© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Bill Owens: Confounding And Confusing Events 5/10/211

Prime Minister Netanyahu has failed to form a government which opens the door to the opposition to take a crack at forming a government potentially ending Mr. Netanyahu’s long running stint as Prime Minister.  Three prior attempts by the opposition at forming a government, of course, have failed, and so how this turns out is truly an unknown.  Obviously, this will have great impact on Israel, but also the entire Middle East if this does result in the end of Mr. Netanyahu’s reign, and of course, could have dire consequences for him in his current court proceeding.  The Middle East never ceases to surprise.

Canada’s trade returned to a deficit in March after two months of positive trade balances.  It appears that exports to the US fell, while imports from the US increased, while Canada also had an overall deficit in world trade.  The border opening has been delayed to at least May 21st, and likely that will go on for some time, as it does not appear that Canada is moving with the same speed as the US has in the vaccination process, although I suspect that they will have a greater level of compliance in the near future than the US has, which will shift the burden back to the US relative to the reopening of the border.  I find it ironic that Congresswoman Stefanik pushes for the border opening, while at the same time supporting anti-vaccine groups, a strange bit of logic there. 

The Republican caucus vote scheduled for next week likely will result in Ms. Stefanik being elected the Caucus chair for the Republicans, placing her 3rd in the chain of command (late word is the vote likely will be postponed).  This opens up enormous opportunities for her and certainly could have significant bearing for the district if the Republicans take back the House.  The likelihood is, even if that were to occur, that the Republicans would not collect sixty seats in the Senate, thus, leaving them in the same position as Democrats currently unless they decide that it is in their best interest to blow down the filibuster rule, which will be interesting to see whether they will do that or not, given their current opposition.  It is also equally unlikely that Republicans will get a veto proof majority in either of the Houses of Congress, which then places them in a position where even though they can stop President Biden’s agenda, they can’t institute their own, which will be a completely different experience for most Republicans currently in Congress.

Wall Street now is in a significantly different investor position than it has been in many years, if ever.  The number of individuals owning shares on Wall Street is at an all-time high, which seems to coincide with the assent of the major indexes.  It is also interesting to note that these individual investors are borrowing on the margin so that they can increase their bets on various stocks.  Obviously, we have seen what happens in the past when the stock market begins to move in the other direction, and there is a margin call where individuals have to step up and support their account, and in many instances, they can’t, which tends to accelerate the downward fall of the market. 

Republicans are complaining about Joe Biden not being by-partisan. McConnell said in 2008, he would make Obama a 1-term President and carried through by obstructing everything Obama proposed – I was there and experienced it.  He was wrong. Now McConnell says he is 100% against President Biden. Maybe President Biden is a pretty clever guy, he knows Mitch and friends have no interest in helping the country and just got the proof. Will Mitch be wrong again, if you are a hard-working American patriot, you better hope he is because you’re the one Mitch will hammer.

Apple News reported that a young boy of 4, ordered nearly $3,000 worth of Sponge Bob popsicles on his mom’s Amazon account.  The young man who is a big fan of the cartoon, Sponge Bob, and obviously, surprised his family by spending $2,618.85 on 918 popsicles from the on-line superstore.  This raises a whole host of issues and conclusions.  The first is, this young man obviously is very bright to be able to go on and work his way through his mother’s Amazon account; second, apparently, how easy it is for children to do this which raises the specter of many more interesting purchases; and third, is there a way to put controls on your Amazon account to prevent your children or others from placing orders.

A friend recently recommended that I listen to a pod cast by Frank Luntz, who is a renown Republican pollster.  It appears that his polling indicates that the obsession with Mr. Trump will likely lead to the inability of Republicans in the House and Senate to retake those bodies in the 2022 election.  This is certainly an interesting conclusion that he has reached.  I am not sure that I completely follow the logic of that given the results we recently saw in Texas with regard to the only person in that special election opposing Mr. Trump, and the impact that it has had on Liz Cheney.  This is the kind of polling that I would love to be able to analyze below the top line to see what questions were asked, where the people were from, etc.  It is certainly good news for Democrats and goes against historical precedents. 

The Wall Street Journal recently had an article entitled “Millions are Unemployed.  Why Can’t Companies Find Workers?”.  The reasons given in the article were, fear of getting COVID, lack of child care, and enhanced unemployment benefits.  When you listen to business people speak on the issue, they blame it almost exclusively on the enhanced unemployment benefits.  I do not know if any polling has been done to determine which of the factors has the greatest bearing, but even if 40% are impacted by the enhanced unemployment benefits, that means 60% are impacted by the other two criteria. These all make logical sense, and one way to reduce the lack of child care would be for the schools to reopen on a full-time basis, whether or not that resolves the entire issue, is not likely, but I suspect it would be a substantial number of people who would then have a greater ability and likelihood of returning to work. 

A few short notes: fewer jobs were filled last week; Governor Hogan of Maryland says the Republicans are creating a circular firing squad over Trump fealty.

Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

Related Content