Cost of healthcare

As the debate to extend the Obamacare subsidies continues, the claim that insurance companies benefit most from these monies is in the news. Recall that Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, was murdered in 2024 by a disgruntled citizen who was upset about the high cost of healthcare. Obamacare started paying benefits in 2014 and that year United Healthcare stock was at $100 and today it is $600. There are a number of things that can be done to lower the cost of healthcare but instead the government offers subsidies. What are some things that can lower prices? Give most favored nation status to the US to determine drug prices Eliminate the intermediary companies (PBM’s) that raise the price of drugs Allow companies to form associations to have more buying power when negotiating with insurance companies. Allow companies to negotiate across state lines to increase competition when buying insurance Require transparency in insurance so people can see up front what something will cost and not have to wait until after the service is performed Deport illegal migrants who use emergency services for free as this cost is passed on to the rest of the patients These are things that could be tried instead of first going to subsidies.

Madero

As the situation in Venezuela unfolds it is mindful of the 1989 case in Panama. After the death of Omar Toffijos in 1981, Manual Noriega became the de facto (unelected president). He was an anticommunist who had worked for the CIA but when he came into power he moved toward communism and started using drug money to retain his power. He installed puppet presidents, rigging elections using his control of the military, in other words, a typical dictator. The US was concerned about his leaning toward communism and his expanding of the drugs coming into the US. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami on charges of racketeering, drug smuggling and money laundering. The US invaded Panama, captured Noriega, brought him to the US where he was convicted and sent to prison. The same thing is going on with Madero in Venezuela who came to power when Chevez died in 2013. Using his power, the constitution was change giving him authority much like a dictator. He organized the drug business around several other countries using help from communist countries Russia, China, Cuba and Iran. He is considered illegitimate by most of the world and seen as rigging elections. The US is now putting pressure on Madero to vacate by sinking his drug boats and taking over his oil tankers. He has been offered sanctuary in Turkey.

Healthcare cost

When social security started in 1935, life expectancy was 62 years but today that is 78 years. This trend is expected to continue and that along with advances in medical treatment will increase the cost of healthcare. The new treatments are expensive. In 1960 healthcare cost were 5% of GDP and today it is 20%. One fourth of all health cost in a person’s life happens in the last year so one place to look for savings is in elderly patients. This leads to rationing, something that no one wants to hear but may be necessary. Should a ninety-year-old man get a liver transplant. New York recently joined other states in allowing assisted suicide and other countries like Canada and many in Europe have adopted similar rules. On the other end of the spectrum, many abortions are performed on unborns who have various problems that would be costly to treat. Another savings is in the treatment of preemies. Infants born at 24 weeks have an average first year cost of over $600,000. The average stay in a nursing home is 6 months and for dementia patients it’s 30 months and the cost are $10,000 per month. Insurance and private payments cover some of the cost but the government spends $200 billion per year. Encouraging life style changes can save money. The total cost of smoking is $600 billion while drug and alcohol comes to $500 billion.

Trump speech

The main reason why people see so differently is based on whether you look at personality or policy and reports from last night’s speech verify this. Here are some policy issues from the speech. Closing the border Deporting criminal migrants Stopping drugs coming in on boats Keeping inflation under 3% Large tax cuts New foreign investments in manufacturing Bringing jobs back home using tariffs Lowering drug prices Increasing oil and gas Here are some comments by liberals I’m not afraid of Trump Speech was short because he didn’t have many accomplishments Trump is not in touch with the people He’s not well mentally and physically Untethered from reality and truth I heard he blamed Biden Divisive

Future of EV's

The future of electric vehicles is changing as consumers turn away and governments realize that the grid is not up to the challenge and the harm to the environment is more than predicted. Auto companies realize this is not the time or place for EV’s. The final nail in the coffin was the cancelling of the $7,500 tax credit. Ford is pulling back, a move that will result in a $19.5 billion dollar charge against its earning to be taken this quarter. The odd thing is this loss is the result of a management decision and no one seems to be responsible. Mary Berra became CEO of GM in 2013. Here is a brief history of her grand plan. Starting in 2018, GM said it would sell only EV’s by 2035 and 50% of its fleet by 2030. Here is a report from Oct 2025. GM said it is laying off 1,750 workers indefinitely and cutting back 1,670 others as it scales back EV production. GM took a financial hit of $1.6 billion in late 2025 due to scaling back EV plans. Mary Berra is still the CEO.

Deductibles

Throughout the history of Obamacare, the news has always centered on the monthly premium cost but that left the out-of-pocket cost, which primarily involved the annual deductible, out of the discussion. First off, 92% of participants receive subsidies and 60% are enrolled in the Silver Plan. This includes people whose incomes are between 100% ($32,000) and 400% ($128,000) of the poverty level. The annual out of pocket cost for a single person will increase to $10,600 (up from $9.200 in 2025), and for the family plan up to $21,200 from $18,400. The average cost for monthly premiums after subsidies is $120 which is only a small part of the out-of-pocket cost which includes annual deductibles. Very low-income people can qualify for zero cost healthcare but that is under Medicaid not Obamacare. For example, using the Silver Plan A family of four with an income of $50,000 will pay, after subsidies, $100 per month but have a $7,000 annual deductible. If the income is $80,000 the monthly cost would be $200 but the annual deductible would rise to $10,000. Just as when Obamacare first came out, the news is all about monthly premium and people are upset when they see the annual deductible, which many don’t know about until they have their first claim. This is not only poor reporting but could be considered dishonest reporting.

NGO's in MN

When DOGE cracked down on waste and abuse in congress it pointed the finger at NGO’s in particular those associated with US Agency for International Development (USAID) in which there were thousands of NGO’s. USAID was officially shut down in July 2025. It required a deep dive into government to uncover the unusual projects in these NGO’s, many of which became public, things like diversity training in Serbia and transgender opera in Columbia. The conclusion was that some of this money was finding its way into other pockets. The government has just discovered another operation in Minnesota involving waste, fraud and abuse. In Ramsey County, home of St Paul, $38.4 million dollars was paid out to 213 NGO’s and the problems associated with these groups is now being exposed. These organizations are now seen as the first steps in what is becoming a billion-dollar scam where money that was designated to feed hungry children, to provide rental assistance and for Autism treatment centers was used instead to purchase luxury items and to send money overseas. While this is big news in Minnesota not much is being published elsewhere. It seems to many outsiders that other NGO’s in other states may be experiencing similar problems.

Businessman

There are many ways in which Trump operates differently than Biden and one has to do with Trumps view of private business. Case in point is Biden’s CHIPS Act. This act provided $52 billion in subsidies and tax credits to domestic chip research and manufacturing. Trump on the other hand offered $160 billion to Intel, to bolster domestic chip production but as collateral, the government received 344 million shares in Intel. Their goal is once again to become the world’s leader in chip manufacturing and if they are successful, the government can redeem their investment by selling the stock. This happened because Trump is first a businessman and second a politician. This same, thinking outside the box approach, was seen in Trump’s first term when he demanded that the Covid vaccine be fast tracked (operation warp speed) while most politicians would have followed the old tried and true method. This Covid vaccine was developed in less than one year while the previous record was the mumps vaccine in 1960 which took four years. The average for a new vaccine is 12 years.

Prices

What can the government do to keep prices from rising faster than the inflation rate is the main question for the upcoming elections. First off, they can encourage the increase in oil, coal and natural gas to lower the cost of transportation. This includes gas prices for consumers, diesel prices for trucking, farming and rail, jet fuel for airlines and heating oil for homes. Second the Fed can lower interest rates for lower cost home and auto loans and for business loans. Third, reduce regulations to promote new factories that will increase productivity. Forth, bring manufacturing back to America to reduce shipping cost. Fifth, promote free and fair-trade practices Sixth, encourage drug companies to price US drugs like they price other countries The goal is to have wages rise faster than inflation.

Reshoring jobs

For forty plus years politicians colluded with big business to ship manufacturing jobs overseas. The factory workers lost their good paying jobs with good benefits and had to settle for lower paying service jobs with few benefits. Big corporations saw their profits rise year over year and the working class had to take on extra jobs to stay even. The average factory worker, without realizing what was happening, traded their good jobs for cheap products at Walmart. CEO salaries exploded from the 1970s to 2020, with the pay ratio to typical workers skyrocketing from roughly 20-30:1 in the 1970s to over 300:1 by 2020, as top CEO pay grew by over 1,300% (inflation-adjusted) while average worker pay lagged significantly, driven largely by stock options and market forces. The hope is that this trend can be reversed as the jobs come back home.

Cheap energy

The use of tariffs by Trump to negotiate other deals is complicated and difficult to follow. Here is one example of what has happened. Prior to Trump, Germany could sell a $50,000 Mecedes here and incur a 2.5% tariff but the if the US wanted to sell a $50,000 Cadilac in Germany they would pay a 10% tariff plus 19% value added tax (VAT). Today there is no change in the German tariff but the US now charges 15% tariff. This is meant to encourage more German cars being built in the US. The result. German automakers can now build cars cheaper in Alabama than in Stuttgart. A German expert predicts 78,000 automotive jobs will migrate to America. The US production of oil and natural gas has lowered energy cost and the result is more companies coming to the US. German chemical companies can make products cheaper in the US due to factors like lower US energy costs (especially natural gas) and existing production facilities, but recent US tariffs are creating significant pressure, forcing some to cut costs in Germany or shift investment to the US to remain competitive and avoid high import taxes. The US does not want an advantage in tariffs but only fairness or what Trump calls reciprocal tariffs.

MN fraud

Covid fraud has recently come to the attention of Minnesota authorities but these types of activities had their start back in 2014 with childcare schemes to steal state funds. Childcare businesses were set up and then sent in names of children who did not receive care but the money was stolen and much of it sent overseas. The fraud was so wide spread that some people were investing in childcare facilities to get a share of the profits. Suit cases filled with cash were sent to foreign countries. This is legal as long as form FinCEN 105 is filled out. The government has these records and reports are that millions of dollars are involved. In MN fiscal year 2024 the state spent $289 million on childcare and much of this is now found to be fraudulent. Recent developments indicate that similar activities have occurred in the Covid cases of food and autism programs.

Nuclear power now

To understand how the US escaped a bullet, it is necessary to go back to 2010 in Germany. The economy was growing and utility cost were low. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, herself a nuclear chemist, proposed an expansion of nuclear power as a stop gap measure while Germany expanded wind and solar. Then in March 2011 the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan was swamped by a Tsunami and Merkel succumbed to pressure by green groups and she shut down 8 nuke plants immediately and planned to shut down the remaining plants by 2022. This was an emotional reaction and over the next ten years Germany spent $500 billion on wind and solar and their carbon emissions barely moved. They had to use coal to replace the nuclear power because the time lag for wind and solar could not keep pace with demand. The plan was to rely on Russian natural gas to replace the nuclear power but that took time they didn’t have. Then in Feb 2022 the Ukraine War started and Germany lost their supply of natural gas which led to higher energy prices. German industries like steel, chemicals and autos watched energy prices increase fourfold and industries began to shut down and/or move outside the country to places like the US and China where energy cost were low. Germany, the once industrial powerhouse of Europe, is now in the process of deindustrializing. The US realized the pitfalls of green energy and avoided shutting down nuclear plants. Instead, they increased fossil fuel production and started the ground work to expand nuclear. The US understood that energy independence is needed for national security. Trump is actively pushing for a major expansion of nuclear calling for a nuclear energy renaissance. To promote nuclear, Trump is streamlining regulations, investing in new construction and securing the fuel supply chain. This includes an $80 billion dollar partnership for new reactors including SMR’s.

New congress

If the 2026 elections follow the historical path the party not in the White House will gain seats so what changes will the democrats bring to the table. They will try to end the 47% tariff on Chinese imports and if successful will make US produced products more expensive and consumers will get a price break by purchasing lower cost imported goods. This was the case before the tariffs were introduced. They will try to start new benefit programs beginning with subsidies for healthcare cost. Other plans will be to send out checks to cover the cost of food and housing. They will try to cancel student loan debt. Some will include plans for guaranteed monthly income checks and reverse recent cuts to SNAP. There will be increased subsidies to cover the rising cost of healthcare. All of these things will help people but will cause inflation. They will try to increase taxes to cover these cost but that requires congressional approval of two thirds vote in both houses to overturn a presidential veto. To get these things accomplished means waiting until they have both the congress and the White House. Thus, most of the time the new congress will be investigating the president. Several impeachments have already been suggested.

Healthcare cost

The arguments regarding the Covid subsidies offered on Obamacare health plans is in regards to Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTC). This is money the government sends directly to the insurance to offset the cost to the consumer. When you sign up for coverage you estimate your income and the government calculates your potential subsidy. At tax time you compare the advanced payment with your income and reconcile any differences by paying in more or receiving a refund. Example: John estimates his annual income for the upcoming year at $54,000. The IRS determines that his maximum contribution to Obamacare to be $359. The cost of the Silver Plan is $430 so he gets an APTC subsidy for the difference or $71 per month. This has no effect on the annual deductible which would be about $5,500. His income puts him at 350% of the poverty level. This means his annual out of pocket cost will be his monthly premium plus his annual deductible or $9,800. The cost of this benefit which was enhanced during Covid is $138 billion in 2025 up from $92 billion in 2023. Since there are many on Obamacare whose incomes are lower than John’s the average out of pocket expense is about $5,000. Included in this group are 5 million who pay zero out of pocket. These are single people whose income is less than 150% of the poverty level which for 2025 is $23,475. Even though this is no cost to these people many are not signed up because they are unaware of the benefit. This group includes about 14 million people. There are also 12 million more who are eligible at a small cost but do not sign up because they can sign after they have a claim and avoid the small cost. The cost of healthcare is rising because people are getting older and new procedures are rapidly being introduced. In 2023, Americans paid $14,570 per person for a total healthcare cost of $4.9 trillion. One way to offset these increases is to ration care.

Laden Mohamad Ali

The stories about fraud are swirling around Minneapolis but this is not a new story. The whole situation is too complex to analyze but here is one part that is not well known. In July 2022, Ladan Mohamed Ali, a 32-year-old woman was hired by a local insurance company. She was checked out and within a month she tried to cash an unauthorized company check for $30,000 but it was stopped by the bank. She was charged with check forgery but she was allowed to go free. She didn’t show up for her court date and a bench warrant was issued. The police couldn’t find her but the old insurance company where she worked found out where she was working and notified the police. She was arrested. Fast forward to Sept 2024 and Ali is charged with bribing a juror in the Feeding Our Children case which is part of the recent fraud revelations concerning Covid money. She was given $200,000 for the bribe but kept $80,000 for herself and used the remaining $120,000 for the bribe. About this time, she was arrested for DUI and is still on the street waiting trial. In her latest escapade new court document unsealed show that she received $1.6 million from entities involved in the Covid fraud. While awaiting sentencing for federal bribery charges she remains free and is ordered to go to alcohol treatment.

Covid fraud

The acclamations of fraud in Minnesota regarding the distribution of Covid funds is being handled much the way the illegal border crossing and the decline of President Bidens cognitive abilities were covered. There is a lot of coverage on conservative outlets and silence on liberal sites. Recall that for several years the videos of migrants crossing the border were shown on a number of sources but not on others. Then at the end they all came out pointing out the millions of illegals who had come into the country in just four years. The coverage of Bidens mental decline was only covered on certain sites while most stations remained quiet. It was only last week when the N Y Times came out about Bidens situation. The Minnesota case is just warming up and will probably get more coverage in time but so far major networks are pushing it into the background. A number of investigators believe that Minnesota is not the only state that is suspected of Covid fraud.

Houses

The cost of homes is preventing young people from the American Dream of home ownership. One way to reduce the cost is to reduce the size of the homes. Just a few years ago it was kind of a joke to say starting castles but there was a lot of truth in that statement. In 1950 the average size of a house was 983 square feet and today it is over 2,300 square feet. In Europe today, the house size is more like the US in 1950 with Germany at 1,001, France at 1,206 and England at 947. The average cost of a house in the US in 1950 using today’s dollars is $95,000 and the average house today cost $512,000. Home cost today in the US range from $100 to $400 per sq ft. That means a home builder today could put up a 1,200 sq ft house for $120,000 which would be affordable for a young first-time buyer. This would mean an interest and principal payment of less than $1,000. Is there a market for new smaller homes?

Ilhan Omar

As the Somali community in Minnesota comes under scrutiny for fraud allegations, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is being drawn into the fray. She has been in congress since 2018 and she and her husband who is a political consultant for her campaign have a net worth between $6 and $30 million. In 2019 her campaign paid her husbands consulting firm $2.8 million. The substantial increase in wealth is primarily attributed to her husband's ownership stakes in a venture capital firm and a winery.

Somali

The Somali population in Minnesota is under scrutiny because of allegations of fraud going back to 2018. Here is some data about this group estimated to be 75,000. 52% of children live in poverty vs 8% in the wider community 39% of working age have no high school diploma vs 5% in the community. Half of those who have lived here ten years or more cannot speak English 54% receive food stamps and 73% have one member on Medicaid vs 7% and 18% 89% of all households receive some kind of welfare compared to 21%. Cash welfare (TANF, SSI, etc) 27% for Somali household’s vs 6% for others The Somalis live in one close in area and are finding it difficult to assimilate. In 2023 the state spent $46,000 per person on public assistance the second highest in the country just behind Massachusetts.

Biden bonus

Over the past ten years the cost of Obamacare has increased by 220% or over 20% per year. This plan had a limit on income which allowed a family of four with up to $128,000 of income to qualify for some subsidy. During Covid the Biden ACA bonus removed the income limit so now people who make high income can apply for coverage. The new rule says that if your insurance premium cost more than 8.5% of your gross income you can get ACA help to pay for your insurance. For example, if your income is $200,000 you can qualify for help if your insurance cost more than $17,000 per year. Many self-employed people (business owners) are now receiving subsidies. The average cost of health care insurance for a family is $27,000. The Biden bonus was passed in 2021 with only democratic votes and the estimated cost was $34 billion for two years. It was renewed in 2022 to the end of 2025 at an estimated cost of $64 billion. The democrats want to make this change permanent and the republicans oppose. This was supposed to be a bonus only for Covid but Covid is gone and they want the bonus to continue. It is very difficult to take away a benefit once it starts.

Migrant felons

Since January 2025 more than 1.6 million illegal migrants have voluntarily left the country and 527,000 have been legally deported and 75,000 of those have no felony record. This means their only crime was crossing the border illegally but this can lead to serious consequences. Here is the law. Crossing the U.S. border without authorization is a violation of federal law, considered a misdemeanor for a first offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1325, leading to penalties like fines, jail time, and removal, while subsequent illegal re-entry is a felony, with severe consequences and potential permanent bars from the U.S.. While living in the U.S. without documents is generally a civil matter, the act of crossing without inspection (at a place other than a port of entry) is a federal crime. This means that got a ways (inadmissible encounters) are felons FISCAL YEAR 2024 ENDS WITH NEARLY 3 MILLION INADMISSIBLE ENCOUNTERS, 10.8 MILLION TOTAL ENCOUNTERS SINCE FY2021 Once the felons are deported the government can set a road to citizenship for those who remain, since they will be needed to fill jobs as the manufacturing base returns.

Homeless

During the five years between 2018 and 2023 California spent $24 billion on the homeless problem and the number of homeless increased. The question is where did the money go. California has 12% of the population, 25% of the homeless and 50% of the unhoused homeless. The state gives money to the counties which gives money to the cities and then to the non-profits and then to the sub- contractors. Developer donates to the politician who approves the developer. LA spent $800,000 per unit, not per house, per unit and homeless increased. In 2016 LA voters passed the HHH which set aside $1.2 billion to build 10,000 homes. Years later fewer than 2,000 were built but the money was gone. It went to administrative cost, consultants, environmental impact studies, permitting delays and developers who did not complete projects. There has been no state investigation to find out what happened to the money so the federal government is now investigating.

Pragmatist

True conservatives and liberals cannot understand someone who says they are fiscal conservatives and social liberals but that is where many voters stand. This group sees themselves as pragmatic or middle of the road types. They see the future as: Bringing manufacturing jobs back home. Having reciprocal tariffs meaning free and fair trade A secure border and a path to citizenship for non-criminal migrants. The EU paying for their own defense instead of relying on the US Using the Abraham Accords to unite Saudi Arabia with Israel to rebuild Gaza Negotiating a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine War Realizing the wind and solar cannot replace fossil fuels but nuclear can Forget about EV’s and use natural gas for transportation Provide a proper safety net, one that encourages work and protects those in need Promote small nuclear (modular) reactors Two genders, male and female Push education for the new AI jobs in high school and trade schools Promote trades using the power of private unions Reduce regulations and speed up permitting for residential and commercial projects Maintain energy independence using all means.

Consumers

For the first time in history, the world is facing a demographic inversion. Within 50 years the population will begin to decrease. Many countries are already facing serious population declines especially in the youth. Young people are not only the producers but the consumers of goods. Countries like South Korea and China have highly efficient manufacturing systems but they lack consumers. They produce far more than they consume and thus are heavily reliant on exports and foreign consumers. This puts the United States in the cat bird seat since the US has the largest consumer market in the world. Trump uses this fact as a bargaining tool to put America first. By using tariffs, he forces other countries to bring their production to the US in order to have access to the American consumer. Thus, other countries are planning on investing trillions in the US. Countries like Japan have come to realize that they have such an aging population that they must send their factories to the US in order to sell to the US and take the profits back home to provide for their elderly. To continue this the US must design a pathway to citizenship for all of the illegal migrants in the country. The way forward is to secure the border, deport the criminals, find the missing children and set up work permits for the others. This will lead to green cards and citizenship.

Lower prices

From an article on Fox here is a report from Andrew Bates, a former Biden advisor. The prices Trump and Vance ran on vowing to "immediately" lower — groceries, healthcare, electricity bills – have gone up, while economic growth is down. We’re seeing "recession-level" job loss and unprecedented welfare for the rich. It was a mistake for Trump to say he would lower prices. While prices for individual items may go up and down, overall prices have been rising since WW 2. The fed even targets for a 2% rise. Now democrats are running saying they will lower prices but not how they will do it. They can offer relief to working people by enacting legislation for national health insurance and offering government paid childcare. Some even offer a freedom dividend of $1,000 per month government check. Others offer housing allowances and tuition free college. Trump has already installed most of the policies to lower prices. This includes massive increases in oil, gas and coal production to lower energy cost. In includes reducing regulations in all areas to lower construction cost. Having the fed lower interest rates for home and auto loans. Offering tax deductions for auto loan interest. Keeping inflation below three percent. Wages increasing faster than inflation. Cut government waste with programs like DOGE. Lower taxes on working people by increasing the child tax credit to $2,000. Negotiating lower drug prices. In the long term the growing economy caused by reshoring manufacturing jobs will raise wages, cut transportation cost and increase efficiency using new technology and AI.

NGO's

While Minneapolis is currently dealing with illegalities regarding Covid money the neighboring city of St Paul has some potential problems. The county has been handing out money to various NGO’s and not properly auditing accounts. There are 213 NGO’s which received $38 million. Some have received more than $3 million.

War rules

During the Vietnam War and continuing afterwards the US set forth “rules of engagement” which hindered the US forces. Rules such as don’t fire unless fired upon and target restrictions put US troops in danger. During the fight against ISIS the US would drop warning leaflets to warn drivers who were hauling oil before attacking the convoys. They then claimed that no drivers were killed. This kind of action is what some call clean war. This has come up again with the targeting of drug boats. These sorts of incongruities happen when people in Washington determine battle field actions.

Law

By almost every metric, a broad consensus among policymakers, researchers, and public opinion is that the "war on drugs" has been a failure in achieving its stated goals. The campaign, launched by President Richard Nixon in 1971, has not curbed drug use or ended the drug trade, but has had devastating social and economic consequences. There has been no measurable impact on supply and demand and America has spent over $1 trillion fighting this war and after 50 years drug use remains a problem. The roots of the problem began of all places in schools. When the schools tried to expel disruptive students, they were disproportionately minorities so they stopped. The same thing happened with suspensions. Next it moved to law enforcement. Stop and frisk was an effective way of getting illegal guns off the street but once again it involved too many minorities. For the same reasons, cash bail was eliminated as was incarcerating repeat criminals. The latest initiative is not releasing migrant criminals to federal authorities. Instead, they are comingled with other migrates impeding the feds from arresting them. It is the same strategy used by Hamas when they intersperse fighters with civilians. With the new approach drugs crossing the southern border have been curtailed and boats carrying drugs are being attacked. The next move will be for the drug dealers to kidnap children and put them on the drug boats so they can declare that the US is killing children. This hesitancy has happened in Minneapolis when Somali immigrants were exposed to theft of Covid money and were not prosecuted for fear of being seen as racist. Some people are concerned that minority groups are receiving special treatment under the law.

Lower prices

There are ways to lower the price of certain products but not to lower overall prices. Increase production of oil, natural gas and coal to lower energy cost Lower interest rates to make home loans more affordable Make auto loan interest tax deductible Reduce regulations on home and business construction Reduce supply chain cost by reshoring jobs Demand that Big Pharma offer drug prices to Americans like prices to other countries These are areas where both parties can agree. Then there are many ways of using government money to help people pay their bills. During Covid Biden $2 trillion in checks were sent to people. Some suggest a similar plan to help people pay for the higher cost of things like food and insurance.

Raise taxes

The current tax law renewed under Trump’s big bill means that a family of four can have $80,000 of income and pay zero income tax. This represents 53% of families. Couples with incomes of $750,000 up will pay the highest marginal tax rate of 37%. This does not include state income tax. This represents 1.4 million families. Raising taxes on the rich means these families. This group currently pays 40% of all income taxes which totaled one trillion dollars in 2025. If the top rate is raised to 50% this will bring in another $250 billion. Another way to raise revenue is to eliminate the capital gains tax and that would bring in $360 billion. This is money that goes mainly to wealthy people.

AOC

Is AOC the face of the democratic party? Polling data consistently shows she has high approval ratings among Democratic voters. Some polls indicate she is the individual most often named by voters (around 26%) when asked who the face of the party is, outperforming other prominent Democrats like Vice President Kamala Harris and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Here are some of her policy positions. The New Green Deal, Medicare for all, free college tuition, stricter gun laws, housing as a human right, defund police, supports cancelling student loan, supports biological men in women’s sports and locker rooms, supports LGBTQ community which includes drag performers in elementary schools, support CRT and keeping information from parents. Her stump speeches along with Bernie Sanders are composed mainly of negative remarks about Trump. He is described as a corrupt authoritarian and a threat to democracy. This is a policy also followed by Mayor Mamdani of NY City. Missing from both is a plan to grow the economy and create good jobs other than using government subsidies in the Green deal to create jobs. The main emphasis is on using tax money to provide benefits to certain groups. The question is, will this approach appeal to moderate democrats. Her one interest about the private sector is to raise corporate taxes.

Uranium

During the cold war the US was producing 50% of the world’s supply of uranium. When the USSR fell in 1990, Russian industries were catabolized and in one deal, Russia agreed to sell the US 500 tons of bomb grade uranium in a deal called Megatons to Megawatts. This was downgraded from 90% to 4% and sold at a huge discount. The US was producing enriched uranium at plants in Portsmouth and Paduca but they were going through the expensive enrichment process required by uranium. In the 90’s these plants were privatized and in 1998 a company called United States Enrichment Company (USEC) was created with an IPO that garnered $1.2 billion. The owners then decided to purchase cheap uranium from Russia and in 2001 Portsmouth was shut down and in 2010 Paduca closed. The $1.2 billion was used for USEC salaries and dividends. This is an example of the military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned about. Today the US produces only small amounts of uranium and is dependent on imports. As the world-wide demand for uranium increases, with the expected growth of nuclear power, the pressure will build to shift to thorium. Unlike uranium, thorium does not have to go through the very expensive enrichment process and is found all around the world in the waste products of other mining industries.

Bonus money

During the Covid, the government handed out money to the tune of $2 trillion and $190 billion of that went to school districts. The money was supposed to be used for one time cost programs but many districts hired new people and to pay for raises. They were warned not to use funds for ongoing expenses as the funds were only temporary. This combined with decreasing enrollment has caused budget problems for schools. This is not unusual but rather the norm when some groups come into a windfall. Back in 1998 the tobacco settlement awarded money to states to be used for smoking treatment programs but much of it was diverted to general fund obligations. Some of this for ongoing programs and when the money stopped the programs had to be financed from some other source. Once the government sets up a program it is difficult to stop.

Debt by state

One party control in a state creates different outcomes depending on the party. In Illinois the democrats hold every state wide office including governor. In addition, they have a super majority in the senate with 40-19 and a super majority in the house with 78-40 seats. The state is in debt $248 billion with at population of 12 million. Florida is controlled by republicans with a super majority in the house and senate. The state debt is $16 billion with a population of 23 million. Florida ranks 28th in property tax at .79% while Illinois is second at 2.07% The debt per person in Illinois is $20,000 and in Florida it is $700. Most of the Illinois’s debt is owed to pension plans for state employees and state teachers. The democratic party, both on a state level and federal level, promotes government debt financing. Illinois has 500 state employees per 10,000 population and Florida has 400. A similar situation can be seen by comparing Texas with California.

Subsidies

While Medicaid and public assistance programs get most of the publicity when it comes to government subsidies, other areas also receive benefits. $ 100 billion for transportation. $ 67 billion on housing assistance. $ 32 billion for the home mortgage interest deduction. $30 billion for the energy industry, $ 23 billion on CHIP, $ 9 billion in farm subsidies and one billion for oil depletion. Another $39 billion in subsidies were part of the Chips Act mostly for chip development. Of course, these are all dwarfed by the $900 billion spent on Medicaid. Seems many groups are benefiting from subsidies.

Shale

Because of the shale revolution, the US has one of the lowest energy cost in the world. While the average cost of electricity in Europe is 48 cents per kWh, the cost in the US is only 17 cents. The use of natural gas for power plants not only lowers the cost of electricity but also has reduced carbon emission to below 1990 levels even though the population has increased by 90 million people. If the US would go to natural gas for transportation the carbon emission would decline another 25%.

Teaching

Prior to 1980, any worker with a pension plan had a plan that paid a calculated amount at age 65 and was paid for by the employer. The amount received was based on a pension factor and years of service. The typical factor ranged from one to three percent. If a person started to work for the company at age 25 and stayed there until age 65 and their pension factor was 1.5%, they would receive 1.5 times 40 years or 60% of their final salary. As years passed, the pension cost to companies increased and became too burdensome so companies began to move away from pension plans and substituted with 401K plans which were part of the Revenue Act of 1978. Since an American company like GM had many more retirees than say, Toyota, the costs were higher. In 2005 hourly labor for GM employees was $69 and for Toyota $48 and most of this difference was to pay for legacy cost which means pension and healthcare. Today only union workers and public employees still have pension plans while the private sector has switched over to 401K plans. The pension factor for teachers varies by states but averages about 2%. Only about 25% of teachers make it a lifetime career but those retirement benefits are substantial. The average pay for a teacher, who is retiring today is about $80,000. If they started teaching at age 25 and retired at age 62 they would have 37 years experience and with a 2% pension factor would have a pension of $59,000. Their SS retirement benefit would be $18,000. At retirement not all SS is taxable and they no longer pay into SS or into their pension so they retire at more net income than they were earning. This is also true of union workers who had pensions and explains why companies moved away from pensions to 401K’s. Even with this comfortable retirement only one fourth of K-12 teachers make a it a life career. The job is just too stressful for most people.

Factory jobs

Most Americans agree that the wealth/income gap is too large and something should be done to reduce the gap. Some politicians like Elizabeth Warren immediately think of a government tax and in her case a wealth tax. Trump who is a businessman not a politician sees things differently. For example, in Trumps first term, Ford decided to close a large plant in Michigan and move to Mexico. Trump said you can do that but any product you make in your Mexico plant will pay a 25% tariff if shipped to the US. Ford decided to invest $600 million in the old plant and this saved 600 jobs. In this situation Trump put the interest of workers ahead of stockholders. In his second term he has expanded the use of tariffs to protect American jobs. The typical politician would not think of this approach and this is only one of many ways in which Trump differs from the normal politician. These differences cause enormous consternation among the establishment as often times they see this as a threat to their power.

Childcare

When you offer extended time off for new mother’s, employers will avoid hiring women of child bearing age. One way to offset this is to provide free childcare and one state is attempting this, the least likely state of New Mexico. New Mexico's economy is driven by oil and gas production, federal government spending, and tourism, but it also struggles with a high poverty rate and is considered one of the least economically diverse states. New Mexico ranks among the lowest states for per capita income and has a high poverty rate. The state ranks 50th in education and has the highest native American population at 12%. The estimated cost of this benefit is $600 million which is 6% of the budget. Other states will be watching to see what the actual expense will be.

Pirce pressures

While not much can be done to lower prices, some things can be done to offset the effect of higher prices. First, keep wages increasing faster than inflation which is currently the case. Keep transportation cost low which effects almost all products. Do this by keeping gasoline and diesel prices from rising by increasing the supply of oil which is now happening. Third, use government policy to lower regulations to encourage the growth of new manufacturing plants which use newer technology which increases productivity which puts downward pressure on prices. Have the Fed lower interest rates which helps lower the cost of money. The Fed has lowered rates by half percent these past few months and expecting another quarter drop this December. Increase labor force participation rate by reforming welfare and offering government aid for childcare. Raise taxes on the wealthy and lower taxes on corporations. Finally use programs to slow down the cost of healthcare which has risen by 121% since 2000 while inflation has only gone up by 86%. Growing the economy will bring in new revenues which the government can use to offset the cost of healthcare. The expanding economy from new investments, particularly foreign, will put upward pressure on inflation and proper use of AI can minimize that pressure.

Deflation

If you sit around with old men like I do on a daily basis you will hear remarks like, I bought my first house for $15,000 or I remember when cigarettes were 25 cents a pack or when gas cost 20 cents a gallon. What these men are pointing out is that prices always rise over time and that is a good thing. The Fed sets a target of 2% inflation. If prices fall that is deflation as Japan experience for what is called their lost 30 years which began in 1990. In 1995 their GDP was $5.5 trillion and by 2025 it had fallen to $4.2 trillion. When someone running for office tells you they are going to lower prices, beware. First off ask them how they are going to do that. What happened in Japan can happen in any free market society. Japan suffered the "lost decades" primarily due to the collapse of its asset bubble in the early 1990s, which led to a severe and prolonged recession, banking crisis, and deflationary spiral. The bursting of the bubble, caused by over-inflated stock and real estate prices, left businesses with massive debt. Lowering prices is now referred to by the euphemistic term affordability and this will confuse many voters. The price increases that happened in the Biden years will not go away unless deflation sets in. The goal at this point is to hold inflation to two percent and that can be done but it will not be easy as trillions come in from foreign investors. While this is bad, inflation caused by private investment is not nearly as harmful as inflation cause by government investment.

Cook county

The American Rescue Plan Act is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill signed into law on Marach 11, 2012 to provide relief from the Covid pandemic. Once the largest publicly funded program in the nation receiving $42 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot provided monthly payments of $500 to 3,250 households for two years, with no strings attached. If you do the math that is $39 million.

Middle class

America is facing a great opportunity for economic growth similar to what happened when WW 2 started. The country was in a depression and the manufacturing of war materials revived the economy. Unemployment declined from 25% to under 2% while wages doubled during the war years. Companies offered benefits like pensions and healthcare and after the war companies shifted from making weapons to making consumer goods. Union membership was 30% and each year wages increased faster than inflation. These were the Golden Years where America produced the largest middle class in history. The government helped with worker protection and oversight of both government and corporate power. Today as manufacturing jobs are coming home the situation is much like it was in 1945. New plants using the latest technology along with AI will offer high paying jobs with benefits and the government can help by reducing regulations and promoting unions. Schools should direct attention to preparing students right out of high school for manufacturing jobs. Foreign policy should be promoting United States not about making other countries into little Americas. The emphasis must return to manufacturing (making things) and away from financial (making money by moving money around). There will be a movement towards production plants and away from hedge funds. As students learn that future jobs require reading skills and wages increase the gaps in education and wealth will begin to narrow. Workers will once again be able to live a decent life much like they did in the 1950’s and the middle class will once again become part of the American Dream. Happy Thanksgiving.

Jails

It has long been known that recidivism rates among criminals is high but in recent years the immediate release caused by no cash bail has exaggerated the problem. While repeat offending crimes are highest among property offences the number of violent repeaters is 34% with two-thirds being rearrested within five years. This means that one-third of all murderers were previously arrested within the past five years. In August 2022, the NYPD announced that 716 individuals were responsible for 30 percent of the shootings since 2021. This is in a city with a population of 8.5 million. Another report said 10 men had been arrested a total of 485 times after bail reform laws were enacted. The question arises, what are jails for if not to incarcerate criminals. Jails with revolving doors are ineffective in lowering crime rates.

War

During the cold war NATO was balanced by the Warsaw Pact. The original 12 NATO countries included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, The United Kingdom and United State. During the cold war four other countries were added, Greece and Turkey in 1952, West Germany in 1955 and Spain in 1982. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 the Warsaw Pact countries split away from Russia. These included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland and Romania. This greatly concerned the new Russia as this was seen as a threat to their security. The new Russian leader Gorbachev was told by US Secretary of State James Baker in 1990 that NATO expansion was over. The specific wording is, there would be no extension of NATO’s jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east. In 1999 the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland were added. In 2004 Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia were added. In 2009 Albania and Croatia were added. Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020. Finally, Finland in 2023 and Sweden in 2024. On each of these occasions Russia once again voiced their concern about the threat to their safety. In 1997 Russian President Boris Yeltsin informed US President Bill Clinton that he viewed NATO expansion eastward as a mistake and that Russia would have to take steps to mitigate its negative consequences. Russia’s concerns became more pronounced over time, with significant objections raised in 2006 and 2008, particularly after Ukraine began actively pursuing NATO membership. In 2008 at the NATO Declaration of Bucharest Summit, Ukraine was welcomed into NATO. Once again Russia objected calling it a red line. Many believe that the road to war was set at that time.

Prices

The big issue for the upcoming election is prices and politicians are campaigning promising lower prices but how is not clearly explained. While the price of any individual product may go up and down overall prices go up. Inflation has averaged 3.5% since 1950. So, what can be done to buck the trend. Basic economics says that if you increase supply and/or decrease demand prices will fall. Increasing energy supply is now underway with coal, oil and natural gas. Interest rates have come down a half percent and scheduled for another quarter drop this December. New electric power plants are being built across the country but demand is increasing so there won’t be much change in the electric bill. New manufacturing facilities are being built across the country which means increases in productivity which will lower prices. If government tries to lower the effect of price increases by handing out benefits this will increase inflation and cause prices to rise. Anyone running for office with the promise to lower prices should be asked how they plan to do that.

EU

What happened to Europe. In 2000 the EU was second only to the US in GDP. The US was at $10 trillion and the EU at $7 trillion and today the EU sits at $18 trillion and the US at $29 trillion. The short story is that the EU self-destructed. The first mistake was Germany known as the industrial capital of Europe. They shut down coal and nuclear and went all in on wind and solar and planned to use natural gas from Russia during the transition. The Ukraine War stopped the gas from Russia and the price of energy quadrupled and plants had to shut down. Second, the population throughout Europe is on the decline. Too many old retirees and too few workers. Since the old people vote in high numbers politicians are fearful of cutting benefits so they raise taxes on the workers and young people start to leave and this makes the problem worse. When immigrants are suggested the people object. Third the absence of AI. While other countries will see innovation Europe is lagging behind in high tech industries. The big seven Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla are all US companies. Europe depends on the US for high tech just as they depend on the US for defense. The EU is run out of Brussels and their main activity is setting up rules. There is an old saying that the US innovates, China replicates and the EU regulates. The EU is bogged down in regulations. Four. While 55% of Americans invest in the markets only 18% of EU residence do and EU companies do not have the money for investments. Most large investment firms in Europe have their money in the US including the large oil Norway fund financed by off shore oil. Don’t listen to the politicians, follow the money. Five. The EU became the leader in the new green deal and the result is that they have the highest energy prices in the world and they can no longer compete. Six. Europe’s dependence on the US for national defense is coming to an end. For 75 years they have used resources on social programs instead of military and those days are ending. There are many people in America that would like the US to follow in the EU footsteps.

Partners

People were surprised by the Trump/Mamdani meeting but there are ways to find common ground. Here is the platform of recently elected Virginia governor Spanberger 1. Invest in energy and environment 2. Modify the states Medicaid 3. Push congress to reform immigration 4. Education protect gay rights 5. No restrictions on abortion 6. Voting rights for criminals who have served their time 7. Increase housing by cutting regulations 8. Wants criminal justice reform and opposes defunding police Republicans could agree with 1,3, 4, 6, 7 and 8.

Affordability

The latest buzzword for the upcoming election is affordability. This is code for bringing prices down but this won’t happen using the democratic strategy. Their plan, as always, is to use tax money to provide benefits and this leads to inflation which causes prices to rise. Recall that Biden sent two trillion in checks to the American people and inflation went from under two percent to over nine percent. Many people will vote for this not because they see it a solution but because they will be voting against Trump. When you are for something, you disagree with, it becomes a classic case of cognitive dissidence. This happens when emotions overtake objectivity. People like bringing manufacturing jobs back home. They like fair trade which helps the US lower the trade deficit. They like selling military supplies to the EU instead of giving stuff to Ukraine. They like making the EU and Canada increase their defense spending from under two percent to five percent. This relieves US from the responsibility of their defense. They like getting Saudi Arabia to join forces with Israel to bring peace to Palestine. They like Trump working on peace in Ukraine. They like secure borders. They like trillions of investments coming in from foreign countries. What they don’t like is Trump.

Lies and damn lies

It is reported that Trump has told thousands of lies. Here is a list of the more important ones from Chat GPT The 2020 election was stolen Mexico will pay for the border wall Largest tax cut in history Ended family separation at the border Crime is rising Greatest economy in history Lies about the Mueller investigation False cures for Covid First raise for military in ten years Regards to Jan 6. Here is a quote from Hillary Clinton almost one year after the election Hillary Clinton, in an interview that aired Monday on NPR, said she “would not” rule out questioning the legitimacy of the 2016 election if Russian interference is deeper than currently known. Just for comparison here are few lies from Obama. He said 37 times, “if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it” or “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor”. Not even a smidgen of corruption at the IRS Saying Benghazi was an attack over a video False claims about job creation, tax cuts and deficit reduction Excluding lobbyists from policy making jobs. With most presidents’ remarks like this are considered misinformation and exaggeration. People are more attuned with what presidents do as to what they say.

DEmocracy

According to Google AI here are the ways that Trump is a threat to democracy Challenging the 2020 election results which undermines faith in the voting system Challenging the peaceful transfer of power Politicizing the justice system Expanding executive power Attacking judges Insulting the press Encouraging violence using words Making mail in votes more difficult If you take away the January 6 case the rest of these things except mail votes seem to be part of every administration. Even the Jan 6 case can be compared to Hillary Clinton calling Trump and illegitimate president. Here is a quote from CNN nearly one year after the 2016 election. Hillary Clinton, in an interview that aired Monday on NPR, said she “would not” rule out questioning the legitimacy of the 2016 election if Russian interference is deeper than currently known. Presidents always want to expand executive power, fight with the supreme court and quiet complaints from the press.

Mamdani meeting

The Trump/Mamdani meeting caught the experts off guard because they still don’t understand Trump. He is results oriented. He understood that the new mayor could not raise taxes on the rich because the governor would not allow it. He knew that the city council would object to free buses, city owned grocery stores and everyone who has lived in NY for any period of time, knows that rent controls don’t work. Trump, understanding that Mamdani’s campaign promises were just promises, wants to see NY City succeed just like he wants America to succeed, joined forces with the mayor elect. He can see things like, giving the city federal money in return for putting career criminals in jail, as a good compromise. There are many such compromises on the table.

Nukes are coming

The world is finally waking up to the fact that wind and solar will not replace fossil fuels but nuclear can. The trend is toward small nuclear reactors and these are under construction in Argentina, China, Russia and four units in Darlington, Canada. Plans are submitted for units in Wyoming, Texas and Tennessee. The big tech companies are planning on using small reactors to power data centers. Companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta are investing in and partnering with developers to build small modular reactors (SMRs) to power their energy-intensive data centers. Current technology favors uranium as fuel but the future will be thorium. China is now operating a small thorium reactor and building a larger version. They plan to mass produce small reactors (300 megawatt) on an assembly line basis and sell these around the world. The whole process of going nuclear has been delayed by those who insist that wind and solar is best. If it had not been for this delay the nuclear industry would be years ahead of where it is now.

Future

Prior to the 1930’s there was little or no middle class in America. The few at the top with the Robber Barons at the very top and the masses at the bottom with no pensions, no healthcare, unsafe working conditions and low salaries. They were barely a step above slaves. During the 1930’s the government intervened and made many changes which offered benefits to the workers. During the war everyone was working and making good wages and after the war that continued with additional help from the government with the GI Bill, which offered the opportunity for home ownership with no money down and low interest rates. Millions of 8-to-10-thousand-dollar homes were built across the country and many also went to college and these changes grew the middle class. During the 50’s and 60’s wages increased faster than inflation and the great suburbian family became the norm. On a personal note, I purchased one of those houses in 1959. It cost $10,000 and was built in what used to be a corn field. I recall looking at the rotogravure section of the Sunday paper and realizing that everyone I knew could afford to buy most of the items advertised. Beginning in the middle 70’s things began to change. Corporations discovered they could increase profits by moving production overseas and when China entered the WTO in 2000 the job exodus accelerated. As manufacturing jobs disappeared in the rust belt, workers had to settle for lower paying positions. During this time interest rates were low and many families fell into the credit card trap to make ends meet. After 40 plus years of job loses the tide is turning and manufacturing is coming home. Private and foreign investment in the economy is rising rapidly and will bring with it high paying jobs and new more efficient facilities and AI will increase productivity. At this point the economic future looks promising but could be derailed by political infighting. The two parties could pull together and create a new great America but that is not likely.

Health insurance

Beware of government forecast when it comes to healthcare. In 1965 when Medicare started the estimate cost in thirty years was set at $9 billion dollars. If the cost had risen as inflation rose the cost in 1995 would have been $45 billion but in fact it was $90 billion. Between 2014 when Obamacare started to pay out until 2024 the inflation rate was 2.9% but Obamacare increased by 11.6%. Recall that Obamacare started collecting premiums in 2010 but did not start paying for treatments until 2014. The first ten years cost were estimated at $940 billion and this was kept below one trillion by only paying benefits for 6 of the first ten years. The government will use various methods to keep initial cost down, in order to pass the legislation but later the cost will rise much faster than predicted, knowing that once a benefit becomes an entitlement it is almost impossible to end.

Affordability

The key word in the press regarding the economy is affordability. The major complaint is that during the 10 months of Trump, prices have not come down. During the four years of the Biden administration, inflation average 5% with a high of 9% in 2022. During the Trump years inflation has been half that at 2.7% but that does not mean prices will come down, it only means prices will stop rising as fast. This difference is not clearly explained in the press giving the impression that some new administration will bring down prices. In the past the democratic economic plans have always been increasing taxes and using that money to provide benefits mostly in the form of public assistance programs. This will not lower prices but will make it easier for low-income groups to get by. It is the old story of giving a man a fish instead of teaching him how to fish with a good paying job.

Home shoring

There is not much news reporting on US companies investing in the US but searching can reveal new facilities and expanding of existing plants Major US companies are investing in domestic production of home electronics which are devices used for entertainment, communication, recreation and household tasks Companies like GE and Whirlpool are investing in domestic appliance production to expand manufacturing, create jobs, and modernize their plants. This includes products like washers and dryers, air conditioners and water heaters. Major foreign investments in autos and chips total in the billions. The country is experiencing the revitalization of manufacturing. This is prompted by shorter supply chains, lower regulations, increased transportation cost and tariffs. The US with 5% of the world’s population consumes 30% of the consumer goods. Companies invest in the US because that is where their customers live. The US 50% tariffs on aluminum and steel have increased the cost of appliances to where products made in the US are price competitive. Forty years ago, 80% of the items Americans bought were made by U.S. producers. Today, U.S. manufacturers make only about 11% of American-bought goods. This is why the middle-income workers wages have stagnated while corporate profits have exploded, both of which have contributed to the wealth and income gap. It is time to reveres this process and bring manufacturing jobs back home.

Peace plan

Trump proposed peace plan for Ukraine. Immediate cease fire Ukraine to give up Crimea and the Donbas region Ukraine to cap its military at 600,000 Ukraine will not enter NATO Ukraine security would be backed by NATO forces Ukraine will hold elections within 100 days $100 billion of frozen Russian assets plus $100 billion from NATO will rebuild Ukraine Lifting sanctions on Russia Civilian detainees including children would be returned Bar Russia from blocking Ukraine trade routes A group headed by Turmp will oversee the implementation So far $360 has been spent by the allies on the war. It is estimated that it will cost $500 billion to rebuild the country.

Investments

One of the major differences between the Trump and Biden economic plans can best be seen by examining the two major accomplishments in the Biden administration. The CHIPS Act is a U.S. law passed in August 2022 that provides incentives to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research. It allocates approximately $52.7 billion in subsidies and tax credits for chip production and invests over $200 billion in research for areas like AI, quantum computing, and robotics Under Trump private companies like Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are investing over one trillion dollars. The $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill passed in November 2021 has bogged down because Spending from the infrastructure bill is slow due to a combination of factors including inflation, high costs for labor and materials, and complex regulatory hurdles like zoning and environmental reviews As of early 2025, the Biden administration has announced over $695 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for more than 74,000 projects. However, the amount actually spent is significantly less. Some reports indicate that only about $125 billion to $186 billion has been spent. Trump has solicited many trillions from foreign countries to be invested in the US. When the government spends money on the economy it creates inflation but not so when foreign governments invest. It is the difference between government and private money.

Mexico

Trump has repeatedly offered Mexico President Sheinbaum help in bringing down the cartels but she refused saying she did not need any help. Trump predicted that unless he helps the problem will get worse. This past week his prediction came true. Violent demonstrations erupted across Mexico over the weekend, leaving 100 police officers hurt in the clashes with protesters. The feelings among the Mexican people have changed from anger at the cartels for the drug violence to anger toward the government for not stopping the cartels. The tipping point came with the November 1st murder of the young popular mayor Carlos Manzo. He was shot and killed during a public celebration while with his family. He had repeatedly accused the federal government from failing to act against organized crime. The closing of the US border and the reduction of drug traffic is helping the Mexican government in their fight against the cartels but will it be enough to turn the tide. Will President Sheinbaum ask for help or as some believe, she is getting kickbacks from the cartels.

Loyalty

Trump’s cabinet members have shown strong loyalty and a willingness to stand together but will this change in late 2027 when the campaign for the 2028 election gets underway.

Insurance

The cost of Obamacare is increasing much faster than inflation. The news suggests the reason is dropping the subsidies provided during Covid but there are other reasons. First is the guaranteed coverage regardless of preexisting conditions. This means the sick and older people will sign up while healthy younger people will not. When you can wait to get health insurance after you get sick this defeats the purpose of insurance which is based on risk sharing. This flaw was recognized early on and those who refused to sign up had to pay a penalty called the individual mandate but this was later discontinued. Second is the community rating rule which forbids charging older people more than younger people. Insurance by its very nature, is based on mortality and morbidity and Obamacare negates this principal. Third is mandated coverage. Obamacare must cover certain so-called essential benefits. This means that a young single man must have coverage for child birth. When examined closely it seems that this is not health insurance but just a government benefit. It is like buying life insurance after you have a serious illness or buying home owners insurance after a fire. Insurance by definition is based on a form of discrimination legally defined as separating people into different risk pools based on their risk profiles to set premiums. The cost of a same size life insurance policy at age 20 is $12 per month and at age 40 it is $34 per month. The cost for women is less than for men. A young person can develop a serious health problem and sign up for Obamacare and he is covered on the first of the next month. Even Medicare requires that people sign up in advance.

Seattle

While the NY City mayoral race got all the attention, another democratic socialist Katie Wilson was elected mayor of Seattle. She has been active in social issues for the past ten years and decided to run for office. She headed campaigns to raise the minimum wage and was the co-architect of the payroll expense tax which taxed large companies to pay for public housing. It was set at 2% of company payroll. Later an additional 5% tax was added. She campaigned for free and subsidized bus passes for low-income groups. She added abolishing the police to later cutting the police force by 50% and later again to working with the department. She still maintains that many 911 calls can be handled by unarmed civilian responders. She tried to impose a sur tax on upper income people but the courts shut that down. She co-founded the Seattle Transit Riders Union where she was paid $72,000 per year. As mayor she will receive $230,000 per year. She purports to be a woman of the people as she and her husband with their daughter live in a small apartment and they to not drive but prefer public transportation. Her basic political philosophy is to tax the rich and use the money for public assistance programs. When the payroll tax was introduced, Amazon moved thousands of jobs to nearby Bellevue to avoid the tax. The tax generated $360 million but fell short of estimates by $47million and caused the city to scramble to balance the budget. One of her first priorities is to lift the one percent maximum on property tax to get income to pay for other social programs.

Energy

With the onset of the war in Ukraine, the world was suddenly aware that any country who depended on another country for their energy was in a precarious position. When Europe lost their natural gas supply from Russia their energy cost quadrupled as they rushed to build natural gas import facilities. If any country wants to guarantee their energy independence the only path is nuclear and thus small nuclear reactors are now the rage in many places around the globe. Nuclear provides almost unlimited power without the need to import materials and is carbon free. As countries remove the politics from their energy policy, nuclear becomes the common-sense solution.

SNAP

As the country gets back to normal after the shut down the news about SNAP has died down. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides monthly benefits averaging about $190 per person to about 42 million people nationwide. Prior to the new bill able-bodied adults without children between ages 18 and 54 had to work 80 hours per month and certain groups were exempt, including veterans, homeless and youth aging out of foster care. After the new bill the age requirements were expanded to 18 to 64, the exempted groups were eliminated, the 80 hour per month work requirement was retained and adults with children over 14 were included. Not included in SNAP stats are 7 million able-bodied single men between the ages of 18 to 54 who could work but choose not to work. There are many millions of jobs open right now where the main qualification is showing up on time and these employers cannot find help.

Solar credits

There is a 30% tax credit on the cost of solar panels installed on a personal residence. This credit only applies to taxes that are owed. About half of all taxpayers do not pay tax so they get nothing from this plan. If you owe $9,000 in taxes you can install solar panels costing $30,000 and pay zero tax. You can sell back any excess electricity to the power company which reduces their profits. In areas that get lots of sun this means the power companies will raise the rates to compensate for this loss. In straight talk this means that low-income people will be subsidizing the wealthy people. This is another example of the unintended consequences of good intentions.

Gaza deal

The UN Security Council voted to approve the US drafted resolution on a Gaza peace plan 13 for and none against with Russia and China abstaining. This is a 20-point plan proposed by Trump which will be in three parts. Humanitarian aid, rubble removal and restoration of basic services over 6 to 12 months Temporary housing, infrastructure repair and reactivating the banking system. 2 years Large scale construction and economic development including tourism over many years The whole project will take decades and cost $60 billion and be paid for by European countries along with oil rich Arabs and the US. The project will be led by the Palestinian Authority and United Nations.

Prices

The news is filled with stories about people who want prices to come down but they are facing an uphill battle. The Consumer Price Index (CPR), is based on the price of a fixed market basket of goods and services in the current year as compared to past years. In 1950 it was $23 and today it is $324 for an average annual increase of 3.5%. What one dollar would buy in 1950 cost $13 today. Since Trump took office, the index has been about 3%. One way to lower prices on particular items is to increase supply like what has been done with oil and natural gas but this will only be effective over a short period and in time the price will begin to rise. Another way to lower prices is to lower the interest rates which will allow home mortgages at lower rates. Since Trump took office in his second term the fed rate has declined from 4.5% to 4.0%. Inflation is holding at 2.7% and this will allow the fed to make additional reductions. When a politician runs on the promise of lowering prices he should be questioned as to how he plans to do that. When Trump campaigned saying he would lower prices that was foolish. He should have said he would slow the rise in prices by tackling inflation. Anyone who has lived over the past 75 years understands that overall prices do not come down.

Deficit reduction

There is always much discussion on how to balance the budget and here are four options for raising revenue. 1. Eliminate itemized deductions and apply standard deduction to everyone. Currently 90% use the standard deduction. This would bring in $340 billion. 2. Impose a new payroll tax of 2%. This would bring in $250 billion. Current tax is 6.2% 3. Five percent value added tax. Brings in $300 billion per year. 4. Impose a 2% surtax on all adjusted gross income above $100,000. Brings in $340 billion Three ways to reduce mandatory spending. 1. Establish a uniform SS benefit at 150% of poverty level (about $2,000 per month). This saves $283 billion. 2. Cap Medicaid spending at present level and save $459 billion 3. Adjustments to Medicare Advantage plans and save $110 billion These all total $2.1 trillion which would offset this years $1.7 trillion deficit. The problem is that these savings would not be applied to the deficit but used for new programs. Just like Trump is considering the tariff money to refund $2,000 to lower income people instead of applying it to the deficit. There are no votes to be gained from lowering the deficit.

Healthcare

The democrats are pushing to have healthcare be a major issue in the midterm election and with good reason. The republican plan is to expand health savings accounts, Medicare and Medicaid cuts, market competition and a focus on life style and prevention. When the average voter hears that it sounds like blah, blah, blah. Now comes the democratic plan in one simple sentence. The government will pay for your healthcare. The response from the voter is simple. Where do I sign.

CR

The US budget process. The president sends a budget to the congress and they have 12 sub committees that approve 12 appropriation bills and they are sent to the president for his signature. This is supposed to be in the president’s desk before Oct 1st. Since the current federal budget process was established in 1977, Congress has only passed all the required appropriations bills to fund the government by the October 1 deadline and sent them to the President on time four times: The other times the government stayed open by-passing continuing resolutions (CR’s). That is the reason the government shut down since they did not pass the CR. By opening the government, the congress agrees to fund the government until January 1st at which time they will face another potential shut down. The obvious solution is to send a budget to the president for the entire year by Oct 1st which is what the law requires.

Newsom energy

Governor Newsom of California, a potential presidential candidate, attended the Climate conference in Brazil and criticized Trump for not showing up. Trump believes that the New Green deal is a scam and sees nuclear power as the future. Newsom, whose state is firmly committed to wind and solar, believes that the solution to climate change is wind and solar. Which direction the country goes may well be determined by the next presidential election when energy production will be a major issue.

AOC

As the democratic party reorganizes, the name of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is mentioned as possible presidential candidate. It may seem unlikely that a 36-year-old with no business experience and only 6 years as a congressional representative could be president but having just witnessed a 34-year-old with 4 years’ experience as a state representative become mayor of NY City, anything can happen. The party is looking for new young and ambitious people to take up the banner.

Business

There are 183 million Americans working and 22.7 million work for the federal, state and local governments which represents 14% of the population. This percentage has not changed much over the years. Small businesses create over half of all new jobs and this is where economic growth can best be seen. Lower tax rates and tax incentives along with fewer regulations promote new and existing business. In general, less government encourages new business while more government discourages. Government responsibility is to prevent fraud and protect public safety especially regarding large corporations. In the free market system, individual entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs, grow into big companies and create new industries and millions of jobs. When government agencies like the EPA are left unchecked, they tend to create regulations that make it difficult for business. The federal government is helping grow the economy by maximizing energy production, lowering regulations, fairer tariffs and bringing manufacturing jobs back home. Voters should be encouraged to elect leaders who know how to use government to create new business.

Good old days

One of the favorite topics for old men is to compare the prices today with prices when they were kids. They all remember five gallons of gas for a buck. The point is that prices have been rising since the end of WW 2. The government can make some changes that will slow the price increase but to have a decrease in overall prices has not happened since the great depression. Inflation has averaged 3.5% since 1950 and the trick is to have wages increase faster. This has been done in the past and can happen again. Since 1950 wages have increased by 4.5%. While the average looks good the increases have been skewed toward the rich with the middle class averaging less than one percent in the past 50 years. This was the result of sending manufacturing jobs over seas but that has been changed and those jobs are coming home

High school

As I did my daily scan through the news there was no mention of Veterans Day. That is not the case in the high schools in this area. They have special guest at a ceremony in the gym which culminates with the orchestra and vocal group playing and singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic in an emotional finale. The talents of these musicians and singers are amazing and makes one proud to be an American. This is the country’s most important holiday since without this one there would be no country

Processing rare earths

In 1973 the world was awakened to the fact that one country could not be allowed to control the world by restricting the supply of oil. This resulted in fracking and liquid natural gas and the US became energy independent. The US is now facing a similar situation but this time it is rare earths. Following the better late than never strategy the US is actively gearing up its rare earth industry, focusing on building a domestic supply chain for mining, processing, and manufacturing to reduce reliance on China. Recent government investments, partnerships with private companies, and the establishment of strategic stockpiles are key components of this effort. While mining rare earths is a dirty business, the processing is even more dirty. The US is not currently processing but plans for plants are underway in California, Colorado, Utah and New Hampshire. It is now a race to catch up before China decides to stop exporting rare earths. The US is behind in rare earths for the same reason it is behind in nuclear development. Environmentalist fear and government regulations. It appears that the American people are not concerned about contaminating other countries where environmental laws and worker safety are laxed even to the point of using child labor. It may not seem right to blame the American people but it is the US consumer who benefits from these metals. One example is iridium a metal which allows touch screen. It is too much trouble for people to use up and down arrows.

Gas

The US is being criticized for not attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil but leaders of the three largest polluters, US, China and India are not attending. China is responsible for 33% of CO2 emissions while the US comes in second at 12% and India third at 8%. Since 2005 US CO2 emissions have declined by 20% primarily by replacing coal fired power plants with natural gas. Similar reductions could be made by switching transportation from gasoline and diesel to natural gas. The US has used natural gas in trucks and buses for years. Many political leaders still believe that wind and solar can replace fossil fuels but the answer is using natural gas on the way to nuclear.

He caved

Many commentators suggest that if a politicians would just be willing to change their minds on certain issues, they would be lauded as free thinkers who put the country ahead of party but that is not the way things work out. Those who change, admit they were wrong, are flip floppers or the most pejoratively, they caved. They lack principal and are willing to go whichever way the wind blows and just pandering for votes. Often times they just say they got the best deal and close out the issue. Just say you won and come home.

Energy

The natural long-term plan to zero carbon is straight forward and completely doable with today’s technology, if politics would get out of the way. Here is the path. All new data centers will build their own power plants, so as not to interfere with the power to the local citizens. This also eliminates the need for long power lines. Transportation of cars, buses and small trucks should switch over to natural gas. Small modular reactors (SMR’s) should be built to slowly replace natural gas as the new power source. Molten salt thorium reactors should replace SMR’s Thorium reactors to be used for industry both heating and powering Thorium reactors used to create hydrogen by electrolysis of water and cars, buses and trucks to switch from natural gas to hydrogen. Thorium reactors to produce diesel and jet fuel by using CO2 from the air to be returned to the air when burned for zero net carbon Thorium reactors to desalt sea water to grow crops in the desert. Finally, thorium reactors will be replaced with fusion the ultimate energy source. Required technology not yet available.

ACA

During Covid the congress approved enhanced payments to those on ACA also known as Obamacare. These payments were scheduled to end this year but the democrats will not vote to open the government unless these enhanced payments are extended. The payments cost the government $35 billion per year and once benefits are in force, they are difficult to remove. This is why public assistance programs often start as temporary and convert to permanent. This is what happened to the tax cuts in Trumps beautiful new bill. They were set to end this year but were extended. The democrats fought against this just as the republicans are fighting against the ACA extension. This enhancement brought in 24 million new patients to the ACA bringing the current total to 45 million and the extra new members cost the government $35 billion per year. The republicans want to argue the extension after the government reopens but the democrats fear the republicans will not bring it up before the congress and it will die. More than 50% receive some assistance with 5 million paying no monthly premium and no annual deductible. If the extension is not approved then the average monthly premium will increase from $74 to $132. The annual deductible is $2,789 and will not change. The monthly premium is not included in the annual deductible. Most articles discuss the monthly premium but avoid the annual deductible which is much more of a burden. The average ACA recipient must pay out of pocket over $4,000 per year before they are covered.

Education K-12

It is often said that government agencies, especially state and local groups tend to grow and expend if left to their own devises and this is true of education. There are 3.2 million teachers in K-12 schools in the US and seven million staff. In 1950 there were 1.1 million teachers in K-12 along with 400,000 staff. There were 26 students per teacher in 1950. The average cost per living since 1950 has been 3.5% and the cost of K-12 has increased by 6%. Test scores have remained stagnate while the gap between Black and White student has widened. These numbers are different for suburbian schools where tax dollars are more available District 196 in the southeast burgs of Minneapolis has 27,679 students, 2,100 teachers and 4,000 staff. With a budget of $500 million this is over $18,000 per student and 13 students per teacher. The two biggest problems facing the country today are the gaps in income and education. Perhaps using AI to offered private tutors for all students can help.

German wind and solar

Now that Germany has changed its constitution so it can go into debt, they will borrow $500 billion through the sale of bonds to finance an infrastructure bill. Of that, $100 billion will be for wind and solar. The greens in Germany are so powerful they have yet to understand that nuclear is the solution to zero carbon. Germany continues to build solar panels even though they don’t have much sun. Northern European countries like Germany get 1,800 hours of sun per year while Southern European countries like Spain get 2,900 hours. Europe’s power prices soared to record levels but it wasn’t war that caused this but the dark, windless weather that is all to common during the winter. The power of the greens reached its peak in 2021 and has been declining slowly but is still able to direct spending toward wind and solar. The US has recognized the potential for nuclear and is moving in that direction.

Socialism or not

As the country watches the NY City election, many wonder how socialism gained such popularity. It started when many fair-minded compassionate people realized that Blacks were treated differently based on the countries big sin of slavery. This thinking was reinforced with the Jim Crow laws in mid-20th century and things like red lining. Minorities were seen as victims and the general society as victimizers. This led to a type of colonialism within the country in the form of oppressor and oppressed. Minorities became the victims and the oppressed and Whites became the victimizers and oppressors. Early steps to reconcile these differences, resulted in programs like affirmative action where job preferences were based on skin color. Across the nation statues were knocked down while streets and buildings were renamed. Free market capitalism added to this differentiation because it creates winners and losers and the Whites were the winners. Blacks and Hispanics convicted of felons were no longer seen as criminals but victims of an unfair society. Citizens were allowed to break into stores and steal goods with impunity. No cash bail and local district attorneys who refused to prosecute became the norm in big cities. Many now see the solution is to revamped the entire systems by replacing merit-based capitalism with equity, by replacing equal opportunity with equal results and the latest action is the election of a democratic socialist in NY City. In today’s United States there are people who do not like the country as it is and what to make major changes. Some even profess to hate America seeing only the country they live in but not comparing to other countries and you have signs like Queers for Palestine. One area that is immune from these pressures is sports where minorities have risen to the top. Even there, things are not all well and many see the rich in corporate boxes flashing thumbs up and down on the gladiators on the field who are busting their heads to entertain the elites. Another group that is gaining equality by merit (hard work) is women, who have taken advantage of education. Last year 120,000 women and 80,000 men received doctoral degrees. The best way to slow down the push toward socialism is to close the wealth and education gaps.

Economic growth

Here is a rather rough, simplified, somewhat biased view of the country at this time. Certain people see the future through the optimistic lens of innovators using private entrepreneurship and small businesses to develop new industries creating new jobs and new economic growth. They are the profit seekers, who revel in the self-satisfaction of having built up a successful enterprise. There is another group who sees themselves as compassionate care givers, who want to transfer the wealth created by the first group to the needy, in the form of public assistance programs. They are the champions of the poor and downtrodden, who have been disadvantage by past real or perceived prejudice. This group believes they have the high moral ground and have a clear conscience knowing they are truly their brother’s keeper. The second group is dependent on the success of the first group for survival. The first group needs government help to use regulations to both protect the public and promote business development while the second group needs government to use taxes to close the income gap. When these two operate in balance the country can grow and still maintain a safety net for those who cannot make it on their own,

Dow SMR

The new interest in small modular reactors (SMR’s) is not limited to the big social media companies as Dow Chemical starts construction on four SMR’s at its Seadrift complex in Texas. Each will have 80 MW for a total output of 320 MW’s. Other companies like Nucor and Constellation Energy, both which need electric power 24/7 and want zero carbon are active. The Dow unit is using TRISO as fuel. These are small pellets containing uranium wrapped in ceramic and graphite. This gives the unit the walk away shut down safety and lowers waste product production. The pellets are added continuously and when power shuts down the addition of fuel stops and the reactor shuts down. These reactors do not require shut down to add new fuel and thus run 24/7. There are currently 80 companies working on developing SMR’s.

AI long term

As the country progresses through the AI revolution it will change most jobs, eliminate some jobs and create new jobs. One example is the radiologist. Some years ago, it was predicted that computers could read x-rays faster and more accurately than people and these jobs were considered to be in jeopardy. What happened was that as x-ray machines became more efficient, they caused more x-rays to be used which led to better diagnosis as doctors used the computer for initial interpretation which gave them more time to evaluate in more detail. The result has been an increase in health benefits and the need for more radiologist. Automation often times means more of something not less. The point being, that at this time the long-term consequences of AI, are yet to be determined.

Norway tax

When Mayor Mamdani of New York City says he will put a 2% tax on all income over one million dollars that is the equivalent of a wealth tax even though it is on income. Norway has a wealth tax but it is under pressure in this year’s election. It is 1.0% of all income over $2 million and raises $2.4 billion annually. 720,000 pay the wealth tax but most are small amounts with about 3,000 who have income over $10 million. More than 30 billionaires and millionaires have left the country. In 2022 Norway raised the wealth tax to 1.1% and expected to gain $146 million but ended up losing $594 million in revenue because wealthy people left the country. The labor-controlled government recently voted to keep the wealth tax even though more wealthy people are destined to leave the country. While this seems counter intuitive the explanation is that even though it loses money, it sounds good. This will likely change if more rich people leave.

Ten points

What are ten points in US foreign policy 1. Bringing manufacturing jobs back home 2. Reciprocal tariffs 3. Reducing dependency of critical materials like pharmaceuticals 4. Getting Europe and Canada to pay for their own defense 5. Reducing contributions to the UN and NATO 6. Using Abraham Accords to get Saudi Arabia to rebuild Palestine 7. Finding a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine War 8. Free and fair trade 9. Not trying to convert other countries into America 10. Stop the influx of drug What are ten points in US domestic policy 1. Securing the border 2. Recognizing that wind and solar cannot replace fossil fuels but nuclear can 3. Becoming energy independent 4. Finding 300,000 missing migrant children 5. Improving education using AI as individual tutors 6. Reducing regulations to create new jobs 7. Keeping taxes low 8. Using tax incentives to promote innovation 9. Maintaining a strong national defense 10. Deporting criminal migrants What are ten points of culture 1. What are ten cultural points 2. Gender surgery on minors 3. Schools keeping secrets from parents 4. Men dresses as women dancing in grade schools 5. Changing pronouns, them and they instead of he and she 6. Paper straws and grocery bags. 7. Closing schools for Covid 8. DEI and CRT 9. Hotels for migrants while citizens live on the streets 10. Overwhelming schools and clinics with illegal migrants

Mamdani

The past 50 years of globalization has created the largest income and wealth gap in history and no where is this more evident than New York City. New York has the greatest disparities in income of any major U.S. city, with the top 1 percent of the population getting 44 percent of the income in the city. That New York City has extreme wealth and extreme poverty, and lots of both, seems like a law of nature, older than the subway or the Brooklyn Bridge. When this happens, it is only a matter of time before some charismatic populist comes along with a promise to redistribute the wealth and Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York is just such a person. He is 34 years old and has been a state representative for 5 years. He has no business experience and will be responsible for the $112 billion dollar city budget. How was he able to achieve this is based on the old proven policy of taking from the rich and giving to the not rich. His platform is free city buses, rent freeze, free child care, increase minimum wage, city owned grocery stores and affordable housing. This will be paid for by raising $9 billion in new income taxes on the wealthy and business. This is the classic democratic policy which is pejoratively referred to as tax and spend. He also has promised to set aside $65 million for government funded gender surgeries, using mental health workers to respond to some police calls, reduce the jail population by closing Rikers Island, decriminalizing prostitution and certain misdemeanors, reforming the police department by reducing its scope and cutting overtime and provide housing for migrants. New York City has enough rich people so he can continue these policies for many years but in time, as is always the case with redistribution, you eventually run out of money.

Amazon

Many marveled at the speed with which Elon Musk built his latest data center in Memphis but not to be out done, Amazon recently completed a new center in Indiana in thirteen months from start to finish. Amazon has opened a data center on 1,200 acres of land in Indiana that’s dedicated to training and running models from Anthropic. They will not be using Nvidia chips like most other data centers. The first 7 buildings are completed and operational. The buildings are over 200,000 sq ft and there will be 23 more buildings in the next two years. The complex will use 2.2 GW.s of energy, the equivalent of two large nuclear powered plants. This is as much power as half the people in the state use. The power will come from Indiana- Michigan power company. Amazon is a major customer and is paying for the necessary substations to be built on-site, which helps the utility modernize the power grid to handle the increased load. These will be natural gas plants. Amazon will pay 80% of the cost of upgrades and sign a 12-year contract for usage. Amazon is also paying to upgrade the water treatment plant, the waste water plant and roads and highways leading into and away from the project. The state has offered a 50% real property tax abatement for 10 years and the remaining 50% will be enough to offset the additional cost the city will face in local services. On the surface this looks like a win-win for the state and Amazon.

Revolving door

Eisenhower warned against the power of the military-industrial complex and when Obama took office he declared and end to the revolving door between people who worked in the defense department and the defense industry. He said that anyone working for him would have to wait two years after leaving government before working in private industry. After he was elected and before he was inaugurated, he broke his rule. Willian Lynn who was a lobbyist for Raytheon and he had previously worked in the Clinton defense department where he was in charge of budgets and acquisitions before he took his job at Raytheon. Obama hired Lynn and three years later he left to work to return to private industry where he worked as a CEO making $10 million per year. This sort of thing happens on a regular basis in all administrations. A GAO report in 2021 showed that 28 of the 32 generals and admirals that retired went to work in private industry as lobbyist or consultants.