Friday, May 26, 2023

I wish Wall Street would stop trying to make headlines when they don't understand the economy.

May 25, 2023
by Phil Rosen

1. Let's start with the CEO of Goldman Sachs, David Solomon. (click here) He just issued a warning that inflation's not going down anytime soon, and it's going to stay around longer than Americans — and the Fed — want.

On an annual basis, inflation hovered at 4.9% in April, lower than its peak of 9.1% last year but still more than double the central bank's 2% goal....

..Naturally, Wall Street mogul Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, who's no stranger to credit crunches and bank rescues, said that any further constricting in lending conditions will likely come down hard on real estate....

May 23, 2023
By Rob Lenihan

So, what are your thoughts about a recession? (click here)

The "R" word has been cropping up a lot lately as the general feeling moves away from "if" and more toward "how bad."

A survey conducted by The Harris Poll and HarrisX from May 17-18, 2023 among 2,004 registered voters found that only 21% of respondents believe the U.S. will be able to avoid a recession.

Two-thirds of respondents believe that the economy is heading in the right direction, and the strength of the economy is perceived at below 50%.

The same poll, by the way, said Twitter owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now the most popular political figure in the United States, ahead of former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden....


U.S. gdp growth rate for 2021 was 5.95%, a 8.71% increase from 2020.
U.S. gdp growth rate for 2020 was -2.77%, a 5.06% decline from 2019.
U.S. gdp growth rate for 2019 was 2.29%, a 0.65% decline from 2018.
U.S. gdp growth rate for 2018 was 2.95%, a 0.7% increase from 2017.


Date                               Value

April 30, 2023               1.401 M
April 30,2019                1.28 M


The national average U.S. income in 2021 was $97,962. The median U.S. income in 2021 was $69,717.

Chief executives and nurse anesthetists earned over $200,000 a year on average in 2021, making them the highest paid occupations.

The median male salary in 2021 was $50,391, 27% higher than the median female salary of $36,726.

Male residents of Washington, D.C. made a median income of $83,567, the highest of any state or territory in the U.S. Arkansas posted the lowest median male income of any state at $40,736.

Two-person families have the lowest average family income, earning $75,143 on average. Four-person families earn the most on average by family size with an income of $105,901.

Americans between 56 to 64 years of age earned $83,812, the highest median income of any age band.

Asian Americans had the highest income in 2021, earning a median of $100,572. white Americans earned a median income of $74,932.

Next time financial investment institutions like Goldman and Chase are interviewed be sure to ask how their depositors are doing? Don't ask the CEOs what they think because they are always looking for sympathy and government money.

This is what is bothering the investment banks. 

May 24, 2023
By Tristan Bove

...An asset class recession (click here) means essentially that the economy as a whole would not shrink—and unemployment may not go up much from its recent 50-year low—but markets and asset values would take a prolonged hit, and most of the pain would be focused on those who rely on the value of their investments in addition to or instead of their salaries. Stocks in particular have made up a bigger and bigger chunk of U.S. households’ financial assets in recent years. In fact, Americans haven’t been invested in the stock market at this rate since 2008....

If only Wall Street could find more ways to rob the Middle Class they would feel better. The fact of the matter is there was rampant greed that robbed Americans of their status. It has been a bit of a difficult climb for many Americans to regain their footing after the pandemic, but, there was also an upside. Many Americans; that is many used to working two to three jobs to maintain their household budgets; never had the experience of not working and enjoying the households they worked hard to build.

The pandemic allowed them to breath easy even in the midst of tragedy all over the world, but, that tragedy struck the USA the hardest. I thought the USA House under the competent leadership of Nancy Pelosi was remarkable in it's inventiveness to support Americans through a very difficult time. An impossible time, actually. I am proud of that Congress and the American people. While the extremist population of the country took some of the hardest hits in contracting the virus and succumbing to it, there was a pause in the country that allowed a perspective about life that changed the way Americans valued time and how they spent it.

The current economy is doing fine. People have decided to work again and there are many options for employers that need people including immigrants with visas.

The USA has the largest Middle Class in the world. It is why so many other countries seek to be a part of life in the USA. That Middle Class is economically impossible to stop. Besides the actual magnificence to the American Middle Class a renaissance of sorts has been occurring in bringing equity to minorities and shifting economic opportunity for people normally suffering from the lack of opportunity.

So, basically, while Wall Street and the Republican cronies are spastic about the world, the USA population is stable and mostly flourishing. It is a stabilizing force in the world when so much of the world is experiencing upheaval. That upheaval isn't just the war in Ukraine, but, also climate and the strife that comes with it. 

There is no recession. There has been and maintains a shift in wealth and economic opportunity to facilitate that wealth. Whether anyone wants to realize it or not, the Biden Administration is exercising every attempt to revitalize the Middle Class and opportunity. You know, the NORMAL Middle Class where one or two jobs are all that is needed to balance the household budget so parents can actually be parents to their families.

Life is still not perfect, but, we are getting there and for the first time in a long time, the climate crisis is taking shape as an existential threat to our children and it matters. The petroleum industry is going down kicking and screaming while they wave methane in the face of Americans as the real green energy. We are getting there and it is right, moral and necessary to move away from traditional fuels and into alternative options. A huge shift such as this in energy and transportation is enormous. It always has been, but, it is finally happening and we need to hope it is in time.

We are doing fine. I don't mind if Morgan and Goldman are having spasms of fear. They can deal with it themselves.

There is no justice for the poisoning of Flint, Michigan.

December 9, 2022
By Ed White

Flint - A judge dismissed criminal charges (click here) against former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in the Flint water crisis, months after the state Supreme Court said indictments returned by a one-person grand jury were invalid.

Snyder, a Republican who left office in 2019, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty. He was the first person in state history to be charged for alleged crimes related to service as governor.

Snyder also is the eighth person to have a Flint water case thrown out after the Supreme Court’s unanimous June opinion.

Genesee County Judge F. Kay Behm signed the order Wednesday, a day after the U.S. Senate approved her nomination to become a federal judge in eastern Michigan.

“The charges against (Snyder) were not properly brought and must be dismissed at this time,” Behm wrote, sending the case to a lower court for the final step, weeks after hearing arguments....

Ron Fonger who was so very dedicated to the people of Flint is still writing about them. 

May 26, 2023
By Ron Fonger

Genesee County - The state is suspending road work (click here) and lifting travel restrictions in most construction zones during the Memorial Day weekend but obstacles will remain in place at some active sites in and around the county.

The Michigan Department of Transportation said in a news release on Thursday, May 25, that it should be easier to drive through 81 of its 146 active construction zones as work is paused and lanes temporarily opened....

What occurred instead of justice because of something known as the statute of limitations is typical for Republican scandals, they threw money at it. 

The people of Flint are still and always will be recovering from the poisoning. The children will be scrutinized to their well being and success in life. They will be given every reason to do well, but, will they? Will the lead live up to it's promise of permanently replacing iron in those that were poisoned and susceptible to damage? The facts aren't in yet, but, many strategies are at work to take that reality and turn it into well being and success in the lives the poison touched.

The deaths are forever as are the miscarriages of fetuses. That is a stain in the USA and it's human rights record.

There is one place where justice might still be secured and that is the Department of Justice. They should do a review, if they haven't begun already, to determine if malpractice to facilitate corruption and manipulation to fight the statute of limitations ensued to protect the obviously guilty in the Governor's office.

Basically, why did the Michigan Attorney General turn away from the obvious crimes and cover-up by the Governor?

Someday, when he retires and reflects on his life as a journalist, I hope Ron Fonger will write a book of truth that rattles the judges chambers that facilitated the dismissal of justice for poisoning an American city.

Oh, one other thing. Snyder? Besides his return to some sort of wealth management office or whatever he is doing, came out of his hiding place recently to criticize the passage of the end of "Right to Work." The guy is no one to trust. His politics are corrupt and damage the American Middle Class. All he is doing is playing with a potential to be a Vice Presidential candidate for 2024. I mean some people are never remorseful of their crimes and simply want to commit more.

This is such a joke.

 https://fortune.com/2023/05/24/artificial-intelligence-ai-eric-schmidt-demographic-crisis-babies-labor-shortage/amp/

Computers are going to solve the labor shortage and protect the economy.

Really?

How much do they get paid and who are their customers?

An economy is about people and the services they share. Computers have no economy except when people are involved. 

It will be the war of the Wall Street machines and people will be nowhere to be found. This is a prime example of companies existing even after they are obsolete, ie: petroleum industry. Wall Street is about the control of wealth and no longer about commerce.