Open thread for night owls. Reich: Economy in much worse shape than it appears
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20 days remain until the final votes are cast in the midterms Robert Reich at TruthDig writes—The Economy Is in Much Worse Shape Than It Looks: I keep hearing that although Donald Trump is a scoundrel or worse, at least he’s presiding overOpen thread for night owls. Reich: Economy in much worse shape than it appears
20 days remain until the final votes are cast in the midterms Robert Reich at TruthDig writes—The Economy Is in Much Worse Shape Than It Looks: I keep hearing that although Donald Trump is a scoundrel or worse, at least he’s presiding over a great economy. As White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow recently put it, “The single biggest story this year is an economic boom that is durable and lasting.” Really? Look closely at the living standards of most Americans, and you get a very different picture. Yes, the stock market has boomed since Trump became president. But it’s looking increasingly wobbly as Trump’s trade wars take a toll. Over 80 percent of the stock market is owned by the richest 10 percent of Americans anyway, so most Americans never got much out of Trump’s boom to begin with. The trade wars are about to take a toll on ordinary workers. Trump’s steel tariffs have cost Ford $1 billion so far, for example, forcing the automaker to plan mass layoffs. What about economic growth? Data from the Commerce Department shows the economy at full speed, 4.2 percent growth for the second quarter. But very little of that growth is trickling down to average Americans. Adjusted for inflation, hourly wages aren’t much higher now than they were forty years ago. Trump slashed taxes on the wealthy and promised everyone else a $4,000 wage boost. But the boost never happened. That’s a big reason why Republicans aren’t campaigning on their tax cut, which is just about their only legislative accomplishment. TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES QUOTATION “If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.” ~~George Monbiot TWEET OF THE DAY BLAST FROM THE PAST On this date at Daily Kos in 2008—CO-Sen: Schaffer on His Own Now: National Republicans have decided Bob Schaffer is a sinking ship, and you know what happens with the rats then. Last week there were rumors that the NRSC was going to pull out of Schaffer's campaign for the Colorado Senate seat being vacated by Wayne Allard. That speculation is confirmed today. Mark Udall, has been posting consistent leads in polling for the last month, probably one reason a cash-strapped NRSC has decided to retrench and defend other seats. It's not just the NRSC that have been scared off. «Independent» 527s, are also pulling out, looking to Oregon and North Carolina to try to salvage a few Republican incumbents. LINK TO DAILY KOS STORE On today’s Kagro in the Morning show, Greg Dworkin & Joan McCarter round up the day’s news. The Khashoggi story gets worse every minute. Young voters may show up this year! With electoral accountability now looming, it's time for Republicans start lying and crying about health care. x Embedded Content RadioPublic|LibSyn|YouTube|Patreon|Square Cash (Share code: Send $5, get $5!) Read more