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Reports of protests are overblown. A few incidents around the country, but nothing major.

5 (45.5%)

A few major incidents in capitals, but nothing much in DC.

5 (45.5%)

A major incident in DC, but nothing much around the country.

0 (0%)

More than 10 capitals have major upheavals, but nothing much in DC.

0 (0%)

A major incident in DC plus more than 10 capitals with significant upheavals.

1 (9.1%)

More than half the capitals around the country have problems with protesters, but DC is quiet.

0 (0%)

DC has major problems, while more than half the capitals around the country also have considerable trouble with protesters.

0 (0%)

Huge disruption to the day.

0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 9

Voting closed: January 19, 2021, 10:49:21 PM

[NeedsAdjustments]

Economic News Update

The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in April as payrolls in the services sector grew by the most in more than two years, according to data released Wednesday by ADP and Moody’s Analytics.

Private payrolls grew by 275,000 last month, the biggest increase since July, when they expanded by 284,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected private payrolls growth of 177,000.

Services-providing jobs increased by 223,000 in April, led by a gain of 59,000 positions in professional and business services. Education and health services companies added 54,000 jobs while employment within the leisure and hospitality industry expanded by 53,000.

I wonder if with this push Trump has managed to match the rate of job creation Obama achieved his last two years in office.

[NeedsAdjustments]

Incredible!!! The President must have 65% approval rating!!!

Yeah!!  Imagine how well we would be doing if more than 6% of the corporate tax cuts went to something other than lining investor's pockets?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/30/trump-tax-cut-law-investigation-worker-benefits

[oilcan]

I'm sure all those service sector jobs pay well, too.  We know how fabulous the pay is for service jobs.  I'm sure this will fix the decades of wage stagnation and how the minimum wage now pays less, adjusted for inflation, and keeps a 40 hour/wk worker below the poverty line and more than half their net income is needed to pay the average rent or mortgage payment.

[NeedsAdjustments]

Barr either lying to Congress about Mueller's findings when he says that Trump didn't order McGahn to fire Mueller, or he is disagreeing with those findings without basing that conclusion on anything.

[Yankguy1]

Incredible!!! The President must have 65% approval rating!!!

Yeah!!  Imagine how well we would be doing if more than 6% of the corporate tax cuts went to something other than lining investor's pockets?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/30/trump-tax-cut-law-investigation-worker-benefits

The way I understand it, Red got a tax cut.

[oilcan]

From a review of Marianna Mazzucato's "The Value of Everything" --

    Capitalism has a problem - and that is to confuse price with value. So not only we think a $6 apple must be nicer than a $2 one, we also think that someone earning $100k must be better than one earning $60k etc. Firms are also told to only maximise shareholder returns (a.k.a. ever lower Price/earning ratios), so they dutifully increase revenue (raise price), cut costs (outsource and sack staff). To boost stock price, they also buy back shares to decrease the number of outstanding stocks. Not only that makes workers suffer, increases inequality, but also decreases long term investment. That is because CEOs are rewarded with stock options and their performance is mostly based on stock price. Pharmaceutical companies charge enormous prices for new drugs.

    She wrote that historically, economists separate productive vs rent-seeking unproductive activity. According to the author finance is mostly unproductive activity. Corporate raiders buy companies with debt that was saddled on the very companies that were bought, and make quick profits while workers are laid off. Venture capitalists make enormous profits on companies built on government research (like GPS and internet both built by the military).

    Mazzucato also attacked the calculation of GDP, that it reflects not value but price. So we can boost our GDP instantly if we just pay each other to cook and clean our house, even if the amount of work done is the same and the net amount of money that changed hands is zero.

    Lastly, government has been put down as only the distributors of economic output, not generator of it. So government has been asked to step aside, to just provide some protection and order, and build some roads so that real private wealth generators can do their thing. The IMF and World Bank actually push this agenda to developing countries, asking them to sell almost everything to the private sector, and outsource essential services. This leads to higher cost, worse service and for the government to pick up the tab when private providers go bankrupt.

    Mazzucato suggested that we need to look at real Value, and that involves all the stakeholders. She does not have the solution yet but we need to start that conversation. She does have some suggestions:
    1. Financial transaction tax to favour long term investment.
    2. Grant fewer patents upstream so there is more open access.
    3. Limit what pharmaceutical companies can charge
    4. Any government support being conditioned on actual investment and not share buy-back.
    5. Tax big tech companies more since they benefited from government basic research.

[kiidcarter8]

Economic News Update

The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in April as payrolls in the services sector grew by the most in more than two years, according to data released Wednesday by ADP and Moody’s Analytics.

Private payrolls grew by 275,000 last month, the biggest increase since July, when they expanded by 284,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected private payrolls growth of 177,000.

Services-providing jobs increased by 223,000 in April, led by a gain of 59,000 positions in professional and business services. Education and health services companies added 54,000 jobs while employment within the leisure and hospitality industry expanded by 53,000.

I wonder if with this push Trump has managed to match the rate of job creation Obama achieved his last two years in office.

Doesnt matter

[barton]

Hard winter.  Service sector hiring always is higher in the Spring when it follows an unusually harsh winter.  Employers in lodging and hospitality industries, and related businesses, start hiring when the travel season gets underweigh.  Late storms and unusual cold in the late winter and early spring delayed the season in many areas -- travel plans delayed are now rescheduled and workers are needed.  And, as Oil noted, many service jobs are low paying (on top of the fact that some are not year-round) and do not lift workers above the poverty line.  We have tourist destinations out here in the West where housing has become so expensive that we have lodging/hospitality workers who are employed fulltime but still living in their cars. 

[barton]

Barr either lying to Congress about Mueller's findings when he says that Trump didn't order McGahn to fire Mueller, or he is disagreeing with those findings without basing that conclusion on anything.

Barr is behaving like Trump's personal lawyer, which is a complete abandonment of his job as chief attorney for we the people.  He should be impeached immediately.

Jennifer Rubin, a conservative columnist, has a good summary of the relevant facts this morning in the Post.

[NeedsAdjustments]

Economic News Update

The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in April as payrolls in the services sector grew by the most in more than two years, according to data released Wednesday by ADP and Moody’s Analytics.

Private payrolls grew by 275,000 last month, the biggest increase since July, when they expanded by 284,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected private payrolls growth of 177,000.

Services-providing jobs increased by 223,000 in April, led by a gain of 59,000 positions in professional and business services. Education and health services companies added 54,000 jobs while employment within the leisure and hospitality industry expanded by 53,000.

I wonder if with this push Trump has managed to match the rate of job creation Obama achieved his last two years in office.

Doesnt matter

Does matter if the argument is that the job creation is specific to Trump policy.

And I don't think I am reaching here by saying that the above was posted in order to make that argument.

[NeedsAdjustments]

Barr is behaving like Trump's personal lawyer

Which should surprise no one as Trump made it loud and clear that the primary qualification of anyone serving as AG after Sessions would be their willingness to do so.

[HamiltonIII]

So you want there to be no guns?

I want there to be children and other innocent people who don't die by guns. Don't you? I want to make it harder to get a gun. I want as much money spent on mental health as the gun lobbyists spend making sure that children and Innocents continue to die each day.

[LarryBnDC]

No matter how this is spun by the GOP Barr got clowned today. Tomorrow’s gonna be worse.

[josh]

Economic News Update

The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in April as payrolls in the services sector grew by the most in more than two years, according to data released Wednesday by ADP and Moody’s Analytics.

Private payrolls grew by 275,000 last month, the biggest increase since July, when they expanded by 284,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected private payrolls growth of 177,000.

Services-providing jobs increased by 223,000 in April, led by a gain of 59,000 positions in professional and business services. Education and health services companies added 54,000 jobs while employment within the leisure and hospitality industry expanded by 53,000.

I wonder if with this push Trump has managed to match the rate of job creation Obama achieved his last two years in office.

Doesnt matter

It's True.

Trump will say it was the best in decades. Truth is irrelevant.

[LarryBnDC]

Kamala Harris off the top rope!



https://www.facebook.com/msnbc/videos/2390302151191033?s=1353459319&v=e&sfns=mo