The number of employed Americans has broken eight records since President Trump took office, but on the not-so-sunny side, the number of Americans not in the labor force also keeps increasing, breaking six records since Trump took office in January 2017.
Last month, a record 95,745,000 Americans were counted as “not in the labor force,” meaning they are not employed and are not seeking a job, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statics. “This category includes retired persons, students, those taking care of children or other family members, and others who are neither working nor seeking work,” BLS said.
With record numbers of people not in the labor force, the labor force participation rate has remained stubbornly low in recent years.
In April, only 62.8 percent of the non-institutionalized, civilian population over the age of 16 was either working or actively looking for work. This compares with an all-time high of 67.3 percent in the first four months of 2000.
In a March 2018 report, the Congressional Budget Office noted that a lower labor force participation rate is associated with lower gross domestic product and lower tax revenues. It is also associated with larger federal outlays, because people who are not in the labor force are more likely to enroll in federal benefit programs, including Social Security.
This past January, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the labor force participation rate will continue to decline over the next 30 years from the current 62.8 percent to 61.0 percent in 2027 and to 59.2 percent in 2047.
According to that report, “The continued retirement of the baby-boom generation is the most important factor driving down the overall participation rate.” The first Baby Boomers — people born between 1946 and 1964 — turned 65 in 2011.
CBO has identified three factors pushing down the participation rate, and three factors pushing it up in future years, as follows:
On the downside:
— First, younger workers who are replacing Baby Boomers in the labor force tend to participate in the labor force at lower rates.
— Second, the share of people receiving disability insurance benefits is generally projected to continue increasing, and people who receive such benefits are less likely to participate in the labor force.
— Third, the marriage rate is projected to continue declining, especially among men, and unmarried men tend to participate in the labor force at lower rates than married men.
On the upside:
— First, the population is becoming more educated, and workers with more education tend to participate in the labor force at higher rates than do people with less education.
— Second, the racial and ethnic composition of the population is changing in ways that increase participation in the labor force. CBO expects Hispanics to make up an increasing share of the population, which would increase the overall labor force participation rate, and it expects non-Hispanic whites to make up a diminishing share, which would decrease the participation rate — resulting, on net, in an increase.
— Third, increasing longevity is expected to lead people to work longer.
Ethiopia Demands UK Return Pillaged Treasure Taken 150 Years Ago (DEBATE)
Ethiopia is calling for the return of valuable artefacts plundered by British forces 150 years ago. The East African treasures are currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The country has demanded that all of the looted antiquities be sent back to Ethiopia on a permanent basis, refusing an offer of a long-term loan by the V&A Museum.
Among the treasures are a gold crown and chalice seized by British forces during the Battle of Maqdala in 1868 after troops ransacked the fortress of Emperor Tewodros II. The items were sold to raise money for the British military and were first exhibited in 1872.
The V&A announced in February it was staging an exhibition with the looted treasure, reigniting the diplomatic row. Addis Ababa first requested the artefacts back in 2007, according to Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism Hirut Woldemariam.
Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), says the exhibition was organized in consultation with the Ethiopian community in London and remains “committed to continuing the important and wide-ranging dialogue with colleagues at the Ethiopian Embassy in London.”
The issue remains a bone of contention between the two nations, as commentators from both sides outlined to RT.
British broadcaster Jon Gaunt pointed to Iraq and Syria where antiquities have been looted by ISIS, suggesting unstable nations like Ethiopia can not be tasked with looking after their own treasures.
This argument was refuted by Ethiopian political commentator Awol Allo, blasting it as “condescending” and a “colonial narrative.” Allo said people should be able to visit Ethiopia and see the national treasures there.
Selected Comments:
I would punch that brit right between its beard and his eyes. These are thief eyes, on what ground is UK entitled to keep stolen goods. Oh, it was 200 years ago, but as everybody know stolen goods are still stolen, even after 2000 years, so they should be returned with apologies.
The British looted & stolen many things from Poor countries around the world & now they must return to the real owners.
The British museums would be empty if they decide to gave back artefacts. What about all the Great British Countryside Mansions paid for by African Slaves blood.
So, would Britain feel the same way if Ethiopia had important looted British historical artifacts on display in an Ethiopian museum? I think not. Looted history should be returned to the owners when at all possible. Theft is theft..time does not turn a theft into a legal transfer by virtue of the thief managing to hold onto it for a few generations.
Shame on the British Empire! An ancient Christian Empire looted of its Royal regalia by a professed Christian State. They even stripped the crowns from the bodies of the Emperors in their burial vault. How would the British have felt if a group of marauding Ethiopians exhumed the body of Queen Victoria and stripped the rings from her fingers? Send the loot back now!
Unless the British create ISIS in Ethiopia in the near future, there is no terrorist in Ethiopia. Ethiopian is a peaceful country. Just give the item back without any excuse …
I have a theory the U.K. wants to put Zera Yacob, Crown Prince and heir to Haile Selassie on the Ethiopian throne. He was educated at Eton. Presumably they will then return the regalia. All part of the U.K. elite’s plan to reassert control over the Horn of Africa. Al Shabaab will fulfill a similar role in Somalia. British Empire Mk ll.
Do Non-Muslims Have the Right to Hold Elected Public Office Or Not?
In Iran, which is 90-95 per cent Shia Muslim, the passing of a date set for a decision over whether a non-Muslim can hold an elected public office is significant for the country’s religious minorities and their rights.
The date, April 5, passed without that decision being made for a Zoroastrian voted onto his city council. After Sepanta Niknam was elected last year in Yazd, an historic city in central Iran with many ancient Zoroastrian sites, a losing Muslim conservative candidate protested, on the grounds that a non-Muslim should not be elected over a Muslim. Niknam, who had already served a four-year term as Councillor, received three times as many votes as Ali Asghar Bargheri, who came 45th.
Following Bagheri’s complaint, in September 2017, a few months after the election, the Guardian Council appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei suspended Niknam’s position on the theological grounds that a non-Muslim should not rule over a Muslim. (The non-elected Guardian Council determines if the laws passed by the Parliament are in line with Sharia).
“Sepanta’s suspension from a position he was democratically elected for highlights an emerging battle over the right of Iran’s religious minorities to run for office,” Mansour Borji of Article 18, a London-based advocacy organisation, told World Watch Monitor. “Sepanta was voted for by Muslims and non-Muslims alike and won against a candidate openly backed by the country’s ultra-conservative elite. This vividly illustrates the fact that the majority of Iranians do not share the same discriminatory values as those of the ruling clergy.”
Sepanta Niknam was elected to the City Council of Yazd, an historic city in central Iran with many ancient Zoroastrian sites, for the 4th time. (World Watch Monitor)
Sepanta Niknam was elected to the City Council of Yazd, an historic city in central Iran with many ancient Zoroastrian sites, for the 4th time. (World Watch Monitor)
Iranians – Muslim and non-Muslim – took to social media to express their disdain for the suspension. Then, after the Head of the Parliament and President also expressed their opposition to the suspension, the matter was referred to the Expediency Council, an independent body created by the Supreme Leader to reconcile the Guardian Council and Parliament if they face deadlock.
In October 2017, Niknam had to take six months’ authorised leave of absence, during which the Expediency Council was to deliver its ruling. According to Borji, the Expediency Council is trying to delay until the issue is forgotten.
In April 2017, Ahmad Jannati, a conservative cleric and senior member of the Guardian Council, said religious minorities should not be allowed to stand as candidates at all, since this violated the wishes of the Islamic Republic’s founding father, Ruhollah Khomeini.
In October 1979, at the very beginning of Iran’s Revolution, Khomeini said candidates should “first of all be Muslims… Second, they should believe in our movement. They should be trustworthy and sincere in their faith”.
Jannati said that, as it was against Khomeini’s wishes for non-Muslims to rule, it was “therefore against the tenets of Sharia [Islamic law]”.
Borji says that the reinstatement of Niknam’s position is unlikely. “Today, Sepanta’s fight for reinstatement is a fight against religious discrimination and against the lack of respect for people’s vote and their choices,” he said.
Niknam recently took to Twitter to say that he did not want an exception to be made for him. “I proclaim here that until this issue is resolved for all religious minorities, I will not return to the [City] Council,” he wrote, in Farsi. “I will only go back to the Yazd Council if the law permitting religious minorities to be elected is reaffirmed by the Expediency Council. If this is not going to be principally dealt with, and this issue is only resolved for me personally, and the problem remains for minorities in future elections, I will not attend the Council meetings.”
Founder Of One Of The Largest Children’s Charities In The World, Arrested For Pedophilia
World Renowned Humanitarian Peter Dalglish Arrested on Suspicion of Pedophilia
In what is becoming an all too familiar story, another charity worker has been arrested in connection with child sexual abuse.
On April 8th, world renown Canadian humanitarian Peter Dalglish was arrested in Nepal on suspicion of pedophilia.
Police in Nepal have arrested Peter Dalglish, a high-profile Canadian humanitarian worker with connections to Halifax.
Newsweek is among media sources saying the arrest is in relation to a child sex investigation.
The 60-year-old man is in custody where police are questioning him.
Peter Dalglish, a high-profile Canadian humanitarian worker with connections to Halifax, has been arrested in Nepal in connection with a child sex investigation. (File photo)
The Department of Global Affairs in Ottawa has confirmed that a Canadian national has been arrested and detained in the country, but has offered few details.
Dalglish made a name for himself 30 years ago when he worked to help starving children in Ethiopia, which led to stints with the United Nations in Africa and in the Middle East.
He also helped found the charity, Street Kids International.
His efforts centered on the poor and children affected by war.
Dalglish spent a lot of time in the Maritimes over the years and was closely associated with Dalhousie University, where he earned a law degree.
In 2008, his alma mater awarded him an honorary degree for “his visionary work helping children around the world.”
Last year, Dalglish was appointed to the Order of Canada for his efforts to alleviate child poverty worldwide.
According to media reports in Nepal, including the Kathmandu Post, police had been watching Dalglish’s activities for the past several weeks.
Nepal is also where Nova Scotia businessman Fenwick MacIntosh is serving a prison sentence for his conviction for sexually assaulting children.
