10 hours Ago
Let’s keep the record straight on the basics. We are all for baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. We all want people who merit positions (as long as “merit” is not “code” for not hiring or treating all Americans fairly regardless of their pigmentation).
We all are against waste, fraud, and abuse. We all want peace and prosperity. We all want to be able to provide for our families.
None of the above should be a revelation to anyone over the age of 15. Due to folks being relieved that former President Joe Biden is no longer at the helm, the nation does feel like it is going in a much better direction since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Polls reflect this fact.
The fact that Biden refused to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the Ukrainian-Russian war and Trump merely picked up the phone and got peace talk meetings scheduled in a matter of days is also indicative of just how bad Biden was. Trump deserves “cautious” kudos. Few should doubt that Biden will be remembered as one of the worst presidents ever.
The fact that in mere days Trump closed the border and commenced deporting those who were in the U.S. illegally, when Biden allowed the invasion to continue for his entire term in office, warrants applause for Trump regardless of how easy it was to do.
Removing illegals from the U.S. is huge.
It is also an easy mission. But Trump should be cheered on as this mission continues. These folks who entered America illegally are taking away valuable resources via their access to our entitlements, while adding considerably to the national debt and annual deficits.
But putting thousands of government employees on the unemployment rolls really does not add up. I find it very difficult to see the wisdom in this. Yet it does satisfy the anger many people feel toward the government.
But let us be real. You can eliminate a third of Trump’s cabinet departments – Labor $7.2 billion, Commerce $11.
4 billion, HUD $73.3 billion, Energy $51.9 billion, Small Business Administration $1.
2 billion, and Interior $18.9 billion, which all together equals about $164 billion – and it would not make a dent in our fiscal crisis. It is merely cosmetics and makes for good television.
Discretionary spending, excluding defense, represents just 15% of the entire federal government’s budget. America needs to figure out how to create new jobs, not eliminate jobs. Why? Creating new jobs, having new workers, means America would have more tax revenue, and therefore, potentially fewer people needing federal entitlements to sustain themselves.
To do the opposite would mean less tax revenue. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand this fundamental fact. Governments and companies do have differences – duh.
In corporate America, you cut or reduce the cost of your products or services and your net income rises. Companies thrive on increasing profits. The federal government is different, however.
The federal government survives on its ability to have more and more tax revenue. This tax revenue comes from those who are “WORKING.” Thus, the more jobs created in the public and private sectors the more tax revenue for the federal government.
That is how it has worked, well, forever. We could get tax revenue as part of a sales tax (used by most states) or property tax (used by local governments). What do all the means that governments raising revenue have in common – people working.
Last week the Trump administration stopped the recruitment of our best and brightest Black engineers and scientists at a job fair that has been held annually for 38 years. This action prevented our best and brightest Black young people from even competing for good paying jobs that they are highly qualified for. And all this while the government and private sectors have both had great difficulty recruiting top notch talent.
It is somewhat understandable as the government announced a hiring freeze, but really. Everyone is talking about the dire need for engineers. Maybe it is not a “Black job” to some folks.
The Trump administration compounded this nefarious act by getting the private sector to follow its lead. Most do not have a hiring freeze in place. SpaceX and Booz Allen – two large federal government contractors – also refused to interview Black engineers.
That speaks volumes. This is a true black eye for progress (pun intended), but surely made some descendants of slave owners and likeminded people happy. However, companies like Google and Apple agreed to attend the job fair and will seek to allow Black people to compete for positions.
Thousands of years ago, Jews and Christians learned the golden rule – to treat others like they would like to be treated. Obviously, some have never learned that lesson or rather follow the evil ways of the devil. This puts America on a slippery slope.
It is all about the “math.” By keeping good paying jobs from people, bad folks inadvertently create more poor or borderline poor people which has been a significant contributor to our incessant $37 trillion national debt – as these unfortunate Americans could end up depending on federal entitlements of some kind. It is also a major factor per the federal government’s inability to balance its budget, which just since October 1 is running a deficit of approximately $750 billion.
Our unemployment number in reality is not 4%. The true definition of how working people are doing in America is not via their so-called “unemployment numbers,” but by the Workforce Participation number. It would show that 38% of Americans are not included in the unemployment tally because they are rightfully or wrongfully not part of the workforce participation numbers.
Only 62% of Americans are actually working while contributing to our tax revenue. Improve those numbers and you truly will see a change. But to improve those numbers we cannot “beat” down further the economically marginal people.
And if we resist recruiting, training, creating jobs, and/or hiring more people (in both the public and private sectors) among the 38%, our economy will continue on its unsustainable and dismal financial course. Bad behavior actually hurts those performing “the bad” behavior. After all, there is a God.
Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.
garyfranksphilanthropy.org. (C)2025 Gary Franks.
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