Sean Penn unavailable for comment on the socialist utopia he promoted to bring forth into the U.S.

CUMANÁ, Venezuela — With delivery trucks under constant attack, the nation’s food is now transported under armed guard. Soldiers stand watch over bakeries. The police fire rubber bullets at desperate mobs storming grocery stores, pharmacies and butcher shops. A 4-year-old girl was shot to death as street gangs fought over food.  Venezuela is convulsing from hunger.

Hundreds of people here in the city of Cumaná, home to one of the region’s independence heroes, marched on a supermarket in recent days, screaming for food. They forced open a large metal gate and poured inside. They snatched water, flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, potatoes, anything they could find, leaving behind only broken freezers and overturned shelves. (more…)

Given the current state of political dysfunction, coupled with U.S. federal finances, this 2013 epic rant from MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan can be viewed as an almost eerily prescient prediction for the candidacy of Donald Trump:

Western liberal media is stuck between a rock and a hard place when discussing Venezuela.  A decade long economic devolution as a direct result of yet another attempt at socialism is ending the same way the socialist experiment has always ended, total misery.

Venezuela is struggling both economically and politically, facing massive food shortages, regular blackouts, skyrocketing inflation and an increasingly dire public health situation. Hospitals lack beds, antibiotics, medical equipment, doctors, even running water.

(more…)

This is a modified and updated repost from an early January ’16 outline which collected data from all of the various Donald Trump interviews, position papers, and historical outlines. Candidate Trump has been speaking about broad U.S. economic issues for decades. Trump approaches the challenges by focusing on “Main Street”, not Wall Street.
For the sake of brevity, I’m going to accept that most readers here are familiar with who is funding and directing Jeb Bush, and in larger, more consequential measures, the DC apparatchik in charge of U.S. Policy, ie. Wall street.
During the January 2016 South Carolina debate, and in response to Trump pointing out a necessary shift in trade position (a shift to put American interests first – a shift to stop the dependency on cheap import goods – a shift to use China’s dependency on access to our market to OUR advantage), Jeb Bush came back with an example of Boeing manufacturing.
Donald Trump, responding to Jeb’s Boeing example, and pointed out China is forcing Boeing to open a manufacturing plant in China.  As would be typical from a candidate who is unfamiliar and unbriefed on the issue, Jeb looked back incredulously and said:

“C’mon man”…

There you have it. (more…)

Wayne Michigan will be devastated by this move.  Yet another nail in the manufacturing industry coffin in the U.S.

(Via LA Times) Ford Motor Co. plans to build a $1.6-billion auto assembly plant in Mexico, creating about 2,800 jobs there and shifting small-car production away from the United States at a time when moving jobs south of the border has become a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.
The company announced that it would open the plant in San Luis Potosi state Tuesday without saying specifically what cars it would build there.
(more…)

Move along, move along folks, nothing to see here…

The February trade gap widened by about a half-billion dollars to — $62.9 billion

(Via CNBC) First-quarter growth is now tracking at just 0.9 percent, after new data showed surprising weakness in consumer spending and a wider-than-expected trade gap.
According to the CNBC/Moody’s Analytics rapid update, economists now see the sluggish growth pace based on already reported data, down from 1.4 percent last week. According to the rapid update, economists have a median forecast of 1.6 percent growth in first-quarter GDP, which includes their estimates for data not yet released. (more…)

A very good article from Forbes – outlining solid economic reasons for optimism in Donald Trump winning the republican nomination.

(Via Forbes)  I am going to stick my neck out: Donald Trump will be America’s next President. Since December, I have been writing commentaries on the theme of “Why Trump Is Winning.” For a few of them, click here, here, and here. So far I have held back from predicting ultimate victory. But after Trump’s impressive showing in South Carolina (in the teeth of criticism from Pope Francis, not to mention continuing prophecies by the usual pundits that the Trumpmobile would soon hit a puncture), it is now time to go a step further: barring some unforeseen disaster (far bigger than any challenge he is likely to meet from Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, or even Hillary Clinton), I believe Donald Trump is now unstoppable.

Why? Not only is Trump speaking truth to power on two crucial issues – trade and immigration – but it is now clear he has ignited long smoldering voter anger on both issues.  (continue reading)

During the last Republican debate the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberly Stassel challenged Donald Trump on the projected revenue from his proposed tax plan.

In essence Stassel claimed some economists doubted the growth factor Mr. Trump projects in his tax proposal.

In a sixty second response time, it is factually impossible to explain something we have discussed here before.  Specifically, one of the larger hurdles Trump faces is a need to re-educate an entire generation on a fundamentally new vision of the U.S. economy. A return to a goods- based manufacturing and industry driven economic model.

Interestingly, many people have referenced a 1991 (25 years old) video of Donald Trump testifying before congress – as evidence of him being tuned in to political consequences of economic activity.   The entire video is well worth watching because it gives you insight into a very specific moment in time as they discuss the ‘Reagan era’ 1986 tax reform act.

However, for the sake of this discussion post I would like to draw your attention to a very specific exchange between Donald Trump and Representative Helen Delich Bently (R-MD). (more…)

Macy’s is blaming “warm weather” and “low spending from tourists” for a massive drop in sales and excessive on hand inventory, which has now caused them to cut their full-year sales forecast.

However, given the severity of the backlash against Macy’s over their initial disparagement’s of Donald Trump [June/July 2015], and considering the ongoing visible impacts of “Cold Anger” – perhaps this is more an effect of boycotts AND/OR weather.

(Reuters) […] Macy’s Chief Executive Terry Lundgren said on a conference call he was not happy with the company’s performance in the quarter ended Oct. 31.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 3.6 percent in their third straight quarterly decline. Analysts on average had expected 0.2 percent growth, according to research firm Consensus Metrix. (more…)

WASHINGTON DC – One of the largest unions of construction workers slammed President Obama for his decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline Friday, accusing the president of showing “utter disdain” for the American worker.

Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), accused Obama of bending to special interest groups by choosing to decline TransCanada’s proposal to build the pipeline in pursuit of his climate change agenda.

“President Obama today demonstrated that he cares more about kowtowing to green-collar elitists than he does about creating desperately needed, family-supporting, blue-collar jobs,” O’Sullivan said in a statement Friday. (more…)