Gun sales increased for unexpected groups over one year

One of the more startling aspects of life in the United States, this past year, was the dramatic increase in gun sales during the pandemic. Some have cited a general fear of safety needs, while others have wondered why owning a gun could help soothe nerves battered by a fear of guns, while still others wondered if increased gun sales were related to racial fears, related to racial unrest in the country.

The numbers from one year ago do make for a reexamination: 17 million guns sold in that period, a 40 % increase, in a year over year comparison, but also some signposts; when, for example, President Trump announced the spread of Covid, gun sales increased to about 120,000 a day.

The Brookings Institution, in one of its briefs, noted one succinct fact, “There are more guns than people in the United States (400 million are in circulation for a population of 330 million). In just the first six months of 2020, approximately 19 million firearms have been sold, representing more than one firearm for every 20 Americans.”

Race is never far from the surface in the US, and the racial unrest over police killing Black men is a factor, and in reality, it did play an important role in the surge of gun sales. As they noted in their research study, “The presence of so many guns complicates discussions of public policy. Injustices committed by the police, and systemic racism in society more broadly need to end. It is concerning that the necessary national discussion regarding racial injustice is leading to even more firearms in the hands of Americans.”

The unforgettable images of a white couple brandishing guns from their front porch, in St. Louis, at Black Lives Demonstrators illustrated, ironically, the quagmire that race and guns extended into the conversation.

In what may be a surprise to many, another surge has come from an unexpected population, Black women as gun owners, and some are surprised, but there has been a trend, even before 2020, for Black females and gun ownership; especially as a reaction to assaults, having witnessed others, especially family members as victims of gun violence.

This public face flies in contradiction of the typical image of an angry, gun toting white male,and what has been his increasing visibility in state capitol protests against increased coronavirus restrictions in Lansing, Mich., Richmond, Va.,and of course the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nation’s capitol in Washington, DC.

If this is an awakening, then Black women are the first, but not the last, to make decisions on how to defend themselves, and their families. And, while many of these efforts have taken place in some cities, such as North Carolina, it is not atypical in the rural South.

Springing from that soil was the horrific killing of church members at “Mother Emanuel” church in South Carolina, by self confessed White Supremacist, Dylann Roof, and the numerous mass shootings across the nation: Columbine, Sandy Hook, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, and many others, past and present, there is a solidarity of thought and action to gun ownership.

Notable has been the company GIRLZ on FIRE (Feminine, Independent, Resilient, and Empowered) in HIgh Point, North Carolina, that specializes in “educating women in the safe use and operation of firearms,” and owned by Rhonda Carson that spearheaded an eight hour course,

One of her students noted, “I just want the resources and knowledge to defend myself and my family effectively . . .”

While the growing outreach from the National Rifle Association to women of color has been accompanied by Black firearms organizations, there are also pitfalls, such as police searches, where as Carson notes, if she is stopped for any reason in her car, she tells the officer where the gun is located, and asks him to reach for it.

Meanwhile in Chicago, the increase in the immediate aftermath of the George Floyd murder, increased carjackings, personal assault, and personal safety concerns, has created an increased interest in gun ownership, the largest from any racial group, from a 2020 gun interest survey, “noted that Black customers accounted for the largest increase of any racial group,” according to The Chicago Tribune, and “A Northwestern University study found that while white people bought ore firearms overall last year, African Americans made up a disproportionate number for first time gun buyers.”

There are controversies, as well as concerns, about this increase, with some residents, and community leaders saying that increased gun ownership may lead to unintended consequences. For some, like Autry Phillips, head of the violence group Target Area Development Corp, the trend of adding “firearms, even legal ones, into Black Communities could result in gun theft, accidental shooting and tragedy,” he told the Tribune.

Criminality in racial profiling, especially with the rise of armed white men, seen as patriots, is a psychological roadblock for many Americans, both white and Black.

Of note is that gun violence in Chicago increased to over 52% in 2020, plus a 65% increase of women killed in acts of gun violence; with a corresponding increase of 16% in domestic violence noted the editorial board of The Chicago Sun Times.

Significantly most new owners in 2020, “were more likely to be Black.”

Black Chicagoans who own guns not only face the immediate challenges of obtaining a FOID card, but also simply having their concealed carry license (both are required in the city) applications turned down for no apparent reason, says Phillip Smith, founder and president of the National African American Gun Association.

Another unexpected group of gun owners are members of the LGBT community, who have taken up arms to protect themselves from homo and transphobia, and who are “dedicated to the legal, safe, and responsible use of firearms for self-defense of the sexual-minority community. We no longer believe it is the right of those who hate and fear gay, lesbian, bi, trans, or polyamorous persons to use us as targets for their rage. Self-defense is our RIGHT,” says their website pinkpistols.org.

While definitive data on gun ownership in this community has not been prevalent, or precise, generalizing on the increase in 2020 among many variables gives some clues, but there is news, as 19thnews.org reported at the end of 2020.

Erin Palette founded Operation Blazing Sword in the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting, and noted that, “hate crimes are not just about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that there are “monsters” who will target LGBTQ+ people as a specific demographic Palette said, and that’s reason enough to get a gun. Hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people increased by almost 6 percent from 2017 to 2018, with a 42 percent increase in crimes against transgender people.”

In 2018, Operation Blazing Sword merged with the Pink Pistols. . . and Palette now runs the largest queer guns group in the United States, if not the world.”

The question for many is it right for queer people to own guns, and will they be shunned for holding perceived right wing viewpoints, even if only for self protection? But, it also shows how many people, especially marginalized groups, feel that they need to arm themselves against those who want to do them harm. And, then there is the harm within: there is a high rate of suicide in the gay community, as well as interpersonal partner violence, as the Washington Blade noted in 2018.

Effective June 1, college students in Montana will be able to carry concealed guns on campus, making for another population shift of gun owners. Signed into law by Greg Gianforte, the law has become controversial among many students not exempted, and as one student Daisy Khoury  interviewed by NPR noted, she did not want to worry about having her morning meal and and fearing gunfire.

For others the worry is that of suicide, and Montana has the third highest suicide rate in the nation; and, some simply to the combination of adolescence, hormones and alcohol, a deadly mix in a closed atmosphere.

Students are required to take a gun safety course in one form, or another, to receive a permit, but that may not be enough to soothe the nerves of some, like Khoury who is also worried, that,  “There are signs on the front door that say, no nicotine, no tobacco. But you're allowing 18-year-olds to have guns, who are drinking on the weekends and are living with a bunch of people? It's totally crazy to me.”

This is all set against legislation requiring background checks that was reintroduced by Congress on March 2, a much debated piece of legislation that would cover internet sales and private gun events, and has the backing of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) ranking senior member of the Senate, as well as Rep. Robin Kelly, also an Illinois Democrat.

In a push against the bill some states are pushing for penalization of police officers and “others to work with federal  law enforcement or dare to enforce the federal laws,” according to an Op-Ed piece in The Chicago Sun-Times, earlier in March.

More than a dozen states are considering this pushback including Alabama, Arizona Arkansas and Nebraska and Oklahoma; but legal experts say that the Supremacy Clause supersedes state law and is backed by the US Constitution, as well as federal laws in general.

Now in the tragic aftermath of both the Atlanta shootings, and Tuesday’s shooting in Boulder, Colo., President Biden has pushed Congress to approve the pending legislation, but admittingly the Democrats getting the 60 votes necessary will be an uphill battle, to avoid the filibuster.

“I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common sense steps that will save lives in the future and to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act,” Biden said in remarks at the White House following Monday’s shooting. “We can ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country once again. I got that done when I was a senator. … We should do it again,” according to The Hill.

He also “called on the Senate to “immediately pass” the two House-passed bills that would expand background checks for firearm sales, noting that both passed the Democratic-controlled lower chamber with some Republican support.” 

“This is not and should not be a partisan issue, this is an American issue. It will save lives, American lives, and we have to act,” Biden added.

February Jobs Report surprises many, but US needs more

 Friday's Jobs report for February from the U.S. Labor Department was a blessing to optimists, hardy as they are, and a promise to those who believe in the power of hope, which often springs eternal.

Seeing 379,000 non farm jobs exceeded the 49,000 jobs from the previous month and exceeded the private ADP report of 177,000, despite their different methodology, but gives pause for a recovery, although most economists and academics are saying that it will be 2024 as the latest date for a full recovery, with February 2020 as the baseline.

The Hill reported this from the White House: "If you think today's jobs report is "good enough," then know that at this pace (+379,000 jobs/month), it would take until April 2023 to get back to where we were in February 2020," White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain Tweeted.

With nearly 10 million Americans still out of work, the report underscored the damage done to the US economy from Covid 19 and also the residual damage done to all levels of employment, where even if coping, is doing far less with more stringent demands, the most obvious for those working from home, is Zoom fatigue, but for service workers, especially those in the leisure and entertainment department, survival.

The unemployment rate took a slight drift from 6.3 to 6.2 and that particular change is the focus on the overall picture, than just the headline number, which includes those that have given up looking, or don’t feel that there is anything that either they like, or pays enough money to meet basic needs, especially housing which has increased in most major cities, but extended to smaller regions outside of New York Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Recently, Janet Yellen, now Treasury Secretary, in agreement with Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, and noted, according to The Wall Street Journal, that 6.3 percent is in reality “if properly measured in some sense, is really close to 10 percent.”

Powell added that “Published unemployment rates during Covid have dramatically understated the deterioration in the labor market.”

Of course all eyes are on the 1.9 billion Covid relief bill passed by the House, and awaiting final votes from the Senate. This legislation from President Joe Biden has the ability to not only offer targeted relief, says the White House, but also to help with support for state and local governments, as well as food assistance and extended unemployment benefits to help lift many American from the brink of economic collapse the pandemic has created.

Looking at some of the more concerning areas, leisure and hospitality and retail and manufacturing; helping these industries, and the corresponding cadence of shuttered bars and restaurants, and dwindling customer base with a lifebelt is a necessity.

Complicit with that, is the good news, that much of that increase from February came to the leisure and hospitality field with 355,000, a welcome jump.

The Republicans have voiced their opposition to the bill and its attendants, but have offered few alternatives; but one fear is that the bill will increase inflation well above the 0.2 % target, the Federal Reserve’s mandate. 

As everyone knows we are well below that target and “anxiety about inflation is at a fever pitch, among economists and in markets where long term interest rates have been grinding higher.”

Added to the Biden bill is that his encompassing bill will cause policy makers to focus less on priorities towards inflation, noted the Journal, but also taking a new direction: “accepting and even being enthusiastic about higher inflation,” said Larry Summers, former advisor to Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

The road to recovery is still long and Powell has told all that any rebound from the recession has a long way to go, and the Fed’s growth policies including “rock bottom interest rates and large scale bond buying,” according to The New York Times.

“Even though we saw job gains pick up, it’s clear that many Americans don’t feel comfortable returning to work,” Julia Pollak, an economist at the online job site, Zip Recruiter commented to them. “To her, the report’s most striking feature was the small number of workers — just 50,000 — who rejoined the work force last month.”

Labor force participation rang in at 75.5 %, up from 0.5 percent to 0.7%

On the human scale there is a paradox of people who want work, and are not finding it, in contrast to those who are not enthusiastic about returning to work, with some facing child care, which as we saw last month, has decimated women in the workplace.

Overall labor force participation for women is 5.9% from Last month’s figure of 0.6%, an even further departure from earlier months; and, for women of color 8.5% drop compared to white women at 0.5%.

“Unemployment rates for Black women,” Kristen Broady, a fellow in economics studies at the Brookings Institution and policy director of the think tank’s Hamilton Project said in an interview with CNBC, “are more likely to have a college education, are typically lower than those for Black men. But the unique nature of the Covid recession and resulting childcare issues have disproportionately impacted Black women’s ability to work.”

“In other recessions, children were still in schools,” said Broady. “If you can’t afford child care and are a single mom, you can’t go to work. And that’s more likely to affect black and Hispanic women.”

Powell has noted previously that there is a supportive role for the federal government “might help pull more women into the labor market,” in late February, also reported by the Times, and that better child care is an “area worth looking at.”

“Our peers, our competitors, advanced economy democracies, have a more built up function for child care, and they wind up having more substantially higher labor force participation for women,” in answer to a question from a House member, further noting that the US led once in “female labor participation, a quarter century ago, and we no longer do.”

Racial inequality also shows its hand in the numbers: “The jobless rate among Black workers climbed to 9.9 percent last month from 9.2 percent in January. In contrast, joblessness for white workers ticked down to 5.6 percent from 5.7 percent in January, and rates for workers who identify as Hispanic or Asian also fell,” reported the Times.

“We’re still in a pandemic economy,” said Julia Coronado, founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives and a former Fed economist. “Millions of people are looking for work and willing to work, but they are constrained from working,” she told the Times.

The need for skilled labor is stronger than ever, and in some fields are harder than ever, but some say the opposite, and the Times cited “Avant, an online lender that has its headquarters in Chicago and a call center in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is planning to step up hiring at both locations. The corporate staff, which numbers 257, is expected to grow about 30 percent over the next year, said Margaret Hermes, head of talent . . .”

The outlook for the return of a full economic and jobs recovery remains uncertain and long term unemployment remains as are those that are stuck in part time jobs when they want full time has stubbornly held at 4.1 million.

January Jobs Report: US still bailing water

 Taking hope in hand seemed to be the name of the game for the January Jobs Report as some economists and bankers looked for the best in the 48,000 jobs created as shown by the US Labor Department on Friday. But, while they welcomed the gains, miniscule as they were, in the overall picture since the baseline of February of last year, the overall issues facing American lives mitigated whatever hope that the report might have shown.

The unemployment rate dropped from 6.7 percent in December to 6.3 in January.

“It is a positive sign that we got over those speed bumps and the wheels haven’t completely come off the car,” said Nick Bunker, head of research for the job site Indeed,” to The New York Times.

Some economists had predicted a gain of 100,000 jobs, with a point plus or minus in the jobless rate but these hopes were dashed, despite the looming vaccination rate for Covid; and, a relaxation of some public health restrictions, in certain areas of the country.

Some optimism is expected, along with a rebound, when the so-called herd immunity is achieved, when enough Americans are vaccinated, but with many people still reluctant to take the vaccine, (and a shorter supply of the vaccine itself), this may be more hoped for, than a forthcoming reality.

Continuing the downward trajectory of retail, 38,000 jobs lost, as well as healthcare with 30,000 gone, the path to recovery, at least with January, that goal seems long off.

“There's no way to construe that this was not a weak jobs report,” said John Brusuelas, chief economist at the firm RSM, reported The Washington Post.

They also noted that the increase of 97,000 jobs added to the professional and business services sector (a catch all category) was mitigated when it was revealed that “81,000 of those were temporary.”

With only 1 percent growth in the last quarter of 2020, and “data gathered in the first half of January, makes for the last of President Donald Trump’s tenure.”

Most importantly the nation has not recovered nearly 10 million of the nearly 20 million plus jobs that were lost due to the pandemic. The Washington Post estimated “at this anemic rate of growth, it would need more than 16 years to earn those jobs back.”

Significantly, the labor force participation rate stayed about the same at 61.4 percent from December and down 63.3 percent from February's 2020 baseline, and while holding steady says, to many observers, that there is greater weakness in the labor market than many of them would care to acknowledge. And, with 81.1 percent in January, measured against the baseline from last February, a seesaw pattern can be seen, with “79.8 percent during the worst part of the pandemic,” added the Times.

Standing outside of the banner unemployment rate, “Economists and policymakers are closely watching measures of labor force attachment to gauge how far the job market is from full recovery. After the 2007-9 recession, participation for workers in their prime unexpectedly rebounded as some who were believed to have permanently dropped out of the job market began to look for jobs or take open positions,” they concluded.

Taking a wide shot of the data, it’s easy to agree with The Wall Street Journal that “The unemployment rate decline in January was driven by two factors. More people dropped out of the labor force, meaning they weren’t actively looking for a job and may have grown frustrated with their employment prospects. Also, the number of people reporting themselves as employed increased, consistent with a generally upward trend in hiring since last spring.”

With help from the White House, President Joe Biden relief may be coming sooner than thought, as he keeps a campaign promise, with a $1,9 billion relief package that includes $1,400 checks, and monies to state and local governments, something that has faced Republican opposition since the previous administration, but that may be needed to stem the revenue loss due to Covid and help open public schools to in person learning.

Using a process of budget reconciliation, Biden’s actions, say his supporters, are responding to critical care for families and individuals, especially for low wage service workers, facing further job loss, wage erosion, and the threat of eviction, in what is promising to be a very cold winter.

He told reporters, “This is about people’s lives. This is not just about numbers,” and “they are really hurting. Just look at all the number of people who are needing and seeking mental health help.”

“This jobs report suggests signs of a nascent overall recovery, but food insecurity, costs of caregiving, persistently high unemployment, and small business stagnation necessitate emergency relief that targets those being left behind — especially women, people of color, and lower income workers,” said Nicole Goldin, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council,” reported The Hill.

With the House passing the relief bill, it’s now time for the Senate to help try to right the course of the American economy, time and money are of the essence.

With filibuster intact, can Dems go rogue with COVID bill?

It takes two to tango, says the old expression, and within the opening days of the US Senate, with the Democrats in charge, albeit by a slim majority, there were two senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, that tipped the scales to a power sharing agreement accepted by the new Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Sen. McConnell

 While success has many fathers, and failure is an orphan, can yet again, a successful bipartisan effort, be had? And, was there no middle ground for the Senate to fill the seats of the various committees, with the inauguration of President Joe Biden without one? 

It seemed not, and with the Republican dominated Senate as the historical party of “no”, endorse any Democratic legislation, ever?

That logjam, noted The Hill, that McConnell, as well as Chuck Schumer, the new majority leader, wanted to end, and with Manchin and Sinema on the dance card, the die was now set, despite not getting written assurances that Schumer would not change the rules of the filibuster, in his tenure, and an “okay” with reconciliation, (a measure designed for a straight up and down vote), and with VIce President Harris, breaking any ties, there is now agreed governance for lawmakers in the new administration.

There is still the role of the filibuster, and while many have seen it as a time honored tool, others have maligned it, especially as a tool for segregationists, and some Dems were for it, before they were against it, for example, former President Obama, when he was a senator.

As The Wall Street Journal noted last September, “many senators of both parties defended the filibuster as a tool to promote comprose and counter the other party, and viewed ending it as shortsighted because a party newly in power might quickly undo the other’s laws and pass its own.”

Biden has also said that he would prefer its preservation, unless facing GOP opposition that would thwart him in his efforts towards new legislation.

Taking a look back at its origins sheds some light for modern readers: “Using the filibuster to delay or block legislative action has a long history. The term filibuster—from a Dutch word meaning "pirate"—became popular in the 1850s, when it was applied to efforts to hold the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill,” notes the US Senate website.

“In the early years of Congress, representatives as well as senators could filibuster. As the House of Representatives grew in number, however, revisions to the House rules limited debate. In the smaller Senate, unlimited debate continued on the grounds that any senator should have the right to speak as long as necessary on any issue.”

For those of a certain generation, and perhaps beyond, there was Huey Long of Louisiana in the 1930s infamous for his hours long recitation of Shakespeare, and recipes for southern delicacies; but, on the less humorous side, there is “The record for the longest individual speech [which] goes to South Carolina's J. Strom Thurmond who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.”

History might be written by the victors, but it is also subject to scrutiny, and revision.

Now enter Sara Binder, historian, and academic, whose closer read of the original documents show that “the history of extended debate in the Senate belies the received wisdom that the filibuster was an original, constitutional feature of the Senate. The filibuster is more accurately viewed as the unanticipated consequence of an early change to Senate rules.”

Out of a lengthy and persuasive discussion, Binder, “In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, she counters a number of conventionally held notions about the origins and history of the Senate filibuster, and worth noting for the Biden administration, is this: “There are conditions that can lead a bipartisan supermajority to agree to change Senate rules. The minority has often held the upper hand in these contests, however, given the high barrier to reform imposed by inherited Senate rules.”

Most recently, McConnell refused to end the filibuster for President Trump, and along with Sen. Orrin Hatch defended its nearly sacrosanct role in senate negotiations, and  “The GOP knows what it's like to be powerless, and it has used the filibuster to great effect in recent years while in the minority. This is a tool whose value is known to many Senate Republicans because they have relied on it<’ noted The Washington Post, in 2017.

All  of which brings us to the present day where Biden facing the ongoing COVID pandemic and growing pressure to stem the tide of the pandemic, especially on the economic lives of millions of Americans faces a stalwart GOP determined not to pass his $1.9 billion coronavirus relief

Sen. Dick Durbin  of Illinois, the new majority whip, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "The American people want us to take action, action on this pandemic, action on this economy and on a host of other issues, and if this filibuster has become so common in the Senate that we can't act, that we just sit there helpless, shame on us. Of course we should consider a change in the rule under those circumstances.”

With some justification the GOP has balked at the price tag, but, with increasing new strains from overseas, can America afford to not do everything that it can. Certainly, without federal help as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has noted before, economic relief cannot be had.

Sen. Durbin

Republican lawmakers want to limit relief to vaccines, already in short supply due to Trump officials recalcitrance, and many like Maine senator Susan Collins are looking only at the vaccine, and distribution, without taking stock of the vast needs for the nation's public schools, and state and local aid.

She noted in a recent call that, “it seems premature to be considering a package of this size and scope.”

Looking at the methodology is also Collins' way of distancing herself, and others of her camp, from an outright rejection, on cost alone. But, without the money, direct payments withstanding, how can the US recover?

The new president has said, “Time is of the essence, and I must tell you I’m reluctant to cherry pick and take out one or two items.” 

While no deadline has been set by the White House, it is obvious that time is of the essence, and going it alone is an option, without GOP support, but some supporters, as well as critics, note that would burn through a lot of his political capital, and upset McConnell, but as most Washington insiders know the minority leader is skillful at playing on the contours of an issue, and in the end not cooperating at all.

The Day of Infamy: January 6, 2021

 

One week ago today, on a chilly Wednesday, America’s Capitol was overrun by insurrectionists in a violent mob, urged on by President Trump in a speech riddled with falsehoods, to “take back” the government.

Angered that he lost the 2020 presidential election and after a series of calculated disinformation, Trump’s rallying call contained only a perfunctory call for peace. And,

emboldened by his words, the mob proceeded to smash windows and doors in the Capitol, in an attempt to prevent the formal ,and mostly ceremonial, counting of the electoral votes, presided by Vice President Mike Pence in a joint session of Congress. 

Trump lost the electoral vote in a 306-232 final count, in short a free and fair election in accordance with U.S. election laws.

Shortly after the first objection was raised and debate was to begin, the Senate retired to their chamber, from the House, and then the mob reached the very doors of the chamber as the Secret Service grabbed the vice president and then the Speaker of the House Chuck Schumer, followed in turn by Senate Majority leader, Mitch McConnell,and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

In a well publicized, and well planned effort, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the Congress, replete with guns, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails; and, with rumors of the possible use of tear gas, lawmakers hid under their desks, with gas masks on, and some remanded to the House gallery, lying on the floor as the insurrectionists surged into the chamber, some with plastic zip ties, presumably as handcuffs for “errant” lawmakers, chiefly Pence and the long hated Pelosi.

One elderly woman, according to USA Today, yelled at Capitol Police officers, “Tell Pelosi we’re coming for her.

The scene was shocking and unforgettable, the most frightening act towards American democracy since the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 that threatened the early days of the republic; and, the burning of the building by the British in the War of 1812, but no one had thought that this horror was possible, as image after image gave the impression of the much maligned “banana republics” of Hollywood, or the march toward the Duma, in the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg, during the last days of the Russian Imperial government, and the beginning of The Russian Revolution.

Neither were expected in the United States, an 18th century experiment that became the world’s leading democracy, especially in its entrance into World War I, and its role in ending World War II.

To see the unfolding events and later images made many Americans awestruck and saddened, ourselves included, while still others were in tears.

The Capitol Police with a vast underestimation of the rally turned down the use of The National Guard, and its chief, Steven Sund, even rejected offers of help by the FBI as “extremists were climbing Capitol Hill” as the vandals roamed halls, stealing official documents and posed for pictures with their feet on the desks of the Speaker in her office, and on the dais.

Lying at the core of the mob was the insidious odor of racism, as gangs of white supremaicsts, spearheading the call to Washington: The Proud Boys, The Bugallo Boys, The 3 Percent and others whose extremist views have been  allowed to foment over decades in America, and whose rise and now has manifested itself in what is truly our 21st century day of infamy.

The racist core, and the desire for a new civil war seems to replace the one that ended in the 19th century, and has been given new impetus by the inflammatory rhetoric of Trump, who with this scorched earth movements, has given these groups what they want, a hero, a leader, and an emergence from the shadows.

In an appearance on Tuesday in Texas, the president refused to take the blame for his incendiary actions saying according to The New York TImes, ““People thought what I said was totally appropriate,” Mr. Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, en route to Alamo, Texas, where he was set to visit the border wall. Instead, Mr. Trump claimed that racial justice protests over the summer were “the real problem.”

“If you look at what other people have said, politicians at a high level about the riots during the summer, the horrible riots in Portland and Seattle and various other places, that was a real problem,” he said.

There are more revelations: members of law enforcement and even local government leaders joining in the fracas, and with some “mom and pop” folks saying that Jan. 6th was the best day of their lives.

What we face as a nation today is a moral reckoning, and the realization that we are no longer, the City on the Hill, or the New Jerusalem; and, will be a problem for years to come as not simply the 70 million voters who voted for Trump four years ago, but the these groups that have energized the violence and the rhetoric that has turned whatever accomplishments for racial and gender equality, the U.S. has created, on its head.

Many in the media as well as on the streets and the shops have been angered that the majority white crowd that caused the horror were simply allowed to melt away, while this summer, Blacks peacefully demonstrating caused such alarm that virtual armies were sent out, not to mention the clearing out of a  multiracial crowd of protestors in Washington’s Lafayette Square, was dispersed with tear gas and rubber bullets, so that the president could hold a photo op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, holding a Bible.

When some Black hooligans hijacked peaceful demonstrations ro racial justice, in Chicago, they were derided again, and again, by whites, but these white insurrections have not been condemned at all by most of white Chicagoans.

The task before us, as a nation, is how do we go forth?

Calls for charges of sedition may be one of many steps to hold the perpetrators accountable. 

While lawyers and academics argue the fine points Bill Kennedy writing for The Baltimore Sun, noted the following in his research: “Overt conduct, such as speech and organisation that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or rebellion against established authority. It may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws.”

The trajectory of lies, misinformation and disinformation and the subversion of human dignity also, has sadly led to this debacle, and, Kennedy also noted that “The members of Congress who also fed their constituents a litany of lies about the legality of the election and stoked the fires of discontent, many to try to preserve their standing with that portion of the electorate and stay in office, share in the wrongdoing and should also be held accountable.”

Ultimately President Trump, who was impeached for the second time Wednesday, has created the establishment of a cult which has led to this violent episode that perpetuates a skewed version of reality, both of law and content.

It is worth noting that Andrew Sullivan writing in NYMag.com, two years ago, derided Trump and “his ludicrous reality show” which has led his followers to state “the truth is whatever he says it is.”

December 2020 Jobs Report sinks with COVID

 

Hopes sank for a V shaped recovery when the U.S. Labor Dept. released its December Jobs report for 2020 with a drastic drop in non farm job creation of only 140,000, and a still weak labor force participation rate of 61.5 percent that combined with the November report showed that the COVID pandemic has wreaked, and will continue to wreak havoc on the American economy, as it has in most of the developed world, and beyond.

The $900 billion relief package that Congress passed in December arrived too late to have a significant impact on an already burdensome economy, but it is expected that the incoming Biden administration will continue more stimulus payments, both to individuals and also to state and local economies, both who face dire consequences without help.

Election week markets, recalled Jill Schlesinger, CBS News business analyst, in an earlier column, noted the market's reaction, with an S&P soaring 7.3 percent, “the best presidential election week since 1932.”

Now with a Democratic majority in the Senate, after the Georgia runoff elections, corporate America may not be as sanguine as they were with a Republican controlled Senate, and many are hazarding a guess as to any tax increases.

As we recalled earlier King Covid reigns, and with recent surges in the pandemic and business restructuring and local and state governments adding more restrictions Wall Street as well as Main Street will continue to suffer.

Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell noted just after the election, “the path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus,” and continued relief set against the promise of the two major vaccines can offer hope to millions of workers.

Those especially hard hit are those in the service sector, and especially those that depend on in person interaction such as leisure and travel with $500,00 cuts in December, and restaurants which are acutely vulnerable, faced 372,000 in job losses, and hotels with 24,000.

Adding to the losses were private schools and colleges with 60,000 job losses creating economic havoc in smaller towns where they are often the main employer.

There were some gains, perhaps not strong enough to sustain, but manufacturing rose by 38,000 jobs, construction by 51,000 and retail in a surprising spin 120,000 jobs added by a loosening of restrictions and warmer weather that extended into Fall.

That hoped for V recovery has now clearly become a K shaped with the upper branch focused on the managerial and professional class, mostly white, and the bottom branch with lower waged service workers, mostly Black and Brown people, whose future seems bleak, especially those who are restaurant workers, and whose brief surge during the summer, has hit a low with the advent of cold weather and a dearth of outdoor dining.

If this continues, many households will not only face an uncertain future, but also can contribute to a slack in the nation’s GDP. And, as Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton said to The New York Times, “Most notably, this is still very much a low wage recession, and the losses where we first saw them when the pandemic hit.”

It is worth noting that Labor does not count those who are not looking for work (who may feel there are not jobs available), or are caring for children, or elderly relatives, including those with disabilities.

Contributing to long term joblessness are those the Times noted who have criminal background records, and the disabled, “that make it hard to find jobs even in the best of times.”

Biden said, according to The Wall Street Journal, ““The bottom line is the jobs report shows we need to provide more immediate relief for working families and businesses—now,”. . .. “He also said he would seek to increase the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, calling on Congress to pass the measure.”

Equally problematic as we noted last month are women who are now forced to care for children, and other dependents, have left the workforce, especially those who worked in service areas; aided and with partners or spouses who are higher wage earners.

The subsequent void has cut back prime age working women to 75 percent of the workforce in December from 77.1 in February of 2020, before the pandemic.

The racial breakdown has shown that Blacks have made a moderate stability of 9.9 percent employment rate against the general rate of 6.7, against 10.3 percent before; but, Hispanics have increased to 9.3 percent, from 8.4 in November, as active participants in lower wage and service sectors.

What concerns most economists, labor leaders and lawmakers is that the country has lost half a million jobs in 2020, the most significant decline “on a percentage basis since the aftermath of World War II.”

Of equal concern are state and local governments who as we have seen did not gain monies from the most recent aid bill, but have faced budget cuts and layoffs, since they are mandated to have a balanced budget, and who employ 13 percent of employers in the United States.

There have been 1.4 million of those jobs lost since last February, the pre pandemic marker that is the baseline for comparison, with 51,000 alone last month.

Some believe like Swonk that this is a low wage recession, driven by the pandemic and that shoring up the service sector with financial relief, and the vaccine, there might be a recovery, and Bloomberg reported that “Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Plc. “It does show that if we can get control of the pandemic, then we can restore economic activity and labor market conditions over the course of this year. It’s a pandemic-driven number, a pandemic-driven composition.”

Wage growth, as can be imagined, has declined, and they added,“For the full year, payrolls declined by 9.37 million, the most in records back to 1939 and exceeding the combined slump in 2008 and 2009 during the Great Recession and its aftermath.”

What lies aheads depends on so many factors, as we have seen, and while remaining hopeful, this optimism is tempered by caution, and especially with the vaccine rollout, and the policies of the incoming Biden administration, aided by its experienced cabinet, and its now Democratic majority in Congress.