Make America Informed Again

Not to pick on Rich Kirchen and The Milwaukee Business Journal, but is this, President Donald Trump Touts Economic Record At Downtown Milwaukee Campaign Rally, really journalism?

The article repeats all of Trump's lies and then, I guess for counterpoint, it gives a quote from Mayor Tom Barrett.

Reporting needs to have context. It's fine to recap the many claims Trump spewed at his rally, but the reporting on such should include context, corrections and details regarding the claims made by Trump. In this instance, it should have been pointed out that most of what Trump was claiming is not true.

Such as the claim the country is experiencing the lowest average unemployment rate in history. It's just not true. And, also, much of the low unemployment is due to policies undertaken during the Obama administration.

Trump made claims of wage growth and a blue-collar boom. Also, just not true. 

Wage growth is being held back by political decisions and the Trump administration is on the wrong side of key debates

Why aren't wages rising faster even with low unemployment? Trade war, weaker economy are among reasons

Weak job and wage growth weigh on these Trump states

The article then went on to list the many derogatory names Trump has for his opponents. Such a list would be fine if it were (dis)qualified with something about maturity, decorum and how unbecoming such behavior is for the office, but no such admonishment was included.

It went on reporting of Trump claiming the Make American Great Again strategy was the "greatest movement in the history of the country." Yet, no push-back on this either. Not equal rights, civil rights or women's rights. Make American Great Again isn't a movement. It's a lie and an embarrassment. 

The article closes with Pence parroting false or inflated job creation and wage growth claims.

US job creation slowed under Trump in 2019 to the lowest growth in 8 years

Job creation seen tapering off in December amid tight labor market and slower economy

US job creation in 2019 slowest in 8 years

A media that doesn't give context doesn't really present reality. This type of vapid regurgitation acting as reporting is why so many Americans are misinformed and we have an orange buffoon for president. Our media must do better. 

Top 1.0% Of Earners See Wages Up 157.8% Since 1979

[source]

Weekend Reading

State Shared Revenue: Not So Much Going On
The Story of Stagnant Wage Growth
An Unlikely Group Of Billionaires And Politicians Has Created The Most Unbelievable Tax Break Ever
So Many Seats, So Many Tax Breaks
This Is Why Lawmakers Want To Gut The Endangered Species Act
White Americans Support Welfare Programs - But Only For Themselves, Says New Research
Koch-backed Study Finds Medicare For All Would Save U.S. Trillions
Much Of The U.S. Electric Grid Could Go The Way Of The Landline Phone
Most Wealthy Countries Aren't Religious. Then There's The U.S.
Billionaires Gone Wild
How Government Helps The Economy
Rulers Of The World: Read Karl Marx
A Radical Defense Of The Right To Strike
Stock Buybacks, Explained
The Trump Administration's Giant Fuck You To Working People
Chris Abele Suspending Values Tour

Sunday Reading

Monopoly Rents And Corporate Taxation
Basically Every Problem In The US Economy Is Because Companies Have Too Much Power
The Hit Job On Chief Flynn
UW's Noah Williams Isn't Just A RW Hack. He's A Koch Addict
Harvey Shows Anti-Government Crowd's Utter Hypocrisy
Tax On Hybrids And Electric Vehicles Is Poor Economic Policy
David Brooks Gets Story On Wage Growth And Productivity Completely Wrong
How Local Housing Regulations Smother The US Economy
The Voting Commission Is A Fraud Itself
Why American Workers Pay Twice As Much In Taxes As Wealthy Investors
Houston's Flooding Shows What Happens When You Ignore Science And Let Developers Run Rampant
Why America Still Hasn't Learned The Lessons Of Katrina
Exempting Suburbia
Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation?

Labor Market Progress and the Employment Situation

[source]

Americans Got Raise Last Year For First Time Since 2007

Americans Got Raise Last Year for First Time Since 2007

In a long-awaited sign that middle-class Americans are finally seeing real economic gains, U.S. households got a raise last year after seven years of stagnant incomes. Rising pay also lifted the poorest households, cutting poverty by the sharpest amount in nearly a half-century. 

Higher minimum wages in many states and tougher competition among businesses to fill jobs pushed up pay, while low inflation made those paychecks stretch further. The figures show that the growing economy is finally benefiting a greater share of American households... 

Still, median incomes remain 1.6 below the $57,423 reached in 2007. The median is the point where half of households fall below and half are above... 

Even so, it follows years of tepid pay gains that contributed to widespread political turmoil, driving insurgent presidential candidacies from GOP nominee Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Median household income remains 2.4 percent below the peak it reached in 1999.

Good news, but no need for policy-makers to get carried away. The Fed doesn't need to raise interest rates just yet. And, with income inequality still near record highs, there's plenty of room for much more wage-growth below the top 1 percent.

Decline of Unions Has Hurt All Workers

Decline of unions has hurt all workers

The steep decline in union membership in recent decades has had an outsize effect on the American workforce, tamping down wage increases for nonunion workers, a new study says. 

Average weekly earnings for nonunion private-sector male workers would have been 5%, or $52, higher in 2013 if the share of union workers had remained at 1979 levels, according to the study out Tuesday from the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute ahead of Labor Day. That’s tantamount to a loss of $2,704 annually for the average nonunion worker. 

The paper was authored by Washington University sociologists Jake Rosenfeld and Patrick Denice, and Jennifer Laird, a research scientist at Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy. 

The earnings loss is smaller for women because they were not as unionized as men in 1979. Weekly wages would be about 2% to 3% higher for women if union membership had stayed at 1979 levels, the report says. 

About 10% of male private-sector workers were union members in 2013, down from 34% in 1979. In that period, the share of women who belong to unions fell to 6% from 16%. 

The report argues the dwindling influence of unions is a significant but often ignored reason for wage stagnation, along with globalization, technological change and the slowdown in educational achievement gains. 

The prevalence of unions affects the pay of nonunion workers in various ways, the study says. Nonunion employers often raise their workers’ pay to foster loyalty and head off an organizing drive. Kodak deployed that strategy in highly organized New York State, the study says. 

The fatter paychecks of union workers also creates a more competitive labor market that forces nonunion companies to lift wages to prevent employees from jumping ship. And unions often establish labor-friendly policies that generally promote fairness in pay, benefits and worker treatment, according to the report. 

The gains of yesteryear were not limited to nonunion workers at risk of joining unions, the study says. When those workers received raises, their higher-level supervisors who couldn't join unions also saw sharper pay increases to maintain salary hierarchies, the paper says. 

But the losses engendered by shrinking union participation are most pronounced for nonunion private-sector male workers who lack a Bachelor's degree. Wages for that group would be 8% higher in 2013 if union membership had stayed at 1979 levels, translating into an annual wage loss of $3,016.

Interest Rates, Bureaucracy, Unionization & Inequality

Hike They Shouldn't
Principled Populism
Relationship Between US Productivity & The Decline in The Labor Share of National Income
Most Americans Get 'Free Stuff' From The Government
Hail to the Pencil Pusher
Union Power & Inequality

Weekend Reading

Low-Income Workers See Biggest Drop In Paychecks
What Does The Average Rent Get You In These U.S. Cities?
Donald Trump Is Rich Because His Dad Was Rich
New Study Argues Hedge Funds Are Even Worse Scam Than We Thought
A More Accurate Measure Of Economic Output
The Stock Market Is Not The Economy
Wage Growth Continues To Be The Key To Social Security Solvency
Tax Cuts Do Little To Spur Job Growth
Waukesha Doesn't Need Lake Michigan Water
Waukesha Plans For Lake Michigan Water Raises Worries
Waukesha Request For Great Lakes Water Should Be Nixed
The Antidote To Economic Anxiety Is Better Government

Wisconsin Reading

Wisconsin Sinks In Job, Wage Growth Rankings
Wisconsin Roads Third-Worst In Nation
Does City Violence Deserve High-Level Meetings Like Arena?
Think Wisconsin Doesn't Rely On Gambling? Think Again
Scott Walker Is The Absolute Worst
What Makes Scott Walker Run?
$4.9 Million In WEDC Loans Delinquent
Wisconsin On Pace For Most Layoff Notifications Of Walker Administration In 2015
Paul Ryan Loves Talking About Poverty, But He Keeps Getting The Basic Facts Wrong
Scott Walker Has A Plan To Crush What's Left Of Labor Unions In America