Thursday, February 27, 2020

The Coronavirus Is Not The Cause Of The Recent Stock Market Decline.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week the DJIA dropped approximately 2000 points.  Wall Street, the financial networks and Trump's ditto heads blamed it on the coronavirus, but don't take that excuse too serious.  The real cause lays squarely with an overpriced market brought about by the Trump-GOP tax cuts.  Corporate America and the wealthy used those tax savings to buy back stock in the companies they operate which automatically ran up the per share price.  And Trump himself has made statements unbecoming a President that helped stocks to go even higher.  When 2% of the top 100% own 90% of all stocks and bonds, manipulation can take place any time.  And many of those who used their tax savings to buy back their shares have already sold those shares with a great profit.

Then you have the Trump economy that has underperformed the Obama economy, especially in creating new jobs.  The federal deficit continues to rise under Trump as it always does under republican administrations.  The latest reports say income inequality is at its highest level ever.  Unemployment during Obama's last three years in office decreased 1.9%.  In Trump's first three years in office unemployment has decreased 1.1%.  The GDP is still much less than 3% growth per year.

CNBC's financial news and their hosts were wrong on what the Reagan, Bush and Trump tax cuts would produce and they are still trying to sell that failed story.  Its three strikes and you are out.  They have added a new claim lately saying if Sanders is elected President the stock market would be in grave trouble.  So the next time you hear the coronavirus being blamed for a down DJIA, just laugh it off as fake news which is so much in style by the impeached President and his ditto heads.


This commentary written by Joe Lorio

CBS and The Democratic Debate

Tuesday nights democratic debate moderated by CBS turned out to be a tragedy for the first 30 minutes because of the two moderators who lost control of the debate process.  They set out a time limit for answers and rebuttal, did not enforce the time limits and allowed the candidates to talk over each other at the same time.  As a result, the first 30 minutes were wasted because the two moderators, like so many debates in the past, use the debates as show business.

After four other moderators appeared on the scene, things calmed down and good questions were asked which prompted a more civil debate on important issues.  The negative moderator remarks of calling Bernie Sanders a democratic socialist surfaced again.  They just can not accept the fact that Sanders is not a democrat.  Worse yet, they over look the republican party's socialist agenda of massive tax cuts, tax breaks and loop holes for Corporate America and the wealthy and the billions of dollars given to the oil and gas industry as if they are in need.  But CBS should be given credit overall as doing a better job with questions than NBC did the previous week in the Nevada debates.

This writer thought Biden and Bloomberg performed the best with specific answers and were knowledgeable about the questions.  Sanders should rethink his medicare for all plan because if he wins the nomination and defeats Trump in the general election the democratic party will not support that plan because it is too costly and could put medicare as we know it in jeopardy.  That would be tragic because medicare has served its purpose for the elderly and the disabled for so many years.  Biden still has the best plan.  Make the ACA better, add the public option and have the government negotiate with big Pharma on the price of prescription drugs to lower the cost.

This writer still believes there are too many debates because it is a flawed set up and needs to be reformed.  The debates are about a future President and what he or she will want to accomplish but most questions are about the past positions like as if problems never change.  One thing is for sure, the upcoming primaries will energize the voters and not very many will remember the debates.