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What happened to US manufacturing?

The president says that he wants to bring manufacturing back into the country. Of course he will fail. He is a short timer and highly erratic. Companies must have a longer term perspective. Building plants takes time and lots of money. Restructuring supply chains also take time and money. Why go through the expense of moving to the US when in three years Trump will be gone – as will many of his policies. 

Anyway even if companies wanted to move manufacturing back to the country they will face the gauntlet of regulations that delay construction, are expensive and make building a plant in the US more expensive and taking more time than one built elsewhere. There is also the issue of labor. The avocado industry moved from California to Mexico because it could not get enough labor in the US to grow and harvest the crop. So if manufacturing were to come back into the US, could they bring labor with them? Currently the Department of Labor reports there are 7.2 million job openings. Over 500,000 of those are in manufacturing and most are openings at small businesses. Why would companies want to come into that environment? 

When Trump talked about bringing manufacturing back to the US, the Chinese mocked him with pictures of overweight Americans trying to work in factories.

In reality, factory work is passe in today’s service dominated American labor market. Yes there will always be manufacturing but it will occupy less and less of the labor force. Such was not always the case. Recall Rosie the Riveter? During World War 2, one Ford plant turned out one B-24 bomber an hour. In 1939, the US has less than 2,000 military aircraft. By war’s end US factories had produced 300,000 planes. What about ships? The US built more than 3,600 cargo ships, 700 tankers, 1,300 naval vessels including 8 battleships, 128 aircraft carriers and 352 destroyers. It also produced over 100,000 tanks and armored vehicles, 2,382,311 other vehicles, and 2,679,849 machine guns. by 1945, more steel was produced in Pennsylvania alone than in Germany and Japan combined.

We still have the personnel to build stuff. I read Michael Fabey’s, Heavy Metal, the story of the people who build aircraft carriers at the Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia with its 30,000 employees and shipyard workers. They are riggers, fitters, welders, electricians, machinists and steelworkers who come from shipbuilding families. Putting together all the miles of wiring, thousands of rivets, computers and the rest makes for a great story.

There is still a demand for these skills. I read a story about one high school’s welding class, where one graduate has been offered a job starting at $70,000. Also the demographics show that fewer and fewer young men are going to college and that certain professions with only a high school degree pay more than those for a college graduate. So perhaps those jobs coupled with AI will usher in a new era in manufacturing to make manufacturing great again – albeit with fewer workers.

However, the question remains as to whether American manufacturing will ever be on a par with that of the Chinese. That I doubt. The loss of manufacturing jobs in the US was mainly on the low end with low skill jobs being eliminated. Those jobs are abundant in low wage countries. China is now building a megaport in Santos, Brazil to ship agricultural produce to China. Brazilian soybeans and grains will not replace American ones. Such is the reality in the world of Trump and his high tariffs. Look at what the Chinese are building and wonder if America will ever get back to that place. The answer is no. Low wage, hard physical labor goes to where that factor of production is most plentiful and cheap. It is no longer America. 

Hitch up that moving van!

What’s with all these libs moving out of the country because of Donald Trump?  Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi “fled” to England – or was it Ireland? A slew of other LBGTQs have been mewing about leaving. Someone named Laverne Cox said that she and her partner were looking at places in Europe and the Caribbean. One headline said “Panic in Hollywood’s LBGTQ Community: Some Weigh Emigration Ahead of 2^nd Trump Term.” Huh? Panic? Hollywood? One guy gay said “I’m physically afraid of being here now.” And he lives in California! The media are running stories like “Top 20 best countries to move for LBGTQ expats in 2025.”

One publication says that the number of LGBTQ couples looking to leave the country has soared 300 percent since Trump’s election – of course that’s not many if the base is 1. One person put it “We love this country, but we don’t love what it has become. “It saddens me to move. But it’s also a situation, politically and socially, that is unacceptable.” Gee, poor baby. That of course is BS and they know it. If Trump is so hostile to LGBTQs then why is Scott Bessent his Treasury secretary? Do all these aspiring expats think that Trump is going to be president for the rest of their lives – if it is indeed Trump the reason for fleeing? I think that they just crave being in the news and having their one second of fame.

Well let them go and good riddance. I have no sympathy for cowards. Black folk have endured at lot worse for a lot longer. I know what I went through at the University of Georgia with broken dorm windows, lighter fluid squirted under the door and firecrackers dropped down the slats in the door. And I stayed. My parents lived through much worse – what I call the Reign of Southern Terror where a black person could be shot by a white who would either not spend a day in jail or know that he would be acquired by a white judge and an all white jury. And they stayed. My grandparents experienced even worse and their parents were slaves. They all stayed . I remember asking my Dad why didn’t he move north out of Georgia. He said “This is my state. This is my home. I am not going anywhere.” So if black folk have the strength and fortitude to fight racism, discrimination, racial violence and hatred in a system that legally deemed them to be inferior and second class citizens, then I am supposed to feel sympathy for a bunch of whining whippy bunch of spineless crybabies? I would say grow a pair but that’s probably inappropriate.

We just spent four days at the farm in Gray. It is still a place where drivers will occasionally wave when you drive past. It is also a place where cars pull over and stop for a funeral procession. My father used to remark that funerals were the only time that white folk gave blacks any respect. I am glad to see that at least those pieces of the good old days remain. But most of them are best kept in the past.

During the war, many of Mom’s relatives left Gray and moved to Detroit to work in the factories. They sent back glowing reports of huge increases in income, new cars, fur coats and great schools. My cousins clamored for my grandfather to quit scratching the Georgia red clay and come to Detroit. Mom said that he left and was back within a month. He came back to Gray because he could not find a place to hunt rabbits. The cousins thought he was a bit “country” because he would not leave the segregated south (and Georgia like Mississippi was notorious for its violence toward black people who “stepped out of line.”). Instead, he lived out his days in Gray. My mother met my father. My grandfather lived to see me graduate from the University of Georgia and to his dying day could not completely fathom that white people allowed blacks to go to their schools.

So we stayed and in so doing we helped save the souls of fellow southerners. We have no respect for cowards who tuck tail and run.

Is the president’s agenda too ambitious?

I think it is highly likely that the president has bitten off more than he can chew. Look at all the happenings domestically and around the world. At home, he is fighting 40 nationwide injunctions imposed by federal district courts. The Supreme Court docket now seems full of Trump- related stuff. He or his people are trying to negotiate stopping wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Rwanda. Then there are his tariffs. He has purged us of all out friends. His 10% tariff is nonnegtiable and is 5 times higher than our previous ones. That tariff is across the board and applies to countries with which we run a surplus as well as a deficit. Supposedly 150 countries were looking for deals within the latest 90 day window. That was too many to negotiate so the president now says that his secretaries of Treasury and Commerce will announce what tariffs will apply to what countries. I guess they really didn’t have time to negotiate with the delegation from Lesotho. 

Things look ad hoc. I know the Trump defenders will try to justify each and every one of his actions, deeds and misdeeds but I try my best to be an objective observer. My reaction is “Does he really know what he is doing?” I wished that he would be more disciplined and focused. But, hey, this is Donald Trump.

Consider the latest on the tariff front. There are going to be unilateral setting of tariffs – no negotiations for you. Apparently this is on “lesser” trading countries while major ones like South Korea and Japan will still be negotiated. The president said that countries could expect individual letters in which they would be told “what they will be paying to do business in the United States.” Sorry Mr President but the countries will not be “paying to do business in the United States” Surely he knows that businesses in those countries are the exporters and not the country themselves. He knows that his tariffs will be paid by the American consumer not the exporting country. Is he in denial? 

The impact of the tariffs will be a fall in imports as producers in other countries will shift sales elsewhere or even go out of business if the increased cost of their product is greater than price at which they can be sold. There are numerous incidents of this happening as the importer cannot raise prices high enough to recover the cost of the tariffs. Trump is betting on the price increases due to a 10 percent universal tariff will not be enough to dampen consumption. But then again, he learned his economics at an “elite” university so his ignorance on this matter should be excused.

Here is a time table on the chaotic nature of his tariff decisions. Such chaos leads to uncertainty amongst producers, importers and consumers. Is this any way to run a country? Some may call this being flexible but rather it looks like its being made up daily as the president changes his mind or as the last person in his office has his ear.

This is from Reuters

February 1 – Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China, demanding they curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States.

February 3 – Trump suspends his threat of tariffs on Mexico and Canada, agreeing to a 30-day pause in return for concessions on border and crime enforcement. The U.S. does not reach such a deal with China.

February 7 – Trump delays tariffs on de minimis, or low-cost, packages from China until the Commerce Department can confirm that procedures and systems are in place to process them and collect tariff revenue.

February 10 – Trump raises tariffs on steel and aluminum to a flat 25% “without exceptions or exemptions”.

March 3 – Trump says 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect from March 4 and doubles fentanyl-related tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%

March 5 – The president agrees to delay tariffs for one month on some vehicles built in Canada and Mexico after a call with the CEOs of General Motors (GM.N) and Ford (F.N) and the chair of Stellantis (STLAM.MI).

March 6 – Trump exempts goods from Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25% tariffs.

March 26 – Trump unveils a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks.

April 2 – Trump announces global tariffs with a baseline of 10% across all imports and significantly higher duties on some of the U.S.’ biggest trading partners.

April 9 – Trump pauses for 90 days most of his country-specific tariffs that kicked in less than 24 hours earlier following an upheaval in financial markets that erased trillions of dollars from bourses around the world.

The 10% blanket duty on almost all U.S. imports stays in place.

Trump says he will raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that took effect a day earlier. This pushes the extra duties on Chinese goods to 145%, including the fentanyl-related tariffs imposed earlier.

April 13 – The U.S. administration grants exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China.

April 22 – The Trump administration launches national security probes under Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1962 into imports of both pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of a bid to impose tariffs on both sectors.

May 4 – Trump imposes a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the U.S.

May 9 – Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announce a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place 10% tariffs on British exports, modestly expands agricultural access for both countries and lowers prohibitive U.S. duties on British car exports.

May 12 – The U.S. and China agree to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs. Under the 90-day truce, the U.S. will cut the extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145%, while China’s duties on U.S. imports will be slashed to 10% from 125%.

And last (so far)

May 16 – Trump says that US will unilaterally set new tariff rates for trade partners. No bogus negotiations for you!

Finally, we are beginning our camping seaon (fifth wheel not a tent) and many of the campgrounds do not have wifi and two have lousy cell service. Therefore, these postings will be somewhat irregular going forward. I know you understand and you probably need a break from the diluge of words from me. Hope you enjoy your summer. HB

Will Trump’s tariffs unite the rest of the world?

Somebody please tell Kristi Noem to ditch the false eyelashes.

I guess I am easily confused. I thought the Supreme Court was considering Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship. Yet the arguments seem to be around the issue of whether a single Federal court can issue a nationwide injunction. Did I read right when it said that to date 40 such injections have been issued against the president? I know that plaintiffs can shop for a sympathetic judge to issue an injunction but it seems to me that if the injunction applied only to that plaintiff and only in that district, then the administration can then keep doing whatever it was doing in another district and if it loses there can go to yet another district and there are 94 federal districts.

Walmart in defiance to Trump is raising their prices opening the floodgates for others to follow. I said that Trump would blink on tariffs once prices started to rise and shelves became empty. He may blink before that. Yes I know that Trump rolled back his China tariffs but they still stand at 34%. I hope Walmart puts that on their sales slips.

Ford is raising the price of its three Mexican produced vehicles, the electric Mustang, the Maverick pickup and the Bronco Sport by only $2,000 each. First, that pushes the price of the Maverick above $30,000 negating its selling point of being less than $30,000. Second, the tariff on the Mustang will raise its cost by $12,000 meaning that Ford is going to have to eat the other $10,000. Since Ford loses $132,000 on every EV it makes, whats another $10,000 per Mustang?

BTW, often overlooked is the fact that one impact of Trump’s tariffs has been the fall in the dollar. Maybe this was part of the plan to make imports more expensive.

The increase in prices is expected to cause a rise in inflation from its current level of 2.4 percent to 3.8 percent. Does Trump really think he can browbeat the Fed to cut interest rates in the face of rising prices? Threatening Jay Powell will only cause the Fed to dig in its heels and circle the proverbial wagons at the Open Market Committee. I do not sense any desire amongst any of the committee members to bend a knee to the president.

Vermont has just exited from the California EV mandate. Vermont? Home of Bernie Sanders and Ben and Jerry’s? Other leftist states are leaving as well: Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware and purple Virginia. What in the name of Karl Marx is going on? It is the slow EV sales which make it impossible to meet the mandate’s deadlines unless the internal combustion engine is outlawed. Mini Cooper which had announced that it was going all electric has now recanted. For the foreseeable future it will manufacture internal combustion engines for the US market. Someone once said that the only law that governments try to repeal is the law of supply and demand and invariably the governments fail. All hail Adam Smith!

When the House voted to repeal granting California’s EV mandate, it easily passed with 35 democrats joining the republicans. The mandate was granted to address California smog but was used for carbon emissions which have nothing to do with smog. I would guess that the 35 democrats are likely from automobile producing states and energy producing states. Turns out that two were even from California (gasp).

Canada reelected the liberals throwing a finger at Donald Trump. The new prime minister Mark Carney may be worse than the old one. Carney is a green zealot. Energy rich Alberta is already calling for a vote on separation next year. Remember the votes in Quebec? They failed. It will be interesting to see what happens in Alberta whose premier calls Ottawa’s energy policies “an hostile act.” But can Alberta leave or is it virtually impossible like it is in the United 

States? Here is what the Canadian supreme court has said “The Constitution does not permit unilateral secession: Canada is a federal state based on constitutional government – and subject to the rule of law. The courts have a duty to uphold that Constitution – and to ensure that no level of government exceeds its powers. Secession would affect the structure and scope of that Constitution – so it would require constitutional amendments.” I guess that means that Alberta can vote but its only for show.

I wonder why doesn’t China call Trump’s hand on high tariffs by cutting off all rare earth minerals? It has a strangle hold on dysprosium, producing 90 percent of the mineral. Dyso-what? The mineral is essential in making magnets. You cannot build an EV motor without magnets and you cannot build a magnet without dysprosium. Trump called his tariffs a response to a “national emergency”. Well if there is a national emergency it is the reliance on China to export to us a mineral vital to everything that moves – including national security. BTW, China has in the past insisted that the use of the mineral would not be for the military. But doesn’t the military use EVs and magnets? In fact they are the essential building blocks of much of modern technology, forming parts of everything from satellites to jet fighters to CT scanners and iPhone speakers. 

Free at Last.

Warren Buffet said “How do you know the day that you become old?” the day came he stepped down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway. I know the feeling because 2025 was the year I finally felt my age. You know the saying that its weird when you realize that you are the same age as old people? It is weird. I feel great but my arthritic knees are 100 years old. I think that part of the reason was my going back into the classroom. The campus is very hilly and I stood and lectured for an hour and a half. The knees are now perpetually sore and hopefully will get better now that I am done teaching.

May 15 was my Liberation Day – the day I gave my final exam. I had forgot how much I enjoyed teaching. But I did not particularly like the fact that many students just don’t come to class. They look at the recording of the lectures instead. However, those that came to class made it worthwhile. One student came to my office hours and said that many of the terms in the study guide were not in the power points or the textbook. I said that I had substituted my own materials for that in the book and had posted them in the “announcements” section. He then said that he had never looked at that part of the course. Another student complained that I took off points when his definitions were correct but were not precisely what I had said in class – or on the power points. He was getting his definitions from the internet. Again this was a student who seldom came to class and who had not looked at any of the materials that I had posted.

I was told that this was the new normal. I guess I am old fashioned but I hated the technology. I had to put all the empty seats out of my mind. I came to realize that hardly anyone there had even heard of Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan of Ben Bernanke. They didn’t even know who Diana Ross was!

The textbook used in the class was also wrong in many places. So I created my own powerpoints and readings for about half of the chapters. The early editions of the text were fine. I knew the authors and both were well respected scholars. However, they are long retired and the author of the revision is little known and knows even less about the subject matter. I might have adopted earlier editions of the book but not this one. The Finance department does not have any full time faculty in the area of financial Institutions. They are all in Corporate or Investments leaving the teaching of financial institutions to adjuncts or graduate students – who I like to refer to as walk-ons. Although smart, this is not their area of expertise. They do not know the literature. They do not know the research. They do not know the legislative history. So someone adopted this book and much of what they teach is wrong.

This got me thinking: is what you teach important or is how you teach what is important? Even if the material is wrong, if a teacher challenges the students, makes them think, analyze and synthesize, then isn’t that worthwhile even if what is being taught is garbage?

I showed the students how virtually every problem could be analyzed using supply and demand and present value. I also described verbally the equations and tried to show them how to make sense out of statistics. I would bring in news from current events that were relevant to what we were discussing that day. I wanted to show them how what we did in the classroom was relevant to what was going on in the world. That is why finance and economics are exciting. I remember once when a student told me that they didn’t know why they were enjoying my class because economics was boring. I told them that economics was exciting but economists were boring. My hope is that they will read the financial press daily and now understand what is happening around them. Hopefully, they will now look at issues differently. They no longer have to accept the status quo as truth. They now can intelligently think about minimum wages, usury laws, regulations, the CFPB, tariffs, gold, crypto, the Fed and all the rest. I hope they now realize the importance of being intellectually curious.

As always, some students will appreciate what I do and how I do it while others don’t. I was given a copy of my evaluations and per usual there were some very flattering comments and five that were not so much. One student called the course BS, the lectures BS and the exams BS saying that this was not a spelling bee. I listed six words in the syllabus that could not be misspelled else I took off a point per word (capital, receive, guarantee, yield and separate). I guess this student persisted in misspelling them throughout the term losing one point per misspelling. One said I was racist. I had a terrible time with allergies this term and walked into class and started sneezing. I said that I must be allergic to white people. After class a host of students came up to give me advice on allergy meds. Another said I was intimidating and made students feel stupid which is why they didn’t want to come to class. Others hated the exams. However, there were positive comments contradicting the negative ones. One in particular almost brought me to tears. But I thank them all for caring to respond. My evaluations have always been bimodal.

But now maybe some of them will not go through life taking the path of least resistance. I told them to be a healthy skeptic. I also told them not to believe a word I said in class. Some asked me if I were going to teach again. I said “Hell no.” This is a one-off. It has ruined my turkey season. I surely would not do it during deer season. And anyway I could never get pass the fact that when I retired 13 years ago most of the class were in the second grade.

The Black Anti-MAGA Pope? Our RINO president?

The New Pope

Who was Pope Leo XIII and why did the new pope pick his name? He could have been Pope Francis II but he chose Leo XIV. Since 1555 the newly elected pope has chosen a papal name. John is the most popular having been picked 21 times. Francis has been chosen only chosen once so Robert Francis Prevost could have been Pope Francis II. But since Prevost picked Leo XIV, then it must have been to honor Leo XIII.

I earlier posted whether we were going to get a black pope. I only looked to Africa. Well genealogists say that Prevost has black ancestry. Prevost’s mother was the daughter of a Haitian-born father and a New Orleans Creole mother – I presume a Creole of color. His grandparents are listed as black or mulatto in the Census when they lived in New Orleans but later listed as white when they moved to Chicago. BTW, both of my mother’s grandfathers are listed in the 1870 census as “mulatto.”  I don’t know how the Pope identifies himself. Has anyone asked? If he doesn’t identify as black, then is he black? I once wrote concerning gender identity, that identifying as something you are not does not make you something you are not. Does this mean that Pope Leo XIV is indeed the first black pope?  

The backlash against U.S.-style MAGA politics is being credited for the wins of Australia’s center-left Labor Party and Canada’s Liberals in recent national elections. But the new pope too?

Were Canada, Australia and now the pope elected as the anti-Trump? Jack Posobiec, a Maga type person said “This choice of the American cardinal was done as a response, as a message to President Trump.” Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer – whatever that is, called the new Pope “anti-Trump, anti-Maga, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis”. Steve Bannon agrees. We will see.

OutFoxed again?

Because of the lack of republican support, the president withdrew Ed Martin’s nomination to be US Attorney for the District of Columbia. Then the president announced that his new nominee would Judge Jeanine Pirro from Fox’s The Five. Does this mean that the show will now be The Four? She is the 23^rd person from Fox to be in the Trump administration. When Pete Hegseth was nominated I joked that who was next, Greg Gutfield? I wasn’t that far off. However, the one person who Trump has not nominated from Fox but should is Harold Ford, Jr.

Trump a RINO?

Yes Trump is a RINO. No self-respecting republican would impose these tariffs,  order a cut prescription drug prices and impose a millionaires’ tax. A republican who imposes tariffs, wants to fix prices and increase taxes? Say it ain’t so.

Trump blinked (again) when the U.S. and China tariffs announced a reduction in tariffs for a 90-day period. The US tariffs on Chinese imports will be cut to 30%, while Chinese tariffs on US imports will be cut to 10%. Hey, why is this reciprocal?

The White House iterated after the agreement with the UK that the 10% baseline tariff is here to stay.

Was this a “let them eat cake” moment when President Trump said because of the tariffs that “Children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls”?

I don’t understand the president’s executive order that institutes a “most favored nation” policy for drug pricing, saying that it will reduce drug prices “almost immediately, by 30% to 80%.” The order would set prescription drug prices to match those of comparable countries but would only affect drugs covered by Medicare Part B for doctor’s office visits. But we don’t pay the full cost of the drugs. We only pay the copay. If his “cut” only covers those drugs covered by Medicare and given in an office but not at the pharmacy, then how will citizens see any savings? It seems that the government will save by paying less. But would this mean fewer drugs for Medicare? Currently there are 270 drug shortages in the US and the tariffs coupled with the cut in prices will mean even more shortages. One expert said that “You’re going to have companies that may not be able to bring the product into the United States.”

Who taught this president economics?

The president keeps talking about increased taxes for people making over $2.5 million. This would raise only $8.2 billion this year. Did we elect Bernie Sanders? The president is also considering ending a provision that allows hedge-fund and private-equity managers to pay lower tax rates. Hallelujah I am 100 percent for this! Currently, hedge fund managers share in the profits of the fund and those profits are taxed as carried interest at 20% rather than the 37% if it were considered as ordinary income. Close that loophole, Mr President. Of course with Scott Bessant and Howard Lutnick in the cabinet, don’t look for a lot of support from them.

Breaking news! 

Behold the power of Trump!

President Trump said earlier he would pardon Pete Rose for his federal tax crimes and “be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.” The president criticized major league baseball for excluding Rose from Hall of Fame consideration. And now Major League Baseball has announced that Rose is now eligible for the baseball hall of fame along with Shoeless Joe Jackson and others banned for gambling. Why?

Here is what the president tweeted:

Major League Baseball didn’t have the courage or decency to put the late, great, Pete Rose, also known as “Charlie Hustle,” into the Baseball Hall of fame. Now he is dead, will never experience the thrill of being selected, even though he was a FAR BETTER PLAYER than most of those who made it, and can only be named posthumously. WHAT A SHAME! Anyway, over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING. He never betted against himself, or the other team. He had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history. Baseball, which is dying all over the place, should get off its fat, lazy ass, and elect Pete Rose, even though far too late, into the Baseball Hall of Fame!

MLB commissar Rob Manfred stated that “permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”  In a letter to Rose’s attorney, Manfred said that “a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.”

Rose is the all time hits leader in MLB with 4,256 hits. He also played in more games than anyone else. He will be remembered for many things but most of all for the collision with Ray Fosse at home plate in the 1970 all star game fracturing Fosse’s shoulder. In those days, players took the all star game seriously and played to win. Rose said “nobody told me they changed it to girls’ softball between third and home.” Now home plate collisions have been banned and I wonder what Rose would say about the NFL all star game now being flag football? 

But this is the age of Trump, right? After announcing the purging of DEI across America, MLB was worried that they would not be allowed to have the annual Jackie Robinson Day on April 15.Was there a deal done? End the ban of Pete Rose and you can keep Jackie Robinson Day?

Just wondering.

Are you elite?

I have a good friend who is very wealthy yet rants about the elites who are running (and ruining) America. I say to myself “If this guy isn’t an elite, then who is?”. Several years ago a local billionaire approached me to go to the superintendent of schools to advocate for a change in instruction that had proven successful in raising the proficiency of children from poor households. I said to him, why me? You are rich and influential in this town, so why me? He said that he was ignored because he was white and most of the kids affected were black. Does this mean that he wasn’t elite either? So apparently “elite” is not defined by wealth or race. Then how do you define it?

Are politicians elite? Do you consider Maxine Walters, Jasmine Crockett, Jaime Raskin, Chuck Schumer and AOC elite? What about Donald Trump? What about entertainers? Are Ophrah, Robert DeNiro, Tom Cruise and Samuel L. Jackson elite? Or Lebron James? Or Fifty Cent? Or Shaq? What about businessmen Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Steve Forbes or Jeff Bezos? What about grifters like Al Sharpton, Ibram X. Kendi, or Robin DiAngelo? Or intellectuals like Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Andrea Ghez or Gene Fama? Or religious elites like the Dalai Lama and the Pope. What about Franklin Graham or Joel Osteen? Does being a Nobel Laureate qualify – with the exception of Ben Bernanke, Paul Klugman and Al Gore?  If any of them are elite then what makes them so?

Do you define elite by wealth? By fame? By notoriety? Is it power? By race? Is it prestige?  Some may say it’s the haves versus the have nots. But that is clearly false. It seems to be more the haves versus the haves. Do you have to be in power to be elite? That can’t be the case, because aren’t there elites who are currently out of power or do you fall from elite status when you are out of power?

It seems to me that the division of elite versus the nonelite is a Marxist concept. Recall the workers versus the capitalists? The bourgeoisie versus the proletariat? The elite versus the nonelite? One writer says “Elites, loosely defined, are anyone who is in the small minority of wealth, power, and prestige in the nation, who have influence or control over the structures that govern a country.” Well that definition is so riddled with holes to make it almost useless. Obviously, elite status changes and one can be elite today and not elite tomorrow. See Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Does this mean that a political elite ceases eliteness when out of office? What about the economic elites? Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are clearly elites. But why? Is it their wealth? Then are the Waltons, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Mike Bloomberg elite? What about the cultural elites like DeNiro, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Usher? Is Snoop Dogg elite? Then there are the sports elites like Lebron, Tiger, Messi, Ronaldo, Nadal, Kipchoge and Ohtani. What about the environmental elites like Al Gore and Greta Thunberg? Are they elites?

Is eliteness defined by who you are or what you do or who you were? Are you elite by birth (like King Charles) or by achievement like Jonny Kim. Who? Jonny Kim is an American NASA astronaut, who has an MD from Harvard’s medical school, a PhD from MIT, a member of SEAL team 3 with a Silver and a Bronze star, a naval officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, a combat medic and sniper. Very few people have heard of him. So do you have to be famous to be elite? Are Russian oligarchs elite? Those who attend the World Economic Forum at Davos are called elites. But even at Davos, the elites are classified by the color of their badges. The most elites get a white badge with a hologram on it, giving them access to everywhere. I don’t know if anything of substance has ever come from Davos. I think that the global “elites” just like the lavish parties and seeing who has the spiffiest private jet or helicopter. And what about the Bilderberg group meeting in St. Moritz with 100 of the world’s most powerful “elites” who have been denounced as engaging in “sopra-national and non-transparent governance” – whatever that means. One observer said “this kind of gathering of powerful people of the globalized world goes against our principles of sovereignty.” Does this mean that these 100 have been running the world and we just didn’t know it? These meetings began in 1954 and are more exclusive than Davos. So is the Davos crowd really elite?

Yet clearly there are elites in the world. But how do you define it? I think a workable definition is akin to Justice Potter Stewart who in describing obscenity said “I know it when I see it.”

No toys for you!

What happens if we start seeing empty shelves in the stores? Eighty percent of our toys are made in China. Walking through Walmart looking for a new jigsaw puzzle, I was amazed at all the toys. Walmart sells over 1,000 different brands of toys. What will the shelves look like in a couple of months? Will they be empty or will they just be higher priced? With tariffs on China over 100% how much of that price will Walmart pass on to its customers? Well the president in his infinite wisdom sees the empty shelves as a good thing. All US ports have seen a sharp drop in shipping volumes. Trump was ecstatic saying “That means we lose less money. When you say it (shipping traffic) slowed down, that’s a good thing.” Commenting on the deficit with China, the president said “Frankly if we didn’t do business we would’ve been better off.” 

Trump still loves tariffs and says “They’re a beautiful thing for us. It’s going to make us very rich. And we’ll be paying off debt, we’ll be lowering your taxes very substantially because so much money will be taken in that we’ll be able to lower your taxes even beyond the tax cut that you’re going to be getting.” Of course, he is delusional – but who with any input has the guts to tell him? Is this a Saturday Night Live skit or has Boris Badenov sprayed the president with goof gas?

Contrary to the president’s wishes, an electric bicycle company in California is putting the Trump tariff on its price tag. The owner is a republican but he says that he has to keep importing his bikes from China or else he is out of business. So on his floor, he has identical bikes priced differently. The one imported before the tariffs has a lower price tag.

Another bicycle shop – one that you have to pedal – buys components from China and assembles the bikes in the US. The owner said that he once made his own handlebars but the ones from China were just as good and were cheaper. He said that he could buy US made components but his bikes would cost $1,000 rather than $100.

The president just called Fed chair Jay Powell a “fool” for keeping the fed funds target rate steady rather than lowing it. Trump tweeted “Oil and Energy way down, almost all costs (groceries and ‘eggs’) down, virtually NO INFLATION, Tariff Money Pouring Into the U.S. — THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF ‘TOO LATE!’ ENJOY!.” However, inflation was 2.4%, still above the Fed’s target of 2 percent. Trump is miffed by the Brits lowering their bank rate and wants the Fed to follow suit. However, the president of the St Louis Fed, Alberto Musalem who is a member of the Fed’s Open Market Committee, put the blame back on the present saying that the Fed will commit to further interest rate cuts until it is clear whether the Trump’s tariffs lead to persistent inflation or a one-time adjustment in prices. So take that Mr President! Anyway, Trump is making it more difficult for the Fed to cut rates. If and when it does, it will appear to all that the Fed’s independence has been compromised and it is bowing to political pressures. My advice to the president is simple – stop tweeting!

Another impact of Trump’s tariffs is that American corporations are stopping hiring. Polaris says that it is now in recession mode. BTW I have a Polaris 570 ATV and it is a wonderful machine. Highly recommended. Polaris now also makes Indian motorcycles. I had an Indian Scout and loved it. I hated selling it when I went through my end-of-life crisis moving to a three wheel Can Am. Other companies are freezing hiring until the full impact of the tariffs are felt. I know much has been made about 177,000 jobs being added in April, but much of that was in healthcare and finance. Recruiters who help companies find job candidates say hiring has been falling at a steep rate for two months. One company’s revenue from hiring activities is down 50%.

All of this is ominous but Trump seemingly has blinders on. He insists that his 10% tariff is universal and permanent. No matter if we had a surplus with a country. No matter if their tariffs are lower than ours. All will have a 10% tariff. 

But what of the deals? Aren’t there supposed to be 75 or so countries wanting to make a deal? But didn’t Trump just pause his “reciprocal” tariffs for only 90 days? How he can “negotiate” that many deals in so few days will be impossible. Mark Carney, the new Canadian prime minister, just visited the White House and no deal was reached. The White House is doing high fives touting a tariff deal with the UK – a country with which we have a surplus – that amounts to a nothingburger. The 10% tariff is still in place. The Brits will allow the import of some American beef and chicken. But hormone-treated beef and chlorine-washed chicken are still not allowed. The Brits will no longer put a tariff on American ethanol up to 1.4 billion litres (British spelling). This is in effect a quota. The same is true for the US importing of British autos, with the tariff set at 10% until a quota of 100,000 vehicles is reached. This is beyond absurd. Now the tariff on British cars will be lower than the tariffs on American cars made in Canada and in Mexico. Maybe the Americans can shift manufacturing to England. 

Perhaps more importantly to the British is their trade deal with India which significantly lowers both country’s tariffs. Donald Trump is credited with prompting the agreement. In fact, the UK’s deal with India is its third biggest after its agreements with Australia and Japan. Now, the UK has signed trade deals and agreements in principle with about 70 countries and one with the EU. Trump unites the world!

But what about the “negotiations”? One observer says “But so far it is pretty clear that countries coming in and wanting a ‘normal’ trade negotiation with both sides making substantive concessions are being rebuffed.” Apparently the administration is not really negotiating. It seems more like a take it or leave it with the 10% tariff being non-negotiable. Also, can Trump be trusted? Didn’t he just violate his own trade agreement with Canada and Mexico? 

Mom

On this Mothers’ Day we all pay tribute to our mothers. My mother’s reach was well beyond our household. We had to share her with hundreds of her other children. I remember when we were at a luncheon with some Atlanta school officials and the area superintendent had been one of her second graders. He told me that when he once visited her school and addressed her as “Harriet”. Mom immediately scolded him, saying “You are never old enough or big enough to call me “Harriet.” He said that he never made that mistake again. Mom was the first four year graduate of Fort Valley State University. In the school’s tribute to her upon her death, it was noted that she made a contribution to the university from her graduation in 1941 to her death at 101. What was not said was that she did not have the funds to complete her senior year. The university then waived all her costs to have her work in the registrar’s office that last year. Mother never forgot that generosity.

Here is her tribute from her alma mater, Fort Valley State University.

“Harriet Barfield Black, the first Fort Valley State College graduate, died Tuesday, April 14, 2020, following a life highlighted by her steadfast support for Fort Valley State University. The Atlanta resident was 101.

Mrs. Black loved most things passionately. However, her most important loves were (in no particular order) her family, her Atlanta church Friendship Baptist Church, her home church in Gray, Ga – St Paul AME Church, her students over a 52 year career as an educator and her alma mater, Fort Valley State University. She was an avid Wildcat and contributed to Fort Valley every year since her graduation as its first four year student in 1941. She celebrated her 101^st birthday on the Fort Valley campus where she was awarded the key to the city. Mrs. Black had an eidetic memory and could recall the names and personal information of all members of her graduating class of 1941. She loved Fort Valley and attended homecoming games well into her nineties. 

Prior to her death, Mrs. Black became widely known around campus for having made a gift to FVSU every year since 1941, the year she made history by becoming the first student to walk across the stage to receive her bachelor’s degree from FVSC.

Before becoming FVSC’s first graduate, Mrs. Black had earned her teaching certification in 1939 from then Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School only to be called back by the registrar two years later when the State of Georgia designated FVNIS as a college.

After graduating, Mrs. Black would go on to become a second-grade teacher in Atlanta Public Schools, a role she treasured. She would jokingly tell others she stayed in the post for decades because she never got “promoted” to a higher-grade level. During those years, she helped nurture thousands of students and developed a reputation for being a kind-hearted educator.

Family members recalled a story the perfectly illustrated her impact on her students. In her early days of teaching, students didn’t have access to federally funded lunches and had to bring their lunch from home. One student could only bring one biscuit for lunch, and, at lunchtime, she noticed him embarrassedly holding his lunch bag under his desk and eating his biscuit sheepishly so as not to be seen by the other students. She said nothing to the student, but for one week, she brought a single biscuit for her lunch. She elaborately spread a place setting for herself on her desk, placed her biscuit proudly in full display, and made a big show out of eating it and enjoying it. That show mitigated the student’s embarrassment and helped him feel more confidently part of the class. That was important to her, and why her former students have constantly stopped her, thanked her, and updated her on their life’s progress over the years.

Mrs. Black’s name became so synonymous with consistent alumni giving at Fort Valley State that the FVSU Foundation established a society in her honor. Members of the Harriet Barfield Black Society have made the solemn promise of an annual and ongoing charitable commitment to the University. The first members of the HBBS were installed during homecoming 2008.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Ms. Harriet Barfield Black,” said Fort Valley State President Paul Jones. “Ms. Black was a dear friend to FVSU and represented the spirit, dedication and loyalty that has allowed this institution to endure and prosper for 125 years. We are forever grateful for the outstanding example of service and giving that she provided and the opportunities she created for generations of Wildcats through her generosity.”

For her 101st birthday last year, she made the trip back to her alma mater to personally visit the institution that had empowered her life’s journey. Dozens of family members joined her and the City of Fort Valley, Georgia’s Pro-Tempore Mayor Lemario Brown, an FVSU alum, presented her with a key to the city. To honor her commitment and dedication to the University and others, President Jones declared that day as “Harriet Barfield Black” day on FVSU’s campus and throughout Wildcat Nation.

President Jones ordered the FVSU flags be lowered to half-staff in recognition of Black’s remarkable legacy at this institution and across the nation.”

RIP Mom. I love you.