The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and the Unemployment Rate for April 2023.

 The U.S. Labor Department announced that the economy added 253,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate came in at 3.4%, down from 3.5% in March.  It was the 27th consecutive month of positive job growth under the Biden administration.  The Department also reported that wages were up 0.5% from March.  The economy continues to create jobs at a monthly average rate much higher than recorded before COVID.

The unemployment rate has stayed in the 3% range for 15 consecutive months since February 2022.  That is the lowest string of unemployment since the Lyndon Johnson administration when it stayed in the 3% range for 20 consecutive months in 1966-1967.  And for those who are ignorant on such matters, in the last 94 years only one Republican President has left office with a lower unemployment rate than when he took office and that was Ronald Reagan.  Every other Republican President, Hoover, Nixon-Ford, Bush 41, Bush 43 and Trump left office with a higher unemployment rate than when they took office.  No democratic President during that same period of time left office with a higher unemployment rate than when he took office.  And for the record, the nation lost 6.4 million jobs on Hoover's watch and 2.7 million jobs on Trump's watch.  

The jobs and unemployment numbers for April, once again shocked the negative voices of doom and gloom who were looking for a major slowdown and still predicting a recession to take place same time this year that keeps getting pushed back from their original prediction of the third quarter of 2022.  The negative voices still are incapable of saying anything positive about the economy.

The media in general is just as bad as the negative voices giving priority to negative news instead of the positives concerning the economy.  They know democratic administrations have a long historical record of creating jobs and putting America to work but never report the facts even though the numbers back it up.  They also know the GOP has no such record and are afraid to report it because their record is a disaster.

Even good economic conditions and results. when they exist, needs attention to keep progress moving forward for the country and its people.  No economy is self sustaining.  But we have a Federal Reserve, many corporate leaders and other negative voices who think you have to destroy jobs, raise unemployment and ruin the economy to make it better.  That is pure nonsense with no original thought and those are the same people who could help move the economy forward with a different policy attitude and support of the President's policies that turned the economy around for the better.

It is past time to get behind and support the President's policies that have worked and to support those issues that will keep the economy creating jobs, lowering unemployment, raise wages, reduce inflation and put the country in position to balance future budgets.  With political understanding we can keep the economy growing.  A positive attitude, policy and working together will get us there.  A negative attitude and division will not.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio  

The U.S. Economy: President Trump's First Two Years Vs. President Biden's First Two Years.

President Trump took office at a time the U.S. Economy was in it's 8th consecutive year of economic expansion, job creation was positive and unemployment was down 3.1% on President Obama watch.  Budget deficits were falling and federal spending was increasing at lower level than the previous administration.   There was no economic recession on the horizon to worry about.  During Trump's first 24 months in office the GDP (Gross National Product) grew at an average of 2.5% per year.  Unemployment was down 7/10th of 1%.  It was 4.7% when he took office and 4% two years later.  Job Creation for Trump's first 36 months in office (before COVID) averaged 183,333 jobs per month.  

President Biden took office with an economic recession and COVID pandemic in full swing, job creation in negative territory, an unemployment rate of 6.3%, negative GDP, the largest federal spending spree in the history of the U.S., increasing deficits and a record number increase in the national debt for any Presidential term.  During President Biden's first 24 months in office the GDP averaged 4% per year.  The unemployment rate was down 2.9%.  It was 6.3% when he took office and was 3.4% two years later.  Unemployment has stood in the 3% range for 14 consecutive months, the longest stretch since the Kennedy-Johnson years.  Job creation in Biden's first 24 months averaged 458,000 jobs per month, a record for any 24 month period.

The 24 month period tells us how each President's administration performed after what they inherited from the previous administration and how they responded.  We know the full details of how the Trump administration ended because it is already in the history books and is not a flattering one. 

The story tells us the country and its people did well the first 24 months of the Biden's administration despite inflation and the negative voices of doom and gloom who refuse to talk about the positive accomplishments that took place in America.  The President's report card is not the final judgement, but that day will come when his full term can be measured and recorded. 

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

The GOP Trys To Define Others and It's Opponents In Order To Influence Public Opinion and Divide The Country.

 A good example over the years in their attempt to define democrats as "liberals" but define the term as something other than the true meaning of "liberal."  They use the word to divide the people and misrepresent what "liberal" really stands for.  A large part of the GOP's reason to do so is that they cannot articulate what their own party stands for or compete with the facts on the issues because of their own extreme ideology.  

President Kennedy, who was very articulate in his speech and was willing to debate the merits of "liberalism" vs. "conservatism" with U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater who was running against Kennedy for a second term said this about being a "liberal" in his book, "Profiles in Courage."  (in which Kennedy defined the true meaning of "liberalism.")  IF BY A LIBERAL THEY MEAN SOMEONE WHO LOOKS AHEAD AND NOT BEHIND, SOMEONE WHO WELCOMES NEW IDEAS WITHOUT RIGID REACTIONS, SOMEONE WHO CARES ABOUT THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE-THEIR HEALTH, THEIR HOUSING, THEIR SCHOOLS, THEIR JOBS, THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS AND THEIR CIVIL LIBERTIES-SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES WE CAN BREAK THROUGH THE STALEMATE AND SUSPICIONS THAT GRIP US IN OUR POLICIES ABROAD, IF THAT IS WHAT THEY MEAN BY A "LIBERAL" THAN I AM PROUD TO SAY I AM A "LIBERAL."

Now, with the Republican party in decay and toxic under their leader Donald Trump, they discovered a new word to try and define the democratic party for the people using the word "woke."  After losing the popular vote 7 times in the last 8 Presidential elections, participating in Trump's corrupted administration that tried to over throw the 2020 election, supported Trump's effort to turn America into an autocratic governing body , created a fiscal calamity and economic recession that lost 21.5 million jobs, the GOP thought they needed a new word to define the democratic party so they hung their hat on the word "woke" to try and redefine the democratic party for the people.

President Biden who is not even close to President Kennedy when it comes to being articulate, demonstrated the true "liberal" spirit and definition with his policies that moved the country and its people away from the Trump/GOP failures of the previous 4 years.  And every step to true progress in moving America forward began with the "liberal" philosophy and the record speaks for itself.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

The Real Story of Louisiana's Congressmen Steve Scalise and Garret Graves.

Two opinion columns published in the New Orleans Advocate of 4/23 and 4/25 by opinion writer's Stephanie Grace and Mark Ballard concerning Scalise and Graves missed the real story about the GOP's attempt to hold America hostage over the "debt ceiling" and how speaker of the house Kevin McCarthy turned to Graves to lead the effort instead of majority leader Scalise.

The real story tells the tale of how McCarthy, Scalise and Graves, who served during the Trump administration and voted with Trump the majority of the time was part of a administration that became the biggest spending administration in the history of the U.S. and still raised the "debt ceiling" without demanding any budget cuts or less spending.  It was also their administration that increased the national debt $8.2 trillion in 4 fiscal years, the largest ever number in the national debt during any Presidential one term.  

In the 40 years that Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, Obama and Trump served, $17.7 trillion (65%) was added to the national debt by those 4 GOP Presidents.  $9.7 trillion (35%) was added to the national debt by those two democratic Presidents.  Year to year federal spending in the last 50 years was down four times.  Three times during the Obama administration in fiscal 2010,2012 and 2013.  It was down once in Biden's first fiscal year ending 9/30/22.  No GOP administration in that same time period ever reduced year to year federal spending.

McCarthy, Scalise and Graves are still supporters of Donald Trump, voted for his $1.5 trillion tax cuts financed by deficit spending which the government is still paying for.  They cared nothing about the fiscal disaster they created during their own administration, and to think editorial writers speak of Graves and Scalise as assets for the state of Louisiana in Congress.  No one can be supporters of Trump and be an asset.  

The GOP's hypocritical bill passed the House by a vote of 217-215 but will not become law because the GOP has no record of reducing federal spending or reducing deficit spending.  In other words, the GOP cannot "walk the talk."  Democratic administrations have a proven record of reducing federal spending and deficit spending and as a result can and already have "walked the talk."  The latest example was Biden's first fiscal year budget which ended 9/30/22 where federal spending was down 8% from Trump's last fiscal year budget.  And the deficit was down over 50% from Trump's last fiscal year budget.  

The numbers and the records, really do matter.

Note:  Past PolitiDose commentary break down all  the numbers and the source of information used concerning the federal budget, deficit spending, the national debt, federal spending and etc.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

The U.S. Economy, Job Creation and The Unemployment Rate for March 2023.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that the economy added 236,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate came in at 3.5%, down from 3.6% in February.  It was the 26th straight month of positive job growth for the President's administration.  The Department also announced that wages increased 0.3% in March over February and that the year over year growth was 4.2%.  Also, February job creation was 326,000 and not the 311,000 jobs earlier reported.

The economy continues to create jobs with a stable unemployment rate not seen in 50 years and wages continue to grow.  Yet, the negative voices keep up their 15 months of doom and gloom chatter of recession, the collapse of the banking system and everything else they can think of.  CEO's and executives of some of the largest corporations are part of the negative chatter, have urged the Feds to raise interest rates high and fast that would cause job layoffs and higher unemployment and threaten the progress of the U.S. economy.  Some of those corporations are so large they could have been a force for lowering inflation long ago and they dropped the ball for the sake of greed and higher profits.

There was a time in America before the internet and social media when good news about the economy was reported in a positive atmosphere of accomplishment and pride.  now the opposite is taking place even though the negative voices have been wrong about the economy since the President took office.

The official U.S. economic arbiter on recessions  for the past 50 years has been The National Bureau of Economic Research and they announced that the last time the U.S. entered an economic recession was in February of 2020, a month before COVID hit, and that recession ended the 10 year period of economic expansion.  The negative voices of today were silent about that information.  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

Pollster Ron Faucheux Gets Caught Up In Poll Numbers.

 Faucheux's opinion column of 4/3 in the New Orleans Advocate titled, "A shocking picture of American values, trends" says in his first sentence, American values have fallen off a cliff based on a recent Wall Street Journal NORC poll.  He then goes on to say the survey data cannot be easily explained away.  But being a pollster himself, Faucheux knows polls do not reflect the real answers because questions asked and answered are based on so much misinformation gathered over the internet and social media that the public is exposed to every day.

A good example is Fox News and their viewers.  The network is rated #1 for cable news and for many years running thanks to their viewers.  However, everyone knows Fox news is based on lies and misinformation but viewers do not care and even believe the lies and misinformation.  The same applies to the conservative media in general.

The most important poll to see where the people stand as a nation are the Presidential elections where the vote (poll) is taken nation wide and not based on sound bites.  And in the last 8 Presidential elections, the democratic Presidential candidate won the popular vote in 7 of those elections.  Bush 43 was the only GOP Presidential candidate to win the popular vote and in his second term during that time period.  

Regular polls you hear about almost every week are slanted that change with the wind and are affected by the questions asked which may not be relevant.  The pollsters have failed to recognize the people's true feelings when the popular vote (poll) went against Trump in both Presidential elections and by large margins, especially against Joe Biden.  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

Another Steve Scalise Editorial Full of Misinformation and Untruths That Is His trademark and The GOP's Usual Pro Oil and Gas Rhetoric.

 In a New Orleans Advocate editorial of April 4 titled, "American families need cost of energy lowered" was the typical hype past statements by Scalise and the GOP concerning their in-bed relationship with the Oil and Gas industry.  Scalise's bill passed the GOP controlled house titled, Lower Energy Costs Act is the latest example of folly.

Scalise claims that his legislation will produce more drilling and production, more timely offshore lease sales and reduce regulations that would end up reducing the price of oil and gas and lower inflation.  But we know the price of a barrel of oil and gallon of gas is not connected to inflation.  Just this week, OPEC announced a production cut and immediately American oil  and gas industry followed and the next day prices increased in the U.S. 

It is also a fact that the La. Dept. of Natural Resources and Office of Conservation published the offshore drilling activity historical data monthly and yearly and it reveals that the average offshore rig count during President Obama's first term was 33 working rigs and during his second term it average 38 working rigs per year.  During Trump's four years the offshore rig count averaged 17 working rigs per year.  So, Louisiana and the oil and gas industry did much better during the Obama administration even though Scalise said President Obama's moratorium after the BP Oil spill and blowout would cause an exodus of offshore rigs from the Gulf.  The industry did not do so well under Trump because why drill when they received a 14% reduction in their corporate tax rate thanks  to Trump  and the GOP.  Scalise never mentions that America became the world's leading producer of oil on President Obama's watch and that oil hit a record price at the time on  the watch of President George W. Bush.  Where were Scalise and the GOP during the oil and gas meltdown on Trump's watch?  They were running the show.

It is nothing new for those who follow the facts, the oil and gas industry has its best years during democratic administrations and in the past 42 years the Clinton administration saw the largest yearly number of offshore rigs working the Gulf of Mexico when it averaged 90 working rigs per year.  It was also the most stable price time for a barrel of oil and a gallon of gas.

If the bill ever arrives on the President's desk, President Biden should veto the bill for three reasons.  The President knows the facts, the bill is just another Social give away to big oil and the President will not back off his green energy policy of phasing out fossil fuels over a period of time.  

And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

The Indictment of Donald Trump Is A Basic One.

Forget about Donald Trump being a President or former one for that matter.  Forget about the GOP and their noise machine.  Forget about the media's talk about the indictment being in new territory.  Forget about the attacks on our judicial system and our laws of governing some congressional members are trying to use to distract from the real issue.  Forget about those who are trying to define the indictment for you to control your thoughts.  Why?  Because the indictment is a basic indictment before a basic grand jury of peers.  But, more important, forget about all the noise.

The indictment will contain the same information and charges in any other indictment.  The subject will be arraigned, there will be a trial according to the laws of the state, Mr. Trump will be defended by his attorney just like anyone else on trial and a verdict will be issued.  Mr. Trump and his attorneys will have the power of discovery like anyone else.  But the most compelling reason the indictment is a basic one are founded in our democratic legal process of, "No One Is Above The Law" code.  It is a law code those who live by ideology love to forget, those in power love to destroy and those who seek authoritarian rule turn their backs on.  

The indictment now brings us to the next basic step in law enforcement.  The legal system will play out and a decision will be rendered.  And the whole process will not recognize the defendant as being a former President of the United States.  He will be a defendant, just like everyone else in the eyes of the law.  So my fellow Americans, do not pay attention to the side show you will see unfold in the media. 

And that is the way it should be.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio 

The U.S. House Passes The GOP's Energy Bill.

The Republican controlled House passed their energy legislation on Thursday by a vote of 225-204.  All Republicans except one voted for the bill and all Democrats except 4 voted against the bill.  Louisiana's little boy representative Steve Scalise used the same language to support the bill that in the past has proved to be false.  The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate for its actions.

The Congressional Budget Office reported that if passed it estimated that the repeal of climate provisions in the bill would increase the nations deficit by about $2.4 billion by 2033, reduce direct spending by $4 billion and reduce revenue by $6.4 billion and that is only one part of the legislation.  Scalise and his party failed to do anything on their own watch under Trump.

This writer offers the following on what the U.S. Senate might want to do with the bill.  (1)  They can remind the GOP that the GOP controlled House during the Obama administration failed to even take up the Senate's comprehensive Immigration reform legislation the Senate passed, never even debated it and just let it die without even a hearing.  (2)  They can remind the GOP that during the Obama administration the GOP controlled U.S. Senate failed to give Obama's Supreme Court Justice a hearing and a vote on his nomination, they just let it die.  (3)  Or the democratic controlled Senate could put the legislation up for a hearing and a vote.

The Senate would be justified if they just let the bill die based on the GOP's past performance.  This writer believes the best political, democratic and workable decision would be for a Senate debate and vote on the bill and then let the President decide if he will sign it or veto it if it passes the Senate.  There are no good reasons why the democrats should start being ditto heads like the GOP.

President Biden and the democratic party are the only sane voices in Washington on the economy, jobs, moving the country and its people forward for the better and defending democracy and democratic institutions.  And yes, the oil industry is doing well on the President's watch.  The federal government lost trillions of dollars in revenue because of the Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts and now the CBO tells us the government will lose $6.4 billion more revenue just in one part of the GOP passed energy legislation.  

Is it any wonder why the GOP are the deficit and creator of debt champions?  And that really says it all.

This commentary written by Joe Lorio

Louisiana's Little Boy Congressman In The U.S. House Steve Scalise Strikes Out In President Biden's Veto.

President Biden vetoed legislation passed by the GOP controlled U.S. House that was introduced by Scalise and his majority leader Kevin McCarthy.  The President vetoed the legislation because it jeopardizes the hard earned life savings of cops, firefighters, teachers and other workers according to White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson.  The legislation would have reinstated a Trump era ban on federal managers of retirement plans considering factors such as climate change, social impacts or pending lawsuits when making investment choices.   

The House failed in its attempt to overide the President's veto and once again it demonstrates why Nancy Pelosi was such a highly regarded and capable speaker of the U.S. House.  Nancy has political understanding, something necessary and needed to govern.  It is something Scalise and the GOP lack and why they are trying to reverse legislation approved previously by the Biden administration.  

And yes, Nancy Pelosi is still a better woman than Scalise and the GOP are men.  And that really says it all.  

This commentary written by Joe Lorio