Friends, the Dems and the media talking heads -- those irrepressible gloomy Guses -- have been trying to convince Americans ever since, oh, January 20th, 2025, that the economy BLOWS!!! Well, news flash: it doesn't! Today job growth beat estimates, the unemployment rate fell, wage gains remained robust, and, as per Peter Navarro, the early signs of a manufacturing renaissance are upon us. This is all very good news, needless to say. The bad news, however, is that the politics of the U.S. economy are largely about perception, not reality, and perceptions are still pessimistic, to say the least. Be that as it may, if we really were in a recession, Republicans' goose would be cooked in November. As it is, we at least have a fighting chance.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/jobs-report-january-2026-.html
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/feb/10/trump-reversed-biden-made-manufacturing-decline/
In other news, the U.S. House, including six Republicans, have taken issue with President Trump's tariff policies towards Canada. I hate to see Trump rebuked by Congress, but on the other hand I happen to agree with those six Republicans that DJT's decision to pick a fight with Canada (over fentanyl???) made very little sense. And are they the 51st state yet? No? Guess that gambit backfired...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyz2142e77o
So, yes, Trump does make the occasional mistake. On the other hand, the Democrats seem determined to wreck the economy on purpose. Witness California leftists' campaign to impose a crushing wealth tax on billionaires. Not surprisingly, those billionaires are heading for the hills -- or, more accurately, for the warm waters of Biscayne Bay. Can't say I blame 'em.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: 'Trust in Trump; elections matter": you betcha! One thing that "Trumps" the far left/Dem and MSM misrepresented perception of economic weakness is the indicator which virtually all Americans see every day - the price of gas. I understand there is an America where its now below $3 a gallon. Not so of course in the "People's Autonomous Regions" like NY and CA.
ReplyDeleteI know it's probably contrary to human nature to see it this way but just as the depression worked very objective almost incredible hardship, too, present day America enjoys similarly incredible prosperity, with all the societal and cultural well being that fosters. What ungracious and counterintuitive proven evil it is to want to "fundamentally transform" such a blessing. Into what, PRAY?! All these radicals have ever done is to force manifold dysfunction and cynically fostered "unwell" being on sadly cursed societies.
The better our economy becomes the more it would be able to weather the probably inevitable downturns. If some meddling virtue signaling quasi Marxist administration gains power , we will need that resilience to remind us of which side the bread is buttered on.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: But gee Doc, those CA fat cats can stand a minor hit in their deep pockets, can't they? Oh I forgot, this is a free country and they may not WANT to be so levied and they may just decide to freely react to it . They may also rightly perceive that this tax may be only the opening salvo of a far left "wealth equity" onslaught . Ya think!? Of course it is; its yet another clear sign of that perfectionist faction's "fundamental" incipient totalitarianism. Regimes like that of California harbor hostility to success in free enterprise which could eventually grow to confiscatory ,dictatorial and ruinous official oppression; that is , if it is suffered to do so.
ReplyDeleteOf course when the wealthy leave they also take with them the strengths which so often inform and explain their wealth: hard work, courage , philanthropy, capital, horse sense, positive and constructive living. Alot of them may just git while the gittings are good and nobody left behind will benefit.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Our great President is not infallible, a fault for which the far left, which worships unattainable perfection but is astronomically short of it, holds him condemned .
ReplyDeleteI do wish he would refrain from tasking Canada. Though I am largely ignorant on economics, I trust him to have made gutsy and skilled use of tariffs. His canny effect on our economy seems to have been wonderfully productive.
Aaa though, I wish he would give Canada a play; they've been a good neighbor to us, despite their frequent empowerment of leftists who would rub the majority of Americans the wrong way were they to be in charge of us.
Its very good that we have such an hombre heading up our Executive branch and I am glad to see him use his NYC street smarts to outmanuver the often amoral leaders he meets in this hard, hard world. I especially enjoy the Maalox moments he causes our "ooo so righteous" "American" radicals when he outdoes them in playing power games. I know he uses political and adversarial tactics which appear initially to be of questionable propriety and I think it well worth it to trust him in such instances to be working for good.
I just wish he wouldn't tangle with good old Canada , ehh? We've had a beneficial relationship with them and lets not spoil it with talk of investing them , even if it is a formidable negotiator's style.
RAY TO DR. WADDY AND JACK
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know that I appreciate what the two of you are doing, and have been doing for some time now. No, I am not patronizing either one of you.
Jack, I didn't always appreciate what you are doing, but I do now. I can see that your replies are well thought out, and that you put a lot of research effort into them. Frankly, now that I am retired I have less time to post any comments than I did when I thought I was more busy, if that makes any sense. In other words, I spend much more time on long neglected home projects, but I'm still glad to be retired.
With that said, thanks again for the articles and comments, that in many ways is far better than the so- called news, in my opinion. I tried watchIng Fox News (again), but lost interest, in that Fox hardly ever says anything to criticize the Trump administration. There need to be critics, and there don't seem to be any on Fox. I know people who love to watch "The Five", and nothing against that, but that group tends to get boring. I pickup okay articles on One America News, and a few other sites from time to time, but nothing that tickles my fancy.
So keep up the good work, because you guys are my news station, for the most part. Thanks again.
Ray from Jack; Thanx for the good wishes ; I am remiss at times though and don't research what I'm saying well enough. I'll pay better attention to it. I've seen Doc Waddy in panel discussions several times and in that and at this site he can always back what he says with empirical evidence and careful reasoning.
ReplyDeleteI'm seeking the two books we discussed through interlibrary loan. Meantime I have reread Robert Conquest's Stalin: Breaker of Nations and am midway through one Michael Dobbs' Six Months in 1945: From World War to Cold War.
From the reading I've done it appears to me:
Stalin's Marxism led him to assert a certainty that "socialism" and 'imperialism" would inevitably fight a decisive war. If he intended that to happen in the forties then he prepared poorly for it by killing most of his high officer corps in the '30s. He feared an alliance of Britain , France and maybe Germany against Russia. In the momentous interim between the signing of the Molotov - Von Ribbentrop treaty (characterized by Conquest as a non aggression pact ) he considered the possibility of actually allying with Germany and thought he had gained Hitler's good will. As a Marxist ideologue (exacerbated by limitless enjoyment of cruelty and probably intense sociopathy ) he may well have thought the Depression ravaged West ripe for destruction.
That perhaps suggests that Stalin did intend or at least strongly considered World War at approx. the time it was actually fought. My understanding is that after the fall of communism documentation was revealed ostensibly showing that Stalin did purpose invading Western Europe after he had acquired the Hbomb. His deservedly horrid death stopped that possibility. Conquest's description of his last hours is almost supernaturally appalling.
I watch Fox every day. I look on their obvious biases as a creditable counter to the MSM's and the far left/Dems ' rants. They present several well spoken commentators. What a contrast to the Dan Rather -Phil Donahue bunch and their pompous , America disparaging pronunciamentos.
So tentatively it sounds like Stalin's War is an intriguing and plausible read and I'll look forward to getting the book.
Ray from Jack: Above I meant the interim between the Treaty and the Nazi onslaught on Russia .
ReplyDeleteYes, Jack: we are so blessed to be living in this land of plenty and bountiful opportunity... That so many Americans believe it to be a time of want and despair is both absurd and an insult to those who have lived, and in many cases still live, through REAL adversity. Wake up, America, and smell the coffee! If you doubt the wonders of our supercharged capitalist economy, spend a week or a month or a year in a corrupt Third World backwater. You'll see the light soon enough!
ReplyDeleteJack, even the SUGGESTION of a wealth tax may cause irreparable harm to the California economy. And you're right that a "one-time" levy could easily proliferate. The income tax was supposed to be only for the country club set when it was introduced. How'd that work out?
Ray, that is very kind of you to say! Both Jack and I are capable of critical thought, and that's (I daresay) a rare distinction these days. We love our country, but can still perceive its numerous flaws. We support our president, but know he has bad days and makes boneheaded pronouncements, from time to time. I'm glad you find the "news" I share interesting! There's so much going on that doesn't get a lot of play in the MSM, or on Fox News, and by the same token there's so much that they do cover that's mindless mush. If there's ever anything more that you feel we should dive into here, by all means let me know, and I'll try to oblige.
Stalin's credulity when it comes to Hitler's "good will" beggars belief, doesn't it??? On the other hand, I'm not sure how anyone reconstructs Stalin's mind. I doubt Stalin could have done it! In all likelihood, both Hitler and Stalin were improvising when it came to self- and national aggrandizement. Ideology was secondary to rational calculation. Now, I certainly wouldn't put it past Stalin to have invaded Western Europe, if he believed even for a second that he could pull it off. No doubt the concept of a potential US/British/German alliance against him was very...chastening. Give the bloody-minded coot some credit: he knew not to kick the hornet's nest too brazenly.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Yes, Truman got Stalin to back down over the Berlin blockade and Stalin very seldom if ever did anything out of good will. We had the bomb , he knew Truman had already used it and when Truman sent B29s to England that may have put the skeer in this physically cowardly primitive. Not that he dreaded the destruction the bomb could wreak on Russian "worker" ants, no, but what if an avenging horde were to descend upon him at his luxurious (an almost counterintuitive word in communist Russia) dacha and his tasty repasts in all forms? As a probable sociopath he scorned right and wrong and was motivated solely by cause and effect. I've been doing a lot of reading about him and it has revivified my impression that his evil was almost beyond understanding or calculation. It may well have been incomprehensible to other than Churchill, who had also killed humans with his very hand. And that it is Stalin's shadows who inevitably rise to dictatorship in marxist cursed lands is proven truth we should embrace as undeniable fact. We may well have Stalins among us now. And given the reflexively counterintuitive nature of our nation's progress through the last 60 years , we must not dismiss the possibility of their rise to complete power. They have already ascended to heights in our polity and culture that would have been unthinkable within easy memory.
ReplyDeleteRussia's historical lot has been a very, very hard one and perhaps aside from their truly brutalizing winters , Stalin's hellish tenure among us on earth has been their worst curse. Along with his seconds in mass malice, Mao , "Che", Pol Pot and several other presumptuously tyrannical sucklings, he gives all the proof needed to muster resolve always, among the free and humane, to unstintingly resist the Satanic doctrine which was their guide, even in its tentative malign stages, as in our country today. Let us take example from the consummate suppression of the only other doctrine to approach Marxist threat, naziism.
Jack, it is an intriguing thought (to say the least) that we may have prospective Stalins among us. Probably plenty of our modern day politicians are every bit as sociopathic, but our system makes it a lot harder for them to kill their enemies by the millions... Well, it does for now. All bad things come to those who wait.
ReplyDelete