternative Perspectives on … [Read more...]
General Eclectic
A Lesson on the Need for Focus from GE. General Electric set the standard for business success in the 20th century. In 1999, Fortune magazine named Jack Welch, its CEO at the time, the best manager of the century. GE was one of the original businesses on the Dow Jones industrial average, established in 1907. On June 26, GE was dropped from the blue chip index, replaced by the Walgreen’s Boots Alliance drug store chain. In the first eighteen years of this new century, GE’s … [Read more...]
1968 to 2018 The Arc of American History
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. – Martin Luther King 1968 was a watershed year for the United States of America and us. It appears that 2018 may be so as well. 1968 is the year that Martin Luther King and Robert Francis Kennedy were tragically assassinated. It is also the year that Frank Islam came to the U.S. from India to study computer science at the University of Colorado in Boulder and Ed Crego, after serving in Vietnam, joined the staff … [Read more...]
Ensuring An Effective Civic Education-Time To Strike Up The Band
What are the ingredients for an effective civic education? In March of this year, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) issued a position statement that declared, At its core, civic education should provide students with the ability to take informed action to address problems relevant to life in a democratic republic. It should target the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to ensure that young people are truly capable of becoming active and … [Read more...]
The Struggle for America’s Head, Heart and Soul
Since the beginning of this year, there have been a spate of books such as Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury; David Cay Johnston’s It’s Even Worse than You Think; and James Comey’s A Higher Loyalty that “spill the beans” on Donald Trump. While entertaining reads, they do not provide much insight into the future of this democracy. Three new books released within the past few months do so — because they provide perspectives on the ongoing struggle for America’s head, heart … [Read more...]
The Trump Divert-Autocracy
For some time now, we have been mulling over how best to describe Donald Trump’s approach to governing. Others have labeled it an autocracy, an oligarchy, and even a theocracy. Recently it dawned on us that because of Trump’s unique style and persona no existing term could depict it completely or accurately. So, we have coined divert-autocracy as a new compound word to capture the essence of Trump-ness. This divert-autocracy is a full frontal assault on the United States … [Read more...]