As many readers likely know, the number of unemployed workers has approached the dismal numbers of the Great Depression. Although many workers believe that their jobs are still waiting for them, the reality is that those jobs are likely not there anymore. Even if the jobs remain, many workers will be shocked to learn that… Read More Post-Covid-19 Job Crisis
As America nears the all-time high unemployment rate of 20% for May, the numerous bankruptcies indicate that unemployment is worse than most believe. Next week the unemployment numbers for May will be released. Many expect the rate to be over 20%. The problem with the unemployment numbers is that they count workers who qualify for… Read More Bankruptcies Make Bodes Worse For Unemployment Numbers
There is an ongoing debate on whether mandatory lock downs are hurting the economy, or they are not. Part of those who are advocating for their right to remain open support the idea that Americans are a free people and that government should not interfere with their basic rights. The problem with this thinking is… Read More June is The Pivot Point
As many readers likely know, Donald Trump uses the immigration debacle and immigrants as fodder for his political base. The Trump base hears immigrants are bad and that Trump has closed the borders. The reality is that Donald Trump is relying on immigrants to get the country back on track after the pandemic ends. Most… Read More The Trump Immigration Problem and The American Way of Life
Today, there is an estimated 20.5 million Americans without a job. It is an estimate because the true numbers of unemployed is unknown. About two weeks ago in “The Pending Unemployment Catastrophe” (link) we looked the unemployment rates from the Great Depression onward. Although the unemployment numbers released for April are not the 20%, I… Read More Unemployment Numbers for April 2020
In yesterday’s post I posed the question: are we taking advantage of the time we have been idle the last few weeks because the pandemic forced us from our jobs? In that post I described what a passive income is. In today’s post, I wanted to share my personal experiences with passive income. Years ago,… Read More What I Learned About Passive Income from Covid-19
Passive income is often a controversial topic because there are many shysters peddling get-rich-quick schemes based on the idea of getting paid for doing nothing. Others argue that passive income is only for the rich. Most equate passive income as income derived from rental properties or financial investments. But often overlooked is the passive income… Read More The Passive Income Economy and Covid-19
Depending on what media outlet you are reading you are likely to get two or more versions of the real story. This has been true for years because biases are part of what is published for public consumption. Take for example remittances from Mexicans working in the United States, both legal and undocumented and the… Read More Mexican Remittances And Covid-19
Yesterday we visualized Covid-19 cases, deaths and unemployment across the nation. We also learned from various news sources that on Friday, we will learn the latest unemployment numbers. Some analysts are bracing for unemployment figures to be 16% or above. If that holds true, the unemployment rate will be close to what it was during… Read More Covid-19 And Unemployment Analysis
There is an ongoing debate about opening the country’s economy. The issue centers around the notion of whether it is safe to get back to work. In the discussion there is also the issue about the rising unemployment numbers. Although the actual unemployment numbers are yet to be collected, anecdotally they seem to be as… Read More Visualizing the Correlation of Covid-19 and Unemployment
As America starts to prepare for the reopening of the economy there is a serious problem awaiting everyone. Officially America’s unemployment rate hovers around 4.4%. That is the official government number before the pandemic killed the economy. Anecdotally, the unemployment rate is at, or above 20%. We will not know for sure for some time,… Read More The Pending Unemployment Catastrophe
When I first started my blog around 2000, I soon began to focus on El Paso corruption. Corruption is the underlining issue/problem on the border. This is true for both sides of the border. Most focus on the Mexican side forgetting that for corruption to be successful there must be willing participants. Without a complicit… Read More The El Paso Crisis
Typically, the bureaucracy fails to deliver. I knew this was going to happen because we live in a dog-eat-dog world. I learned a long time ago that when it comes to the government, it is never a good idea to pretend that things will work out. I have tried to bid on government work only… Read More No Government Money For Me
The deal reached on Sunday between Russia, Saudi Arabia and other oil producing nations is not enough to solve the oil price problem. Cutting 9.7 million barrels a day is not enough to save the American shale oil companies. The pandemic has reduced oil consumption so much that the deal won’t be enough to stabilize… Read More Mexico: The Unexpected Oil Deal Winner
The unprecedented economic shutdown over the last month or so is, hopefully, about to end. The question is, what will it take to recover? Many are hoping and relying on the government to step up and offer help. But the economic chaos is going to take much more than government intervention to recover the economy.… Read More The Back 2 Work Plan
Many Americans decry the exporting of manufacturing jobs to other countries – namely China and México. Their argument being that Americans should have the jobs to make the products people need. Never mind that American labor is much more expensive causing the products to cost more. These same complainers about the state of manufacturing jobs… Read More Riddle Me This About N95 Masks
Almost everyone is under stay-at-home orders and when it will end is still up in the air. Most businesses remain closed. Workers are without jobs and many wonder if there is a job waiting for them. So why is it time to get to work? Easy. Because it is time to prepare for when the… Read More The Time To Get To Work Is Now
Those readers that are surprised by the high unemployment filings reported by the government on last Thursday have clearly not been paying attention. The numbers are the result of workers not working. The obvious culprit is COVID-19. The labor market is collapsing. Make no mistake about that. Goldman Sachs has updated its model and now… Read More The Corona Unemployment Numbers
Typically, the government creates two standards of people, those it deems worthy and those it does not. This is the case in the legal system where those with money can buy themselves out of jail benefits and immigrants who are rounded up while at work while other immigrants who disrobe for magazines qualify for Einstein… Read More All Workers Are Essential Notwithstanding Government Orders
Donald Trump is singularly focused on the American economy and not the Corona pandemic. The reason is self-preservation. As we have been discussing, America has changed. It is no longer will the American economy change but how much has it changed. The Corona virus has hurt workers and businesses alike. But its silver lining, at… Read More It Is The Economy…
If the Corona emergency has proven anything it is that companies need to be ready to deal with displaced workforces. Companies have been on the quest to reduce costs by replacing workers with technology. Along the way, they have neglected decentralizing work forces to deal with emergencies. Anyone that has entered a McDonald’s recently understands… Read More A Decentralized Workforce Is The Future
Yesterday we looked at an editorial by the Miami Herald editorial board arguing that the country needs immigrant labor, including undocumented workers. On Monday, Reuters published a report where the oil industry, the one that Donald Trump routinely touts as a “win” for his policies is unable to meet labor requirements because of the broken… Read More Reuters Report on Broken Immigration System
Happy Labor Day! I hope you enjoy these cartoons courtesy of Cagle Cartoons.
I just purchased a Jeep Wrangler. It is my first “American” car. You may have noticed the quotation marks around American. I purposely added them for two reasons. The first is that “American” designates the American continent. Although many U.S. citizens consider themselves American, they are, in fact U.S. citizens. There are still individuals that… Read More American-Made Car?
On Tuesday night my family and I had dinner at a Fuddruckers in Orlando. It was late in the evening. Our experience poignantly pointed out that the real danger to American entry-level jobs is not immigrants, but rather automation. Let’s look at our experience at Fuddruckers. Anti-immigrants and those who fear low-wage immigrants argue that… Read More Worry About Automation and Not Immigrants
There are many Donald Trump supporters that are under the belief that keeping Mexican immigrants out of the country will somehow bring wages up for American workers. There are others who believe that building The Wall will keep jobs in America. And then, there are those that believe that ending NAFTA will save America jobs.… Read More Are Robots Next?
By now you should all know that Donald Trump made many promises which he has yet to keep. The problem with Trump’s promises is that many people were hurt or are getting hurt because of Trump. The Dreamers are in limbo. México’s economy is stagnant, and investment has been affected. This translates into pressure on… Read More What Happened to the Carrier Jobs?
The loss of jobs has been central to every economic evolution throughout history. Those angry about the job losses only have themselves to blame. They are losing their jobs because instead of living life proactively, they live it reactively. Evolution is not intended to be reactive. It is supposed to be proactive. But throughout history… Read More Amazon, Jobs and NAFTA
You hear it all the time from those pushing for restrictive immigration policies, “Americans will take the jobs” left by undocumented immigrants who leave the country. The notion being that the only reason that U.S. citizens don’t have the jobs is because an undocumented immigrant took it away from them. Some proponents of forcing undocumented… Read More Americans Will Take the Jobs
(Note: I received some reports yesterday that some readers were being redirected to a porn site. The blog was hacked. I have removed the malicious code and I believe the site is now working as it should. Should you experience any issues, please let me know.) The debate over the benefits of NAFTA versus the… Read More NAFTA and Mexican Immigration
Yesterday we looked at the Carrier deal and how it is nothing more than a saving jobs smoke-and-mirror narrative. As we saw, Donald Trump bribed Carrier $14,830 per job it kept in Indiana. We also looked at how Donald Trump demonized México as a job killer. Like Carrier, Donald Trump also strong-armed Ford into keeping… Read More China is Our Friend, Mexico is Not
Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign by demonizing México and Mexicans. Among the many disparaging remarks by Trump about México, was the notion that México was to blame for the loss of jobs in the country. Trump labelled NAFTA as the “worst” trade deal ever. Among Trump’s signature promises to the electorate was the promise… Read More The Carrier Job Deal
Over the last two days we took a close look at NAFTA and the global trade between México and the United States. Many decry that NAFTA has destroyed jobs on both sides of the border. Donald Trump has singled out NAFTA as the worst trade agreement that the United States ever signed. Is the dislike… Read More Is NAFTA Good for El Paso?
Those who observe Mexico and Mexican politics normally comment about the inherent nationalism that Mexicans tend towards. Sovereignty is on the lips of the Mexican politicians because the Mexican people have an inherent fear towards the giant to the north. Many, wrongly assume, that Mexican nationalism is a result of the many US invasions of… Read More The Ticking-Bomb on the Southern Border
One of the promises made by Donald Trump was that he was going to force the cancellation of NAFTA. Trump then soften his promise a bit by stating that he was going to renegotiate NAFTA. NAFTA, according to Trump, was a job killer. Trump argues that jobs would return to the country as soon as… Read More NAFTA and Jobs