Daily Clips: January 8th, 2016
The US economy just got some very good news: The economy created jobs “at an unexpectedly strong pace throughout the last quarter of 2015.” There were 292,000 jobs created in December, far above the 200,000 estimate economists were predicting. Unemployment rate stayed at 5 percent and wages increased by 2.5 percent.
Overall, 2015 saw the economy create 2.7 million jobs, just slightly weaker than the 3.1 million jobs created in the previous year. As this article highlights, “there are also signs in the report that the economy still has some room to grow.” Of particular importance is:
- Labor force participation. Prior to the financial crisis, the rate hung at around 66 percent, but in 2015 that number is just above 62 percent.
Obama’s Town Hall on Guns: Here’s a great two minute recap of Obama’s appearance last night on CNN. My favorite part was Obama smacking down Anderson Cooper at 1:19. What a moronic question from the host.
Trump states, “I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools”: The man continues to parrot far-right talking points with genuine conservative fervor. He promised that on his first day there would be “no more gun-free zones.” So…guns on planes? Guns at fundraisers? Guns in the White House?
Tweet of the day: If you haven’t seen “Inequality for All” – here’s your chance!
See "Inequality for All" free. Password: bernie2016 https://t.co/BAHXgg2MEM
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 8, 2016
Trump would be the end of the GOP: So says Michael Gerson at the Washington Post. It’s hard to disagree with him there. He goes on to claim, “Trump would make the GOP the party of racial and religious exclusion.” That’s where he lost me. Because Trump is hardly the first Republican to promote (forcefully) the exclusion of “the other.” This is how “moderate conservatives” like Gerson and Brooks rationalize their party’s situation.
Trump is an outlier, in the words of Gerson. In fact, he thinks “liberals who claim that Trumpism is the natural outgrowth, or logical conclusion of conservatism or Republicanism are simply wrong.” At first glance, that argument may sound compelling, but then just think of the bevy of conservative thinkers who have appealed to our nation’s darkest impulses on race and religion. Trump is not an outlier, he’s just an outside figure that is finally beating the establishment at their game. And they’re starting to get very worried.
