Labor

Over the weekend we noted that the Trump administration was considering changing the U.S. trade deficit calculation to exclude re-exports from the US trade balance, a shift that would make America's trade gap appear even greater than it has been in recent years, potentially making future trade skirmishes and wars with America's export-heavy trade partners far more likely (see "White House May Change Calculation Of US Trade Deficit, Boosting Trade War Odds").

Submitted by Michael Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

I am unsure who first came up with the idea of taxing robots, but the proposal has been embraced by academia, socialists, and in general, the radical Left.

Today, entrepreneur Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, endorsed the idea.

What does Gates want to do with the money collected? Here’s the answer: Flush it down the toilet.

In a Quartz interview, Bill Gates proposes The robot that takes your job should pay taxes.

The manager of the ironically named "I Don't Care" Bar and Grill in Catoosa, Oklahoma is hiring...

http://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php

After firing 12 staff last week for violating his “no call/no show” policy.

http://foxbaltimore.com/embed/news/nation-world/catoosa-restaurant-fires-12-workers-for-not-showing-up-on-day-without-immigrants

Fox Baltimore reports that the workers are without a job after getting fired for skipping work as a show of support for “A Day Without Immigrants.”

Against expectations of a 18.0 print, February's Philly Fed exploded higher to 43.3 - the highest since January 1984. This is a 10-standard-deviation beat, led by a surge in new orders and the workweek, despite a decline in 'hope' and the number of employees.

Everything is Awesome America... especially in Philapdelphia?

For context, that is a 10-sigma event...

But 'hope' declined...

For 60 years the labor force participation rate of 25-54 year old men in America has declined. There are many reasons for this existential decline, but Philly Federal Reserve President Pat Harker explained today during a Q&A session that he is concerned that more 25-54 year old men are out of the workforce and blamed "drug abuse" for the problem.