Biden faces an uphill mountain of work ahead

President Elect Joe Biden, despite the baseless accusations that his electoral victory was caused by a deep state collusion of the media, liberals and Antifa, has nevertheless won the election “fair and square”, in the words of Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, but also has seen the myriad of lawsuits brought by President Trump meltaway, or dismissed without merit, but, most importantly he has begun to attack an unenviable “todo” list of formidable nature, by harnessing 47 years of governmental experience, together with some of the best and the brightest of talent chosen across a broad spectrum.

 

First and foremost, of course, is the development of a task force to combat the pandemic of COVID 19, that has debilitated the US economy and devastated the financial lives of millions  of Americans across the nation, with many facing both starvation, and home loss.

Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, last month noted in the face of loss, "Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses," Powell said in a speech delivered to an economic conference. A too-slow recovery would also exacerbate existing inequalities, Powell said, which would be "tragic."

He also added that "The recovery will be stronger and move faster if monetary policy and fiscal policy continue to work side by side to provide support to the economy until it is clearly out of the woods."

Diane Swonk, chief economist at the Chicago office of Grant Thornton, noted in a recent tweet that “Bet is we get more fiscal stimulus AFTER election than pre-election, despite changes w[ith] infections in elected officials, their staffs, and beyond.”

Earlier she had also said that the “Fed is running out of rabbits to pull out of the hat” to save the economy from the ravages of the pandemic.

Bden’s plan is a full court press to confront the pandemic head on with an approach that will not minimize, or downplay it, and in coverage by The Los Angeles Times, they noted that, “Come Jan. 20, Biden is planning to take a starkly different approach backed by scientists and economists . . . by urging and sometimes even requiring mask wearing, testing and social distancing — backed by strong federal guidelines and policy — Biden expects that fewer people will get sick and U.S. growth will more quickly recover.”

“Increasing use of masks by as little as 15% could prevent the need for lockdowns and reduce associated losses by up to $1 trillion, or about 5% of the American economy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, citing research from Goldman Sachs.”

As is well known, Biden has been refused access to the presidential daily briefing and other information since President's Trump’s refusal to concede means that the General Service’s head Emily Murphy has refused to “ascertain” the election results and robbing him, and his transition team of much needed information.

On Sunday the president acknowledged that Biden has won, but fraudulently, thereby giving an extension to the refusals, in what is sure to be further justification for the transition denials.

The LA Times also noted that “One administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump is so focused on his future that “he could care less, or even less than before,” about the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 242,000 Americans.”

CNN has also reported that the Biden people are using backchannels to get information that they would normally receive through a peaceful and logical transfer of power.

“Faced with a lag in the transition process, Biden's team is working around the hurdles Trump has created to be prepared on day one, the sources say. The transition, which has already named a Covid-19 task force, has been making calls to governors and their staff, as well as the health community, to discuss both the response to the pandemic as well as plans to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine.”

“That includes meeting with officials in the Department of Health and Human Services about the pandemic response, or with the Trump administration's vaccine task force, Operation Warp Speed, as the government is preparing to distribute the first Covid-19 vaccine within weeks. Biden's team will take over the vaccine distribution when he takes office, and health experts say the two administrations must be on the same page for a seamless transition, that, if flawed, could impact hundreds of millions of people.”

Also on track is the ongoing controversy of closing schools, keeping them open, or a hybrid of in person and virtual learning; one that continues unabated and also suffers from unequal facilities and political affiliation, and economic status, an unhealthy brew that is designed to cause more than a little concern.

Biden’s five point plan released earlier this year, “stresses the former vice president’s message to safely reopen the economy, pointing out that the first step to give Americans confidence to sending their kids back to school is getting the virus under control by ramping up testing and protective protection equipment,” reported NBC News.

The plan gives equal weight to a partnership between local and federal officials, something that has not been seen, “and Biden also says that as president, he would empower local decision-making while still setting clear national safety guidelines for them to follow given that the “Trump administration’s chaotic and politicized response has left school districts to improvise a thousand hard decisions on their own.”

“Everyone wants our schools to reopen. The question is how to make it safe, how to make it stick. Forcing education students back into a classroom and areas where the infection  rate is going up or remaining very high is just plain dangerous,” Biden said.

He also proposes $58 billion from the HEROES act for general support in this key area, but also $30 billion to go directly to public schools to support intensive cleaning and PPE, among other forms of help.

Rounding out this selective list of hot button items, is another education related change, and that is the end of the Betsy DeVos efforts to reduce, or as some have said, to end public education, as it has existed in America; and a legacy of free education that carried many immigrant dreams as they sailed into Ellis Island.

First and foremost the yet unnamed education secretary will be one that has had actual teaching and administrative experience in the classroom, unlike DeVos who had none.

The Washington Post reported that He has promised hundreds of billions of dollars in new education spending, for preschool through college. He has proposed college debt forgiveness. And he wants to overturn a controversial regulation on sexual harassment and assault that universities and others strongly opposed.”

There is some cross sectionality in that Biden has closely aligned himself with teachers unions, and less so with those who favor a more centrist position, and with a wife who is an educator, some of the discussion of who, maybe met with a “why not” said an official on deep background.

Continuing with a woman of colour, should they be the best choice, Dr,. Janice Jackson of Chicago is on a list of recommendations from Democrats for Education Reform.

Of course, money is a priority and as the Post reported, “Biden has promised to triple spending for the $15 billion Title I program, which targets high-poverty schools. He has said he would double the number of psychologists, counselors, nurses and social workers in schools. He has promised new money for school infrastructure. And he has said he would dramatically increase federal spending for special education."

“He also wants to fund universal prekindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-old children; make community college debt-free; and double Pell grants to help low-income students pay for college, “ they added.

Biden has a ton of support from educators, including Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, an influential conservative in education policy and a one-time presidential hopeful, congratulated Biden. Arne Duncan, President Barack Obama's first education secretary and a vocal critic of Trump and DeVos, said, "American just won,” said Education Week, on their blog.

Some changes can be made by executive order, about others like the controversial reversal of Obama era protections for victims of sexual assault on college campuses, entwined in stautes may take longer.

DeVos whose wealth, some educators note, have shielded her from the realities of public education has also made some public gaffes, one glairlgly, when she said that HBCUs, historically black colleges and universities, were created to give American Blacks a choice in higher education, when the exact opposite was the truth.

She was also denied access to the front door of a Washington, DC school, and has supported gun use by teachers, and in one humorous exchange during her confirmation hearings suggested they could be used to shoot bears from attacking children.

A new administration brings new priorities and new ways of handling issues, but perhaps at no time, such as this, will an incoming president face a mountain of problems, and passions, and all set against a backdrop of a mounting, and persistent, pandemic.

October Jobs Report shows gains offset by COVID-19

October may be the one bright light in what has been an intense political season,and one in which the economy has been the main plank in the reelection campaign of President Donald Trump, yet Friday’s report issued by the U.S. Labor Department shows some improvement, to the tune of 638,000 jobs, a slight increase from an expected 6000,000 predicted by economists, and a drop in the unemployment rate from 7.9 percent to 6.9 percent added to a level of optimism for some.

The good news is that more than half of the 22 million jobs lost since February, before the COVID pandemic hit, but that still leaves 11 million jobs unfilled, and a large increase of those that suffer long term unemployment, defined as 27 weeks, or longer, and that number hit at 3.6 million making the plea for Congressional help, a much needed action to keep the American economy on a forward trajectory.

“Millions of unemployed workers have had a harder time paying bills since an emergency federal program paying $600 a week in additional benefits expired at the end of July. Another set of federal jobless benefits will last only through the end of the year,” reported The New York Times.

While some will say the good news is proof of the attributes and work of Trump, the reality is that, “It’s better than expected, but we’re starting to see headwinds,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at the accounting firm Grant Thornton in Chicago, said of the October report. “The drop in the unemployment rate is welcome news, but there are still over 11 million unemployed workers.”

The good news is that the private sector added 906,000 jobs, but the real star of the show is food and beverage where there was a gain of 192,000 jobs, but since the pandemic, the loss is at 3.5 million, from the 4.8 total employment in April.

That gain is mitigated by the oncoming cold weather and the loss of outside dining, but still hampered by the pandemic that has continued to eat away at gains, making the need for federal help all the more needed, and now that Joe Biden has defeated Trump, the gainsay of help will be seen, despite the effort of the GOP Senate majority.

Cailin Birch, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, in a Friday analysis for The Hill said that, "In the absence of another comprehensive stimulus bill before 2021, many companies may find it increasingly hard to survive. We do not expect to see significant job gains in the coming months, as a result.”

With an increase in COVID cases in the South and the Midwest part of the nation,and “two straight days of more than 100,000 new cases and epidemiologists warning about the worst yet to come,”  challenges are now reappearing for what, for some, was a drift forward some level of activity, but Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called "particularly concerning" in a Thursday press conference, according to The Hill.

“It does seem likely that people who have maybe begun to engage in activities that they hadn't—flying, staying in a hotel, going to restaurants, going to bars and things like that — that they may pull back in a situation where suddenly cases are everywhere in your city, your state, your community,” Powell said.

“That could weigh on economic activity,”

Taken as a whole October seems to show improvement for some, say economists and academics, yet while “The unemployment rate dropped more than expected, and on the back of an increase in the labor force and no increase in permanent layoffs,” said Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at Glassdoor who said the report was a positive one. Still, he said, the pandemic remained a major concern as the virus continues largely uncontrolled.

Caution therefore seems to be the watchword, and that is seen, despite gains, and “Leisure and hospitality is still short 3.5 million jobs; retail is down by about 500,000 jobs. Health care and social assistance, which added 79,000 jobs, is down 950,000 from February. Manufacturing gained 38,000 jobs but remains 621,000 lower than February,” reported The Washington Post.

Of concern, noted “Kate Bahn, an economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, said she was concerned that the gains were modest in industries that could be vulnerable as the pandemic results in more layoffs and restrictions.

“These gains are really limited as the pandemic is surging and we’re heading into winter,” she said. “It’s better than expected, but there’s a lot of evidence that it’s still a limited recovery that is really uneven and has exacerbated a lot of inequality that existed before the crisis.”

The labor-force participation rate held a slight increase  to 61.7 percent, up by 0.3 percentage points — but well below pre-pandemic levels from February and  those stuck in part-time work ,while wanting full-time work, rose by 383,000, to 6.7 million.

Yahoo Finance, perhaps hit the nail on the head when they noted: “The October jobs report also continued to reflect a worrying trend seen in the past several months’ worth of data: Many individuals’ temporary furloughs or layoffs have become permanent. The number of so-called permanent job losers stayed about steady at 3.7 million in October, for a sum of 2.4 million above the level from February.”

“We’ve now seen tens of thousands of cuts in industries outside Entertainment and Retail, indicating the impact is spreading,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., who also added, “However, as case counts rise and more jurisdictions impose stricter enforcement, and stimulus money dries up with no coming legislation, uncertainty is likely guiding many company decisions on retaining workers.”

Biden turns the tide towards victory as Trump fades

 In the end it's a number game and despite the rallies, the debates and the speeches, winning the United States presidency is dependent on gaining 270 electoral college votes that translates into victory; and the contest between former Vice President Joe Biden and incumbent president, Donald Trump has boiled down to just that. And, it is Biden that is within striking distance of winning the top job. With 253 electoral votes and needing just six more,he is sure to win the presidency, but also without a victory in Florida or Ohio, and will make the controversial incumbent a one term president, whose unbridled tongue, as well as tweets, have changed the American presidency to suit his own irascible style, giving little and taking much from traditional relations.

Exuding presidential demeanor, Biden has urged caution in the count of the necessary voters to giver him that edge into the White House, and wins from Pennsylvania or Nevada are the predictors to do just that.

Politico reported that “Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon told reporters that the campaign felt good about its position in Nevada and was “looking for that moment in Pennsylvania and Georgia today where we see that ticker overtake Donald Trump. We think it's going to happen ... We're very optimistic and we don't we don't really care which state takes us over the top.”

Many American are looking forward to the day of departure, as some wags have politely labelled the end of the Administration, and to one that has faced, despite myriads of supporters, to one of havoc, where there was an endless exodus of staff, both high and low, including chiefs of staff, press secretaries and headline burning of children of illegal immigrants placed in detention, often in cages, and where hundreds of well intentioned, and innocent, visitors from certain middle eastern countries were detained and sent back to their home countries without fail.

What a Biden administration will look like depends largely on balancing the ideas of progressives, idealists and party loyalists as they charge headlong into the abyss, or morass of the Trump years, but first facing a burst of outrage from the president's family who, like son Eric “this is absolute fraud” have called the steady actions of counting the ballots for a final count an outrage and a travesty of justice, but the inexorable beat of loss is tainting what will inevitably be a victory of party.

It ain't all over for the shouting, as threatened lawsuits against the process that only awards the winners, and not the losers. Winning is all that counts in the end and the Biden campaign has won Michigan and Wisconsin, that were lost by Hillary Clinton in 2016, and by some small miracle of demographic change has turned Arizona from red to blue, in no small part to Trump's trashing of hero John McCain, but also a sense of decency towards the military, and an ethos that old school conservatives have long eschewed with financial conservatism and strong foreign policy. And, while many have said that their defeat was inevitable, it may mean a resurgence in a Biden administration, unless hamstrung by the young Turks of the GOP, who might want a resurgent tea party. 

That of course is the future.

Meanwhile the Democrats are smarting from a loss of seats they had hoped to flip in several key area, while the GOP faces a changed, and shamed, party that strategists say should claim its losses and reach out to racial minorities, and college educated suburbanites who, while not surging towards Biden, lost some key constituents that were turned off by Trumpian excess. 

Yet they kept some in office, namely Lindsay Graham, and others such as in Georgia, and Florida, which while a narrow victory was still a victory, where scare tactics of the spectre of socialism were used towards Cuban Americans, facing the memory of Castro. 

Others say that the message from Trump was directed towards their mostly youthful electorate, who were gullible to disinformation; but, still, turning Florida was never a strong hope by the Biden campaign.

While many people cannot define socialism or identify it, perhaps it's like Chief Justice Potter's earnest claim, decades ago, that while he could not define pornograpy, he knew it when he saw it.

Thee sights of looters following the George Floyd murderers, gave proof to the night that law and order were not there; and with the rocket's red glare came visions of Americans facing anarchy, despite that the looters were a noisy minority amidst mostly peaceful protestors. But, the damage was done, and Florida stayed red, and true to Trump.

Remarkable for the election, one of historic perspectives, was that over 92 million votes were cast by mail, due to the the fears of Covid as well as fear of violence at the polls, presaged by the kidnapping plot of the governors of Michigan and Virginia by armed militia centered in the former, which caused many states to have the national guard at the ready, for threats of observers, maybe armed, with the tacit approval of the president.

Significantly, a Biden Harris tour bus was nearly toppled io a Texas freeway by Trump supporters, and who he later called "patriots"

As stated, more than a week ago, Trump has threatened legal action, in addition to his son's pleas to stop counting, and this seems to many, an act of desperation.

"I want to emphasize that for their purposes, these lawsuits don't have to have merit," he added. "The purpose is not to bring bona fide claims before the court. It is to create an opportunity for them to message falsely about what's taking place in the electoral process,” said Bob Bauer, a Biden legal advisor, and former White House counsel.

Waiting in the wings is new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the president's human firewall to keep him in office. But, she may not be needed as Biden may have a solid gain of 270 electoral votes.

Another presidential debate? Now, or never?

 

Nancy Pelosi was right when she said that former Vice-President Joe Biden should not debate President Trump, for what viewers, and listeners heard, was an attempt by both the moderator, Chris Wallace and Biden to have a substantive discussion of the issues that were important to the American electorate, only to have Trump bully the proceedings in a manner that was embarrassing to watch, and a sad example to our foreign allies of the world’s foremost democracy.

Now that the president has emerged from his treatment for COVID-19 at Walter Reed Hospital, his carefully staged entry to the South Portico of the White House, and the dramatic removal of his mask, with glimpses of unmasked people in the Blue Room, it’s a sign that it is business as usual, for Trump,despite what seems to have been an urgent airlift from the White House, and dozens of staffer, allies and personnel who have shown to be positive for the virus.

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley has called the first debate “a grotesque carnival” and it’s a safe bet that the second debate would have been much the same, since the commission tasked with the debates has considered cutting off the microphone of the candidate, if they go on too long. This, of course, would have not stopped Trump, who might have stomped around the stage, much like he did when debating Hillary Clinton in 2016.

That is all a moot point since the debate on Oct. 15 has been cancelled since the president, on Fox News berated a virtual format, and that his mic might have been turned off, and in his words:that's "not what debating's all about" and "they cut you off whenever they want."

While no one expected a replay of the Lincoln-Douglas debates or even the Kennedy-Nixon debates, what was expected was a view of  Biden and Trump’s positions facing America at this critical juncture.

It’s become commonplace to acknowledge that the American electorate is largely uninformed on the issues, and that most make a gut reaction, often based on ephemeral impressions; but, at best prudential debates, in the 21st century, can help either candidate win over undecided, and or independent voters. And, in this contest, that is critical.

We appreciated what Bonnie Kristian had to say in her article for This Week: “Both latest campaign statements express the farcical notion that another debate is a needful exercise in accountability to the American people, as if these 90 minutes will expose some truth two literal lifetimes in the public eye haven't revealed. But the disagreement over format offers Trump and Biden an option of refusing to debate while insisting their hearts have no greater desire. Tuesday's veep debate could be the last we'll see this year.”

We think that she might have been on a keener and more welcome level when she noted that, “A few tough interviews or unvetted town hall questions would give voters more insight into a candidate's positions and governing skills than the debates do now.”

In our graduate school we saw a video reenactment of the Lincoln Douglas debates and the oratory aside, what impressed us most was the command of the issues of the day, and that the candidates had actually prepared for the debate, and an electorate that was educated to the issues of the day, and while the video had its drawbacks, (with the arrival of a Ford Mustang hovering in the background), the points that that the actors made, reading the actual words of these men gave credence to being informed voters.

Even a look back at John Kennedy being interviewed on the old Jack Paar show revealed a mind, and an audience that was better read, and actually cared for what the nation could look like under the direction of a future executive.

In the 21st century, debates seem more like fights in the Roman Colosseum with people cheering for and rooting and hooting over each other’s positions, and while not dissimilar of late night broadcasts of British parliamentary sessions, the latter are at least intelligible, if not amusing, with such erudite put downs that offer both humor and intelligence, where across the pond, it’s a ratings game, where blood seems to be sought after.

Then again, our unequalled namesake had this to say to ABC7 in Amarillo, Texas, "I don't ever see the debate going away. A, there's too much tradition. B, I think there is a lot of utility in it that both voters and the candidates see," said said Dr. Darrell Lovell, assistant professor of political science at West Texas A&M University

Speaking of Kennedy, it was Newton Minow, later his FCC chief, is the architect of the debates, and is the author of “Inside the Presidential Debates: Their Improbable Past and Promising Future.”

NPR News noted that “In a 1955 memo to his boss, attorney Newton Minow first suggested the idea of presidential debates. In the decades since, these debates have become some of the biggest and most influential moments in political history. And Newt, who serves on the commission that sponsors them, has watched them evolve first-hand.”

And, it is worthwhile noting that he “currently serves on the board of the Commission on Presidential Debates. He has been chairman of PBS and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016.”

In separate interviews he had this to say about Biden and Trump in their wrestling match, ““This is the first time that the candidates have not obeyed the rules,” Minow said. “They have made this opportunity to educate and serve the voters, and turned it into a totally disgusting performance in the exercise of the Democratic process.”

“I was not only distressed, I was disgusted because our purpose in having the debates is to serve the viewer, to give the viewer some valuable information before the viewer votes and instead we got a wrestling match,” he said.

With due respect to the old guard, we’d say,pull the plug, but one cannot help admire this older school of gentlemanly thought when he opined:

“Still, Minow believes in the importance of debates. They allow voters to evaluate a candidate’s ability, intellect and personality, he said, and live television creates a unique opportunity to show how candidates think on their feet and deal with the situation.”

Still a believer in the ideals of The New Frontier, it gave us pause when we read this, ““We’re not going to give up because we feel that our purpose is a very valuable purpose in a democracy and that is to give the voter the information about their choice, and that’s essential in a democracy.”

Can it be? Or do we need to wait another decade, or two?

Harris v. Pence: It's still about the pandemic

 

With their orders “in-hand” and “in-head”, Sen. Kamala Harris, vice-presidential candidate for Joe Biden and Mike Pence, Vice-President for incumbent president, Donald Trump stepped onto the stage at the arts center of the University of Utah Wednesday night, they represented their bosses, and had tasks at hand: for Harris to define, and identity, who she was to an audience that mostly does not know her, and for Pence to hit the reset button, for an Administration that has slipped badly in the polls, mostly for the way that it has mishandled the COVID-19 crisis, and may lose the election,as evidenced by Biden subsequently capturing in a recent CNN poll a good chunk of possible electoral votes.

Hitting that button proved difficult for Pence as he faced the former California prosecutor as she attacked both he and the president, for their mishandling of the pandemic, after an early warning, and the many foreign policy fumbles that cost America confidence from foreign allies and friends.

Harris’s “straight out of the gate” tactic was well-timed with criticism flowing across the media about not simply the missteps made early on when the president had the data, but the way in which the president’s positivity and hospitalization for the virus was handled, with information that was kept from the public by his personal physician, and others at the Walter Reed Hospital.

While many supporters were pleased with her opening salvo, some were surprised that she did not follow through with a fastball focusing on the president’s positivity as a symptom of the White House response to the pandemic.

Since this was a “one-shot affair” (there is only one vicepresidencial debate) Harris could have been saving it for Biden, but regardless, she left viewers with this one memorable line: "The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country.”

Predictably, Pence’s answer was scripted, and said that early action from the administration saved lives, but the record does not show that.

The civil tone of the debate was a welcome contrast to the one between Biden and Trump last week, but it’s clear from the numbers that the Trump camp has a lot to worry about.

An example is the CNN poll where, “the Democratic presidential nominee crosses the 270 threshold for the first time this year. If you add up the states that are currently rated as solidly in his camp (203 electoral votes) and those leaning in his direction (87 electoral votes), it brings his total to 290 electoral votes.”

The singular issue that is at work here is the administration's weak response to the pandemic, and as we noted in May: “President Trump’s early statements were positive and reassuring, but quickly devolved into a series of questionable statements that made many anxious, as if he was dismissing the threat to Americans, and some observers, and critics, said that this was done, in order to preserve his major reelection plank: that the economy was strong stable and secure.”

At the debate, Harris, in full prosecutorial style, gave her opening statement, and then followed it up with a direct appeal to the jury: "I want to ask the American people: How calm were you when you were panicked about where you were going to get your next roll of toilet paper?" and then, "How calm were you when your kids were sent home from school and you didn't know when they could go back? How calm were you when your children couldn't see your parents because you were afraid they could kill them?"

Trump, while on a state visit to India, at that time, said that it was all under control. 

What the evening offered was a more substantive discussion, despite the well-rehearsed lines, and gave showed that not only was the U.S. facing a national emergency of its own, but its moral compass, with a leader who remarkably and routinely verbally attacks men and women in the armed forces by calling them  “suckers”.

In one remarkable moment, last year, Trump asked aides what had happened at Pearl Harbor to merit his presence at a memorial service.

Yet, it was the presence of the pandemic, the third “person” in the room that gave credence to the sharp differences between not only Harris and Pence, and by turn the direction that America could turn to.

It was revealing that Pence, sidestepped a direct answer towards the administration and said instead, “"When you say what the American people have done over these last eight months hasn't worked, that's a great disservice to the sacrifices the American people have made," the vice president said. "The reality is, Dr. Fauci said everything that he told the president in the Oval Office the president told the American people."

This side step is emblematic of recent White House actions, the most notable being the Sept. 26t “superspreader” event in the White House Rose Garden when Trump introduced Amy Coney Barrett, his Supreme Court nominee, an occasion where almost no one was wearing masks, including Barrett herself, and was followed by a reception in the Blue Room, where again, few masks were in evidence and the White House butlers (almost all of whom are Black) were exposed to the virus, and also the invited guests, staff, and the Marine Guards.

The response has been that, like the fundraiser at the Trump golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., shortly after he was diagnosed as positive for Covid, was that there was rapid testing done, which has not shown reliability, and can also lead to false positives.

While no political observers can state that any debate will change voters' minds, this one was notable for its general tone of civility, and only a few interruptions, (that were quickly squashed by Harris) but it also gave viewers, and listeners the opportunity to see two possible future presidents whose bosses are septuagenarians, and that was well worth the price of admission.

September Jobs Report shows U.S. economy sliding fast

September’s jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department, released on Friday - the last before the election - is not one to be praised, despite some bright spots, and shows the pending doom for much of America’s workforce, who with the loss of the extension of $600.00 in unemployment benefits, among  other factors, has threatened their ability to  pay rent, and put food on the table. 

The gain of only 661 non-farm jobs hit economists, and observers hard, since they expected 800,000, gave earnest looks to Congress for relief, since the pattern that September has shown, despite net job gains over the last five months, has had the side effect of decreased consumer spending; and the looming spectre of permanent job loss, for some, makes for a bleak outlook.

CNBC reported that, “The decline in the unemployment rate came along with a 0.3 percentage point drop in the labor force participation rate to 61.4%, representing a decline of nearly 700,000.”

“However, a separate, more encompassing measure [the household survey] that counts discouraged workers and those working part-time for economic reasons also saw a notable decline, falling from 14.2% to 12.8%,” they added.

On the political side, the news also pokes a hole in the firm hope from President Trump that a strong economy would keep him in office another four years.

Notably, lower wage workers have yet been called back to work, while the higher wage earners are on the front burner, giving an even further push downwards to low end wage workers.

Of equal importance are the type of jobs that have been part of the rebound, and some have questioned both their value and the effect on wages, "The jobs being added aren't the jobs that were lost, because we're still in an uncontrolled pandemic -- people are going back to worse-quality jobs without increased pay," said Kate Bahn, director of labor market policy and economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, to CNN.com.

With many of them working in restaurants, now facing cooler weather, and a dearth of outdoor diners, those in the East and North, owners may see a further decline in their ability to stay open, and make their obligatory rent payment, and close behind that, their payroll, especially for their servers, kitchen help and bus people.

For some, the good news was that the numbers fell for those stuck in part-time jobs, seemed to be an omen of good fortune, but that’s not the linchpin of a recovering economy, especially one firmly ruled by the COVID-19 virus which has severely hampered even the best of a laissez-faire economy.

As the Report noted, this, “declined by 1.3 million to 6.3 million,reflecting a decrease in the number of persons whose hours were cut due to slack work or business conditions. The number of involuntary part-time workers is 2.0 million higher than in February. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.”

Help from Washington is in order, says Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, but House Democrats and the Senate GOP majority may be talking again, but the conversations have not led to a resolution, and with Trump’s recent diagnosis of having the virus (and a growing number of lawmakers also becoming positive), it seems that any gatherings of elected officials, for a vote, may be eliminated, even if there is an agreement between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin.

The New York Times reported, “House Democrats on Thursday pushed through a $2.2 trillion stimulus plan that would provide aid to families, schools, restaurants, businesses and airline workers, and on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed fresh optimism that a bipartisan deal for a broad coronavirus package could emerge out of her talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.”

That might change with the Senate anxious to confirm Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, and there were rumors, on Sunday, that there would be virtual votes, for that purpose.

With many in the media being quoted as seeing the economy in a”free fall”, or “losing momentum”, or “steam”, all have become commonplace adjectives, yet it’s clear that the American economy is, at best, in the first instance: a free fall, and that the only salvation lies in an agreement between Pelosi and Mnuchin, with the final word from Leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate.

Diane Swonk, chief economist for the accounting firm  Grant Thornton in Chicago,was quoted from The New York Times saying, “It’s  disturbing that we’re seeing such a dramatic slowdown in employment gains as we head into the Fall,” and added, “This is a red flag, we need aid now.”

Job loss, permanent job loss, is becoming a reality for many, and those losses are not only in the private sector, but the public as well, that began with the Spring shutdowns that slowed the revenue stream.

“Permanent jobs losses rose by more than 300,000. That’s not a good thing. The labor force participation rate declined, which pulled the overall unemployment rate down. That’s not a good sign, either,” said Kathy Jones, head of fixed income at Charles Schwab. “We’re looking at state and local government layoffs, we’re looking at a higher level of permanent job losses and more people leaving the workforce. None of that is good for the long run,” she told CNBC.

While job loss on this level is neither desired, nor welcome, it’s as sure as rain that it will come; especially for large cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, showing at average a possible loss of 2.5 million jobs with a net loss of 345,000.

For women who had been making employment gains over the last several months there was a decrease in participation in the labor market from 56.1 in August to 55.6 in September reflecting the need to either cut hours, or quit altogether to take care of, and or, teach children, alongside remote learning.

Close on the heels of losses and participation rates are job cuts, and Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported that cuts for September of 2020 were 186 percent higher than a year ago, in the same month.

“We are setting new records for job cuts even though things have improved since the earliest days of the pandemic,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

“These are uncertain times for everyone, as many states are experiencing an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases. It is clear we still have a long way to go before many industries can return to normal.”

 “Year to date, the reason cited for the most announced cuts is COVID-19, which has caused 1,091,923 cuts in 2020. In September, market conditions caused 45,213 of the announced cuts, followed by 33,713 job cuts due to demand downturn, and 11,562 cuts due to restructuring. COVID-19 is the reason for 8,529 cuts last month.”

The most outstanding of the cuts were those from airlines and the announcement from American airlines  and United that they would cut more than 32,000 workers if a deal was not reached by Congress was a spur for negotiations.

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Friday called for airlines to delay laying off or furloughing tens of thousands of airline workers, promising that the House would act in some accord to address the expiration of a program that has kept airline workers employed,” also said the Times.

We’ve noted before, that it’s all over but for the fighting, and it seems that Congress, especially with the Senate, that this begins, as America faces tragic consequences, including homelessness and food insecurity, in the coming months without Congressional help.