Month: April 2019

This past weekend I noticed an obit in the Wall Street Journal. This was unusual for me as I never read obits in the WSJ. However, this one attracted my attention as the name on the obit was very unusual, and there was a sketch of the deceased, a dapper-looking young black gentleman with a stylish long beard and a collared shirt buttoned all the way to the top. His name was Ermias Joseph Asghedom. His father was an immigrant from Eritrea, and his mother was black American. He was born in L.A. and was raised in the Crenshaw neighborhood in South Los Angeles. As a teenager he joined the local Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang, and for the most part he stayed in his “scruffy Hyde Park neighborhood” in South Los Angeles. On 3/31/19, he was fatally shot outside a clothing store in South Los Angeles. He was 33 years old. 

At this point he sounds like just one of the many unfortunates who never escaped the ghetto, and really never had much of a chance. But why was his obit in the Wall Street Journal when on most days an obit like this would not even have made the L.A. Times? 
Would it help if I told you that his other name was Nipsey Hussle? If this helps you, then you are much more into rap music than I ! At this point I was still NAC (not a clue!), but then I read his complete obit.

According to the obit, he was a very successful Grammy-nominated rapper who supplemented his music career by trying to revitalize his neighborhood. Instead of leaving South L.A., he bought real estate and opened up stores and created jobs. He said that his music was partly about how to succeed as a young black entrepreneur. He had invested in an organization, Vector90, which provided workspaces and training in science and technology. He had hoped to provide a bridge between Silicon Valley and the inner city.
His death at an early age is full of ironies: His life was ended outside his Marathon Clothing store in Hyde Park . . . a store that he opened in an attempt to revitalize that neighborhood. In one of his songs, he said, “I’m from where homicide boosts the economy.” A trilogy of his recordings was titled “Bullets Ain’t Got No Name.” On April 1, the day after he was shot, he was scheduled to meet with the L.A. Police Commissioner to talk about ways he could help stop gang violence and help kids. And finally, he recently tweeted, ”Having strong enemies is a blessing.”

Wow, what a guy! His death is a big loss to the Hyde Park area and to the multiple inner city kids that live there. It would be a fitting tribute to Ermias Joseph Asghedom, if other black rappers would follow his example. Will any of them step-up ?

With all the falderal about the money for the border wall, I do not believe that I have heard any comments about what’s best for the migrants who are making the onerous journey north from Honduras. Have Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, or any of the uber Democratic liberals in Congress ever been to Honduras? I doubt it, and I also would bet that only a few could find Honduras on a map. I would be astonished if any of them can spell or pronounce the name of Honduras’ capital city, and would be amazed if any had flown into San Pedro Sula or into the capital, Tegucigalpa – the two largest cities in Honduras. Furthermore, I am close to 100% certain that none of the know-it-all politicians have ventured into the back country hinterlands of Honduras, where the poorest of the poor actually live. How can they be so certain that the gospel that they are preaching is indeed what’s best for the Honduran congregation? The answer is quite simple   . . . they don’t know what’s best for them, and furthermore they do not care! It’s all about politics and cozying up to their base, most of which also know zero about Honduras!

Likewise, how many of those politicians, who like to hear themselves talk on T.V., have read Enrique’s Journey? It is a true story about a teenager who makes the dangerous trip from Tegucigalpa to the U.S., so that he can be reunited with his mother who is working for a well to do family in the Los Angeles area and sending most of her earnings back to her family in Honduras. For those of you who are not planning on reading Enrique’s Journey, let’s just say that things do not work out well for the teenager, who has no job skills and cannot speak English. Does anyone think that these unaccompanied minors (teenagers) and the scores of young adult men who make the trek from Central America will have a happier ending than Enrique? 

Among these migrants are there those who would qualify as true refugees? Absolutely, and those applying for true refugee status should do so in their own country, either in the northeast, San Pedro, or in the southwest, Tegucigalpa. For them to make the long journey to the U.S.- Mexico border and to then apply for refugee status only after arriving is cruel and makes no sense.

Unfortunately, poverty is a worldwide problem. Is it a problem in Honduras? Absolutely! What is the solution for those individuals who are trapped in the grips of the poverty in their own country. In my opinion, there is no easy way out for the poor living in Honduras, or anyplace else for that matter. The only feasible answer would involve some sort of sponsorship program in the U.S – sponsorship of a poor family by individuals or church groups. In this sort of program the sponsor would assume responsibility for the housing and the economic survival of the recipient family for years and perhaps indefinitely. Those recipients would not have a path to citizenship, could not vote, and would not be eligible for any of the social programs in the U.S. (food stamps, Medicare, social security, etc.), as all of the responsibility would fall to the sponsors. I would be extremely interested to actually see if any liberal individuals or groups would step-up to the plate and actually help. Chuck, Nancy, you are both extremely affluent. Would each of you sponsor a family? Would you step-up ? If both of you would get into this game and put your money where your mouth is, think of all of good that would follow. You could hit a home run, and potentially make it to the World Series.

But back to reality. In my opinion, the best chance for the future is to invest in the education of the Honduran children. If these children can receive a good education, they have a chance to escape to a better life . . . mostly still within the borders of their own country. Call me an optimist or call me a realist, but I firmly believe that this is the best answer for a problem that otherwise has no end in sight.

FYI: I do know how to locate Honduras on a map, and furthermore can pronounce the name of its capital city! I have been to Honduras three times and am planning on going again this summer. BTW: If Chuck or Nancy wish to go with me in July, my response is “welcome aboard!”

This is something that you will not hear about on MSNBC or CNN, and guaranteed that it will not make the front page of either NYT or WaPo. However, consider yourselves fortunate as I am going to explain Labor Force Participation(LFP).
LFP is defined as the percent of the population aged 16 and over working or looking for work. It is important as a gauge of how fast the economy is growing, and whether or not inflation will be generated. The Labor Force Participation (LFP) bottomed out in 2015, and since then it has stabilized at around 63%, defying expectations. According to the Wall Street Journal on 3/25/19, in the past six months the number of people outside the labor force has fallen by one million, the largest decline on record, and probably because the number of job openings and the rising wages have drawn in more workers in their prime working years, 25 – 54 years old. According to economist Ernie Tedeschi of Evercore ISI, the increase in this age group’s labor participation is from workers who had reported disabilities or were discouraged and are now seeking employment. What makes this all the more noteworthy is that this present LFP is running contrary to the predictions of the Labor Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Congressional Budget Office, all of whom had projected a decline mainly due to the aging of the population, as only 20% of Americans 65 or older work or look for work, and this should lower the overall LFP.
Now I realize that some of you are finding this economic drivel boring, but let’s take a step back, and review:

LFP bottomed out in 2015. 

LFP is defying expectations of demographic-driven decline.

LFP is running much better than had been predicted by the experts.

Why is this? Why will MSNBC and CNN not mention Labor Force Participation?

Duh!! It is because the present outstanding LFP is due to the policies of President Trump. While the Democrats have been caterwauling about Russia, etc., etc., Mr. Trump and his team have been doing things to help the economy. Prior to the 2016 election the prior president was talking about the “new normal” of slow economic growth, but oh, how things have changed since Donald Trump was elected. Coincidence? I think not! As an aside I wonder if ex-President Obama ever sits in his new D.C. home, looks at the present economic data including LFP, and considers if he and his policies were wrong! . . . BTW I would not spend too much time giving this serious thought! In the same vein do not hold your breath waiting for any of the vast herd of presidential candidates from the Democratic Party to mention economics, much less LFP, as they appear to have no idea of what the term implies in the real world!

Almost a year ago there was an op-Ed in the New York Times titled “An Urgent Debate for California Republicans: How to Get Back in the Game.” It pointed out that this will be an enormous uphill battle because of the demographics of what we have now in California, namely that 45% of the voters are registered Democrats while only about 25% are Republican. There is a Democratic governor and both U.S. senators are Democrats. The state legislators are overwhelmingly Democrats.”Oy-vey!” Or perhaps, I should say,”ah caramba!” 

Is there any hope? Not if the Republicans continue to use parameters that are based on common sense. John Cox, the Republican who lost last year’s governor’s race, was campaigning on fiscal sanity and respect for the rule of law – both common-sensical, and therefore both losers! My novel idea . . . start a grassroots campaign to persuade our state Democratic lawmakers to institute a soda tax. At this point I am hearing collective oy-vehs , but hear me out. 

First: I have yet to meet a Democrat that does not think that additional taxes are a good idea. 

Second: This tax would hurt those people who drink a lot of soda (low to medium income) not those who prefer Perrier (higher incomes), and Democrats seem to have a penchant for doing things that hurt those who can least afford it. (e.g. recent gas tax!)

Third: An op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last week was talking about the soda-tax and it’s consequences in Philadelphia. As was pointed out this tax disproportionately punished the poor in Philadelphia. Many have attempted to avoid the tax by buying groceries outside of the city limits which has subsequently eliminated about 300 jobs. The combination of these lost jobs and paying more for Coke, etc.has resulted in approximately 59% of Philadelphians now opposing the tax, and those Democrats who initially backed it are nervous about the upcoming elections. 

Perhaps the California voters will see the light and vote the Democrats out when they are paying more not only to drive to the 7-11, but also more to purchase their Big Gulp! If this works, the next grass roots tax that we need to persuade Democrat legislators to propose is a tax on tortillas. Una buena idea, no?