I think the major reason Americans show appreciation for Donald Trump as a presidential candidate is because he is honest and straightforward. He may or not advance in his quest, but that is not the issue. Americans should thank him for bringing attention to the two words underlined above [Federal Triangle].
[ by Barry Ashby | October 6, 2015 | Industrial Heating ]
It especially comes to the forefront for readers who live in the real world of business and struggle to learn and implement the operation of our economy … without fears or distractions regarding who is telling lies. This does matter. Over the last decade, the lies and deceptions that emanate from agencies of our elected (and replaceable) federal establishment are unconscionable. Let’s expand on this.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which calculates and disseminates employment data, is issuing lies in monthly reports. For example, an out-of-work person who performs one hour of work per week and receives $20 or more is not counted as “unemployed.” An uncompensated person working in a family business 15 or more hours weekly is considered “employed.” In July 2015, the BLS claimed that 93,770,000 individuals were not in the labor force – a 38-year low – but that must be compared to 91,975,000 not in the labor force in July 2014. About 33% of Americans over 16 years old are not part of the workforce as of February 2015. Now consider that the U.S. population grew 16.8 million since February 2008 but the number of full-time jobs has decreased by 140,000.
When the BLS issues the glowing reports of low unemployment (about 5.6%), the statistic is derived by considering the long-term unemployed as no longer in the labor force. “Officially unemployed” Americans (8.7 million) plus those 92.9 million (average of July 2014 and 2015) “not in the labor force” indicates 101.6 million without a job today. And only 44% of U.S. adults are employed for 30 or more hours per week.
The Social Security Administration reports that 39% of workers make $20,000 or less annually; 52% make under $30,000; 63% make under $40,000; and 72% make under $50,000. These figures are totally inconsistent with healthy business and industry. A Pew Research Center poll shows that 72% of respondents say that government is not helping middle-class America, and 68% think federal policies do not help small business. Pew is not noted as a conservative polling organization but rather an honest one.
All things considered and taking an “average” of the various and sundry lies issued by federal agencies as statistics or factual report of conditions, a consensus is that unemployment is really between 18-23% and that the total illegal population in America that competes for jobs (5.1% of the available force) is estimated to be as much as 30 million instead of the reported 11-12 million. Lastly, with incomes increased 2% according to BLS but inflation at 2.3% according to the Treasury Department, the average American’s pay is shrinking. As an aside, the real annual growth rate of GDP has averaged 4% in all first quarters since 1947, but it has declined an average of 0.43% during Obama’s presidency.
An interesting analysis was released on Aug. 24 by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (www.itif.org), a nonpartisan study group. The study accuses the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of essential lies. A CRS report estimated a 12% U.S. manufacturing employment decline between 2003 and 2013. Using Bureau of Economic Analysis real data, however, the decline is actually 30.7%. In addition, the ITIF report says U.S. manufacturing output is down in areas cited as up by the CRS, specifically in expenditures in research and development, foreign direct investment and domestic manufacturing inputs. Another way to look at American manufacturing is to recognize that this economic sector lost 11 times more jobs in the 2000s than in the 1990s. Since 2005, manufacturing output has shrunk by 2%.
This is all brought to your attention for the purpose to alert industry readers that America has several problems here. It is mandatory that federal government make changes in law and policies to assist industry. It can do so by reducing corporate income-tax rates, boosting investment incentives, enforcing global trade rules and eliminating regulation supporting manufacturing innovation instead of stifling it.
Lying cannot be tolerated. Otherwise, we the people must replace the government by whatever means necessary.
