In addition to previous open letters, here is one released today, with over 750 signatories:
We, the undersigned economists, strongly urge voters not to re-elect Donald Trump on the following grounds:
His chaotic and ineffective approach to negotiation has damaged relations with trade partners, interrupted supply chains, degraded international norms, and harmed American farmers — all without achieving his stated goal of reducing the trade deficit. Even his landmark trade deal, the USMCA, is not projected to have a meaningful impact on either GDP or the trade deficit.
His managerial incompetence has damaged the credibility and effectiveness of the public sector. Agencies cycle through acting heads, disgruntled former staffers frequently appear in the media with dire warnings, and family members are put in charge of critical pandemic response initiatives.
He claimed to have the unique ability to generate growth (in real GDP) of between 4% and 6%, but never surpassed 2.9% in his first three years in office. Furthermore, analysts at Goldman Sachs and Moody’s Analytics have projected that Joe Biden’s economic plans, if implemented, would actually generate faster growth in both employment and real GDP.
He failed to achieve his campaign’s core economic promises: manufacturing remained a small share of employment, and both the fiscal and trade deficits increased. As economists explained in 2016, most of his promises either didn’t make sense or weren’t achievable using his proposed policies. This remains true in 2020.
His administration’s public health response to COVID-19 was described by medical scientists as having turned “…a crisis into a tragedy” and as having underperformed relative to other democracies by “orders of magnitude.”
He has consistently undermined the independence and credibility of our major health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health, eroding public trust in their approvals and recommendations at exactly the time when we most desperately need it.
He has dramatically overemphasized the extent to which economic growth and public health are in conflict during a pandemic. In fact, many countries that have been more effective in their viral containment efforts have also performed better economically.
His personal behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak endangered public health, the economic recovery, and the safe re-opening of schools. He undermined mask use and social distancing, held indoor rallies, encouraged the use of unproven and potentially dangerous medical substances, downplayed the severity of the pandemic, and hosted a superspreader event that incapacitated the White House and forced military leadership into quarantine.
He regularly spreads dangerous misinformation, even during times of crisis, and has been the single largest source of misinformation during the pandemic.
He has made the country less attractive to skilled and hard-working immigrants by assaulting religious freedom and by insinuating that the children of non-white immigrants are not truly American.
He has made the country a less appealing place to do business by creating an atmosphere of perpetual chaos and uncertainty, and by using the levers of government to punish individuals and businesses that were insufficiently reverential.
He has fostered a culture of unabashed corruption by pressuring foreign countries to undermine his political opponents, using the resolute desk to promote a political supporter’s bean products, attempting to divert intergovernmental meetings to his commercial properties, using public resources to conduct campaign events, and allowing White House staff to openly flout the Hatch Act.
He has refused to release his tax returns — unlike his political opponents in both 2016 and 2020 — making it difficult to determine the extent to which his financial interests conflict with the country’s. Recent reporting, which has secured his returns for two decades, suggests that his businesses have consistently claimed large losses and that he appears to have many unresolved conflicts of interest.
He spreads conspiracy theories that undermine long-term trust in democratic institutions for seemingly no reason other than to influence media coverage in a single news cycle.
He has a poorly-informed, zero-sum view of economics that engenders needless viciousness and cruelty.
In just one term in office, Donald Trump has rendered the United States unrecognizable, and has faced no consequences for doing so. He has carried out a sustained assault on democratic institutions, put his family members in charge of critical government functions during a pandemic, called for his political opponents to be thrown in prison, normalized corruption, and weakened the economic recovery with selfish and reckless behavior. For these reasons, we strongly recommend that the electorate do what no one else can: reclaim your democracy by voting to remove Donald Trump from office.
This is in addition to this open letter for Biden-Harris, discussed in this post:
More than 200 economists have signed a letter of support for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Signers include Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, Laura Tyson, William Spriggs, Claudia Goldin, Robert Reich, Robert Gordon, Ebonya Washington, Jeff Sachs, and Emmanuel Saez. The letter contends that the U.S. is facing a series of simultaneous major crises — health, economic, and political — and that only strong national leadership from the Biden-Harris ticket supported by a grassroots democratic movement can address these crises and create an economy that works for all Americans.
From the letter:
The Biden-Harris program includes:
- Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and supporting worker rights
- Guaranteeing health care for every American by offering a public option and extending Medicare to those 60 or over.
- Investing in roads, bridges, water systems, airports, and rail systems, creating tens of thousands of well -paying jobs and assuring that federal procurement extends to minority owned businesses.
- Advancing racial equity as part of national economic recovery.Rolling back the Trump tax cut for big corporations, and making the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes.
- Guaranteeing universal pre-school education and affordable quality day care, and supporting home care for aging parents.
- Providing relief from student debt and expanding tuition-free public college for working and middle class families.
- Increasing financing for black-owned small business and black home ownership.
- Establishing a green energy programthat reduces carbon emissions, creates jobs, and makes the US a global leader in renewable energy.
The full letter is here. Release of this letter preceded the letter in support of Joe Biden signed by 13 Nobel Laureates in Economics (post here).
I (still) have not identified a corresponding letter in support of the Trump-Pence economic agenda.
It’s not surprising that economists have supported the Biden plan (while few seem to have signed onto the Trump agenda). Consider the analyses from several Wall Street research groups:
Source: Moody’s Analytics, September 23rd.
And here is Oxford Analytics’s assessment.
Source: Oxford Economics, September 26th.
and Goldman-Sachs’s estimates of impact on output gap.
Source: Goldman-Sachs, Top of Mind, October 1st.
In general, the Biden plan would result in higher output and employment than under a second Trump administration (to the extent one can discern his plans).
Keep in mind that THE RICK has ripped the forecasting of Moody’s and Oxford Economics. Of course THE RICK lied on several occasions in his pathetic attack on Mark Zandi. As far his review of what Oxford wrote – it is pretty clear that THE RICK never read what they wrote as he could not find a link to its actual forecast.
Sharon Oster, Yale University and Ray Fair, Yale University both signed this? Pardon me but aren’t they married? And in Trump’s world, this is grounds to disqualify their votes. Both yea – two very good economists. Speaking of which Ed Tower is still alive? Good to know – excellent international trade economists. Ed is a bit conservative but a very smart guy. Now if Donald Luskin wants to take him on – pass the popcorn.
An interesting list of 756 economists signing a well written memo.
Are there any actual economists for Trump
Is there anyone with an IQ above the single digits for Trump?
I was looking for Janet Currie’s name, but I guess her specialty area is more related to health outcomes and costs. Currie’s bio does say she is on “the Society of Labor Economists” though and my faint and fallible memory seems to have an inkling of her writing about Labor economics and the policies of great B-actor Ronnie.
Menzie,
I am not going to give you a hard time on this, but I am surprised you are not on this list. When it first came out with 701 signatures I put it on Facebook and whined that there were so many people I never heard of, but among the new 49 or so on this list include a whole bunch of people I know, but not you, Menzie. I know and understand that Jim H. avoids political involvement and does not sign such things, but you have signed some things along these lines in the past. So, why not this one? Is it a matter of some specific statement in the statement of the petition? It is a bit too long, so I can appreciate that there might be something in there you do not agree with.
I noted when I put it on FB that there are a number of people on this list I did not expect to see, but I am not going to draw attention to them by naming them.
Barkley Rosser: Had I been asked, I would’ve signed. But I didn’t get the invite (I did for the other list, though…)
Menzie,
I was not personally asked. I got on it because a signer is a Facebook friend of mine, and he posted it and the link to it there, which I then shared to FB after I signed it. Sorry it did not cross your path.
@ Barkley Junior
Multiple times misspelling a dead colleague’s name, at least once after being corrected, and then sharing on this blog that a very much alive colleague was “dead” probably garners you a lot of respect Junior. I keep wondering how a very thin-skinned professor would have reacted had the same thing been done to himself??
I’m glad you were classy enough to correct both after I forced the issue by mentioning it. That and predicting 2020 2nd Quarter BEA GDP wouldn’t be worse than negative 10% when the consensus was below negative 30%. It was an amazing year for you. You had some other “shining moments”.
Junior, you are a marvelous diplomat though, no one can argue that one.
That’s quite strange. I thought it might be an institutional deal, where somehow it didn’t get around to certain institutions. But by a quick eye-scan, I found 6 UW-Madison folks on the list. I wouldn’t be offended by it if I were Menzie, but I would find it very peculiar and raise an eyebrow. On a bright note that I got a personal kick out of (signifying nothing to anyone else who reads this blog) I saw a professor (who I think joined the university after I left) from my alma mater on the list, and my school gets so little recognition, there’s no way in hell I thought any profs from my school would make the “litmus test” (or whatever) to make the signatory list.
What makes this doubly (or triply) strange is (again on a very quick eye scan) is none of the 3 major Universities in my state had a prof sign. Now none of them rank better than what I would call an “average” Division 1 institution (the highest in-state university is ranked #133). It’s interesting to note, some proclaim this to be “the reddest state in the nation” (in the top 5 certainly), and all 3 of the major universities get a large amount of money from the oil and gas industry for the endowment trusts. Wondering how much that had a direct influence on economics profs at that school have the “self-determination” to sign their name?? Not really “wondering” much though……..
* ” …….at those 3 schools having…… ” the 2nd to last sentence above should read.
I have known some profs at Oklahoma State (assuming that is the #1), although they are now retired. They were moderately conservative. Could imagine them possibly supporting Trump, but also do not think of them as being obviously Trumpist types, again, moderate conservatives, not unreasonable (I am thinking of two in particular, not going to name them). One is more conservative than the other.
BTW, U. of Oklahoma at Norman may be a better school overall than OK State in OK City, and maybe its econ dept is also better. But I have never known anybody out of that dept and know nothing about it al all, in contrast with OK State, for better or worse, although I recognize that Moses might consider it a strike against a dept if I know people from it.
Matthew Klein and Michael Pettis have a new book out. I got about half a million things on my list to read, but I hope at least before the end of December to get around to it, looks like a super good one.
Maybe if we got our “usual suspects” here on this blog to flip through it they might stop speaking out of their hind region.
Thanks for the heads up on Klein/Pettis.
While I agree with everything the economists said in their letter, but for the pandemic, Trump would be well ahead of Biden in polling on the economy. So Joe needs to reconsider his positions because once the pandemic is over, the economy will be the most important issue again.
As AOC has pointed out, Biden’s chief economic advisor, Ted Kaufman, is apparently a deficit hawk. https://www.businessinsider.com/aoc-calls-biden-aides-opposition-to-deficit-spending-extremely-concerning-2020-8
We certainly don’t need another deficit hawk telling Biden ghost stories about the federal budget. A much better choice would be Neel Kashkari who, as a Republican, could help Joe fight Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz on budget priorities.
Nah. Wrong kind of Republican. Facts and logic work for Kashkari. Shelton is the right kind of Republican. She changes her position depending on which party is in power.
Sadly, you are right. Still I think Neel should get a job in the Biden administration.
No Rethuglican Daddies in the Biden Admin!!!!!
I’m not much of a Kaufman fan. Other than some of his Dad’s genes I don’t see much spark there. Kaufman gets back to why Bernie fans (including myself) got so b*tchy about BIden being the nominee. Kaufman is not a very insightful choice and screams status quo. Sometimes the economic team for the campaigning ends up being very different when they actually make the administration choices (think Volcker and Stiglitz with Obama). And they only usually get milder (more status quo-ish) in transition. I see no bright lights of hope based on hearing Kaufman’s name.
https://twitter.com/nprpolitics/status/1319454764489375744
NPR Politics @nprpolitics
“220,000 Americans dead. You hear nothing else I say tonight, hear this: Anyone who is responsible for not taking control … Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America” Joe Biden said.
https://apps.npr.org/liveblogs/20201022-debate/
Early Moments: Fewer Interruptions, More Eye Rolls
9:45 PM · Oct 22, 2020
This could be considered a semi-response to some of the things “ltr” has said on this blog. But really it is an attempt to exhibit something as near to truth that can be found. I do not take sides on the blame game of Covid-19, other than to say China could do a better job enforcing the rules and shutting down “wet markets” which are probably the origination of the whole thing. But as far as America’s mess with high transmission rates of Covid-19, America has only herself to blame for that. But I will add that if Beijing made as avid attempts to shutdown wet markets as Beijing works at shutting down the free flow of information and citizens’ rights to speak out on government wrongs, then there is a chance we neither would have had SARS or Covid 19 internally or externally to the national borders of China:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7376275/
I applaud Fang Fang (Wang Fang) and other mainland Chinese like her, who are willing to bear the weight of their own convictions and personal moral code:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42438-020-00181-w
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42438-020-00173-w
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42438-020-00195-4
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086JXGZFB?ie=UTF8&tag=thewaspos09-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B086JXGZFB
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wuhan-diary-fang-fang/1136850202
Ivanka Trump is suing the Lincoln Project over a Times Square billboard that has something to do with all the deaths from COVID-19:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ivanka-and-jareds-lawyer-threatens-to-sue-over-the-lincoln-projects-times-square-billboards
Of course this uncaring stupid rich bitch is only going to bring more attention to this hard hitting ad. Game, set, match for the Lincoln Project.
The first I heard of the ad was a report about Ivanka’s legal action. Seems like 5th column stuff to me. Daddy will fire her soon.
Jared and Ivanka will spend money on lawyers and then fold. Just like daddy. It is why they resort to graft. They are good at making money disappear down a rathole.
October 23, 2020
Coronavirus
US
Cases ( 8,746,953)
Deaths ( 229,284)
India
Cases ( 7,813,668)
Deaths ( 117,992)
France
Cases ( 1,041,075)
Deaths ( 34,508)
Mexico
Cases ( 874,171)
Deaths ( 87,894)
UK
Cases ( 830,998)
Deaths ( 44,571)
Germany
Cases ( 417,350)
Deaths ( 10,090)
Canada
Cases ( 211,732)
Deaths ( 9,888)
China
Cases ( 85,747)
Deaths ( 4,634)
October 23, 2020
Coronavirus (Deaths per million)
US ( 691)
Mexico ( 680)
UK ( 655)
France ( 528)
Canada ( 261)
Germany ( 120)
India ( 85)
China ( 3)
Notice the ratios of deaths to coronavirus cases are 10.1%, 5.4% and 3.3% for Mexico, the United Kingdom and France respectively. These ratios are high, but have been significantly higher, while falling recently as new cases are recorded.
Wow, we have a higher death rate than Mexico!
Do we? Kevin Drum has been tracking this for a long time and it seems the above comment got the numbers backwards:
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2020/10/coronavirus-growth-in-western-countries-october-23-update/
Look – our situation is dire but Mexico is even worse.
“US ( 691)
Mexico ( 680)”
I think you have this backwards.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-10-24/Chinese-mainland-reports-28-new-COVID-19-cases-all-from-overseas-UQcFOWtR2U/index.html
October 24, 2020
Chinese mainland reports 28 new COVID-19 cases
The Chinese mainland on Friday registered 28 new COVID-19 cases, all from overseas, the National Health Commission announced on Saturday.
No deaths related to the disease were reported on Friday, and 11 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals, the commission said. A total of 404 asymptomatic patients remain under medical observation.
The COVID-19 tally on the Chinese mainland stands at 85,775 infections, with 4,634 fatalities.
Chinese mainland new imported cases
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-10-24/Chinese-mainland-reports-28-new-COVID-19-cases-all-from-overseas-UQcFOWtR2U/img/75787515c7844410a6e1ec3d48e18717/75787515c7844410a6e1ec3d48e18717.jpeg
Chinese mainland new asymptomatic cases
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-10-24/Chinese-mainland-reports-28-new-COVID-19-cases-all-from-overseas-UQcFOWtR2U/img/253275d4f6ee4d7386666f1ccae493e9/253275d4f6ee4d7386666f1ccae493e9.jpeg
[ There has been no coronavirus death on the Chinese mainland since May 17. Since June began there have been 3 limited community clusters of infections, in Beijing, Dalian and Urumqi, each of which was contained with mass testing, contact tracing and quarantine, with each outbreak ending in a few weeks.
Currently there is another apparently limited community cluster in Qingdao, with mass testing, contact tracing and quarantine again being used to identify the origin of as well as to contain and end the outbreak.
Imported coronavirus cases are caught at entry points with required testing and immediate quarantine. Asymptomatic cases are all quarantined. The flow of imported cases to China is low, but has been persistent.
There are now 265 active coronavirus cases in all on the Chinese mainland, 3 of which cases are classed as serious or critical. ]
Trump is campaigning on the lie that the virus has gone away. Someone ask Pence about this:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/25/politics/joe-biden-donald-trump-barack-obama-coronavirus-stimulus/index.html
Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, tested positive on Saturday, the vice president’s office announced in a statement late in the day. Marty Obst, Pence’s senior political adviser, tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the week, a source familiar with the matter told CNN Saturday evening. But out on the campaign trail, Trump once again advanced the false claim that coronavirus infections are rising because the US has increased testing and chided reporters in Ohio for using the word “cases” — arguing the phrase is meant to “scare people.” After the US hit a new daily record for coronavirus cases, Trump’s dubious claims that the pandemic is “rounding the turn” stand in complete opposition to the facts — and his disconnection from reality gave former Vice President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama an opening Saturday to call out his denials.
Damn it Pence – stop testing your stupid staff.
Don’t they know no one would have Covid-19 if they stopped testing??
Speaking of health measurements, it is said that donald trump is so tough, he walked out on a verbal boxing match with a 78 year old woman 5’3″ tall, weighing roughly 130 lbs. Does this mean donald trump is a weak/pathetic/loser AND a P*ssy???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghg-ND6cPmQ
I think this is like listening to a 9 year old little pudgy boy, asking his mother why she treats his brother better than him. Apparently baby trump is a fan of Tom Smothers’ comedy skits with his brother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g05ChFQyHR0
Was it commenter “baffling” that was talking about this gunk in another thread?? I’m still not buying it, but I’d be lying if I said this headline didn’t grab my attention:
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/10/25/biden-rebounds-to-edge-over-trump-in-texas-as-hegar-slightly-narrows-cornyns-lead-in-senate-race/
there is a big unknown occurring in texas right now. the state has early voting, and the turnout has been HUGE. now usually, that would favor the democrats. republicans have been more aggressive voting on election day. the current breakdown is unknown. but you can understand that if historical trends hold up, that is favorable for biden and the democrats.
i will say that texas is once again increasing in covid cases. if this puts a damper on votes over the next week, that would probably be a republican problem. although i have my doubts that any red blooded conservative would stay away from the polls due to a covid infection.
beto showed a couple of years ago that texas could be put into play. it might not be there yet, but it is certainly trending that way. biden did not help himself with his anti-oil remarks the other night. trump is expending resources in texas because of concerns of a flip…
Economists through the world also formally protested the military coup in Bolivia. That the coup has been undone strikes me as economically promising for all South America:
https://cepr.net/bolivians-reclaim-their-democracy/
October 21, 2020
Bolivians Reclaim Their Democracy
By MARK WEISBROT
The overwhelming MAS election victory is a repudiation of the racist coup regime as well as the Trump administration and the OAS, which helped install it.
On Sunday, October 18, Luis Arce won the presidency of Bolivia, in a pronounced repudiation of last year’s military coup, which had put the current government in power. Arce is the former economy minister for Evo Morales, who was the first Indigenous president of the country with the largest percentage of Indigenous people in the Americas. Morales’s democratically elected government was overthrown in November of last year.
The November coup was backed by the Trump administration, and the Organization of American States (OAS) leadership played a central role in laying the foundations for it. Sunday’s election thus has enormous potential implications not only for Bolivia, where it was a necessary step toward the restoration of democracy, but also for the region, in terms of democracy, national independence, economic and social progress, and the struggle against racism.
First, the election: unofficial quick count results show Arce winning with more than 50 percent of the vote, and at least 20 percentage points ahead of his closest competitor, Carlos Mesa, a former president. A majority is decisive, but even if the final, official count were to put Arce below 50 percent, his margin over Mesa is virtually certain to be large enough to win the election in the first round (to win in the first round, a contender must get more than 50 percent of the vote, or at least 40 percent with a 10-point margin over the runner-up). Mesa has already conceded, and the de facto president, Jeanine Áñez, congratulated Arce on his victory on Sunday night.
It’s not difficult to see why Arce would have won even if he were not up against a violently repressive, racist government installed by a coup. As minister of the economy ever since Morales took office in January 2006, Arce can claim much credit for what any economist would say was a remarkably successful economic turn-around for Bolivia. When Morales was first elected, income per person was less than it had been 26 years prior. By contrast, in the 14 years of his Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) government (2006-19), it grew by about 52 percent. This is a sizable improvement in living standards (sixth out of 34 countries in the region), following on the heels of a stupendous long-term economic failure.
Poor Bolivians, who are disproportionately Indigenous, benefited even more than others from the MAS government’s economic successes. Poverty was reduced by 42 percent and extreme poverty by 60 percent. Poorer Bolivians also benefited disproportionately from a very large increase in public investment, including in schools, roads, and hospitals.
By contrast, the 11 months of coup government since last November have been a disaster….
Mark Meadows basically admits that Trump’s approach to COVID-19 is nothing but neglect and failure:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/white-house-meadows-not-control-covid-19-pandemic
“White House chief of staff Mark Meadows off-handedly told CNN on Sunday that the Trump administration is “not going to control” the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed nearly 225,000 Americans and has now reached Vice President Mike Pence’s orbit in what appears to be a new COVID-19 outbreak in the White House. “We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas,” Meadows said on CNN on Sunday morning.”
Well he started off with an almost honest answer but when he claimed that this White House was getting “other mitigation areas”, this is when he resumed his usual dishonest garbage:
“CNN’s Jake Tapper then pressed Meadows on why the country won’t get the COVID-19 pandemic under control. Meadows replied that it’s “because it is a contagious virus just like the flu” and that the Trump administration is “making efforts to contain it.” “What we need to do is make sure that we have the proper mitigation factors, whether it’s therapies or vaccines or treatments to make sure that people don’t die from this,” Meadows said. Crosstalk ensued as Meadows threw in a jab at Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by falsely accusing the former VP of saying that he wants to “lock everybody down.” Tapper replied that Biden never said that and that he was quoting a health official when remarking that a “dark winter” is ahead for the country as COVID-19 cases surge.”
Biden is not asking for a lock down but he is suggesting we wear masks and maintain social distancing, which is what most people think of as mitigation. This White House has mocked those that take the appropriate steps. And it got worse when the issue of Pence’s staff getting the virus was raised:
“Asked about a detail in the New York Times’ report on Pence aides testing positive for COVID-19, which reported that Meadows sought to keep the news of the outbreak from being public, the White House chief of staff falsely asserted that it’s “not a report, it’s a tweet.” Meadows then said that “sharing personal information is not something that we should do.” “Not something that we do actually do unless it’s the vice president or the President or someone that is very close to them where there is people in harm’s way,” Meadows said. Meadows was later asked about why Pence himself is not quarantining for 14 days like the CDC recommends, and is instead continuing campaign efforts by holding rallies. After insisting that Pence is campaigning while “getting things done,” Meadows argued that Pence would continue with travel plans because he is “essential personnel” and will comply with mask-wearing when he is not on stage delivering a speech. “I’m not saying he is not campaigning, I’m saying that is only part of what he is doing and as we look at that, ‘essential personnel,’ whether it’s the vice president of the United States or anyone else, has to continue on,” Meadows said.”
In other words, the political campaign must go on no matter how many additional people die from this virus.
Sad but funny. So Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (or was the douchebag) puts up on Linked In so blatant promo for Trump showing some rally in Arizona. The comments to his post run like this
“Linked In is no place for this garbage.”
Yes even prominent tax attorneys and business leaders find the abusive of Team Trump highly offensive. Of course I’m getting friends requests from the Proud Boy types. I hope my delete button holds up for the next several days.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
October 25, 2020
Coronavirus
US
Cases ( 8,844,840)
Deaths ( 230,176)
Deaths per million ( 694)
Mexico
Cases ( 886,800)
Deaths ( 88,743)
Deaths per million ( 686)
Latin American countries have recorded 5 of the 10 and 6 of the 15 highest number of coronavirus cases. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Chile…
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2020/10/coronavirus-growth-in-western-countries-october-24-update/
Kevin Drum uses John Hopkins data and he reports a higher death rate for Mexico and a somewhat lower death rate for the US.
Maybe our host knows why but it does seem when Worldometer looks at deaths per capita we have done worse than Mexico – which has a terrible track record.
I keep citing the updates at Mother Jones by Kevin Drum who is using John Hopkins data. We are still doing horribly using this data but Mexico is doing somewhat worse.
OK – our nation and Mexico have two of the worst ratios of deaths from this virus per capita but who is doing the absolute worse depends on which data set one relies on.
Of course Donald Trump keeps telling his sheep we are doing great. I leave it to our Usual Suspects to defend this pathetic lie.
This is the concluding data for today as reported by the respective national health authorities:
October 25, 2020
Coronavirus
US
Cases ( 8,889,179)
Deaths ( 230,510)
Deaths per million ( 694)
Mexico
Cases ( 886,800)
Deaths ( 88,743)
Deaths per million ( 686)
Latin American countries have recorded 5 of the 10 and 6 of the 15 highest number of coronavirus cases. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Chile.
Among Latin American countries, Mexico has the 5 highest number of cases.
Among Latin American countries, Mexico has the “5th” highest number of coronavirus cases.
Importantly, for all the United States economic sanctions, Cuba has a well-developed public health system and has fared notably well among Latin American countries through this period. The Dominican Republic has had the fastest growth in per capita GDP of all countries in the Americas these last 50 years, however Cuba has a significantly higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rate and is faring notably well currently.
October 25, 2020
Coronavirus
Dominican Republic
Cases ( 124,527)
Deaths ( 2,223)
Deaths per million ( 204)
Cuba
Cases ( 6,566)
Deaths ( 128)
Deaths per million ( 11)
Now BOTH the district and state appeals court have ruled against Greg Abbott’s order limiting the amount of ballot boxes allowed in counties. But of course Abbott’s office has appealed this decision—-with 8 days left Republican courts will stall until low income Texans with no car or no ability to take time off work have lost their right to vote, and if it works in this election, Republicans will run it from the same playbook in 2024.
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/23/texas-mail-in-ballot-drop-off/
There is no longer democracy in America, Republican courts will beat down your right to vote every inch of the way—because that is what the MAGA illiterates want–their rights stolen from them from right underneath their own nose.
October 25, 2020
Coronavirus (Deaths per million)
Belgium ( 925)
Spain ( 743)
US ( 695)
Mexico ( 686)
UK ( 658)
Italy ( 618)
Sweden ( 586)
France ( 532)
Netherlands ( 411)
Ireland ( 380)
Canada ( 263)
Switzerland ( 240)
Luxembourg ( 230)
Portugal ( 227)
Germany ( 121)
Denmark ( 121)
Austria ( 109)
India ( 86)
Finland ( 64)
Greece ( 55)
Norway ( 51)
Australia ( 35)
Japan ( 14)
Korea ( 9)
China ( 3)
The highest deaths per million rates in Latin America in descending order are Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico.
Cannot stop laughing at this letter as well.
So, I have to vote for Biden because Trump hurt Angela Merkel’s delicate self-esteem? And Emmanuel-Jupiter-Ascending-Macron’s highly delicate self-esteem?
Really? In my view, this is one reason to vote *for* Trump, not against. But anyway…
More generally, the letter does not discuss the possible consequences of Biden Presidency. Not one peep.
And these are supposed to be smart people, PhDs and stuff. But no, no discussion of the massive taxation, regulation and command-and-control orders that will come down from Washington, stifling economic growth and prosperity. I wonder what these supposed smart PhDs teach their students.
Apparently, the concepts of “opportunity cost”, “social cost”, “incentives”, are not in their lexicon any more. Again, what do they teach in their supposedly distinguished departments? It is very nice to have cushy tenured jobs and preach nonsense.
“I have to vote for Biden because Trump hurt Angela Merkel’s delicate self-esteem? And Emmanuel-Jupiter-Ascending-Macron’s highly delicate self-esteem? Really? In my view, this is one reason to vote *for* Trump, not against.”
Manfred! Thanks for admitting you work for Putin. But this lie?
“More generally, the letter does not discuss the possible consequences of Biden Presidency. Not one peep. And these are supposed to be smart people, PhDs and stuff.”
I guess you are too stupid to follow the analysis done by the economists at Moody’s on what Biden’s proposals would do. It sure does not look like your usual crap. BTW – you did spell correctly a few concepts. Now find your Economics for Dummies and just try to understand what these terms mean.
Manfred,
Glad you find accurate criticisms of the Trump presidency so amusing. As for your list of what Biden is going to do that will stifle growth and recovery, sorry, it does not compute. Biden is going to raise taxes on the rich, basically undo the tax cut for the rich Trump made. Did his tax cut stimulate growth? Not much, maybe a minor tick for a quarter or two at best. No wonder that it has always been unpopular. Regulation? Most of the deregulation by Trump has been in the energy sector, pointed at fossil fuels and making it easier to pollute, more mercury in water and stuff like that. There may have been some increase in production in oil and natural gas, but coal has gone down more rapidly than it was under Obama. And Biden was right in the debate, oil is not the future, and the sooner we get to it the better. As for command and control, that simply is not part of the Biden platform. You are simply off base.
Go check out the Moody’s projection. They see growth doing better under Biden than under Trump. Your arguments are just delusional, even if you find yourself just terribly witty.
Trump lied multiple times to Lesley Stahl and acted like a complete jerk but that was not the worst of it:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/26/politics/donald-trump-60-minutes-book-lesley-stahl-health-care/index.html
Shortly after President Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with “60 Minutes” anchor Lesley Stahl, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany showed up with a massively large book in tow. “Lesley, the President wanted me to deliver his health care plan,” said McEnany. “It’s a little heavy.” Except it wasn’t Trump’s health care plan. Because that, well, doesn’t exist. Instead, according to the “60 Minutes” Twitter feed, the book was “filled with executive orders and congressional initiatives, but no comprehensive healthcare plan.”…The oversized book that drastically under-delivers on its promised contents is, actually, a pretty apt metaphor for the entire Trump presidency. You can be certain that McEnany (and Trump) knew that after he walked off the set, the cameras were still rolling. And so, they went for theatrics — a huge book that purported to be the President’s (non-existent) health care plan. They liked the visual of McEnany giving Stahl a huge and weighty book on camera. Didn’t matter that the book didn’t actually contain any sort of plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. People wouldn’t care about that! They’d remember that massive book!
Anything from Bimbo Kayleigh McEnany is guaranteed to be a joke.
Checking what this say about the US daily death rate (7-day average) and it seems this has risen to 818:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
Of course Bruce Hall cannot see that it might be increasing. It seems he only looks at the information that Kelly Anne Conway provides him with.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/world/americas/chile-constitution-plebiscite.html
October 25, 2020
‘An End to the Chapter of Dictatorship’: Chileans Vote to Draft a New Constitution
Voters overwhelmingly approved a bid to scrap the charter inherited from Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, a move that could set a new course for the country.
By Pascale Bonnefoy
SANTIAGO, Chile — The protests started over a small hike in metro fares, then exploded into a broad reckoning over inequality that shook Chile for weeks. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets, calling for sweeping change in their society, with higher wages and pensions, better health care and education.
The movement soon seized on a vehicle for their demands: Chile’s Constitution.
The existing charter, drafted without popular input during the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and approved in a fraudulent plebiscite in 1980, was widely blamed for blocking change — and seen as a lingering link to a grim chapter in Chile’s history.
On Sunday, just over a year after the massive demonstrations swept the nation, Chileans voted to scrap the dictatorship-era document and write a new one — a process that could transform the politics of a country that has long been regarded as one of the most stable and prosperous in Latin America.
With 100 percent of the ballots counted, voters approved the referendum in a landslide victory, and 78 percent voted in favor of a new Constitution….
The Universities have become hotbeds of communism, so this letter is hardly surprising from such a deranged mob.
The reality is that Trump is slowly dragging the US out of the mire of international relations and trade that has benefitted our undemocratic, authoritarian enemies for decades. As a country we have to believe in something and dare to stand up for our principles. not pander to global elites who just want things to stay in the same corrupt form we drifted into after the Soviet Union fell. Thank you President Trump for daring to take the first steps!
Obergruppenfuehrer John Smith: Hi. I teach in a university. I haven’t met a communist in years. Still awaiting your critique of dialectical materialism…
Damnded Edjoomuhkated Puh-huds!!!!! Never did done liked nun uhv thum. Theyz thinks they’d done knowd it all. I watchez the Tuker Karlsen and heez done did already sed you wuz Eleedist and stuff. Skewz me, I gots uh Mishiguhn milishuh meet-up at Buck’s tree house and Karen is serving s’mores cookted over a fayer fueled with Karen’s used, uh, never mind. We’re done did planning the kidnapping of the lokal Commissioner of Sewers ‘cuz QAnon sez heez behinded this vacceenz conspiruhsy that turns us all into pedos when we takes the Oxfuhrd/Astreezenekuz Vick’simization shot.
John Smith If government run enterprises are so bad, then why did Trump choose to go to Walter Reed/Bethesda for his COVID treatment. Now I’m not knocking the quality of care at Walter Reed…hell, one of my nieces is a Navy doctor at Walter Reed; but at the end of the day you’d be hard pressed to find a greater example of socialized government run healthcare than you’ll find at Walter Reed/Bethesda.
As to standing up for our principles, would that include cozying up to dictators and thugs in Saudi Arabia and Turkey and the Philippines? Or sharing love letters with Kim? Or praising Xi until just a few months ago? Or fawning over Putin? Meanwhile Trump disses our Canadian, French and German allies.
BTW, have you figured out the difference between a CFR and an IFR?
“John Smith”
Let us see. With whom has Trump damaged our relations? Oh, Canada, UK, France, Germany, South Korea. Oh yes, there is Iran, one authoritarian regime.
With whom has he made our relations better? Oh, Russia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hungary. Wow, great set of non-authoritarian regimes there.
“With whom has he made our relations better? Oh, Russia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hungary. ”
Of course North Korea did not have nukes back in 2016. They do now. And of course Putin’s Russia is a lot stronger on the world stage than it was 4 years ago. I doubt President Biden is not going to see this as having better relationships.
John Smith, delude yourself much?
“not pander to global elites who just want things to stay in the same corrupt form we drifted into after the Soviet Union fell.”
Yeltsin did fill the Russian swamp with a horrific form of crony capitalism. Your boy Trump sees Yeltsin and his successor as his role model.
Oh what – did your political masters not teach you a damn thing about history?
While it is interesting to see how many economists are for Biden, a far better metric for me is how many actual voters turn out and vote for Biden! The mail voting system in Maryland worked really well. We got our ballots after filling out the form on the Internet and dropped them off at the box last Tuesday. On Thursday we receive emails that the country had received and logged our votes. Maryland counts the votes as they come in though I don’t expect a big surprise in the result here.
Right, Alan, We should not have economists signing petitions for Biden, and if they do, well we should keep dead silent about it and not publicize it. Shhhhhh!
A few New York City police has been cheering for Trump when on the job. Yes – that is against the rules but they are doing it anyway. But remember – we economists are like NBA players. We should just shut up and dribble.
Not just economists. 20 former Republican US attorneys for Biden. Read their letter:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/20-former-gop-us-attorneys-snub-trump-offering-strongest-endorsement-of-biden
Also note even a few Republican governors are for Biden.
One of the better social media posts I’ve seen recently:
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/jjgl7k/leave_it_to_trey_parkermatt_stone/
Reminds me of the early years of Wal Mart, when you couldn’t find an American made piece of clothing if your life depended on it, while they were running ads like they were saving traditional America.
Semi off-topic:
Just thought some people might take an interest in this, and this is the closest thread to matching the subject:
https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/post-launch-images/2020/08/absenteeballots.png
I’ve known from day one that Trump has zero managerial competence more like incompetent because he takes shortcuts to everything including the COVID-19.