What has President Trump's time in office done to you, personally?

[Yarddog]

My husband and I won't see any increase as we are now retired and no longer receive wages, but that's okay. Just to see the country be restored to economic stability and more opportunity for everybody will make for a happier society for us too.

We had already seen our country restored to economic stability over the past administration.

 

[Foxfyre]

We had already seen our country restored to economic stability over the past administration.

Sorry but I was in a business that allowed me to review many hundreds of business financials--P&Ls, payroll, gross receipts etc.--during Obama's administration. And I can assure you there was no economic stability. The economy and what it did to people was pathetic under the Obama Administration. More people not working. Far too many people who were working having to do so with reduced hours or multiple part time jobs due to the horrendous taxes disguised as healthcare reform during the Obama administration. Unemployment among black people and Hispanics was stagnant or skyrocketed under Obama. It was coming down the last few years mostly because so many had dropped out of the work force entirely. Household incomes and net worth declined under Obama. Few business start ups and a lot of business closings under Obama.

Unemployment continues to drop under President Trump not because people are dropping out of the work force as was mostly the case under Obama, but because people are going back to work. Unemployment among black people and Hispanics is at the lowest point in U.S. history even though more black people and Hispanics are now working. There are jobs again for many more people who want them. There were 123 million folks in the work force in January 2017 and 126 million in the work force in December 2017. And with corporations bringing their operations and capital back home, it shouldn't be long before anybody who wants a good paying, permanent full time job can get one.

For the life of me, I can't understand why dogmatic leftists are so unwilling to acknowledge and appreciate and feel good about good economic news.

But then I can't understand why they want to destroy the first President we have had in a very long time with the vision, the goals, the objectives and the guts to actually to push things that make things better for just about everybody other than the pure freeloaders. Or why they continue to defend an administration that clearly abused power and had no vision to make things better at all.

 

[Yarddog]

Sorry but I was in a business that allowed me to review many hundreds of business financials--P&Ls, payroll, gross receipts etc.--during Obama's administration. And I can assure you there was no economic stability. The economy and what it did to people was pathetic under the Obama Administration. More people not working. Far too many people who were working having to do so with reduced hours or multiple part time jobs due to the horrendous taxes disguised as healthcare reform during the Obama administration. Unemployment among black people and Hispanics was stagnant or skyrocketed under Obama. It was coming down the last few years mostly because so many had dropped out of the work force entirely. Household incomes and net worth declined under Obama. Few business start ups and a lot of business closings under Obama.

Unemployment continues to drop under President Trump not because people are dropping out of the work force as was mostly the case under Obama, but because people are going back to work. Unemployment among black people and Hispanics is at the lowest point in U.S. history even though more black people and Hispanics are now working. There are jobs again for many more people who want them. There were 123 million folks in the work force in January 2017 and 126 million in the work force in December 2017. And with corporations bringing their operations and capital back home, it shouldn't be long before anybody who wants a good paying, permanent full time job can get one.

For the life of me, I can't understand why dogmatic leftists are so unwilling to acknowledge and appreciate and feel good about good economic news.

But then I can't understand why they want to destroy the first President we have had in a very long time with the vision, the goals, the objectives and the guts to actually to push things that make things better for just about everybody other than the pure freeloaders. Or why they continue to defend an administration that clearly abused power and had no vision to make things better at all.

Sure, there is very little real difference in the economy, today, as 2 years ago.

 

[Foxfyre]

Sure, there is very little real difference in the economy, today, as 2 years ago.

You won't convince me or my friends and neighbors who are now going back to work in good paying, full time permanent jobs who were unable to get those jobs the last years of the Obama administration.

 

[Yarddog]

You won't convince me or my friends and neighbors who are now going back to work in good paying, full time permanent jobs who were unable to get those jobs the last years of the Obama administration.

No one can convince those who are closed minded to reality. Most of the jobs created in the last year are exactly like the jobs created over the past 8 years. Low paying.

Hopefully that will change over the next few years but time will tell.

 

[Root of Jesse]

Well, while I am no fan of Obamacare, it's a bit more complicated than people want to politically make it out to be.

Why did premiums go up? Because after the ACA they were compelled to offer actual meaningful insurance - without any meaningful cost control measures put into place.

People act like the ACA came out of nowhere...or that the goal was simply to get more people insured. While getting more people insured was definitely a goal, there were a lot of other things going on as well. After the ACA you didn't find insurance companies suddenly rescinding your policies once you got sick (happened quite a bit prior to the ACA), you didn't find insurance companies writing policies that covered everything but what actually ailed you, etc. Insurance companies were forced to actually cover you.

But they did very little to actually control cost. Nothing was done about pharma. Blah blah. So, when insurance companies are left with fewer options to actually deny you coverage and actually pay for things - of course cost will go up.

That being said - no - I don't like the effect it's had on my pocketbook. But, I also recognize the causes so I have mixed feelings on it. And it's certainly not my ideal solution.

So...you're forced to pay for coverage that's non-existent. You pay for the privilege of buying insurance, don't get much for the $$$ you pay, then when you need it you pay a huge deductible. Sounds like it was better before.

 

[Root of Jesse]

Two parts - to the answer since there are two questions...lol

As for outsourcing...Let's take a look at Apple. Prior to his death, Steve Jobs said Apple would never move it's manufacturing back to the US. Why? Because simply put - compared to China - America's manufacturing infrastructure was third rate. China (with it's government planned and funded infrastructure coincidentally) beats us hands down.

Don't forget cheaper labor (thanks, union labor!)

For example the iPhone. The manufacturer of the housing is literally right down the street from the manufacturer of the screen, which is literally right down the street from the manufacturer of the next component, etc. He told a story about how they decided last minute to change the material of one of the device screens. Within the day - a prototype of the screen was able to be had, tested, and decided upon. That type of infrastructure simply doesn't exist here.

He wasn't lamenting over how taxes raped his company dry. When asked if taxes even factored in, he scoffed at the idea. It was purely and simply they were heads and shoulders above us - and at lower cost. Not significantly lower cost (I think most estimates are that manufacturing the iPhone domestically would amount to about a $50 increase on what's an otherwise $800-$1000 device) - but lower nonetheless. Without any sort of serious plan to actually "fix up" our manufacturing capacity and infrastructure - why would they come back? And we have no such plan.

Of course he would scoff at the tax structure. He wants US to pay more taxes. Not him.

As for the bonuses, etc...that's a hard one to address. I don't know much about them except for a couple of examples. A couple of them look legit. The WalMart one appears to be a sham...lol If you look closely at the details of their $1000 bonus - apparently it's only available to those that have been with the company for 20+ years. I'd be curious to see considering their turnover rate - just how many people actually received it.

Yeah - I'm cynical about things. lol I see THAT one in specific as a PR move.

I don't know, Walmart is pretty popular. With employees and customers.

So, once again, the proof will be in the pudding. Let's come back to this in a year and see how median wages have fared

 

[Root of Jesse]

What's the argument you're making here? lol

That the right to free speech only exists in public and at home. You don't have the right to free speech at work. Your speech is regulated by your employer.

 

[DZoolander]

So...you're forced to pay for coverage that's non-existent. You pay for the privilege of buying insurance, don't get much for the $$$ you pay, then when you need it you pay a huge deductible. Sounds like it was better before.

Ya mean back in the days when you’d file a claim after years of contiguous coverage, the insurance company would then investigate the original application and discover you forgot to mention you took a medication for acne back in your teen years, and use that omission as a cause to rescind the policy completely?

Or write you a policy with a lifetime cap that barely covered a day in the hospital?

Or write policies specifically excluding anything that actually ailed you?

The ACA didn’t just come out of nowhere and muck up a great system. It was those types of abuses in addition to the number uninsured that has made healthcare reform a priority for well over five decades. Heck - teddy Roosevelt was one of the first to argue for a national health plan lol

 

[Root of Jesse]

No one can convince those who are closed minded to reality. Most of the jobs created in the last year are exactly like the jobs created over the past 8 years. Low paying.

Hopefully that will change over the next few years but time will tell.

No, they're quite different. Of course, most jobs will start by paying low. But they're not part-time jobs anymore. People were taking three-four part time jobs because employers didn't want to account for full time employees. That's changed with the policy decisions the president has made.

 

[Root of Jesse]

Ya mean back in the days when you’d file a claim after years of contiguous coverage, the insurance company would then investigate the original application and discover you forgot to mention you took a medication for acne back in your teen years, and use that omission as a cause to rescind the policy completely?

Or write you a policy with a lifetime cap that barely covered a day in the hospital?

Or write policies specifically excluding anything that actually ailed you?

The ACA didn’t just come out of nowhere and muck up a great system. It was those types of abuses in addition to the number uninsured that has made healthcare reform a priority for well over five decades. Heck - teddy Roosevelt was one of the first to argue for a national health plan lol

Not trying to say there weren't or aren't problems with the insurance industry. Just saying that Obama's way to solve it didn't solve it, and I think it's really on purpose.

People usually go uninsured for a reason. They're young, healthy and don't need a regular insurance to do things like go for checkups and health exams; or they can't afford it because of a pre-existing condition (I know, I was one of those at one time. Funny, though, I found the exact policy from the exact HCP at the exact rate through another means), or something. What should be recommended/required is catastrophic care insurance-for surgeries or whatever. People could pay a Primary Care Physician for annual checkups on their own.

 

[DZoolander]

a huge percent of the population isn’t covered simply because they don’t have the disposable income to pay the exorbitant cost of insurance nowadays.

 

[DZoolander]

Not trying to say there weren't or aren't problems with the insurance industry. Just saying that Obama's way to solve it didn't solve it, and I think it's really on purpose.

People usually go uninsured for a reason. They're young, healthy and don't need a regular insurance to do things like go for checkups and health exams; or they can't afford it because of a pre-existing condition (I know, I was one of those at one time. Funny, though, I found the exact policy from the exact HCP at the exact rate through another means), or something. What should be recommended/required is catastrophic care insurance-for surgeries or whatever. People could pay a Primary Care Physician for annual checkups on their own.

Agreed on a good percentage of that.

My biggest problem with the ACA is that it's a half measure - and half measures often cause more problems than they solve.

I think it's great that more people are covered - I think it's great that they have subsidies to help people afford insurance - etc. At the same time, however, it left the middle class pretty much swinging in the wind. It did nothing to curtail the exorbitant costs that plague our system relative to others (which comprises a good percentage of why insurance is so expensive - I don't blame insurance companies for everything - haha.) So it's a mixed bag.

At some point - we will move kicking and screaming to a single pay system - and we will be the better off for it. Ya know who has the best coverage of all? If you define quality of coverage by access to doctors, availability of care, etc...it's those people who are on government insurance. People on Medicaid and Medicare have far better coverage than any person I know on private insurance - with none of the headaches.

Then the question becomes "how can we afford it? Won't it be drastically more expensive to cover everyone?"

If you look at aggregate medical costs and who's currently paying it - nope. 20% of the population accounts for something like 80% of all medical expenses in this country...and by and large they're already on government insurance. The elderly consume the most as a group - and that's pretty much nearly 100% Medicare. The next largest expense comes from people having babies. As it stands more than 50% of all births are currently covered by Medicaid. When you lump everything together - it's something like 65%-70% of all medical costs are already covered by the taxpayer...so this entire discussion revolving around whether or not we ought keep Blue Cross/Humana/Aetna in business really only accounts for around 30-35% of the remaining total.

So it wouldn't be some increase in cost of multiple factors. It would be like 50% more than we're currently paying anyhow.

...and that's if you just left everything alone and didn't take advantage of things to actually cut costs...like addressing patent reform...using the power of the market to negotiate with big pharma...etc. All of which would be enabled by having a true single pay system.

 

[Paidiske]

Perception is an interesting thing.

*Note: I am in Australia, so how it's affected me personally is at more of a distance*

But how it's affected me personally is that it's created more work for me, pastorally. I've had pastoral conversations with people who have anxiety - to the point of extreme insomnia - over their perception of President Trump, and his personality. They fear war (nuclear war), they fear economic chaos and a growing culture of exploitation of those who are already economically vulnerable, they fear a lack of care for the environment, and they fear the way that (what they perceive as) an incompetent and unstable President might negatively affect the whole world.

And they bring all of that to me, looking for wise counsel. That's not an easy thing to respond to, because from where I'm sitting, a lot of those fears look to have some basis. So it then becomes about how we manage ourselves, how we cultivate resilience and invest in self-care and work together on positive responses, in a time of global anxiety.

So the main affect it's had on me personally is doing an awful lot of work really on basic mental health stuff, which has been triggered or exacerbated by international perception of President Trump.

 

[DZoolander]

Perception is an interesting thing.

*Note: I am in Australia, so how it's affected me personally is at more of a distance*

But how it's affected me personally is that it's created more work for me, pastorally. I've had pastoral conversations with people who have anxiety - to the point of extreme insomnia - over their perception of President Trump, and his personality. They fear war (nuclear war), they fear economic chaos and a growing culture of exploitation of those who are already economically vulnerable, they fear a lack of care for the environment, and they fear the way that (what they perceive as) an incompetent and unstable President might negatively affect the whole world.

And they bring all of that to me, looking for wise counsel. That's not an easy thing to respond to, because from where I'm sitting, a lot of those fears look to have some basis. So it then becomes about how we manage ourselves, how we cultivate resilience and invest in self-care and work together on positive responses, in a time of global anxiety.

So the main affect it's had on me personally is doing an awful lot of work really on basic mental health stuff, which has been triggered or exacerbated by international perception of President Trump.

Well, truly that is kind of the state of things. Now, I do think the whole nuclear war thing is a bit overstated. I don't think that's going to happen - there are enough safeguards in place that I'm not too worried.

But the assessment of Trump as a man - it's pretty accurate. Basically there's a reality that the whole world sees - and then there's about 35% of the American population who due to partisan reasons refuse to see it.

 

[Yarddog]

No, they're quite different. Of course, most jobs will start by paying low. But they're not part-time jobs anymore. People were taking three-four part time jobs because employers didn't count as time employees. That's changed with the policy decisions the president has made.

Well, that is incorrect. The part time job numbers peaked in 2010 with the recession and those numbers have been dropping steadily as full time jobs increased. They continued the same at through 2017 until the end of the year which saw a rise in new part time jobs. It may have been due to seasonal hiring but the numbers under Trump are no better than Obama's but show a continuation.
Hopefully, we will get a better look when the new numbers come in a an effect from the tax cuts reveals itself.

 

[Buckeyefor Jesus]

He has helped to push public discourse off the insane cliff it was already headed for.

It seems he has increased the chances of nuclear war somewhat.

I think Trump has been a very good President. As a person he sucks with his hatred/mockery tweets. I voted for him just to keep Hillary out but he has proven to be better. Someone needs to take his tweeter phone away. Throw it in the ocean or somewhere.

 

[Foxfyre]

No one can convince those who are closed minded to reality. Most of the jobs created in the last year are exactly like the jobs created over the past 8 years. Low paying.

Hopefully that will change over the next few years but time will tell.

That is not the experience of those I personally know.

 

[Yarddog]

That is not the experience of those I personally know.

There may be a small percentage which have felt what you say but most who believe that things are better are feeling that euphoria from a new administration which they embrace and not from what has actually happened. At least yet.

Employment numbers are a continuation of the past 7 years. Stock Market is a continuation with a bump due to investor confidence in a tax cut. etc....

Our standing in the world has taken a huge hit due to Trump's bullying, which most all of the GOP disagrees with him on.

I am one who surely wishes that John Kasich would have gotten the nomination.

 

[Root of Jesse]

a huge percent of the population isn’t covered simply because they don’t have the disposable income to pay the exorbitant cost of insurance nowadays.

Right. Many just don't think they need insurance.