BloggeRhythms

Yesterday's theme began with the point made by Gromer Jeffers Jr., Political Writer @dallasnews.com, that “Trump is one step ahead and moving fast, so opposition needs a better game plan.” 

And now, today, two items although not typical indicators suggest that everyday citizens are proving Mr. Jeffers to be correct in his analysis.  

In an article @canadafreepress.com, Douglas V. Gibbs details the decision by retail giant Nordstrom to drop Ivanka Trump's products. In Mr. Gibb’s opinion: “The liberal left is in such shock that their destined-to-break-the-glass-ceiling candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost the Presidential Election in 2016 that they are lashing out in a manner we have actually seen before.  Trump is Hitler in the minds of the Democrats (a.k.a. Marxists, Socialists, Statists, Leftists, Utopianists, and all of the rest of the “ism” chasers), as was George W. Bush, therefore, anyone and anything associated with Donald J. Trump in any manner must be silenced, destroyed, or at least boycotted.”

As a result of steps taken like that “excuses must be created so as to show the world that the reasoning behind the attacks are not selfish politicization to protect a narrative, but some other cockamamie reason that most of the uninformed public will willingly believe because they have been trained all of their lives that being wealthy is bad (unless it’s a Democrat politician or leftist sympathizer), and all Republicans are racist, bigoted, phobic and evil.” 

In Nordstrom’s case, they finally gave in, dropped at least some of Ivanka’s products, explaining that: “Each year we cut about 10% [of brands carried] and refresh our assortment with about the same amount." A Nordstrom spokesperson told Business Insider. “In this case, based on the brand’s performance we’ve decided not to buy it for this season.” 

However, while Nordstrom has claimed that the brand has not been doing well, according to G3’s 2016 annual statement [the manufacturer and distributor of Ivanka’s clothing line] “the brand is doing quite well—enjoying a $29.4m bump in sales to $100m.” 

Although Nordstrom says its decision was based on performance, a “spokesman for Ivanka’s fashion line tells Axios the retailer ordered both shoes and apparel for spring 2017, and only canceled the former. Moreover, the brand claims year-over-year revenue growth in 2016, and Nordstrom’s co-president reportedly wrote an internal memo last November that referred to Ivanka Trump’s wares as “a sizable and successful business.” 

So, here we have Nordstrom delving into political matters and caving to demands of leftist agitation which makes no sense on either ideological or practical levels. Because on one hand, from performance of the brand itself, they’ve cut themselves out of a 29% jump in sales and derivative profits. On the other they’ve pandered to a group that might be loud and boisterous, but is highly unlikely to be made up of types that can afford or would prefer to shop at Nordstrom’s now or ever.   

Which means that while the rest of the retail world watches their sales grow as the economy starts thriving, Nordstrom voluntarily remains in the Obama decline.      

And then, in another example of a boosting economy, Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer, headlined his column today @ap.org/dynamic/stories via Drudge: “Americans shrugged off rising mortgage rates and bought existing homes in January at the fastest pace since 2007.”

According to the National Association of Realtors, “home sales rose 3.3 percent in January from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million.” 

The rise was attributed to steady job gains, modest pay raises and rising consumer confidence although borrowing costs have risen since last fall. While some potential buyers may be “accelerating their home purchases to get ahead of any further increases in mortgage rates, houses for sale are remaining on the market for just 50 days, compared with 64 days a year ago. Strong demand is pushing up median home prices, which jumped 7.1 percent from a year earlier to $228,900.” 

And then there’s an added economic benefit pointed out by the article’s author whereas “the strength in sales should lift growth going forward, as new homeowners purchase furniture, buy appliances and spend more on landscaping and outdoor equipment. 

“Home sales also tend to spur renovations, which helps to update aging properties and generates additional construction work for the broader economy.” 

In regard to the mushroom effect of consumer spending spurred by home sales, Mr. Rugaber writes: “New research released Wednesday by the contractor site BuildZoom found that homes in metro Atlanta were roughly three times more likely to undergo renovations a year after being purchased than a typical property would. In Los Angeles, renovations are 4.6 times more likely a year after the sale, a pattern that gets repeated in other metro areas.”

So, here we have two significant signs indicating future economic growth. Despite leftist resistance and concerted efforts to stifle improvement that would attribute to the new president, retail sales and home acquisition are climbing anyway. 

Which means that after putting Trump in office with their votes, people are strongly supporting him in another, very meaningful way. With their pocketbooks. 

That's it for today folks. 

Adios