Six on "our" Economy: Coronavirus Wreaks Havoc on Economic Growth Prospects; The Sears Headquarters Deal Cost Taxpayers $500 Million. 30 Years Later, There’s Little to Show for It; No, the Unemployment Rate Did Not Tumble; Strengthen Unions; Kroger s
philip panaritis
Let me know what you like; what you want to see more/less of @ panar...@yahoo.comAnd please don't forget to check out the pertinent images attached to every post
Thanks
"The World Bank published its latest Global Economic Prospects report on Monday, providing us with another glimpse of the expected economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to its revised forecasts, the global economy will shrink by 5.2 percent this year, which would mark the deepest recession since World War II.
|
|
“This is a deeply sobering outlook, with the crisis likely to leave long-lasting scars and pose major global challenges,” said World Bank Group Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, who urged the global community to “unite to find ways to rebuild as robust a recovery as possible to prevent more people from falling into poverty and unemployment.”
While countries with high case and death counts and those relying heavily on tourism, global trade and commodity exports are expected to be hit hardest by the pandemic, this is a truly global crisis affecting more countries than any other economic downturn since 1870, according to the World Bank. As our chart shows, the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak is expected to be severe across the globe, with no regions spared. Compared to its January 2020 projection, the World Bank revised its global growth estimate by 7.7 percentage points, with the Euro Area and Brazil suffering the biggest hit to their economic growth prospects."
|
|
|
|
"As police brutality rages in the streets, President Trump can’t run on ending “American carnage.” He can’t run on criminal justice reform. He can’t run on winning back America’s respect in the world, or having completed his promised wall.
So he’s running on the economy. Even though the United States recently notched the worst economic numbers since the Great Depression.
“I built the greatest economy in the World, the best the U.S. has ever had,” he tweeted Sunday, echoing similar superlative claims he and his aides have been making for several months. “I am doing it again!”
This statement is so wrong on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to start.
Yes, the economy was doing well before the pandemic tipped us into recession in February. But it was not, by any stretch, “the best the U.S. has ever had” (or “the strongest economy we had ever seen,” as White House adviser Kevin Hassett declared last month).
This is a myth that the White House has created and that journalists seem reluctant or unprepared to challenge.
The truth is that before the novel coronavirus hobbled much of the economy, the United States experienced a continuation of pretty much the same solid-but-unspectacular trends in hiring and output growth inherited from Trump’s predecessor. Economic growth rates under Trump’s pre-pandemic tenure were almost exactly equal to the average pace of growth from Barack Obama’s second term."
Opinion | Trump is running on the economy without a plan to rebuild it
|
Since Kroger's announcement, more than 75,000 people in the United States have died. Three times in the last week, daily fatalities in the United States have exceeded 2,000 people.
Among the dead are Kroger employees. On April 11, "Kroger sent out a statement that four Kroger employees at different locations in metro Detroit had died." Across the country, dozens of grocery store workers have died, and thousands have tested positive.
Now, as workers continue to put their lives on the line, Kroger has told its workers that their "hero pay" will end this Sunday, May 17. A Kroger employee in Oregon shared their thoughts on the decision with Popular Information:
We're all pretty mad. How can you mandate we all wear masks but reduce our pay? I have to have my temperature checked every morning but they're going to reduce our pay? We're making this company crazy money right now and they acknowledged what were doing is dangerous but they're still going to reduce our pay? Doesn't make sense.
Kroger defended the decision in a statement to Popular Information. "The temporary Hero Bonus is scheduled to end in mid-May. In the coming months, we know that our associates’ needs will continue to evolve and change as we all work together to gradually and safely reopen the economy," Keith Dailey, Kroger’s group vice president of corporate affairs, said.
Kroger spends hundreds of thousands on TV ads "thanking" its associates
As Kroger quietly phases out its pay increase for associates, it continues to run a national TV ad "thanking" its associates.
|
To our Kroger Associates:
For the long hours and late nights.
For the miles traveled and the shelves restocked.
For making a difference in our customers' lives.
For doing so much more than your job.
Everyone at the Kroger family of brands and our customers say, "Thank you."
In a time when daily life feels a bit uncertain, your hard work is keeping America fed.
Kroger's $12 million man
In a Youtube video posted last Thursday, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen expresses empathy for the pressures imposed on Kroger's workforce. "Tough times like these can cause increased anxiety and stress. For our associates, we have services available… And you can also help by being kind to each other. You may not know what someone else is going through. But kindness and a smile are easy to give, even when you have a mask on." McMullen said.
As CEO, however, McMullen is paid not in kindness but in cash, stock, and options. In 2018, the most recent data available, McMullen received total compensation of $12,037,872. According to the company's SEC filing, the median Kroger employee was paid $24,912. That means the ratio of McMullen's pay to the average employee was 483 to 1.
Although the details of McMullen's 2020 compensation plan are not yet available, much of it is "performance-based." In prior years, one of McMullen's performance metrics was "Reduction in Operating Cost as a Percentage of Sales, without fuel." So by ending the "hero bonus" for hourly employees, McMullen may be increasing his own salary."
|
