And workers believed candidate Donald Trump when he pledged to stop corporations from exporting American factories. Workers cast votes based on Trump swearing he would end the trade cheating that kills American jobs.
This week, though, workers got bad news from Washington, D.C. President Trump proposed virtually eliminating funding for a Labor Department bureau that helps prevent U.S. workers from having to compete with forced and child labor overseas. In addition, the administration issued only vague objectives for renegotiating the job-killing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Wall Street, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and right-wing Republicans are ganging up again this week against consumers who want to hold financial institutions that rip them off accountable.
The target this time is a rule issued this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that is designed to restore the ability bank and credit card customers, as individuals or as a group, to take a financial dispute to court.
“Our new rule will restore the ability of groups of people to file or join group lawsuits. In some cases, not only will companies have to provide relief, they will also have to change their behavior moving forward,” said a statement issued by the agency. “People who would otherwise have to go it alone or give up, will be able to join with others to pursue justice and some remedy for their harm.”
However, unsurprisingly, it took less than a day for the guardians of Wall Street profiteering to attack the rule. They are the same people – like Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in the Senate and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, in the House – who are working to either get rid of the CFPB entirely or render it toothless.
Here at the Alliance for American Manufacturing, we live every week like it’s Made in America Week.
But the official Made in America Week is currently happening, and President Trump has a whole host of activities lined up to celebrate.
The fun kicked off on Monday at the White House with the “Made in America Product Showcase,” which highlighted an American company from every state. On Wednesday, the president is scheduled to participate in a “Made in America certification event,” and on Thursday, the president is planning a “Made in America announcement.” Things wrap up Saturday in Norfolk, Va., where Trump will attend the commissioning of the Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 aircraft carrier.
But almost as soon as he announced Made in America week, Trump was criticized for not practicing what he preaches. Multiple news outlets have pointed out that many Trump brand products are made overseas, and frankly, some of that criticism is deserved. Here’s the Washington Post:
“For Trump, highlighting U.S.-made products is inconsistent with his practices as a businessman. For years, the Trump organization has outsourced much of its product manufacturing, relying on a global network of factories in a dozen countries — including Bangladesh, China and Mexico — to make its clothing, home décor pieces and other items.”
Sears is fading. Fast. The 124-year-old retailer — the place where all America once shopped — is tumbling into a shopping horror.
Sears store in Springdale, OH, 1967. Photo credit: Flickr / CC
At some Sears stores, recent news accounts report, ceilings are collapsing, rats are racing, and toilets aren’t working “for weeks on end.” Job cutbacks and a decade of under-investment have left store shelves bare — and customers on their own.
“You could fire a cannon in any direction and not hit one salesperson,” Michael Looney, a former Sears employee in California, recently toldBusiness Insider.
Lampert’s Way
Meanwhile, the hedge-fund billionaire who’s been running Sears the last dozen years is keeping up a brave front. Eddie Lampert is sticking to his story that Sears is wondrously transforming itself into a “member”-oriented retailer for the online age.
Candidate Trump made a lot of promises about what he called America's "failed trade policies." But is President Trump keeping his word? Yes, no — and maybe? Host Scott Paul and the Alliance for American Manufacturing's Scott Boos take a deep dive.
Wall Street, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and right-wing Republicans are ganging up again this week against consumers who want to hold financial institutions that rip them off accountable.
