Economic analysis can get weedy…. so a simple way to look at productivity is to think about baking bread in your kitchen.
If you were going to bake 4 loaves of bread it might take you 2 hrs start to finish. However, if you were going to bake 8 loaves of bread it would not take you twice as long because most of the tasks can be accomplished with simple increases in batch size, and only minor increases in labor time. Your productivity measured in the last four loaves is higher.
Economic Productivity is measured much the same way, within what’s called a production probability equation. Additionally, if two hours of your time are worth $40, each of four loaves of bread costs $10; but if you make 8 loaves in the same amount of time the labor cost is only $5/per loaf.
From 2007 through 2017 the average rate of productivity increase was 1.3%. In the fourth quarter of 2018 productivity was 1.9%.  That means total business output increased as more product was demanded from within the business operation. Throughout the economy people just wanted more stuff.  However, the most important numbers for MAGAnomics (Main Street USA) center around manufacturing and durable goods.
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It does not appear accidental that each time Justin from Canada starts finding himself in trouble, serious trouble; the same person happens to show up.   In June 2017, Justin was being challenged with a new NAFTA trade agreement… and former President Obama showed up while delivering a speech to the Board of Trade in Montreal.
Fast forward to today…  March 2019 – the Canadian economy has halted; Justin from Canada is embroiled in a growing bribery, corruption and obstruction of justice scandal around SNC-Lavalin; and immediately after he loses two cabinet ministers… former President Obama shows up to deliver a speech to the Board of Trade in Vancouver:

During a question and answer session with Vancouver Board of Trade President Iain Black at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Canada, Obama went into a diatribe about the dangers of rising populism amid national politics. [LINK]
Serendipitous domestic timing for an Obama visit, as the ideological political-wagons are circling to defend Justin from Canada.
Coincidentally, nudge-nudge/wink-wink/say-no-more… say no more… after a coaching/not-coaching session, Justin from Canada has agreed to a heavily controlled press conference on the obstruction scandal tomorrow at 8:00am.
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Earlier today President Donald Trump participated in a meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board at the White House.  [Video and Transcript below]

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[Transcript] – State Dining Room – 4:17 P.M. EST – MS. TRUMP: Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, on behalf of my co-chair, Secretary Ross, and the entire American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, it’s an honor to have here for today’s inaugural board meeting. We have spent the last several hours in excellent discussion with the objective of advancing a national workforce strategy.
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DNC President Tom Perez announced today that Fox News will not host, nor will they be even allowed to broadcast, a Democrat primary debate for the 2020 presidential race.
The DNC is anticipating more than a dozen debates and they will not allow Fox News to broadcast any of them.
In response, President Trump announced he is considering applying the same standard to the left-wing media for the general election:

The media will go bananas in 3,… 2,…

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has been a core member of the U.S. trade team providing a brutally honest perspective toward how specific trade engagements can directly benefit the U.S. economy and U.S. worker.
Navarro has gained a reputation as a trade hawk, specifically as it relates to confronting the one-sided trade schemes of China.  However, that encapsulation doesn’t accurately reflect Mr. Navarro’s value.
The Big Club hates him.  Yes, Navarro is hated and opposed by all the right people.  He might be rough around the edges, but he fights… for ‘America First‘.
Navarro is unapologetic in openly calling attention to the process where Wall Street, the multinationals (corporations and banks) have gained power and influence over politicians in Washington DC.  Wall Street funnels hundreds-of-millions to Tom Dohohue, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  Donohue controls an army of K-Street lobbyists who purchase politicians and sell their CoC created legislation.
Specifically because he calls attention to the brutal truth of a corrupt process, he has become the target of attacks from Wall Street’s beneficiaries, the big club and Decepticon senators who take massive campaign bribes from Tom Donohue.
In a recent Op-ed, Peter Navarro highlights how the Trump economic team is delivering on a promise for structural global trade reform that directly benefits the U.S. economy, U.S. workers, and Main Street USA.
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Earlier today President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence welcomed Danny Burch and his family to the White House.  Mr. Burch, an American citizen, was held captive for 18 months in Yemen and was recently released. [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] Oval Office – 2:12 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much for being here. We have a very big moment because we have Danny Burch back home, where he should be.
He was in Yemen, in a very horrible situation — a captive, a prisoner. You can call him whatever you want, but it wasn’t good. He was there for 18 months — even a little more than 18 months — and we got him out. And we had some great help from UAE and all of our friends. But we got Danny out. And he’s just come home, said hello to his family, his beautiful son. Thank you for being here. And it’s nice to see your father back where he belongs.
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As President Trump’s national border emergency declaration continues to be debated, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Kevin McAleenan and Brian Hastings, chief of operations, US Border Patrol, hold a public briefing to release their new jaw-dropping statistics on apprehensions at the U.S. southern border.  WATCH:

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[U.S. Border Patrol] […] Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) are crossing our borders in record numbers. This fiscal year to date, CBP has seen a more than 300 percent increase in the number of family units apprehended compared to the same time period in fiscal year 2018.
Today, family units and unaccompanied alien children (UAC) make up 60 percent of apprehension that have occurred along the southwest border and are predominantly from Central America, namely Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
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Ohio Representative Jim Jordan appears on Laura Ingraham show to discuss the National Security Emergency at the U.S-Mexico border and the Pelosi impeachment plan.

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Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham appears with UniParty apologist Martha MacCallum for a discussion about current political events and challenges for President Trump.
According to Senator Lindsey Graham, President Donald Trump and Senator Graham spent an hour-and-a-half discussing challenges including the ongoing border crisis.

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Earlier today, Mrs. Trump participated in an opioid town hall at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Opioid addiction is one of the three pillars that make up Mrs. Trump’s Be Best campaign and this is her second time appearing to speak at a town hall hosted by Eric Bolling.  [Full Event Video and First Lady Transcript below]

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[Speech Transcript] First Lady Melania Trump – Thank you Eric. I am honored to be with you again.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank you for the strength you have shown, despite what I know to be the grief you and Adrienne deal with each day.  People who are able to use a profound loss to help others, are an inspiration to all of us.  You honor your son each day by shining a light on this nation’s opioid crisis and by the lives I know you are saving.
Thank you again for allowing me to be part of such a heartfelt and impactful event.
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