Covid stimulus

Last April congress passed the first Covid stimulus and each taxpayer who earned less than $75,000 received $1,200. This money should have been targeted to people who lost their jobs because of Covid and each person could have received three times as much. We now have the second Covid stimulus and it will go to many who never lost any income do to the Covid including government employees and retirees. If you take out the politics congress could have passed a second stimulus last summer with money going to those who lost their jobs. It could have been a stand alone bill but congress decided to fight over who would get the credit which is the standard M.O. for congress. Meanwhile people who needed these funds were left high and dry for the past 6 months and of course congress people have been getting their pay all along.

The new rich

The big complaint about free market capitalism is wealth inequality. For many this makes America seem like some evil country that needs to be over thrown and replaced with a system that is more fair. The solution favored by many is to take the money away from the wealthy and the arguments are about how to do it. This leaves the other side of the equation left untouched. Would a better approach be to find ways to add more wealth to those who are not rich. It feels like some would be more comfortable if everyone were poor as long as it was everyone. This is a feeling that many recall from the depression when they say we were poor but so was everyone else. A better plan is to place the emphasis on growing the economy and providing better jobs for working people. Release the entrepreneurs to use their creativity to create new business and if they make a lot of money so be it. The many young whiz kids who become billionaires are somehow depicted as cheaters. Apple has 90,000 employees with an additional 2.4 million in their supply chain. Amazon has 800,000 employees. Most of the jobs in the US today were not here 50 years ago. How many new jobs will there be in 50 years.

Roll out vaccine

Democrats are now saying that the roll out of the vaccine is too slow. According to them the roll out would not even start for a year since the vaccine would not be available for a another year. Recall when the virus first hit these same people said we can't blame Trump for the virus but we can blame him for the way he handled it and they did so. With the benefit of hindsight their solution to the virus was to do everything that Trump did but do it faster along with wear more mask. California has been a leader in all things that the democrats wanted and they are in dire straights. It is oh so easy to second guess especially if your motive is to put down the other side. It is always the same. Put party ahead of country. The congress did nothing for the people who were laid off all summer and fall while each side blamed the other for the inaction. Gallop poll on 12-15 shows an 18% approval for congress.

Economies

In the 200 plus years since the industrial revolution the world has progressed more than the 5,000 years of recorded history. The mechanization of production in conjunction with free market capitalism has brought better lives to billions even though the population has increased from one billion to seven billion. During this transition time many governments tried socialism and it failed every time. The years between 1950 and 1970 are referred to as the golden age of capitalism as countries around the world moved toward free market economies. Many people are upset with today's situation and the number one complaint is that some people have too much.

Solyndra

In the 7 years between 2008 and 2015 over 100 solar panel companies that received government loans went bankrupt and each one made campaign contributions before they closed. In addition many of the original investors walked off with a profit. The most famous example is Solyndra which received a $535 million loan guarantee and this was paid by the government when the company filed for bankruptcy. While solar is sold as a replacement for fossil fuels it is used as a conduit to campaigns. The use of other more viable sources to produce electric power, sources like natural gas, methane hydrate and thorium nuke plants are not discussed because there is no direct path back to campaigns. The idea of a carbon tax is in the news because this would bring in money to the government. It would be a transfer from consumers via increased utility cost to the government because the companies would pay the carbon tax by increasing the electric rates. Recall when President Obama said, "your utility rates will necessarily sky rocket". As long as politics is determining the road to climate change this deliberate misdirection will continue.

600 or 2000

In the first covid relief plan 2.8 million people received a $1,200 check at a cost of $3.2 billion dollars. In the second bill just past this is reduced to $600 per person. This bill was combined with the omnibus spending bill which was needed to keep the government funded and it contained the usual bridge to no where pork. It used the covid plan to pass all of the pork. If they had left the covid bill pass on its own merits they could have by passed the arguments and had this bill finished months ago. This is typical where special interest items are put in a bill containing items that most people want. Even right now Trump has said he wants to increase the $600 to $2,000 if they will remove the pork from the Omnibus bill but Pelosi says she will pass Trumps change as a stand alone bill so she can keep all of the pork in the Omnibus bill.

Virus

Senator Schumer was on TV today talking about the virus and he said that Biden will take action and replace a man who did nothing to stop the virus. Trump canceled all fights from China on January 31st and was accused of being xenophobic, on February 27 he appointed VP Pence to head up the war on the virus, on March 12th he suspended all flights from Europe, on March 26th he signs $9 billion covid response bill, on April 16th $483 million to Moderna for vaccine, on April 29 Operation Warp Speed begins to create a virus and the government has spent over $6 trillion dollars so far fighting the virus. Democrats often equate how much you care about an issue by how much you are willing to spend and $6 trillion is a lot of care. After Schumer, a democratic congressman Jim Clyburn, who is a smart guy, was interviewed and when asked if he thought the vaccine was a good thing and he said it was but it would have been produced faster if Trump had gotten out of the way.

Power to the people

What happened under Trump was happening all over the industrialized world. The people were fed up with the experts running their lives and they voted for change. A good example is what happened in England. They voted to leave the European Union. The groups that wanted to stay were the people who were doing well, the establishment along with big business. The same thing was happening in the US and now it looks like a return to the pre-Trump years. Business will once again profit by sending jobs overseas and the blue collar workers will pay the price. The power will remain in the hands of the powerful and the people will just have to adjust. This all occurred without the average person knowing what was going on because the news was all about Trumps personality quirks instead of what his policies were. Changing NAFTA, standing up to China, bringing jobs back home, getting out of agreements like the Paris Accords, the TPP, challenging the United Nations and the WTO were all ways to help the working class. The power to control the lives of the working people had shifted to government and business and the next move was to move the power to international groups by making international treaties. Just like England was getting their marching orders from Brussels, the US will be catering to these world wide agreements. The further away from the people the power goes the more the people will be left to fend for themselves. The workers will have to organize and fight against those in control but this time it appears that the press will be on the side of the elites.

Unions

Since Biden did not say much about his agenda during the campaign, supposedly because he was housebound due to the virus, we are now getting our first clear look as to what to expect. This look comes to us via the cabinet he is selecting and it appears that we are going to return to the status quo that existed in the thirty plus years before Trump. This means that the blue collar working people will continue to lose ground as more manufacturing moves out of the country. These workers can hope to make a come back in the next election but that also would be returning to the status quo of yesteryear. The mistake these workers have been making is assuming they could get help through government but that appears to be a hill to difficult to climb. They must decide as a group to take things into their own hands and use the strength of unions to fight for their rights. What is needed is a resurgence in union membership, something that has been on the decline, at least in the private sector, for forty years. It does not help to complain about the salaries of CEO's if the government and business are in cahoots with one another. The current union leadership has been co-opted as witnessed by the passage of NAFTA by a democratic administration and talks about joining the TTP while giving power to the WTO. The way to get Jeff Bezo's attention is not to talk about a wealth tax which must include the cooperation of the business/government partnership but to form a union and demand better benefits. It is up to the workers to join forces and fight for their rights. They did it in the past and they can do it again.

Thorium

Andrew Yang, son of immigrants from Taiwan, was a lawyer turned businessman who became a millionaire before age 35. He came to national attention when he ran for president in 2016. As a part of his platform he suggested using thorium to produce carbon free electric power. This did not get much attention since it didn't have a pathway to return government money to politicians like solar and wind. People are fearful of nuclear power because of the possibility of reactor meltdown but thorium cannot meltdown. If power is lost in a thorium reactor the reactor shuts itself down. In addition thorium reactors produce far less waste that is far less dangerous. Thorium reactors can use up the spent fuel from uranium reactors which is stored in various places around the country. The mining of thorium produces by products of rare earth metals which are needed for high tech equipment used in wind and solar. Those who promote the use of fossil fuels and wind and solar oppose thorium as they see it as competition.

China policy

Foreign policy under the Biden administration is up in the air at this time especially with relations with China. They will likely take a strong stance against China's policies on human rights at least with words but there is not much in action that can be done. There will be pressure from big business, to remove the tariffs that Trump imposed on China and this will be some action that might be taken. Besides the big corps many officials, elected and not, have ties with China and this has been going on for many years. These officials profit from their relationships and do not want this jeopardized. There will be some pressure to bring home the production of medical supplies but basic manufacturing will likely stay in China as US jobs continue to move overseas.

Wages

Many people see how the country is divided and blame Trump because he is president. This division started before Trump when voters in England decided to leave the European Union. It was like other European countries where the working people were upset with the establishment. The blue collar working class in America watched their jobs go overseas and no one cared. They saw a flow of immigrants coming in and competing for low wage jobs. They felt the government was more concerned about immigrants than about themselves. They were accused of being prejudiced but in fact if these new immigrants had been raising wages they would have been all for it. It was not skin color but wages. They watched mostly the sons and daughters of blue collar workers fight the wars that seem to profit big defense contractors. They come back with injuries and the VA seems not to care. Social Media promotes political conflict where people get their news. Republicans watch their sites and democrats watch theirs and this adds to the conflict. These people got fed up and voted for Sanders or Trump because they were crying out for help, for someone to notice their plight. Unless something is done to help this group they will be back next election in even larger numbers.

Merit

A good argument can be made that in a free market economy each person can succeed according to their ability. This assumes that each person has an equal opportunity but that is not the case. Children from wealthy families have an advantage. There are more students in Ivy League schools from the top one percent of wealthy families than the remaining 99% of families. This can be corrected by adjusting admission standards and that is currently happening. Sometimes things are not that simple. If a young man is born Black it often means from a low income family and that is more difficult to correct. Does the government just give his family money or does the university adjust its entrance requirements. In the National Basketball Association 80% of the players are Black. It appears that they have natural talents in this area. Adjusting for this discrepancy would be very difficult. Should the NBA limit the number of Black players to 12% which is what Blacks represent in the general population. 42% of students are MIT are Asian Americans. Should this be adjusted down to the 5% they represent in the population. Does competition, by its nature, breed inequality. When changes are made to compensate for unequal opportunity by adjusting results serious problems arise. When one person has the talent to earn lots of money should some of that be taken from them. Going down this path begs the question as to who decides how to adjust for opportunity and for results.

Juan buys bonds

Currency is traded on the foreign exchange market called the Forex. The Chinese Central Bank prints up Juan and uses that to buy dollars on the open market. This drives up the cost of the dollar and lowers the cost of Juan and this gives China an advantage in trade which leads to a favorable balance of trade for China and an unfavorable balance of trade for the US. In doing this China accumulates a large supply of dollars and when the US government wants to borrow money the Fed sells bonds and China using their supply of dollars buys US bonds. In this process China becomes a major buyer and this helps the Fed to sell bonds at a lower interest rate which saves the government a lot of money. The more buyers there are the lower the rate on the bonds. This lower rate effects not just government bonds but other interest rates like home mortgage loans. In addition the price of goods made in China and shipped here are lower for US consumers. While all of this seems like a win the down side is that the blue collar workers have traded their good jobs for low cost TV's at Walmart.

Islam today

Revelation over reason is a key phrase that explains the situation that Islam is facing today. From about 700 AD to 1500 AD Islamic scientist flourished and birthed new ideas about medicine, mathematics and other sciences but that ended when religion took over. Because of many changes including the use of politics, the religious people gained power over the leadership and Islam closed its doors to the outside world and concentrated on the Koran and lived their lives according to the strict interpretation of this holy book. The west faced a similar situation with the bible but chose a path that aligns science with religion allowing both a degree of independence from one another. This is best illustrated by the separation clause in the US constitution. There remains some fundamental arguments regarding literal interpretation of the bible but these have not placed any constraints on scientific advancements. Hopefully the Bible doesn't forbid scientific investigation as the Roman Church feared during the aptly named dark ages. Science has made some serious blunders over the years but that should not limit future investigations.

Mortgage crisis

The governments main responsibility in a free market economy is to minimize corruption but sometimes the government tries to do more and one example is what became the mortgage crisis of 2008. Before the 1970's banks would assess the credit worthiness of a mortgage applicant and offer loans accordingly. There were rules to follow, things like down payment and income. This meant that the rate for loans was determined by the willingness of banks to loan and the ability of the borrowers to pay back the loan. This led to discrimination against lower income people and often times these were minorities. The government then decided to intervene in the process which distorted the loan rates. In 1997 they passed the Community Reinvestment Act which forced banks to offer more risky loans. This allowed for more loans but not enough to satisfy the government so in 1994 they passed the Interstate Banking Act to encourage riskier loans. Still not satisfied in 1996 HUD started requiring that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer 40% of loans to low income groups. In 1997 the Taxpayer Relief Act removed the tax on the gain of the sale of a home. Starting in 2000 the Federal Reserve Bank lowered interest rates to historic lows which further encouraged home loans. Since Fannie and Freddie are semi government entities the government would back up any losses. This meant that banks could make high risk loans and keep the profits but any losses would be passed on to Fannie Mae which means passed on to the taxpayers and this is what happened as the banks were bailed out and the people lost their homes. The government is currently considering interceding in the student loan bubble. Will this result in unintended consequences?

5G

The latest advancement in communications is called 5G and a Chinese company Huawei wanted to spread their version around the world but they were challenged by the US and now most companies will be moving away from Huawei and toward western countries for their service. It was claimed and with good reason that Huawei would use this service to spy since Chinese companies are aligned with the communist government. While this did not get much news coverage it was a win for the US and the rest of the free world.

Warp speed

The latest advancement in communications is called 5G and a Chinese company Huawei wanted to spread their version around the world but they were challenged by the US and now most companies will be moving away from Huawei and toward western countries for their service. It was claimed and with good reason that Huawei would use this service to spy since Chinese companies are aligned with the communist government. While this did not get much news coverage it was a win for the US and the rest of the free world.

Warp speed

Recent activities have offered a clear example of the difference between how business operates compared to government. While millions of people suffered waiting for relief from the pain of covid, congress dithered and as usual both parties blame the other side. Contrast that to the way Trump has marshaled the forces of private industry to develop the vaccine. As a businessman this was his first impulse. Would other politicians come up with Operation Warp Speed? Was WW2 the last time something like this happened?

Lower CO2

As the US production of oil and gas rises it causes a couple of major changes across the globe. The first is political. When the US placed restrictions on Iran this reduced their oil exports by 90%. This was only possible because US oil production increased enough to offset any price hikes. The second change has to do with natural gas production. The price of natural declined not only in the US but around the world because the US became a net exported of natural gas. This helped Europe where Russia has a monopoly on natural gas production. Lower cost for natural gas encourages countries in Asia and Africa to use more natural gas which many times means less coal. This causes lower CO2 production. Ironically the use of fracking is helping in the goals of climate change.

Mortgage crisis

The governments main responsibility in a free market economy is to minimize corruption but sometimes the government tries to do more and one example is what became the mortgage crisis of 2008. Before the 1970's banks would assess the credit worthiness of a mortgage applicant and offer loans accordingly. There were rules to follow, things like down payment and income. This meant that the rate for loans was determined by the willingness of banks to loan and the ability of the borrowers to pay back the loan. This led to discrimination against lower income people and often times these were minorities. The government then decided to intervene in the process which distorted the loan rates. In 1997 they passed the Community Reinvestment Act which forced banks to offer more risky loans. This allowed for more loans but not enough to satisfy the government so in 1994 they passed the Interstate Banking Act to encourage riskier loans. Still not satisfied in 1996 HUD started requiring that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer 40% of loans to low income groups. In 1997 the Taxpayer Relief Act removed the tax on the gain of the sale of a home. Starting in 2000 the Federal Reserve Bank lowered interest rates to historic lows which further encouraged home loans. Since Fannie and Freddie are semi government entities the government would back up any losses. This meant that banks could make high risk loans and keep the profits but any losses would be passed on to Fannie Mae which means passed on to the taxpayers and this is what happened as the banks were bailed out and the people lost their homes. The government is currently considering interceding in the student loan bubble. Will this result in unintended consequences?

5G

The latest advancement in communications is called 5G and a Chinese company Huawei wanted to spread their version around the world but they were challenged by the US and now most companies will be moving away from Huawei and toward western countries for their service. It was claimed and with good reason that Huawei would use this service to spy since Chinese companies are aligned with the communist government. While this did not get much news coverage it was a win for the US and the rest of the free world.

Warp speed

Recent activities have offered a clear example of the difference between how business operates compared to government. While millions of people suffered waiting for relief from the pain of covid, congress dithered and as usual both parties blame the other side. Contrast that to the way Trump has marshaled the forces of private industry to develop the vaccine. As a businessman this was his first impulse. Would other politicians come up with Operation Warp Speed? Was WW2 the last time something like this happened?

Lower CO2

As the US production of oil and gas rises it causes a couple of major changes across the globe. The first is political. When the US placed restrictions on Iran this reduced their oil exports by 90%. This was only possible because US oil production increased enough to offset any price hikes. The second change has to do with natural gas production. The price of natural declined not only in the US but around the world because the US became a net exported of natural gas. This helped Europe where Russia has a monopoly on natural gas production. Lower cost for natural gas encourages countries in Asia and Africa to use more natural gas which many times means less coal. This causes lower CO2 production. Ironically the use of fracking is helping in the goals of climate change.

Mortgage crisis

The real estate crisis of 2008 began when people realized that the mortgage backed securities could not be evaluated properly and were likely worth much less than they thought. This led to a collapse in the market. The question then arose as to why were people investing in a products when there was no way to determine its worth. There value was based on enthusiasm for the product. There is a similar situation going on today. Tesla has $45 billion in assets and the current value of its stock is $540 billion and people are buying it without regards to what is there to back up the company. This is what happened with mortgage backed securities. A bundle of mortgages worth continuing houses worth $10 million dollars might be sold for $100 million. This is the expected result of people who are buying products that they don't know the value. When a person buys Tesle they know its worth and are still willing to pay ten time that.

Trust

Polls show a steady decline in the public trust in the media. In 1972 the trust was at 72% but this was followed by downward slide. By 1997 it had fallen to 53% and in 2016 it was 32%. When Trump came on the scene the drop in trust continued. This mistrust is not limited to politics as most institutions, other than the military, are suffering from the same mistrust. Trust in government has dropped from 75% in 1960 to 25% in 2015. This has people concentrating on what is wrong with America and if you look you can find plenty. If you go a step further and compare the US with other countries things look much better and that is why so many around the world would like to move here. Like so many things in life it comes down to attitude. Recall what Flip Wilsons, Geraldine said, what you see is what you get.

Equal results

As WW 2 ended, Europe lay in ruins and the two surviving countries Russia and the United States, watched and waited. The Soviets saw the starving people as a group ripe for the promises of communism and took steps to spread this doctrine by stirring up discontent while the US moved to send aid. Half of Europe went communist and the other half stayed as free market economies. Over the next 40 plus years these two types of government proceeded along different pathways and in the end the communist government failed while Western Europe thrived and eventually won the cold war. The early successes of the communist were led by the young people in the war torn countries as they believed in the equality promised by the communist. The United States today is facing a similar situation with polls showing that the young people believe that socialism will provide equality. The promise of equal results is a powerful drug for those who cringe when they see billionaires in a country where many work for minimum wage. The siren song of, from each according to his ability to each according to his needs, touches the hearts of the youth.

Scientific method

A current new headline is listen to the science. This has been the chant over climate change for years and it is the reason not much has been done to solve the problem of climate change. A scientist will look for all options when facing a challenge and to see only one solution while ignoring other possible solutions is to disregard the scientific method. This method finds its strength in looking for answers without prejudice. The leading scientists today have been co-opted by politics in conjunction with the press. Bush and Obama both said they would look at all options but that has not happened. There is little or no mention of using natural gas for transportation or building thorium power plants. The added advantage is that mining thorium produces rare earth metals as a by-product which can aid in the wind solar business. It is a win win about which most people have no knowledge.

Fighting covid

The first death from covid in the US was on January 20, 2020. This man just returned from Wuhan, China. On January 29, the White House announced a task force to study covid. On January 30, Trump restricts travel from China. On January 31, HHS declares public health emergency. On February 24, Trump asks congress for $2.5 billion to pay for vaccine development and protective equipment. February 26, Trump tags Pence to head the fight against covid. On February 29 the first case of covid contacted in the US. March 6, Trump signs bill for $8.3 billion to fight covid. March 11, Trump restricts travel from Europe and England. March13, Trump declares national emergency. March 18, Trump signs the second covid relief bill for $100 billion. March 26 death toll hits 1,000.

New rich

In 2008 two men both age 27 had some room to rent and they set up an online rental system for travelers. They called it AirBnB. They don't have anything to do with the rental space, they just take a small commission for those who use their site. Today millions of renters are making money off their unused space and millions of travelers and getting low priced lodging. Today this company goes public for an estimated $47 billion dollars. In 2013 three Asian American students in their late 20's founded Doordash a company that offers home food delivery. They got $700 million from venture capitalist and last week went public for $38 billion dollars. Millions of people now save time by not having to go out to shop for food. Multiple deliveries are made on each trip saving fuel cost. Will these young men now use their wealth to retire and just spend the rest of their lives buying toys to play with or will they use their entrepreneurial skills to start new businesses?

The real power

When a new administration takes office new officials take office. There are about 4,000 jobs that change with about 60 being significant with the new president but there are over 2 million federal government employees who stay on through different administrations. These are referred to a career employees and they each have their own ways of working within the system. These people have daily contact with various businesses and industries that work with the federal government on a whole series of projects. These same people are often the unidentified sources that appear in news stories and many thousands of these people have top secret clearance to deal with groups outside the government. These bureaucrats and their confederates in private industry keep the government functioning properly as one administration replaces another. In other words this whole group of lifetime workers represent the power behind the throne and they probably total around 4 million. Politicians are often accused of putting party ahead of country but these non-elected employees are likely to put their careers ahead of country. It is this large group that can be considered the deep state. The one group that acts as the glue that holds the whole thing together are the lobbyist. Any elected official that tries to challenge the authority of this group will likely be attacked from all sides and quickly be neutered. Recently Senator Schumer issued a warning to his friends saying they best not get on the wrong side of the NIA when he said, "Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you". This illustrates where the real power lies.

Deep state

Eisenhower famously warned about the dangers inherent in the military industrial complex and he was right. Overtime this duo expanded their power by joining forces with big corporations and big government. The big government part was particularly troubling because it was not the elected officials who became part of the cabal but rather the non elected people we call bureaucrats. In 2016 Mike Lofgren wrote a book called, An Anatomy Of The Deep State" and in this book he exposed how this powerful group had taken control of the country. Lofgren points out that it is not republicans or democrats that control this but a secret unwritten agreement between the national security community, Wall Street and Silicon Valley. When Trump was elected he took this on and was immediately attacked from all sides. This group uses the strategy of keeping political parties at war with one another to cover their misdeeds and the public, along with the press, falls dutifully in line. It is easy to turn the heads of those who have a vested interest in politics. The stronger they feel about politics the easier it is to control them. One simple proof of this is what is called the teenage defense. If your party does some dastardly deed all you have to do is find a similar incidence in the other party and all is forgotten, as in, Mom everyone is doing it. If Trump hadn't had such a controversial personality there is a chance he could have uncovered much of the deep state. The phrase deep state was attributed to Trump so as to disparage the whole concept and it worked even though the phrase preceded Trump.

More on thorium

Thorium nuke powered plants not only produce far less nuclear waste, they are easier and cheaper to build and can be designed to produce hydrogen which can be combined with CO2 to make fuels to replace fossil fuel without increasing the CO2 in the atmosphere. All electric power will be produced carbon free and a carbon free source of fuel for planes, trains and trucks will be available. There will be no net increase in CO2 from transportation and a net decrease in CO2 by switching to nuclear power plants instead of coal and gas. This would solve the climate change problem and according to some, save the world.

Thorium or climate change

Nuclear power plants came on in the late 50's and based on the technology at the time used water to cool the reactor core and that is how all plants operate today. The three accidents that have occurred in the past 70 years have all been caused by using water as the coolant. In a loss of power to the facility the pumps no longer operate and the cooling is shut down. Today's new technology using thorium as the fuel and molted salt at the coolant provide a safe shutdown in the loss of power. The molted salt as it cools solidifies and becomes its own seal. All new plants should use this newer safer technology and older plants should be retired and replaced as soon as possible. The same people who say that the world as we know it will end in a few short years are the people who oppose this change to thorium. Nuclear reactors with old technology have produced one accident in the United States since 1958 and faced with the pending destruction of climate change these people refuse to go to thorium power. Do they really believe that climate change is as threatening as they say?

Juan vs dollar

Money is sold on the open market like any other commodity. If the demand for the dollar goes up the price of the dollar goes up. Simple supply and demand. Say the dollar is worth 6 Juan. If a gizzmo in China cost 6 Juan and I want to buy one I pay one US dollar for it. If one smizzmo in the US sells for 1 dollar a Chinese merchant can buy one for 6 juan. Now China sells Juan on the open market and it drives the cost down. Meanwhile China buys dollars on the open market and it drives the cost up. So now 4 Juan is worth one dollar. People buy more because the price is lower. China exports gizzmos to the US and people buy them at 4 Juan rather than 6 Juan so sales increase. US exports smizzmos to China and the people buy 4 for a dollar instead of 6 for a dollar so they buy less. Sales decrease when the price goes up. The currency for most countries depends on the open market price which is determined by supply and demand. China manipulates the open market price by buying and selling its own currency while at the same time buying and selling dollars. About 20 countries, most notably China, have engaged in such practices over the past decade at an annual rate that has averaged $1 trillion in recent years. The U.S. trade deficit has been several hundred billion dollars a year higher as a result and we lost several million additional jobs during the Great Recession.

Payoff debt

Senators Warren and Sanders have suggested the if the government would pay off student loans this would stimulate economic growth and I agree. However! We are constantly told that going to college means a higher life time income and I agree. Therefore! How about paying off private debt for people who never went to college, things like credit cards and car loans. That too would stimulate the economy but it would help lower educated, lower income people who will not get the future pay increases that the students will get. These are the people who witnessed their good paying manufacturing jobs disappear while they were working hard to put their kids through college. Doesn't that sound more equitable.

Thorium power plants

A new report from the EPA estimates that over 100,000 people die each year from air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. The United States has been using nuclear power plants to produce pollution free electricity since 1958 and has had one accident at Three Mile Island from which no one was injured or died. Most of the inherent dangers from nuke plants come from the use of uranium as a fuel and that can be eliminated by using thorium instead of uranium. Thorium is safer and less expensive. The plant is safer because it doesn't need high pressure water to cool and if the power is lost it shuts down by itself. The bi-products are fewer in number and decay more rapidly. The use of thorium could also help solve the shortage of rare earth metals because thorium is a bi-product of rare earth mines. Thus it is safer and easier to mine than uranium and has much more energy per pound than uranium. The only reason uranium was used at the start was that uranium plants product bi-products than can be used to make nuke bombs and that is why the government financed these plant. You cannot make bombs from thorium. There is no air or water pollution from thorium power plants.

Rare metals today

In 2010 and several times since China has cut the supply of rare earth metals and since they control 90% of the worlds supply this has resulted in shortages and price hikes. In recent times China's need for these metals has grown to the point where they will no longer have excess supplies and exports may stop completely. They even warned that world that they would be using most of their own production and said they would put China first. While there is a lot of talk about the US getting their own supply not much has been done. It takes many years to get a mine going from scratch but there is a mine in California that went bankrupt and could be reopened and get production underway quickly but still no action. It represents a conundrum to environmentalist who believe that mining is bad but need these metals for wind mills and solar panels. It comes back to what business always faces and that is risk/return. While these people dither away the hours with endless meetings the problem gets more critical. These think tank experts always have trouble making a decision.

Thorium

China produces over 90% of rare earth metals which are used in electronics. Most modern military equipment require these metals so the national defense is threatened by not having a domestic supply. The refining of these metals requires many toxic chemicals but that is not the stumbling block as these chemicals can be controlled. The problem is caused by a by product metal called thorium. Rare earths are found mixed with thorium and thorium is radioactive. One solution to this problem is to use thorium in nuclear power plants. It is better than uranium and safer. It has fewer contaminated bi-products and is more prevalent in nature. The only drawback is that it does not produce plutonium as a by product which the government wants for nuke bombs. It is not necessary to set up a separate rare earth mine as most mines produce a bi-product that contains rare earths. These bi-products can be the raw material needed to produce rare earths. There are many ore mines throughout the western states that could be the sites of rare earth mines. The government seems unable to act and thus China continues to hold the advantage.

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At one time in the past, I foolishly suggested that all high school and college sports be inter mural instead of inter school. This way students would all compete instead of an elite few. Cost for transporting students from school to school would be eliminated and travel time saved. I was severely castigate for making such ridiculous suggestions and quickly dropped the whole idea. Turns out that people think competition for blue ribbons is a good thing even though it created losers along with winners. This is true not only in sports but in other walks of life such as entertainment and business but there is a limit. In a free market system someone can come up with a good idea that benefits millions of people but it better not enrich the originators too much. In the last century two men, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were responsible for the creation of millions of new good paying jobs and they were rewarded with millions of dollars. So far so good. Now comes Jeff Bezos founder of Amazon who owns $180 billion dollars in stock. This is deemed as too much for one person and ideas are presented on ways to get his stock. This change in attitude about rich people is part of the new push for socialistic ideas as presented by Bernie Sanders in the past two elections. The US could certainly take by force of law money from the rich and give it to the poor and almost everyone would be financially better off. This would be a win for some period of time but it would not last. As Margaret Thatcher once said, socialism is great until you run out of the other persons money. Going back to the sports analogy it would be like taking Patrick McHomes $50 million dollar yearly salary and giving one million to each of his 50 team mates. Sounds fair to me.

New ways

A few years ago the phrase think outside the box was used to describe ways to be different from the norm. Being normal is safe and where most people prefer to be but innovation comes from not be normal. To be different is to risk ridicule. There are many examples of abnormal behavior that resulted in people being laughed at or banished from a group but often times these same people are responsible for major changes in society. One recent example is Donald Trump. When it comes to politics he was outside the box on almost every issue and he suffered the consequences. He was an outsider who broke the norm almost everyday and was made fun of by all of the inside the box people. This is best illustrated by those who said he was un-presidential and he was but he caused people to think about politics in a new way and new ways are usually unwanted and sometimes dangerous.

Embargo

When Trump announced that the United States was energy independent and credited fracking, most Americans just yawned because they do not remember the 1973 oil embargo. In 1973 Egypt and Syria began an unprovoked attack against Israel. Israel retaliated with arms supplied by the United States and in 19 days the Arabs suffered a humiliating defeat. In response to this defeat Saudi Arabia instituted an oil embargo against the United States. The first effect was the price of gas increasing four fold and then many stations were out of gas. Long lines at gas stations were the norm and Americans who love their cars were angry and frustrated. This frustration is a minor problem compared to the threat posed to the national defense of the country. This threat no longer exist.

Change mind

Dr Fouci has come under attack for changing his mind on schools. A good scientist will answer every question with the preface, to the best of our knowledge this is what we think. When new information presents itself the investigator is obligated to take that into account. When I was in school there were laws in science but quantum mechanics called into question those laws. It is not just science but in all intelligent decision making that when new information is presented, it is only wise to reconsider previously held positions.

Hate crimes

In 2019 there were 953 anti- Jewish hate crimes in America and 176 anti- Muslim crimes. There is nothing in the news about this. The question is what if the data were reversed with Muslim crimes being 5 or 6 times more prevalent than Jewish crimes. Would that be in the news and if so why the difference. Could it be that prejudice against Muslims is a relatively new phenomenon whereas crimes against Jews have been going on for thousands of years. Does anyone care about these differences?