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    The poorly educated are about to learn just how little Donald Trump loves them

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory
    August 29, 2019

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory

    The poorly educated are about to learn just how little Donald Trump loves them. His gratuitous trade mayhem is damaging the global economy.


    That means workers in jobs requiring no more than a high school diploma may soon get let go from jobs moving goods. Longshoremen, railroad workers, teamsters, the lumpers who load trailers, warehouse workers, and retail clerks are all at risk of being forced into unemployment.

    Will these millions of workers grasp that Trump is abusing them to satisfy his whims? Or will they react more like battered spouses who keep returning for more abuse because they cannot see the harsh reality of their situation?

    During the 2016 primary races, Trump declared “I love the poorly educated.” At rally after rally he used the word “love” to sell the idea that he would champion what he later called the “forgotten man.”

    Trump’s actions worsen the safety, health and long term financial interests of workers, while being a lucrative boon to polluters and financial predators.

    As we have documented again and again at DCReport.org, Team Trump’s actions worsen the safety, health and long term financial interests of workers, while being a lucrative boon to polluters and financial predators.

    It was easy for Trump, the most successful con artist in history, to trick the poorly educated. Trade is a complex issue whose costs and benefits keep economics professors with doctoral degrees busy debating.

    No one reasonably expects people with a General Education Development (GED) certificate or a high school diploma to grasp what Trump clearly doesn’t understand: when a worker in Shanghai loses her job, it may cost a worker in Shreveport hers.

    Like it or not, we live in a global economy with complex supply chains that make all those in major economies dependent on one another. Smart diplomacy can improve the global trade rules, but tariffs and tirades cannot.

     What Tariffs Cost Americans

    Trump’s tariffs are expected to cost American households an average of $831 this year.

    Trump’s rash move on Friday, Aug. 23, to increase tariffs and apply them to even more Chinese goods, taken in response to retaliatory Chinese tariffs on American goods, is likely to push that cost well above $1,000 per American household.

    That’s a lot of money for the poorly educated – more than a week’s gross pay. Our federal government estimates typical truck driver pay at $44,000, though typical pay is significantly lower in Southern states (and Idaho), that went for Trump in 2016. Retail sales clerks typically make only $24,340.

    Exposing his own ignorance, and clearly hoping that the poorly educated can be fooled again, Trump keeps saying that China is paying the tariffs. In fact, as anyone who has taken a single college economics course knows, a tariff is a tax on consumers, so it is Americans who pay, not the Chinese.

    Since America buys only one-fifth of China’s exports, the damage from Trump’s trade mayhem will hurt Americans in trade-related jobs more than the Chinese.

    China, to be sure, is hurting because of the Trump trade mayhem. Chinese factory activity began declining in May. But contrast that with America, where 14 months ago orders for goods for export began declining.

    Americans who vote have the power to decide who makes the rules they must live by, while the Chinese are vassals of a brutal communist dictatorship that does not hesitate to massacre its own people when necessary to maintain its power. That means President Xi and his team can make their people endure for as long as it takes to prevail in Trump’s trade war.

    China has fallen this year from first place to third as an American trading partner. Mexico is now first in goods, Canada second. China trade is down about 10%, compared to the first half of 2018.

    The decline in trade with China means fewer ships crossing the Pacific laden with goods. That, in turn, means in the months ahead fewer jobs moving cargo at seaports, at railroads, at trucking firms and, eventually, at retail stores.

    Signs of Decline

    American rail freight traffic is down about 3% through mid-August and, revealingly, down 5% for the most recent week, according to the American Association of Railroads. Canadian traffic, however, is up 2%.

    California’s Long Beach Port is a key indicator of foreign goods trade. The number of arriving cargo containers was down 10% from a year earlier, the lowest July import volume since 2014.

    The Port of Los Angeles shows increased container shipments this year, but is down 12.4% from 2017, another indicator of Trump’s trade mayhem.

    Then there are orders for new big rig trucks, known as Class 8 trucks, an indicator of expected trucking volume in 2020 and beyond. Class 8 sales this year have collapsed, down 81% by one measure. That means workers who build big rigs and diesel engines may face layoffs starting later this year.

    By deferring new truck purchases, trucking company owners reduce their risk of bankruptcy in a recession, which may already have started.

    The global economic slowdown has also hit Germany, which had been the main engine of European Union activity. A telling perspective on what is coming emerged in a recent conference call between Stuttgart-based executives of Daimler, famous for its luxury Mercedes-Benz cars, and stock market analysts.

    Daimler revealed a 70% drop in orders for new trucks in North America, which overwhelmingly means the United States.

    [caption id="attachment_15574" align="alignright" width="300"] Monthly rail freight-car loads (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)[/caption]

    Ola Källenius, the CEO of Daimler, told stock analysts in July about where future growth lies. He cited Brazil, adding “we believe in long-term growth in China. It's one of the main pillars of our market growth strategy in the long-term. So, China, for us is important and it's a market that will continue to invest in and also gradually increase our production capacity.”

    And what about the United States?  “The 2020 numbers in North America will be lower than 2019 numbers,” said Martin Daum, the Daimler executive in charge of truck and bus manufacturing.

    The questions we need to ask ourselves? Will the poorly educated grasp that Trump’s trade mayhem is the sand tearing up the gears of world commerce or will he trick them, again, into believing that he alone can solve their pocketbook problems? And how do we educate these voters?

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

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    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

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    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.

    Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.

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    Do you approve of Biden's presidency so far?

    Jimmy Kimmel offers Tucker Carlson his sperm after Fox News host freaks out over low count in US men

    Sarah K. Burris
    March 03, 2021

    Fox News host Tucker Carlson had a freakout over a recent report that American males have lower sperm counts than they once did. ABC host Jimmy Kimmel is offering to help by offering the right-wing personality his own sperm.

    "While many of us are still worried about COVID and climate change, Tucker Carlson is worrying on another level," Kimmel began. "Tucker right now is worried about our testicles."

    Saying that it "may be the biggest health crisis" since the pandemic, Carlson panicked about "falling testosterone levels which have completely reshaped our society. Falling sperm counts, which may make it impossible to continue the human race. Why is this happening? Probably because of chemicals in our environment."

    Ironically, chemicals in our environment are regulated by the government and under former President Donald Trump, those regulations of toxic chemicals were halted, YaleEnvironment 360 reported in 2019.

    "According to one scientist, sperm counts in the western world have dropped 59 percent between 1973 and 2011," said Carlson. "At this pace, sperm counts will reach zero by 2045."

    Kimmel cracked up laughing at Carlson's attempt at math.

    "Listen dude, if you need sperm, I can get you sperm," Kimmel promised. "I got a guy. Tucker Carlson always comes up with something. Of all the sperm in his father's sac, I can't believe he was the fastest one."

    He went on to address the latest panic at Fox News over Dr. Seuss, saying that it "had to put a dent in old Tuck's nuts."

    Kimmel also mocked the state of Oklahoma for its substantial purchase of hydroxychloroquine that no one needs or will use.

    See the video below:

    Where the GOP lie that Antifa was responsible for the Capitol attack first came from: fact-checker

    Sarah K. Burris
    March 02, 2021

    While Fox News spent the day blaming Democrats for canceling Dr. Seuss because his publisher will no longer continue to publish some of his books that show racist imagery. They missed FBI Director Christopher Wray saying that Antifa had no part in the attack on the Capitol and there was no evidence to suggest that they did.

    In an extensive fact-check, CNN's Daniel Dale followed what is being called "the second big lie" by some hosts Tuesday. It all began with a report from the conservative outlet The Washington Times, which falsely claimed on Jan. 6 that Antifa was behind the attack. They later corrected the story, and then wrongly claimed that some facial recognition company identified two Antifa members in the attack, Dale explained.

    Those who pushed out the lie "include right-wing television networks Newsmax and One America News; Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Trump impeachment attorney Michael van der Veen; Republican members of Congress like Rep. Mo Brooks, Rep. Matt Gaetz and Sen. Ron Johnson; Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Republican state legislators; former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin; right-wing conspiracy websites like The Gateway Pundit; and popular right-wing commentators on social media and talk radio," Dale listed.

    Some have admitted that it was a lie, but most haven't. Dale spoke with research director Joan Donovan at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, who explained that right-wing media continues to find ways to "blame Antifa for everything from mass shootings to wildfires."

    Antifa blame has become so prevalent that it's now become a meme for evading responsibility.


    Like all things... I blame Antifa. Why not right? pic.twitter.com/jqolp9gtDT
    — The Dark Zone Pilot (@DarkZonePilot) February 5, 2021


    They blame Antifa for everything. Cuz you know, they be organized and bad... pic.twitter.com/ylCcRkxDRa
    — KevinBoogie_andBliss (@Kevin_A_Boogie) February 2, 2021


    @brownandrew899 @Iweyer2 @Mominsweats @FoxNews Did someone say ANTIFA? I thought they must be to blame. https://t.co/3ZohhYCuE2
    — Sol.Ray (@Sol.Ray)1613668540.0


    When in doubt, blame ANTIFA. I guarantee half of Americans couldn't tell you what ANITFA even stands for. https://t.co/kyOk2X0DMW
    — AJ (@AJ)1610135214.0


    Trump's lawyers blame "Antifa" for the riots like they're a terrible band playing their worst hits. https://t.co/3VnNlv4Zb2
    — Zimran Jacob (@Zimran Jacob)1613167104.0


    But sure, blame it on Antifa pic.twitter.com/RektVdmEVx
    — ♣️ Jacob ♣️ (@DragonKing____) March 2, 2021


    Dale closed by saying that it may seem impossible to get Fox News and other right-wing platforms to be more responsible, " it seems just as hard to address the demand-side problem. Between the popularity of absurd lies about the birthplace of former President Barack Obama, the rise of the bonkers QAnon movement, the popularity of Trump's lies about the 2020 election and now the popularity of this lie about Antifa and the Capitol, it appears clear that millions of right-wing Americans are eager to believe in outlandish conspiracy theories about their political opponents."

    Read his full fact-check at CNN.com.

    Pentagon inspector reveals new GOP Congressman would drink, take Ambien and make sexual advances on the job: report

    Sarah K. Burris
    March 02, 2021

    While working at the Pentagon, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson would drink while working, take Ambien and make sexual advances to staffers, the inspector general reported Tuesday, according to CNN.

    Jackson, who has since been elected as a Republican Congressman for Texas, came under scrutiny after he was characterized as the "candy man" for "doling out pills" to White House staff, Vanity Fair reported in 2019.

    "The findings outlined in the report, which was obtained by CNN prior to its expected release on Wednesday, stem from a years-long IG investigation into Jackson -- who currently represents Texas in the House of Representatives -- that was launched in 2018 and examines allegations that date back to his time serving during the Obama and Trump administrations," said CNN.

    Jackson told CNN that the report "was politically motivated" in a statement. He also said that the inspector general "resurrected" previous allegations against him because he refused to "turn my back on President (Donald) Trump."

    Jackson also told CNN that he rejects "any allegation that I consumed alcohol while on duty."

    The inspector general interviewed 78 people at the Pentagon for the report.

    His explosive temper and reports of him creating a hostile work environment are a threat through the report said CNN.

    They were cited by an "overwhelming majority of witnesses (56) ... who worked with RDML Jackson from 2012 through 2018 told us they personally experienced, saw, or heard about him yelling, screaming, cursing, or belittling subordinates," the report says.

    Read the full report from CNN.com.

     
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