ga-va Top Story: Businesses Are Getting Crushed ‘Beneath the Surface’ of Economy, New Figures Show
Day: January 9, 2024
Top Commentary: American Society Has Been Turned Upside-Down and Our Rendezvous with the Unthinkable Draws Near
New Poll Shows Trump Ahead in Six Battleground States
Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in all six battleground states surveyed for a 2024 hypothetical matchup, according to a Monday poll.
Trump beat Biden in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida anywhere from 1 to 11 points, according to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was also on the ballot for the six swing states polled, receiving his largest margins in North Carolina and Arizona.
Read MoreGroups Behind Seattle Highway Blockade Allegedly Tied to Terrorism, Major Left-Wing Money
An activist group with alleged ties to Palestinian terrorists and an organization backed by major left-wing nonprofits blocked a Washington state highway for hours over the weekend to demand a ceasefire amid the ongoing conflict in Israel.
Read MoreTSNN Featured: ACLU Calls Ohio Governor’s Ban of Trans Surgeries for Minors ‘Dangerous’
Almost a Quarter of All Jobs Added in 2023 Didn’t Actually Exist
The original number of jobs reported by the federal government in 2023 was revised down by a total of 749,000 jobs, meaning nearly one-fourth of jobs thought to be created in the year were not actually there, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) analyzed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The sum of the initial estimate from each of the government’s monthly job growth reports in 2023 totaled 3,140,000 new jobs, with later reports revising down the number of jobs added by a collective 443,000, according to the BLS. The BLS also announced in August a revision in total employment for March, subtracting another 306,000 jobs.
Read MoreVirginia Department of Education Creates Behavioral Health and Wellness Office as Youngkin Seeks Additional $500 Million in Budget
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) created its new Office of Behavioral Health and Wellness on Friday, and the agency explained it will operate using resources made available by the Right Help, Right Now program created at the behest of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) last year.
A press release from the Virginia agency explained the new office seeks to “address the unprecedented rise in mental health and behavioral challenges facing Virginia students post pandemic” with what one spokesman called “wraparound services” to keep students emotionally capable of learning in school.
Read MoreCommentary: American Society Has Been Turned Upside-Down and Our Rendezvous with the Unthinkable Draws Near
In the last six months, we have borne witness to many iconic moments evidencing the collapse of American culture.
The signs are everywhere and cover the gamut of politics, the economy, education, social life, popular culture, foreign policy, and the military. These symptoms of decay share common themes.
Read MoreCommentary: The Immediacy of the PRC Threat Requires Shift from a Focus on Land Power to Maritime Power
One of the biggest news stories coming out of Asia for the New Year was the alleged purge of senior People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers, most notably the former PRC Minister of Defense Li Shangfu who went missing in late August 2023 and was formally removed from his position in October. This so-called purge, which also included three senior defense industry officials, was in fact the result of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) annual announcement of the new slate of delegates for the upcoming Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body of the PRC’s annual National People’s Congress (NPC), that is held each year, usually in early March.
Read MoreBusinesses Are Getting Crushed ‘Beneath the Surface’ of Economy, New Figures Show
In recent years, mid-sized companies between $100 million and $750 million in yearly revenue have been increasingly struggling compared to large businesses, taking the brunt of poor economic conditions and high interest rates, according to asset manager Marblegate.
From 2019 to the end of 2022, mid-sized companies had a 24 percent drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) compared to public companies, which had their earnings rise 18 percent, according to a study by Marblegate acquired by Axios. The discrepancy between large and midsized companies is in part due to the increased cost of credit for smaller businesses, which are more affected by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, with the federal funds rate currently being placed in a range of 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent, the highest point in 22 years.
Read MoreCommentary: An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century
Beginning April 1, the minimum wage for employees working in California’s fast food chains and health care industries will rise to $20 per hour and, in some cases, up to $23 per hour. Many employers managing independent restaurants, retail, and other industries will have to match the higher hourly rate to retain employees. And for hourly employees whose wages are indexed to the minimum wage, mostly in California’s unionized public sector, wages will rise proportionately.
There is no national consensus on the impact of minimum-wage laws. It is part of a much larger debate over what constitutes an optimal economic environment to enable, quoting from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “economic security and independence.”
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