Dear Commons Community,

The recent economic news from the large department store chains has not been good. Companies like Sears, Macys, and Kohls have announced large numbers of store closings over the next year.

Amazon, on the otherhand, announced yesterday that it plans to add 100,000 new jobs around the country.  As reported by The Huffington Post:

“The online retailer said the positions would include all types of jobs, including engineers, software developers and customer service reps, as well as warehouse workers ― in its growing distribution network. The positions would be full-time and come with standard benefits and health care, as opposed to the temp jobs Amazon is known for in the runup to the holidays.

Although the company didn’t give an estimated breakdown of those 100,000 jobs, it’s likely most of them would be in the fulfillment centers where workers busily pick, pack and ship orders out to Amazon customers. Glassdoor, a site that tracks salaries based on worker input, pegs the average pay for a fulfillment associate at $12.33 per hour.

Amazon used to have its fulfillment centers clustered in certain states for tax advantages, but it’s expanded rapidly to new areas in recent years in order to speed up delivery and dominate the market. The company has opened seven new fulfillment centers in Texas alone since 2013.

But when Amazon adds new positions, it shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a clear net gain for the job market in general. After all, the company and other online-only retailers have helped bury plenty of brick-and-mortar chains and mom-and-pop stores along the way, and they will continue to do so. Many Amazon positions are essentially replacing retail jobs that are having a harder time surviving as buyers bargain hunt online.   

Amazon’s annual revenue recently topped $100 billion per year. The company dominated online sales during the holidays, accounting for more than a third of web sales in November and December. CNBC attributed a lot of those sales to Amazon’s offer of one- and two-hour delivery in certain markets, allowing last-minutes shoppers to still buy gifts in time for the holiday.”

It is incredible to see how successful this company has become since Jeff Bezos launched the business out of his garage in 1994.  After years of undercutting other retailers by selling products at a loss, funneling its customers into its super-convenient Prime service and ― essentially ― perfecting the art of online retail, Amazon is now synonymous with online shopping itself.

Congratulations, Amazon!

Tony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Zo8vHOgaM

Dear Commons Community,

Last night, President Barack Obama gave his farewell speech to the nation.  While he spoke eloquently of American democracy and especially its smooth transition of government, one of the most noteworthy moments came when he asked the audience to applaud Donald Trump.

“In ten days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy,” Obama said — referencing Trump’s coming inauguration.

President Obama then proceeded to convince the audience  to cheer for the incoming president and his administration,  as he championed the “the peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected president to the next.”

The juxtaposition turned the tone of the crowd, and led Obama into an address about the importance of members of opposing parties supporting each other in order to support the American people.

“I committed to President-Elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me,” he continued. “Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.”

The crowd clapped and cheered in agreement with the president.

A class act!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Various new media are reporting that Donald Trump’s pick for director of strategic communications for the National Security Council is facing new allegations of plagiarism.

Politico Magazine reports Crowley allegedly plagiarized several passages in her Ph.D. dissertation submitted in 2000 while she attended Columbia University.  The report follows revelations by CNN that Crowley may have plagiarized portions of her 2012 book.

The examination from the Politico Magazine found more than a dozen instances where text was either lifted with little to no changes, improperly attributed to the original source, or not attributed at all.Politico Magazine’s examination includes side-by-side comparisons of text found in portions of Crowley’s dissertation.

Both Columbia University and the professor who advised Crowley declined to comment to Politico Magazine about the plagiarism allegations.

An investigation by CNN’s KFile published Saturday first revealed over 50 examples in Crowley’s 2012 New York Times bestseller that appear to have been lifted verbatim from a variety of columnists, think tanks, and Wikipedia.

Crowley has a history of plagiarism allegations dating back several years, according to Slate. The publication points to an editorial feature Crowley wrote for The Wall Street Journal in 1999 that was found to have borne “striking similarities in phraseology” to a 1988 article by Paul Johnson in Commentary magazine.

The Journal said in an editor’s note published after the fact: “[h]ad we known of the parallels, we would not have published the article.”

Despite the allegations, Trump’s transition team said it continues to support Crowley’s appointment.

“Any attempt to discredit Monica is nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country,” a member of Trump’s transition team told CNN.

Columbia University should review Crowley’s dissertation and rescind it if it finds deliberate and extensive plagiarism.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The New York Times editorial today raises serious questions about the confirmation hearings set for Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, citing  reports in the Wall Street Journal that her and her husband are indirect investors in Social Finance Inc., a private company that refinances student loans. There are also concerns about other conflicts among her family investments in over 250 companies. The full editorial appears below.

 Tony

==========================

Big Worries About Betsy DeVos

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Jan. 10, 2017

The director of the Office of Government Ethics, the nonpartisan agency charged with vetting the financial disclosures of cabinet nominees for potential conflicts of interest, sent an extraordinary letter to Senate Democratic leaders late last week. Never in the four-decade history of the agency, he wrote, have ethics officials felt such “undue pressure … to rush through these important reviews,” leaving “some of the nominees with potentially unknown or unresolved ethics issues shortly before their scheduled hearings.”

As the Senate races forward with confirmation hearings this week, the spottiest disclosures have come from wealthy private-sector nominees with no governing experience and many potential conflicts. In other words, the people most in need of a complete ethics review.

Exhibit A is Betsy DeVos, a billionaire and education lobbyist who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary. Ms. DeVos’s finances are a tangle that could take weeks to investigate. Despite that, Republicans had set her confirmation hearing for Wednesday. But late Monday night, they pushed it back to next Tuesday.

People who have seen her financial disclosures so far say that Ms. DeVos and her husband, Dick DeVos, have investments in some 250 companies registered to a single Grand Rapids, Mich., address, entities whose investments could take weeks for the ethics office to research. Already, though, there are reports that the DeVoses are indirect investors in Social Finance Inc., a private company that refinances student loans. Private lenders like Social Finance are banned from most of the direct student lending market; their lobbyists have already written to the Trump transition team pitching to change that. That’s only one potential conflict. What if her family has holdings in educational technology or for-profit colleges? Given time, the ethics office will learn this, and reach an agreement with Ms. DeVos to sell off assets that could pose a conflict.

Beyond erasing concerns about her many possible financial conflicts, Ms. DeVos also faces a big challenge in explaining the damage she’s done to public education in her home state, Michigan. She has poured money into charter schools advocacy, winning legislative changes that have reduced oversight and accountability. About 80 percent of the charter schools in Michigan are operated by for-profit companies, far higher than anywhere else. She has also argued for shutting down Detroit public schools, with the system turned over to charters or taxpayer money given out as vouchers for private schools. In that city, charter schools often perform no better than traditional schools, and sometimes worse.

Mr. Trump has at times displayed breathtaking ignorance about the powers and basic function of government. Many on his transition team are new to government service as well. But the Senate, and people advising him, including Reince Priebus, his chief of staff, have no excuse.

Mr. Trump’s nominees will need only a simple majority vote to be confirmed. So what’s the hurry? Republicans seem worried that the more time the Senate has to examine some of these nominees’ backgrounds, the more chance a Republican or three could break ranks. Maybe they’re afraid of Mr. Trump’s ire, should any of his picks generate red flags. That’s backward thinking, of course: The potential for conflicts is more reason, not less, to take the time needed for thorough vetting, and the only route to a responsible vote.

Dear Commons Community,

Entertainers last night at the 74th annual Golden Globes used their platforms to trash Donald Trump. Meryl Streep was especially effective when she said that Trump’s behavior toward people with disabilities and immigrants “sank its hooks into my heart” and she slammed what she called Trump’s “instinct to humiliate.” She asked for a “principled press to hold Trump accountable and to call him out “for every outrage.” Her comments were met with applause, tears and support by her fellow actors in the audience. Actor Chris Pine called her speech the “best message of tonight.”

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, speculates this morning on what a Donald Trump presidency is going to look like and what it is going to do to Washington, D.C.  Here is an excerpt from her column:

“President Donald J. Trump will walk into the Oval Office and be stunned.

First, it will be a shock to work in an office decorated with images of men other than himself. Second, he is bound to be suffused with awe as he looks around at the Remington bronze bronco, the Rockwell “Statue of Liberty,” the portraits of Washington and Lincoln, the Swedish ivy on the mantel that has eavesdropped— on so much history.

The new president will suddenly realize that Joe Biden is right. He needs to grow up. Chuck Schumer is right. He has to stop nonsense-tweeting and name-calling. John

McCain is right. He needs to stop fawning over Vladimir Putin, his B.F.F. whose eyes flash “K.G.B.”

Donald Trump will, at long last, assume a mantle of dignity.

NOT!

The capital has never been more anxious about its own government. The town is suffering pre-traumatic stress disorder. This guy is really going to be president.

Finally, there is bipartisan consensus: It’s time to flip out. Decades after duck-and-cover was a way of life, people here are once more in duck-and-cover mode. No one knows what is going to happen, but they know it will be utter chaos and that the old familiar ways have vaporized…

…But those in Washington like Mike Pence, Reince Priebus and Paul Ryan who think they can manipulate him might be in for a surprise.

IT WON’T HAPPEN!”

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

There have been a number of controversies over who would be performing at Donald Trump’s Inauguration on January 20^th.  Many invited performers have declined the invitation.  However after a week of speculation, the president of Talladega College,  Billy C. Hawkins, announced yesterday that his decision for the school’s marching band to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration stands.  As reported in The Washington Times and other media:

“The president of Alabama’s oldest private historically black college announced that the decision for the school’s marching band to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration will stand despite several days of backlash.

The Talladega Marching Tornadoes initially accepted an invitation this week to march in the parade at the Jan. 20 event, but a surge of backlash caused Talladega College President Billy C. Hawkins to reconsider the performance.

Talladega College, Alabama’s oldest private historically black liberal arts college, was founded in 1867 by the descendants of the slaves who helped to build its first building, according to the college’s website. Shirley Ferrill, a 1974 graduate of the school, launched a Change.org petition calling on the band to withdraw from Mr. Trump’s inauguration because of the president-elect’s “behavior and comments” that she said run contrary to the school’s mission.

“We have a reputation of fighting for freedom and equal rights and justice and he doesn’t stand for any of that,” Ms. Ferrill told CNN.

As of this morning, her petition had more than 2,500 signatures.

Mr. Hawkins said he did not rush to accept the invitation to perform at the inauguration because he wanted to “hear and consider the thoughts and feelings of the Talladega College community,” CNN reported.

He made his final decision in a statement saying the “lessons students can learn from this experience cannot be taught in a classroom.”

“We respect and appreciate how our students and alumni feel about our participation in this parade,” Mr. Hawkins said. “As many of those who chose to participate in the parade have said, we feel the inauguration of a new president is not a political event but a civil ceremony celebrating the transfer of power.”

A petition supporting Talladega College’s decision to perform had 590 signatures as of this morning.”

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced yesterday the filing of a bill that would require people in government buildings and in public schools to use the bathroom that corresponds with their “biological sex.”  The bill is similar to one that caused a political uproar in North Carolina and led to widespread boycotts there by companies, entertainers, sports events and gay rights groups, which said the bill discriminated against transgender people who use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Mr. Patrick played down the potential economic fallout for Texas and denied that the bill, which has been in the works for months, was discriminatory.  As reported by the New York Times:

“We know it’s going to be a tough fight,” Mr. Patrick told reporters at the Texas Capitol. “The forces of fear and misinformation will pull out all the stops, both in Texas and nationally. But we know we’re on the right side of the issue, and we’re on the right side of history.”

Democratic lawmakers, civil rights groups, gay and transgender rights activists, and the state’s most influential business lobby, the Texas Association of Business, swiftly condemned the legislation and predicted an economic blow to Texas if it passed.

“If it’s like H.B. 2 in North Carolina, it’s discriminatory, and it’s bad for business,” said Chris Wallace, the president of the business association, adding that the bill was likely to discourage corporate relocations to Texas and stop potential workers, particularly millennials, from coming. “We do not want our state to have an unwelcoming brand to future workers.”

Mr. Wallace said his organization would “fully engage” in an effort to block the measure in the Texas Legislature, which starts its 140-day session on Tuesday. A study commissioned by the business group found that North Carolina-style bills on bathroom access and other, similar measures could result in an economic loss in Texas ranging from $964 million to $8.5 billion, including the loss of up to 185,000 jobs.”

The movement of this bill through the Texas legislature will be followed carefully and will raise the same alarms as a similar bill did in North Carolina.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Yesterday, the New York Times and other media speculated on Hillary Clinton considering a run for mayor of New York City pitting her against Democratic incumbent, Bill de Blasio.  This is not likely to happen.  Here is an excerpt from the Times article:

“From political circles in New York City to cocktail parties on Capitol Hill, on right-of-center Facebook pages and among left-of-center donors, two of the biggest untethered threads in NewYork politics are being drawn together around a single question.

Would Hillary Clinton run for mayor?

The prospect has an obvious, novelistic allure: A run for mayor of New York this year would pit Mrs. Clinton against Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat who managed her Senate campaign in 2000, and, should she win, would put her in charge of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s hometown, ensuring years of potential clashes between bitter rivals.

The question has gained momentum in the weeks since Mrs. Clinton lost to Mr. Trump, a Republican. It began quietly at first, then grew louder among the conservative media outlets and pundits who hold her and Mr. de Blasio in disdain.

While the answer would almost certainly be no, supporters of Mrs. Clinton and former members of her staff appear to have been happy to let the speculation spread from closed-door gatherings of donors and allies, where it has been discussed among the many hypothetical future jobs Ms. Clinton might pursue, to more public forums.”

It would be a terrible mistake on her part.  She has to figure out a way to re-enter the political arena gracefully after her loss to Donald Trump.  The “kick-in-the-shins” politics of New York City is the not the place to do it.  

Tony