Dear Editor,

Are we tired of “winning” yet?

My president hopes not, however the one “win” he might claim is slowly fading. Not divisive issues like borders, Russia, missiles, size of crowds, or what the heck is Ivana doing?

But the economy, estupido.

Despite an upward, but sputtering, the stock market of which I’m sure all Warrenites have tons of their spare wages heavily dumped into Google (one share=$1,224.), Tesla (1=$235.80) and Canopy Growth (1=$40), the economy is teetering on entering a Recession.

My president’s one major win, jobs/economy/coal/rich guys are no longer projected to continue.

Imagine that? A cyclical economy, one wherein no one person, no one party, no one cycle “wins” forever. Oh, my president would like to assert his heady business acumen into the mix (3 bankruptcies) by threatening the independent Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, however, it is merely fodder for Fox News soundbites.

Despite the POTUS BS, coal is not making a resurgence and is not winning. From the headlines, “… the latest U.S. coal plant to close: FirstEnergy’s Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia. It’s No. 268 in a long line of U.S. coal plants that have shut down. Even more recently, “HELENA, Mont. – The company that operates a coal-fired power plant in eastern Montana said Tuesday it will close two of the plant’s four units about 30 months ahead of schedule because of the high cost of running them and the unwillingness of its coal supplier to lower prices.” According to data from the Energy Information Administration more coal capacity closed in the first 45 days of 2018 than in the first three years of the Obama administration. Out of work coal miners voted for Trump. Yep, tired of “winning” that one.

Despite the POTUS BS, the middle-class economy is not making a resurgence, “Wages haven’t risen much. (NOTE: Your Republican Pennsylvanians voted to keep your minimum wage at $7.25) Inflation has been low, helping keep the price of most staple goods down, though with gasoline prices a costly exception. The tax cut has left more money in most middle-class families’ pockets, but only a bit.”

“In terms of assets, the typical middle-income family has either zero or minimal holdings in the stock market, meaning the surge since November 2016 hasn’t paid direct benefits. But most households in this income bracket do carry some credit card debt, which has become more expensive amid rising interest rates.” -source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/upshot/how-the-economic-lives-of-the-middle-class-have-changed-since-2016-by-the-numbers.html

And finally, despite the POTUS BS, jobs are down. “Hiring was weak in May as employers added 75,000 jobs when economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected 178,000 job gains. Adding to the concerns: Payroll gains for March and April combined were revised down by a total 75,000. March’s additions were revised from 189,000 to 153,000, and April’s, from 263,000 to 224,000.”-source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/06/07/jobs-report-economy-added-just-75-000-jobs-may/1374420001/

The upshot is that, despite all the rhetoric, how much have you benefitted lately? How has America as a whole, not just rich guys, benefitted?

Maybe some on the fence in 2020 should rethink making Trump great again. After all, to quote a guy, “What do you have to lose?”

Dedicated to a Scandia northern light and bolt of lightning, JLB.

Regards,

Scott Robert Blume,

Clarendon