In the days following the mailing of letter bombs to more than a dozen Democratic leaders across the country, and the killing of eleven Jews in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Donald Trump made a feeble and half-hearted attempt to tone down his mid-term election rally rhetoric. Trump was unable to constrain himself completely, however, as he continued to cast salvos at his favorite target, the “fake news” media, naming them — as he has often in the past — the enemy of the … [Read more...]
Donald Trump: Nationalist? Globalist? Something Else?
You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, OK? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing — use that word. Use that word. Thus proclaimed President Donald Trump at a rally for Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in Houston on October 22. Trump reaffirmed his proclamation in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on October 29 in which he explained: I look at two things, globalists and nationalists. I’m somebody that wants to take care of our country, because for many, many … [Read more...]
A “Radical” Proposal for Starting Up Rural and Urban Small Business Engines
Over the past few years the American economy has continued to recover, and this year the American economy has been firing on all cylinders. Because of this, access to capital for businesses of all sizes has increased substantially. As the Federal Reserve noted in a 2017 Report, however, “By 2017, credit flows to small businesses had improved, though they remained below their pre-crisis levels.” Small business access to capital varies considerably. Businesses in certain urban and rural locations … [Read more...]
Time To Increase Government Investment In Small Business
In the first week of October, President Donald Trump donated $100,000 — one quarter of his annual salary for this year — to the Small Business Administration. This money is to be used in a training program to help veterans make the transition to the private sector. President Trump’s donation should be viewed as a generous gesture. It could also be seen as an indication, as SBA administrator Linda McMahon stated in announcing the award, that “he clearly understands the value of small … [Read more...]
America’s Uncivil War
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...]