The Economic Good News For America and Its People Continues On President Biden's Watch.

The Commerce Department announced that the annual GDP rate grew 5.7% in 2021, the fastest growth since 1984.  And that the fourth quarter annual GDP rate (October thru December) grew at a robust 6.9% rate, higher than the pundits were expecting.  There was also economic good news concerning private investment and consumer spending.  

Consumer spending increased 7.9% in 2021 compared to 2020 and private investment increased 9.5%.  The annual GDP for 2020 was a minus -3.4% so the economy in 2021 saw a positive swing of 9.1% in the GDP.  Also reported was the fact that resurgence in demand was so robust it caught business off guard and created shortages that are still with us today.

The GDP number represents evidence the Biden administrations plans and policies are working and putting more money in consumer's pockets that is fueling the economic expansion.  And now it is important for Congress to pass the President's BBB legislation to keep the economy on solid ground for continued growth.  Senators Manchin and  Sinema need to get on board and forget about their power to obstruct. 

In one short year, President Biden's administration has achieved economically what Trump and the GOP could not in their four years in power.  And did so in every phase of the economy.  And once again it is a democratic administration that has reversed the failed economic ideology of a previous GOP administration.  "Politidose" was there to tell the story before it took place in commentary published in December 2020 and January 2021.  The prediction was based on the facts of past democratic precedents and the fact that the democratic party is best at governing.

All the GOP, the so called conservative media, the pundits and ditto heads have left are their noise of division, personal attacks, misinformation and outright lies to influence the people.  They are incapable of even telling their own supporters the truth.

America has a President in the White House who has carried through on his campaign promises and will continue the fight and put America and its people first with plans and policies that work.  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

The Sean Payton Era Ends For The New Orleans Saints.

 Sean Payton announced his retirement after 15 years as head coach of the New Orleans Saints.  It was sudden after some speculation about his future.  But at a news conference this week, Payton made his retirement official.  And the platitudes began to recount his time with the Saints.

Payton brought the Saints respectability in the NFL after years of being non-competitive and compiled a regular season record of 152-89.  His teams averaged 10 wins a season, qualified for 9 playoffs, had a 9-8 record in the playoffs, won the Super Bowl in 2009 and recorded 10 winning seasons as the Saints head coach.  The Saints went to and won the Super Bowl in Payton's fourth year as head coach, a remarkable accomplishment which his team never repeated in the 11 seasons since 2009.

And like nothing is ever perfect, all was not positive in Saint land.  Bounty gate reared its ugly head and set the team back for several seasons.  It took place on Payton's watch and he was fined and suspended from coaching one full year by the NFL.  Payton and Brees, praised by the Saint's sport writers as offensive genius, in the 9 playoff seasons they participated in, won more than 1 game only once, the Super Bowl year of 2009.  The Saints ended the 2021 regular season with a winning record of 9-8, only because the NFL added an extra game to the schedule.

The positives out weigh the negatives but "Politidose" was right on target when it predicted five years ago in commentary that Payton and Brees had already seen their best years as a Saint and it actually turned out that way.  So now the Saints will be looking for a new head coach and the world of sports media will be all over the place in their predictions.  But the bottom line is really fundamental balance.  If the Saints hire the right coach and produces a winner, Payton will just be a memory and Saint's fans and the sports world will soon forget.  That is the nature of sports.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

More Good Economic News For The Economy, The People and The Country.

 And it is taking place on President Biden's watch.  Intel announced it will build a $20 billion chip factory in Ohio to address the shortage that exist today for technology chips that run almost everything.  The new facility is expected to employ 3000 workers and 7000 construction jobs.  The new facility will also support tens of thousand workers for suppliers and partners the reported stated.

In another report expected to be announced soon, General Motors will invest $6.5 billion in Michigan to build a new electric vehicle battery facility and a third electric vehicle factory that would create a total of 4000 new jobs.  both announcements, when they actually take place will return manufacturing to the so called "rust belt" and lessen the need of overseas jobs.  

The commitments are good news for the country, its people and the economy and is in line with President Biden's plans to grow the electric vehicle market and relieve the shortage industries face on tech chips caused by major shut downs due to COVID.  It is also an endorsement of the President's long term plans for the U.S. economy and America's ability to compete world wide.

So, despite the noise machine and the GOP's do nothing attitude and obstruction, the President's policies are providing the thrust to move the country forward.  The GOP will continue their disinformation campaign to divide the country before the November congressional elections in an attempt to take control of congress, so the voters will have to stay vigilant.  And as Politidose predicted in commentary before Biden took office, the country and its people are seeing better times with a democrat in the White House and the reasons why. 

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

Ron Faucheux, A So Called Nonpartisan Political Analyst Fails The Test.

 Most people in New Orleans probably know Ron Faucheux as a pollster who appears on TV during state and local elections.  Sometimes he writes opinion published in the New Orleans Advocate as he did 1/17/22 with a column titled, "What a difference a year makes."  According to his article Biden's first year in office was a failure.  He cites several reasons which mimic the talking points of the GOP, Fox News and the noise machine out there who want to see the President fail.

And like the media in general, thought it would be better to go negative in his own opinion instead of writing about the positive accomplishments that took place for the country and its people, which were many. (and will be spelled out in a soon to be commentary in Politidose)  Of course, those who follow the political facts and are really nonpartisan understand democrats are much better at governing and have the facts to back it up.

Faucheux statement that democrats in congress botched just about everything they touched comes straight out of the GOP's playbook and as such a partisan statement.  The democratic controlled congress passed two of Biden's major legislative priorities, COVID relief and Infrastructure.  Biden's Build Back Better legislation lingers but will be passed this year and as Faucheux well knows the democratic controlled U.S. House passed all of Biden's legislation, COVID, Infrastructure, Build Back Better and ever Election Reform legislation.  

Faucheux's four stated reasons of his negative article are so aligned with the GOP and the noise machine of so called conservative thought, it leaves no room for the article to be nonpartisan in fact even though he quotes some polling data.  And for a Pollster himself, that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The National Football League: 2021 Was Another Non-Competitive Season.

The regular 2021 NFL season ended over a week ago with similar results of past seasons.  The numbers are not much different even though one extra game was added to the regular schedule making a total of 17 games.  Only 18 teams (56%) finished with a winning record out of the 32 total teams.  Ten teams from the AFC and eight teams from the NFC.

There was a total of 19 teams (58%) with 8 or more losses.  Nine from the AFC and ten from the NFC.  There were 11 teams (34%) with ten or more losses.  Last season in 2020 only 13 teams finished with a winning record which has been near par for the course for the last several years.  So the extra game this season gave a few more teams the opportunity to finish the season with a winning record vs. 2020 season.  Among them were the Saints, one of five teams to finish with a record of 9-8, one game above .500.  There was six wild card teams that made the playoffs along with the division champions.  During the first playoff round last weekend only Frisco survived the wild cards and will continue to play this weekend.

This NFL season continues to confirm "Politidose" commentary that the NFL is a non-competitive league with too many losses, too many poor coaches, too many poor teams and too many teams period.  Wild card teams should not be considered for the playoffs and only division champions should qualify.  After all, every team had the same chance to win their division and the wild cards failed to do so.  

It is time for the NFL, the sports media and the owners admit that wild card teams do not increase competition and became part of the game only to put more money in the pockets of the NFL, the media and the owners.  It has done nothing to increase competition and the won-loss records say so.  The number of teams need to be reduced from the present 32 and the playoffs should be restricted only to the division champs.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Note:  According to the  NFL, wild card teams were introduced to the NFL in 1978 and during that 43 year period 11 wild card teams have made it to the Super Bowl and only 7 of those 11 teams won a Super Bowl.

     

The New Orleans Saints Defeat The Atlanta Falcons 30 - 20 But Fail To Make The NFL Playoffs.

 The Saints did what they needed to do beating the Falcons, but the 49'ers also did what they needed to do and beat the Rams in overtime 27 - 24 to secure the last wild card berth for the playoffs.  The dramatic moment came soon after the Saints won their game and in the process the 49'ers overcame a 17 point Ram lead.

The Saints played well but their position was tenuous since they had no control over the 49'ers fate.  But in the end, the Saints were responsible for their own fate when they lost 6 games in an 8 game stretch including 5 consecutive losses during that 8 game stretch.  COVID and injuries can not be blamed as every team had to cope with those distractions.  

This writer, in Politidose commentary before the season started laid out some of the problems the Saints would face, including a problem at quarterback and just what the fans should expect.  And the Saints will  begin next season with the same problems.  (1)  A starting quarterback that has not experienced one full season as a Saint's starting quarterback.  (2)  A defense and offense that plays great for several games and then falters for several games.  This is nothing new and consistency has been lacking.  It raised its head for the Saints in the last two years, especially when they made the playoffs and were eliminated.  

The idea spun by one Saint's sports writer that Payton should be voted coach of the year after the team's tailspin is what fairy tales are made of.  The Saints record can make the case he failed to do his job.  But that story is for another time.  The most important thing Payton can do for his team is to put the cheat sheet down, let the offensive coordinator call the  plays and for Payton to start coaching and paying attention to what is taking place on the field.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Another Big First For "Politidose."

 Froma Harrop's opinion column in the New Orleans Advocate dated 1/5/22 titled, "Joe Biden's Economy Is Turning Out Really Well" was right on target, but nothing new to the readers of "Politidose" commentary who knew the U.S. economy would do well under Biden's democratic administration. 

"Politidose" commentary dated 12/7/2020 titled, "What will the New Year Bring Politically" and commentary dated 1/23/21 titled, "Joe Biden:  The 46th President of the United States" told the story why the Biden administration would bring back the economy and create jobs and how he would do it.  It was based on what is known as precedent of previous democratic administration and their record of success in turning around failed GOP leadership on economic matters.  It also has to do with the fact that democrats govern better than the GOP because democrats govern with policies and plans to face the issues while the GOP govern with an extreme ideology that never address the real issues.

Harrop's column is a little late but welcomed.  She wonders why the public has a lackluster opinion about Biden.  But like the media she represents, holds the key to the answer.  The media is too busy giving their time to Trump and the GOP noise machine and their daily lies and mis-information concerning Biden and the democratic party's agenda.  Positive news about what the Biden administration has accomplished is given little coverage.  The media also gives little coverage to the fact that every republican administration for the past 100 years has given the country an economic recession, yet they push the GOP rhetoric that the GOP are best at handling the economy.  The record is clear that is a fairy tale.

The facts tell us democratic administrations do a much better job governing than the GOP and by a wide margin.  So stay tuned to "Politidose" your daily dose of political commentary for the facts and the real story.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Job Creation and The Unemployment Rate for December 2021.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 199,000 jobs in December and that the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%.  It was the 11th straight month of positive job growth in Biden's first full 11 months in office. (Feb. - Dec).  A year ago in December 2020, the Labor Department reported the economy lost 140,000 jobs on Trump's watch, a swing of 330,000 jobs for the better this December.  The Department also noted that November's job numbers were 39,000 more than originally reported.

The 3.9% unemployment rate for December was much improved from the 6.3% rate in January 2021 when Trump left office.  Hourly wages for December were up 4.6% over November's numbers and workers are leaving their present employment to seek higher paying jobs elsewhere.  All in all, the report indicates the economy is still expanding and the virus surge will continue to play a negative tune on the economy to a certain degree.  That is the main reason why the President's BBB legislation should pass the senate as soon as possible to assist negate the effects of the virus.  It is a fundamental part of the President's policy for an economy that still needs to be primed to a certain extent.

So in Biden's first full 11 months in office, the economy has added 5,513,000 jobs, an average of 501,000 jobs per month according to the monthly reports of the Labor Department.  Trump, in his first 36 months in office (before the pandemic) 6.6 million jobs were added to the economy for a monthly average of 183,000 jobs per month.  And Trump ended his Presidency with a loss of over 3 million jobs, the worst job creation record since the great depression of 1928-1929.

President Biden's legislation that has passed congress is working to move the country and its people forward.  But understand, no economy is perpetual and able to survive on its own.  There has to be an ongoing policy and plan along the way available to implement when needed to face the issue that is a threat.  That is why Biden's leadership and policies are so important for the economy in 2022 and beyond.    

The year 2021 was a good start.  This year is important to keep the economy going forward.  The noise machine will continue to be negative and obstructive to divide the country until the November congressional elections.  It is up to every American to tune out the noise  and mis-information  for the good of the country and all of it citizens.  The democratic precedent of accomplishments continues under the Biden administration and those who pay attention along with the readers of Politidose commentary knew it would take place.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio