Some consider the Nation’s Capital as “Fantasyland on the Potomac”. Other outsiders are “Fed Up” with the Federal City. It's better to consider D.C. as “the District of Calamity” (sic).
The Job Creators Network reacted to community activist turned freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's (D-NY 14th) celebration of chasing away Amazon from expanding its HQ2 to Long Island City (Queens), New York by erecting a pointed message at Times Square. The message offers some economic analysis for the loss of the business opportunity and sarcastically suggests: "Thanks for Nothing" AOC.
President Donald Trump has been intent on establishing fair trade for the US. Thus, he has levied tariffs with both allies and "frienamies" alike. Some of the nations targeted for tariffs have responded with retaliatory tariffs. One of the commodities President Trump has chosen to protect is the steel industry. Mr. Trump applied a 25% tariff on imported steel. This causes the price of many manufactured durable goods to either increase prices or shift customary operating procedures. This protectionism acts as a hidden tax on American consumers and makes US products less competitive. Harley Davidson is an iconic American motorcycle manufacturer which has recently found success in European markets. The steel tariff raises the prices of Harley Davidson hogs by about $2,000. To try to remain competitive, the Milwaukee based company indicated that it would shift production overseas.
This news did not settle well with President Trump, who vowed retaliation on Harley Davidson.
Since retaliatory tariffs have been implemented by our trading partners, the stock market went on an eight day slide, one day dropping 500 points.
Larry Kudlow
Perhaps Larry Kudlow, Trump's new Director of the National Economic Council, can convince the 45th President that when implementing threats of tariffs for "fair trade", there are unintended consequences to competitive advantage.
Larry Kudlow has accepted the position as chief economic adviser for the Trump Administration.
Kudlow is a well known free trader, which is in contrast to President Trump's initiative to impose tariffs, but Kudlow claims to be in accords with the White House.
On March 5, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri which framed the decades that followed World War II. In the Sinews of Peace speech, Churchill called out the Soviet Union for forcibly applying an Iron Curtain on lands that it occupied after defeating Nazi Germany along with the Allies (principally the United States and the British Commonwealth). By chastising the forced communism in Soviet Occupied lands, it further alienated Soviet dictator Josef Stalin (a.k.a. "Uncle Joe"). For all practical purposes, this declared the Cold War, a conflict between the free market democratically elected United States and its allies against a communistic Soviet Union and its vassal states in Eastern Europe. While Churchill did not utter his bon mot about socialism during the Iron Curtain speech, it does highlight Churchill's political philosophy which made economic and moral distinctions between a forced system of equality with capitalism. Considering how well socialism is polling at so called institutes of higher learning in the West, it is fitting to remember Churchill's clarion call against Soviet aggression, and seek to find any examples of where communist principles have been peacefully implemented without subjugating most peoples' freedom, not creating an elite ruling class (nomenklatura) and providing a thriving economy
It is interesting that Democrat Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton talks about America as a democracy as it is a Constitutional Republic which democratically elects our officials.
Mrs. Clinton makes an odd causal nexus between improving the economy with overturning judicial rulings. Promising to repeal the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision probably played well to the progressive DNC throng gathered at Wells Fargo Center. But it is stretching the truth to claim that Citizens United was about limiting corporate money in politics.
At its essence, the Citizens United decision was about Free Speech. Citizens v, FEC (2010) was a Supreme Court decision about Free Speech. The facts involved a non-profit organization which sought to air "Hillary: The Movie" within 30 days of the 2008 Democrat primaries. Courts applied McCain Feingold laws against "electronic electioneering" too close to elections by unauthorized organizations (news organizations would be exempted under the First Amendment Freedom of the Press).
The Supreme Court overturned restrictions on independent political expenditures from non-profit corporations but upheld that there must be public disclosures of who sponsored the ads. This logic extended to for profit corporations, labor unions and associations. Thus the rise of "527s" in elections, which are organizations which are independent of political campaigns but supplement a candidate's message, which is restricted by FEC contribution limitations.
If you delve into what Hillary really means by her conflated logic, it really means: "Americans will feel economically better by the government controlling free speech around elections and let approved messages from campaigns and what the liberal mainstream media tells you what to think."
That's how Hillary claims that she will improve the economy for the Middle Class, control information in the polity for approved messages or those coming from a liberal Lamestream Media under the guise of getting money out of politics.
Vice President Joe Biden is known for his egregious gaffes, his colorful metaphors as well as his uncouth social graces while in the spotlight. Last year, Biden channeled "White Men Can't Jump" for his Black History Month event. This year, Mr. Biden hosted a Black History Month dinner at the Naval Observatory (the Vice President's official residence) in which he fused class envy with racial politics.
It is unclear if the man who is one heartbeat away from the Oval Office is trying to outflank Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on progressive economic appeals in a fledgling bid for the Democrat presidential nomination, or if Biden is just tone deaf by once again invoking the "chains y'all" rhetoric famously used during the 2012 re-election bid.
A fortnight ago, the media worked itself into a tizzy when it discovered the old news that Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) dropped out of Marquette University during his senior year and never graduated. Biden makes an inflammatory and insensitive appeal and the Lamestream Media will not cover it since it's just "Joe being Joe".
It is not the conscience of the American public that needs emancipation as much as the news needs emancipation from a progressive lamestream media which will not report things which do not fit into their favored narrative.
Americans have been reveling in low gas prices wondering if they are in a time warp. Many do not realize that petroleum prices have plunged because of American entrepreneurial ingenuity and Saudi backup strategy.
The shale oil which is being extracted due to fracking in American oil wells on private land is creating some oversupply. Saudi Arabia is not cutting production. This is not simply because others in OPEC would not respect production cuts but is part of a long term strategy.
Fracking is an effective way to get more yield out of an oil field, but it is only economical at certain prices, which are believed to be around $55 a barrel. If OPEC can keep flooding the market and keeping oil prices low, it becomes uneconomical to do more fracking ventures.
The oil industry can not start up on a dime due to infrastructure and regulatory impediments. For example, the moratorium which President Obama imposed after the BP Deepwater Horizon spill chased away jobs, as uninstalled oil rigs were sent away from the Gulf of Mexico to more productive waters. If fracking becomes unproductive for a prolonged period, the equipment may be reallocated to other sectors. If not, an overreaching EPA and lawfare can slow down a renewal of fracking.
Harley Davidson is an iconic American motorcycle manufacturer which has recently found success in European markets. The steel tariff raises the prices of Harley Davidson hogs by about $2,000. To try to remain competitive, the Milwaukee based company indicated that it would shift production overseas.
At its essence, the Citizens United decision was about Free Speech. Citizens v, FEC (2010) was a Supreme Court decision about Free Speech. The facts involved a non-profit organization which sought to air "Hillary: The Movie" within 30 days of the 2008 Democrat primaries. Courts applied McCain Feingold laws against "electronic electioneering" too close to elections by unauthorized organizations (news organizations would be exempted under the First Amendment Freedom of the Press).
