General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis Jobs Report Is the Trump Presidency in a Nutshell
This month, after another disappointing Jobs Report, President Donald Trump is once again looking around for someone to blame. There is no pandemic, despite RFKs best efforts; no external supply shocks that Trump himself didnt cause through his tariff regime. Donald Trump has spiked the baton he was handed by the Biden administration, and he has no one to blame but himself.
This time around, hes going after the entire Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS, an agency that collects economic data about our country and workforce, poses a danger to Trump because it counters his lies with data. It is made up of career public servants, the very people Trump has been vilifying since day one. The Trump administration has already tried to strangle the agency by slashing its workforce by 20 percent, and after the disgraceful firing of the Commissioner last month, the career staff who make up the rest of the BLS knew that an honest August Jobs Report would incur the wrath of the Trump administration. But they did their jobs anyway. Unlike everyone in Trump World, BLS employees are unwilling to protect their own jobs above all else.
BLSs work is complex and requires tremendous expertise, and Trump ridicules and seeks to discredit anything complex. But he does so at all of our peril: billions of dollars of public and private investment rely on these numbers. The Federal Reserve uses them to set interest rates. They give policymakers a guide to whats working and who its working for. They signal whether a recession is coming so it can be mitigated or avoided through smart, thoughtful decision-making by those in power. Without data to inform those decisions, were just supposed to trust the president who has shown time and time again that truth is an inconvenient barrier to his self-serving version of reality.
When it comes to collection of real-time economic data, speed and completeness are often a trade-off, but even with limited resources, BLS has been the gold standard of economic data collection across the globe. They work to release numbers quickly through monthly jobs reports so lawmakers and businesses can make adjustments in real time, but they also release additional data when they get it to give the fullest picture possible. That way, decision-makers can make investments, states and local governments can plan their budgets, and policymakers can evaluate their actions with the most confidence that theyre making the best short- and long-term decisions. These revisions are not signs of error but evidence of transparency.
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/this-jobs-report-is-the-trump-presidency

Lovie777
(20,176 posts)progressoid
(51,889 posts)Key Takeaways
The value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies dropped about 11% in the first half of this year, the biggest decline in more than 50 years, ending a 15-year bull cycle.
Morgan Stanley Research estimates the U.S. currency could lose another 10% by the end of 2026.
Despite a recovery of 3.2% in July, the delayed impact of tariffs on growth and unemployment besides policy uncertainties are likely to keep negative pressure on the dollar.
Foreign investors have been adding hedges to their exposure to U.S. assets, which will likely further weaken the dollar.
https://www.morganstanley.com/insights/articles/us-dollar-declines
markodochartaigh
(3,993 posts)no longer satisfied with the eggs that the golden goose was laying, they voted to roast the goose for a one time banquet.
Marie Marie
(10,535 posts)You know that is exactly where we are headed and ol' Bob has the experience.