Hillary's Claim: "America Never Stopped Being Great"

In contrast the  Trump campaign slogan to "Make America Great Again", Hillary Clinton keeps telling her crowds: that "America Never Stopped Being Great". Of course, her supporters all cheer wildly.

But, most Americans understand that our country's greatness has been declining since the 1970's. This is why Trump is doing as well as he is. Here are some of the facts that support Trump's claim:

• In 1970, 61% of Americans were in the middle class. Today, only 43% can make that claim.
• In the 1970's, America was the best educated country in the world. Since then, we are now ranked 27th in the all-important category of mathematics.  We rank 17th in reading with an astounding 19% of our high school graduates unable to read. Additionally, we now rank 20th in science.
• The poverty rate in the 70's ranged between 11.7% to 12.6% of the population.  As of 2014, it stood at 15%; up from 14.5% in 2013. Obviously going in the wrong direction. Also understand, that beyond the percentages, the U.S. now has a record number of people living in poverty -- 47 million --  since President Lyndon Johnson declared his War on Poverty more than 50 years ago.
• Our Federal debt in 1970 was just $398 billion.  Sadly, it is now near $19.5 trillion.  48 times higher and setting a new record everyday.
• Today, our national infrastructure needs between 3 and 4 trillion dollars worth of  repairs, while, in 1970, it was fairly maintained.
• Dozens of cities and municipalities are facing bankruptcy.  Others, such as Detroit, have already gone bankrupt.
• A record 95 million are not in the labor force. 
• In 1980, nearly 20 million workers were in the manufacturing sector.  By 2014, that number fell to just 12.3 million. 

Now, I could go on an on with things like Medicare and Social Security facing insolvency, and how parts of our military are smaller now than before World War II, but I think you get the point.

References:

Hillary Clinton: 'America never stopped being great': http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/06/hillary-clinton-america-never-stopped-being-great-sot.cnn

The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground. No longer the majority and falling behind financially: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/

Boomers Once Led the World in Education. What Happened?: 

United States: Program For International Student Assessment: https://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/PISA-2012-results-US.pdf

Illiteracy Statistics: http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/

Is the poverty rate higher now than in the 1970s as Jeb Bush says?: http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/may/07/jeb-bush/poverty-rate-higher-now-1970s/

2014: Poverty Facts | Poverty Rate, Poverty Thresholds & Census Information: http://www.povertyusa.org/the-state-of-poverty/poverty-facts/

1970 Debt: https://www.google.com/search?q=u.s+debt+in+1970&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

National Debt Clock: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Don't Expect Hillary's Infrastructure Plan to Boost the Economy: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2016/06/dont-expect-hillarys-infrastructure.html

Bankrupt Cities, Municipalities List and Map: http://www.governing.com/gov-data/municipal-cities-counties-bankruptcies-and-defaults.html

A Record 95 million not in the Labor Force: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/record-94708000-americans-not-labor-force-participation-rate-drops

Army shrinks to smallest level since before World War II - Army Times: http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2016/05/07/army-shrinks-smallest-level-since-before-world-war-ii/83875962/

The Navy's Hidden Crisis: It's Too Small - and Getting Smaller: https://www.pacificcouncil.org/newsroom/navys-hidden-crisis-its-too-small-and-getting-smaller

Social Security, Medicare Face Insolvency Over 20 Years, Trustees Report: https://www.google.com/search?q=Social+Security%2C+Medicare+Face+Insolvency+Over+20+Years%2C+Trustees+...&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Manufacturing Job Loss: http://www.epi.org/publication/manufacturing-job-loss-trade-not-productivity-is-the-culprit/

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Another Failed Obama Promise: A Doubling of Exports by 2015

I doubt many people remember Obama's promise -- as part of the 2010 State of the Union -- that he would double U.S. exports in just 5 years; and, in doing so, create 2 million manufacturing jobs.  But, like so much of what the President says, his words are found to be good for politics and well short of any possible reality.

When Obama made that promise, exports were at $142 billion for the month of January 2010.  By December 2013, exports had only risen to $191 billion.  This is well below the $256 billion needed to be on track with the President's goal.  So, after completing nearly four years of the 5-year commitment, exports have only risen by 35%.  At best, they might increase 42% over what had been a 100% or doubling of export promise.

Now, what about all those manufacturing jobs?  Well, in the February 2013 State of the Union Address, Obama proudly said this:

 “After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three.”

For that claim, the normally-friendly Washington Post gave him 2 Pinocchios.  But, even if it was true, at best, we are only on track to create 800,000 manufacturing jobs by 2015; of which only about 40% could be attributable to exports.

I think Americans need to wake up and stop believing anything Obama says.  For him, talk is truly cheap; and, as always, politically opportunistic. And, I mean "opportunistic" in the most negative way.

You might keep this blog entry in mind, when, on Tuesday, Obama promised that -- thanks to his new fuel standards -- the average family will save $8,000 in gasoline expenses over time. Of course, that savings never takes into consideration how expensive a car will have to be to meet his new standards.  I'm sensing even more Pinocchios on the way.

With the stroke of Obama's pen, new fuel standards are coming: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/with-the-stroke-of-obamas-pen-new-fuel-standards-on-the-way/

References:

State of the Union Address: Obama to Double Exports and create 2 million jobs:  http://trade.gov/nei/nei-introduction-state-of-the-union-012710.asp

January 2010 Exports/Imports: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/business/economy/11econ.html

December 2013 Exports/Imports: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/international/trade/tradnewsrelease.htm

Obama Gets 2 Pinocchios on Manufacturing Job Creation: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/obamas-claim-of-500000-manufacturing-jobs-month-after-month/2013/06/07/a16c03cc-cfb9-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_blog.html

Ron Bloom, The Manufacturing Czar: A Blooming Mistake!

I guess if you absurdly think that it is labor -- specifically union labor -- and not management that creates jobs, then, it makes sense that you appoint a man like Ron Bloom as Obama's new manufacturing czar (Click to See Full Story: "President Obama to Appoint Ron Bloom Manufacturing Czar").

But, having spent years working on the opposite side of the labor unions, I know that the only way that hiring increases, at least when unions are involved, is by the time-tested union technique of worker slow downs. As a manager, I was able to create hundreds of in-house jobs because outside, contracted unionized labor for various services was just too expensive. Because of the cost efficiencies in hiring my own staff, our company had more working cash to expand or create manufacturing jobs or to spend more on Research and Development into new products that would ultimately create new jobs.

I find it very interesting that an ex-union executive would be nominated as the person -- another czar -- whose job it is to increase manufacturing activity in America. Ask yourself this simple set of questions: "Which came first? The Unions or the business they work for? " I am personally unaware of any company who started up with its workers already unionized.

One of the primary reasons that manufacturing has left this country -- in addition to high tax rates and strict government regulation -- is the high cost of labor and the inability of unionized companies to increase productivity because the unions will almost always resist any attempts to automate manufacturing. That's because any automation would eliminate union jobs. Like it or not, labor unions are just another form of a cartel; like OPEC for oil prices or De beers for diamonds. They force higher wages through non-competitive tactics. As a result, the lack of competitiveness forces companies to ship more and more manufacturing to overseas locations. For years, they've refused to concede any small losses of jobs; only to have much of their jobs completely lost to other countries like Ireland, China, Japan, and Mexico. Union membership has consistently declined in the last 25 year from a high of 21 percent of the workforce, 25 years ago, to today's 12.4%.

This year's best examples of labor union's having an opposite and negative impact on the manufacturing sector is the bankruptcies of both General Motors and Chrysler. And, if anyone thinks those two companies have any real future with Obama and his people running the show, one only has to look at the Cash For Clunkers program, where both Chrysler and GM failed to match their current market share by selling cars under that program. GM, for example, has an overall 19% market share in auto sales in this country. Yet, in Cash For Clunkers, GM only sold 17 percent of all the cars sold under that program. Chrysler was even worse. The big winners were Toyota, Honda, and Nissan; all of which have non-union production facilities in the United States and who beat American manufacturers in the depth of quality, craftsmanship, and fuel efficiency. One of the reason that Toyota has such high sales against American autos is because of its resale value. In 2 to 3 years of being in service, American cars have higher repair rates and, subsequently, lower resale values. That all has to do with the fact that, in order to be cost competitive, more of the expense of building a vehicle goes into salaries and not into the quality of the parts that make up the car.

I would think that you would want a manufacturing czar who had a proven track record of creating manufacturing jobs in this country. There are hundreds of them; but, they are almost all CEO's and that's when reality and Obama's labor-leaning ideology and anti-bourgeoisie philosophies are at complete odds with each other. For that reason, don't expect American manufacturing to bloom under Ron Bloom.