Trump Administration More Incompetent Than Originally Thought
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, December 1, 2020
The more we progressed into this utterly incompetent and anti-American administration, the more I became convinced that the true extent of the damages done by the actions of this President and his maladministration will not be evident until at least a year, or two – or perhaps more – into the successive administration.
And, it just goes to prove my long-held point, that GOPers, now known as “the Party of Trump,” and formerly known as “Republics” (if those assholes can call Democrats “Democrat” instead of “Democratic” when referring to the party, then Republicans can be called “Republic,” or “Republics.” After all, turn about’s fair play) are hell-bent upon tearing down and destroying practically every vestige of government, all in the name of “efficiency,” or whatever they want to call it.
And remember: It was originally Ronald Reagan, who in his first Inaugural Address flatly stated that “government is the problem.” Of course, one needn’t be a rocket surgeon or a brain scientist to figure out that, if X is the problem, then the elimination of X is the solution to the problem. And in this case, “government” was the problem.
And so, Robin Hood and his band of merry men set of to rob and steal, to tear down and destroy as much of the system as they possibly could, all in the name of “liberty,” and “efficiency.” Passing tax cuts along to the wealthy, and doing little-to-nothing for the poor.
Destroy the monetary distribution system associated with funding various government programs – not all of which were social programs – and turn them all into “block grants” (blocks of money) and allow the states to play with them as they will to their hearts’ desire, all in the name of “efficiency.” And then, allow them to set up whatever freaky-deaky program and arcane asinine rules they want to associate with it. In other words, pervert it to the extent that it no longer looks like it once did, and is only a mere spectre of a program, and a mockery of the law that made it.
The Republic Party and its members haven’t done a goddamn thing to BUILD UP this country, and have ONLY worked like hell to tear it down, bit-by-bit, piece-by-piece.
They’re still straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, and still champing at the bit to privatize Social Security. They almost privatized the U.S. Postal Service under the maladministration of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was actively aiding and abetting the destruction of the mail delivery system specifically in order to thwart the election, and throw it to the POS45 campaign. Fortunately, his treasonously corrupt efforts were caught in time, and stopped.
America was brought to the brink of destruction by this malignant misleader.
Fortunately, our Constitution works! And come January, we will have an entirely new administration and President – one of whom we can be proud!
And a parting thought: Since when did inexperience become a valued quality in regard to governmental service – as if someone with LITERALLY NO EXPERIENCE whatsoever is somehow qualified to be the Chief Executive? NO ONE in their right mind would imagine even for a moment that some moron picked up from off the street could run Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Apple Computer, Ford Motor Company, or any other multi-million dollar business. So why would anyone think for a moment that someone with LITERALLY NO EXPERIENCE OF ANY KIND at any level in public service, either appointed, or elected, would have any ability to govern? Seriously! Why?
And that, my friends, is what we have had for the past 4 years – an utterly incompetent, and clueless boob.
A government watchdog says the Labor Department has been releasing flawed data — and finds that most states underpaid jobless Americans
- The Labor Department reported false counts of week-to-week jobless-benefits claims, and several states underpaid unemployed Americans through a key economic relief program, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.
- Inconsistent state data, claims backlogs, and potential fraud in the benefits system resulted in “flawed week-to-week comparisons” of jobless-claims data, the government watchdog said.
- Average weekly payments through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program fell below the poverty line in 29 of the 41 states reporting data, the agency added. While some states made minimum payments first and plan to back pay remaining totals, it’s unclear when the process can be completed.
- The GAO’s report signals the virus’ economic fallout may be greater than first thought and that most states aren’t paying out the immediate relief allocated by Congress.
The Labor Department’s weekly tally of unemployment-insurance filings has reflected inaccurate data throughout the pandemic, and jobless Americans are being underpaid through the benefits program, the Government Accountability Office said Monday.
The historic number of unemployed Americans applying for benefits has skewed weekly claims figures for months, the government watchdog said in its report. Inconsistent state data, claims backlogs, and potential fraud in the benefits system has resulted in “flawed week-to-week comparisons of total claims numbers,” the GAO added.
Additionally, a program meant to provide benefits to workers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic has been underpaying recipients in most states, the GAO said. Some states paid minimum amounts first and aim to back pay the rest of recipients’ claims once new tax information is taken into account. Still, average weekly payments through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program in September fell below the poverty line in 29 of 41 states reporting data, the GAO said.
“The expiration of supplemental payments for UI claimants may mean that some households’ income no longer exceeds poverty guidelines,” the watchdog said. “In addition, with the scheduled expiration of certain CARES Act benefits in December 2020, PUA claimants who remain unemployed may face additional hardship.”
The report details dire missteps in tallying and paying unemployed Americans as the coronavirus crisis rages on. Cases continue to soar higher in the US, and economic indicators suggest the pace of recovery has weakened through the fall as states reinstate partial lockdowns.
About 9.1 million people were receiving PUA benefits in the week that ended November 7, more than the number of those receiving regular state benefits. That’s up from about 8.7 million in the week that ended October 31.
The GAO’s finding that most states have been underpaying PUA recipients signals millions of Americans have endured the pandemic recession with less government aid than allocated by Congress.
PUA and an extension to regular benefits are slated to expire at the end of the year, further endangering those left jobless throughout the downturn. Congress reconvened on Monday for a brief session in which it could pass new fiscal support.
Both President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have backed large-scale stimulus packages, but legislators remain worlds apart with respect to the price tag. Senate Republicans led by Sen. Mitch McConnell have pushed a $500 billion funding package, but House Democrats continue to back the $2.2 trillion HEROES Act they passed in October.
Even as the GAO warns of claim backlogs, jobless benefits remain elevated. Claims for unemployment benefits in the week that ended November 21 totaled 778,000, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The reading exceeded the economist estimate of 730,000 and marked the first back-to-back jump in claims since July.
Though weekly claims counts are down significantly from the March high of nearly 7 million, they’re still well above the 665,000 seen during the worst week of the Great Recession.
To be sure, the GAO said repeated counting of Americans who filed several claims might have resulted in some inflated counts. The agency recommended the Labor Department note in its weekly filings report that the figures “do not accurately estimate” the number of unique Americans claiming benefits. The GAO also recommended the department “pursue options” that more accurately track the number of Americans receiving benefits.
The Labor Department agreed with the former recommendation and partially agreed with the latter. The department disagreed that it should retroactively report the number of distinct people claiming unemployment-insurance benefits, in part because state programs could face challenges in updating its reporting requirements. Still, the GAO said the department should attempt to revise its prior reports “because they are vital to understanding how many individuals are receiving UI benefits.”
“Without an accurate accounting of the number of individuals who are relying on UI and PUA benefits in as close to real-time as possible, policy makers may be challenged to respond to the crisis at hand,” the watchdog said.
Warm Southern Breeze 
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