>The Hustings News & Notes takes recess for the Independence Day holiday, and returns Monday, July 12.
Strong Labor Market Adds 850,000 Jobs in June – The U.S. economy added 850,000 jobs in June, the strongest increase since August 2020, the Labor Department reported Friday. Under a separate department survey, the unemployment rate rose from 5.8% in May to 5.9% in August, indicating that more people re-entered the job market for the month. The jobs figure exceeded analysts’ expectations for June, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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Trump Organization Charged with Running 15-Year Employee Tax Scheme – Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg appeared in Manhattan court Thursday to plead not-guilty on charges he avoided taxes, The New York Timesreports. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, working with the New York attorney general, said Weisselberg should have reported perks worth $1.7 million as income. The Trump Organization is charged with providing such perks as apartment leases, private schools for employees’ children and grandchildren, and luxury cars without paying taxes on them. One standout perk is a fleet of leased Mercedes-Benz vehicles the Trump Organization allegedly handed out to employees, without paying taxes on them.
Former President Trump has not been charged, although the Manhattan D.A.’s investigation is ongoing, and keep in mind that he did not divest his financial interests, nor place them in a “blind trust” during his four years in office. The Trump Organization is said to be under severe financial pressure already, and the charges are likely to make it nearly impossible for it to raise the finances necessary to keep it afloat.
Note: Then-President Trump was quoted in May 2017 as telling European trade officials that Germany is selling too many cars in the U.S., upsetting the balance of trade. “The Germans are bad, very bad,” Der Spiegel reported he said at the time. “Look at the millions of cars that they sell in the U.S. Terrible. We’re going to stop that.” Which leads to two points: (1) If all of the vehicles that Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen sell in the U.S. are added together, the number is just over one-million per year, not “millions” and (2) Mercedes, BMW and VW all operate factories in the U.S. But was Trump, perhaps, intimating, that the Trump Organization was looking to downgrade its alleged perk fleet to Buicks?
And there should be no surprise that after the indictments were made Trump, according to The Washington Post, released a statement that said, in part, “The political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats, with New York now taking over the assignment, continues. It is dividing our Country like never before! Do people see the Radical Left prosecutors, and what they are trying to do to 75M+++ Voters and Patriots, for what it is?” How are alleged corrupt business practices dividing anything (besides the innocent and the guilty) or in some way casting doubt on those who voted for Trump?
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U.S. Troops Leave Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan – The U.S. military has left its Bagram Air Field northeast of Kabul, closing the center of its operations in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years, accelerating President Biden’s promise to leave the country by September 11. The closed base leaves only the coalition headquarters compound inside Kabul as the U.S. military’s only remaining military outpost, with “several-hundred troops,” The Wall Street Journal says.
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J.D. Vance Enters Ohio Senate Race –Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance has entered an already crowded race for the GOP nomination to replace Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a moderate Republican who will not seek re-election. Making his announcement at a campaign rally in his home town of Middleton, Vance hit on popular conservative themes, including criticism of critical race theory, President Biden’s southern border policies and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Politico reports.
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Global Minimum Tax Approved — A group of 130 nations has agreed to institute a global minimum tax on corporations. CNBC reports that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said when announcing the agreement, “Today’s agreement by 130 countries representing more than 90% of global GDP is a clear sign: the race to the bottom is one step closer to coming to an end.” What the tax rate will be (15% is the number that is often cited) has yet to be announced.
Note: This agreement represents a significant difference between the Trump and Biden approach to international economics. Whereas Team Trump was about imposing tariffs — which actually had negative consequences on American producers and consumers — here is an agreement among countries that should have the consequences of benefit to many.
--Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash