Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Taking stock of the political, economic and social fabric as we kick off 2024

Opinion

American flag
Chalermpon Poungpeth/EyeEm/Getty Images

Corbin is professor emeritus of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa.

Before we get too far into the new year, let’s review the immediate past, present and future of America’s political, economic and social fabric.

Despite predictions of a recession in 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Wall Street Journal: 1) Federal Reserve actions brought inflation down from 9.1 percent in 2022 to 3.1 percent, 2) 2023 annualized growth averaged around 3 percent, 3) new business startups came at a record pace, 4) the unemployment rate fell below 4 percent and 5) the typical middle-income households had higher earnings, more wealth and more purchasing power than before the pandemic.


Research reveals four economic measures paid off handsomely for Americans: the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the $1.75 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the $1.2 trillion Inflation Reduction Act and the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act. The economic reward includes the American economy producing more goods and services (up 2.6 percent); wage gains outpaced inflation and will be even more significant in 2024.

Last year also witnessed: a declining crime rate, U.S. carbon emissions falling below 2007 numbers and all three major stock indexes soared dramatically, boosting the retirement savings of more than 150 million Americans. For the first time in decades, people could earn around 5 percent from their savings and money market accounts, which increased the financial well-being of tens of millions of people. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 30-31, 2023)

We’re witnessing a boom in cleaner energy, and the cost of metals used to make batteries will continue to remain low in 2024. Additionally, strong oil production growth in North America and increasing global refining capacity will keep gasoline prices down in 2024.

While the U.S. debt ceiling was raised by Congress on June 3, 2023, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives has only passed seven of the 12 appropriation bills they promised to approve in the fall. National debt remains a critical problem; it grew $8.2 trillion (40.43 percent increase) during Donald Trump’s presidency and $1.8 trillion (6.33 percent) since Joe Biden has been in the White House.

CRINK is the new acronym patriotic and democracy-loving Americans should remember: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. CRINK shows no signs of easing up on cyberattacks or inundating Americans with disinformation, misinformation, social media propaganda, artificial intelligence interference and fake political ads in 2024, similar to the 2016 presidential election. CRINK’s implicit and explicit war against Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel and the United States – to name a few targets – will continue. A strong president who opposes CRINK dictators versus honoring their autocratic leaders is paramount.

As the Supreme Court goes back into session, 5, all Americans hope the justices will decide: 1) what presidential immunity means, 2) what defines interfering with the counting of electoral votes, 3) whether states control the election process, 4) if a president is an “official” of the government (Section 3 of the 14th Amendment), 5) whether Trump engaged in reelection activities or presidential duties when he did nothing for 187 minutes during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and 6) if the Jan. 6 attack was a normal tourist visit or an insurrection.

While the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Pew Research Center polling shows 62 percent of Americans support pro-choice rights. Along with women’s right to reproductive health decisions, immigration reform will also – implicitly – be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Bipartisan deals on immigration have eluded lawmakers and presidents for three decades. Knowing Congress is so divided and the asylum law is complicated, politicians will most likely kick the can down the road and claim the 300,000/month migrant issue will be settled on Nov. 5. Common sense tells us otherwise. For the record: Trump only had 517 immigration judges on the bench in 2020 and Biden increased that total by 42 percent (734 judges).

There are 8.75 million indigenous Native Americans and Alaska Natives in the United. Since the remaining 98 percent of Americans are descendants of an immigrant family, it is ironic – and a sad state of affairs – when the benefits of immigration are questioned and our elected delegates can’t resolve the issue.

Finally, after Nov. 5, Americans will know whether they remain in a democracy or have reverted to living in a populist authoritarian dictatorship.

Issues to be resolved – a multitude were not identified in this op-ed -- are plentiful. Ready or not, 2024, here we are.

Read More

An Independent Voter's Perspective on Current Political Divides
a person wearing a jacket
Photo by Brett Kunsch on Unsplash

An Independent Voter's Perspective on Current Political Divides

In the column, "Is Donald Trump Right?", Fulcrum Executive Editor, Hugo Balta, wrote:

For millions of Americans, President Trump’s second term isn’t a threat to democracy—it’s the fulfillment of a promise they believe was long overdue.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump's Policies: A Threat to Farmers and American Values
green farm heavy equipment on green field
Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash

Trump's Policies: A Threat to Farmers and American Values

In the column, "Is Donald Trump Right?", Fulcrum Executive Editor, Hugo Balta, wrote:

For millions of Americans, President Trump’s second term isn’t a threat to democracy—it’s the fulfillment of a promise they believe was long overdue.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump’s Different ‘Big’ Government

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the White House after stepping off Marine One on the South Lawn on October 05, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Tasos Katopodis

Trump’s Different ‘Big’ Government

When Trump assumed the presidency again, one of his stated aims was to make the government smaller, whether by getting rid of federal employees, cutting "unnecessary" allocated funds and grants, or limiting the scope of the government's work.

So on the one hand, Trump and his MAGA allies are very anti-federal, traditional, big government. And Trump has, through his executive orders and DOGE, stopped much of the work that the federal government has done or has funded for decades—work that supports people in their right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and the common good. (See my post, "Trump's Destruction of Government.") It is the culmination of Ronald Reagan's mantra: Government is not the solution; government is the problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
How Billionaires Are Rewriting History and Democracy
Getty Images, SvetaZi

How Billionaires Are Rewriting History and Democracy

In the Gilded Age of the millionaire, wealth signified ownership. The titans of old built railroads, monopolized oil, and bought their indulgences in yachts, mansions, and eventually, sports teams. A franchise was the crown jewel: a visible, glamorous token of success. But that era is over. Today’s billionaires, those who tower, not with millions but with unimaginable billions, find sports teams and other baubles beneath them. For this new aristocracy, the true prize is authorship of History (with a capital “H”) itself.

Once you pass a certain threshold of wealth, it seems, mere possessions no longer thrill. At the billionaire’s scale, you wake up in the morning searching for something grand enough to justify your own existence, something commensurate with your supposed singularly historical importance. To buy a team or build another mansion is routine, played, trite. To reshape the very framework of society—now that is a worthy stimulus. That is the game. And increasingly, billionaires are playing it.

Keep ReadingShow less