California

In years past people would say that as California goes so goes the country. If that holds the state will give us an incite into what a more socialistic type government will do. Over the years the state has offered generous pension benefits to all state employees including teachers and the result is there is not enough money to pay the promised benefits. Now the state is proposing free healthcare for all residence regardless of citizenship. At a top rate of 13.3% the state has the highest state income rate and 150,000 people out of 40 million pay one half of the state income tax.

Public pensions

While private employee unions are good for the economy, many feel that public pensions are not. Even FDR opposed public pensions because they negotiate with taxpayer monies. Public unions entered the game after WW 2 when most of the hard work to improve wages and working conditions occurred in the prewar years. They earned their power by doing all the right things. They organized and got out the vote gave up immediate income for long term gains and succeeded beyond expectations but now comes the time to pay the piper and the money is not there. Illinois is one of the more serious situations. The state constitution says the benefits must be paid but not how they are paid. Out going Mayor Rahm Emanuel recognizes this and has proposed changes that will adversely effect pensions. A constitutional amendment to allow changes to future, unearned pension benefits is the only way to stop rising property taxes and income taxes, as well as prevent annual pension contributions from crowding out government spending on education and social services, both at the state and local levels.

Ugly American

When I was a young man in the fifties there was a popular book called, "The Ugly American". The book told the story of how US diplomats didn't understand the culture and language of the countries where they were stationed but the Soviet diplomats were sensitive to these issues. The Americans were thought of as rich snobs who flaunted their we're better than you attitude. It is often said that history repeats itself and it seems that is happening in this case. We now have China spoiling their environment by mining rare earth metals so we can enjoy electronics like smart phones. We need these metals for wind mills and solar panels so we can keep our air clean while sending coal to Asia and Africa to kill their citizens with poisonous smog. Have we once again become the ugly American?

Trade with China

The US has an import tax on cars from China of 2.5% while China charges 25% or ten times more on US exports to China. One of the result can be seen in total sales. The U.S. imported 58,000 passenger cars from China worth $1.5 billion last year, according to the International Trade Administration, a federal agency within the Department of Commerce. That was a fraction of the number of cars the U.S. exported to China: 267,000 passenger vehicles worth $9.9 billion China has 4 times as many people. Overall China sells the US $420 billion dollars per year more than they buy from the US resulting in a trade imbalance. Would China be happy to get rid of all import taxes? Would it help the US if all import taxes were removed?

Pay raise

On Trumps trip to Iraq, he once again got himself caught up in child like lies. He said he got the troops a raise and in fact the raise is automatic and based on the cost of living. Military people get this every year no matter who is president. After WW 2 the defense spending was cut and US troops went into Korea with old tanks and went up against new Russian tanks and it cost lives. After the wall came down defense spending was cut and troops went to Afghanistan with unsafe vehicles that were damaged by mines and had to be updated while in action. What Trump could have said to the troops is that defense spending was increase to make their lives safer by providing them with better equipment.

Tax cuts

. Federal deficits are on the rise but not because of lower revenues but because of higher spending. The spending was bi-partisan since Trump wanted a large increase in military spending but the only way he could get it was to agree to a large increase in domestic spending. In other words the republicans have joined with the democrats to forget about the deficit and just spend. Revenue FY 2019 $3.422 trillion FY 2018 $3.340 trillion FY 2017 $3.320 trillion The tax cuts kicked in in January of 2018 and gave the people $200 billion and revenue still increased.

Russia and Trump

The Trump administration upheld all of the sanctions on Russia and added new ones starting with imposing financial penalties on 7 wealthy Russian businessmen and 17 top political officials for interfering in US elections. Trump then ordered the closing of Russian diplomatic properties in San Francisco, Washington D.C, New York City and Seattle. Trump then expelled 60 Russian diplomats after the killing of former spy in England. Trump sent military aid to Ukraine something his predecessor refused to do. While all of these things hurt Russia the biggest pain they suffered and are suffering is the low price of oil. Russia is the second biggest oil exporter in the world, making its economy vastly dependent on the global oil market. Oil and gas exports constitute 40 percent of the total federal budget revenue of Russia. Because of fracking the price of oil has fallen from over $100 per barrel to yesterdays close at $45. Trump is also pushing Germany not to build a new gas pipeline from Russia and to consider the purchase of natural gas from the US.

San Diego fence

This is from NPR on April 6, 2006. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5323928 Before the fence was built, all that separated that stretch of Mexico from California was a single strand of cable that demarcated the international border. Back then, Border Patrol agent Jim Henry says he was overwhelmed by the stream of immigrants who crossed into the United States illegally just in that sector. "It was an area that was out of control," Henry says. "There were over 100,000 aliens crossing through this area a year." Today, Henry is assistant chief of the Border Patrol's San Diego sector. He says apprehensions here are down 95 percent, from 100,000 a year to 5,000 a year, largely because the single strand of cable marking the border was replaced by double -- and in some places, triple -- fencing.

Disease

Many years ago a young man from Ethiopia came to live with us. He had a number of health problems one of which was TB. Treatment lasts from 9 to 30 months depending on the strain When chickens are raised there are 10 to 20 thousand birds in each grow out building. Because of the closeness they are all given antibiotics to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. With these two disconnected thoughts, consider the plight of immigrants coming from Central America. They are housed in crowded camps where common childhood diseases can easily spread. In Guatemala, the top three causes of death in 2010 were lower respiratory infections, interpersonal violence, and diarrheal diseases. If these people are not kept around long enough for treatment and are released into the general population it poses a health problem. In 2017 a measles outbreak in Minnesota caused considerable concern when 69 cases were diagnosed. These cases were not related to immigrants but they illustrate how even in a country with proper sanitation and health care a problem can arise.

Touching

Santa Claus is in the news as some people express concern about children sitting on the lap of a strange man. I attended an orientation to sub teach in a new school district and was told that I should avoid touching any student. The assistant principal said that if a child tries to hug him he turns away.

Rare earths

There is a group of chemicals especially important to the high tech industry called rare earth metals. Up until the 1980's the US was one of the world's largest producers but environmental concerns begin shutting down mines and in 2015 the last US mine closed. China now produces 95% of these valuable metals. The mining in China is backward compared to the mines in the US that were closed and they are contaminating the ground water while causing significant health problems. Trump has issued an executive order to begin mining these metals in the US. New technology will reduce the environmental hazards and allow the US to move toward self sufficiency while reducing the damage in China. Without some help from the US the contamination is expected to reach the Yellow River a crucial water supply for 150 million people.

Fence

The Secure Fence Act of 2006 authorized 700 miles of border wall and about 500 miles have been built. The act also authorized the use of more vehicle barriers, checkpoints and lighting to curb illegal immigration, and the use of advanced technology such as satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles. Obama, Clinton, Schumer and 23 other Democratic senators voted in favor of the act when it passed in the Senate by a vote of 80 to 19. "We saw a 203 percent increase from March 2017 compared to March 2018 and a 37 percent increase from last month to this month — the largest increase from month to month since 2011," Tyler Houlton, the DHS press secretary, said in a statement.

Work vs charity

Senator Bernie Sanders has a ad stating that Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have more wealth than the lower 50% of Americans. Their wealth based on current figures is about $320 billion and there are 160 million Americans in the lower half so if we take all of their money and give it to the lower group each will receive $2,000 and that is a one time thing. While that would be a nice Christmas present it is hardly a life changing gift. Throughout history and today there have always been to many poor people and too few rich to make a redistribution meaningful. Instead of taking money from Bezos let him use his business acumen to start new companies. He now employs 600,000 people and the best way to help a a poor person is to get them a job where they can earn many times more than $2,000 and they can do it year in and year out not to mention the dignity of work verses a hand out.

identity politics

The phrase identity politics is heard more frequently in this era of division and it deserves some explanation. People are divided up into groups most of the time based on something they have no control over. It is not unusual for a person to belong to more than one group. An Hispanic gay female illegal immigrant who is disabled and lives in the wrong zip code is a member of several groups. The individuals in each of these groups are considered by many as a victims of white privilege or more precisely white males. Even members of the white privilege are divided by those who were born wealthy and have good formal educations and those who were born poor and have little education. When viewed in this way it is not far from the plantation owner who provides food, clothing and shelter for his slaves and there are some who make this connection. One wonders what the long term implications of this behavior will have on society.

Power of social media

The power of social media is highlighted by the movement away from lobbying to direct control of messaging by using the Internet. They now have the ability to effect sponsorship of opinion programs that they disagree with. They can target a particular TV program with a barrage of negativity causing sponsors to cancel their ads. This makes sponsors more sensitive to what is being said and thus they can indirectly influence what is being said. The safest way to keep your advertisers is to avoid any controversial subjects. In other words to silence you. This has happened in our schools to the teachers and now it is happening to various TV shows especially those that express political opinion. If a particular blog or web site has enough viewers they have the power to cause consumers to boycott and thus challenge free speech. In the recent past there have been many examples of advertisers moving away from programs that have been attacked on social media by those with political agenda.

LPN exports

While countries gather in Poland to talk about climate change the US is doing something about it. U.S. natural gas exports have increased primarily with the addition of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in the Lower 48 states. U.S. exports of LNG through the first half of 2018 rose 58% compared with the same period in 2017. There are two liquefied natural gas plants in the US with four more coming on line in 2019 and another 15 awaiting FERC approval. This means less CO2 and cleaner air for everyone.

Stereotyping

In school today I subbed in a health class where the subject was stereotyping and I was reminded of the current state of politics in America. When Hillary labeled half of Trumps supporters as deplorables and later elaborated by saying she meant they were racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic she was not alone in her feelings. There are many comments by many people regarding Trump voters. Those in the Midwest are referred to as red necks who drive pick up trucks with a rifle in the back window while they smoke Marlboro's and drink Miller beer. They lack formal education and kill animals for sport. In the Southern states the are called hillbillies who love their God and their guns. They have poor teeth, poor grammar are lazy and thought of as low information people. Who thinks of other people in these terms? They are mostly college educated people with white collar jobs and live along the coast. The congress and the national press corp are included in this group and are seen as more worldly or sophisticated.

Winding down

Between 2008 and 2014 the government engaged in a monetary process called quantitative easing. The government purchased about $3.5 trillion of treasury notes and mortgage backed securities. This increased the money supply and lowered interest rates. The interest rates were kept at almost zero for a number of years. This has allowed the government to borrow large sums of money at very low interest rates and even with these low rates the federal deficit still increased by 10 trillion dollars. Earlier this year the fed began taking steps to reverse the process by paying down the qualitative easing money in a process called winding down. This has caused interest rates to rise and will continue to do so until such times as the money supply decreases and this will take several years depending on how fast they act. The plan is to reduce the fed balance by $50 billion per month but that can change if it adversely affects the economy. So far it has played havoc with the stocks but the interest rate is holding at 2.5% and inflation rate is at 2.2%.

Carbon tax

As Senator Jeff Flake leaves office he is joining with the democrats to propose a carbon tax and this will be reported in the press as a bi-partisan agreement. Under either a cap-and-trade program that limits carbon emissions or a carbon tax that imposes an outright tax on these emissions, the poor may be among the hardest hit. Once again the poor will be hurt since energy cost for poor is a much higher portion of their budget than for the rich. Moving to natural gas cars would help the poor since fracking has brought down the price of natural gas and these cars run cleaner which helps the environment. The problem is that it doesn't hand over any money to the government so they can spend it as they believe is best for us. In 2017, the bipartisan Climate Leadership Council endorsed a carbon tax that would collect over $200 billion annually, with increasing rates and revenue over time.

Slavery

Once every few years some group suggest that the decedents of slaves be compensated with a cash settlement. This has not been considered a credible request by most people. Could a reversal of this idea be palatable. The United States is the only nation that fought a civil war to rid the country of the practice of slavery. In the process 560,000 white Americans mostly of European descent were killed. Should black leaders of today take up a collection from the descendants of these freed slaves to reimburse the descendants of those who gave their lives to free their ancestors. That would be just as ridiculous as the first example. Holding someone responsible for actions that occurred over 150 years ago is nonsense. It is interesting that this idea has never been brought up.

Islam

About 500 years ago the Muslim world decided that to protect the purity of its religion it must cut themselves off from western influence and in doing so they missed the industrial revolution. The result was that most Muslim areas remained third world countries. The only ones able to overcome this were the countries that had oil and these needed western help to develop the fields. If the west had not intervened, places like Saudi Arabia would still be desert tribes living in tents. The problems were further exasperated in 1948 when the State of Israel was founded. Even though the Arabs had overwhelming forces and outnumber the Israelis 100 to one they were humiliated by losing five wars and territory to go with them. More recently the defeat of Saddam and the loss of the dream of the caliphate under ISIS has added to their burden.

Walls

Trump says the wall will work and democrats say it will not and neither side knows for sure. There is some evidence that walls work but no evidence that they don't work. Israel is most commonly used as an example of a wall that works but there are others. Today, as President Trump pushes his campaign promise to build a wall on the border with Mexico, there are at least 77 walls or fences around the world — many erected after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon.

Tech companies

Walmarts off the hook. The groups that are anti big are now setting their sites on the tech companies. Facebook and Amazon are the new enemies of those who oppose big companies especially those making lots of money. Zuckerberg is 34 years old and worth $54 billion and Bezos at age 54 is worth three times that. They are prime targets for the new socialist movement.

Russian interference

The latest report on Russian interference in the US election process started in 2009 and was expanded to Twitter in 2013. It gradually added Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. In 2014, the administration got a report of Russia’s intention to disrupt Western democracies, including the United States. Russia has meddled in the affairs of at least 27 European and North American countries since 2004 with interference that ranges from cyberattacks to disinformation campaigns, according to an analysis by a surveillance organization.

Poland climate change

The climate conference in Poland ended this week with promises to save the planet but words alone will not do it. Most of the industrialized countries are still adding to the problem especially those countries that rely heavily on coal. China gets 70% of its energy from coal and India is at 56%. India imports 45% of its energy needs and the US could be sending them natural gas. CO2 emissions in the United States are lower than they were 20 years ago even though the population has increase by 50 million. This is primarily due to changing power plants from coal to natural gas. This much more could be accomplished in a short time just by moving the transportation industry over to natural gas. I have said this so often but I am like a voice crying in the wilderness.

Insurance

There are 76 million people on Medicaid including 12 million brought on because of Obamacare. Prior to that adults without children, mostly men, were not covered under Medicaid. There are 18 million people covered under Obamacare which is separate from Medicaid. Of these 6 million get free insurance and 85% of the others get a subsidy. Even with Medicaid and Obamacare there are still 30 million Americans without health insurance and most of these are between ages 20 and 65.

Government shutdown

This week on The Five, Juan Williams responded to Trump saying he would take responsibility for shutting down the government by stating that no body does that and he was right. Trump takes an action that polls show that 65% of Americans oppose and then says he will take responsibility for that action. This is the antithesis of how politicians normally behave but once again, Trump is not a politician.

Natural gas

Climate change is once again in the news only because of its political implications and not because of its air pollution. The world will show it is serious about global warming when they start to move toward natural gas for transportation. Past presidents have said the goal is to look at all sources of energy but the emphasis has been on electric cars. Using solar panels and wind for homes and places of business is a good start but batteries are still in the future. Changing power plants over to natural gas has been and will continue to be a winner. Running cars, semi-trucks, locomotives and 747's on batteries is not the way to go. Changing over to natural gas is the way. It offers an almost immediate reduction of CO2, acid rain and heavy metal contaminates like mercury and lead. If the world would just switch to natural gas for power and transportation the problem would be solved for the next generation and technology will have a chance to take care of the future. Just because natural gas is not a long term solution does not negate the fact that it is a good temporary solutio

Border security

The story begins on November 6, 1986, when Reagan signed the last comprehensive legalization bill to pass Congress. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) gave up to 3 million unauthorized immigrants a path to legalization if they had been “continuously” present in the U.S. since January 1, 1982. Here is President Clinton in 1996. After years of neglect, this administration has taken a strong stand to stiffen the protection of our borders. We are increasing border controls by 50 percent. We are increasing inspections to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants. And tonight, I announce I will sign an executive order to deny federal contracts to businesses that hire illegal immigrant On October 26, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Pub.L. 109–367) into law stating, "This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure. It is an important step toward immigration reform."[1] The promise: In the 2008 election, Barack Obama pledged to create secure borders. He said that would mean "additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.” Everyone says they want a secure border and everyone talks about it but that's as far as it goes. Pic-a-little, talk-a-little, pic-a-little, talk-a-little, talk, talk, talk.

Cash payment

Fake news is front and center with the $150 billion dollar transfer to Iran. The story makes it seem like this was money for some favor when in fact the United States merely released funds that had been tied up since the 1979 Iranian revolution. When released Iran had to give over much of this money to debtors. The real story was the $1.8 billion cash in the form of Swiss franks and Euros. Supposedly this was payment for an earlier arms deal but the big question is, why cash? When such deals are in cash it always raises questions and these have never been asked or answered.

Socialism

As the muffled cry for socialism becomes louder, it is time to review some recent history. East Germany was under the communist thumb and economic growth was dismal while next door West Germany using free market capitalism wash thriving. In 1989 the year before the wall came down the GDP of East Germany was $9,600 per person while in West Germany it was $22,000. There were very few cars on the street in the East and food stores were empty shelves and the West looked much like America. The same thing happened in North and South Korea and is presently going on in Venezuela. It always starts in the same way. Vote for me and I will take money from the rich and give it to the poor and it always ends up in the same way with every one being poorer except for a few elites. Here is the chief elite. Maria Gabriela Chavez, 35, the late president's second-oldest daughter, holds assets in American and Andorran banks totaling almost $4.2billion, Diario las Americas reports. 

Pearl Harbor

As the country mourned the passing of Bush 41, many suggested that it represents the last remnants of the greatest generation and that point was brought home to me in school today. In five high school classes no one knew that December 7th was the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Some say we will never forget but younger people slowly lose track of important events of the past. Time marchers on.

New laws

Some people complain that the bible is unclear or ambiguous but in order to satisfy those people the bible would have to be written like a legal document with lots of whereas and party of the first and so on. The same thing is true of government regulations. They are written to try to cover every possibility and thus end up so complicated they mess up what they are trying to help. Back in 2000 a company called Enron worked closely with an outside accounting firm called Arthur Anderson and both conspired to jimmy the books and it ended up with Enron going bankrupt and Anderson going out of business. Two congressmen the Messrs Sarbanes and Oxley came to the rescue with new legislation but as might be expected it is so complicated that companies are at a loss as to how to enforce the new rules. The cost of hiring accountants and lawyers is so overwhelming that small companies are put at a disadvantage and are at risk of unintentionally breaking the law. Laws like this should be reviewed and refined once they are in effect.

Teachers

Teachers tend to shy away from controversial subjects but there are exceptions. It is acceptable and even encouraged when it comes to certain areas. For example explaining how the colonist (usually referred to as white Europeans) mistreated the Native Americans or how the Japanese Americans were interned during WW 2 or that Thomas Jefferson had a child with a black slave or how slavery was allowed for over 200 years. While it is important to cover these issues it is also necessary to explain the context. Slavery has been around since the dawn of civilization and America fought a civil war to rid the country of slavery. This war cost the lives of 600,000 soldiers, 94% of whom were whites European Americans. Some day treatments like chemotherapy and radiation will be looked on as uncivilized although they are acceptable at this time.

Coal

The climate change meetings in Poland are not meeting with much success. While the United States has lowered its CO2 emissions other countries have not. The main offenders are China and India. China is building hundreds of new coal-fired power plants capable of generating a total of 259 gigawatts (GW) of electricity—that’s equal to the entire existing U.S. coal fleet of around 266 GW, findings by advocacy and research group CoalSwarm show. While the US continues to close coal-fired power plants much of the coal is still being mined but shipped overseas.  In 2017, U.S. coal exports surged 61% from 2016 to nearly 90 million tonnes, with 50 million tonnes coming from the more pricey metallurgical variety that is a staple in steel making. "U.S. coal exports could rise 15% in 2018."

Carter Page

In the spring of 2016 a company called Orbis, hired Christopher Steele to research Trumps relationship with Russia. Orbis was a subcontractor of Fusion GPS a private Washington firm. Fusion was contracted by the law firm of Perkins Coie which represented Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. Clinton and the DNC paid Steele $168,000 for his work. A man named George Papadopoulos worked for the Trump campaign for three months in early 2016 as an unpaid foreign policy expert. In March of 2016 he met with some Russians who promised dirt on Hillary in the form of missing emails. Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat of the meeting who in turn passed the info on to the FBI. The FBI then opened an investigation into the Trump/Russia connection in July of 2016. In May of 2016 the Washington Post reported that an FBI informant met with Papadopoulos and Carter Page, another Trump foreign policy advisor and this led to investigating Page. FISA applications to surveil Page used this meeting and the Steele research dossier to get approval. This is the center of the controversy since the dossier was largely discredited as having uncorroborated salacious material on Trump. This surveillance included phone and email and then let to surveillance of other people whom Page had contacted. This is referred to as the two-hop method wherein anyone who had contacted Page was also surveilled and all of this information was passed onto the Mueller investigators and is currently being used.

Medicare vs Obamacare

Back in 1965 the government came to me and said next year we will be taking money out of your check to pay for health care when you retire. I told them never mind that I would take care of my self and they said it is the new law. I asked, how much will you take out and they said $3 per month and I said, sign me up. If we take that $36 per year and increase it by 5% per year for 53 years we get $477 per year. The current cost of Medicare for low income people is $1,308 or more than three times the projected amount allowing for inflation. In March of 2010 the estimated ten year cost of Obamacare was $938 billion. Two years later the cost was $1.76 trillion. The future does not look any better. In January 2015, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that the cumulative ten- year U.S. budget deficit (2015 to 2025) would total $8.1 trillion. One of the reasons the initial cost was low is that they started paying for it in 2010 but the benefits didn't kick in until 2014. This was to keep the first ten year cost below one trillion which they did but the cost quickly escalated after that. Just like Medicare they knew that once the people get a benefit they would not give it up regardless of the cost.

Move toward fairness

Now when the longing for a more egalitarian society is coming into vogue as more voices hint of the fairness of socialism, it would be interesting to take this to the extreme where instead of the average family earning $56,000 per year, all families earned that amount. There would no longer be any need to redistribute income and the progressives could relax having achieve their ultimate goal. That would mean the end of private enterprise and thus everyone would work for the government. No one would risk their assets to start a business if their income would remain at $56,000. While Americans in general would not like this, many would like to more in this direction. How far remains to be seen.

Compromise

As comments come in regarding Bush 41, I am struck by the number who say that Bush was willing to compromise. He was elected on the promise not to raise taxes. His famous comment, read my lips no new taxes came back, to haunt him. At the end of the first Gulf War his approval ratings hit 90% the highest ever recorded but a few months later he agreed to raise taxes with the promise that the democrats would cuts spending. He raised taxes but no spending cuts followed with the democratic controlled congress. A few months he lost his bid for reelection. Clinton was next to compromise during his second term when the republicans took over the congress. He raised taxes and cut spending. He cut benefits for retirees, veterans and the poor and he froze the pay of federal employees and finally he reformed welfare with the five years and your off plan. Budget planning seems to work best when you have a different party in the White House and congress and this is what we now have. Is the door open to compromise?

New trade deal

Today the new trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico is signed and goes into effect January 1st, 2019. The primary beneficiaries of the agreement are labor unions, U.S. dairy farmers, U.S. drug manufacturers, and companies that provide automation for manufacturers (e.g., robot makers). The agreement specifies that Mexicans working in the auto plant be paid higher wages. Thirty percent must receive $16 per hour rising to 40% in five years, (today they are paid $5 per hour). It also says that 70% of parts of imported cars must be made in North America which eliminates some parts made in China and shipped to Mexico. This removes some of the cheap steel that China dumps on the world market. Since imported cars will cost more to manufacture so US consumers will pay more for the cars.

Lice

In years past a student with body lice was sent home and the parents notified but that is no longer the case. Today a student with lice is allowed to stay in school because it is considered a socioeconomic problem and the student would be embarrassed if they were sent home. Many say this is really to protect the school as other students quickly find out if one has lice. The schools today are afraid of any disruption that might cause any parent to get upset. The teachers are careful to make sure that nothing is said in the classroom that might upset anyone. This walking on egg shells can be stressful.

Texas natural gas

In the Permian Basin in Texas oil production is booming and this means higher production of natural gas. While in some places around the world natural gas reserves are low, in Texas there is a glut to the point where the price went below zero. Companies were paying for customers to take the excess gas off their hands. Some companies however decided just to burn off the gas and this creates problems with the environment and the states should step in and force these companies to stop the burn off. This glut will likely continue until a pipeline now under construction is completed in October of 2019 but some fear that regulatory disputes may delay completion. That gas will then be available for shipments around the world including places like China that could replace their coal power plants with natural gas.

Coal vs natural gas

Before WW 2 coal was the dominant fuel used by power plants but since that time oil and natural gas began to replace coal. This process has continued and was accelerated by the introduction of fracking which increased the supply and lowered the cost of natural gas. Over time all coal fired plants will be replaced by natural gas and the process will allow time for the industry to adjust. This natural progression will permit those who work in the industry to find other employment. While this is going on the mining of coal will continue and this will be exported to Asia and Africa. In time these continents will also replace coal with natural gas. This will happen regardless of any government regulations because it makes economic sense. For those who are concerned about climate change and are not motivated by politics the best move at this point would be to have the transportation industry move to natural gas.

Trump and the Saudis

The most recent example of the Trump unorthodox way of dealing with things is the case of the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Under past presidents, all of whom recognize the importance of Saudi Arabia as an ally, would have expressed total disgust and immediately denounced this act as not the way Americans do things. After a week or so of various threats and expressions of dismay the case would fade as the next hot news item took center stage. Not Trump. He comes out and says we need this ally to fight against Iran, and we need the big arms deal and we have got to keep gas prices low. We don't like what they have done but we are not dumping them. Trump is easily the most transparent president of my life time. He tweets out his thoughts and the public gets the news as soon as the press gets it and it is unfiltered. The normal response is that this is not presidential.

Man behind the tree

Back in the 50's a eugenicist suggested that all those with an IQ below a certain level be sterilized and upon first reading that seemed reasonable but when I discovered that I fell into that category, I immediately dismissed the whole idea a poppycock. Years later the same concept arose with the matter of taxes. I felt taxes should be increase on rich people of which I was not. The old adage of don't tax you and don't tax me but tax the man behind the tree was my thinking. Now that I am old an poor but wiser, I have a new perspective. I have secretly been pushing the concept of the wealth tax and I was hoping some prominent politician like Bernie Sanders would pick up the idea and run with it. I now have set up the parameters to put this plan into place. The tax will be 5% of a persons net worth, that being assets minus liabilities. There will be a $50,000 exemption because that is my net worth. I am going after the man behind the tree and let's see who that might be. Most people I know have a two or three hundred thousand dollar house with another 10 or 20 grand in personal property including cars along with some savings and a little in a pension plan. Their net worth would be about $200,000 and 5% of that is a mere $10,000. Now I know all of you people who are interested in helping us poor would gladly send a check off to the government so I could have a little better life style. After all it is only fair since I worked my entire life and I deserve it. My question to you is how does it feel to be the man behind the tree.

Person of the year

This time of the year the interest in Time's Person of the year is perked and usually controversial. The classic definition is the person who most affected the events of the year, for better or for worse. Since Trump monopolizes the news with almost 24/7 coverage he would be the obvious choice. His policies and his tweets are lead stories for those who like him and those who don't. Even the hot news people like the Me-too favorite Dr. Ford and journalist Jamal Khashoggi have come and gone but Trump is still going strong.

Age

When Reagan ran for president the first time he was 69 years old and he was reelected when he was 73. Much was made about his age from his opponents until he shot down Mondale in the debates with his concern about Mondale's youth and inexperience. Bernie Sanders will be 79 in 2020 and is considering a run against Trump. Since 80 is the new 60, I say go for it. We elderly citizens must stick together.

Fake news

The word fake news has become part of the current vernacular but for many it does not mean lying by distorting facts but rather misleading by leaving out part of the story. On Morning Joe they had a lengthy session on Trumps use of gas against the migrants. This led to remarks about Trump being unconcerned about the safety of women and children. What was not mentioned was that this use of gas has been has been ongoing since 2010. Arguing about the use of this gas is a legitimate discussion but leaving out part of the story can lead to a biased view. While the news itself is not fake the conclusion can be fake.

Are we alone

As the world awaits the Mars landing tomorrow the question about intelligent life in the universe in on the minds of some. There is no direct evidence of intelligent life but there is almost a mathematical certainty that there is. There are 40 billion earth like planets in our galaxy and there are 100 billion galaxies so there are 4,000 billion billion possibilities. An earth like planet is one that can have liquid water. To add to that there is theoretical evidence that there are multiple universes.

Diesel in France

The people in France are upset with the government plan to raise taxes on diesel. France wants to move away from fossil fuels and it makes sense for them to go to electric cars since 75% of their electric power comes from nuclear plants. The USA produces 62% of it's electric power from coal and natural gas so it would be wise to move the transportation industry over to natural gas. Unlike electric transportation, natural gas can be used for all cars, trucks, locomotives, ships and airplanes. The US leads all countries in the reduction of CO2 and that was just by replacing coal power plants with natural gas and that much more improvement could be made by switching transportation over to natural gas.

Wealth tax on Walmart family

Walmart's net income has fallen from $16 billion in 2015 to $10 billion in 2018. Walmart has 1.5 million US employees and about half are part time. The full time hourly employees number about 700,000. To increase the average pay from $11 per hour to $15 dollars per hour would cost about $5.6 billion and reduce their profit from $10 billion to $4.4 billion. Walmart US sales last year was $318 billion so the profit would be 1.4%. The Walmart family is worth $162 billion and Bernie Sanders says they should pony up for the pay increase. To take $5.6 billion from their $162 billion would only be 3.5% and this leads us to the idea of a wealth tax. Most of their money is in the form of Walmart stock so they would just sell stock each year and pass the money onto the employees.

Wall

In 1984 President agreed to give citizenship to 3 million illegal aliens with the promise that the border would be secured. The border security part never happened and today there are 11 million illegals in the country. The republicans have hardened their position saying that border security must come before more illegals are given a path to citizenship. In January of 2018 Senator Schumer agreed to fund a border wall if Trump would agree to a path to citizenship for the dreamers. Trump countered his offer by saying he would agree to a path to citizenship for not only the dreamers but for their parents if the wall were built and a limit on the number of extended family members who could then qualify for citizenship. This is so close but each side feels doing nothing helps their side. The voters are getting frustrated with this put the party ahead of the country idea.

Perception

The recent spat between Chief Justice Roberts and President Trump has shown how different people see things differently. Roberts is the politically correct side of the story. He says the right thing, that judges do not allow their personal bias to enter into their decisions but Trump says as long as they are human they will not be able to completely separate who they are from how they rule. Recently Assistant Attorney General Rob Rosenstein made derogatory comments about Trump but said this would not affect his job performance. The new attorney general Matthew Whitaker has made negative comments about the Mueller investigation but says this will not influence his rulings. Both are believed or disbelieved depending on which side of the issue they stand. Human beings view the world not necessarily as it is but rather through their perception of how it is and more often than not they think they are right.

School topics

Every year when the school test scores come out there is much concern about the discrepancy between white and non-white students (Asian Americans excluded). While this is a legitimate worry there is another problem lurking in the shadows and that has to do with political correctness. Teachers seem to have lost their first amendment rights. Here is a partial list of topics that must be avoided in the classroom. Politics, religion, abortion, gun control, undocumented immigrants, sexual orientation, mental illness, race relations, welfare, sanctuary cities, poor vs rich, electoral college, liberalism, and conservatism. It is assumed that the teacher cannot discuss these subjects without personal prejudice and that may be correct but what one of the main purposes of formal education is to learn how to discuss controversial subjects. Students often look to teachers as roll models and will they then be hesitant to bring up certain subjects with their family and friends. These issues present serious problems and cannot be solved by hiding them under the rug. The school is only partially to blame as I had a assistant principal tell me he did not want to get a call from a parent complaining about the subjects discussed in class. The school feels it must avoid any subject that might be upsetting to any parent. Good luck with that.

Asylum

As if the immigration rules are not messed up enough a federal judge has ruled that it is illegal to stop people from illegally entering the country. The interesting part is that most experts agree that the judge is right. It is up to congress to stop this illegal entry but they seem to be unable to agree on how to do it. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act states that any foreigner who arrives in the USA, "whether or not at a designated port of arrival," may apply for asylum. Congress made this law and it is up to them to change it, if they want to. Meanwhile thousands or even millions could stream across the border and they could all then apply for asylum. As Yakov Smirnoff would say, What A Country.

Soak the rich

Republicans tried to repeal and replace Obamacare and failed by one vote when Senator McCain voted against the bill. As the republicans floundered around for two years since the Trump election the democrats said the republicans were going to take away the pre-existing clause which of course was always there in Medicaid. The 2018 midterms centered around this pre-existing clause and the democrats won back the house on the promise that they would bring down health care cost while protection the pre-existing condition clause. They are now in the same position the republicans were in and must find a solution to the rising cost of healthcare. The only plan that is being discussed is government healthcare for all and polls show support for this and certainly companies are for it so what is the hangup. How to pay for it. The total wealth of the people in the US is $67 trillion and the top 10% own 76% of that or $50 trillion dollars. A 7% wealth tax on these people would provide $3.5 trillion dollars per year and that would cover the cost of healthcare for all. Since the wealth of the world rich grew by 19% last year they would still be ahead. With the rise of social democrats the country may be ripe to pick the pockets of the rich. Let's see how it goes.

New tax law

On Morning Joe this AM they were bemoaning the fact that wealthy people in high tax states were going to pay more taxes because of the new tax law and that many of them voted democrat in the 2018 midterms because of these tax changes. While that is probably true it does show that middle upper income people will pay more taxes other things being equal. In 2017 30% of taxpayers itemized deductions and people with incomes of over $100,000 received 88% of these deductions. People with high incomes who live in states with high taxes benefit the most from these deductions. These are mostly from deducting state income tax and property tax. For a family with $400,000 income living in a million dollar home the new tax law will have an adverse effect. Their state income tax and property tax could easily be more than $40,000 but the new tax law limits their deduction for these two items to $10,000. In addition the mortgage interest deduction will be limited to mortgages up to $750,000. Once again many wealthy people have homes worth several million dollars and they will lose some of their mortgage interest deductions so rich people are not too happy with the new tax law.

Coumo Amazon

New York State is promising Amazon $1.3 billion in tax subsidies to bring their new office to Queens. The state only collects $6 billion in corporate income tax so this is quite a give away. Welfare for low income people is an acceptable use of state funds but corporate welfare is questionable. Governor Cuomo said that since the state has such high corporate income tax rates he had to sweeten the pot or Amazon may just move to Texas. To quote Cuomo: “It’s not a level playing field to begin with. All things being equal, if we do nothing, they’re going to Texas.”

Tax break

60 million people are employed by companies and the average cost for healthcare is $10,000 per employee so the total cost that companies pay for healthcare is $600 billion. As a comparison corporations pay $325 billion in income tax. Going to a national healthcare system will save these companies $600 billion or almost twice what they pay in income tax.

Pelosi

Trump is touting Pelosi for speaker and many say he is just trying to keep her out of the job and that likely is the case but there is another possibility. The newly elected Democrats are left leaning and will not be willing to compromise and if they get control there will be gridlock since they cannot pass any legislation without the senate and even then Trump could veto. Perhaps Trump realizes that his best chance for getting anything done is to work with Pelosi who would like to leave a legacy of accomplishments. She knows that the Dems were elected on the promise to fix health care and there is no chance of that without help from Trump. If two more years go by without a healthcare fix the Dems may suffer in 2020

Music Man

While flipping though Youtube today, I came across and unexpected pleasure. I discovered a new version of the old hit, The Music Man, and as I watched I realized how much times have changed. The story revolves around Professor Harold Hill's pursuit of Marian the librarian. He is persistent to a fault and in spite of her numerous rebuffs he will not give up. Even though she spurns his advances repeatedly he keeps after her using all sorts of trickery, false promises and out right lies. In the end he wins her heart. In today's world he would be arrested for stalking and convicted of sexual harassment. The old adage of he chased her until she caught him is no longer allowed. The country has undergone many cultural changes and most were good but some are just a little too much.

Census data

There is a bill before congress asking that only citizens be counted in determining the distribution of federal dollars. If illegals are not counted separately they will count in getting federal dollars. While most are concerned about the political ramifications of this bill there are also significant economic issues. Census guidelines determine how $500 billion in federal dollars are distributed. That equates to $930 million dollars per electoral vote. There are an estimated 11 million undocumented (not citizens) and this is 15 electoral votes or $14 billion dollars.

Bipartisanship

The time is ripe for bi-partisanship. Prison reform. Get rid of the Clinton 3 strikes policy. Make penalties for crack and powered cocaine the same. Infrastructure. Set up programs using 2/3rds federal money with 1/3rd matching state or private money. Immigration. Stop family based immigration and build wall while setting a path to citizenship for the dreamers and their parents. Taxes. Lower taxes on middle income people and raise taxes on the top one percent. Healthcare. Medicaid free for all earning less than 4 times the poverty rate and retain company healthcare plans. There are no pre-existing conditions in Medicaid Work toward getting rid of import taxes for all who do business with the USA.

Helping the poor

Almost half the worlds populations, 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 per day. This population increases by 40 million each year. Another 2.5 billion live on less than $10 per day and they increase by over 30 million per year. The US has a legal immigration of one million per year so using immigration to solve world poverty will not work. They must be helped where they live and free market capitalism is the key. The successfully developed countries must purchase goods from third world countries to help these people. The best example is how Americans helped the poor in China move to higher incomes. A growing US economy does more to help the world's poor than any government or charity.

Tax breaks

The tax cuts from the 2017 tax bill are composed of individual tax breaks and corporate tax breaks but the individual breaks will sunset in 2025 while the corporate breaks continue. In the first 8 years 20% of the savings goes to the top one percent of earners. In 2017 the top one percent earned 20% of the money and paid 40% of the taxes. It is only after the sunset that the top one percent gets 83% of the tax savings. This 83% figure is often quoted in the press as if that is what is happening now without the explanation that it will only happen in 2025 when the individual breaks end. Congress will try to make these individual tax breaks permanent in the coming session so that will not happen. The 83% figure has been quoted so often that most people believe that is happening now.

Business approach

It is often said that Trump is a business man and not a politician and this idea will be tested now that the democrats have taken control of the house. While politicians are credit oriented and thus prefer party over country, a businessman is results oriented and does not concern himself with credit. Trump can now set up programs that will benefit the country by giving congress the credit. He can increase taxes on the higher incomes and lower taxes on middle incomes. He can use federal money to set up new infrastructure plans since democrats are not concerned about deficits and agree to a path to citizenship for dreamers and their parents for a border wall. In each case he can praise the congress for its forward thinking and cooperation. This will give Pelosi a legacy to retire with and congress some achievements to run on in 2020. While all of this domestic activity is happening Trump can continue his strategy regarding tax free trade agreements.

News conferences

One of the many differences between Trump and other presidents is the way he has press conferences. Typically the press is given advanced notice and the conference is held in the White House. Presidents typically spend a lot of time answering questions so the total number of questions is limited. Trump has unannounced conferences and answers questions in rapid fire sequences. The news reports that Trump has given only half a many formal new conferences as Obama but what is not reported is the number of questions Trump answers. Trump engaged reporters in 170 short question and answer sessions during his first 465 days in office, a window that ended Tuesday, compared to Obama’s 55 short Q&As, which generally are with members of the White House press pool.

Felons voting

Minnesota has long faced the dilemma of how to deal with convicted sex offenders. The current system says that when a sex offender has complete his sentence he must then go to another prison based on the concept of something he might do. Experts have currently determined that these offenders will once again offend if given the opportunity. Common sense dictates that you should not be sent to prison for something you might do based on some experts opinion but that is where the law stands. Florida approved voting rights for convicted felons who have served their time except for those convicted of murder or rape. Is this based on some data that says they will murder or rape again and if so should they be released. Will some convicted murderer go to court over the equal protection of the 14th amendment?

National healthcare

If the country goes to a national healthcare plan it will be a cash windfall for corporations. In 2017 the US population was about 325 million and the cost of healthcare was $3.5 trillion or a little over $10,000 per person. There are currently 155 million Americans covered by employer sponsored healthcare at a cost of $1.6 trillion dollars. Employers pay 80% of this or $1.28 trillion. Last year corporations paid $300 billion in income tax. The savings in healthcare cost will be four times greater that what the companies pay in income tax.

Monopoly

Trump has recently expressed concern about the monopoly power of certain companies. The concern about Google and Facebook may well be warranted since they can use their power to influence political thought but a company like Amazon is not in that category. Amazon is much like Ma Bell in the 50's. The telephone was the best of bargains based on what you paid and the benefits received but people were upset because AT&T was making too much money. It didn't matter that they were getting a good deal they wanted a better deal by forcing the company to break up with the idea that rates would then come down. Amazon is providing an excellent service at a reasonable price and people are happy with the company. They are not influencing any political thought but some people are upset because Amazon doesn't have enough competition. Others feel that since Amazon now owns the Washington Post they should be tossed in with Facebook.

Bureaucrats

Now that the dust has settled over the Kavanaugh case, one of the more important influences he may have on the court can be investigated. Over the years bureaucracies have assumed more and more authority and the courts have not resisted. Kavanaugh is a believer in the idea that the courts should reign in the authority of groups like the EPA. Many scholars agree that these nonelected government officials have expanded their authority and need to be checked. In the past nine years the EPA alone has issued 3,300 new regulations adding 30,000 pages of rules and there are 430 government agencies.

Private healthcare cost

The average annual cost of private health care per employee is $10,000 and the employer pays 80% of that or $8,000. Walmart has 1.5 million employees so their cost for health care is $11 billion. Last years tax law that reduced corporate income tax saved Walmart 2 billion in taxes. Many of the same people who were against lowering corporate taxes are pushing to have government paid health care for all. From a business standpoint Walmart would give up their tax cut to get rid of health care cost. Other large corporations would see similar cost savings so most would be for national health care.

Immigrant visa

3 Ways to apply for legal immigration to USA One can immigrate to America and get a US Green Card, by securing a job in the country. This option is open to highly skilled foreign nationals The second way most people choose to immigrate to the United States is through marriage. Third you can immigrate to America if you are a family member of a US citizen or a permanent resident.  How to apply If a person wants to legally immigrate to the US, the first step is to apply for an immigrant VISA. Submit a petition Choose an agent Pay fees Submit application Collect financial documents Collect supporting documents Submit documents Conduct applicant interview According to USCIS, an application for permanent residence (Form I-485) will take anywhere from 7 months to 33 months to process.

Legal immigrants

Canada uses a merit based system for immigration. It favors youth, education, experience and fluency in English or French. If the US would use such a system those with experience and education in science and technology (STEM) would be given preference. The US currently suffers from a shortage in these areas and these jobs are highly skilled and highly paid. In 2016, 1.49 million foreign-born individuals moved to the United States, a 7 percent increase from the 1.38 million coming in 2015. India was the leading country of origin, with 175,100 arriving in 2016, followed by 160,200 from China. This represents 22% If the merit based system is used the numbers from Asia will rapidly increase.

War

This coming November 11th is the 100th anniversary of the ending of World War One, the war to end all wars. Many Americans have not had the opportunity to serve in the military and have little understanding of what it is like to be in battle. An Australian song writer named Eric Bogle captured the essence. This may be more than some want to deal with but for those who listen, I ask if you would turn your face away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwe7WJeRWhg

GM

In 1953 GM President Charles Wilson famously said, as GM goes, so goes the Nation. So what happened that 50 plus years late GM went bankrupt. Many management mistakes were made over the years trying to maintain the status quo and just looking at the bottom line but many of the problems started when GM decided to be a good corporation and take care of its employees. Their reasons were not altruistic but predicated on protecting the dividend by not having a strike. To satisfy the unions they offered up legacy benefits that years later became to costly to meet and caused them to lose out to foreign competition. GM has 10 retired workers for each currently employed worker and the cost of these retirees is $2,000 per car. Companies like Toyota have very few retirees and thus low legacy cost. GM started it's downhill course in the early 70's and hung on until the recession of 2008 and that was the straw that broke the camels back.

Donovan

The forgotten case of Labor Secretary Donovan. He was accused of fraud and grand larceny and the court case lasted 8 months. The jury was out for just ten hours and acquitted him on the first vote. It was a sham trial and the jury knew it. The jury deliberated barely 10 hours over two days. One juror, Caesar Brown, said later that little discussion was needed and that just one ballot was required to find each defendant not guilty. When the last verdict was announced at 4:42 P.M. by the jury forewoman, Rosa Milligan, cheers and applause enveloped the courtroom. Most of the 12 jurors stood and applauded as they watched the defendants, their relatives and defense lawyers shouting with joy, embracing and slapping one another's backs When the trial ended Donovan famously said, "Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?

Looking for food

 Mortality rates are skyrocketing; one public service after another is collapsing; triple-digit inflation has left more than 70 percent of the population in poverty; an unmanageable crime wave keeps people locked indoors at night; shoppers have to stand in line for hours to buy food; babies die in large numbers for lack of simple, inexpensive medicines and equipment in hospitals, as do the elderly and those suffering from chronic illnesses. This is Venezuela, home to 32 million people. Over 2 million have fled the country into neighboring Columbia and Peru many just trying to find food.

Google

Google is in the news because of sexual harassment charges against some of its top executives and employees are rightly upset but employees are also concerned about Googles business activities. Because of employee concerns Google has decided not to help the Pentagon with its drone program but will continue to help China to censer the Internet. This leaves some people tying to figure out if Google is showing a preference to China over the US.

Prejudice

The bombing at the Jewish Synagogue is in the news because of the total number of dead. During my life attacks against Jews have been on the decline but they still represent two-thirds of all crimes against religion. They are normally carried out by individuals and usually involve only a few victims. Prejudice against Jews has been going on for thousands of years and continued in the United States. Things are much improved from the days when Jews were not allowed to join private clubs and Jewish doctors were not allowed to practice in general hospitals but there is still work to be done as is the case with all prejudice.

Legal pot

Canada has just made pot legal throughout the whole country. Some say they did not look at what happened in Colorado. In the years since, Colorado has seen an increase in marijuana related traffic deaths, poison control calls, and emergency room visits. The marijuana black market has increased in Colorado, not decreased. And, numerous Colorado marijuana regulators have been indicted for corruption. In 2012, we were promised funds from marijuana taxes would benefit our communities, particularly schools. Dr. Harry Bull, the Superintendent of Cherry Creek Schools, one of the largest school districts in the state, said, "So far, the only thing that the legalization of marijuana has brought to our schools has been marijuana." The upside is tax revenue. In fiscal year 2016, marijuana tax revenue resulted in $156,701,018. The total tax revenue for Colorado was $13,327,123,798, making marijuana only 1.18% of the state's total tax revenue. As an interesting aside, many proponents of clean air are also pushing to legalize pot

McCain

Many people are so upset with Trump it is having and adverse effect on their lives. Senator John McCain, a war hero and candidate for president asked that Trump not attend his funeral. Many who are resentful failed to realized that resentment is like taking poison and expecting someone else to get sick. Resentment can even lead to mental or physical illness. McCain would have been better off if he had traded his resentment for forgiveness. For those whose lives are being negatively effected by Trump, remember that each day when you awake, you can choose what kind of day you will have. Will you be forgiving or resentful. Is any politician worth a bad day.

Ethanol

The energy policy act of 1992 was the law that accelerated the building of corn ethanol plants. Today there are over 200 plants producing 16 billion gallons per year which represents 10% of auto fuel. 40% of all corn is used to produce ethanol and it is highly subsidized by the government. This was seen as a good way to use renewable fuel for transportation but the cost benefit predictions did not materialize and now the government feels it must keep them operating. Many feel the government is making the same mistake with electric cars.

Foreign aid

President Trump has threatened to cut off funds to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador but the question is does he have the authority. Experts say no. Should he? Most of the money goes to a few wealthy people and some trickles down to help the poor in hospitals and schools. There are 30 million people in those three countries and the aid is $180 million dollars or $5 per year per person. If all of that money was evenly distributed they would not miss it even if it stopped. Many feel that sending money to these countries just contributes to the corruption. This is typical of what happens when the US sends money to third world countries. Did someone in our government really believe that $5 per year per person was going to make a difference in the lives of everyday people or did they know in advance it was money for the rich? Where does all this corruption begin and end?

Clock

On Sept 14, 2015 a young man brought a homemade clock to school. It resembled a bomb and the teacher reported this to the principal and the clock was confiscated and the young man was taken into custody, fingerprinted, mug shot and then released to his parents. Since he was a Muslim and his name was Mohammad the school was accused of being prejudice. All charges were dropped and then his family sued the city for $15 million but the suit was dismissed. Later that year he and his family moved to Qatar where they now reside. They say the reason the left is to get away from accusations of terrorism. This case illustrates how common sense can prevent such reaction. The student brought a small box containing a clock with a series of wires attached to it two days after the forth anniversary of 9/11. The school with the zero based policies in effect over reacted. The law suit added fuel to some of the rumors about the illegitimacy of affair. Finally his family was tarred for life because of this apparent innocent activity.

Speech

Experts on the First Amendment tell us that freedom of speech is most important when it includes speech we don't like. Now we are told that if certain words are spoken they could incite someone to turn to violence so we must not say those words. If the line between speech and violence becomes blurred then free speech suffers. To say that speech is responsible for violence leads to restricting speech.

Anima

Being on Face Book is something relatively new to me and I was taken a back by all of the birthday greetings I received. As a way a thanking everyone, I have decided to reveal a secret side of my life. My favorite psychologist is Carl Jung and Jung says a man has a feminine soul which he called the anima. He did this so as not to confuse the feminine with female. For the first 40 years of my life, I was unaware of my anima but these past forty years I have gotten to know her quite well. I visit daily with her and these are the best of times. She has a name Liberty Rhythm. Liberty because she is the feminine part of freedom and rhythm because that word belongs in the spiritual side of life. Even the spelling tells you it is not of this world. The best way to explain my relationship with this beautiful lady is to use the words of the poet from a song that I like and it goes like this. It must have been cold there in my shadow, To never have sunlight on your face. You were content to let me shine, that's your way. You always walked a step behind. So I was the one with all the glory, While you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name for so long. A beautiful smile to hide the pain. Did you ever know that you're my hero, And everything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, For you are the wind beneath my wings. It might have appeared to go unnoticed, But I've got it all here in my heart. I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it. I would be nothing without you.

lottery tax

As I watch the mania unfold around the lottery, I am reminded that this is just one more sin tax. It goes along with taxes on gasoline, alcohol, tobacco and now pot. I live only 8 miles from a casino and there are bus loads of people heading out there every day and these are mostly middle to lower income people. The one saving grace is that the lottery like the casino is a voluntary tax.

LNG for Germany

Here is a news item released today that got very little attention BERLIN—Chancellor Angela Merkel has offered government support to efforts to open up Germany to U.S. gas, a key concession to President Trump as he tries to loosen Russia’s grip on Europe’s largest energy market.

Immigrants and foreign aid

The population of the four Central American countries who are sending people to the US is 44 million. Gallop conducted a poll in 2012 and found that 16% of these people wanted to come to the United States. This represents 7 million people. As a nation with a history of concern for immigrants and a nation that wants to help, how many of these people should be invited to live in the US. There are several million more that live on the islands in the Caribbean and are struggling daily to survive. The Obama administration mobilized Congress to approve a $750 million appropriations bill to provide assistance for the three governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala — which make up what’s known as Central America’s “Northern Triangle” — to improve security, promote peace, and tackle gang violence. Like foreign aid in general it is difficult to find out who got the money. All too often the money stays in the pockets of the leadership. The US finds itself the position of having to pay to keep immigrants out.

Journalist

The ongoing investigation into the the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi  and how it is being handled is reminiscent of the case of Gary Powers. Powers was the U-2 pilot who was shot down over Russian on May 1. 1960. This plane flew at 70,000 feet and was difficult to see and even more difficult to shot down. When it was first reported President Eisenhower said it was a weather reconnaissances plane that flew off course when the pilot passed out. On May 7th it was revealed that the pilot had been captured along with parts of the plane and on May 11th the president conceded that it was a spy plane. The US had no intentions of fessing up to spying until they were forced to some 11 days after the event. The Saudis got caught with their hand in the cookie jar so they resorted to subterfuge and are now paying the price of the cover up. It is usually governments that cover up. Individual groups do not care and often times brag over their misdeeds as was the case when journalist Daniel Pearl was publicly decapitated by terrorist in Pakistan.

Voting trends

Trump has caused a lot of turmoil among the electorate and one of the more surprising changes may cause an upheaval in the conventional wisdom pertaining to how demographics will effect future elections. Recent polls show Blacks and Hispanics moving toward voting republican. These minorities see their personal financial picture improving as not just jobs are more plentiful but wages among the lower income groups are increasing. Experts say that if 20% of blacks vote republican it can turn an election. Hispanics seem even more inclined to consider voting republican. Only 12% of Blacks and Hispanic voted republican in the 2016 election but recent polls show these groups trending toward 20% republican. If this continues the long term demographic that predicted the demise of the Republican Party may not happen.

Petrodollars

At this time when tensions with Saudi Arabia are running high it is critical to review why the relationship between our two countries is important. When the oil fields were first developed the US committed to protecting the Saudis from outside enemies with the understanding that they would only sell oil for dollars and thus the term petrodollars. Because the Saudis kept their promise the US dollar remained the premier currency around the world. Even though today we are not as dependent on Saudi oil the use of petrodollars helps the US keep it's dominance in world financial matters. Let us not be too quick to sever relations over the killing of this reporter as there is much more at stake.

Saudi Arabia

Because of the possible death of a Saudi journalist some are suggesting we cancel all arms deals with the Saudis. The fact that they would buy arms from other countries is a factor but more important is that when they use arms from the US they need spare parts from the US and this gives the US leverage on how they use those arms. There will be other ways to show the Saudis that the US does not approve of their actions assuming they are responsible for the journalist's death.

Saudis

With the current situation in Saudi Arabia, regarding the disappearance of a journalist, the US finds itself in the position that was common during the cold war. Often times our anti-communist allies were behaving in despicable ways but we sided with them because they were against the communist. Our representative to the United Nations Mrs. Kirkpatrick said it best when she said, he may be a dictator but he is our dictator. Our big enemy in the Middle East is Iran and the Saudis are on our side in this regard. The US and the Saudis have worked with Israel in order to reign in the power of Iran and this relationship could be in jeopardy if the US sanctions the Saudis. The US chose not to sanction the Saudis when it was discovered that 15 of the 19 who bombed the world trade center buildings on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. The question now is should they be sanctioned over the death of this journalist.

Trump change

Donald Trump is an amazing person both in a good way and a bad way. He is constantly opposed by bureaucrats who dislike change and fear for their jobs, never Trumper republicans who dislike his tweets, democrats who are beside themselves with anger for having lost the election and the national press who predicted a Hilary victory. No matter what the criticism is or where it comes from he is a counter puncher and is usually faulted for fighting back. Through it all he seems to enjoy being president and never stops. He is like the energizer bunny. He just keeps going. He is changing government for better or for worse but people don't like change and they are fighting back to maintain the status quo. If there is one phrase that best describes the Trump Presidency it is, he is not presidential. His enemies knew that during the campaign but it didn't concern them because they assumed he would never be elected. In fact early on they enjoyed the ratings bump.

Think news

Trump gathers news people around him like flies around honey and for good reason. He is notorious for making controversial statements and this means news. This week news moved to a higher level when Kenya West visited the White House. West went on a five minute rant and Trump stood by, somewhat amazed, and listened. Since Trump didn't speak the news could not report on any off the cuff remarks but that did not stop them. One prominent host on CNN decided to report on what he thought Trump was thinking and it was not flattering toward Trump. Apparently Trump can make news without saying anything.

Positive thinking

There is an old adage that says, we can learn from the past. Back in the 50's the idea of the power of positive thinking was coined by Norman Vincent Peal. There were a number of books written espousing this idea and Nepoleon Hill said it best when he pronounced, what the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. There are ministers on TV today preaching what is called prosperity gospel and it is the modern day equivalent of positive thinking with the addition of the concept that God wants you to have a good life. Modern science understands this power and offers examples of how a good attitude helps a person recover from illness, helps others succeed in endeavors that they believe in and leads some to accomplish physical feats beyond their normal abilities.

Anger

Polls show that many Trump voters wanted change and they certainly got what they wanted. Trump has turned the republican party up-side-down and that has caused the democrats to make drastic changes. Trump is called un-presidential by one side and unconventional by the other side. As an outsider he is not owning to either party and the establishment is in turmoil. Some news outlets are equally disturbed as they are 24/7 Trump. Those who are anti-Trump spend a lot of time discussing his personality and those on the other side talk about his policies. Both sides say anger will be driving people to vote. It is well known that people are actively opposed and passively for, so turnout is based on anger. That just about sums up where we are today and since democrats are more angry they should have the best turnout.

Net pay

You can skip the statistics and go down to the summery. Family of four with one wage earner at $15 per hour or $30,000 per year. Gross income $30,000 Less standard deduction $24,000 Taxable income $6,000 Tax due $600 Child tax credit $4,000 Tax refund $3,400 Earned income tax credit $4,248 Gross income $30,000 Less payroll tax $2,295 Plus tax child tax credit $3,400 Plus EITC $4,285 Take home pay $35,390 Family of four with one wage earner at $30 per hour or $60,000 per year Gross income $60,000 Less standard deduction $24,000 Taxable income $36,000 Tax due $3,600 Child tax credit $4,000 Tax refund $400 EITC 0 Gross income $60,000 Less payroll tax $4,590 Take home pay $55,410 In addition the $30,000 family is eligible for a $7,500 subsidy for health care and other various state and federal benefits. In MN things like energy assistance, head start, WIC, SNAP and school lunch. These added to other assorted benefits can add another $5,000 of income. Summery. Family one takes earning $30,000 takes home $47,800 and family two earning $60,000 takes home $55,410. Note that neither family pays any federal or state income tax.

IRS

This past week the NY Times had an eight page spread on how Trump inherited his money and the many ways he avoided paying taxes. The story didn't create much interest and kind of just went away. There are many ways in which the IRS can be confusing. Back in the early 70's I purchased a business and in order to file taxes you must differentiate between buildings and land when you fill out the depreciation schedule. It is to my advantage to put as much value on the building, which can be depreciated and it is better for the IRS to value the land since it cannot be depreciated. I asked them how I should split the value and was told that I should put down what I thought was right and if they didn't agree they would challenge. I was fortunate because the land was on two separate lots and the building on one lot. I checked the taxable value of the empty lot and used that to value on the lot the building was on.

McCarthy

I recall watching the McCarthy hearings on TV and they were, in retrospect, the beginning of the end to McCarthyism. The spectacle of accusing people of un-American activities based on what they did in their youth was eye opening and taught me to understand that youthful indiscretions should not be the measure of a man's life. Many people were deemed guilty not based on evidence but rather by accusations, hearsay an innuendo. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and labor union activists. Many reasonable people felt it was necessary to uncover communist, especially those in government but it was the extremism as witnessed in the hearings that awakened people to the injustice of it all. When it seemed that the presumption of innocence was being trampled upon, many were taken a back, and demanded that McCarthy be stopped and he was.

Amazon stock

Amazon stock has dropped over $100 per share since they announced raising wages to $15 per hour. Since they have almost 500 million shares outstanding that means a loss of $50 billion dollars in less than a month. This represents the tension between stockholders and employees. If the stock comes back in the next few months it means just a temporary set back but if it stays down or continues to decline it will cause other companies to keep wages low. If Amazon had raised prices to cover this loss the damage to stock would likely have been less dramatic. If Amazon customers had to pay more they wouldn't like it but it is not likely they would go somewhere else as there is a loyalty to the brand much like Apple. Companies will be raising prices to keep stock values up and investors happy.

Court

The country has undergone some dramatic changes in the past ten years as represented by the way the senate deals with Supreme Court nominees. Justice Sotomayer was confirmed for the court in 2009 at the age of 55. The vote was 68 to 31 including 9 republicans. She made a statement that might be treated differently in today's climate. She said: In several speeches, Sotomayor had suggested that a “wise Latina woman” might reach a better conclusion in a case than a white man, and said a judge’s “experience and heritage” might play a role in the courtroom as well.

Bezos Marx

Amazon has decided to offer $15 an hour to all employees and that is a good start but there is more they can do. In the United States they have 250,000 full time employee and 100,000 part time. If the full time people work 40 hours and the part time 20 hours they have 600 million man-hours per year. If they payed them an additional $15 and hour it would cost the company $9 billion annually. Sales this year will be about $200 billion so if they raised their prices by 4.5% they could do this. Bezos could be another Henry Ford. Ford was the guy who discredited Karl Marx when he started paying $5 per day which was enough to allow his employees to purchase a new Ford which cost $250. The workers were able to purchase what they made. Marx said this would never happen. Amazon employee would spend a good portion of their new found money on Amazon products. Another option is that Bezos could give part of his $150 billion personal fortune to the employees. He recently gave $2 billion to charity. Charity begins at home.

Elites

The news reports daily about the split in the country based on political parties but I have a different take on this matter. There is a split alright but it is between the Elites and the Peons. The Elites are represented by the 30% of the population who are college graduates and the Peons are other 70%. Elites are most commonly found in the federal bureaucracy, the national news people, the world of academia, Hollywood, most members of congress and other assorted white collar types. The Peons are the working class including most union members, service workers and other blue collar people. The Elites have more formal education, higher incomes and live in better neighborhoods. The Peons spend their lives working for the Elites. They clean their streets, serve their food, do their lawn care, drive public transports and wait on them in retail stores. The Elites have seen their standard of living rise over the past 50 years while the Peons have seen theirs decline. The Elites often refer to the Peons as the less informed plus a number of other not so desirable phrases. The Peons see the Elites as people who think they are better than them. Both sides usually talk past one another and so the stand off.

Votes

The population of California is estimated at 40 million and they have 53 congressional representatives meaning one rep for every 750,000 people. California is home to about 3 million illegal aliens which is the equivalent to 4 electoral votes. All states have two senators and each gets one electoral vote but the rest is based on population so a state like North Dakota with a population of 675,000 has one congressional electoral vote. There are 21 states that have 4 or fewer electoral congressional votes which means that the illegal aliens in California have the same influence on who becomes president as do the legal citizens in these 21 states. Some feel that these illegals should be counted in the census but not in the electoral count.

Electric cars

The best way to deal with climate change is multifaceted and involves solar, wind, and natural gas. Solar panels can be used to pay for home electric use. They cost about $20,000 and have a 12 year payback. This means no more electric bill and the use of an electric car for work while sending no carbon dioxide into the air. The downside is that only fairly wealthy people can afford this. Other uses of electric cars at this time is self defeating. To charge the batteries means using electricity produced at power plants most of which are using coal. Those using natural gas are better but as any physicist knows when ever you change from one source of energy to another you lose efficiency so it better to put natural gas into the car than to use natural gas to make electricity and then put that into the car. The government still insist on pushing electric cars instead of cars running on natural gas and most of this push comes from those invested in electric cars. Tesla is only there because of government support. Last year out of 18 million cars sold in the US only 200,000 were electric. The government subsidized and average of $10,000 per electric car and most of this when to the wealthy.

Growing up

Time is passing me by. I have lived in Hastings for 18 years and have eaten out three times. I have not been to one movie and I don't own a smart phone. I read books and work crossword puzzles. I don't go on trips and I don't take vacations. I can listen to music for hours and not get bored and there is nothing more invigorating than a long walk. The best entertainment is having the grandchildren over for a home cooked meal and yes going fishing. Life is good.

Kavanaugh

With the current controversy surrounding the nomination of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court it is interesting to google Justice Clarence Thomas. Even though he has been on the court for 25 years and has participated in many cases and has written 4 major court decisions none of these or any other court business appears in the first five pages on google. Almost every article about Thomas has to do with Anita Hill. If Kavanaugh is approved this is likely what will happen to him. Even if these accusations proof to be unfounded his life is forever changed. His wife and daughter's ages 10 and 13 will have to deal with this at school and with their friends. Here is one of the many threats he has received. “Please tell your rapist, lying, cheating, corrupt b—h of a husband to put a bullet in his ugly f—–g skull.” Another email to Amy Kavanaugh: “Hey b—h, did you know your husband was a rapist before you married him

Pot

Cigarette smoking by adults has declined from 42% to 17% while pot smoking has increased from 7% in 2013 to 12% today. Lung cancer death rates declined 45% from 1990 to 2015 among men and 19% from 2002 to 2015 among women. The link between tobacco smoke and lung cancer is well-known. Studies show that marijuana smoke has many of the same harmful substances as tobacco, and often more of them. It appears that we will have to allow for more years of pot smoking to gather data on cancer so as more states allow for pot smoking the lung cancer rates should catch up with cigarettes. Seems like a risky experiment.

Laundering

About 50 years ago I was watching 60 Minutes and they were interviewing a banker in Miami and asked him if he thought it was a little strange when a man came in and deposited $200,000 in cash and the banker answered, "no". This was a time when the drug problem was starting and laundering was a new thing. This past week a bank in Estonia was found to be laundering but my how things have changed. The bank was charged with laundering $234 billion dollars in mostly Russian money. While this is not drug money it represents money stolen from the Russia people.

CEO salaries

To most people the initials CEO refer to the head of a large corporation such as those in the Fortune 500 but there are 1.5 million corporations in the USA. Referring to the top five hundred the average pay is $10 million which is 20 times more than the average employee but the difference does not end there. Here is the tale of two CEO's. John Hess has been CEO of Hess Corporation since 1996 and last year his salary was $12 million. The number of employees at Hess has declined from 12,000 in 2013 to 2,000 today. Last year Hess posted a loss of $1.1 billion. Jeff Bezos has headed Amazon since its inception in 1995 and his salary is $1.7 million and the number of employee has risen from a few to 566,000 while profits last year were $1.8 billion. Salaries of CEO's are not indicative of their contribution to the country.

Corruption

The Mueller investigation into Russian collusion in the election has opened the door to a number of differing opinions on what is going on but setting aside the current situation it has revealed an apparent weakness in the constitution. If there comes a time when the country has a corrupt Attorney General there seems to be no way to deal with such a situation. Any misuse of power in the FBI or the Department of Justice can be covered up by saying information must be kept secret either because there is an ongoing investigation or for national security reasons. Just in the news today about the current battle declassifying documents is the following: Four top Democratic lawmakers are demanding that no Russia-probe documents be released in compliance with President Donald Trump’s order until the director of national intelligence and the heads of the FBI and the Justice Department meet with the “Gang of Eight.” If that holds then the ball is back in the hands of the FBI and they will continue to investigate themselves and even the president cannot interfere.

Companies

In the past few years many large companies have come up with the slogan, "doing well by doing good", but many have yet to take any action. They can start with doing something about the discrepancy between the salaries of CEO's and the average worker which now stands at 271 times the average pay of $56,000 per year. They can shift priorities to a better balance between employees, the environment and stock holders. Studies show that consumers are concerned about how companies view the environment and what actions are being taken to preserve our clean air and water. Stock holders must wake up to the fact that this is their country as well as their stock. The current interest in socialism by the younger people is fostered by the lack of responsibility for the country shown by many companies. The idea that companies only exist for the benefit of the stock holders is no longer a viable goal. It is time for them to step up to the plate.

Corruption

Can the Justice Department be trusted is a question in the news these days and here is one recent case that may shed some light on the answer. In the 2008 senatorial election in Alaska, Ted Stevens the incumbent was defeated. Eight days before the election he was found guilty for failing to report gifts. He had been in the senate for 40 years and lost by 3,900 votes and most believe it was his conviction that cost him the election. Five months after the election the conviction was overturned. An extraordinary special investigation by a federal judge has concluded that two Justice Department prosecutors intentionally hid evidence in the case against Sen. Ted Stevens, one of the biggest political corruption cases in recent history. Too little, too late!

Innocent

Innocent until proven guilty is one of those nice things we like to say without really thinking it through. Daily somewhere in the country someone considered a flight risk is held in jail before they have been tried. In the minds of people if someone is accused there is probable cause of guilt. When all the dust settles if the persons if found not guilty the person is still guilty in the minds of many. The judgment of public opinion is often different than the judgment of the court and actually favors the accuser over the accused. Today there was a law professor who said that in a case of he says, she says, if the argument ends in the middle then she wins. When prominent figures are accused of some misdoing they are tarred for life regardless of the outcome. In the press it is common to see the accusation on the front page and the retraction in the back and this adds to the misconception of guilt. If an ordinary citizen is accused of child molesting and later found innocent his reputation is damaged regardless. This represents the dark side of human nature.

government

I learned in my early school years that the founding fathers warned us not to trust the government. As Thomas Paine said, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil.” Because of their fear of abuse, the Constitution’s framers sought to keep the federal government limited in its power. Their distrust of Congress is seen in the governing rules and language used throughout our Constitution. In my life there have been several important episodes to illustrate this point. The first is when J.Edgar Hoover died and all of his misdeeds were made public. The second came with the Pentagon Papers showing how Johnson and McNamara lied about Viet Nam. The next was Nixon and Watergate. Remember when Bush 41 said no new taxes, read my lips. More recently we've had Monica and WMD and this is just a partial list off the top of my head. Ike's great fear of the military industrial complex where big business and big government get together is now joined by big government and big news including print, TV and social media.

Living wage

Talk about the minimum wage has always centered around politics when it should be an economic issue. The average hourly pay is $25 but too many people are far below that. To bring low earners up to that level requires that companies charge more for their products and services and consumer to pay more. If consumers are willing to pay 10% more this goal can be achieved. This will allow companies like Walmart to cover the cost of the increased pay along with the benefits that go with the increase. Are people willing to pay $330 for a $300 TV so their fellow workers can have living wage?

Special prosecutor

In 2003 a covert CIA agent named Valerie Plame was outed and this resulted in an investigation. The "CIA leak scandal", or the "Plame affair", refers to a dispute stemming from allegations that one or more White House officials revealed Valerie Plame Wilson's covert CIA identity as "Valerie Plame" to reporters. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed Special Counsel on December 30, 2003.[5] Fitzgerald using the power of the Grand Jury indicted Scooter Libby, Chief of Staff to Vice President Chaney. While the investigation was ongoing Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State informed Fitzgerald that it was he, Armitage, who outed Plame. Knowing this Fitzgerald chose to continue the prosecution, requesting that Armitage remain quiet, and caught Libby in a lie on an unrelated subject and Libby was sentenced to prison and lost his law license.

Muslim employees

There is a pending case in Wisconsin where Muslim employees were refused time to pray. The law says: Once a case is litigated, courts have established a two-part test for addressing Title VII claims. First, the plaintiff must demonstrate a prima facie case of religious discrimination. In order to establish the prima facie case, the plaintiff must: (1) hold a sincere religious belief; (2) take steps to inform the employer about the conflict; and (3) be disciplined by the employer for failing to comply with some conflicting requirement.13 At one time in my career, I managed a poultry processing plant where we had 75 employees on the line and we had USDA inspectors in the plant. If the line was short one person the inspector could shut down the whole line until it was properly manned. If one Muslim worker stepped off the line to pray the entire line shut down. The company could have additional employees on stand by to replace anyone who wanted to pray but this would be an additional cost and then open the door for other employee to step away from the line for other personal business.

Puerto Rico

The death toll from the hurricane in Puerto Rice was set at 64 for many months after the storm was over. This data was collected by doctors on the scene but was later challenged by others who said the doctors did not know how to properly determine the deaths by the storm. A group of researches prepared a report. The report concluded that doctors and forensic pathologists on the ground in Puerto Rico didn't have the correct guidance – from either the state or federal government – to accurately classify deaths, leading to the low figure.   These same researchers determined the number of people who died in the six months preceding the storm and compared that with the number who died in the period six months after the storm and found there were 2,795 more. From this they concluded that the hurricane was responsible for these additional deaths.

Revenge

An old adage says to be careful what you wish for. Many democrats want to impeach Trump. He is a president who is like democrats in that the deficit is not a big concern. He says hands off to Medicare and social security. He has offered a path to citizenship not only for the dreamers but also for their parents. He is dismantling NAFTA which pleases labor unions. If veep Pence takes over he is likely to change all of those things and go back to the old conservative positions. Democrats could not ask for a better president than Trump when it comes to policy but they are so upset with Hilary's loss that revenge has clouded their judgment and they are willing to set aside long standing party ideals.

Rebates

Drug companies set the price for their product but they offer rebates to insurance companies so these companies push that drug to the top of the list. The net effect is that the price to the consumer stays the same but the insurance company and the drug company share the profits. It the drug company raises the price the cost to the consumer goes up but the mark up is still shared between the drug company and the insurance company. The insurance company price to the consumer is set and does not include the rebate. For example. The drug company sells its product to the insurance company for $100 but offers a rebate of $20 so the net cost to the insurance company is $80 but they charge the consumer based on $100. The retail price is say $120 and the insurance company claims a profit of $20 but in actuality they made $40. The Trump plan gets rid of rebates. Rebates in the life insurance industry were outlawed many years ago.

Mueller investigation

In 1978 the FISA court (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) was established to protect against spies. Since its inception 99.97% of all request to the court have been granted. The warrants are used to gather evidence from agents of foreign governments. Once granted the government can monitor any and all correspondence for anyone contacted by the source. They can then monitor all info from the persons contacted by the source and so on to their contacts. There is no need to show probable cause only that this person is in contact with foreign agents. Carter Page was a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign and a warrant was issued to monitor his correspondence. This information was passed on to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. Trump maintains that this was the start of the Russia collusion investigation but the government says this started with a man named George Papadopoulos who worked for the Trump campaign for three months starting in December of 2015. He was in a bar one night and told a Australian diplomat that Russia had info on Hilary that could be used against her. No such dirt was ever uncovered. This was the beginning of what has become the Mueller investigation.