Trump’s tax cuts trickle down, workers’ wages go up, but Labor is looking the other way
Quack like a state! Rick Gladstone, The New York Times, July 24:
(The Group of 77) has chosen the observer state of Palestine as its next leader … (Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad) Mansour said. “We walk like a state. We quack like a state. Therefore, we are a state.”
Quackers about quakes! Unitedwithisrael.org, July 30:
Following a series of low-magnitude earthquakes … (a deputy) of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Kamal Al-Khatib … (said), “(It) cannot be ruled out that the occupation is responsible for actions that could cause such earthquakes with the aim of destroying Al-Aqsa and (claiming) … it was the result of a natural disaster” … Greek Orthodox Archbishop in Jerusalem … Atallah Hanna … (said) “What is happening is part of a dangerous ongoing plot aimed at harming the holy site of Al-Aqsa … The artificial earthquakes that we hear about every day are a prelude to the bigger quake that will hit Al-Aqsa and other … religious monuments in … Jerusalem.”
He’s dreaming! Michael Hiltzik, the Los Angeles Times, May 19 last year:
If Trump thinks he can get more than 3 per cent economic growth, he’s dreaming.
So? No trickle down! Hiltzik, the Los Angeles Times, July 27:
As one might expect, President Trump was crowing Friday about … (growth of) 4.1 per cent … Bloomberg called the figure a “Win for Trump”. CNBC reported “Trump triumphant”. Um, not so fast, guys … a 4.1 per cent annualised growth rate isn’t only not “amazing”, it’s not even particularly remarkable … (and) there’s no evidence that the Republican (company) tax cuts enacted in December have trickled down to the average American.
No trickle down? Harry Torry, The Wall Street Journal, July 31:
US workers received their biggest pay increases in nearly a decade over the 12 months through June, a sign the strong labour market is boosting wages as employers compete for scarcer workers.
No trickle down! Labor MP Jim Chalmers, ABC’s Q&A, July 30:
What we saw on the weekend was … a repudiation of trickle-down economics … people feel like everything is going up except wages … they see the Prime Minister … saying that the highest priority … is to give a company tax cut … (but that won’t give you) bottom-up economic growth.
No trickle down? Liz Peek, The Hill, July 31:
Economist Andrew Chamberlain … (said,) “With unemployment hovering around historic (18-year) lows … Many lower-paying roles are seeing strong pay gains … retail key holder (4.9 per cent), security officer (4.7 per cent) … bank teller (8.1 per cent)” … Blue-collar workers in numerous slots did well; truck drivers saw pay go up 7 per cent.
Ian Verrender, abc.net.au, July 30:
Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood … (said) quality, independent journalism under the new Nine leadership would “not just survive but thrive”.
Quality thrives! Clementine Ford, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 30:
The fashion world says pubic hair is back …
More thriving! Stephanie Darling, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 31:
Khloe Kardashian thinks about having a nose job every single day … For years I thought about having a nose job too — not every day but fairly frequently.