Trump

Losing his Trump card. Throughout the presidential campaign, Donald Trump enjoyed an edge in polls when voters were asked who was better equipped to handle the economy. Trump trounced Joe Biden.

Despite his total mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis and rising concerns about racial equality, the economy was Trump’s sturdy trump card.

Not anymore.

The Financial Times and Peter G. Peterson Foundation have released their final monthly survey ahead of the November 3 election, showing that 46 percent of Americans now say Trump’s policies have hurt the country, compared to 44 percent who say he has helped.

It is the first time in the poll that voters gave the president a failing grade on the economy. Talk about bad timing for the president.

Prior to the COVID-19 lockdowns in March, Trump enjoyed an 11-point favorability rating on the economy. In his recent round of rallies, Trump promises to get the economy back to where it was prior to the virus. That may be music in the ears of his most rabid supporters but the rest of us are not buying it, according to the FT-Peterson Foundation survey.

The FT notes that Trump’s reputation as an economy wizard is declining because weekly unemployment claims are on the rise and COVID-19 cases are surging in the Midwest.

The survey found that only 31 percent of Americans believe that the economy will fully recover from COVID-19 within a year. Sixty-nine percent say the recovery is more than a year away.

Trump will be far away from DC when that economic rebound finally takes hold.

Working from home is a bummer... An “emotional intelligence” survey conducted by The Martec Group found that 84 percent of employees say working from home is not working out so hot and is affecting their mental health and productivity.

The survey found that prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, 62 percent of employees reported positive mental health. That has plummeted to 28 percent. Job satisfaction also tumbled from 57 percent to 32 percent.

Martec breaks out employees into four groupings in the world of work from home. They are “thriving” (16 percent) “hopeful” (25 percent), “discouraged” (27 percent) and “trapped” (32 percent).

The Detroit research firm's survey did find some positive aspects of working from home. Thirty eight percent of respondents say their work/life balance has improved, while another 33 percent say their scheduling is much better.

But all in all, people would rather be trading gossip around the proverbial water cooler or talking about the 2021 prospects of the New York Mets than being stuck at home.