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Have you ever seen a pig dance a
jig? I don’t mean to be rude, but the one-minute press
conference that the current President called to celebrate the stock
market clearing the 30,000 mark was the equivalent of a pig dancing a
gig. He had been under seclusion for the three weeks since he lost
the election to President-elect Joe Biden, playing more golf than
President Obama ever did. If he works his frustrations out on the
golf course, pity the caddy.
In
any case, when the Dow Jones Industrial average cleared the 30,000
mark, the economic recovery President could not resist a camera turn.
He also refused to reply to any questions. But what could we expect
from a President who had sequestered himself for three weeks,
bunkering down inside his tax-supported home, venturing to play golf
with tax-supported security?
While
45 was celebrating and golfing, too many other Americans got
upsetting news. Weekly, at least 700,000 are filing unemployment
claims. Fewer than March, but too many to claim economic recovery.
The first Friday employment situation report was disappointing. The
report said the rate edged down to 6.7 percent. That means it moved
only slightly and that the 245,000 jobs created fell far short of the
450,000 that economists had expected. It means that the so-called
recovery is not recovering right now and that the news of pandemic
flare-ups will make it worse.
As
soon as the market cleared 30,000, though, folks were selling
grotesque celebratory t-shirts on Amazon. They are owning the victory
that gave them a 30,000 stock market while food lines snake around
city blocks. They are celebrating their jig-dancing President while
ignoring the folks who are crying out for relief. Why are so many so
indifferent to the human suffering resulting from job loss and the
pandemic?
The
6.7 percent unemployment rate is bad enough. More than 100,000
government employees lost their jobs last month. Some of these are
census workers, but some have lost jobs when their cities and states
have cut back. Teachers, nurses, police officers, and firefighters
have jobs on the line. And the Senate is fiddling while America
starves. Congress has offered legislation since May, compromising
along the way, but the Senate has held the line in punishing hungry
and unemployed people to fulfill their political gains.
Beyond
the overall unemployment rate, there are ugly realities. Nearly 3.9
million people have been unemployed for at least half a year. Many of
them have lost their unemployment benefits. Fourteen million people
say they are either not working or working less because of corona.
Nearly half a million have left the labor force just last month.
People are suffering, and it seems as if our legislators don’t
care. So there are those who are celebrating stock gains and others
who have seen absolutely no gain. Some are celebrating economic
success, while too many others are scrambling for their next meal.
Those
who are working are facing more challenging conditions than before
the pandemic. Because of a lack of funds, many cities are cutting
public transportation, increasing waiting times, and crowding. The
cut in transportation services is understandable, as is the reduction
in other services. Where does that leave us, though, when there are
fewer busses, less garbage collection, and fewer other public
services?
The
House of Representatives and Senate are squabbling about how much
relief is needed but seem close to an agreement that will provide
much-needed, and insufficient aid. President Obama told Rev. Al
Sharpton that any recovery is going to require government to spend
even more than it already has. As it now stands, the government is
more interested in making political points than in helping citizens.
For some, it boils down to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
For others, it is a matter of the unemployment rate and its
reverberations.
This
is what we know for sure – corona is taking a tremendous toll
on our society and economy every single day. Christmas is coming, and
too many folks will find empty stockings. On both sides of the aisle,
our legislators deserve nothing more than a lump of coal. Bah,
humbug!
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