We're starting to understand the chosen last name of the presumed-president-elect, Donald Trump. We know that his original family name was "Drumpf", and it was changed by his grandfather to help with business marketing. "Trump", after all, sounds somewhat better than "Drumpf".
But while we may have thought that "Trump" was a play on the word for the most powerful suit in a card-game, perhaps it is actually short for "Trumpet", since that's the role that The Donald seems to
relish the most. He loves to blow his own horn.
As he did in Indiana last week, claiming to have single-handedly "saved" more than 1000 jobs at the Carrier plant in Indianapolis. The mainstream media showed their eternal devotion to the Trumpet, replaying his words ad infinitum, as if they were actually true. As usual, those claims are slightly true, but largely FALSE.
First, let's do the math. There were about 2100 jobs on the line, as Carrier openly discussed pulling up the stakes and moving to Mexico. After the Trump intervention, there are about 1300 jobs still slated for elimination in the United States, while about 800 have been temporarily left in Indiana. Here's what that equation looks like:
- 2100 scheduled to leave
- 800 staying
- 1300 leaving
- Net Loss of 500 Jobs
Donald Trump failed to "save" 500 jobs at the Carrier plant.
The original company plans to move were not scheduled to be completed until 2019. So we won't know for years whether or not the company actually changed anything, or if they are just negotiating benefits for their company in the post-election political swirling by Trump.
It's been widely reported in the days following "the deal" that Indiana Governor Mike Pence used his unilateral authority to award Carrier with millions of dollars of tax-breaks in order to slow down their moves. And it's been widely speculated that Trump may have promised the company lucrative defense department weapons contracts totalling into the tens of millions, if not billions. But only if they maintain some operations in Indiana.
It's been widely reported in the days following "the deal" that Indiana Governor Mike Pence used his unilateral authority to award Carrier with millions of dollars of tax-breaks in order to slow down their moves. And it's been widely speculated that Trump may have promised the company lucrative defense department weapons contracts totalling into the tens of millions, if not billions. But only if they maintain some operations in Indiana.
Trump played "so tough" with Carrier, didn't he?
The Carrier deal put Sarah Palin and Bernie Sanders
on the same page, both criticizing Trump for doing the wrong thing.
Sarah Palin and Bernie Sanders, politically in unison?
That may be Trump's greatest achievement.
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