Leaving the country if Trump is elected!

I read of hundreds of people (mostly actors/artists who are better than everyone, anyway) vowing to leave the country, if Trump was elected president.  It always intrigued me how artists that make close to zero contribution to society make such statements and I decided to put together a short list of such claimants and then check a few months after the election to see how many of them have made good on their promise. So, as of 11/9/2016, here are the people that over the past year or so have stated they would leave the country if Trump was elected.


Alec Baldwin ****
Al Sharpton **
Ali Wentworth ***
Amber Rose **
Amy Schumer *
Armie Hammer *****
Barbra Streisand *
Barry Diller **
Bryan Cranston *
Chelsea Handler *
Cher *
Chloë Sevigny **
Eddie Griffin **
Eddie Vedder ****
Elizabeth Moss *****
George Lopez **
Jenny Slate *****
Jennifer Lawrence *****
Jurnee Smollet-Bell *****
Jon Stewart *
Kathryn Hahn *****
Katie Hopkins **
Keegan-Michael Key **
Lena Dunham *
Michelle Branch *****
Miley Cyrus *
Natasha Lyonne **
Neve Campbell **
Ne-Yo ***
Omari Hardwick **
Raven-Symoné **
Rosie O'Donnell ****
Ruth Bader Ginsburg **
Sienna Miller *****
Samuel L. Jackson *
Spike Lee **
Stephen King *****
Whoopi Goldberg *
Zosia Mamet *****


And here are the sources of information:

* http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2016/11/08/celebrities-leaving-u-s-trump-wins/

** http://townhall.com/tipsheet/catherinedunn/2016/09/08/these-10-celebrities-say-theyll-leave-the-country-if-trump-is-elected-n2215391

*** http://www.wnd.com/2016/11/celebs-who-said-theyd-leave-u-s-if-trump-won/

**** http://ijr.com/2015/12/504520-trump-wins-moving/

***** http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/celebrities-who-said-they-ll-leave-america-if-donald-trump-becomes-president-1.12588837

USA dealt a blow at the G20 Meeting

I can still hear the echo. The USA was told in no uncertain terms that (a) we don't know how to manage our own finances - never mind helping the rest of the world manage theirs, and (b) we have to stop whining about being shut out of world markets and blame currency manipulation, and start building better products, that would be attractive to those foreign markets.

Analysts have been telling us for months (years ?) that the US hegemony of the world finance is pretty much finished and China may be the next likely leader, and now it looks as if that's eminent.

I can't really blame the other countries for telling us that we destroyed our economy and we are now asking them to pay for fixing it. They are right. Not only did we destroy ours, we almost took a number of other economies down with us (our only defense may be that their greed helped, as well).

And, our delegation went to the G20 complaining about the Chinese illegally or unethically manipulating their currency value to take advantage of us. We did that about a week and a half after the Fed announced dumping another $600 Billion (actually closer to $900 Billion) into out economy. What is that? Isn't that currency manipulation/devaluation? How do we expect anyone to take us seriously? What are the Chinese supposed to do? Think about it. They hold close to 2 trillion dollars of US Treasure bonds, and the Feds just made sure they lost some of that value. If I were them, I'd be pissed too.

I don't know what the solution is, but what I *do* know is that always blaming someone else doesn't work. The Chinese are not to blame for our current situation. The tax system, the ever-increasing size of government, the ever-decreasing productivity of the American worker, the ever-decreasing quality of American products, big Unions, much higher wages than other countries, etc. All these, and many others, may be contributors to bringing us to the brink we are today. And convincing the Chinese not to manipulate their currency will not solve our problems. Let's be realistic. A auto-factory worker in China makes the equivalent of $1.20 and hour. So, we'll convince the Chinese to stop their currency games and that may increase by 20%, 30%, even 50%. So, now the Chinese auto-factory worker hourly rate will be $1.80. Do you think we will all of a sudden become competitive, when the US auto-factory worker hourly rate is $39.00. Dream on...

How about we build a car that is of such quality that Germans import it and make it their top-of the line, luxury vehicle, much more expensive than their Mercedes? Now there is a concept - compete on quality! But that is not our mentality. We have all become accustomed to the Walmart mentality, i.e., "I don't care about the quality, as long as it's cheap and I can get lots of it". Sure, the Chinese may have adopted a similar paradigm, but guess what, *we* are the ones stocking Walmart's selves with "Made in China" products. The reverse is not true, and it couldn't be, since we don't have a manufacturing based economy in America, not any longer.

I hope the way the US was shot down at the G20 becomes a wake-up call, but I am not holding my breath.

USA Worker Base

"We're having trouble finding the numbers that we need with the skills that are required to do these jobs," AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson told a business group in San Antonio"

Having been in management for years, I hear similar statements from colleagues at various gatherings. And, it's nor restricted to high-tech fields, either.

So, what is happening? Is the US workforce base really deteriorating, or are these managers making excuses, so they can ship jobs abroad?

I am not an expert on these issues, but it sure sounds to me that this may be the old "what came first, the chicken or the egg" question. A very simplified ed version is this. Labor base deteriorates, companies ship jobs abroad (or import workers), potential employees become discouraged and stop trying to acquire expertise, job pool becomes even thinner, so employers have to look elsewhere, and so on...

We, need, however, to ask ourselves, what really started this downhill run, and is there anything that can be done to stop it, or better reverse it?

Again not claiming and sort of guru expertise, my observations seem to tell me that the two issues that have driven us to where we are today, are education and feeling of entitlement.

There is question that our education system has been deteriorating. As Betsy Brown Ruzzi presented in her study, "International Education Tests: An Overview 2005", the US did not even rank in the top 12 in either reading, mathematics, or science in testing 8-th graders and above. There is something wrong! We want to claim the title of the most technologically advanced country, yet our students are being outperformed even in basic skills! Guess, what, if that's the case, then the only way to *retain* that title would be by bringing some of those out-performing us, so the can help us. It makes sense. Of course, the better, but tougher, solution would be to fix our educational system, so that our students, who become our eventual workers, once again become competitive, but who wants to hear that, really. Everyone is looking for the *quick fix* - send the jobs abroad, or bring others to this country to help us. Well, if that keeps happening, we are going to run into another problem, we are going to run out of jobs at McDonald's and Wendy's, to absorb all the student graduating with a very limited set of skills. Now, don't get me wrong. There is *nothing* wrong with working at McDonald's and Wendy's. Those employees serve as important a function in our economy and society as anyone else. But, as mentioned earlier, not everyone can work there.

And before feathers get ruffled, let me make sure I state, when I am talking about the "educational system deteriorating", I am *NOT* criticizing the teachers! This is truly a systemic problem. If anything, given today's climate, I admire anyone who decides to become a teacher. May be that's where we should start. Let's start giving teachers the recognition of the important role they play in society. Yes, teachers are the ones that form the character of the next generation, the next CEOs, the next president of the United States. Being a teacher was something to be proud of. Let's get back to that. Let's give them the recognition and authority they deserve. Parents, you can keep an eye on what is going on, but stay out of the way and let teachers do their job!

I kind-of lost my train of thought... Oh, yeah, the second issue, feeling of entitlement. Well, in today's society, there is a feeling that once someone finishes school, and decides to look for a job, they are entitled to it. They don't think that a company is "giving them a chance" to do something with their life, albeit not necessarily for altruistic reasons. No, they are entitled to a job, and benefits, and vacation, and holidays, and... I have seen it with my own eyes, while interviewing candidates for entry-level jobs. Many (not all) came to the interview with the attitude, "well, I'll listen to you, see what you have to offer me, and if I feel like I am getting what I want, I'll take the job". That attitude, coupled with the fact that their education and preparedness for the job is sub-par, results in, you guessed it, "Next candidate, please...". Again, I am not saying that employees should settled for whatever they can get, or be taken advantage of, or anything like that. But, they are *NOT* entitled to a job, just because they finished school! They have to show that they need the job, they want the job! They have to show that they are interested in participating in the growth of the company/business that wants to hire them, which in turn guarantees their own growth. But, they'll argue, what guarantee do they have that company growth will not mean their job being outsourced and their being out to pasture. Which brings me back to "the chicken and the egg" problem.

We've come full circle.