The economy is again the issue this election. Millions will vote for the candidate they think will eliminate inflation, widen prosperity and deliver jobs.
If you take out the pandemic, we have been fortunate, experiencing almost 15 years of steady job creation since the Great Recession. Donald Trump claims he was responsible for this and the best economy ever. President Biden counters by saying he created more jobs than any other American leader. VP Harris says her plans will move us forward. And former President Obama, who campaigned for the VP Kamala recently, shouted, “I remember that economy when he (Trump) came in…being pretty good…yeah, it was pretty good, because it was MY economy.”
Our leaders line up to take credit for creating these jobs, but I contend none of these people had much, if anything, to do with it. Their actions, arguably, did more harm than good. No, something else is responsible for this winning streak. Neither side deserves our acclaim.
The gains came from good timing, not particularly good policy. Overspending trillions – as all did – did not bring a flourishing marketplace, and certainly didn’t check inflation. Demographics and mathematics explain the decade and a half of steady hiring far better.
Baby Boomers, Father Time and American businesses deserve their due. Shortly after the recession began in 2010, the children of the Greatest Generation started turning 65. Seventy-five million people were destined to leave the workforce at a rate of about 10,000 people per day, or 3.6 million people per annum. This void simply needed to be filled. Administrative actions did not cause this. It was going to happen, regardless of policy.
The U.S. has averaged about 200,000 new private sector jobs per month since the start of 2011. This sounds great, but think about it: This does not even replace the void of seniors exiting. Retirees have left two to three hundred thousand jobs open every month for 15 years.
Even if one eliminates this seismic demographic shift, basic math does more to explain this (below average) level of job creation and reveals what real economic leadership could deliver. Let’s go to the blackboard and estimate the number of jobs a robust economy should produce.
Assuming businesses add associates at the rate their revenues grow, companies will employ 1% more workers for every 1% of incremental sales. The Gross Domestic Product is merely the aggregate of all American businesses. America’s workforce enlarges at the rate of overall expansion. One percent of 150 million U.S. workers equals 1.5 million more people. A 2% GDP growth rate, as we have seen over this period, should create 3 million hires annually, or 250,000 every month. Sound familiar?
None of these false prophets deserve to be worshiped. The years of even job growth simply equates to the numeric expectations of a good, not great, economy. There is no reason to believe these jobs came from stellar political leadership or brilliant policy.
Imagine if our elders had not retired. Unemployment is low because of Boomers, not because we experienced a boom. I am grateful people are working. It is better than going backward, but the truth is our economy has underperformed. We have experienced modest, not praise-worthy, levels of prosperity. These people are bragging about 2% rates when the historical average is 60% higher (3.2%). For perspective, an above-average growth rate of 4% would produce 500,000 jobs each month.
Combined with retirees, we would need 10 million new workers annually – through 2030, when the last Baby Boomers are expected to have retired! Imagine what this kind of job creation would do to boost worker pay and re-employ adults in destitute communities with few prospects.
Some may say this level of economic growth is not possible, but OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) data across world economies shows that such rates are achievable for nations that…wait for it…keep Total Government Spending to GDP Ratios lower than any of these presidents ever considered budgeting.
It has been 25 years now, but we experienced 4% GDP growth rates during the Clinton/Gingrich years. While adversaries, they kept Total Government Spending to GDP Ratios closer to 30% instead of the 35-40% we have seen this century. Not coincidentally, it is also the last time we saw a budget surplus come out of Washington.
As these officials pat themselves on the back over employment results, they did not influence, I wish I could tell you one candidate or the other could be expected to deliver prosperity. I can’t. There is no reason to believe either side has a plan to help All Americans win. The best we can hope for is some kind of Democrat-Republican split, so Washington politicos can’t tamper with the economy, spend trillions we don’t have, and make things worse. Not great, but at least we’ve got six more years of retiring citizens to help make whoever wins look good.
This article originally appeared on WeAreAllAmerican.org and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Healthy Agreement: 5 Health Topics That Unite Republicans, Democrats & Independents
While political lines are being drawn left and right (figuratively and actually), there are some topics that bring America together when it comes to personal health.
While they may not see eye-to-eye on issues like abortion and the Affordable Care Act, it turns out that Republicans, Independents, and Democrats see more eye-to-eye than not when it comes to their physical, mental, and even intimacy health, according to a study from Hims. These are the five health topics that connect Americans across party lines.
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Outside of finances and their future, all parties agree that a top source of stress is their weight. 25% of Democrats, 24% of Independents, and 26% of Republicans say their weight is weighing heavily on their mind. Weight even ranked higher than key issues like the state of the world (20% are stressed), climate change (13%), and the upcoming presidential election (12%).
In fact, the majority of all parties (60%) said that their weight was impactful (35%) or very impactful (25%) on how they felt during the day—even more impactful than their social media (45%), their news feeds (46%), what others think of them (49%), and even their job performance (58%).
Furthermore, 72% of Independents and Democrats, and 74% of Republicans agree, “My life would be a lot better if I were 10 pounds lighter.” And two-thirds of Americans of all parties say they are open to prescription weight loss medication.
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Republicans, Democrats, and Independents agree on the importance of mental health. When asked what’s more important, their mental well-being or their physical appearance, all parties agreed that their mental health was the top priority: 66% of Democrats and 63% of both Independents and Republicans chose their inner well-being over their outer appearances. 85% of Democrats, 86% of Independents, and 84% of Republicans agree, “I believe the world is facing a mental health crisis.”
What measures do they think we should take to address the issue? Access to mental healthcare tops their list with 90% of Democrats, 89% of Independents, and 86% of Republicans saying that this type of care should be a universal right. Over 70% of each party doesn’t have confidence in the current American healthcare system, particularly when it comes to mental health, and 60% are unsure if their current healthcare covers mental health care.
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Mental health may matter more than physical appearance, but that doesn’t negate the power of a great hair day. In fact, the vast majority of all parties agree that a good hair day improves their mental state: 84% of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans agree, “It’s amazing how much a good hair day can improve my mood,” and over one-quarter of each party say that it improves their mental health.
The power of hair may even spur the economy, with more than 1 in 10 Americans saying great hair inspires them to buy something new.
Here are the top 10 ways a great hair day shapes America’s perception of themselves.
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37% say it boosts my confidence
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27% say it makes me smile more
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26% say it improves my mental health
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20% say it makes me more social
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19% say it makes me more attractive to my partner
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17% say it makes me want to do something special
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15% say it changes others’ perceptions of me
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15% say it inspires me to exercise, or be more healthy
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15% say it makes me want to treat myself or buy something new
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15% say it improves my intimacy life
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Good health may not depend on a great start to the day, but a healthy outlook on life when you wake up sure can’t hurt. Despite the differences among political parties, a perfect morning looks exactly the same. All parties agree it begins with a great night’s sleep, a good cup of coffee, and their partner saying “I love you.” After that, it’s a sunny morning and morning intercourse that rounds out Democrats’, Independents’, and Republicans’ perfect start to the day.
There were a few places the parties diverged, albeit slightly. Republicans were more likely to say that great intercourse the previous night was an added bonus to the next day; Democrats want more personal space than do the other parties; and Independents were more likely to say an inspiring idea was a great way to kick off their day.
What was at the bottom of their list for great ways to start the day? News. What showed up in their news feeds mattered very little, with only 9% saying that it positively influenced their morning.
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All parties agree that more intercourse and less screen time is a good equation. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans equally say their bedroom lives matter more than their social media. When forced to choose one over the other, 56% of Democrats and 57% of both Independents and Republicans chose intercourse over social media.
Independents, however, are the most sensual party. They spend the most on intimacy yearly ($468 vs. $270 among Democrats and $314 among Republicans). What’s more? 21% of Independents have a toy no one knows about vs. 19% of Democrats and 16% of Republicans. Finally, Independents are the most likely of the political parties to say they’d like more experimentation in their bedroom life.
What are Democrats and Republicans looking for to spice up their bedroom life? There were very few differences. Both parties agree that better intercourse begins with more intercourse (#1 answer choice), and better climax (#2). From there, Democrats want less stressful intercourse (#3) and more endurance (#4), whereas Republicans want a better libido (#3) and more confidence (#4). Rounding out both parties’ #5 was more intimate intercourse.
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This study is based on a 5,504-person online survey, which included 5,000 18-to-65-year-old respondents in the top 50 metropolitan areas (100 respondents per city) and a nationally representative sample of 504 18-to-65-year-old respondents to contextualize results. The study was fielded in May 2024.
Findings were analyzed by more than 100 demographic and psychographic cuts, including city, region, gender (when we refer to “women” and “men,” we include all people who self-identify as such), age, race and ethnicity, relationship status, parenting status, orientation (hetero, bi, gay, lesbian, pan, ace, queer, etc.), and political affiliation, among other areas of interest.
All data in this study are from this source, unless otherwise noted. Independent research firm, Culture Co-op, conducted and analyzed research and findings.
istockphoto/Drazen Zigic
Eat a high-protein breakfast. Eating more protein can help you feel fuller for longer between meals and can even help with weight loss.
Get moving. Whether your workout of choice involves a sport or strength training or a walk outside, getting some movement is a great way to start your day.
Experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise a week for overall health. If you’re looking to lose weight, some suggest increasing this to 200 to 300 minutes per week (or about 30 to 40 minutes a day).
Try meditation. Regular meditation can provide benefits for your mental and physical health. It can even help with anxiety. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that mindfulness-based treatment may improve stress reactivity and assist with managing the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.
This article originally appeared on Hims.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Featured Image Credit: Kamala Harris / X , WhiteHouse.gov.
