To say things are bad in America us an understatement. Are they the worse ever? Almost certainly they are not. Are they the worst of my lifetime? No question they are. In fact, the current situation is a combination of several bad situations experienced over the last 100 years or so happening simultaneously. Let’s explore.
It’s Friday morning June 5th as I pen this and the May unemployment numbers came out earlier this morning. The official number is 13.3%, down from April’s 14.7%. If you believe the May number please feed the unicorns on your front lawn.
Earlier in the week the new unemployment claims were announced at just under 1.9 million. While this was the lowest in nine weeks keep in mind that a normal week is about 250,000. You would have to believe that the majority of people laid off in the last several weeks were all rehired to believe the 13.3 number. I don’t.
Another factor to consider is that state and local governments have not yet to shed workers in order to balance coronavirus pandemic devastated budgets. What will be ironic is that many of the first responders and medical personnel we are now honoring as heroes will be among those let go. Thanks for risking your life, now get your coat and hat and get out of here.
Does any thinking man or woman put it past the Republicans to use the opportunity to attack public education? I certainly don’t; in fact I expect it. One of the three pillars holding up the current day GOP is the promotion of ignorance and what better way to do it than to shutter or kneecap traditional public schools? I look at tradition public education as an investment not a cost and historical economic data supports my view. Our public education system is what made us the industrial/economic envy of the world.
The bottom line is that we are in the Trump Depression and are experiencing Great Depression numbers whether we post them or not. That takes up back to the problems of the 1930’s.
Thursday night was the tenth straight night of street protests many of which the authorities turned into “riots”. Americans have been attacked by federal forces in the shadow of the White House. I remember the anti-war (Four dead in Ohio) and civil rights riots/demonstrations of the 1960’s. I don’t remember them fondly and certainly did not long for their return. Americans tend to get angry when authorities kill them in broad daylight on Minneapolis street corners while almost posing for the cameras. Then when you exercise your First Amendment rights and obey curfews you get assaulted by authorities who in many cases are no longer wearing any identification on their uniforms nor will they even tell the media what agency they represent. It appears Trump (like his “boss” Vladimir Putin) has finally gotten his “little green men”.
Before I go on I should go further back in history. The period is about 1918 to 1920 and the nation is in the grasp of the (inaccurately named) Spanish Flu. People are dying in waves and the government is helpless. Today we have nearly 110,000 coronavirus deaths and every reason to believe that it will get worse before it gets better. Demonstrations on both the right and the left, coupled with the premature “reopening of commerce” will make for additional infections and perhaps the absence of a “calm between the storms”.
So the economy is in the toilet, the streets are in chaos and prudent people are afraid to leave the house, shake hands or hug. We have three major disasters all combined; (and I’m only touching on the really big ones).
President Trump does have one major “achievement” in all this. It looks like he finally swiftly and I assume somewhat economically completed his wall. The only thing is this wall is around the White House to protect the Bunker Inspector–in–Chief from the American people. I guess in a way it is, like the wall he campaigned on, to keep “those people” out only “those people” are now angry American citizens.
Now here is the really scary part: With things this bad in America and less than five months to Election Day there is still a good chance that Donald Trump will be reelected. It’s up to you – VOTE!!!!!!
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