The New York Times, The Washington Post and establishment media have conjured the image of President Trump spending his days tweeting, guzzling Diet Cokes and stumbling through the White House in his bathrobe. This burlesque portrayal is a deliberate attempt to demean his presidency.
In particular, the Times and the Post have used anonymous sources for the most scandalous, outrageous stories lampooning Mr. Trump. To be clear: this is not a blanket endorsement of everything Mr. Trump has uttered or tweeted, but the media has painted a one-sided picture.
Consumers of exclusively mainstream news have become so biased by this reporting, many refuse to believe the president has any redeeming qualities. Viewed through their prejudiced lens, Mr. Trump's achievements include dividing America, throttling minorities, suppressing females and immigrants.
However, facts have a stubborn way of interfering with this deceptive narrative. The president has spurred economic growth, created record numbers of jobs, boosted median income, slashed red-tape regulations, improved security at the border and raised America's foreign policy prestige.
For the skeptics, here is a list of accomplishments in just 20 months for the Trump Administration supported by facts and figures, most of which were gleaned from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Internal Revenue Service, Council of Economic Advisers and Commerce Department:
The Economy
Four million new jobs have been created since the presidential election. More Americans are now employed than ever before in our history. Unemployment claims are at a 50 year low. African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates have reached historic troughs. Female unemployment has plunged to its lowest level since 1953. Median household income has risen to $61,372, a post-recession high water mark. American workers enjoyed the biggest leap in pay since 2009 as the average hourly earnings for private workers advanced 3.1 percent this quarter, compared to 2017. Nearly four million Americans dropped off the food stamps rolls. In the latest quarter ended in September, the American economy grew a robust 3.5 percent, exceeding analysts projections. Most economists credit the Trump tax cuts for the boom.
Business
Investment is flooding into the U.S. after Congress lowered tax rates for businesses. America's corporate tax rate was the highest in the developed world. More than $450 billion has pored into the country from overseas businesses owned by American companies. Manufacturing has bounced back after decades of decline, reaching its highest level in 14 years. More than 400,000 manufacturing jobs have been added since the election. Retail sales have surged 6.4 percent since July of 2017, reflecting rising consumer confidence and increased disposable income. Last year job satisfaction among American workers hit its peak since 2005. Real wage compensation paid by businesses has risen 1.4 percent over the past year after eight years of stagnation.
Health Care
This ranks as the most under reported area of improvement for Americans. Mr. Trump enacted changes to the Medicare program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs this year. The Federal Drug Administration, under prodding from the president, set a record for generic drug approvals, saving consumers an estimated $9 billion. The administration enabled small businesses to join together to offer affordable health insurance to their employees by removing restrictions to form Association Health Plans. Legislation signed by the president repealed the infamous "death panels" created by Obamacare. The Department of Agriculture funded more than $1 billion in initiatives to improve access to health care in rural areas for 2.5 million people.
Border Security
Stopping drugs, human trafficking and violent gang members from flowing into the country has been a priority of the administration. Statistics document the success: Arrests of 796 members of the Central American gang MS-13 in 2017, an 83 percent increase from 2016. ICE rescued or identified more than 500 human trafficking victims in 2017 and more than 900 child exploitation victims. ICE agents seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin. In a related area, the administration secured $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic, arrested 28 medical professionals and revoked 147 registrations for physicians over prescribing opioids.
Foreign Policy
President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and imposed tough sanctions on the rogue regime. In the wake of sanctions, Iran's currency has plummeted, international companies have pulled out of the country and the Treasury Department has levied sanctions against key regime individuals. The president opened negotiations with North Korea in an effort to denuclearize the totalitarian nation. Despite the media influenced image of Russian coddling, the administration has expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers, sanctioned oligarchs and their companies and enhanced support for Ukraine's Armed Forces to defend against Russian aggression. In addition, Mr. Trump demanded European countries increase financial support for NATO, the military alliance between Europe and North America. The result was a hike in 2017 of 4.8 percent in defense spending by member states, amounting to $42 billion. Of course, the piece de resistance was the renegotiation of the flawed NAFTA agreement.
Mr. Trump is constantly savaged because he doesn't stick to the script of past presidents. The media and Democrats are aghast at his nonconformity. Many elitists believe a president should be measured on style not substance. Being "presidential" matters more than getting things done for Americans.
The U.S. had eight years of presidential style. The country was hungry for change. The media has never gotten over the fact American voters chose an outsider over its favored career politician. Irregardless, the media has an ethical obligation to report good news along with the bad.
Showing posts with label Economy and Jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy and Jobs. Show all posts
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Monday, September 14, 2015
How Educators Are Failing America
An estimated 2.8 million newly-minted college graduates have a framed certificate but little else. Universities are churning out students who are woefully unprepared for today's job market. The situation has created a crisis that threatens to undermine the nation's economic growth.
A number of surveys, including a recent one by the Gallup polling organization, underscore the disconnect between the skills required by today's businesses and the academic preparation offered by most of the nation's 4,700 community colleges and four-year universities
In the Gallup study, only 11 percent of business leaders strongly agreed that graduates had the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace. Employers are not interested in theoretical learning. They want proof of a graduate's ability to execute required skills.
In today's workplace, computers and robots have replaced the mundane tasks once performed by low and mid-level employees. Jobs today require critical thinking, problem-solving, the ability to work in teams, and technological competency. These skills are seriously lacking in many graduates.
This is not a new phenomenon. For decades, businesses have been trying to convince academia to change course. But colleges may be the most stubborn, hide-bound of all institutions. Rapid change undermines their propensity for incremental advances.
For example, a survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed with Gallup showed 96 percent of academic officers thought their schools were doing a good job of preparing students for the future. These leaders obviously are not spending much time asking business people about their job requirements.
Frankly, they don't care. Their mushy academic goal is molding young minds. Businesses and the economy have very specific requirements. Virtually every job at American business firms, large and small, is changing at the fastest rate ever. Colleges are not keeping up with the pace of innovation.
Technology is creating new jobs, but destroying old ones along the way. Jobs for administrative assistants and secretaries are nearly extinct. Data entry clerks are dinosaurs. IT positions, once the golden goose, are being automated and outsourced. Even agricultural work is computer-driven.
As the economy undergoes titanic shifts, companies require workers who are life-long learners equipped to deal with ambiguity and nonstop change. Unfortunately, one of the downsides created by this economic metamorphosis is a shrinkage in businesses' investment in human capital.
Consider in 1979 General Motors, then the world's largest car company, had a payroll of 853,000 people. Today four of the world's high-tech behemoths, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Goggle, employ fewer than 150,000 workers combined. And these firms are all recruiting talent outside the U.S.
Colleges are cheating today's generation by not recognizing the need for more grads with mathematics, statistics, engineering and computer science training. They are not producing graduates
armed with interpersonal characteristics, problem-solving skills or oral communications talent.
Instead, universities are rushing to add courses in Gender Inquiry, Diversity Training and African-American Studies. Meanwhile, students are paying more and getting less relevant educations. Students and graduates have racked up $1.2 trillion in debt underwritten by American taxpayers.
Debt-ridden graduates face an appalling future. Recent data published by Forbes shows that 44 percent of colleges grads in their 20's are stuck in low-wage, dead-end jobs. The number of young people earning less than $25,000 a year has risen to the highest level since the 1990's.
America needs a world class workforce to remain the global economic leader. College and university presidents need to climb off their academic high horses and begin preparing the next generation of workers with marketable skills instead of dishing out theoretical nonsense.
Without discernible change in academia, American businesses will lose their premier position in the competitive world because of the lack of skilled workers. If that happens, this nation's colleges and universities will deserve more than a failing grade. They will cease to be relevant institutions.
A number of surveys, including a recent one by the Gallup polling organization, underscore the disconnect between the skills required by today's businesses and the academic preparation offered by most of the nation's 4,700 community colleges and four-year universities
In the Gallup study, only 11 percent of business leaders strongly agreed that graduates had the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace. Employers are not interested in theoretical learning. They want proof of a graduate's ability to execute required skills.
In today's workplace, computers and robots have replaced the mundane tasks once performed by low and mid-level employees. Jobs today require critical thinking, problem-solving, the ability to work in teams, and technological competency. These skills are seriously lacking in many graduates.
This is not a new phenomenon. For decades, businesses have been trying to convince academia to change course. But colleges may be the most stubborn, hide-bound of all institutions. Rapid change undermines their propensity for incremental advances.
For example, a survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed with Gallup showed 96 percent of academic officers thought their schools were doing a good job of preparing students for the future. These leaders obviously are not spending much time asking business people about their job requirements.
Frankly, they don't care. Their mushy academic goal is molding young minds. Businesses and the economy have very specific requirements. Virtually every job at American business firms, large and small, is changing at the fastest rate ever. Colleges are not keeping up with the pace of innovation.
Technology is creating new jobs, but destroying old ones along the way. Jobs for administrative assistants and secretaries are nearly extinct. Data entry clerks are dinosaurs. IT positions, once the golden goose, are being automated and outsourced. Even agricultural work is computer-driven.
As the economy undergoes titanic shifts, companies require workers who are life-long learners equipped to deal with ambiguity and nonstop change. Unfortunately, one of the downsides created by this economic metamorphosis is a shrinkage in businesses' investment in human capital.
Consider in 1979 General Motors, then the world's largest car company, had a payroll of 853,000 people. Today four of the world's high-tech behemoths, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Goggle, employ fewer than 150,000 workers combined. And these firms are all recruiting talent outside the U.S.
Colleges are cheating today's generation by not recognizing the need for more grads with mathematics, statistics, engineering and computer science training. They are not producing graduates
armed with interpersonal characteristics, problem-solving skills or oral communications talent.
Instead, universities are rushing to add courses in Gender Inquiry, Diversity Training and African-American Studies. Meanwhile, students are paying more and getting less relevant educations. Students and graduates have racked up $1.2 trillion in debt underwritten by American taxpayers.
Debt-ridden graduates face an appalling future. Recent data published by Forbes shows that 44 percent of colleges grads in their 20's are stuck in low-wage, dead-end jobs. The number of young people earning less than $25,000 a year has risen to the highest level since the 1990's.
America needs a world class workforce to remain the global economic leader. College and university presidents need to climb off their academic high horses and begin preparing the next generation of workers with marketable skills instead of dishing out theoretical nonsense.
Without discernible change in academia, American businesses will lose their premier position in the competitive world because of the lack of skilled workers. If that happens, this nation's colleges and universities will deserve more than a failing grade. They will cease to be relevant institutions.
Monday, December 2, 2013
American Workers: Vanishing Under Obama
For the first time in the nation's history, the number of working-age Americans not in the labor force has crept up to 90.473 million people, a disturbing trend that threatens the economic future of the United States.
Since President Obama was sworn into office, there are more than 5.7 million fewer people working or looking for a job. American workers are vanishing by the hundreds of thousands every year and the number of laborers underemployed may be as high as 17.4 percent, according to Gallup researchers.
Yet this administration still touts how it hauled the country out of a deep recession. The numbers from the federal government's own Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) offer a different economic reality--one that underscores the failure of Obama's policies.
The official unemployment rate stands at 7.3 percent, a full two percentage points higher than the White House promised four years ago when it unleashed billions of dollars in economic stimulus spending. However, the unemployment percentage only masks the real problem.
Fewer Americans than ever are participating in the workforce. When Obama swept into the Oval Office, 65.7 percent of the working age population was employed. The most recent figures from the BLS show it has plummeted to 58 percent, the lowest in American history.
Worker participation rates may sound like economic jargon. But it matters because it is a key gauge of the employment situation. Many economists argue participation rates are more reliable than unemployment figures as a measure of the economy's strength.
The precipitous fall in participation rates means that the overall supply of employed workers is dropping. As a result, the economy is being driven by a smaller portion of the population. That leaves fewer people to pay taxes, but more Americans who qualify for government assistance.
As the supply of laborers dries up, it shrinks the available pool of workers necessary for economic growth. Many American businesses are beginning to worry about an adequate supply of workers to fill jobs as the last of the Boomer generation retires.
The United States' economic standing in the world has begun to reflect the decline. Average worker participation rates in 16 countries with developed economies now surpass the U.S. Once America owned the title of job creation leader.
The Heritage Foundation, a national think-tank, found that the drop in labor force participation "accounts for about the entire net drop in the unemployment rate over the past three years." In other words, if participation rates had remained static, unemployment would be even higher.
How can the United States reclaim its position as the world leader in worker participation?
It begins with a smaller government and less intervention. As the federal government appropriates more power and influence over the economy, the result is a shrinking private business sector that spawns fewer jobs for a growing population.
Jobs, living standards and economic opportunities depend on a growing workforce. The U.S. faces a dim economic future unless there is a sharp reversal of current trends and policies.
Since President Obama was sworn into office, there are more than 5.7 million fewer people working or looking for a job. American workers are vanishing by the hundreds of thousands every year and the number of laborers underemployed may be as high as 17.4 percent, according to Gallup researchers.
Yet this administration still touts how it hauled the country out of a deep recession. The numbers from the federal government's own Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) offer a different economic reality--one that underscores the failure of Obama's policies.
The official unemployment rate stands at 7.3 percent, a full two percentage points higher than the White House promised four years ago when it unleashed billions of dollars in economic stimulus spending. However, the unemployment percentage only masks the real problem.
Fewer Americans than ever are participating in the workforce. When Obama swept into the Oval Office, 65.7 percent of the working age population was employed. The most recent figures from the BLS show it has plummeted to 58 percent, the lowest in American history.
Worker participation rates may sound like economic jargon. But it matters because it is a key gauge of the employment situation. Many economists argue participation rates are more reliable than unemployment figures as a measure of the economy's strength.
The precipitous fall in participation rates means that the overall supply of employed workers is dropping. As a result, the economy is being driven by a smaller portion of the population. That leaves fewer people to pay taxes, but more Americans who qualify for government assistance.
As the supply of laborers dries up, it shrinks the available pool of workers necessary for economic growth. Many American businesses are beginning to worry about an adequate supply of workers to fill jobs as the last of the Boomer generation retires.
The United States' economic standing in the world has begun to reflect the decline. Average worker participation rates in 16 countries with developed economies now surpass the U.S. Once America owned the title of job creation leader.
The Heritage Foundation, a national think-tank, found that the drop in labor force participation "accounts for about the entire net drop in the unemployment rate over the past three years." In other words, if participation rates had remained static, unemployment would be even higher.
How can the United States reclaim its position as the world leader in worker participation?
It begins with a smaller government and less intervention. As the federal government appropriates more power and influence over the economy, the result is a shrinking private business sector that spawns fewer jobs for a growing population.
Jobs, living standards and economic opportunities depend on a growing workforce. The U.S. faces a dim economic future unless there is a sharp reversal of current trends and policies.
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