Income tax

Every once in a while some Libertarian will come up with the idea of getting rid of the income tax but they are always frustrated when they find out it would take a constitutional amendment. The 16th amendment enacted in 1913 legalized income tax. If they just dug a little deeper they would have discovered an easy way to get around that. Turns out that in 1943 congress authorized the use of payroll deduction for tax collection. What congress can do, congress can undo. If people were required to come up with all the tax they owe for the year in April there would be such an outcry that the 16th would go the way prohibition.

Where are the jobs

Over the years the democrats have been given the pejorative title of the tax and spend party and this year is a prime example of that philosophy. While all of the candidates have grandiose plans for providing government benefits to the citizens there is an unfortunate lack of plans for people to help themselves. Where are the jobs? Meanwhile the democratic party is looking for ways to help illegals cross the southern border, promoting sanctuary cities, having members expressing anti-Jewish positions (BDS), actively opposing police (Black lives matter) and many see free market capitalism as a failing economic system. The leadership promotes separating people by groups based on characteristics such as race and life style. Even things like saluting the flag and saying the anthem have come under attack. There is a large group who fail to see America as the land of opportunity but concentrate instead on Americas short comings which makes it more difficult for them to improve their status. These changes in attitude have been growing for many years but accelerated since Bush 43 was elected in 2000.

Minority voters

For the past 50 plus years, politics in America has been on a slow but inexorable march toward democratic dominance. The demographics dictated that the growth in minorities would eventually overcome the white majority and the Republican Party would just go away. All that has suddenly changed. These minorities are not just the robot voters that most thought but thoughtful voters who can think for themselves and they are more concerned about jobs and pay rates than party loyalty. Several recent polls show that upwards of 30% of minority voters are leaning toward Trump. If this trend continues it spells disaster for democrats. 16 million blacks voted in the last election and a swing of 20% of those would mean over 3 million. Add to that another 3 million Hispanic votes and the election turns over. Once these people start voting with their pocket books, the long predicted demographic will be turned on its head. The cry of racism that has helped to keep these voters in line, will lose its power as their economic situation improves.

Read and write

It is my contention that unless you are going to be an engineer or a scientist, you do not need to take algebra 2 and chemistry in high school. Those courses should be replaced with writing courses. Each day the student would have the option of selecting an article or be assigned an article to read and then write a summery of that article. The article should be ten to twenty pages and the summery should be one page. After doing this every day during their junior and senior years they will leave high school knowing how to read and write down what was read. These courses would be called reading comprehension one and two. There are many reports on the Internet indicating that majoring in English in college is a waste of time and money. Learning how to read an write should be done in high school and one of the reasons that people major in English in college is because they didn't learn how to read and write in high school. This extra time in college could be used to study civics, economics, and personal finance. These courses would include business, basic accounting and taxes. Throw in a course on interpersonal relationships and this person will be ready to go to work. If the students choose not to go to college they will be equipped to meet the challenges of the work place because they can read and write and write down what they read.

Repo's

Banks must carry a reserve of 10%. If a bank has deposits of $100 they can loan out $90 and must keep $10 in reserve. They do not keep this money in cash but use it to buy government securities so they earn interest on their reserves. The amount of loans varies daily and thus the banks need for cash varies. To keep things in balance banks use repo's, that is, overnight purchase or sale of bonds. If the bank needs cash for loans it will sell bonds to get cash and if it has excess cash it will purchase bonds. These operations often occur overnight. Last September the demand for overnight cash increased so rapidly that the interest charge rose above what the Fed had set as a control on inflation and a mini-panic set it. In order to prevent that from happening again the Fed started to sell bonds to get a reserve of cash to be used for repo's. This will continue at the rate of about $60 billion per month thru next March. This is different from the quantitative easing that was set up during the last recession when long term bonds, one to ten years, were purchased to increase the amount of cash to encourage banks to make business and consumer loans to stimulate the economy.

Free and fair trade

For many years Germany has placed a ten percent import tax on US cars while the US has a 2.5% import tax on German cars. Trump challenged that and this caused some turmoil in the Germany economy especially in the auto industry. Trump asked for a fair trade and when nothing was done, he put an import tax on steel and aluminum from Germany. Germany threatened to tax imports of US goods. Trump then proposed a 25% tax on German auto imports and this has caused the German economy to go into a downward spiral and is now heading toward a recession. Recently the German auto industry has proposed eliminating the ten percent import tax on US cars. Trump wants fair trade and uses the threat of import taxes as a negotiating tool. He has the upper hand because the US has a negative trade balance with the rest of the world. He has proposed getting rid of all import taxes but that was met with silence. That would be real free trade.

NPR

I read the NPR news because I want to get an impartial view but apparently others who read NPR are looking for a more biased view. I base that on the NPR report of what their viewers looked up and this can be found at https://www.npr.org/2019/12/27/790803528/our-10-most-read-political-stories-of-2019-reflect-a-shifting-capitol-power-dyna 10 Get rid of the electoral college. 9. Ban lawmakers from lobbying 8. Fact check Trumps claims about the border wall 7. Trumps approval with the base slips. 6. Make raising the debt ceiling automatic 5. Most illegal immigration doesn't come from the Mexican border 4. The Mueller Report 3. Fact check Trumps State of the Union message 2. The green new deal 1. Pelosi revokes Pence's house office space This tells me that most of the viewers are liberal and select liberal stories to view.

Bias in the senate

There are eight sitting senators who were or are running for president and they will sit in judgment of Trump during the impeachment trial. While these senators have a right to disagree with Trump on policy issues they have gone further by making derogatory remarks about Trumps behavior indicating a strong dislike for him on a personal basis. This makes it extremely difficult for them to judge in an impartial manner and under normal court proceedings they would be disqualified as jurors. Remarks like he is a racist and a bigot and is wholly unfit to be president can be reasons to predict bias

Wedding

On the news today the subject was what to do when planning a wedding and this brought me back to my day and I strongly recommend that all young men follow my lead. I was on business in Grand Forks living in a motel for three months when I met my wife to be. In early February of 68, I left for Georgia and over the next week by phone we decided to get married, so that left all the preparation up to my wife since I would fly up there get married and fly back. While I was breaking in my new job she was busy handling the wedding details. She planned the whole thing including who would be in the wedding, where it would be held, who would attend and where the reception would be. She paid for everything including the rings and then sold her duplex and car and we moved. I left town with a new wife and a handsome dowry. Now this may seem a little one sided to many and when they asked what is was I brought to this arrangement, I merely tell them that according to my wife what I brought was potential.

Bernie Sanders

It is very interesting that Bernie Sanders seems to be making a comeback. He is a 78 year old white male who is not a member of the democratic party, for universal government healthcare, free college tuition, higher taxes on the rich, reduced defense spending, eliminating private pensions, for reparations to Blacks for slavery, canceling student debt, ending the electoral college, closing down nuclear power plants, universal free meals in schools, ban fracking and for the new green deal. He was a member of youth group associated with the socialist party and is today a democratic socialist. His administrative experience is limited to being mayor of Burlington and his health is questionable since he suffered a heart attack a few months back. His major strength is that he has always been up front with his position on issues and that is where many of the other democratic candidates seem to waiver when the going gets tough.

Brokered

With the continued emphasis on impeachment dragging on by the house refusal to send things to the senate, the candidates find themselves on the back page of the news. This once again adds credence to the theory that the power brokers in the democratic party are angling for a brokered convention. This has been in the backs of many minds since the insiders appeared to be unhappy with the base moving too far left. The question still remains as to whom they will pick. Biden seems to have lost some of his energy both physically and mentally. Bernie had a heart attack and says he will raise taxes. (Remember Mondale). Warren's $50 trillion dollar plan for healthcare has damaged her some say beyond repair and Mayor Pete is hampered by his sexual orientation although most will not admit to this. Will Hilary rise from the ashes like the Phoenix or will the call for Mrs. Obama be so strong that she will have to accept? Is there a savior hiding in the weeds?

With the continued emphasis on impeachment dragging on by the house refusal to send things to the senate, the candidates find themselves on the back page of the news. This once again adds credence to the theory that the power brokers in the democratic party are angling for a brokered convention. This has been in the backs of many minds since the insiders appeared to be unhappy with the base moving too far left. The question still remains as to whom they will pick. Biden seems to have lost some of his energy both physically and mentally. Bernie had a heart attack and says he will raise taxes. (Remember Mondale). Warren's $50 trillion dollar plan for healthcare has damaged her some say beyond repair and Mayor Pete is hampered by his sexual orientation although most will not admit to this. Will Hilary rise from the ashes like the Phoenix or will the call for Mrs. Obama be so strong that she will have to accept? Is there a savior hiding in the weeds?

Muslims and the Koran

The Muslim world flourished during the 8th to 13th centuries but then started to decline. One of the main reasons was the belief that all knowledge could be found in the Koran. This became a disincentive to learning and is destructive to creative thinking. While the Western world went though the industrial revolution the Muslim world held tight to the Koran. The Jews on the other hand opened their eyes to science and engineering and moved into the modern world. It is spectacularly enlightening to know that the Jews with a world wide population of 15 million have earned (204 prizes) 23% of all Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics, medicine and economics while the Muslims with a population of 1.8 billion have won three. Even the Muslim countries of today are only modernized because British and American engineers have developed the oil industry. This lack of technology has caused the Muslin nations to lose five wars against the Jews since 1948 and is a source of humiliation which fuels their anger.

Hate

Nancy Pelosi says she doesn't hate anyone and I agree with her. The word hate is thrown around with reckless abandon and most people don't really mean hate when they say it. Webster says hate is "intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury". I have never hated anyone and I have never known anyone who hated. The word is used when a dislike for what someone does transfers to who someone is. If we dislike people because we disagree with what they say, we will have a very small circle of friends. We should strive to disagree without being disagreeable. When we dislike people for who they are it becomes an emotional response without the constraints of reasoning. This clouds our judgment and leads to a biased opinion of others without us realizing it. It also causes unneeded stress on everyone involved and can even destroy relationships. An old adage says you get back what you send out.

Can you prove bias

A headline the other day said that the ninth circuit court, the bastion of liberalism is threatened by new Trump appointees. When judges are deemed to be biased it only makes sense that those in congress would be biased. It then follows that those who work for these politicians would be biased. In spite of that investigators keep saying they could find no proof of bias. Those being investigated say they are biased but it does not effect their work. Senator McConnell is accused of bias toward Trump. Will the democratic senators running for president who will act as jury members in the impeachment be biased. They say they will not let their personal opinions cloud their judgment.

Non-citizens vote

President Trump is still fighting what appears to be a losing battle trying to get a citizenship question on the census form. The census is used for two main purposes. The first is to determine how $675 billion dollars of federal government money will be distributed to the states. This is over $2,000 for every person. If there are 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country this means $24 billion dollars is up for grabs. The second reason has to do with the electoral college. One vote is assigned for every 750,000 people so this means that illegals will get 16 electoral votes. Considering the people of North Dakota only get three votes this is significant. People who are not citizens are literally voting for president.

Clinton impeachment

Many people believe that telling a lie is not a crime and for the most part that is true. These same people understand that lying under oath is a crime but they often do not realize that lying to the government is a crime. This is what got President Clinton in trouble. In a deposition in the Paula Jones case he said he never had sexual relations with Monica Luwinski. Normally this type of lying in a civil case is not prosecuted but this was not to be with Clinton. Special prosecutor Ken Starr went ahead and charged Clinton with perjury and the rest is history. Later during the impeachment hearing Starr told Clinton about the blue dress before he questioned him publicly and this kept Clinton from further incriminating himself. Such consideration would not happen in today's environment.

Tax or no tax

In 2018 corporations paid $94 billion less tax because of the Trump tax cuts. Individuals paid $240 billion less and total government revenues increased by $14 billion. This is called income redistribution from the government to the people. This is called growing the economy. The democratic candidates are saying they will reverse the tax cuts and this will result in redistribution of income from the people to the government. They can then use that money to redistribute to the people. In return for their generosity they will ask for votes so they can raise taxes and redistribute more. This is called growing the government. This is all based on the premise that the government can overcome the unfairness in the free market system.

Pay your own way

Students frequently have conversations about what it means to be grown up and the answer is simple. You are grown up when you start paying your own light bill. Young teens living on their own can be considered grown up. A unemployed thirty year old living with mom and dad is not grown up. The key word is employed. Andrew Yang the son of immigrant parents is a lawyer and businessman. After failing at several businesses he finally hit success with the idea of helping others start new business. He now has a charity that does that same thing. His role in politics has changed from concentrating on jobs to handing out $1,000 per month to every citizen over age 18. He joins the other candidates in that regard, that is, not emphasizing jobs. Being able to pay your own way is the dream of most.

New religion

There is a new religion spreading across the land, and it is called the religion of politics. It was born in the New Deal and matured in the Great Society. It is based on the mission principal that those who have more should give to those who have less. Its basic doctrine is fairness and its purpose is the redistribution of wealth. The determination of who gets what is not based on economic principals but rather on moral guidelines. You can find out if you are a member in this new sect by asking yourself the following question. Why is it better for the economy if the government spends my money than it is if I spend my money? If you agree that the government is the place to send your money you will justify this not on economic principals, but with moral imperatives, and you are a believer in the new religion. Upon further evaluation of your justifications you will be surprised to discover how much they sound like a fundamentalist discussing a religious concept. You will find that you are assuming a position of being on the high road. You will assume an air of moral superiority as you preach the values of fairness. Should we not feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and house the homeless? What type of heartless person could ignore the plight of those who have not? If only others were as caring as I, the world would be so much better off. What is wrong with this approach? From a theoretical sense, nothing, but from a practical sense, there are unintended consequences. When we began to give to those who were in need it was appreciated and productive, but those who were in charge of the giving got carried away with their own good deeds. They got bigger and better at what they were doing and soon it became more than a helping hand to the recipients, it became a way of life. We are now three generations into this way of life for millions of our citizens and they have come to depend on us for their survival. They no longer believe in their own ability to rise above their situation, but only wait for some new program to come to their rescue. It is like the well-meaning father who always got his son out of every difficult situation only to find that he had raised a child who could not cope with the problems of life. We have done these citizens a grave disservice, and must now take steps to recapture our original intent. We must once again promote the concept of self-reliance and the work ethic, and over several generations we can succeed in giving back the self-respect we inadvertently stole from those we meant to help

Projects

When I was in college in the 50's the government began building what became known as "The Projects". These were high rise apartment buildings to house homeless and others who could not afford housing. 40 years later the government torn down the projects. What happened? I called these projects the modern day equivalent of the reservation. A lot of decent people moved into these apartments but a share of bad apples also moved in and like the old saying goes, one bad apple can spoil the barrel. The buildings became crime invested with drug dealers and the whole country learned an important lesson or so I thought. This week, Los Angeles has announced that they will build a new city filled with affordable high rise apartments for those now living on the streets. I say, good luck.

Biden

During the last presidential debate democrats expressed their displeasure when Warren and Buttigieg went after each other. If the candidates refuse to challenge one another and they create a brokered convention the elites will chose the winner. As it stands now that means that the super delegates will line up behind Biden and the insiders will pick the old white guy.

FISA

The chief VISA court judge Rosemary Collyer has expressed surprise that the information given to the court was tainted. In February of 2018 Congressman Nunes wrote to Collyer explaining that information given to the court in 2016 regarding Carter Page was misleading and inaccurate. Nunes was ridiculed by the press and Collyer never responded to his letter. Now she says she is dismayed by what has happened and acts as though this is the first she heard about it. Did she like many others assume that Hilary would be elected and this would never be made public.

Chicken pot

After 8 years of republicans in the White House during the 20's, Hoover came along in 1928 pledging a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. Hoover got 444 electoral votes in a landslide victory. The economy was roaring and here is part of a newspaper ad. Republican efficiency has filled the workingman's dinner pail and his gasoline tank besides, made telephone, radio and sanitary plumbing standard household equipment. And placed the whole nation in the silk stocking class. The following year the Great Depression hit and went on for ten years.

Capitalism

Bernie Marcus, the child of Russian Jewish immigrants, was born in New Jersey in 1929. He worked at various jobs and ended up with Handy Dan home improvement stores where he became CEO. He was fired and in 1979 founded the Home Depot. Like all new businesses owners he worked long hours for very little pay and after a number of years the business took off. He retired in 2002 and spends his time doing philanthropic work. Home Depot employs 400,000 people most of whom whose education is high school or less. This is capitalism at its finest. Lets get rid of any corruption but don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Food stamps

Cost for the food stamp program now called SNAP was $15 billion in 2000 and rose over the next 6 years to $76 billion and has since declined to $58 billion. Much of the increase occurred during the recession of 2008. There are an estimated 5 million able bodied men between ages of 25 and 55 who are not working. Trump has proposed changes in the law which will address this situation and some 700,000 people will lose their benefits. And the problem at hand isn’t a skills gap. It’s that too many able-bodied adults are on the sidelines. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly three-quarters of the job openings that will occur over the next decade require a high school education or less. Nearly four out of five job openings require no training or less than a month’s training on-the-job, while a whopping 87 percent require no prior experience.

Affirmative action

Tonight's presidential debate will feature the remaining seven candidates all of whom have garnered at least 4% in the polls. The most diversified field in history has narrowed to one Asian American and six White Americans. One solution would be to use affirmative action and require only 2% in the polls for minority candidates.

Trump voters

The Trump voters are standing by their man because they agree with his policies. They like lower taxes and fewer regulations. They like getting out of agreements with Iran and not participating in the TPP and the Paris accords. They like the new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. They like the tough stance on trade policy with China and the upcoming tough stand with Europe. They like a stronger military and backing police. They like the booming economy, record stock market and low unemployment along with rising wages especially for the lower income groups. They like 9 million fewer people off food stamps. They like the new border wall. They like the fact that the US is now the largest energy producer and energy exporter. They like allowing people to keep their private healthcare. Vets like going to non Vet hospitals. They like the close partnership with Israel, moving the Embassy to Jerusalem and keeping the Golan Heights in Israels control. They like the fact that he is not presidential and speaks bluntly. The democrats big mistake is allowing their distrust for Trump to morph into disgust with Trump voters calling them cultist.

Politicians

Today's politicians find themselves in a quandary and the cause is video. Case in point is the way they talk about impeachment. They seem not to realize that everything they said about the Clinton impeachment is on video and they are talking out of both sides of their mouths. It is not limited to one party. While they may be oblivious to what they said, the public is treated with a daily show of their hypocrisy and it just adds to the distrust that most have with politicians and accounts for their low approval ratings.

China import tax

China's growth in exports accelerated after they entered the WTO which meant they must follow the trade rules of other countries. Although China agreed they did not obey these rules and the enforcement mechanism was weak. It was based on arbitration but when China ignored the rulings nothing else was done. Trump has changed this. He applies import taxes on China's exports to the US and this gets their attention. Phase one of the new trade agreement carries this same enforcement concept. Trump uses the threat of import taxes as a negotiating tool. It is only effective because he has carried out the threat. Businessmen understand that agreements aren't worth the paper they are printed on without effective enforcement. Too many diplomats think that if a country signs an agreement that is all it takes. The most recent example is Russia violating the 1987 missile agreement and Trump has suspended the deal.

Fusion power

The ultimate solution to the climate change problem will be nuclear fusion. This is the process by which the stars make energy. Inside the star hydrogen is converted to energy. One pound of hydrogen provides the same amount of energy as 50,000 tons of coal. In fusion the hydrogen conversion releases heat which in turn can be used to drive turbines which produce electricity. This electricity is then used to change water into hydrogen and oxygen and the hydrogen then becomes the fuel needed for transportation. The only bi-product is water and this becomes the hydrogen cycle. Water is converted to hydrogen and oxygen and the hydrogen is used as fuel in an internal combustion engine and changed back into water. Power plants use heat from fusion to make electric power which in turn is used to change water into hydrogen to power internal combustion engines. This leads to an almost unlimited supply of inexpensive electric power which can then be used to desalt sea water and irrigate the deserts of the world.

Company paid insurance

Last year 156 million people had company paid health insurance. The cost for the company was 82% for single plans and 71% for family plans. Employers paid out $13,927 for families and $5,655 for single plans. The total cost of health care is $3.5 trillion and government health plans cost $1.5 trillion leaving $2 trillion that private companies pay out. I can't believe that Senator Warren has not discovered this and suggested that these companies just send this money to the feds and they will decide how to spend it on government provided healthcare. The companies would go for it since it gets rid of a big headache for them which saves on administrative cost and they no longer have to worry about future increases. She could have a kind of one plan fits all and save money on administration cost. The big company unions which have bargained for the Cadillac plans would object but they are a small minority.

Impeachment and resentment

The second most powerful motivator after love is revenge and many democrats see impeachment as revenge for the 2016 election results. Revenge often has its roots in resentment and being resentful is like taking poison and expecting the other guy to get sick. The election has caused such a strong dislike toward Trump that many have lost their objectivity. The impeachment process has grown into a take that you rat feeling but it is not getting the expected result. It is very similar to what happened during the Clinton impeachment. It is a sort of cut off your nose to spite your face thing. There is the added incentive of expecting a Trump reelection that pushes the impeachment but unless something unexpected comes up this is likely to be what happens.

Boris Johnson

The goings on in England mirror the US and seem to be a repeat of the Reagan/Thatcher years. Three years ago the British voted to leave the EU but the establishment failed to act and now Boris Johnson, England's version of Trump. has won on the promise that he would defy the establishment. It appears that the election today, will give Boris the votes he needs to leave the EU and in doing so will upset the apple cart of the bureaucrats, who have vested interest in the status quo and they don't like it one bit. When people who have spent years finding their niche as insiders, suddenly find themselves on the outside looking in, they are not happy. The labor party that opposed Boris was promising a government take over much like Thatcher spent years undoing. His opponent promised to nationalize public utilities and railroads and offered many new welfare benefits but the people wouldn't buy it. Will this be a precursor of the upcoming election in the US?

Stereotyping ads

The Peloton ad that is getting all the attention is an example of what many consider to be stereotyping. Other ads make a deliberate approach to avoid stereotyping and in the process conflict with what most people think. Case in point are ads for sheets and mattresses. One shows a man in bed who is too cold and his wife who is too hot. The other shows a man complaining that his bed is to hard and the woman saying her side is too soft. Bah, humbug.

Super majority

FDR was elected in 1932 winning all but 6 states. He had a super majority in the senate and a large majority of 313 democrats in the house. Because of this he was able to pass 15 major acts in the first 100 days. This became known as the New Deal. These were all government programs paid for by deficit spending. Even with all this the depression didn't end until WW 2 started some nine years later. The courts then said that The President had overstepped his authority and threatened to undo and did undo some of the basics in the New Deal. FDR then decided to pack the court with friendly justices by adding six new judges but the congress would not go along with it. Many people were concerned that the government was assuming to much power and many thought the government should do even more, not unlike what we face today. Recall that FDR wanted a second bill of rights which included a guaranteed job with a living wage, a house to live in, health care for all, government pensions and free education. He got social security and free public education. In contrast President Obama had a super majority for 150 days and passed only Obamacare.

Cost of Medicare

Today I got my annual social security notice and Medicare Part Be is now $144 per month. Since 2000 Medicare Part B cost have risen 5.9% per year and during this time inflation has been 2.1%. Medicare started in 1966 at $3 per month and has risen at twice the inflation rate since that time. At its start, in 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that Medicare would cost only about $12 billion by 1990 (a figure that included an allowance for inflation). This was a supposedly "conservative"estimate. But in 1990 Medicare actually cost $107 billion. Keep this in mind when you see estimates of the cost of Medicare for all. Once a benefit is given there is no going back regardless of the cost.

Work place

The story about the Saudi serviceman who shot four US servicemen in Pensacola reminded me of the Fort Hood shooter in 2009. His name was Nidal Hasan. He was an American citizen born in Virginia and his parents were Palestinians who immigrated from the West Bank. He yelled Allahu Akbar! and shot 13 fellow US servicemen and the government declared this a work place incident. It was six years later when President Obama announced that this was a terrorist attack. Will this latest attack be called a work place incident?

Lady Justice

As the impeachment proceedings unfold the concept of law and order is being eviscerated. The republicans say there is no evidence of a crime and the whole case would be tossed out of court. Jerry Nadler said today that it would take a jury 3 minutes to convict Trump. No republicans will vote for and no democrats will for against impeachment. There is got to be reasonable doubt somewhere in that mess and lady justice is crying in her beer.

KSA

An old adage says that politics makes strange bedfellows and the same can be said of war. In WW2 the allies sided with Communist Russia to defeat Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The same dilemma now faces the US regarding Saudi Arabia (KSA). The Saudi's are the supply line for the Madrassa around the world that produce terrorist. While the US no longer depends on KSA for oil they have become bedfellows because the are opposed to Iran. KSA even sends out signals that they may be willing to line up with Israel to oppose Iran. While this cold war between the Saudi's and Iran is an ongoing power struggle it is also strongly influenced by religious beliefs since Iran is most Shia and KSA is mostly Sunni.

Algebra

There are many things wrong with our high schools but one important area could be improved without adding any financial burden to the budget. Required courses like algebra 2 and chemistry should be changed from required to elective just like physics and calculus. Student who are interested in careers in science or engineering could continue to take these courses but others would have a choice. They could instead concentrate on reading and writing and take two years of what would be called reading comprehension. This does not mean reading the words, it means being able to write down in a summarized form what was read. This is hard work and develops the mental discipline to read, recall and understand what was read. These students would be required to read articles of ten or twenty pages on subjects that interest them and then write up a one page summaries. If they graduate with this skill they will do well at any career they choose. It is painful to sit in chemistry class and see students who are unable to comprehend and the same is true for algebra 2 and it is no less painful to the teacher.

Conspiracy

The march toward impeachment opens the door to some conspiracy theories. If it is a forgone conclusion, that unless some new information is discovered, that the senate will not vote to impeach, what is the reason for going ahead. One side believes that the damage to Trump will be enough to prevent his reelection but others feel it will cement his victory. The most popular conspiracy revolves around Joe Biden. It was after the republicans said they welcome a trial in the senate where they will call Biden and his son as witnesses that the impeachment phase seemed to get a boost. This led to the idea that democrats wanted to spoil Biden's bid for the presidency. With Senator Warren fading fast after announcing the cost of medicare for all, doubts about Bernie's health after his heart attack and Mayor Pete's less than stellar record being exposed, the party is looking for a savior. Will they turn to Bloomberg the old white guy billionaire? Will some new face come out of nowhere as some who look to Michele Obama dream? If the whole purpose is to beat Trump will any warm body with that possibility be the nominee. The next conspiracy is the super delegate count. These votes only count if there is a brokered convention and then they could determine the nominee if they stick together and once again the insiders will win.

Persona

According to psychologist Karl Jung, we all have a face that we show to the public which he called our persona and it is exaggerated with most politicians. Yesterday a video was released of several high ranking people at the NATO conference making disparaging comments about Trump. They did not know they were being recorded. Trump on the other hand is accused of having too little persona in that he just comes right out with it. A great example was Nancy Pelosi saying yesterday that impeachment is not about politics while the votes will be overwhelmingly one sided. This is the same thing the republicans said when they impeached Clinton. The question is, do most people believe these politicians when they make statements like that or are they so used to it that people just ignore it. It is so common it is referred to as Washington speak.

Import tax

Trumps recent moves have added credence to the contention that he prefers to use economic power in lieu of military power. He will place import taxes on steel from Argentina and Brazil while threatening to tax French wines. When other countries place import taxes on US goods he counters by placing import tax on their goods.

Birthday

My son would be 52 today and next month marks 12 years since he passed. I stay in touch with music and here is my favorite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0XFiYDJBXQ

Walmart dividends

This is a calculation I made several years ago and I sent it to the Walmart head office but did not hear back from them. They are reluctant to do this since their market strategy is based on everyday low prices. Walmart USA has about 1.4 million full and part time hourly employees. If they each received a $10 per hour raise based on a 40 hour week the cost would be $28 billion dollars. Walmart US sales last year were $332 billion. If they raised their prices by 8% they could give these people the $10 per hour raise. The question is would the average Walmart shopper be willing to pay $324 for a $300 TV if they knew that the extra cost would go to wages for the hourly employees. This would increase their wages from $14 per hour to $24 per hour. Walmart world wide profits after expenses were $9.8 billion in 2018, $13.6 billion in 2017 and $14.7 billion in 2106. Walmart pays a $2 dividend on its 3 billion outstanding shares and the rest is retained for investment in the business.

Blacks and Trump

Durning the 80's and 90's when the democrats controlled both the house and senate by wide majorities they were accused of being soft on crime and so they set about to increase the penalties on drug crimes and Senator Biden led the way. Comprehensive Control Act: This 1984 law, spearheaded by Biden and Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), expanded drug trafficking penalties Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 This law, sponsored and partly written by Biden, ratcheted up penalties for drug crimes. Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 This law, co-sponsored by Biden, strengthened prison sentences for drug possession, Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act: This 1994 law, partly written by Biden and signed by President Bill Clinton, imposed tougher sentences In spite of this Biden is considered a friend of the black community and Trump is the enemy yet today Black unemployment is the lowest ever and wages among the low income groups are rising. In addition Trump signed a sweeping criminal justice measure intended to reduce the number in prison and this helps Blacks more than any group. Black voters are becoming aware of these things and a recent Emerson poll showed Black support for Trump at 34%

Mayor Pete

Watching Mayor Pete's candidacy unfold is mindful of Mitt Romney. Although most would not admit it many voters were not comfortable with a Mormon being president. In today's PC society many people must keep their personal thoughts to themselves lest they be accused of some type of phobia. There are voters who would be more than uncomfortable with a man in the White House with a man for a spouse. They may not express these concerns in polls but in their hearts they face a dilemma and in the privacy of the voting booth their real feelings will prevail. It is great that Pete is running as a ground breaker but it may take another generation.

Better paying jobs

Words like socialism and communism are tossed around with abandon but what is really going on is the plan to share assets. Karl Marx said, from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. That sounds eerily like redistribution of wealth. This would work in a rich country like America but in time it would fail or as Margaret Thatcher said, socialism works great until you run out of the other guys money. The emphasis should be on getting good paying jobs for people so they could pay their own way and not on the government giving things or to quote Bill Clinton, welfare should be a second chance not a way of life. Few things in life will help a mans self esteem like a job that allows him to pay his own way. Few things in life can hurt more than not being able to take care of yourself. People can promote changes to narrow the wealth gap without throwing out the whole system and the best way is to increase wages for the lower income groups. Bringing back manufacturing to America is a good start and fixing the gap in test scores would be a good second step.

Senators and money

The senators running for president came out yesterday saying how poor they used to be and here is what they are worth today. Micheal Bennet $16 million Cory Booker $1.5 million Kamala Harris $6 million Joe Biden $15 million Amy Kloberchar $1.5 million Bernie Sanders $2.5 million Eliz Warren $12 million They all seemed to be a little embarrassed about their current financial status. There is nothing wrong with being financially successful but does this give the impression that the way to get rich is to become a senator. Poor Mayor Pete is practically broke but of course his hasn't yet made it to Washington.

Clinton foundation

The tax records for the Clinton Foundation for the year 2014 are on the net and for those who want to see they are at https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/311580204/201523209349313827/IRS990 I have looked them over carefully and found the following: Income $178 million Grants $5 million Salaries $35 million Other expenses $50 million.... see page nine of the form 990 Income less expenses $86 million so one half of what was collected went to charity whereas 89% of Red Cross money goes to charity

Seniors working

Without much ado a subtle change is happening in restaurants. What used to be teen starting jobs have been taken over by retirees. Many people after a few years of retirement look for something to do outside the home and restaurants are now recruiting seniors. They have better people skills, know how to dress properly and can be counted on to be there on time. Seniors can generally work longer hours and are not restricted to weekends. While many work to get out and meet people many also work to supplement their incomes. It is a win-win. Many of these seniors have worked their whole lives and work is what they do.

Biden and old white guys

Joe Biden has made statements that some say shows the kind of prejudice that old white guys have and I object as I do not feel that I fall into that category. He recently said that poor kids are just as bright as white kids and when Obama was nominated he said "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." No one knows whats in a mans heart and it is difficult to prove you are not prejudice and I think everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt but lets not lump all old white guys together.

The new NAFTA

For those who remember the Bill Clinton election, who can forget Ross Perot saying about NAFTA, do you hear that giant sucking sound? Well that is US jobs moving to Mexico. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada of $31 billion and the $2.7 billion surplus with Mexico in 1993 (the year before NAFTA took effect) turned into a combined NAFTA goods trade deficit of $191.2 billion by 2017, as indicated in the graph above.3 This represents a 576 percent increase in the U.S. goods trade deficit with NAFTA countries. These numbers are inflation-adjusted, meaning the difference is not due to inflation, but an increased deficit in real terms. This is why both parties want to pass the new NAFTA and it looks like they will.

Fairness and wealth

Bernie Sanders says that three people own as much as the bottom half of all Americans. He says this to point out the unfairness. Let us rectify that immediately by forcing these three, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos to sell their stock and distribute the proceed to those in the bottom half. This means to divide their $300 billion by 150 million and each person gets $2,000. This would certainly spread the wealth around but would Bernie be happy with that? Most politicians who want higher taxes assume the money would come to the government and then the government would decide who gets what. It is not just redistribution of wealth but redistribution of power and control. This money is then used to garner votes which leads to more money which leads to more votes all the while under the umbrella of fairness.

Defend at all cost

For about ten years after 9/11 I visited a Muslim chat room in an attempt to learn more about Islam and the Middle East. On many occasions the chatters would point out the dark side of America and they would expect me to defend those times but I did not. When they said there are poor people in the richest country in the world, I said they were right. The same for when they pointed out race riots and slavery. I did not feel it necessary to defend these evils because the good side of our country out weighs these times. I see the same thing happening in the US today. Conservatives try to defend everything Trump does and liberals try to defend every new idea by any candidate. There is no one that most people agree with all the time. When the news media finds a person who disagrees with his party, he becomes a hot item and ends up on all the shows. You can get your 15 minutes of fame just by disagreeing when most think you should agree.

Trump foreign policy

The Trump plan for the coming election will have a domestic program consisting of promoting the economy and pointing out that there is no free lunch. His foreign policy will center around China. Long before Trump became president he complained about China's entry into the WTO. He saw them as currency manipulators while stealing intellectual property and having unfair trade practices. It was not only China that was taking advantage of the US but other countries around the globe. He felt that free trade was good for everyone but it should be fair trade and this was not the case with the US having annual trade deficits of over $500 billion. He saw that there were 190 countries in the United Nations and the US was paying 22% of the cost. There are 29 members in NATO and the US pays over 20% of the cost. The US spend $6 billion per year maintaining troops in 80 countries and this lowers their cost for defense. The US spends more in research than any country and most new ideas, especially in the medical field are shared. His foreign policy agenda will be based on fairness.

Emissions

As of the end of 2017 the US has lowered its CO2 emissions by 758 million tons per year while the second best country was England with 170 million. Meanwhile China has increased theirs by 3 billion tons while India increased by 1 billion tons. The US has made these reductions by using more natural gas. In addition the US is now helping the world to reduce emissions by exporting liquefied natural gas(LNG). These exports have increased by 500% since 2016 thanks to three new plants coming on line in the past year. US is now sending LNG to 39 countries and the competition is keeping prices down, and helping the world to lower CO2 emissions.

Seniors

As an octogenarian, I can attest to the increase in wisdom that comes with age and I am excited to see the old white guys like Biden age 77 and Sanders age 78 are still in the lead and they have been joined by Bloomberg age 77. I am beginning to think that Trump age 72 might be a little too young for this job. I think they should amend the constitution to change the minimum age to be president from 35 to 75. After all people are living much longer. Hang in there guys and don't let those young people discourage as we seniors have got your back.

Epstein

Latest news on the Epstein case is that they have arrested the two guards who fell asleep on the job and now we can put this case to rest. The politicos are not interested in further investigation because they are not sure whose ox will be gored so they prefer to leave sleeping dogs lie. It will be interesting to see how far the FBI can go before some power broker tries to shut them down. It is often stated that we have two systems of justice, one for those in power and another for the rest of us. This case will test that idea.

Sedans and gas

In 2018 17.2 million vehicles were sold and 80% were small trucks and SUV's. Both Ford and GM see the writing on the wall and are discontinuing many car models. On average small trucks get 17 MPG, SUV's get 23 MPG and sedans get 35 MPG. The average driver drives 14,000 miles per year. If everyone drove sedans that would save 250 gallon of gas per year per vehicle or 4.3 billion gallons of gas. Americans are not willing to make this change and this says a lot about the concern for climate change.

Resign

Trump has aggravated many career government employees because he does things much differently than they are accustom to and this is particularly disturbing to those in management positions. Some of them being unable to adjust to the new ways have chosen to continue to do what they think is best and disregard the new ways. This is strange behavior to most people who are used to working in private business. In this world if you disagree with the boss you explain your differences and if there continues to be a conflict you are out. These bureaucrats must learn to either follow the president or leave but they cannot just go their own way. That is why most new presidents clean house when they first get into office.

Test scores

Minnesota test scores declined for the fifth straight year with students only 54% proficient in math and 58% proficient in reading. Minorities are much worse, in the 25% area. In 2015 No Child Left Behind was replaced by Every Student Succeeds and this is the first graduating class and things have gotten worse. The Minnesota Governor has a plan to place less emphasis on testing and more on graduation rates. Many feel this will result in higher graduation rates but with little to no effect on learning. Even though the current rates show a problem with race where 88% of white students graduate while only 66% of Black students graduate he will go ahead and try to increase rates for all students. Right now there is pressure not to suspend minority students for improper behavior and soon there will be pressure to make sure these students graduate. Once again when politics gets involved things tend to devolve.

Many people were deeply disappointed when Hilary lost the 2016 election and that is understandable. Many democratic politicians were also disappointed and that too is understandable. What is baffling is why career bureaucrats are upset but even more baffling is why the press is upset. The Washington Post the day after the inauguration said, somewhat with tongue in cheek, let the impeachment begin. One explanation is the fact that Trump vowed to drain the swamp and it seemed that he just might try to do that. The non-elected bureaucrats feel that they run the county and have to deal with a new group of inexperienced newcomers about every four years. They often refer to the new administration as the Christmas help. As Trump began to carry out his threat these people rebelled. The same is true of the press. The Washington press corps are experienced reporters who have spent years learning the ins and outs of the system and Trump has upset their apple cart. His tweets are particularly aggravating as the public often gets information as quickly as the press.

Jews

In Italy a Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre ask for the government to crack down on hate speech and she is receiving 200 social media threats each day and has been given police escort. Antisemitism has always been around but much more so in Europe. I am always amazed the way the Jews are and have been treated. Their contributions to the world are legion and include all areas of arts and science.

Path to impeachment

The road to impeachment has certainly taken a circuitous path. It started with Russian collusion which morphed into obstruction. After the Meuller hearings the committee moved to an impeachment inquiry and then to impeachment process to investigate quid pro quo which has now changed first to extortion and the latest is bribery.

Who is in charge

For over three years some people in the government have felt that Trump was not a legitimate president. Others, including many in the press, saw this as nonsense and it was brushed aside as a conspiracy theory which in time was called the deep state. That all came into question when former CIA Director John McLaughlin not only admitted the deep state was real but said, "thank God for the deep state". In his mind the bureaucrats must make sure the president is acting in a manner that they deem acceptable. The United States has a representative republic type of government which means that the people elect their leaders and these in turn hire the bureaucrats. This is what is meant by government of the people, by the people and for the people. The bureaucracy has now become so powerful that they feel they can decide who should be president. Recently Senator Schumer warned President Trump saying "Intel officials have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you".

Police

Violent crimes have been on the decline since 1990 and have dropped by 60%. There are many reasons for this but some that are discussed are the broken window concept, stop and frisk and three strikes and your out. All of these have to do with stricter law enforcement. Although listening to the news would make this counter-intuitive many feel that policing has improved. One of the biggest changes was adding more police with the number of officers doubling since 1990. More Police, Managed More Effectively, Really Can Reduce Crime Contrast that with California Prop 47 passed in 2016 that states any theft of less than $950 will not be prosecuted. This means you can walk into Walmart and run out with $600 TV and you will not be chased or prosecuted. Anything below $950 keeps the crime a misdemeanor — and likely means the thieves face no pursuit and no punishment. Large retailers including Safeway, Target, Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies say shoplifting increased at least 15 percent, and in some cases doubled. The cost of theft is passed on to others in the form of price increases. This is another way to redistribute the wealth similar to uninsured using the emergency room.

Impeachment inquiry

Here is a scenario based on unproven allegations by republicans regarding the 2016 election. John Smith, democrat is elected president in a close election. The republican dominated house believes that Smith used voter fraud to steal the election and consider him to be an illegitimate president. The congress then colludes with some higher ups in the Justice Department to present evidence to the FISA court and secure a warrant to tap into the phone conversations of one of Smiths associates who they claim is in cahoots with a foreign agent. One they listen they can then tap the phones of anyone this person talks with. After listening to dozens of people over a period of months they then have the FBI interview these people. In time these people will contradict themselves over some small detail and they will be charged with lying to the FBI which is a felon. After enough lies are exposed the congress can start an impeachment inquiry and begin to call witnesses to testify behind closed doors and begin to leak biased facts to the press. After months of this the public begins backing impeachment so congress then moves from inquiry to formal impeachment proceedings and within a few weeks votes to impeach. In the senate trial they fall short of the 67 votes needed to convict and it all ends. In the process several people go to jail, some are bankrupted paying legal fees and many reputations are tarnished. The president is defeated in his reelection bid and the whole process is put to rest until the next president is elected with a congress in the other party. The most concerning thing in this whole story is that some of the non-elected bureaucrats in Justice have worked with congress to defeat an elected president.

Bloomberg

Former NYC Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is contemplating a run for president. He could be a viable candidate since he has administrative experience running a big city and is more of a centrist. If he is the candidate you can forget all about green deal, open borders, free health care for illegals, free college and Medicare for all. As a businessman he understands that there is no free lunch. While he will not be popular with the democratic base he would have a good chance of beating Trump but can he get passed the base to get the nomination. His platform would likely contain increased taxes on the rich, lower defense spending, infrastructure upgrades and immigration reform. He would recognize that wind and solar are best utilized with homes and buildings and not for transportation. Solar panels should be built all around power plants to minimize the use of fossil fuels but be available as backup.

Wealth transfer

Some younger people complain that they must pay into social security believing they will never receive any benefits as they see SS going broke. As the baby boomers die off over the next 25 years it will be the greatest transfer of wealth from one generation to the next in the history of the world. Over the next 25 years, according to a report from research firm Cerulli Associates, 45 million U.S. households will pass a mind-boggling $68 trillion to their children — the biggest generational wealth transfer ever.

Somebody else is the problem

Wages are increasing and the biggest increase of 4% is in the lower income groups. This is while the inflation rate is under 2% and food prices are increasing at 1.5%. Fracking has kept the cost of home heating low as well as the price of gasoline and diesel for owner owned semi drivers. The middle and upper middle income groups are still driving big cars, living in big houses and pouring chemicals on their big lawns and watering the grass everyday so they have to mow twice a week and all the while they are asking the coal miners to lose their jobs and rich people pay more taxes. They want more electronics and solar panels while unaware that they are poisoning the water for millions of Chinese and most are not aware of the benefits of using natural gas for transportation. Here is a wake up call for Americans. The EPA estimates that about a third of all public water is used to water grass. In the US, lawns consume nearly 9 billion gallons of water a day, and our mowers consume 200 million gallons of gas. Add to this the fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides and the cost to the environment to manufacture these chemicals.

Power corrupts

The investigation of the investigators in Washington DC is exposing the morass that some call the swamp. To many it appears that the corruption runs so deep that most everyone who has worked there for a number of years is contaminated and does not want to be exposed. It is the old mafia threat of I'm not going down alone. It seems to be spreading over into the Epstein investigation. As long as the bureaucrats can keep the political parties warring with each other they can safely continue running things behind the scenes. These non-elected officials have become the forth branch of government and they are not about to give up their power. This did not happen overnight and will continue unless stopped by the voters. Asking these people to give up power is like asking congress for term limits.

illegal drugs

The illegal drug problem in the United States has two sides. First is the drugs like cocaine, heroin and meth that come into the country mostly across the southern border. Second is the demand for such drugs. In an attempt to solve the second, President Nixon in 1971 started the war on drugs. After spending more than a trillion dollars the results are open to interpretation which means no one knows. There has been a decrease in drug use but many say that is because tougher laws have incarcerated 500,000 for drug related crimes. All of this confusion leads some to believe that these drugs should be legalized but will that stop the problem. Many states are now experimenting with legal pot and perhaps other states should legalize other drugs and then decide on the merits. Some states have yet to legalize these drugs but do provide free needles and most states offer rehab for addicts. Most agree that the penalty for selling drugs should be more severe than the penalty for using drugs but most users end up selling to feed their habit. In short this whole thing is a mess.

China rare earths

17 elements are identified as rare earth metals. They are not considered rare because they are difficult to find but rather because they are difficult to mine or more specially to mine without harming the environment. 95% of these metals are currently mined in China. The one mine in the US was shut down because it was considered too dirty. There is a group trying to start a mine in Wyoming but they are in a battle with environmentalist who seem unaware of the countries dependency on China. The mines in China are creating radioactive waste along with many undesirable chemicals and the ground water is contaminated in large areas and the poison is slowly making its way to several rivers including the Yellow river which is only 6 miles away and provides drinking water to millions.

Grandmas

On the news this AM they interviewed a woman who was referred to as a parenting expert. This brought back memories of the President Clinton welfare reform. One of the several reasons I voted for Clinton was his statement that welfare should be a helping hand not a way of life. He changed the law so that states had more control which led to the rule that after five years you were off of welfare. The problem that many faced was the cost of child care so there was a push for government paid child care and when this was rejected many used Grandmas as caretakers. To offset this they brought forth a Professor who was an expert in child care and he said that Grandmas were not properly trained to care for children. He was quickly laughed off the stage and disappeared. In defense of young parents the extended family was disappearing and they had to start reading books on how to care for children. The old days when older siblings, aunts and grandmas were around changed as people moved to find jobs so they had to turn to experts to find out how to raise a child. Most young parents learn that their mistakes are covered up by their love and that has always been the case.

Credit or not

President Obama's financial adviser was on TV today and he pointed out that since Trump is what he call a transnational person, (pragmatist) that democrats could get things done. They could negotiate and both sides could win. I was surprise to hear that until they said this guy was a businessman. What he proposed may well work in the business world but in politics its all about credit not results. If any agreements are reached politically the president will get the credit and the other side would rather do without than to give credit to the enemy.

Censors

Facebook is under attack as they are accused of using algorithms to determine what they print. Before computers, local newspapers were the biggest censors as everyday more news came across the AP wire than they could print so they had editors who determined what the readers would see. This is why many papers were considered liberal or conservative.

Investigations and such

Up until a few weeks ago the leaders in Washington were expressing vital concern about the pending disaster that would bring the world as we know it to an end. As their hyperbole fades into the background we are once again reminded that climate change is a political issue and not an environmental issue. All of Washington is now possessed with examining their navels as the devour each other with investigations as Nero fiddles while Rome burns. When they start talking about using natural gas for transportation only then will they move away from the politics but don't hold your breath.

Warren plan

Senator Warren pointed out today, that if the country goes to national health insurance, two million people who work in the insurance business will lose their jobs. This is the first time I have seen anyone admit that but that is where much of the savings comes from. Those people are the ones who do the paper work called administrative cost and if they earn $60,000 that is $120 billion dollars per year. Now if she just figures out how to transfer to the government what for health insurance she might have a plan the government can afford. Stay tuned.

Bezos and work

The story of an evil billionaire. Jeff Bezsos was born to a 17 year old girl in 1964. She soon divorced and married a Cuban immigrant. Bezos worked at McDonalds while growing up and was gifted with a good brain which he used by attending Princeton and majoring in Engineering. In 1994 at the age of 30 he started an online business selling books. For the first ten years the company had no profits and when it started making money Bezos put it all back into the business. Today Amazon is worth one trillion dollars and employs 700,000 people many of who became rich working for the company. The company went public in 1997 and the stock was selling for $18 per share. Many employees invested at that time and their original investment of $100 is worth $120,000 today. Bezos has breakfast with his children each morning and uses that time to relax and think of new ways to improve his existing business and ideas for new business. He arrives at work at 10 AM and goes home at 5 PM unless out of town. He lives in a multi-million dollar home in Washington DC but the rest of his daily routine is much like millions of others who live in the 9 to 5 rat race. His personal net worth is over $100 billion so he is not working to make more money but to grow the business and make more jobs for more people. The country could use more people like Bezos.

Impeach now

Congressman Adam Schiff is the kind of politician most people expect. He said he takes no pleasure in the impeachment of Trump but he is merely following his responsibility of oversight. If this were Congressman Trump he would have said, let's get that sucker. This is why some people like Trump and why many dislike Trump.

American exceptionalism

The free market works best when corruption is kept at a minimum. Other than that the big complaint is the fact that capitalism allows for winners to win really big. Sports figures, rappers, other entertainers make millions. Extreme example was Floyd Mayweather who earned $250 million for one fight. Others earn fortunes through innovating new ideas which led to new business. Prime example is Jeff Bezos who started Amazon 22 years ago and now employs 700,000 people and is worth $100 billion. The biggest winner in the free market system is innovation. Most of everything new comes out of the United States and here, one of the best examples, is the polio vaccine but the greatest invention, maybe of all time, was the transistor that was developed by American scientist in 1956. America is not only the greatest country in history, it has made the rest of the world great. The defeat of communism, Nazism and fascism in the last century in just one example of how the world has benefited.

Halloween

Is Halloween dying and if so why. When I was a child, maybe seven or so, I went with my mother to her friends house. She was wealthy by our standards and had on her coffee table a small bowl with cubed shaped light blue mints. I was gazing intently at them and she offered me one and I thought is was the greatest thing ever. Another time a second grader named Leo came to school and he had two pieces of bubble gum and we all envied him. When my wife was growing up on the farm at Christmas her dad would bring how a chunk of hard candies and they would break it apart and each one got a piece. The point is that a piece of candy those 70 plus years ago was a big deal. Today all households have candy on hand year around and getting a treat on Halloween is not the thrill it used to be.

Jews today and past

Attacks against Jewish people  accounted for 58.1 percent of crimes motivated by anti-religious bias last year, a 4-percent increase from 2016, while anti-Muslim crimes were down. Anti-Muslim offenses accounted for 24.8 percent of anti-religious hate crimes in 2016 compared with 18.7 percent in 2017. Anti-Islamic crimes continue to remain at historic levels. There are 3.6 million Muslims and 4.2 million Jews in the United States. While these acts against Muslims are relatively new, the Jews have had to contend with this for 4,000 years.

Baghdadi

On Morning Joe today the second story was about the killing of Baghdadi. Saying it was a good thing but the President revealed too much information about the attack. It is a bit odd when press people complain about too much info. Then they discussed the fact that the President did not inform the democrats in advance of the raid. Trump got a lot of positive press from the successful completion of this event but if it had gone bad like the situation that President Carter faced, in his failed attempt to free the embassy hostages, the story would have been quite different. All it would have taken is a leak to the enemy and they could have turned the whole thing into a disaster. There have been so many examples of placing party ahead of country by both sides, would someone have been tempted to leak these plans. Some are surprised that it was not leak anyway.

Safe space

With the onset of safe spaces on college campuses, some say it is an attack on free speech. In 1977 a Nazi organization decided to march in a Skokie, IL neighborhood where a large number of Holocaust survivors lived. Many protested but conservative and liberal groups agreed that this group had the right to protest. The case went to court and the first amendment was upheld and the group was allowed to march. The purpose of the free speech part of the first amendment is to protect speech that is deemed unacceptable. Today some want to outlaw what they consider to be hate speech. While the use of a word like nigger is considered crude, hurtful and wrong, it is protected speech. Many campuses have refused speakers using the excuse that their speech may lead to violence. Using that excuse will allow the censoring of any speech the college deems unacceptable.

Revenue tax

A former head of the student loan program is concerned about the $1.6 trillion in student loan debt and has proposed a tax on corporation revenues. In the past corporations have been taxed like individuals on earnings but a tax on revenue is much like Senator Warrens wealth tax. A corporation would pay this revenue tax even if they lost money. He proposed a one percent revenue tax and for a company like Apple whose revenue is $220 billion that would be a tax of $2.2 billion.

America is wrong

There is a large group of Americans, perhaps numbering in the millions, who are disappointed with the country. They feel that the country is headed in the wrong directions. These people will not stand for the national anthem and will not salute the flag and it extends to students. Many do not trust the police and this has spilled over into the military, where defense spending is seen as taking money from social programs. They see other citizens as polluters and companies as putting profits ahead of climate change and this leads to anti capitalism and a desire for more government control of business. Free speech is under attack, as many words and phrases are deemed unacceptable and this leads to a distrust of religion in general. Phrases like under God and in God we trust are suspect. The income gap, which is best seen in minorities, fans the flames of racism and pushes the idea of equal out come vs equal opportunity. This then blurs the line between legal and illegal immigrants. The concept of the redistribution of wealth is the answer to their prayers.

Math

Some schools are saying that math is racist based on test scores where minorities score much lower. While at first this seems ridiculous there is a point to be made and it has nothing to do with racism. There is a need for scientists and engineers and math is important in that regard but schools are saying that all students need algebra and chemistry and that is overkill. In many of these classes students are baffled and end up thinking they are dumb. If a student graduates from high school and knows how to read and write down what they read, they will be OK. This is called reading comprehension and is vital in today's world but algebra is not. Let each student excel in what they do best but make sure all can read properly.

Warren tax

Senator Warren is trying to find a way to explain that taxes will go up but it will not affect net income. The increase in taxes will be offset by a decrease in health cost. The problem is that no matter how she phases it the news will report that she is increasing taxes

Hilary for pres

In the investigation into the Hilary Clinton email dispute by the James Comey led FBI charged her with gross negligence but that is not a crime. Although she did have classified emails on her unauthorized server she did not intend to do any thing wrong and was considered not guilty based on intent. The Justice Department recently concluded their report which stated that she had classified information on her private server but there was no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information. She was judged not guilty because she did not deliberately mishandle. With these things out of the way the path is clear for Hilary to jump into the race. Many democrats who will not criticize any of the candidates will quickly come home to Hilary.

NATO partners

Germany and the United States have a number of important things in common. The are both Western democracies, both have free market economies and both are members of NATO. How they are dealing with these various aspects is quite different. The US economy is seven times larger than Germany's and the US spends 16 times more on NATO than Germany does and that organization was founded to protect Europe from a Russian invasion. Germany has a budget surplus because they spend so little on defense and their trade policies in which they have high import taxes. The US has a budget deficit because of large defense cost and low import taxes. Germany will be doubling its natural gas purchases the end of this year when a new pipeline is completed under the Baltic from Russia. They could choose to purchase gas from the US which now supplies large quantities of natural gas to Europe. Germany is often referred to as one of our NATO partners.

New drugs

EPCLUSA is a new drug that cures Hepatitis C. Gilead has priced a 12-week regimen of Epclusa to cost $74,760. There are 3 million people in the United States with Hep C with 17,000 new cases each year. The cost would be over $200 billion but the cost would come down as more people are treated. What happens if other cures are developed. For example, 30 million Americans have diabetes and at a similar cost this would be $2.5 trillion. It quickly becomes obvious that rationing will be necessary as the drug companies keep coming up with new cures. Of course wealthy people will buy the drug no matter the cost. With the emphasis on fairness will laws be proposed to prohibit the wealthy from buying these drugs.

Facebook stock

Mark Zuckerberg, 35 year old founder of Facebook, owns 393 million shares of Facebook stock valued at $73 billion dollars. This represents 14% of the company stock. He has said he will give away 99% of what he owns. In order to escape estate tax he would have to sell the stock and give the proceeds to a 501 charity. This would cause the value of the stock to decline and the remaining stock holders would absorb the loss. In other words it would be a transfer of money from the company to the charity in order to avoid the taxes. If he were to die without making plans to give it away he would have to pay 40% federal estate tax plus another 10% for state estate tax and thus his estate would have to sell $36 billion in stock to pay the tax. This once again would be a transfer of company money but this time to the government. If a wealth tax is instituted he would have to sell stock each year in order to pay the government. All of these situations result in a weakening of the company meaning less chance to expand and create new jobs.

Change or not

On the news this AM they were discussing Biden's lack of campaign money and the expert said when you start going down in the polls the donors back off because they want to back a winner and that says it all. It seems what you stand for takes a back seat to whether you can win or not and that is the stage of politics today. This is the situation that every new comer to politics faces. Is it better to stand by my principals and lose or is it better to change my position to win. The argument is always if I lose I can't do anything so I must change. This leads to the old joke, and citizens this is how I stand on this issue and if you don't like it, I will change. In other words you say whatever it takes to win and worry about doing what you said later and the American people seem to go along. It goes back to Hoover when he said a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage and then came the depression.

Elijah Cummings

Elijah Cummings died today at the age of 68. He was famous for having marched in the 1963 movement. He was only 12 years old so he deserves extra credit.

Racism is not normal

Many people in my generation grew up in towns that were segregated. The Blacks lived in one part of town and went school in that part and shopped in that part. It was unusual to go downtown where people might mix because most people stayed in their neighborhood. In today's world many wonder if they have racist tendency and they are disturbed if when a Black man walks in the room that is the first thing they notice about him. Relax. If a man six foot eight walks in the room the first thing you notice is his height. If a man with a patch over his eye walks in the room that is the first thing you notice. People tend to notice things that are out of the norm, things that are unusual. It is said that you can't prove a negative and thus it is difficult to prove you are not racist.

Bernie

An old joke says that a man was accosted on the street by a mugger who said your money or you life and he responded by saying, let me think about it. This is the way some people see Bernie Sanders who is taking a chance with his health to run for office. Be careful Bernie.

Kurds and Turks

Many of the same people who said that the United States cannot afford to be the policeman of the world are now bemoaning the fact that US troops will not be used to keep two Mideast groups from fighting. The Turks and the Kurds have been fighting since 1978 and will continue until one side is defeated. Situations where one ethic group is a minority in a country and fighting for independence has occurred throughout history. The majority of Kurds are Muslims but they are not Arabs. They are linguistically, ethnically and culturally totally different people than the Turks.

Trump doctrine

We are beginning to see the formation of the Trump Doctrine. His foreign policy centers around the concept of using economic power instead of military power.

Early school

California is going to start school later because students are not getting enough sleep. This is based on the assumption that you cannot dictate that students go to bed earlier. If that is the case what is to prevent them from staying up later and still being tired? My experience with university students is that those who major in science, engineering and business are early to bed and early to rise people but those who major in the arts and fine arts are late risers. If that is the case then most politicians are lawyers and late nighters and they are making the laws. This is based on anecdotal evidence and subject to the foibles of such evidence. In other words it could just be nonsense.

Trump persona

Psychiatrist Karl Jung pointed out the difference between our outer self and our inner self. He called the face we show to the public our persona. As long as our persona and who we are on the inside remain relatively close we function properly. If we say what we think unfiltered people will get upset and since we are social animals we filter to get along. If the social pressures build we can find ourselves drifting too far away and tensions increase. Politicians are one group that are subject to this kind of tension. When their core beliefs conflict with what their constituents want the problems begin. Sometimes the desire to be reelected is so strong that they move so far away they forget who they are. They feel the need to please and say whatever is necessary. This is the extreme but the other extreme can also be seen. Case in point is Trump. He is what he is or like the old comedian said, what you see is what you get. While this causes a great deal of angst in many people it is seen as refreshing by others. Too many politicians over the years have professed to be what they are not, to the point that they have lost credibility. The old phrase that they are all liars is on the minds of many. Trump is not only un-presidential he is different in these other ways and is a source of great consternation to many voters but even more so to the Washington establishment. He doesn't follow the rules and this is threatening to the bureaucracy and they are rebelling. He is a disruptive force to those career government employees and they ask why can't things be like they used to be.

Impeach or not

Impeach or not is the question. As it stands now the democrats can call witnesses behind closed doors and then release selectively what was discussed. Trump has no way to formally respond. If the house votes to impeach then Trumps lawyers can cross examine and subpoena other witnesses. They can move far and wide covering all sorts of behavior, things like Hunter Binden and it time get everything bogged down in the weeds. To vote to impeach does not seem likely at this time but rather a continuation of the current plan to just drip drip information gathered in private.

lower income and social security

Means testing social security benefits, will be like most plans to take from the rich, in that it won't be as much as most would think. If, for example all people with non- social security income of $100,000 per person or $200,000 per couple would lose all of their social security the savings would be 2.3% of all benefits or $2.1 billion. That's enough to give each American 7 bucks. While grandfathering in all people over age 50, it is time to start privatizing social security for younger participants. It is well documented that lower income individuals have lower life expectancy and having private accounts will offset this discrimination. The difference is significant as shown by a recent study. Among men born in 1960, those in the top income quintile could expect to live 12.7 years longer than men in the bottom income quintile. This NAS study finds similar patterns for women: the life expectancy gap between the bottom and top income quintiles of women expanded from 3.9 years for the 1930 birth cohort to 13.6 years for the 1960 birth cohort. This is just one more example of how low income people are discriminated against.

Big government

President Eisenhower warned against the power of the military industrial complex. In the 1920s President Coolidge warned that bureaucracy is a threat to liberty and it's not accountable to the people. George Wallace in the 1960s said he was going to throw the briefcases of the pointy headed intellectuals into the Potomac. The power of these non elected government employees has steadily increased and is now considered by some in a position to take control of our country. In the late 1880s calls for reform for the correction of abuses or errors in society grew louder in the United States. The reformers were called progressives and they had several goals for fixing urban problems, improving government and regulating business. They challenged that big government and big business were taking advantage of the American people instead of serving them.

Rationing Medicare

Most people do not understand how Medicare rations treatment. Medicare will not cover transplants in facilities which are not approved. Approval is based on the success rate in the previous two years. Here is an example using heart transplants. Initially, the facility must demonstrate actuarial survival rates of 73 percent for one year and 65 percent for two years for patients who have had heart transplants since January 1, 1982 at that facility. If the facility wants to keep its approval they must be careful as to which patients they accept. Knowing this they will decline someone who appears to be a bad risk. An extreme example would be a 90 year old man with a bad liver. The point is the facility has a committee which will make this determination. Previous studies in heart transplantation have demonstrated higher mortality, decreased graft survival, and higher rates of rejection for recipients receiving heart transplants with Medicare or Medicaid health insurance coverage compared with those with private health insurance. In addition hospitals absorb about $50 billion per year losses in Medicare patients. They offset much of this with higher cost for private patients and this source will be lost with Medicare for all plans.

National healthcare for all

This is a note to all those candidates who are for national health insurance and are looking for ways to pay for it. For family coverage, the average policy totaled $19,616 a year with employers contributing, on average, 71 percent, or $13,927. Employees paid the remaining 29 percent or $5,689 a year. Have the companies send the government the $13,927 they are now paying and let the government dispense those funds as the government can certainly do it more efficiently. Instead of companies offering options to employees based on their needs the government will offer a plan for all like Medicare. This will allow for rationing especially in the last few years of life and lead to great savings. Gulp!

Tax exempt churches

Beto O' rourke candidate for president has put forth the idea that churches whose ethos suggest there are problems with the activities of gays should lose their tax exempt status. He will likely adjust his plan when he realizes that such churches includes Mosque.

Potty mouth

If you google the list of potty mouth presidents there are many including surprisingly Carter and Obama. Trump is more public with his impolite words. Lyndon Johnson was probably the worst since many of his remarks were racist. He frequently use the word nigger when describing blacks. Point being that once again Trump shows he is not a politician or as the media says he is not presidential.

Solar credits

Solar tax credits are non-refundable. This means you can only get the credits if you owe taxes and this eliminates the lower half of all those earning an income. Once again it is a tax break for the rich. If you spend $60,000 on solar panels you get a 30% tax credit which means you can deduct $18,000 from the taxes you owe. If you owe $5,000 in taxes that is your maximum credit. If you own zero taxes you get zero credits. Some tax credits are refundable. The child tax credit of $2,000 per child is given if you don't own any taxes.

DACA or not

Presidents use executive orders when they cannot get congress to pass laws they want. The downside is that the next president can negate these orders. When this happens the court steps in and the results show that Carter won 68% of his challenges, Reagan 75%, Bush 41 77%, Clinton 63%, Bush 43 60%, and Obama at 45%. One of Obama's orders called DACA is being reviewed by the court. The congress refused to pass this into law and now Trump is asking the court for review. Trump does not want to deport these people but wants to use it as a bargaining chip to negotiate immigration reform.

China and the NBA

The dust up with China and pro basketball ended quickly as the NBA capitulated. This follows the American companies who cower in fear whenever China speaks and this follows the US government allowing China to enter the WTO on promises they never kept. It's all about the dollar and has cost millions of good paying jobs as manufacturing moved overseas. It is time to reverse this trend.

Kurds

Foreign policy experts are facing another dilemma. The choice is to pull out of Syria and leave our allies, the Kurds, to defend themselves or to send troops to keep the Turks from killing the Kurds. Those who say we should not be the police force for the world say to pull out but others say we must stand by our friends.

Eye of the beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is a phrase attributed to an early Irish lady but in today's world of politics it can be changed to truth is in the eye of the beholder. Facts no longer matter. Opposing sides can look at the same situation and be worlds apart in their interpretations. The result is nothing can be resolved and people decide they would rather not talk about the issues. The old adage of we can disagree without being disagreeable is no longer operative.

Non-elected

For the past three years the press has denied the concept of the deep state so it was quite a surprise when a writer from the New York Times explained the deep state in a book. He could do this because he found a way to make the deep state look acceptable. He said that the deep state consist of bureaucrats who are concerned that Trump is stomping on the constitution and it is their responsibility to expose his activities. First off the author admits that there is a deep state. Second he feels that these non-elected people should keep tabs on the elected president. Over the years the bureaucracy has gained powers to the point where they feel they can bring down a president with whom they disagree.

Fox

Some people want to close down Fox News because they express opinions which are contrary to these people. Some speakers are shouted down because of the same reason. Some people want to censer talk radio because they don't like what is said. This concept has spread into the words used by ordinary citizens and political correctness is limiting free speech. This is the old idea of burning books. History shows that this usually back fires. The best way to counteract what are considered bad ideas is to come up with better ideas.

Bureaucrats and war

The constitution provides for three branches of government, the executive, legislative and judicial but in time the fourth estate came to be seen as another branch of government, the fourth estate being the press. When congress passes a law it is up to the various government agencies to set up the regulations dictating how the law will be carried out. Over the past 40 plus years these various agencies have assumed greater authority culminating in the Obama administration. This was best illustrated by the EPA who wrote more than 4,000 regulations. Trump has threatened to reduce the number of federal employees, made it easier to fire these people and reduced some benefits along with undoing many of the regs instituted under Obama. The result is the rise of the fifth estate known as the bureaucracy. These are appointed federal employees who stay on regardless of what party is in control and they are not happy. They have been responsible for leaks since the day Trump was elected and some say even before. Trump has been under attack by these bureaucrats and this will continue even if he is reelected. They are fighting to preserve the status quo and see their kingdom being challenged by Trump. It has become an all out war.

Tariffs or not

Do import taxes (tariffs) make a difference. Of the 17.2 million cars and light trucks sold in the USA in 2018, 12 million were light trucks and of this number only 7,000 were made outside the USA. The reason is the 25% tax the US imposes on imported light trucks. In other words almost all foreign pick ups are made in the USA. In almost every other area the import taxes favor other countries and that is why Trump is pushing to eliminate all tariffs. Governments around the globe like tariffs because those tax dollars go directly to the governments who then use that money to give benefits to citizens in the hope of getting votes but that money comes from the citizens in the form of higher prices.

Food stamps

An ABAWD is a persons between the ages of 18 and 49 who has no dependents and is not disabled. There is a federal law that states these people are required to work 20 hours per week to keep their benefits but many states waive this requirement and about 3 million SNAP recipients fall in this category. For at least a decade, most Illinois residents who receive food stamps have been exempt from a federal law that requires them to work or risk losing their benefits. The federal government is considering a change to long-standing policy in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) that would constrain states’ ability to waive work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (sometimes referred to as ABAWDs).

WTO and China

China opened up its economy to free market ideas in 1978 and poverty level dropped from 88% in 1981 to 6% in 2017. During the 80's and 90's China desired entrance to the World Trade Organization (WTO) but the west refused until 2001 when China agreed to follow the other countries in regards to tariffs and international property rights (patent protection and such). China did not act according to their agreements and many objected but no one did anything about it until Trump came along. Trump, not being a politician, started a trade war with China, which he knew could jeopardizes the booming economy. Other presidents did nothing but if they were to act they would have waited until they were reelected, but not Trump. He just plows ahead.

Techies

The wealth gap in the United States and throughout the world is widening and there are a number of reasons for this least of which is tax policy. On the lower end of the ladder are the sports stars, rappers, and CEO's but at the top are the tech giants. There are dozens of young people almost exclusively men who have become billionaires almost overnight. This is most obvious in California where these young techies are worth trillions and just last year 11 new tech billionaires joined the club. Right behind this group are the hedge fund managers. The number of jobs created by these super rich is a leading cause for economic growth. The techies do it with innovation and the hedge funds provide the start up money. There are millions working in jobs that did not exist 25 years ago. If each generation could have a Steve Jobs and a Bill Gates the country would thrive.

Hamptons

This AM on TV they were interviewing farmers in a restaurant in Hampton, MN a town of 700 about 15 miles from here. The announcer said not to confuse this with The Hamptons. These two place are worlds apart. Farmers living in farm houses in the middle of corn fields and billionaires living in mansions on the beach. They were talking to these people in advance of Trumps upcoming appearance in Minneapolis.

Court power

One of the results of the fighting between parties in politics today is that the Supreme Court is gaining in influence. Since congress can't get anything done both Obama and Trump have used executive powers to enact rules and in most cases the courts have reversed the rules. The peoples house is no longer in control which means that voters have lost their power. Instead of government by the people we have government by the court.

Words

New York City is threatening to fine people who use phrases like illegal alien. Many words that are normally not used in polite conversation may come next. Pejorative words referring to race and national origin or other words referring to sexual body parts are taboo but not illegal. In the schools students are told if they hear a word that makes them uncomfortable they should report it to an anonymous hot line. Some people are upset if the word Jesus comes up in a conversation and refer to the speaker as a Jesus freak. Where is George Carlin when you need him.

Trump visit

Minneapolis, like many large cities has been a democratic stronghold for years and the police department is part of the city. The police like many groups were partial to labor and thus leaned toward the democrats. A few years ago this began to change and more recently the police have started to move away from democratic control. In the past when presidents came to town off duty police were encouraged to attend, wearing their uniforms but that has now changed. For the upcoming visit by President Trump the police were told not to wear their uniforms. This does not apply to those providing safety but to those who want to attend the rally. The democratic mayor Jacob Frey said Trump is not welcome, perhaps forgetting that he represents all of the people of Minneapolis. Maybe this will set a precedent and there will be others not welcome in the future. It is mindful of some colleges that refuse to allow conservatives as guest speakers.

Leaks

President Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017 and on February 2, 2017 his private phone call with Australian Premier Turnbull was leaked to the Washington Post and since that time his presidency has been plagued with leaks. Many people have legitimate complaints about Trumps openness on his tweets but it appears that much of what he doesn't tweet about gets in the press anyway. In either event this is a very open administration.

Climate Einstein

The Latin phrase Post hoc ergo propter hoc is an error in logic that assumes the cause of something is another thing that merely occurred earlier. A good example is CO2 levels are increasing and this is the cause of climate change. Ice core sample taken from the Antarctic show CO2 levels the highest in 800,000 years so that part is true. To assume that to be the cause of global warming is logical but could be subject to ignorance of how other changes are involved. For many years Newtonian physics explained completely the way the physical world behaved but along came Einstein and proved that Newtons laws were flawed. Is there a climate Einstein hiding in the weeds. Those who say that CO2 is the answer to climate change period may be in for a surprise. A good scientist avoids making such dramatic conclusions.

Impeachment

Senator Harris is calling for the impeachment of Justice Kavanaugh. This requires a two/thirds vote in the senate and there are currently 49 democrats. To reach the 67 needed 18 republican senators would have to vote to impeach. The same is true for Trump. Former Republican Senator Jeff Flack says at least 35 republican senators will vote to impeach. The republicans did the same thing to Clinton when they brought three charges against himand the charge of lying under oath received only 55 votes. That's a long way from 67 and the charge should never have been brought. It was a political ploy to discredit Clinton and it back fired as Clinton left office with a 65% approval rating.