Trump has turned the government against the middle class – MarketWatch

August 14, 2019 by Oldunionist

While Trump argues that the cost of tariffs is being borne by China, the real loser is the American consumer. All told, these Trump tariffs cost the average family $831 a year, more than offsetting the average tax cut for a household in the bottom 80%. And now Trump is saying he’ll impose even more costs on the American people as part of his erratic and ineffectual trade policy.But this is not the only area where Trump is driving up costs for the middle-class to increase corporate profits; he’s used a wide range of government powers to take actions that hurt working families.

via Trump has turned the government against the middle class – MarketWatch

American Farmers Are in Crisis so is the economy really doing as well as Trump says?

September 16, 2018 by Oldunionist

These are not isolated stories. As early as February 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicted a decline in net farm income to its lowest level since 2002 (adjusted for inflation), with median farm income projected at negative $1,316. For well over a year, worries about a new farm crisis have rippled across rural America. The very term is synonymous with the 1980s, when the bottom dropped out of the agricultural economy, sending thousands of farms into foreclosure and shuttering businesses.

Grain and dairy farmers were beginning to see a repeat of the ‘80s as their prices dropped this spring — and then President Trump started a trade war. Retaliatory agricultural tariffs have kicked this new farm crisis into high gear. The president is offering $12 billion in farm aid to ease the pain, but neither those payments nor the farm bill being hammered out in Congress will substantially change the outlook for farm country. Ever since federal farm policy told farmers to “get big or get out” in the ‘70s, the push toward consolidation has created decades of slow-burning crisis for many farmers. The problem has some rural residents re-envisioning rural policy from the ground up.

via American Farmers Are in Crisis – Eater

Trump’s NAFTA “deal” with Mexico is a win for Canada — Quartz

August 28, 2018 by Oldunionist

Any changes to NAFTA deal require Canada’s approval, as foreign minister Chrystia Freeland’s office pointed out. Freeland, who is traveling to Washington DC tomorrow (Aug. 28) to continue negotiations, “will only sign a new NAFTA that is good for Canada and good for the middle class,” her office said. “Canada’s signature is required,” for any renegotiation, it noted.

via Trump’s NAFTA “deal” with Mexico is a win for Canada — Quartz

‘Donald is on our side!’ Russian firm invokes Trump to sell asbestos

August 7, 2018 by Oldunionist

The Factory ” Uralasbest ” released an unusual batch of chrysotile: on the package of palletov with the mineral, the stamp ” approved by Donald Trump, the 45th President of the united states “. in such an unusual way, the workers of the asbestoobogatitelʹnoj factory of the factory thanked us President Donald .
He supported the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt, who stated that his office would no longer deal with the negative effects potentially derived from products containing asbestos. Donald Trump supported a specialist and called asbestos “100 percent safe after application”.
” we have come out with the initiative – to support our hrizotilovuû industry in this way and to remind that our ” Mountain Len ” is an important mineral for the world. Management Approved!”,-told at the factory.

via ‘Donald is on our side!’ Russian firm invokes Trump to sell asbestos