Heather Cox Richardson is an American historian and professor of history at Boston College. She is author of the book How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America available on Amazon.  She cuts through the media chatter in her daily newsletter available on Substack.  She puts current events in historical perspective. I try to read her every day.  She provides a vehicle where it is possible to access the news while taking a vacation from the inaccurate headlines, sensationalizing, and sometimes fear-mongering from other media. You can follow her on Facebook where she has 1.4 million followers. She holds frequent Facebook lives where she takes questions. You can also subscribe to her newsletter, Letters From An American or check out this podcast, Who Really Won the Civil War.

Historians are fond of saying that the past doesn’t repeat itself; it rhymes. I’m a professor of American history. This is a chronicle of today’s political landscape, but because you can’t get a grip on today’s politics without an outline of America’s Constitution, and laws, and the economy, and social customs, this newsletter explores what it means, and what it has meant, to be an American. – HCR

In her August 11 newsletter HCR provides information about the August jobs report and other topics. Here is a sample.

“Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor released the jobs report for August 2021. It was stronger than economists had predicted, and even stronger than the administration had hoped.

In July, employers added 943,000 jobs, and unemployment fell to 5.4%. Average hourly wages increased, as well. They are 4% higher than they were a year ago.

“Harvard Professor Jason Furman, former chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, tweeted: “I have yet to find a blemish in this jobs report. I’ve never before seen such a wonderful set of economic data.” He noted the report showed “Job gains in most sectors… Big decline in unemployment rate, even bigger for Black & Hispanic/Latino… Reduction in long-term unemployment… Solid (nominal) wage gains.”

“Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays, told New York Times reporter Nelson D. Schwartz: “It’s an unambiguously positive report…. Labor market conditions are strong. Unemployment benefits, infection risks and child care constraints are not preventing robust hiring.”

“The jobs report is an important political marker because it appears to validate the Democrats’ approach to the economy, the system the president calls the “Biden Plan.” That plan started in January, as soon as Biden took office, using the federal government to combat the coronavirus pandemic as aggressively as the administration could and, at the same time, using federal support to restart the economy.

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