Oil and Gas Industry Jobs In Louisiana: The True Story

 Every time America elects a democratic President the public and especially the public in Louisiana are exposed to the big republican lie and fraudulent statements how Louisiana jobs will be killed, the industry will be shut down and the sky is falling doom rhetoric.  And the leaders of this propaganda ae Louisiana's so called conservative elected officials and the Louisiana opinion writers.  But PolitiDose has been telling the real story how the industry and its workers do better under democratic administrations and use facts to back it up.

Now we have more proof of the lies and the facts in the form of a chart published by the New Orleans Advocate dated 1/27/21.  The republicans and their ally opinion writers know of this information but they choose to propagate the lies.  What the chart shows is the number of jobs in Louisiana's oil and gas industry in the last 30 years had its greatest employment by far during the democratic administrations of President Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama.  It also shows Louisiana's worst employment took place on the watch of republican President Donald Trump.  

There were 59,500 jobs in 1998 and just 29,200 jobs in December 2020 in Louisiana's oil and gas industry according to the chart and report.  The chart also shows that in 2010, the year of the BP oil disaster and President Obama's moratorium, which the republicans said would kill jobs and ruin the industry, employment still stayed high and much greater than under Trump and the industry did not die.

The economy always plays a major role in employment, regardless of the industry, which is another reason why employment does so much better on the democratic watch.  Job creation under democratic administrations are leaps ahead of job creation under republican administrations.  And fewer, much fewer economic recessions take place on the democratic watch that interrupt the economy.  The opposite takes place on the republican watch and every republican administration in the past 100 years gave the country an economic  recession.  

Republican and industry lies have been a disaster for Louisiana employment.  What the state needs to do is broaden it industry base and job creation.  The state has paid too much attention to the oil  and gas industry for too long and neglected other options.  The state has also looked the other way on the industry's abuse of the states environment.  

We know the real facts, now we need real actions to take advantage of the facts.

This  commentary written by Joe  Lorio

The New Orleans Saints and The LSU Tigers: What Will This Season Look Like?

 The truth is no one really knows, especially the sports media who lack objectivity in their reporting.  Both teams have critical positions to fill with new faces.  The Saints ended last season exiting the playoffs for the fourth straight year and LSU finished its season playing .500 ball after going 15-0 the previous season and a national championship.

The New Orleans Saints:  The Saints will  start the season with a quarterback that has no record of playing at quarterback for a full  season with the team.  That means the quarterback and coach Payton will have to prove they can communicate.  The defense is still the same defense that plays great and at the same time plays bad too often, especially in games and against teams they can not afford to do so.  The Saints are not a team who have consistently played at the top of their game and are lacking at beating teams with a winning record. (they beat only one team last year during the regular season that had a winning record)

The LSU Tigers:  Last season was a disaster by any stretch after a national championship year and this year the Tigers have a new offensive and defensive co-ordinator.  Regardless what the credentials have to say, they have no record of success with LSU at this time.  Can they coach in the SEC with success?  Those two positions are most important to any football team.  What about coach O?  He did not do such a good job at coaching last year and his job as the leader is most important.  LSU is usually in the top 5 for recruiting so players talent is not the problem.  Last years team not only did not play well, they looked poorly coached.

So this writer believes all is not well in Saintland or Tigerland this season and as a result, do not be surprised what ever takes place.  If fans want to keep their sanity, do not expect too much from either team, just enjoy the moment if both teams show progress from last season and the coaching staffs show they belong.  As for the Saints quarterback situation, its one of the missing links and does not look  good.

Note:  It appears that the LSU investigation concerning the sexual conduct of some connected to LSU is putting former coach Les Miles and former President F. King Alexander front and center and giving little information out on the LSU players that were involved.  Are Miles and Alexander being made the scape goat with little attention being made about the players who were accused?

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

Presidential Leadership: The Economy and Fiscal Matters The Past Forty Years

From 1981 to 2020, a period of 40 years four republican administrations and two democratic administrations led the nation.  Republican President's Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.  Democratic President's Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama.  The Republicans served a total of 24 years.  Reagan (8) Bush 41 (4) Bush 43 (8) and Trump 4.  The Democrats Clinton 8 and Obama 8 served a total of 16 years.  The below information tells the story of the great explosion of federal spending and debt and when the federal government's fiscal house came tumbling down.  It also tells the story of job creation, the economy and the issues connected to both.  Keep in mind that the national debt at the end of President Carter's last fiscal year was less than one trillion dollars.  It came in at $997 billion.  

Total federal spending in Reagan's 8 fiscal years was up 75%.  In Bush 41 four fiscal years total federal spending was up 28%.  In Bush 43 eight fiscal years total federal spending was up 61%.  Trump's fourth fiscal year ends 9/30/21 so his total federal spending is unknown at the time.  But we do know that spending in his first three fiscal years spending is up 28% from Obama's last three fiscal years.  Total federal spending in Clinton's 8 fiscal years was up 28% an even 14% in each term.  Total federal spending in Obama's 8 fiscal years was up 25%.  

Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump never balanced one federal budget in the 24 years they served and ended their last budget year with a larger federal deficit than when they took office.  Clinton reduced deficit spending every year his first four years in office and balanced the budget with surpluses every year his last four years in office.  His surpluses exceeded his total deficits.  Obama never balanced one federal budget but he did leave office with a smaller deficit than when he took office.  Bush's deficit when he left office was a record (at the time) $1.4 trillion.  It was the very first single year deficit to reach a trillion dollars.  Obama left office with a deficit of $666 billion and cut deficit spending five times.

Note:  No republican President has balanced the federal budget since President Eisenhower in 1960.  And no republican President has left office with a smaller deficit than when he took office in the last 60 years but every democratic President did leave office with a smaller deficit   than when he took office.  The only exception was President Carter.

The unemployment rate fell 2.1% on Reagan's watch.  It increased 1.9% on Bush 41 watch.  It increased 3.6% on Bush 43 watch and it increased 1.6% on Trump's watch.  The unemployment rate fell 3.1% on Clinton's watch and 3.1% on Obama's watch. 

Note:  Reagan is the only republican President in the last 72 years that left office with the unemployment rate lower than when he took office.  But every democratic President during that same period of time left office with a lower unemployment rate than when they took office.  The only exception was President Carter where the unemployment rate stayed the same when he left office as when he took office.  But Reagan also holds the record for the worst unemployment stretch in the last 72 years when the unemployment rate stood at over 10% for ten straight months from September 1982 to June 1983.  No other administration has come even close to that record.  

The national debt in Reagan's 8 fiscal years increased 187%.  It increased 54% on Bush 41 four fiscal years.  It increased 105% in Bush 43 eight fiscal years and so far under President Trump  it has increased 39% and his last fiscal year does not end until 9/30/21 so the percentage will be higher.  The national debt increased 31% on Clinton's watch and 70% on Obama's watch.

Note:  The Clinton administration paid down over $400 billion in the national debt, the only President to pay down anything on the debt in those 40 years.  The Reagan administration started the country off on its massive federal spending spree and increase in the national debt.

The country suffered an economic recession on the Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump watch despite the massive tax cuts by the Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump  administrations.  No economic recession took place on Clinton's watch and none originated on Obama's watch although Obama had to deal with the spill over of the Bush 43 great economic recession of 2008.  

Note:  Every republican administration in the last 100 years gave the country an economic recession.

The financial collapse of the Homestead Savings and Loan industry took place on Reagan's watch and the financial collapse of the Wall Street Banks took place on the watch of Bush 43.  Both events cost the federal government trillions of dollars and both enjoyed the benefits of the Reagan and Bush tax cuts.  Both enjoyed the deregulation of their industries also which was a factor in their collapse.

During Reagan's term in office 16.1 million new jobs were created.  During Bush 41 term in office, 2.5 million new jobs were created.  During Clinton's term in office 22.7 million new jobs were created.  During Bush 43 term in office, 1.3 million new jobs were created.  During Obama's term in office 11.3 million new jobs were created.  During Trump's term in office 2.7 million jobs were lost.  

Note.  President Clinton created more jobs in his 8 years in office than Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump created in the 24 years they served in office.  And President Obama created more jobs in his 8 years in office than Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump did in their 16 years in office.  And Clinton raised taxes on corporate America and the wealthy and Obama allowed the Bush 43 tax cuts to expire on those making over $550,000.00 a year.  Obama created more jobs than Trump did even before the economic recession and the coronavirus hit.  Those republican tax cuts failed to deliver.  President Obama also had to deal with the economy losing jobs his first year in office due to the Bush economic recession spill over.

The Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts cost the federal government trillions of dollars financed by deficit spending and never produced the results they all predicted.  It was trickle down economics that widened the gap in income in-equality that still exist today.  The federal governments fiscal house did much better on Clinton and Obama's watch.  Reagan came to office promising to balance the federal budget but never came close.  And in fact left office as the highest deficit spending administration at the time.

It took the U.S. over 200 years to past an expense budget over $1 trillion.  It took place on Reagan's watch in fiscal year 1987.  It then took 15 years to reach a $2 trillion spending budget in fiscal year 2002 under President George W. Bush.  It took another 7 years to post an expense budget of over $3 trillion under President George W. Bush.  It then took 8 years to reach a $4 trillion spending budget under President Trump in his first fiscal year.  It then took Trump only two years to post both a $5 and $6 trillion spending budget in his third fiscal year that ended 9/30/20.  And he has one more fiscal year to report.

The facts tell us that republican administrations are not only the big spenders in Washington, they are also the big deficit spenders and creators of record debt.  Their record on job creation, unemployment, economic recessions and balancing the federal budget has been a disaster.  The Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts denied the federal government of needed revenue that was necessary to move America and its people forward.  America can be thankful that the Clinton and Obama administrations came between those four republican administrations and put the country back on the right track economically and fiscally.  Other wise, no telling where the country would be at today.

And yes my fellow Americans, understanding the mistakes of the past are still the key to a better future.  The republicans refused to learn that so the future under their control was like the failed past.  And you read it hear first in PolitiDose many times.  So  stay tuned for your daily dose of political commentary.

Note:  Numbers shown in this commentary taken from the historical records of the Congressional Budget Office,  White House Office of Management and Budget, The U.S. Labor Department and the Treasury Department.  The CBO and White House Budget office uses the term OUTLAYS in place of the words spending but mean the same thing.  This commentary uses the words spending because that is the word members of congress usually always use.

Note:  This additional information contain the fiscal legacy of Trump's 4 fiscal years that were not complete when the article was written.  Federal deficit spending $7.632 trillion.  Total federal spending $21.5 trillion, up $6.5 trillion or 43% from Obama's last 4 fiscal years.  National debt at end of Trump's last fiscal year was $28.4 trillion, up $8.2 trillion or 41% from Obama's last fiscal year national debt which was $20.2 trillion.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

 

The Sean Payton - Drew Brees Era Comes To An End

It did not come as a surprise to this writer, especially how the last 4 years of play off hopes were cut short by being eliminated. The four losses at a time the sports writers were predicting great things, Brees and his team fell far short of expectations.  And Brees certainly did not play well when it counted, especially last year in the conference championship game with the Tampa Bay Bucs

Brees personal records speak for themselves but it was past time for him to move on.  And at this writing the Saints do not have on their roster a quarterback that Payton can count on to step in and lead.  The question of Hill being a successful quarterback to lead the Saints is pure speculation at this point because he does not even have one full season of experience at the position.  The only thing we do know is that he is an effective player at certain times in certain situations.

This writer in more than one commentary after the Saint's bounty gate affair wrote that Payton and Brees had already taken the Saints as far as they could go.  And that prediction turned out to be true the day Brees announced his retirement.  The hand writing was on the wall but the sports media kept promoting the theme that this or that season, the Saints had another Super Bowl team.

So what can be expected for the Saints future without Brees?  Time will tell and PolitiDose will  tell it like it is.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

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The U.S. Congress Approves President Biden's COVID Relief Stimulus Plan.

 The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday by a vote of 220-211 approved President Biden's COVID relief stimulus plan by adopting the changes made by the U. S. Senate a week earlier.  The $1.9 trillion stimulus bill will be signed into law on Friday by the President.  All democrats in the House and Senate voted for the bill while all republicans opposed.

The legislation addresses the multitude of problems that have resulted from the economic and pandemic recessions that began over a year ago when the country lost over 20 million jobs, of which 9 plus million jobs have yet returned to the economy.  The bill was passed under the budget reconciliation act which requires only 51 votes (a majority) in the U.S. Senate for passage.  The republicans used the same process in 2017 when they controlled congress and the White House to pass President Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cut.

Yet, as usual, the GOP attacked the process and so called liberal spending.  But so called conservative spending and deficit spending went thru the roof on Trump and the GOP's watch the last 4 years, but that was ok with the hypocritical GOP.  The latest poll showed 73% supported the stimulus plan and it was President Biden's first priority to put America back to work and end the recession and pandemic.

And once again, it will be a democratic administration that moves the country out of another republican recession and a better future to look forward to by the country and its people.  And that is the real issue.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

 

 

Job Creation and Unemployment For February 2021.

 The U.S. Labor Department reported 379,000 jobs were added to the economy in February and that the unemployment rate came in at 6.2%.  It was the best jobs month since October 2020 and higher than the 150,000 jobs that was predicted.  The report added:  (1)  That 4.2 million Americans stopped looking for work and are not counted in the unemployment numbers, which means that the 6.2% rate is actually higher.  (2)  9.5 million jobs lost to the recession have not returned to the economy.  (3)  That 6.4% of Americans are still not participating in the labor force, the highest rates seen since the 1970's,

The report tells us President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus is needed now to influence a more rapid growth in the economy and job creation.  Consumer spending represents 70% of the economy and the stimulus is designed to help the people and the states meet their financial needs to rehire people and for people to participate in the economy more than they are able to do now.  The President also has other plans for the economy and job creation with his plan for rebuilding and repairing the nations infrastructure that will put more Americans to work with good paying jobs.

Creating 379,000 jobs a month would take over 7 months just to put those 9.5 million people back to work who have lost their jobs.  It does not take care of those who are new to the job market so the President's plans and policies on the economy are important to moving the country forward with steady growth to meet the challenges that we know exist.

The GOP's obstruction and false rhetoric is well known and will continue.  But President Biden knows what it takes to govern and move the country to a more prosperous future for all Americans.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio