Some Inconvenient Facts Behind Our Most Important Presidential Election Since Lincoln

We are just under a month away from perhaps the single most important presidential election since Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas in 1860 with quite possibly a similar outcome. Of course, it's typical of marketing hyperbole to claim one election or another is more important than any other when, in truth, each election puts the future of our constitutional republic at stake (albeit in name only at this point), but in this case, the claim is not being overstated.

Vice President and Democrat nominee, Kamala Harris, has been speaking about the need to "move America forward" and to "restore the American Dream", which, I think, we can all agree, are worthy (albeit unrealistic) goals. Of course, the underlining message is that former President Donald Trump is somehow personally responsible for throwing the switch that put our "democracy" in peril . Lastly, Ms. Harris has promised a "opportunity economy" for all.

The problem, however, that Ms. Harris is overlooking is that her administration along with President Biden are the one's responsible for whatever track America is on, be it good or bad. After all, they've been in charge of the economy as well as domestic and foreign policy for the last four years. Anything Trump did, good or ill, has been of no real consequence since the Biden/Harris ticket won in 2020. 

So, any complaints or compliments is all theirs. For instance, the rate of inflation (which jumped by 3.24% shortly after Biden took office). It was a frightening 8% in 2022 before eventually settling to 2.4% in September falls squarely on their shoulders, not Trump's. Same goes for prices, from gas and groceries to appliances, cars or houses. 

Since February 2020 to now, overall prices have gone up 21.4%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that's far above the national average. According to another economic report, thanks to inflation, what you could buy for ten dollars in 2020 would now cost $11.31 in 2022.

That may not sound like much, but when you look at a the cost of a tank of gas, heating oil, or a week's worth groceries for a family of four, that's quite a hunk of change, forcing the average American to pay more with less purchasing power. 

For example, since 2020 the price of margarine, which nearly everyone uses in cooking, has increased 56.8%. Eggs have gone up 40.1%. Sugar and sugar substitutes have seen a 39.1% increase. Meats, depending on type and cut, have seen a increase of between 39.2% and 44.2%. Car insurance raced upward to 47.5% while vehicle repair (already high) went higher to 47.1%. Gasoline prices almost doubled from January 2020 to June 2024; a increase of 89.5%.   

On the other hand, the prices of Smartphones dropped by 53.9%. 22.4% for televisions. Computers and related items went down by 15.9%, while other electronic equipment (like video cameras, microphones, etc.) dropped in price by 14.1%.The costs of non-electronic toys were 7.1% less as of June 2024 compared to January 20202.

Finally, men's clothing (such as suits, coats and jackets, as well as pants and shirts) saw a decline in price of 6.3% (but apparently not where I shop!).  So, while prices on some items cost consumers less, prices on other items cost more, some significantly more. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. 

What about housing? How much has the cost of keeping a roof over your head changed since 2020? According to a report ResiClub of the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, since 2020 until present, the cost of homes rose 47.1%, which they said "easily outstripping the gains of recent decades". That apparently includes not just the Trump years, but the Obama and George W. Bush years as well.

Some of the reasons cited for the increase in housing prices are the lack of housing in general (remaining down 34.3% from pre-2020 availability), the upswing in mortgage rates and jump in the price of construction material.  As an aside, a related RedFin report said that house payments are up 11% over 2023 prices. The average house payment is now $2,775.00. I can certainly see what Ms. Harris means by a "opportunity economy". But then, these are numbers based on her and Biden's policies.

While we're speaking about housing, what about the homeless? In 2020, the number of reported homeless was about 580,466. By 2023 that number had jumped to 653,104, up 12%, the highest year-to-year increase and the second highest total since 2007. Of that, 324,854 were white. 243,624 were black.  According to the VA, there was homeless 35,574 veterans as of 2023, representing an increase of 7.4% over 2022. A single homeless veteran is one too many for the nation to tolerate.

The unemployment rate is at 3.7%, which is higher than expected due to the drop in individuals who are no longer self employed. If underemployed and dissatisfied and looking are factored in, that number nearly doubles to 6.7%.  Note too that unemployment rates don't include those who've given up on looking or serving in the military. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said as of August 2024, overall job growth was weaker than anticipated with 818,000 fewer jobs than in March as previously reported.

While much of the job openings were service industry or low income, work hours correspondingly decreased from the traditional 40 hour work week to a current 34.3 hours. Nevertheless, employees are still expected to do the same amount of work as they would in a traditional 40 work week.

In 2022, the most recent year data was available, over 12% of the nation was living at or below the poverty level. 13% were "food insecure", which is a polite way to say they didn't have enough to eat on a regular basis. School provided meals are commonly the only regular nutritional food kids get. Data also indicated that the figures were trending upward, so by 2024 that number is likely to be considerably higher.

Wages have generally done well since 2020, exceeding inflation by roughly 2% overall. In April 2020, wages dropped by 6% but then jumped to a record high of 15.40% by April 2021. In 2014, when Trump took office, wages had been trending upward. Starting in 2014, the average wage was $24.33. In 2016, it was $25.38. By the time Trump left office, the average hourly wage was $28.44. Under Biden, it had increased to $31.63 as of January 2022. By September the average hourly wage was $35.36%. Social Security, disability payments, and other compensation are all tied to the rate of inflation.

It should be noted that the once untouchable Social Security Trust Fund has been repeatedly raided by Congress to the tune of $17.5 billion dollars. The Social Security Administration predicts that the trust fund will be empty by the end of 2034. Starting in 2035, recipients will see a 23% reduction in benefits. 

Although wages have done well in keeping up with inflation, that can't be said of everyone as the percentage of those falling behind has been increasing dramatically. Since 2009, wage inequality become has a serious issue, leaving the U.S. with the dubious distinction of having the worse wage differences of any industrialized country in the world.

 In 2022, despite federal laws to the contrary, women between ages 25 to 34 still earned 92% as much as men of the same age. Between ages 35 and 54, that number drops to 83%.  Finally, those from 55 and over, it's 79%! For minorities it's worse. Is this the "progress" or "change" Kamala Harris is talking about?

How well do employees do compared to management? Not surprisingly, not very well. For several decades, the incomes of senior corporate officers have far outperformed that of their employees. Ironically, the margin of difference has increased when tracked against the decline in union membership.

In 2021, the median employee to CEO wage gap was 235%, meaning that for every dollar a worker earned, a CEO received $235 dollars. A year earlier,  it was slightly better with a 212:1 ration between CEO and employee. In 2023, that ratio was now 268:1 among S&P 500 Index companies. I guess it really is good to be king!

In 2021, the Top 1% saw their percentage of wealth continue to grow by 9.1% while the bottom 90% saw theirs decrease.  During the same period, the Top 0.1% saw an income growth of 18.5%. The bottom 90% had a drop in real (after tax) income of 0.2% in 2020 and 2021. By the way, the Top 0.1% is what comprises the ruling oligarchy with a individual power index of 882.9 compared to the bottom 90% which has a power index of 1%.

The bottom 90% also saw just 58.6% of all wages earned, the lowest on record (in 1979, it was 69.8%), demonstrating that over time, workers have been losing ground compared to the upper 20%. Those in the rarified air of the Top 1% took in 14.6% of all wages generated (by comparison, in 1979 it was 7.3%).

To put it another way, from 1980 through 2021, the bottom 90% of Americans saw an increase in wages of 28.7%. The upper 1% saw their wealth increase by 206.3% over the same period while the upper 0.1% (aka: the ruling oligarchy) saw their wealth grow by 465.1%. Feeling nauseated yet?

It bears mentioning that Vice President Harris allegedly said Hurricane Helene victims would be eligible for a $750 "loan" from FEMA which would have to be paid back with interest or face a seizure of their property. That's false. FEMA is offering victims up to a $750 dollars onetime payment for baby food, diapers and incidentals., but it's part of a larger relief package.

Another rumor is that illegal immigrants can receive over $2000 from the government. That's also not true. The federal government provides immigrants classified as "asylum seekers" (pending determination) with up to $459 monthly to help with the cost of food, transportation, and shelter for up to 12 months. Still, financially, doesn't it appears these "asylum seekers" are making out better than U.S. citizens in trouble?

Lastly, what about foreign aid? Under President Biden, the U.S. has sent $95 billion dollars overseas in the form of foreign aid. The majority of that money went to Africa, the Middle East (mainly Israel), Taiwan, and to Ukraine, which got the most at $60 billion dollars for weapons and other military aid.

Under President Trump, he attempted to get a 21% cut in foreign aid (including eliminating aid for 27 countries) with a requested foreign aid budget of $44.1 billion. However, Trump was overridden by Congress and much of his proposed cuts were restored. It should be noted that the Joint Chiefs of Staff and practically all of the major defense contractors publicly and privately urged Congress to reinstate Trump's military budget cuts, and why not? War is a very profitable business.

Biden has no such qualms. His continued support for arming Ukraine, Taiwan, NATO, and Israel (despite public hand smackings) assures all that the money will keep on rolling in. Besides, war or the appearance of war is a good thing. Besides, it helps to artificially simulates the economy.

The Defense Industry continues to build, spend and hire which in turn helps numerous peripheral businesses and that trickles out to the rest of the interconnected economy. It reduces the appearance of the unemployment numbers despite a reduction of jobs by enlisting individuals (many of whom are under or unemployed and whose numbers aren't included in employment statistics).  

This is the economic picture Kamala Harris and the mainstream media, in its subtle promotion of Ms. Harris, isn't telling you about. Instead, we're being offered generalities and distortions. While this blog is neither Democrat or Republican and strives to simply provide nonpartisan facts as it find them, it would appear that in the real world Biden/Harris, devoid of the script writers, teleprompters, and cheerleading, things aren't so rosy for the country.

Ms. Harris offers a campaign message of "progress", "opportunity", and "change" for a faltering economy and political state of affairs it helped create. It's like the lookout on the Titanic offering to take the wheel after it struck the iceberg.  Our "ship of state" is already bow down, badly listing and taking on water with its engines open full throttle. Not exactly the right strategy if you can't swim.   

This election is one of the rare occasions where we can look at Trump's past term in office and gage how he will perform if reelect. At the same time, we know what Harris has done and what four more years would like accomplish. Can Trump do better? Maybe. He's previously managed to hold his own while fighting the media, Congress, and the political/economic status quo. It certainly wouldn't hurt!  

 

Thank you for reading Another Opinion! We hope you enjoyed this article and will pass it along. Please don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly, please "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps beat the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Please find below the links we consulted in researching this article. 

 

Eggs, gasoline and car insurance: Where inflation has hitAmericans hardest

US home prices have surged 47% since the start of 2020

Veteran homelessness increased by 7.4% in 2023

The number of homeless people in America grew in 2023 ashigh of living took its toll

Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Private

The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap

Inequality in annual earnings worsens in 2021

AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch

Comparing Biden and Trump's Immigration Policies in 12 Charts

'Tis the Holiday Season: The Safest Charities to Donate To

Well, it's that time of year...again...when people's attention turns to thoughts of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin or maybe pecan pie, and of course, Macy's Parade along with the usual football games. It's also a time where we start seeing Christmas commercials (ad nauseam) not to mention Christmas trees and decorations damn near everywhere! Kids methodically compiling their Christmas list ("Naughty List" be damned). But, it's also when we start thinking in terms of family and the gathering of our little group.

People, on average, are a little more friendlier (except when shopping in which case it's everyone for themselves). Maybe it's the lights. Maybe it's the snow on the ground or crispness of the air. Maybe it's the message this season brings for those of you who are Jewish or Christian. Whatever it is, we also tend to think a bit more about those who are less fortunate than we are. Sure, we see the individual standing on the street corner with the mandatory "will work for food" or "homeless veteran" signs year around. The more cynical among us of course wonder if they really would work for food or if they're actually a veteran or simply looking for a handout in order to score some drugs or booze. Nevertheless, this time of years seems to make us want to drop our guard, albeit just a little.

However, given human nature, it's also the favorite time of the year for crooks and thieves too, but for very different reasons. It's when they finding stealing packages from front porches,shopping carts and the backseats of cars the easiest. It's when we are so pre-occupied with other matters that we fail to notice our pocketbooks or who is around us in the parking lot. It's also when stores experience the most shoplifting and robberies. Stores are typically packed with high end seasonal goodies like jewelry, perfumes, clothes (especially coats), not to mention in demand toys, video games and equipment.

Stores are often stocked with part time temporary employees just trying to earn some additional pocket pockets to fill out their own special day. The majority don't make much more than minimum wage, but even if they did, they're not going to risk life and limb for a temp job. They don't have a vested interest in whether that particular store gets robbed or not. Besides, that's what store and mall security are for. Of course, with few exceptions, neither are going to risk a brawl or worse, getting shot over a pair of sneakers or jeans. In addition, in most cases, they really can't do much more than "detain" the individual until the cops get there (in the case of mall security, many of them are retirees. They couldn't do anything even if they wanted to).

Nevertheless, there is another kind of criminal I want to talk about. In my opinion, these are perhaps the worse of the lot since they prey on our sympathies. They tug on our heart strings with all sorts of "tales of woe" and the promise that your dollar or quarter or whatever was just the one they needed to make things all better, be it cure some cancer, house a disabled veteran or feed a single woman with children, when in truth they do little or none of this. As an aside, 40% of all donations to charities come during this time of year.

Now while some of these so-called "charities" do extend a hand (albeit a weak one) to the group they're purporting to help, the percentage is criminally small. Meanwhile, their senior officers and solicitors are raking in the big money. Their biggest concerns are how to keep the public from finding out (don't want to kill the golden goose) and where to park the money so that they can avoid paying the most taxes. Maybe it's just me, but I have a serious issue with these types of crooks. I can't stand to see people taken advantage of, especially seniors, children, the mentally and physically handicapped, and "my" veterans. If you brought it on yourself, that's one thing, but these individuals are often the most vulnerable. So, I did a little checking around and compiled my own "Good" and "Naughty" lists.

I've listed the percentage of money which actually reaches their targeted group where possible. So, without further ado, let's start with the "Naughty" list. We'll begin with the list published in May 2018 by SmartAsset, a financial advisement company.

1. Kids Wish Network
2. Cancer Fund of America
3. Children's Wish Foundation International
4. American Breast Cancer Foundation
5. Firefighters Charitable Fund.

In addition, SmartAssets mentions some others which seem to be popular for our area in the Ohio Valley such as American Association of State Troopers, United States Deputy Sheriffs' Association, The Veteran Fund, the Firefighters Burn Fund, and the Children’s Leukemia Research Association. SmartAssets reports that of the 50 charities they list, $1.35 billion in donations was raised, with $970 million going to folks collecting the money. They also said that the percentage of money which actually reached the individuals in need ranged from zero dollars to a high of just 11% (the average was around 8%).

A Daily KOS report from December 2016 stated that Kids Wish Network spends only 2.5% on its targeted group (which is presumably children). The Children's Wish Foundation International spends 10.6%. The American Breast Cancer Foundation spends a pathetic 2.2% while the Firefighters Charitable Fund returns 7.4% to firefighters. The Cancer Fund of American directed just 1% to cancer patients (I'm pleased to add that the fund is now dissolved). Nevertheless, I should mention a couple of others which appears on their list simply for their audacity.

Woman to Woman Cancer Foundation, which supposedly helps women with various types of cancer, directs only .03% to these women in need. The International Union of Police Associations (AFL-CIO) give a criminally ridiculous 0.5% to law enforcement. Next is the Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation, which raised $38.5 million dollars in 2016 but gave these kids just 0.7% of the money. Lastly is Project Cure. They raised $53.8 million dollars (2016), but 0.0% reached their intended group.

Consumer Reports, a highly respected consumer oriented product ratings and review magazine, published their own list of "questionable" charities in December 2017. Since they break theirs down into eleven categories, I'll list just a few from some random areas.

1. SPCA International, New York (Animal Welfare)
2. Noah's Lost Ark, Ohio (Animal Welfare)
3. Cousteau Association, New Hampshire (Environment)
4. Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, Virginia (Veterans)
5. World Villages of Children Foundation, Maryland (Int'l Relief and Development).

In addition to publishing their own "low rated" charities as they call them, Consumer Reports also list comparative "high rated" charities in the same category next to them to make it easier to compare. By the way, the majority of these same charities appear on different sites, though with a different ranking.

On the "Good" list, we turn to Charity Navigator, which is a highly reputable evaluator of charities of all types. They rank and score each charity according efficiency, accountability, financial performance, and transparency. Here's who ranked the highest on their list:

1. Direct Relief (100%)
2. Map International (100%)
3. Matthew 23: Ministries (100%)

Three others, Samaritan's Purse, The Conservation Fund, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation each earned a score of 98.23. You can find more highly rated charities on their site, which is linked below.

Charity Watch, another high caliber charity evaluator known for in-depth investigation of charities also publish their list of the best charities. Since they list theirs by individual categories, I pulled a few from various topic. As before, I've included a link to their site so you can check any specific charity you're interested in.

1. PetSmart Charities (A+)
2. Fisher House Foundation (A+)
3. Wounded Warriors Family Support (A)
4. National Council on Aging (A+)
5. Center for Constitutional Rights (A-)

Some other important charities which deserve mentioning are the American Indian College Fund (B+), Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind (A), the National Rifle Association (A+), the Government Accountability Project ---GAP (A), Habitat for Humanity International (B+), Coalition for the Homeless (A-), and the Starlight Children's Foundation (A-).

As a community activist for close to 40 years, I've always felt the need to give back to my community, especially when it came to my fellow disabled veterans. I've always been willing to donate. In fact, I've been lucky enough to have the means to give. The problem has always been to whom? It seems that everyone has their hand out. My biggest concern was ensuring that the money or whatever I donated actually went to those I intended it for. Hucksters, Scammers, and old fashioned "Shysters" do more than just steal from us, they steal from those who need help the most. They are literally taking the coat off of someone's back and food out of the mouth of some senior or child. Hope this article will help you ensure that your hard earned dollars go where you want to too and keeps it out of the hands of the lowlifes.


The 50 Worst Charities in America---How to Keep from Being Scammed

Best and Worse Charities for Your Donations

25 of America's worst charities, how to find the good ones and where Trump's charity stands

Charity Watch: Top Rated Charities

Charity Navigator: Top Ten Lists