April 30, 2020
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
Economy contracted 4.8 percent in the first quarter as job losses top 30 million in a little over a month in bid to stop the virus
The U.S. economy contracted by
a massive, inflation-adjusted 4.8 percent in the first quarter according to the
Bureau of Economic Analysis as job losses topped 30.3 million with another 3.8
million initial unemployment insurance claims in the federal and state
governments’ bids to stop the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. Factor in the 5.8
million who already were unemployed when unemployment was at a 50-year low of
3.5 percent, and the effective unemployment rate could already be 21.9 percent
with 36 million out of work. All that in just six weeks. Something to keep in
mind the next time the government wants to encourage people not to work with
Green New Deal or universal income schemes, the damage of which would be
equally devastating. In comparison, it took two-and-a-half years to get to 25
percent unemployment in the 1930s as deflation washed away the global economy,
four years to get back down to 11 percent, and then not was not until the U.S.
entry into World War II that the numbers got back to “full” employment with
millions of men enlisted in the armed forces. More than a decade ago in the
Great Recession and the financial crisis, it took more than two years to lose
8.3 million jobs, and then almost five years to get those jobs back.
Video: Merchandiser Says Entertainment Industry Suffering
COVID-19 has done
unprecedented damage to entertainment, an industry that has stood strong for
centuries. A merchandiser who works entertainment tours tells us how his
experience has been during the lockdown.
Another 3.8 million file for initial unemployment insurance claims, totals more than 30 million over the past six weeks
Americans for Limited
Government President Rick Manning: “The unemployment claims surge is beginning
to diminish and with multiple states partially re-opening their economies, it
is likely that many of the 30 million who filed unemployment claims over the
past six weeks will be brought back to work. Congress needs to fix the
changes made in the unemployment law which pays about half of those who have
lost their jobs more money to sit on the sidelines than to go back to
work. The objective of the unemployment system is to provide a bridge for
those who lose their jobs, in any next stimulus package must end the work
disincentive payments. Re-Opening America Now means getting Americans back to
work, and government policies which make it more profitable to sit on the
sidelines than to earn a living are nothing more than deliberate attempts to
keep America broken and dependent upon government.”
Catherine Herridge: Newly unsealed FBI records show internal debate over goal of Flynn probe
“Newly unsealed FBI notes show
that during an internal discussion about the bureau's investigation of
then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, an unknown author questioned
whether the goal was ‘Truth/Admission’or ‘to get him to lie.’ The single page
of handwritten notes is dated January 24, 2017, the same day of Flynn's White
House FBI interview. While the author is not identified, the initials
"EP" appear near the date. CBS News has reached out to a former FBI
official to confirm whether that official is the author. The notes are lightly
redacted, and read in part, ‘We have a case on Flynn & Russians.’ In
a section titled ‘Afterwards,’ it states, ‘What is our goal? Truth/Admission or
to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?’ The notes
continue, ‘If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act give facts to DOJ +
have them decide..If we're seen as playing games, WH will be furious.
Protect our institution by not playing games.’”
Economy contracted 4.8 percent in the first quarter as job losses top 30 million in a little over a month in bid to stop the virus
By Robert Romano
The U.S. economy contracted by a massive, inflation-adjusted 4.8 percent in the first quarter according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis as job losses topped 30.3 million with another 3.8 million initial unemployment insurance claims in the federal and state governments’ bids to stop the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
Factor in the 5.8 million who already were unemployed when unemployment was at a 50-year low of 3.5 percent, and the effective unemployment rate could already be 21.9 percent with 36 million out of work.
All that in just six weeks. Something to keep in mind the next time the government wants to encourage people not to work with Green New Deal or universal income schemes, the damage of which would be equally devastating.
In comparison, it took two-and-a-half years to get to 25 percent unemployment in the 1930s as deflation washed away the global economy, four years to get back down to 11 percent, and then not was not until the U.S. entry into World War II that the numbers got back to “full” employment with millions of men enlisted in the armed forces.
More than a decade ago in the Great Recession and the financial crisis, it took more than two years to lose 8.3 million jobs, and then almost five years to get those jobs back.
Unknown factors that might make that number slightly lower are small businesses who have applied for payroll protection since the economic crisis brought on by the state government-directed closures began.
On the other hand, the number could also be much larger when overwhelmed state unemployment claims systems and off-the-books employers letting workers go who would have been ineligible for unemployment insurance are all taken into account.
We’ll have some more information to consider when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the monthly unemployment report on May 8 and when we get to see how many people remained on unemployment assistance through April with continued claims.
Making matters worse, if past recessions and interest rates are any guide, the economic devastation could continue to mount even after states are fully reopened as the cycle works its way through.
Should deflation set in with the U.S. dollar stronger than ever relative to that of foreign trade partners as central banks and financial institutions flood into U.S. treasuries and other dollar-denominated assets in a flight to safety, that could make things even worse.
You see, the economy is actually quite a delicate thing. It cannot be turned on and off like a light switch. It took about a month to get it on the ground to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save as many lives as possible. Now, as the virus wanes, how long it will take to get it back up in the air is anyone’s guess.
As the bad economic news continues to mount, all eyes turn towards President Donald Trump, Congress and phase four legislation intent on jumpstarting the U.S. economy. If there was ever a time both parties need to work together, it is right now. Failure to act in a timely manner could jeopardize society itself.
Already the federal government has responded with more than $2.7 trillion that can be leveraged up to more than $6 trillion to save small and large businesses and to prop corporate and municipal bond markets.
In terms of how large phase four will need to be, I’d say think big, Mr. President. It will extraordinary leadership to lead us out of the virus-induced depression we suddenly find ourselves in, and so far, as the job losses mount by the millions on a weekly basis, no matter how big we think the problem is — it is probably much, much bigger.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
Video: Merchandiser Says Entertainment Industry Suffering
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGGBIjznLh8
Another 3.8 million file for initial unemployment insurance claims, totals more than 30 million over the past six weeks
April 30, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the latest unemployment insurance initial claims:
“The unemployment claims surge is beginning to diminish and with multiple states partially re-opening their economies, it is likely that many of the 30 million who filed unemployment claims over the past six weeks will be brought back to work. Congress needs to fix the changes made in the unemployment law which pays about half of those who have lost their jobs more money to sit on the sidelines than to go back to work. The objective of the unemployment system is to provide a bridge for those who lose their jobs, in any next stimulus package must end the work disincentive payments. Re-Opening America Now means getting Americans back to work, and government policies which make it more profitable to sit on the sidelines than to earn a living are nothing more than deliberate attempts to keep America broken and dependent upon government.”
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured report from CBS News’ Catherine Herridge, the FBI sought to trap former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn in a perjury trap when it initiated its investigation of the White House in Jan. 2017 under false allegations that he and the President were really Russian agents:
Newly unsealed FBI records show internal debate over goal of Flynn probe
By Catherine Herridge
Newly unsealed FBI notes show that during an internal discussion about the bureau's investigation of then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, an unknown author questioned whether the goal was "Truth/Admission" or "to get him to lie."
The single page of handwritten notes is dated January 24, 2017, the same day of Flynn's White House FBI interview. While the author is not identified, the initials "EP" appear near the date. CBS News has reached out to a former FBI official to confirm whether that official is the author.
The notes are lightly redacted, and read in part, "We have a case on Flynn & Russians." In a section titled "Afterwards," it states, "What is our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?"
The notes continue, "If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act give facts to DOJ + have them decide..If we're seen as playing games, WH will be furious. Protect our institution by not playing games."
The Logan Act is an obscure statute designed to prevent individuals from claiming to represent the United States in negotiations with foreign powers.
The FBI declined to comment on the notes.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators more than two years ago about his communications with the Russian ambassador, and as part of the plea, agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators. More recently, Flynn's legal team has sought to withdraw the plea.
In response to the note, constitutional law professor and CBS News contributor Jonathan Turley tweeted, "We need to hear from the DOJ official on the meaning of this note. However, the reference to the Logan Act is particularly chilling. It suggests the use of a flagrantly unconstitutional act to trap a top Trump official."
Turley continued, "This is just one document (though more is expected to be released) However, it adds troubling new details to an already dubious prosecution by the Justice Department."
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