The new way of learning

For about the last 50 years US schools have been in decline. This is demonstrated by the reading and writing skills, where twelfth grader students are at eighth grade levels. The search for the solution to these problems has abruptly come to an end with AI. Here is a report from a student. I was asked to write a 300 word essay on Beethoven’s Fifth and instructed the Chat GPT to do just that. When the essay was complete, I rewrote the first two paragraphs using my style and then instructed Chat to review what I had written and rewrite the rest of the essay using my style. While students still have to learn how to read, they can let AI do the writing. When it comes to math students no longer have to learn the old fashion way, they can use calculators to solve most everyday problems, such as interest rates and time value of money. It is mindful of a pill one can take to immediately play the piano instead of spending years practicing. I would gladly take such a pill. Will I receive the same satisfaction from playing as someone who learned the old way? Don’t know the answer to that but don’t care as long as I can play the piano.

Apple

Shortly after China joined the WTO in 2021, Apple began making its new iphones in China. The Chinese offered free land, tax breaks and cheap labor. As time passed Apple invested more than one trillion dollars in China but they were not business partners they were held hostage. China could at any time take away Apple’s export license and put them out of business. Apple realized they were in an untenable position and needed a way out and along comes Trump, who threatened to put high import taxes on products from China. As Apple begins shifting iphone production to India and Vietnam, it is spending $500 billion on new manufacturing facilities in the US. China responded by placing export restrictions on Apple but the die is cast. Apple will, over time, decouple from China and many other companies are doing the same.

Democrats

Back in the 50’s the democratic party was composed of different groups including organized labor, ethnic minorities, Catholics, Jews and educators. These were considered working people. It was FDR who started the ball rolling with the New Deal toward protecting these working groups and LBJ continued with the Great Society. This was an effective strategy and the democrats controlled the congress for 65 years from 1930 until 1995 and the senate for most of those years. Things began to change over the past 30 years and that change accelerated in the Trump era. The democrats with all their power moved too far left especially with cultural issues and the working groups moved toward the conservatives. Today the democratic party is trying to move back toward the center with policies but the far left is holding on to power using emotional issues. Instead of concentrating on economic issues the left is swallowed up with anti-Trump feelings. He is a dictator who will end democracy. He is a racist, homophobic, xenophobic man who hates women. The new leaders like AOC and Mamdani are all about emotion and very little about policy. This anti-Trump policy was tried and 2024 and failed but the hangers on are still in control. If this continues the party will stand for nothing when Trump leaves office. Some new leader who is offering policy changes to help the working people must step forward. The old standby of income redistribution will be a good start but it cannot be bogged down with cultural issues.

Benefits

The income gap in the US is far too wide and getting wider. Most of the discussion revolves around increasing taxes on the rich and increasing public assistance on the poor. Another possibility is to look at the situation from the standpoint of a working person. Take the case of a single mom with two kids working full time at Walmart. Her wage is $18 per hour plus benefits. As head of household, she qualifies for $4,500 earned income tax credit, $4,500 child tax credit and $3,000 childcare credit. Her total income is $50,000. If her salary were $25 per hour instead of $18, she could pay for all these benefits without having to rely on public assistance. She owes no income tax but does pay $3,800 in payroll tax. The government could pass a law exempting the first $50,000 from payroll tax and she would have $50,000 take home pay. In this way she understands that she is paying her own way and not dependent on government aid.

Remembrance

Today marks two years since Eunice died. At first things were cloudy and the words of a song drifted through my mind. The house is quiet since you left me, there’s no love within its walls, only the lonesome sound of empty into the silence falls, other men can lose a lover, bounce back like a rubber ball, I’m just not like those others, I’m just not coping well at all. The following spring, I went back to work as a sub but an eye problem caused me to resign in the fall. Then I remembered a line from the movie, Shawshank Redemption, where the man said, you either get busy living or get busy dying so I joined a book club. Next, I joined a group where people had lost a spouse and then a group where people had spouses with dementia. Next a group of grandpas who meet every day for coffee and then I started going to the nursing home. I told the residence that I needed their help to get past my empty house. I go to my daughter’s house for Sunday brunch. I now realize that God was watching over me in those last years and how He is guiding me today. I guess you might say, that I have decided to get busy living.

Free stuff

The NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani has pointed out the wide income and wealth gap and suggested that no one needs more than one billion dollars per year. While his complaint about inequality is valid his solution is not the panacea that he portrays. In NYC there are 123 billionaires with a total worth of $759 billion. If you took all of that money and gave it equally to the 8.25 million residents of NYC, they would each get $82,300. Understand this is not just their income it is their total worth. Then want would you do next year. Everyone is aware of the wealth gap but the fact is there are always too few rich and too many poor to just evenly divvy up the cash. This kind of talk while not effectively solving the problem sounds great on the campaign stump speech. The math doesn’t work out but it gives the impression that something is being done to help the poor at the expense of the rich. Mamdani has offered many benefits and when asked how he would pay for them, his pat answer is tax the rich. This is the standard approach when pushing socialism. It has been tried many times but always fell short of the promises. Like Margaret Thatcher said, socialism works well until you run out of the other guy’s money. Or more clearly as stated in Orwell’s book Animal Farm when he says, everyone is equal but some are more equal. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

Jews

In the news yesterday Trump was criticized for using the term shylock. This is considered antisemitic based on the character in a Shakespear play who loaned money at interest. For most of the history of Christianity, led by the Roman Catholic Church, lending money at interest was forbidden. Jews were allowed to charge interest on money loaned to non-Jews. During the first 1,500 hundred years of Christianity most people were illiterate with the priest being the exception. The Jews, on the other hand, taught their sons to read and write. As the only members of the community who were literate and could lend money at interest, it was not unexpected that the Jews would become bankers. This led to jealousy among the general public toward the Jews, much of which is alive and well today.

Free press

There are many examples of how the press has drifted from its primary goal as watch dog but there is one area where it has been doing an outstanding job and that is its attention to Trump. The press is often criticized for its attacks on Trump but that is because they have singled out this president. If they maintained this kind of scrutiny on all presidents the press would be seen as performing their obligation and not as biased. There have been too many examples of pushing an agenda as opposed to just informing the public. For this reason, the press has lost credibility. Polls show that trust in the media is at an all-time low of 31%. While most Americans recognize the importance of a free press to society, there are also worries about bias and the spread of misinformation.

Social security tax

The big new bill has a tax savings provision for retirees over age 65. Under the present law a couple with $24,000 social security on the husband and $12,000 on the wife plus $32,000 of taxable pension income will have $8,000 in taxable income. Under the new big bill, the taxable income will be reduced to $2,000. This is a help for low- and middle-income people but it is phased out for those with higher incomes.

Taxes

The US has the most progressive income tax in the world. Progressive meaning as you earn more the percent in tax you pay increases. For example. A single person earning $50,000 gross will pay $3,871 in federal income tax. A single person earning $500,000 per year will pay $144,546 in federal tax. The income is ten times higher but the tax is 38 times higher. Under the new big bill, a family of four could earn $78,000 and pay zero income tax. About half of the workers pay no income tax but they do pay payroll tax (social security and Medicare)

National debt

The pending passage of the big new bill has once again brought the debt into focus. The democrats spend a lot of time pointing out how the bill will increase the debt, already at $37 trillion. When the democrats spend money, the republicans complain vociferously and predict the end of the world. Any casual observer, quickly comes to the conclusion, that neither party is really concerned about the debt, because they both use deficit spending to get votes, which is far more important than the national debt. No individual or group wants to lose their tax advantage. Businesses love accelerated depreciation, home owners love interest deductions, poor people love the safety net and rich people love off shore accounts. It all comes down to the old adage, don’t tax you and don’t tax me, tax the man behind the tree. People don’t have the maturity to give up their tax breaks and elected officials don’t have the courage to ask them to. The only reasonable way to lower the debt, is to reverse the process that created the debt and this is to limit future spending, to slightly less than the annual inflation rate. In 75 years or so the debt will be paid. Can this be done, yes. Will this be done, not likely.

NYC Election

The recent vote for mayor in NYC confirmed the electorate split as seen in the 2024 presidential race. Zohran Mamdani received strong support from White college educated people, especially women and Asians while he lost the support of Blacks, Latinos and working people. His promises of free stuff for poor and middle-income people did not result in votes. This is called the Trump effect by some but others say it is the result of backlash against Palestinian protesters as only 20% of Jews voted for Mamdani. Others were concerned about his antipolice rhetoric along with his weak on crime policy. Mamdani won the votes of higher income people many of whom voted in a low turnout election.

Health cost

The cost of Medicare Part B is $180 per month. This is up from the $3 per month cost when Medicare started in 1966. This is an annual increase of 7% while the inflation rate during this time period was only 4%. In 1966 Medicare total cost was $3 billion and last year it was $1.15 trillion or annual increase of 10% per year. Obamacare cost $78 billion per year when it started in 2010 and last year the cost was $1.6 trillion or an average increase of 14% per year during a time when inflation increased only 2.5%. These are the reasons why it is necessary to make substantial changes in healthcare cost but no elected officials want to tackle the problem.

Insurance

One of the main concerns with the new big bill is health insurance under Medicaid. The old Medicaid did not cover adults without children but when Obamacare came in this was changed and adults without children qualified like others based on income. There are about 11 million people in this group and under the new bill they will be required to work 80 hours per month in order to maintain their Medicaid coverage. This work could include community service, going to school or engaging in a work program. Many people will opt not to go to work since Obamacare allows for coverage with pre-existing conditions. This means a person can sign up after they have a health problem and get coverage the first day of the following month. This is antithetical to insurance since it allows coverage after the event. A person is diagnosed with cancer on July 15th and they sign up for insurance and they are covered August first. When Obamacare first started in 2010 people who chose not to sign up were penalized and had to pay a penalty of 2.5% of their income when they filed their taxes. This was so unpopular that it was dropped in 2018. Today there are about 26 million people who do not have insurance but could get it if they wanted.

Loans

So far, the Trump administration has deported 200,000 illegal migrants Despite failing to deliver his promise for broad student loan forgiveness, President Joe Biden has now overseen the cancellation of student loans for more than 5 million Americans — more than any other president in U.S. history. Biden v. Nebraska: In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down the Biden administration's earlier student loan forgiveness plan, citing an overreach of executive authority and lack of clear congressional authorization. These students will not have to back this $175 billion. Presidents have used executive power for decisions that were later called illegal by the Supreme Court but there is no going back so the president wins.

Wealthy

The new mayoral candidate in NYC says there should be no billionaires. As of late 2024, 813 U.S. billionaires held a combined wealth of $6.72 trillion. There are 150 million working families in the US and if this money were confiscated by the government and given to the working families, they would each get $45,000. While this would be a banner year for these families what happens next. It is like Margaret Thatcher said, socialism is great until you run out of the other guy’s money. Throughout history the concept of redistribution has been a theme of governments and each, including present day USA, has developed various means to equalize income and wealth. The wealth distribution in today’s USA is too large and some measures must be taken but just grabbing the assets from the rich is not the way to go. Increasing income tax rates and providing benefits for low-income people would be more acceptable. Using things like surtax and child tax credits would be a more balanced approach.

Income gap

Wealth and income inequality in the US is increasing and many feel this must change. Several approaches at attacking the wealth problem have come and gone because they are too difficult to calculate but income is a different story. The new NYC mayor candidate has proposed a surtax on income. This is easy to calculate and enforce. He is recommending 2% surtax on all income over one million. Massachusetts enacted a similar plan in 2023 using four percent. This kind of tax could be used to slow the growth in the income gap. It could be raised year by year until the gap stops increasing. Between 2020 and 2022, the number of tax returns in the U.S. with a gross adjusted income of at least $1 million increased by about 30%.

Callifornia

California has a state budget of $321 billion and a $73 billion deficit. Texas has a $338 billion budget and a $24 billion surplus California has a top state income tax rate of 12.3 while Texas has no state income tax California has a 7.15% state sales tax and Texas is at 6.5%. California gets 50% of its budget from the federal government and Texas gets 38% California’s population has been declining since 2021 while Texas has added more people than any state. Last year the population increased by 563,000. One of the main reasons for this discrepancy is that California relies heavily on income tax from very rich people, mostly in Silicon Valley, while Texas has a more diverse economy and relies more on sales tax. Adding to the problem is California’s $1.5 trillion pension debt obligations vs Texas with only $86 billion.

Peace

In normal times history moves at a slow pace but since the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023 things have happened at warp speed. First off Israel retaliated by invading Gaza. Second, they used exploding cell phones to take out the leadership of Hezbollah, and third they destroyed the left-over military equipment that remained in Syria. This then allowed Israel to fly over Syria unopposed which allowed them to achieve air superiority over all four areas, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran. When Israel attacked Iran neither Russia or China came to their aide destroying the threat of the axis against the US which was supposed to be a joining of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. In less than two years Israel has gone from a country surrounded by enemies where Israel was on the defense to a country that is now on the offence and in control of its former enemies. The news about Iran rebuilding their nuclear facilities is counter balanced by Israel’s ability to quickly destroy any perceived threat. This opens the door to the possibility of major changes in the Middle East. If Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords it will allow the oil rich Arab countries to join with Egypt and Jorden in relations with Israel and the long awaited peace may arrive.

Racism

Racism is still around in America but in certain ways it is not discussed. One area is eugenics. This is tinkering with the human genome to produce only acceptable offspring avoiding those considered inferior. Eugenics was used in the early 20th century to limit the number of Blacks. While this practice never gained much traction, it was later introduced under a different name. In 1973, abortion was legalized in the US and this led to 63 million abortions. While Black women represent only 7% of the population, they had 40% of the abortions, which was in fact, the goal of eugenics. Another example is social security. A Black man starting social security at age 62 will collect on average 15 years, while a White female starting at age 62 will collect for 23 years.

Socialist

Two of the biggest problems in the US are the wealth and income gap and the education gap. The new controversial NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is tackling the wealth gap. Here are his policies and they represent a reasonable approach to closing the gap. It is basically a income redistribution plan or the pejorative tax and spend plan. Freezing rents and constructing new low-income housing Free public transportation Increase public safety by building mental health facilities City owned grocery stores Free childcare up to age 6 Equal distribution of funds to city schools Increase taxes on rich and raising the state corporate tax to 11% Resist and respond to Trump policies Minimum wage to $30

Iran enrichment

Here is a quote from google AI: There is no definitive consensus that Iran is currently building a nuclear bomb, but its nuclear program has significantly advanced and is a source of international concern. Here are some recent news reports. Iran possesses uranium enriched to 60%. This level of enrichment is a significant step towards weapons-grade uranium, which is typically enriched to 90% Uranium used for nuclear power plants is enriched from .7% to 3.5%. Under the terms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which Iran is a party, Iran has the right to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination. Iran has 3,000 centrifuges underground.

Criminals

It appears that sanctuary cities in the US are using tactics similar to what Hamas used in Gaza. Recall that Hamas fighters intermingled with the general population to make it difficult for Israel to kill them without killing innocent civilians. The mayors of sanctuary cities, instead of holding convicted migrant criminals in jail and turning them over to ICE, have chosen to release them into the general public, to make it difficult for ICE to arrest convicted criminals, without arresting migrants without criminal records. This thwarts the plan to go after convicted criminals first. It is a very effective strategy. Only five percent of the estimated 10 million illegals that came in under Biden are considered convicted criminals and it appears that five percent of those arrested are convicted criminals. This is what is expected in random arrest. According to Pew Research: U.S. adults who say some immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported have varying views of who should be removed. Nearly all (97%) support deporting those who have committed violent crimes. In FY23, ICE arrested 73,822 noncitizens with criminal histories, including charges and convictions for assaults, sex and sexual assaults, weapons offenses, homicides, and kidnapping offenses. More than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide are living outside of ICE detention in the U.S. A reasonable approach would be to deport criminal migrants, then simultaneously find the 300,000 missing migrant children while and setting up work permits for the non-criminal migrants.

Europe

In the news today the European Countries have agreed to increase their defense spending which means they will not have to rely on the US for their protection. In 2023 with a population similar to that of the US they spent $280 billion on defense while the US spent $750 billion. At this point it is only talk but if this comes to fruition it can mean substantial saving for the US.

Citizens

For several months the word oligarch was championed as representing the Trump administration but after the falling out with Musk the word fell out of usage. The idea was that republicans were using wealthy people to buy elections but the facts tell a different story. In the 2020 election the Democrats raised $2.9 billion while the Republicans took in $1.8 billion. Who did the oligarchs support? 83 billionaires gave to the Democrats and 52 backed Republicans. When the Court approved Citizens United by saying the money was speech, the Democrats said this would skew elections but the results favored the Dems.

NYC

The surprise victory by Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani portends the distribution of wealth for the city. This will portray NYC as a smaller version of California. In California the rich people, mostly from Silicon Valley, represent .5% of the population and they pay 40% of the taxes. In NYC the new mayor will go after the rich on Wall Street to pay for increased social benefits for the not so rich. This transfer of wealth is an honorable goal but all too often results in money going in to unexpected areas. This is known as waste and fraud. One example surfaced during the last mayor when over one billion dollars were assigned to the mayor’s wife in a program called ThriveNYC and much of the money was left in limbo. ThriveNYC was accused of having an "opaque budget" and "elusive metrics" In March of 2019, after four years as mayor, nearly $850 million was unaccounted for Mamdani has said he will fund his promised services by raising an extra $10 billion in city revenue by raising taxes on corporations and the top 1% wealthiest New Yorkers. This is one way to close the wealth and income gap. Let’s see how it works.

The Constitution

The constitution is enforced by the separation of powers which offers checks and balances between the supreme court, the president and the congress. Recently this has come under question as a number of lower court judges have stopped the presidents’ executive actions. Yesterday the Supreme Court overruled a lower court decision to stop third country deportations. Before that the Court reversed the lower court on deportations to safe countries and earlier the Court ended temporary protection status and pausing humanitarian programs. Before that the Court stepped in on federal employee firings, teacher training grants and DOGE access to records. Some of these cases are regarding to temporary restraining orders and may require further rulings but they are road blocks to presidential power. There are more than 1,000 judges who could be issuing injunctions against the president and some scholars express concern that this kind of activity, if it continues, could tie up the president in the courts much like happened in Trumps first term. The country is already stymied by gridlock and this will pit the president against the federal courts. If the 2026 elections put the democrats back in control of the house, then the congress will be investigating the president on a continuous basis and the whole government will be brought to a standstill. For many who are anti government this will be acceptable.

Bomb

Natural uranium ore is only .7% U235 and this needs to be enriched to 90% to make a bomb. The enrichment process is not linear since it takes more time to enrich from .7% to 5% than it does to enrich from 5% to 90%. This is why Iran with 60% enriched Uranium is close to what is needed for a bomb.

Women

Over the past three hundred years the world has seen the industrial revolution, the communication revolution and now the information revolution but in the mean while the women’s revolution has been ongoing without much fanfare. The progress made by women during these years is nothing less than phenomenal and most of their gains have occurred in the past one hundred years beginning with the right to vote in 2020. Last year 54% of all PhD’s were granted to women. Fifty years ago, there were ten women in congress and today there are 150. While this trend continues in many areas, one of the most noticeable is the number of women in the health field. This is progress but much more is needed as the revolution

Iran

Across three decades and six presidential administrations, Democratic and Republican alike, one national security principle has never changed: The United States will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. The use of military force to carry out this pledge has been pushed down the road until now. What lies ahead is unknown.

Propaganda

Propaganda is the dissemination of information, often biased or misleading, to promote a specific agenda or viewpoint. It aims to influence opinions, beliefs, or behaviors by appealing to emotions and potentially distorting facts. This is a good definition of what the news is today. In a typical broadcast the moderator interviews two opposing opinions which means hearing two sets of propaganda. This is much easier and cheaper than asking a reporter to go out and dig up the facts, then digest these facts and then presenting them. What the viewer is not aware of is that these experts offering their opinions have been influenced, either knowingly or unknowingly, by powerful self interest groups. These groups often spend lots of money to promote their interest. One obvious group are the lobbyist while others are corporate manipulators. Back in the 50’s there were reporters like Robert Novak or Rowland Evans who focused on digging out the story behind the story. Focus on Scoops and News: Novak, along with his writing partner Rowland Evans, made it their goal to include a piece of breaking news in every column, a practice uncommon among most contemporary op-ed writers. Shoe Leather" Reporting: He was known for his dedication to traditional investigative journalism, often relying on his own detailed research and reporting rather than just opinion or analysis. The key phrase here is, “Shoe Leather”. This requires a lot of work and dedication whereas just interviewing experts is the easy way out. The public is thus left with the choice of which expert to believe. All too often experts lack the common sense that most people acquire through the school of hard knocks. Book smart is deemed more important than street smart or people smart. The longer one lives the more it becomes clear that book smart is not enough.

Trump Iran

There are two cliches on a collision course but with the proper handling can be resolved. The first, says regarding regime change, if you break it, you own it. This is in reference to what happened in Afghanistan. The world demanded that since the US went in, they were obligated to fix things. The second is that those who fail to understand history will repeat past mistakes. The situation in Iran will be different because of Trump. If Trump choses to take out the nuclear program and the regime responds by attacking US facilities in the area or even using terrorism within the US, Trump will respond by using air strikes but he will not send in US troops. If the regime is overthrown and chaos breaks out in Iran, Trump will not send in US ground troops. If Iran turns into a civil war or if terror groups set up business in Iran, Trump will not send in US troops. That is the difference between Iran in 2025 and Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. There will be no nation building. There will be no Americans on the ground trying to democratize the country. The US has learned from past wars that it is futile to try and rebuild by trying to make some other country into a new USA.

Courts

Under current law a single federal judge can stop the president. The Supreme Court is reviewing this. Federal Court System: The U.S. judicial system includes district courts (trial courts), where a single federal judge often hears cases. These judges have the power to: Issue injunctions (orders to stop an action), Declare actions unconstitutional, and Temporarily block executive orders or regulations while a case is being reviewed. There have been many recent examples of this and the Supreme Court stepped in to reverse the lower courts. Since 2007 the court has reversed decisions 71.3% of the time. Even though this seems inefficient the court will likely keep the system as it is.

Iran decision

Because Trump is president, the news is focusing on his decisions about Iran but both parties are concerned. While many Democrats quickly condemned conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for launching Israel’s assault on Thursday night, many others hailed the decision as a necessary step to put a halt to Tehran’s nuclear expansion. The majority of both parties agree that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and that there should be a diplomatic resolution to the problem. Neither of these positions requires any courage. Almost everyone agrees in any situation that a peaceful settlement is better than war. The latest push against war is that congress must decide. This means no decision will be made as 535 people with different opinions hash it out. This is the easy way out for Trump. He can let congress decide. Most will quietly wait for Trump to take action and then Monday morning quarterback the results. As Truman said, the buck stops here.

Iran

The situation in Iran is coming to a head. Ever since the country became a theocracy after the 1979 revolution, the drum beat from Iran has been to slay the great Satan, the USA and the lesser Satan Israel. They have publicly announced many times over the years that their goal is to destroy Israel and the US. As Israel winds down the war and Iran is defeated the big question is then what. If the nuclear threat is eliminated but the country’s ideology remains, it is just a matter of time before they start once again on their journey to, as they say, wipe Israel off the map. Some say this can be minimized by having complete and open inspections but in the past this sort of thing has been eroded by various political maneuvers. Others say to promote a regime change but this leaves the door open to the unknown. When the Shah was removed in 1979 the country became the theocracy it is today. A new government may be worse. Some fear, that if the government is removed, the resulting chaos will allow terror groups to develop within the country, much like happened in Afghanistan after the USSR left. The point is that regardless of what path is chosen there are risk. What should be considered first and foremost is the path that least involves the US. Right now, that looks like destroying the nuclear infrastructure and then eliminating the existing government and then closely monitoring the aftermath. The Shah’s government could have been successful if it were not for the corruption. The US knew of this corruption for years but took no action to intervene. It was easier to kick the can down the road until the people finally rose up and the Shah fled.

SALT

The argument going on in congress regarding the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) has a misleading past. Prior to 2018 the SALT was offset by the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The Trump tax cuts of 2017 removed the AMT and placed a $10,000 limit on SALT. This allowed wealthy people to once again deduct their state and local tax but only up to $10,000. The house bill raised this to $40,000 with a phase out for people with incomes over $500,000. The senate version keeps the SALT limit at $10,000. The SALT benefits a small number of rich people since they pay the highest state income tax and 90% of tax payers use the standard deduction which means the SALT does not affect them.

Iran money

Obama released $100 billion in Iranian frozen assets and then sent $1.7 billion in cash. Biden unfroze $6 billion of Iranian funds. These were intended to get Iran to agree to a deal to stop its push for a nuclear bomb. No one knows what this money was used for but last week The UN-backed atomic watchdog passed a resolution on Thursday declaring that Iran is not complying with its obligations regarding nuclear non-proliferation. While there is no evidence that Iran used these funds to send weapons to Hezbollah some feel this was a strong possibility. It could be that these funds were not used but money is fungible.

SDI

As the world watches the anti-missiles knock down the missiles over the skies of Israel some recall how Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was ridiculed and called Star Wars. The media: Various media outlets, including the New York Times, mocked SDI, with some labeling it as an expression of "anti-Communist paranoia" and a "convergence of political crisis and scientific hubris". Various media outlets, including the New York Times, mocked SDI, with some labeling it as an expression of "anti-Communist paranoia" and a "convergence of political crisis and scientific hubris".

US caretakers

As WW 2 came to a close, the US stepped up to rebuild Germany and Japan and today they are among the top economic powers in the world but the job did not end there. Up to and including today the US has been the protector of Europe and Japan with military bases around the world. The US disproportionally finances the defense of these countries along with the United Nations and NATO. It is the US pharmaceutical industry that provides the world with the latest medical miracles and US innovation leads to the technology of the future. In return these countries have put up trade barriers against US products. While the US is teeming with German and Japanese cars there are very few American cars in Europe or Japan. Both Japan and Germany are in decline because they have too many elderly and not enough working age people. The middle age group is not only the producers but the consumers and both countries need the US consumer to survive. Japan was the first to realize this and set an economy based on producing and selling products in the USA and using the profits to care for their older people. Europe will have to do the same and once again the US will be called upon to rescue the world. It will mean higher prices for the US consumer but they will, as always, stand up to the challenge.

ROE

Israel is fighting a war using the same limitations that the US used in recent wars. The US soldiers were to follow Rules of Engagement (ROE) which placed restrictions on their conduct. Israel is bombing nuclear and missile launching facilities while taking precaution to minimize civilian collateral damage. Iran is targeting civilians. For some this does not make sense, as they believe that if you are going to war, then go to win or don’t go. Veterans from Korea onward often talk about how they were limited by the ROE. In WW 2 the US deliberately bombed cities with the sole purpose of killing civilians. The idea was to win by demoralizing the people.

Platform

The democrats are losing the male vote especially the blue-collar workers. In an attempt to reverse the trend, the party has formed the Speaking with American Men (SAM) project. The $20 million dollar plan got rolling with a meeting at the Ritz-Carlson in wealthy Half Moon Bay. On the menu was short-rib tostones, mini lobster rolls, beef tenderloin and other expensive hors d’oeuvres. While this hardly relates to the working man the interesting thing discussed was how to be authentic. They were looking for a liberal leaning Joe Rogan. Developing authenticity starts with getting to know yourself better. Here's how you can do it: Spend time reflecting on your core values — the things that are most important to you in life. These might include qualities like honesty, creativity, or compassion. To do this the party will have to move away from dissing Trump and lay down a basic platform of ideas and how they will be implemented. They can then go on the offense promoting their plans to grow the economy.

Deportations

President Obama used an executive order to expand Expedited Removal and stopped illegal migrants at the border and turned them around. He also used this to deport illegal migrants in the country. In both cases this was done without the courts determining asylum status. The Trump administration continued the process but slowed the border crossings. Under President Biden border crossings rose to record levels and when Trump took over in his second term the crossings were brought down to almost zero. Shift from Judicial to Non-Judicial: The US deportation system has seen a shift over time, moving away from a predominantly judicial process (prior to 1996) to one with more non-judicial removals. U.S. immigration courts are facing a significant backlog, with TRAC reporting over 3.6 million open cases. This backlog leads to substantial delays in processing cases, with average wait times exceeding nearly 670 days. As of July 2024, there were 425,431 non-citizens with criminal convictions on ICE's "non-detained docket" - a database of people facing deportation proceedings but who are not held in ICE custody. Without using non-judicial methods these deportations will take many years.

Putin war

As the war in Ukraine drags on, Russia moves to a more powerful negotiating position. Right after the start of the war Putin was ready to accept a peace by guaranteeing that Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO and keeping Crimea. As the war progressed Putin wanted the Donbas region along with the no NATO pledge. Today he wants both plus some say in how the new government will be organized. Meanwhile Ukraine is slowly being destroyed as their people flee the country while death and injury is inflicted on the soldiers.

Candidates

As democratic wannabe presidential candidates seek public attention, a common theme is evolving vary much in line with the Trump approach. Trump came on the scene as a political unknown and immediately set about getting his name in lights by making very politically incorrect statements. This kind of behavior lit up the clicks and places like Morning Joe would delight when Trump called. He was a laughing stock but in the end he got the last laugh. Recently Senator Chris Van Hollen went to El Salvador to interview a deported migrant. California Governor Gavin Newsom interviews conservatives on his pod cast then reverts back to the far-left defending protestors. Penn Senator Fetterman is pushing back on the left. Congresswoman Cortez is pushing the far-left ideas of Bernie Sanders. California Senator Alex Padilla interrupts a meeting by Christi Noem. It remains to be seen if they, like Trump, can hold on to their basic beliefs. Can they be pragmatic instead of ideological? Trump can be conservative on some issues and liberal on others and this is how most voters see the country.

GDP

When countries measure growth using GDP, they distort the lives of individuals. One easy way to raise GDP is to bring in immigrants. For example. In 2000 the GDP of Germany was $1.7 trillion but in 2024 it had risen to $5.7 trillion which signifies significant growth. However, when measuring GDP per capita a very different picture appears. The GDP per capita in 2000 was $59,000 and in 2024 it was $54,000. While the country grew at a solid rate, individual growth was stagnant. In the past 24 years Germany has brought in 23 million immigrants and the total population of the country is 80 million. Germany’s native population declined over these years while the immigrant population increased. The new immigrants did not have the skills to warrant higher wages and were far less productive than the native Germans. Just using GDP does not give an accurate picture of how the average person is living.

NATO

NATO was founded in 1949. NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. Its primary purpose, especially during the Cold War, was to counter the perceived threat from the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact In 1991 both the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact collapsed and the need for NATO no longer existed. NATO has a budget of $4.7 billion and the US pays 16% even though there are 32 countries involved. In addition, the US supplies 38% of the troops. This is typical of government organizations. Once they are started it is difficult to stop them. Every time a budget item is cut, those who are affected scream the loudest and the squeaky wheel gets the oil. The same thing is happening as DOGE makes cuts in the US budget. Many people are unaware that Article 5 of the treaty obligates all NATO member to assist any member that is attacked. If Russia invaded Estonia the US would have to respond. Most Americans could not find Estonia on the map and yet the US may have to defend that country.

Motive

It is unwise to impugn motives based on what you think people mean. Terry Moran, a reporter for ABC, lost his job for saying that Steve Miller, a Trump advisor, was filled with hatred. It would have been more effective if the specifics that Moran objected to were revealed. While the specific actions or comments by Miller that Moran considered hateful are not detailed in the provided search results, the broader context of Moran's remarks suggests they relate to Miller's role as a key player in the Trump administration's immigration policies.

Deportations

On his first day in office President Biden, using executive order, dismantled the Trump immigration program. Later he attempted to codify the new rules using the US Citizenship Act but it failed to pass despite having control of both houses. During his four years in office his executive orders remained in effect and an estimated 10 million illegal migrants entered the country. Trump promised on the campaign trail this year to conduct a mass deportation of more than 13 million immigrants in the country illegally. Based on recent reports, Donald Trump's stated goal for deportations in his second administration is to deport all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. illegally, not just criminal migrants, according to Reuters. Once in office, Trump has targeted migrants with criminal records but since many sanctuary cities and states are releasing these accused criminals into the general public, many non-criminal migrants are being rounded up with the criminals.

Who goes to college

One of the outcomes of universities accepting students based on factors other than academic achievement, is the offering of remedial math classes where students learn algebra that was supposed to be taken in ninth grade. These learning deficiencies are not limited to math. College professors are reporting that their students are no longer capable of reading or writing the kinds of complex texts that used to be routine assignments. Although there are surely multiple reasons, it’s likely this has something to do with the way we’ve been trying to teach reading comprehension, beginning in elementary school. Harvard might be America’s most elite university — but now it’s offering remedial math classes. The school’s math department is providing a new scaled-back math class for freshmen who are apparently arriving on campus lacking “foundational skills” in high school math basics like geometry and algebra.

Deportations

The Trump administration is accused of deporting migrants before their asylum status has been adjudicated. They are deporting accused criminals without a hearing. The ACLU contends that all migrants are innocent until they have their day in court. ICE data from July 2024 showed 425,431 non-citizens with criminal convictions on its "non-detained docket," a database of those facing deportation proceedings but not in ICE custody. There are over one million migrants who have been adjudicated and found not eligible for asylum. Deportation Orders: An official familiar with internal government data stated in November 2023 that there were 1.3 million people with deportation orders, which includes individuals whose asylum claims have been denied. If these were ordered for deportation their supporters would claim they are people who have committed no crimes and merely what a chance for freedom. These things happened in the past without the mass protest of today. Expedited Removal: The Obama administration utilized expedited removal, a process that allows for rapid deportation without a hearing before an immigration judge. This gives the impression that this is not an immigration problem but rather a political problem. It appears that the standards change based on who is president.

Manufacturing jobs

In 1950 there were 13 million manufacturing jobs in the US and they peaked at 18.7 million in 1980. If this growth rate had continued there would have been 25 million today but that did not happen. Globalization caused these jobs to move oversea and today we have only 13 million or back to where the country was in 1950. This means a shortage of 12 million manufacturing jobs. Even worse is the fact that over these 45 years the country lost the skilled workers needed to maintain an industrial base.

Money

Senator Sanders and others keep saying that the rich have to pay their fair share but until recently what that means was not discussed. In December of last year Sanders said all income above one billion dollars should be taxed at 100%. This will bring in $260 billion per year assuming that the rich do not find ways to minimize their income above one billion. Currently the top one percent of earners pay 40% of all federal income tax. If all money over one billion is collect the top one percent would pay 50% of all income taxes. The bottom 50% pays 2%. His argument is that anyone should live comfortably on $999 million. Working people would look at this plan and say that one million is more appropriate because people should be able to live on $999,000 per year. Others say that before we start taking money from the billionaires, we should find out what they are doing with their riches. The answer is that they have the same four choices that everyone has. They can give it away, invest it, save it or spend it. It’s not likely that anyone would object to giving it away so that’s out. If they save or invest the money is used to provide loans to grow the economy so that’s not too bad. If they spend it that is where we get them. They don’t need four yachts or five homes or trips around the world twice per year. Perhaps it would be better to find ways to bring up the bottom instead of bringing down the top and there are many things that can accomplish that.

War

As the people read the reports concerning the Ukraine War, it is time to review the way the government reported on the Vietnam War. In 1971 the Pentagon Papers, a classified study of decision-making about Vietnam, were leaked and published. The explosive Papers showed that the US government had systematically lied about the reality that the US was losing the war. Even after this exposure, it still took four years to end the war. The power of the military industrial complex refused to end the gravy train of profits trading the lives of American soldiers to produce more weapons. Some suggest that the same groups are sacrificing the lives of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. Just as happened in the Vietnam war, the American people are slowly tiring and in time will turn against the war. In the meantime, many more soldiers will die. It took 20 years to admit that Afghanistan was a mistake.

Delegation

Many people marvel at Trump’s unending energy and his ability to talk openly about a multitude of issues. The phase often heard is when does he sleep. Trump is a business man and operates as such. In a corporation the president sets the policy and all the vice-presidents carry out the policy. If they disagree with the policy, they may express their disagreements in private and if they cannot be resolved, they resign. Trump sees cabinet members as vice-presidents and demands they follow the policies that he lays out. Since he has trusted allies in the cabinet, he is comfortable in delegating responsibility to them on important issues. He then watches carefully and steps in when anyone deviates from his policy. As president he reports to the voters just as a company president reports to the stockholders. In Trump’s case he is not concerned with reelection so his main interest is leaving the country in better shape than he found it. How he does this should be challenged by the press.

Journalism

Jake Tapper, the author of the new best-selling book about President Bidens cognitive issues, was being interviewed on PBS and when asked what was the most important thing he learned from this experience, he responded by saying. I learned that you cannot trust what the people in power tell you. This is a man who has spent 30 years as a journalist and he is just finding out that people in power will lie to keep their power. The first day in journalism school all students are told that you cannot trust the government. The problem evolved overtime as the elite journalist started living together in Washington DC and they went to the same parties, their kids went to the same schools and in many cases, they intermarried politician to journalist. In order to maintain their status within the group they sacrificed their skepticism. In some weird and unexpected way, Trump may revitalize the journalism business by reawaking their responsibility to challenge the government at every junction. The past and recent history is replete with examples of government lies. One of the fundamental principals protecting the constitution is the free press. Over the years the press has slowly aligned itself with the democratic party and this is a threat to democracy. Hopefully recent events will remind them the both parties cannot be trusted.

Tax credits

One of the tax credits that would end under the new proposals is the $30,000 tax credit for installing solar panels in your home. This credit is nonrefundable meaning you must owe that much tax to deduct. Typically, you have to spend $60,000 to get the full credit. Most working people do not have the $60,000 and only a small percentage of tax payers owe enough tax to earn the credit. A married couple would have to earn $200,000 gross to owe $30,000 in tax and that eliminates 86% of taxpayers. Another advantage of installing solar panels is that the excess power produced is sold back to the power company which means the company must increase rates on the others to cover the cost. This benefit helps the rich at the expense of the poor. The $7,500 tax credit on EV’s is another benefit for the rich. The average EV cost $55,000 which means they are out of the budget for poor people. About 90% of the 300,000 EV’s purchased took the tax credit. Even if a lower income person purchased an EV they would probably not earn enough income to get the credit. Another part of the bill makes able bodied single people no longer eligible for Obamacare unless they work at least 20 hours per week. Estimates are that 5 million fall into this category. The bill cuts the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps by 30%. In 2024 the SNAP program cost the government $100 billion to provide and average cash benefit of $212 per month to 42 million participants. This will be reduced to $148 per month. Able bodies people are required to work 20 hours per week to qualify. The bill increases the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,500. Removes taxes from TIPS and overtime. Adds $4,000 to the tax deduction for seniors making less than $75,000. Allows deduction of car loan interest but since most people owe very little tax this will help the rich much like the home interest deduction.

Status quo

When George Wallace ran for president in 1968, he famously said, there’s not a dimes worth of difference between the republicans and democrats. He was talking about the establishment which includes business, military and bureaucracy. He knew that these groups would continue to hold power regardless of which party is in the majority. When Trump decided to run in 2015, he was well aware of how the system worked and knew his only chance was to run against the status quo. He was tolerated at the start as a person who had no chance to win but when he started to gain momentum the insiders got alarmed and set out to destroy him. They have continued down that path ever since. Even during the Biden years, the attacks on Trump kept coming and now that he has the working people coming around, he represents and even bigger threat to the establishment, a group that included working people in name only. Trump faces a herculean task so he is attacking his enemy’s group by group. He first went after the press and next discombobulated the republicans and followed that up by getting the democrats to fight among themselves. His tariffs ignored the pleas of the business world, his disdain for the UN and NATO disrupted foreign policy and now he’s zeroing in on universities.

Unity

Starting in the 1950’s and growing in the 1960’s there was a push to unify the country. The civil rights bill accelerated the idea and the acceptance of mixed marriages increased from 4% in 1958 to 94% in 2021. There was a 25-year period where this unity continued to expand. Then things began to change in the late 1980’s starting with the idea of identity politics and the push for unity went out the window. Identity politics is a tendency for people of a particular group to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad based party politics. Next streets and buildings were renamed and statues were torn down. This led to cries of defund the police. CRT came in the schools followed by DEI in businesses. People could change genders just by announcing. This led to transmen in women’s private places and gender surgery on children, sometimes without the parents’ knowledge. Teachers were keeping secrets from parents. He and she became they and them. These changes came too fast and around 2015 the people said they had had enough and now the pendulum is swinging back. The move is toward what is called, common sense.

Solar panels

The US installed 150 million solar panels but only 7 million were made in the US. The rest were imported, primarily from China. The EPA estimates that the US could have one million tons of solar panel waste by 2030 and 60 million tons by 2050. In contrast the US produced 2000 tons of nuclear waste in 2024. Most of the solar panel waste is burned or buried. Solar panel waste contains hazardous materials like lead, cadmium, silver, arsenic and selenium. The problem is even more severe with wind mills disposal but very little is in the news.

Generals

Is there room to cut the defense budget without risking our safety. The same thing that happened to administrators in schools has happened in the military. Today we have 1.2 million people in the military and we have 43 four-star generals and admirals. During WW 2 we had 12 million under arms and 7 four-star generals.

Ideas

Thomas Sowell, a well-known economist, says he started out as a Marxist and ended up a conservative. It follows the old adage that if you not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart and if you are not a conservative when you are old, you have no brain. Sowell enhances that concept by saying that the reason intellectuals are liberal is that they are all about ideas. It is when you go to put your ideas into practice, in the so-called real world, that you become a conservative. The liberals are the thinkers and the conservatives are the doers. This can be seen in ordinary people as well as new comers in the political arena. It is a lot easier to come up with a good idea than it is to implement the idea. A new idea may be judged on its merit at the start but it is soon engulfed in the viewpoints of many different people who all have different backgrounds and many have agendas. All intellectuals in today’s world recognize that the national debt is a problem but they cannot get together to solve the problem because of their competing interest. Even when most involved, agree upon a solution, they cannot implement it for fear that the other side might get the credit.

Child tax fraud

The new republican tax proposal makes changes to the child tax credit. This credit was established in 1997. In 2017(The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) changes were made that required families to have social security numbers for their children and overnight millions of families were disqualified. Many were collecting for children they did not have. Loss of Eligibility: Some estimates suggest that the changes could affect eligibility for 4.5 million children The new tax bill will further reduce the number of families eligible for the child tax credit by requiring that both parents have social security numbers. The proposed tax and spending legislation — which proponents have dubbed the "one big, beautiful bill" — includes a requirement that both a tax filer and the person's spouse have Social Security numbers to claim the Child Tax Credit, or CTC, for their kids. That means children with mixed-status parents, such as one parent who is a U.S. citizen and the second who is not, would no longer qualify for the tax credit. Children who are born in the U.S., making them American citizens, but whose parents are undocumented would also be barred from the CTC. In some cases, one or both parents of a child who is authorized to be in the U.S. may lack a Social Security number. For example, parents who are in the U.S. on non-working visas, such as graduate students on education visas, would be prohibited from receiving the tax credit.

Midterms

Back before the 2018 midterms the country was expecting a red wave and when it did not develop the democrats assumed that Biden was OK. It showed that the public felt comfortable with the way things were going. Now as the 2026 midterms approach the democrats will win back the house and then, once again, assume this means voters are happy with their current strategy. Will they believe that the public is satisfied with the cultural issues pushed by the democrats and double down.

Future leaders

As the 2028 election looms on the horizon, the democrats are looking for a viable candidate. Since no one comes to mind perhaps outlining the characteristics and policies of the ideal candidate will bring forth some possible leaders. What kind of person would fill the bill? First on policy. Someone who favors bringing manufacturing jobs back home. Someone who pushes for fair trade. Someone who will deport criminal migrants. Someone who will promote citizenship for non-criminal migrants. Someone who wants a peaceful solution to Ukraine and Gaza. Someone who understands the wealth gap and the education gap. Someone who will explain how nuclear power is the answer to climate change, He must be able to not only present the issues but must have solid solutions. Second on personality. Looking for a white male under age 60 who is a family man. A man whose personal history is not tied to the recently popular cultural ideas. A man who is telegenic with charisma, articulate and authentic and will have the courage to stand up against the far left. It is not likely that someone will match all of these criteria but whoever comes close will be a strong candidate. The party leaders should add or remove from this list and lay out some criteria for the next leaders.

Medicaid

Changes to Medicaid are in the news. Recall that Obamacare allowed single adults to join Medicaid and there is no precondition clause so these people can wait until the get sick and then sign up and be covered the first day of the following month. The new bill allows these people to remain on Medicaid but all single people without disabilities are required to work 80 hours per month. Since there are help wanted signs at many businesses it will not be too difficult to find a job. The bill also requires states to offer frequent audits to root out waste. There is a significant amount of waste, fraud, and abuse within the Medicaid program. This includes instances where payments are made incorrectly, or services are provided that are not medically necessary. Estimates suggest billions of dollars are lost annually due to these issues

College education

Trump half heartedly suggested that the Harvard money would be better utilized by giving it to trade schools. The shortage of skilled tradesmen in the US is significant, with some sources estimating that over half a million new construction workers are needed annually The current shortage is only part of the problem. For every five trades people who retire only two are available for replacement. A staggering 2.1 million skilled trades jobs are projected to go unfilled by 2030. In the 1950’s the big push was for everyone to go to college. Data clearly showed that it was a good investment but today things have changed. Today a cost benefit analysis shows that college is only worth the expense for those majoring in certain disciplines. It would be wise for young people to investigate various career paths before automatically assuming that college is in their best interest. Questioning the value of a college education has come under scrutiny these past few years and is will continue to be investigated.

Oil production

Biden said: Oct 24, 2020 — "Climate change is the existential threat to humanity," the former vice president said. "Unchecked, it is going to actually bake this planet. “It’s the number one issue facing humanity. And it’s the number one issue for me,” At that time the price of gas was 2.17 per gallon and the US was producing 11.2 million barrels of oil per day. By 2022 gas rose to $3.95 and Biden increased oil production to 13 million gallons per day. Next, he took oil from the reserve to help bring down the price. Many concluded that while climate change was a problem it was not as big a problem as four-dollar gas.

Culture

Why some countries are poor and some are rich is determined by culture. Experts say that all cultures are equal but they offer no proof. They say that poverty is caused by colonialization or slavery and prosperity depends on redistribution or reparations. Behavior imposed from the outside has short term results but changes in behavior caused by changes in culture provide long term benefits. Culture is not just music and art it is the accumulated wisdom passed down including habits, institutions and priorities. It is how children are raised, how success is defined and how failure is handled. Human capital is more important than natural capital. It grows and develops in families where education is important and work ethic is praised. It teaches that long lasting power comes from within and is not bestowed from some outside source. It encourages personal action as opposed to waiting for some outside source to save the day.

TSMC

As China continues to disintegrate and Xi sees his control in jeopardy, the old trick of switching attention away from the problem by starting a war, becomes a possibility. This will force Europe and the US to accelerate the development of high-end chips. Fortunately, Taiwan chip maker TSMC is already building a $165 billion facility in Arizona with production of 4 nanometer chips already underway. This project was encouraged by a $6 billion subsidy from the Chips Act. The race is on for one nanometer chips and this will be part of the Arizona project and quantum computing is not far behind. While the US is moving production in many areas away from China, it would put the US in a bind if China fails too quickly. A peaceful coup of Xi would help.

OPEC

Lower energy costs have a cascading effect on the economy. The farmer uses diesel to plow, to plant, to cultivate and then send the wheat to the grain elevator. Next it is sent to the flour mill which then forwards to the bakery and finally to the retail outlet. People use gasoline, truckers and rails and ships use diesel and citizens heat and cool their homes while industry uses power to build and operate plants. Electric power from nuclear plants is $32 per megawatt hour and natural gas is $50. The point is that lower cost oil and lower cost electricity means lower cost for goods. Trump is now facing a dilemma. Putin wants to keep the war going which leaves Trump with the only option and that is to sanction Russian oil. This will hurt Putin but it will raise the price of oil since Russia exports 4.5 million barrels per day. Trump could be helped if OPEC would pick up the slack. He has some influence over OPEC since they rely on the US for protection. The question remains, if oil went to $100 would OPEC want to produce more to lower the price.

Harvard

Last year 54,000 students applied to Harvard but only 7,100 were admitted. Of the 27,000 total students both graduate and post graduate about 10,000 are foreign students. Harvard is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. The question then becomes why are foreign students given preference over American students. One answer is that half of the American students get financial aid from Harvard but foreign students pay about $90,000 per year. The total cost of attendance for an international student, including tuition, fees, housing, food, and other expenses, is estimated to be between $90,426 and $95,426.

More on debt

The average inflation rate since 1950 has been 3.8%. The national debt in 1950 was $250 billion. Today the national debt is $37 trillion. This is an average increase of 6.8% and therein lies the problem. If the government would agree to increase spending at one half percent below the inflation rate the debt would come down each year. The current budget is $6.75 trillion and it that is allowed to increase at the long-term inflation rate of 3.8% the budget in 75 years would be $110 trillion. If spending increases are held to 3.3%, which is one half below the inflation rate, the budget would be $77 trillion and the difference between the two would wipe out the $37 trillion dollar debt. It took 75 years to accumulate this debt and it can be eliminated in 75 years. Even if the government just kept the spending at the current inflation rate the debt would no longer increase. Congress has been unable to do this and thus the debt keeps rising and they just keep kicking the can down road hoping that if and when it breaks the bank they will be retired. In the eyes of most politicians attacking the debt problem is a fool’s errand. It would most likely result in a primary challenge.

Energy density

Energy density is a term used to describe how much energy in one pound of any substance and this varies. Product BTU’s per pound Wood 7,000 Coal 12,000 Oil, gasoline and natural gas 20,000 Enriched uranium 1.25 billion Thorium 270 billion The higher density products produce far less waste. For example, burning 12,000 pounds of coal would produce 2,000 pounds of waste not counting CO2 while thorium would be less than one pound. The coal waste would contain sulfur and nitrogen oxides (which cause acid rain), heavy metals like lead, arsenic and mercury along with 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Debt

The national debt increased by $11 trillion over the past 5 years to a total of $36 trillion and thus is once again in the news and once again the same solutions are put forward. The democrats want to raise taxes and the republicans want to cut spending. These are standard answers to questions that have been around for 50 years. Everyone knows that if the government collects more taxes the money will not be directed toward the deficit but will be used to create new programs to get votes. The public also knows that to cut spending means tackling social security and Medicare and no politician is going down that road. So where does that leave things? The only answer is to limit the increase in spending to one half percent less than the inflation rate and in 75 years the debt will be down to zero.

DEI

After the George Floyd incident in MPLS many universities began offering degrees in DEI. Yes, it is possible to get a degree focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Many colleges and universities now offer bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as graduate certificates, specifically in DEI or related fields like diversity studies. Master's programs in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership at institutions like Tufts University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. This resulted in 10,000 DEI jobs at various businesses and universities and they are now being eliminated.

Experts

Some say it is wise to be suspicious of experts and there is evidence to support this suspicion. In 1800 Thomas Malthus developed a theory that population growth would outstrip the food supply and lead to starvation. He was unaware of the upcoming industrial revolution and food supplies outpaced population growth. In 1968 Paul Ehrlich wrote a book saying that the population would grow faster than the food supply and people would starve. Both of these experts were widely believed and laws were changed based on their theories. Today the world is facing a population decline that threatens the vary existence of countries like China and Japan. In today’s world these experts are not only subjected to the risk of predicting the future but they must contend with political ideas being fostered off as science. Case in point. The promotion of wind and solar as a way to promote social change. Politics has a tendency to distort science. The holding up and in some cases the dismantling of nuclear power, by groups claiming to be science based, has been one of the main causes of global warming. These groups are still active today. Germany has in the past 30 years closed all of its 17 nuke power plants and today they are restarting coal plants.

Tariff's

According to the constitution congress has the authority to impose tariffs but many times this authority was granted to the president. There are three reasons called the three R’s. They are revenue, restriction (protect US industry, and reciprocity (bargaining chip to cut deals). Presidents throughout history have used tariffs, most recently in 2009 President Obama imposed a 35% tariff on tires imported from China. In 2002 George Bush imposed tariffs of 30% on most steel imports. Trump imposed tariffs on China in his first term and Biden kept them and added new ones on EV’s. Trump is using tariff’s for all three reasons. Yesterday a three-judge panel at the US Court of Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority with his tariffs. This then limits the bargaining chip reason for tariffs. Now the US Supreme Court will have to decide.

Will change come

The establishment is trying to hold on to the global economic system but just who are these people. First off are the bureaucrats who run the government agencies. Next are the large corporations who with their campaign contributions and their paid lobbyist control the elected officials. Then there is the military industrial complex where wars mean profits. The elected officials are deeply embedded in a system that allows 95% of incumbents to be reelected. The schools, both K-12 and colleges keep getting more money and hiring more people. Groups of all types and sizes line up at the trough of government largess. The only groups interested in trying out a new approach are the middle-income people who watched their jobs move overseas. Their only power rests in their vote and they are beginning to realize that. Will they be willing to put up with some short-term pain for long term gain is yet to be determined.

Education gap

One problem that the country has faced since WW 2 is the education gap and it is not getting any better. The experts in the field of education have tried many different methods but all have failed. One of the things to consider is that when experts come in, they tend to move away from basics to more complex solutions. Some say that the movement away from basics has made the problem worse. It is time to go back to the three R’s. In high school, algebra 2 and chemistry should electives like calculus and physics. These courses should be for students who are going on to college. The rest of the courses should follow a simple pattern. Each day students are given a short reading assignment and then asked to write a short summery about what they read. They do this in every class every day for four years and at the end of that time they graduate with the ability to read and write at grade level. This will be an improvement over the 70% who can read at grade level today. In addition, all high schools should eliminate 50% of staff employees and part of that saving should be used to increase teacher salaries. In 1950 there were 52 staff for every 1,000 students and today there are 140 staff for every 1,000 students.

End the war

Where does the world stand regarding the Ukraine War? The four participants have different ideas. Ukraine President Zelensky says he will not give up any territory. The European Union, within reason, sides with Zelensky. This is a total impasse and will remain so until some changes are made. The Russian position is that Ukraine must agree not to join NATO, must give up the Donbas regions, not have foreign troops in the country and end the sanctions. This is close to Trump’s view but not so the senate and the American people. The most likely scenario to end the fighting is for Trump to convince the senate and the American people to deal directly with Putin. As each year passes more people in the US and Ukraine are looking for an end and as the years go by Ukraine is being destroyed. American people supported Ukraine keeping all of its territory by 66% in 2022 but that is now at 44%. For now, the US position is as Biden said, for as long as it takes.

Eugenics

Margaret Sanger, a prominent figure in the early birth control movement and founder of Planned Parenthood, had a complex relationship with the eugenics movement. Eugenics is not a fringe movement. Starting in the late 1800’s, leaders and intellectuals worldwide perpetuated eugenic beliefs and policies based on common racist and xenophobic attitudes. Many of these beliefs and policies still exist in the US but in ways that are not so obvious. Since 1973 there have been 63 million abortions, that we know of, performed in the US. Black women compose 7% of the population but they have 40% of the abortions. This is not called eugenics but the result is close to the same thing.

Gambling

The phrase unintended consequences of good intentions are often used to illustrate surprise results of some program but there are times when the negative results can be predicted. Case in point. Brazil legalized gambling in 2017. Brazil is a country where the wealth gap is far worse than in the USA. So, what happened. Large companies sprung up and started pushing Internet gambling. They next hired well known movie star types to promote the gambling. They paid these super stars, people in the US like Kim Kardsahian, huge salaries and then offered them a part of the earnings as a bonus. Poor people by the millions were influenced by these stars and started spending their minimal resources on gambling. Gambling is growing at 12% per year while the GDP is growing at 3%.

Border

Border crossings have been reduced to 7,000 per month instead of 7,000 per day. Drug seizers are down 50% and human trafficking is down which means fewer unaccompanied minors and fewer young women and girls be molested. This has made a serious dent in the money going to the cartels which helps the new Mexican president to get control of the country. The Mexican government is cooperating with the US allowing CIA drones to fly over Northern Mexico to spot fentanyl labs. The US is putting pressure on China to stop the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals from coming to the US. Mexico was on the path to becoming a drug country as the cartels have infiltrated government institutions, law enforcement, and even businesses. In the last ten years murders in Mexico have gone from 25,000 per year to 35,000. The US with 2.5 times more people had 25,000 murders in 2024.

Unity

Under Trump’s Make America Great Again and Biden’s America First both parties want to unite the country and move forward and the time is now. There is general agreement on key issues. Bring home manufacturing jobs. Bring home other products necessary for national defense, things like pharmaceuticals and rare earths. Codify immigration laws. Deport convicted criminal migrants. Zero tariffs on all trading partners. Finding the 500,000 missing children. Ending the Ukraine War. Promoting a two-state solution in the Middle East. Develop nuclear power. Make it a priority to reduce the wealth and education gaps. Reduce government waste. These are issues that can unite the nation when country becomes more important than party.

AOC

The leading nominee for the democrats is AO Cortez. Her platform is Medicare for All, housing as a right, no more wars, rebuild unions and bring back jobs, guaranteed federal jobs, invest in rehab not jails, citizenship for migrants and ending ICE, support for Peuto Rico, the new green deal, strengthen public education, equal rights for women, support gay rights and dignity for the aged. There are some things in her platform that are popular and she could be running on but she spends her time talking about Trump and his oligarchs. In 2016 people didn’t vote for Hillary but against Trump, and the same thing in 2020 and 2024. Voters need something to vote for.

Capital

Trump was one of the early republicans to realize that the loss of manufacturing jobs hurt the country. His first attempt to reverse this process is to use tariffs but that is only a stop gap measure not a cure. Starting in the 1980’s the US, using its technological advantage, led to companies making huge profits which in itself is OK but what they did with the profits hurt the working people. Instead of investing in new factories they started using financial gimmicks to increase profits. New terms appeared out of nowhere, terms like venture capital, mergers and acquisitions and dividend by backs. The government cooperated by changing banking rules and reducing regulations on financial institutions. As profits rose manufacturing was replaced with financial activities and new ways to make profits by just moving money around. Even things like home mortgages were monetized. Changing tariffs is a simple task compared to changing the financial culture. This will involve changing rules to encourage manufacturing. Rules that will allow companies to make more profits by building things instead of using capital to make more capital.

Socialism

Polls show that only 4% of baby boomers believe socialism is a good form of government while 19% of their children, the millennials, believe in socialism. During the runup to the 2016 election young people were excited by Bernie Sanders and his socialistic views. This was happening while Venezuela, a country with more oil than the US, was going broke. People were fleeing the country to avoid starvation. The siren call of socialism has always been strong but in practice it never works. Marx said the rich would keep the poor down to promote their own good. In today’s world there are more billionaires in the United States than all of Africa and Asia but the poor in the US have a better life than the people in those other two continents. The poor in West live better lives than the kings of the Middle Ages. The wealth gap in the US is far too wide and getting wider each year and posses a serious long-term problem but socialism is not the solution. A greater threat today, is the number of intellectuals, who believe they have the answers and if they just had the authority to implement their solutions, the country would be better served. The common mistake they make is that they fail to consider the results of their actions and thus the phrase, the unintended consequences of good intentions. Examples indicating this are legion.

Plane gift

The airplane gift to the US from Qatar was a big news item but after further investigation it just kind of went away. Qatar had two of these new but 12-year-old 747’s and they tried to sell them but there were no buyers. They then gave one to Turkey and offered the second to the US. Trump accepted the gift and the news went wild. Will Qatar expect something in return. What they want is to maintain good relations with the US. The plane is no good. It is a gas guzzler and would take millions to make it safe for the president. In 1996 Qatar invested one billion of its own money to build a Qatar US airbase. Since then, they have invested billions more in the base. Did they want something for this gift? Yes, they wanted the protection of the US to keep them safe from Iran or any other country who might want their oil. Saudi Arabia is looking for similar protection and willing to consider joining the Abraham Accords to get this protection.

Trade

European countries have a value added tax (VAT) that varies from 17% to 27%. This means that imports from the US will pay a VAT in addition to the import tax (tariff). The US charges only 2.5% tariff and has no VAT. The result is that most foreign cars sold in the US are made in the US. The result is that in 2024 five million foreign cars sold in America were made in America. In contrast only 750,000 were made outside of America and sold in America in 2024. Note that in 2024 only 169,000 American made cars were sold in Europe. Americans who travel in Europe often remark that there are no American cars. The same situation happens with many other products including electronics, appliances, clothing and pharmaceuticals. As America transitions to made in America there will be shortages but in the long term it will mean good American jobs. This will also mean higher prices but higher wages. This was the situation in the 1950’s when wages increased 6% and inflation was held to 2%. Each year workers had a little more disposable income.

Unions

I have long been a proponent of private pensions but not public pensions. The benefits of public pensions are paid for by the taxpayer and the elected officials bargain with union officials for benefits. Over time the unions help to elect the public officials and the negotiations become incestual. The Chicago teacher’s union is a good example. The average retirement benefit is $76,000 and the average pay is $71,000. Chicago teachers do not contribute to social security nor collect social security but they still retire at higher pay. The teachers contribute 2% of their salary to their retirement plan. The result is that the plan is currently billions of dollars short of providing the promised benefits. This shortage will be made up by raising taxes, diverting revenue from other programs or re amortizing the debt. Public pensions still remain as defined benefit plans while almost all private companies have switched to 401K plans. The latter cannot be underfunded. As the reshoring of America continues, the hope is that many of the new jobs will be union and negotiations will be between the employer and employee and the government will not be involved.

Change

The post WW 2 years have seen globalization become the economic system of the world. This resulted in significant increases in the wealth of the top 1% of earners, with studies showing real income increases of 60%. Rich individuals and companies have benefitted from the expansion of global markets, leading to increased investment opportunities and profits. Globalization lowered production costs, especially in industries where labor is a significant expense, leading to increased profits. This led to job losses in domestic manufacturing, particularly for lower-skilled workers. It caused exploitation of labor in poor countries without environmental standards and protection for workers. The benefits have not been evenly distributed, with the richest individuals and countries gaining at the expense of lower paid workers. Those who were not part of the global elite have seen their wages stagnate. The US is trying to upend this economic system and this is causing a back lash from all the groups who have benefitted. These include the military industrial complex, followed by the large international corporations and the very rich. The American citizens are beginning to understand the injustice and the working people want a change. They want their good jobs back. They want the money the US is spending acting like the world’s policemen to be spent on growing the US economy. They are beginning to see the unfair trade agreements the US has with the rest of the world. They want to move away from groups like the UN, WTO and WHO by paying only the US share. They want to put America first.

Grants

Research grants to universities have proven to be a good investment over the years but once again congress has not followed up with its oversight responsibility. The congress will allocate a certain amount but once the university gets the funds, it is easy to reallocate. Speaking crudely, the schools can skim off the top and use some of the money for other purposes. How much of this is going on is unknown except to the individual schools. Cutting off funds will force a review of what is happening to the money. In answer to the question, is any money misused AI says, Yes, there are instances where research funds sent to universities are misused. While universities are highly incentivized to ensure proper spending, fraud and misuse can still occur, leading to reputational and financial damage. Misuse can manifest in various forms, including fraudulent expense reports, tainted research results, and spending funds on unauthorized expenses. Human nature, being what it is, means there must be checks and balances.

Biden

Special counsel Robert Hur was assigned to review President Bidens handling of classified documents, something considered by many as a minor problem. When he released his report on February 2024 Hur concluded that no criminal charges were warranted, partly because he believed it would be difficult to convince a jury to convict Biden, whom he described as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory". This raised the question of whether a person who was not capable of standing trial could be president. To answer this the White House said that Hur was a republican operative and the report was right wing propaganda. Later when the report was released most felt that Hur was kind in his remarks. In hindsight, many suggested that Biden should have dropped out of the race at that time, which would have given the party time to have a nominating process. Others say that Harris would still have been the candidate because the party would have been unable to by pass a VP who was a Black female. They were captives of identity politics.

New regs on nuclear

The scientific community has been saying for some time now that the climate change problem can best be solved by nuclear power. Those opposed often sighted safety and waste disposal as reasons to avoid nuclear but that has changed. The new molten salt reactors automatically shut down when power is lost and they produce far less waste and can use up existing stored waste. The final factor against nuclear was the cost but that too has been reduced. The small reactors are produced assembly line style and shipped to the use point. The biggest cost factor was regulation and Trump has taken steps to reduce that. President Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear power and restructuring the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission during an Oval Office event on Friday. The order calls for approvals of new nuclear reactor designs to be completed in no more than 18 months. Currently it takes 10 years to get approval. The only thing standing in the way of nuclear is the idea that wind and solar can replace fossil fuels and that has been debunked.

AI overview

The Trump tax cut in 2017 lowered the corporation rate from 35% to 21%. At that time the average corporate tax rates around the world were 25% so this made America more competitive. The result was that corporate tax revenue increase from $297 billion to $530 while overall revenues increased from $3.3 trillion to $5.1 trillion. This is a 7% increase while inflation during this time was 3.5%. When I google I get something called AI overview I asked, does government spending increase tax revenues and here is the answer Yes, government spending can increase tax revenues I asked, does private spending increase tax revenues and here is the answer Yes, private spending leads to increased tax revenues I asked, does lowering tax rates increase tax revenues and here is the answer No, cutting taxes reduces government tax revenues.

Asylum

Most illegal migrants do not qualify for asylum. An estimated 11 million people in the US lack legal immigration status. About 1.2 million have received final orders of removal meaning they have been found not to qualify for asylum. Before going after these people, the government has decided to deport migrants that have criminal records. Once those estimated 500,000 are deported the congress could pass legislation giving work permits to those who remain. The problem is that some require that the criminals go through the asylum process before removal. In 2019 asylum applicants waited an average of 1,030 days for court date. Then after the court determines they are not eligible for asylum they will get in line behind the 1.2 million already waiting for removal.

Deportations

President Obama deported 3 million illegal migrants and many of those were turned around at the border. This was before they had the legal right to determine their asylum status. Here is a story from the ACLU in 2018. The Border Patrol Was Monstrous Under Obama. Imagine How Bad It Is Under Trump. On a December morning, Border Patrol agents confronted a 15-year-old high school student named Jahveel Ocampo at a rest stop and threatened her with rape and she was forced to sign deportation papers and was deported. If you assumed this abuse happened during the Trump administration, think again. Jahveel was threatened in 2009 by President Obama’s Border Patrol, and her treatment was not an isolated incident. Her case is part of a pattern of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse by Customs and Border Protection officials against child immigrants that existed long before President Trump emboldened the agency by unleashing its officers to enforce his draconian immigration policies. We have received more than 30,000 pages of internal government documents detailing this abuse between 2009 and 2014 throughout the southern border region This finger pointed just illustrates how badly immigration reform was needed.

Medicaid

There are 10 million people who are able to work between ages 19 and 64 who are not working and receiving healthcare under Medicaid. The new law proposed would require these people to work 80 hours per month to retain their healthcare. A similar Act was passed by the house in 2023 but it did not pass the senate.

Medicare for all

The push for national healthcare, sometimes called Medicare for all, is getting more attention. The upside is an estimated savings of $45 billion per year from reduced administrative costs, better price negotiation power and increased access to preventive care. The downside is the availability of care. There is currently a shortage of medical care professionals and this will get worse as the population ages in particular the baby boomers. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) projects a shortage of 124,000 physicians by 2034 and a current shortage of 300,000 nurses. In additions there are shortages in health workers is special units like eldercare facilities. If healthcare is free for all then preventive testing will help but over use can cause delays in service. The US population is projected to grow by 6% by 2036 but the over age 65 group will grow by 34%. The net result is the people will trade lower cost for longer waiting periods.

Healthcare

With news around cuts in Medicaid it is time to review just what Obamacare did as compared to original Medicaid. Medicaid was originally for dependent children and their parents, the disabled and the elderly. Obamacare expanded to include single adults without children. Obamacare is free for low-income people and that includes about 5 million individuals. This includes individuals with an income of under $15,000 per year. Higher incomes will get some cost sharing with incomes up to $39,000. For example, the popular silver plan without cost sharing might have an annual deductible of $3,000 but with cost sharing could be as low as $700. This means that most people are paying about $3,000 out of pocket each year and many choose not to enroll. Since there are no preexisting conditions many prefer to wait until they need medical help. There is some risk here because enrollment starts on the first day of the month after applying. There are 7 million able bodied men between the ages of 25 and 54 who are not seeking work. These men would be prime examples of people not signing up until they need help. Obamacare also allows children under the age of 26 to remain on their parents’ health plan. A shift to national healthcare would simplify the system as there would be no monthly cost and no annual deductible. The cost would be paid by the federal government from income tax collections. Since the rich pay most of the income tax they would pay most of the cost of healthcare. The top ten percent of wage earners pay 75% of taxes so they would pay 75% of the healthcare cost. This is one way to reduce the wealth and income gap. It would end the private healthcare system in the US and all consumers would be subject to the rules laid down by the government. This is somewhat the situation today with Medicare.

Biden

There is something odd about the prostate cancer diagnosis on former President Biden. First off, an annual PSA test is recommended for all men over age 50. The president has his own personal physician and gets an annual physical at Walter Reed Hospital, one of the best in the country. Prostate cancer like all cancers doesn’t come on overnight but gets worse over time thus terms like stage 1,2,3 or 4. For prostate cancer these stages can take up to eight years. While not mandated by law, presidents in the United States generally undergo an annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center If this was not done could this be a case of medical malpractice against the president’s doctor. If this had been discovered at stage 1, could the metastasizing have been stopped. Was it discovered and was he receiving treatment without anyone knowing?

European Union

At the start of the 21st Century the global experts predicted this would mean the rise of Europe and decline of America. Europe had the right model to lead. They had a high quality of life, long life expectancy, low poverty rates, high social net protection, lots of leisure time and well-trained work force. So, what happened. Through a series of government decisions, led by people within the bureaucracy, unforced errs were made. A combination of climate activist and pro war leaders moved the continent toward economic collapse. Instead of a united Europe they have 25 separate countries all looking out for themselves. There is no national leader and various self-interested groups are involved in threatening unity. Adding to their woes is Trump’s demand for fair trade rules and for these countries to stop relying on the US for their protection. The result of all the great benefits the people enjoyed was low productivity. Some even go so far as to say they became lazy. For example, the US has 330 million people and a GDP of $27.7 trillion which is $84,000 per capita. The European Union with a population of 449 million has GDP of $29.2 trillion or $64,500 per capita. Some say the US people work too many hours and the European people work too few.

News

I have only been aware of podcast over the past year but they are a welcomed addition to the news. One of the protections of our constitution is the free press and public approval of the press has been declining since the days of Walter Cronkite in the 1960’s. The original purpose of the press was to present the facts and reserve opinion in the editorial section. Over the years the reporters slowly started to infuse opinion into their reporting and today the news is as much opinion as it is fact. Much of the misinformation starts at the beginning when decisions are made as to what will be reported. A false narrative can be put forth by omission. Pod cast to do not eliminate this but with more sources the public has a better chance of reaching the facts.

Cigarettes

One of the big concerns in the US today is the wealth and income gap. It is often suggested that this problem be tackled by raising taxes on the rich but one area is never discussed and that is what are called sin taxes, like cigarettes and alcohol. Cigarettes cost about $10 per pack and $4 of that is taxes. For example, as of 2023, the federal excise tax on cigarettes is $1.01 per pack, with many states adding their own taxes that can range from $1 to over $4 per pack. Aug 21, 2022 In the US people with low incomes smoke at higher rate. In the US, cigarette smoking prevalence is higher among individuals with lower incomes compared to those with higher incomes. Specifically, in 2019, smoking prevalence was 21.4% among people with annual household income less than $35,000, 15.7% for those with $35,000-$74,999, 11.4% for those with $75,000-$99,999, and 7.1% for those with $100,000 or more. A family with an income of $35,000 per year will spend $3,600 on cigarettes. That is more than 10% and, in most cases, this is less than this family will save for retirement. The average production cost of a pack of cigarettes is 30 cents. Part of cost for production cigarettes was a fine leveled against cigarette companies and they covered the cost by raising prices. Cigarette companies agreed to pay substantial sums to states as part of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). This agreement, reached in 1998, obligated the tobacco industry to pay states an estimated $206 billion over 25 years.

The new ways

A newbie in politics comes in with the goal of making things better but soon realizes it will take time so he must be reelected and this then becomes the number one thing. This means, in most cases, following the tried-and-true ways of conforming to get on committees and gain respect. In a short time, they become part of the establishment. Trump came in as an outsider and started fighting with the in crowd and was summarily dismissed as a comedic clown. As he gained some success, he continued his anti-establishment ways but soon gained popularity. He was fighting an up-hill battle but overcame all opposition and to the dismay of the political leaders was elected. In his second term he doubled down on his radical approach and is constantly proposing new ways to solve problems. In the Middle East he got four Arab countries to normalize relationships with Israel and is working on getting Saudi Arabia to join. He proposes a Palestinian Riviera which is laughed at and leads to the rich oil countries to consider investing in Gaza. He suggests moving a million Palestinians to Libya and is scoffed at. He thinks outside the box because he is concentrating on problem solving not getting reelected. He has a standard way of operating where he uses both economic and military power to forge new thinking. He remade the republican party and is in the process of ending globalization. He negotiates in public because experience as taught him that any secrets will be leaked. His back and forth, up and down way of deal making has the press in a tizzy. The public knows what is going on as soon as the press. He is called reckless and unpredictable and sometimes crazy as friends and enemies try to figure out what is going to happen next. He is willing to take the risk of going down the path less traveled and that kind of person is always persecuted. He is changing the world at a record pace and will need a midterm win to have a chance to succeed. The odds are against him but it is possible to reshape the globe.