2018 is past. May it rest in peace. It deserves a gentle farewell because there was little that was relieving or relaxing during this most tumultuous year. There are many words or phrases that could be used to capture the year’s happenings. They include chaos, division and autocracy. In retrospect, the ones that stand out for us are: toxic justice; trumper-tantrum; and, shutdown. Let us explain why. Toxic justice. The Oxford dictionaries chose justice as its word for 2018. Merriam … [Read more...]
Wishing Americans A Happier 2019
I want to be happy But I can’t be happy Till I make you happy too These lyrics are from a hit song written for the Broadway musical comedy show No, No, Nanette, originally produced on Broadway in 1925. The show was revived in 1971, after the tumultuous sixties, in a production that reminded Americans of more innocent times. In 2018 there is evidence that we Americans are longing for simpler times again. We need someone or something to make us happy. That’s the conclusion that must … [Read more...]
Make America Great Again in Memory of George H.W. Bush
George H.W. Bush made America great. This nation is no longer what it once was. We need to Make America Great Again. In his inaugural address on January 20, 1989, President Bush declared, America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world. My friends, we have work to do. For a very short while the country tried to follow the course that … [Read more...]
Donald Trump: An Enemy Of The People
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...]