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The Trump economy isn’t good for everyone

The award for this year’s Biggest Backhanded Compliment to Donald Trump from a Trump Toadie goes to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who recently predicted a Trump victory in 2020 because “people will vote for somebody they don’t like if they think it’s good for them.” Mulvaney knows most Americans don’t like Trump. But Mulvaney thinks they’ll forgive his unsavory traits because unemployment has hit a 50-year low, wages are rising, and economic growth exceeds 3 percent. A CNN poll released in early May shows that 56 percent of Americans approve Trump’s ...

Sick of co-worker’s sick days

Dear Annie: I am a waiter in a restaurant and enjoy my job. I am 34 years old and struggled to find work that I like before I found this job. I really love being a waiter. The customers are mostly friendly, the food is good, and I try to make eating at our restaurant an enjoyable experience for all diners. The owner of the restaurant is friendly to the customers but a stern disciplinarian to the cooks, the wait staff and the dishwashers and busboys. He is not mean to us; he’s just strict and not very friendly or approachable. I hardly ever talk to him. He scares me a little. The ...

Take heart

This has become too rare, I suddenly realized — this unscheduled gift of a moment. I was sitting on the small sofa in our front room, watching our 3-year-old granddaughter Carolyn as she arranged a family of toy mice on top of the trunk that doubles as a coffee table. She was softly singing a made-up song, seemingly oblivious to me until I heard the ending: “... and Grandma is right there, watching me.” She looked up at me and smiled. “I see you,” I said. Her soft mention reminded me of what her mother, Liz, had once yelled during a family gathering when she was 5 years ...

How to stop unwelcome visit

Dear Annie: I have three grandchildren from my stepdaughter who live in another city. Their mom has said that she plans to come and visit with the kids this summer. One of the children has a lot of mental health issues. On a previous trip, “Sophie” stole several items worth quite a bit of money. When I mentioned this by phone on their drive back, my stepdaughter said she’d ask my grandchild. Needless to say, the child denied everything. She also defaced a painting while visiting. I later found out that “Sophie” has stolen large sums of money from her father as well as from ...

Grandson needs speech therapy

Dear Annie: Our dear grandson is 5. He’s bright, energetic, kind and wonderful. He speaks with a slight lisp. So did his mother when she was his age. Thanks to a caring teacher who pointed it out to us, we took our daughter to a speech therapist. In just a few sessions, the therapist cured her lisp. Now my wife and I want for our daughter to do the same for her son, but she refuses. She says the way he speaks is “cute” and everyone can understand what he says, so there’s no need to bother with the speech therapy. The truth is that our daughter and son-in-law are both very busy ...

In money we trust?

Look at the dollar bills in your wallet. They say they are “legal tender for all debts.” But are they? What makes them valuable? What makes them worth anything? Each bill says, “In God We Trust.” But God won’t guarantee their value. The $20 bill depicts the White House. Congress is on $50s. But neither guarantees the value of our dollars. I wouldn’t trust them if they did. I don’t trust politicians, generally, but I especially don’t trust them with money. Since President Richard Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard, the dollar has lost 80 percent of its ...