China

After Japan was defeated in WW 2, Mao took control of China and an estimated 50 million people died because of self-induced famine, mass political executions, force labor and brutal purges. Between 1949 and 1956 the government nationalized all private enterprises, restricted private ownership and placed all industry and commerce under state control, a full communist government. The country stagnated until Dung Xiaoping took control in 1978. He started the “Reform and Opening-up” policy, shifting away from a planned economy to a socialist market economy. Dung had been to the West and understood free market capitalism but wanted to keep political control in the hands of the federal government. Many In the West believed that once the people got economic freedom, they would demand political freedom but that did not happened. The West gladly did business with China to capture the billion new potential customers and China began to grow slowly at first but accelerating later. China was given special status as a developing country and in 30 years became a major economy on the world stage. The free-market approach allowed people to retain their profits and this led to the rapid expansion where a half billion people were moved out of poverty.

Crime

In the world today there is some confusion about race and skin color. The people in North Africa, the Middle East, North Asia along with Europe are all Caucasians but their skin color is slightly different. Many people from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia have lighter skins than many from Southern Italy and Greece. The same is true for people from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. All too often people are divided by oppressor and oppressed as determined by skin color with Whites being seen as the oppressor. For those who champion the oppressed this poses a dilemma. It means the Jews are the oppressors and the Palestinians are the oppressed. Here in the US, some judges see non-White skin people as oppressed and feel uneasy about sending them to prison. These judges see these people as victims of some past real or perceived mistreatment which caused them to commit criminal acts. They see the prison inmates who are disproportionately Black and Hispanic as proof of their conclusions and thus are reluctant to add more minorities to the prison population. This explains the many cases of individuals with multiple criminal convictions who are roaming the streets. About 68% of released state prisoners are rearrested within 3 years, jumping to 83% over a 9-year follow-up period. One of the best ways to reduce crime is to put repeat offenders in jail. Often times minor crimes are indicative of major crimes. In New York City, 38 individuals arrested for assault in the transit system in a single year were collectively linked to 1,100 additional crimes across the city. City date shows that 542 people arrested for shoplifting were responsible for committing 7,600 other crimes.

Space

A woman on TV who said she represented the scientist of NASA announced that all of the people in her group feel certain that there is intelligent life in the universe besides earth. Not only do most people agree with that but most also would like to have a visitor. The follow up question was not asked. If you believe there is life out there, using your wildest imagination, how would these visitors get to earth. The answer would be Star Trek’s warp drive which allows travel faster than light. Then ask those same scientists if this is a likely scenario and they will respond no. If such travel were to happen the visitors would lay out in a distant orbit and contact the earth and explain where they are from and their purpose for being here.

Disparate impact

Major tech firms are trying to hire more women techies. Women make up only about 30% of these positions. Using the rules of disparate impact this means there is discrimination involved. Men outnumber women computer science majors four to one. Men earn 80% of all computer science degrees. Using these criteria then that would explain why 80% of elementary teachers are women. Men are being kept out of these jobs because they are men. There may be reasons in the past why men and women chose careers but those reasons no longer exist but the trend continues. It is more likely that the causes of these discrepancies are not discrimination but rather the choice that people make for their careers. This is why the rules of disparate impact which state that any number in a group that does not agree with the statistical number in that group must be discrimination. Because women represent 50% of the population, they must be 50% of the teachers and the same goes for computer engineers. While there remains discrimination based on gender in both education and computer science in regards to salaries, it is not based on hiring practices.

Wealth gap

The Constitution is designed to protect individual rights rather than group rights. The push for group rights emerged in the mid 60’s with affirmative action, shifting away from the colorblind civil rights goals of the 50’s to remedies addressing historical discrimination. Free market capitalism is based on personal economic liberty, self determination and individual effort. Socialism is based on equal outcomes, equity. Democratic socialism operates within the capitalism framework but uses government regulation, progressive taxation and public assistance to lessen inequalities. The country vacillates between free market capitalism and democratic socialism depending on which party is in power. It is necessary that the buildup of wealth precede the redistribution of that wealth.

Rich

The old adage of the rich get richer is grounded in financial common sense. A forty-year-old man has assets totaling one billion dollars. He follows the strategy of borrow till you die and allows his estate to grow at ten percent per year and in forty years he will have $45 billion. He needs one million per year to cover his life style so he borrows that getting a low 5% rate using his assets as collateral. Over the next 40 years he will pay out $41 million in interest but his estate passes to his heirs without paying any capital gains tax or if the money is in an estate trust no estate tax. In addition, there are ways for him to deduct a good part of the interest. The rich do this generation after generation and the wealth gap grows larger. Some suggest raising the income tax rates but these very rich do not pay income tax. The way to stop this is to say that any estate over $10 million will pay tax. This allows small estates to pass without destroying the business and still keeps the super-rich from escaping taxes. Thirty years ago, the billionaires owned $240 billion in assets and today they own $7,800 billion in assets. Much of this money is passed to heirs untaxed. This will also offer incentives for the rich to risk investing in new business ventures.

Issues

What do Americans want for the future of America and is this what is best for America. Using the common-sense approach and tying that to what is practical there are policies that can be agreed to. Bringing manufacturing jobs back home. Having reciprocal trade policies. Asking Europe to provide for their defense instead of relying on the US. Using the Abraham Accords to unite Israel with the Arab oil countries to rebuild Gaza. Asking NATO to pay their share of expenses including troops. Recognizing that wind and solar cannot replace fossil fuels but nuclear can. Having a secure border. Remaining energy independent. Spread the cost of the UN among all parties and not just rely on the US. End the war in Iran. Take steps to reduce the wealth gap. Encourage foreign investment. Promoting private unions. Use AI to increase productivity to keep interest rates low. Increase oversight on government programs to reduce waste and fraud. This means to concentrate on economic and foreign policy and not be distracted by peripheral cultural issues like gender surgery on minors and men in women’s bathrooms and how many sexes there are.

Campaign strategy

As the warmups for the 2028 presidential election get underway the democrats have plans to exploit the anti-Trump energy simmering throughout the party. The policies of the base can be played down by playing up the Trump strategy. This is necessary because many of these policies are unpopular. According to many writers they will concentrate on Trump until after the election when they will be free to come out with their plans. They will rejoin the Paris Accords promoting wind and solar to replace fossil fuels. They will stop deportations and resume an open border policy. They will cancel all tariffs and allow other countries to resume the unfair tariffs of the past. They will resume sending money to Europe to help Ukraine. They will allow the Abraham Accords to languish into the ash heap of history. They will push wind and solar and ignore nuclear power. They will cut back on support for fossil fuels and pass legislation to make fracking more expensive. They will back off the push to bring manufacturing jobs back home. Their primary economic plan will be to tax the rich and use the money for more public assistance programs like universal health and childcare. On the cultural side they will promote men in women’s sports, including locker rooms. They will promote gender surgery on minors and special rights for gays. The writers are basing their idea by following the recent campaign strategies of the recently elected governors of Virginia and New Jersey.

Compassion

The basic platform for the democratic party is based on the old anti colonialism concept of the oppressors over the oppressed. This is founded on the idea that different groups are treated differently. White oppresses dark skins, men oppress women, straights oppress gays, rich oppress the poor, management oppresses labor, Christians oppress non-Christians, thin people oppress fat people, and majorities oppress minorities. Liberals are people who want to protect the powerless from the powerful. It is what Jesus preached and is the moral thing to do. Success is achieved when equal results are the norm. They often view law officers as oppressors and concentrate on justice for the accused. Their basic economic plan is the redistribution of wealth and income and the goal is equity, equal results. This conflicts, in many cases, with the basic concept of free market capitalism but seems to fit nicely with socialism. Keeping people in groups, identity politics, is a way to separate the oppressor from the oppressed. Compassion and the golden rule are the motivating factors.

Israeli wars

Israel became a state in 1948 and immediately five Arab nations, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria declare war on Israel. The war ended in less than a year with Israel winning and expanding their borders. Next came 1956 when Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal and Israel went to war and in a few months took over the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip but were forced by the US to give back the areas. The next war came in 1967 and lasted six days and Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. This was followed up with the 1973 attack by Egypt and Syria, the 1982 Lebanon War, the 2006 Lebanon War and various other conflicts up to 2023. Through all of these years Israel was regularly hit with rockets, provided by Iran, by way of Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen with the constant cry of death to Israel. Then in Oct 2023 Hamas soldiers invaded Israel, killed 1,200 and took 250 prisoners. Israel negotiated 21 days to get a prisoner release to no avail and then sent in the army. This resulted in the deaths of 75,000, mostly civilian, because Hamas mingled the troops among the people. This strategy allowed Hamas to show pictures of the innocent people who were killed and allowed them to win the public relations war. The end result was that the Israelis were convicted in the poll of public opinion of genocide.

Iran history

It was in November 1979, one year before the 1980 elections, when Iran took over the US embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The inflation rate was 15%, the unemployment rate 7.5% and the prime interest rate was 11%. A 30-year mortgage was 13% so the housing market was at a standstill. The price of oil tripled and gas prices doubled but the US stayed out of war because of the fear of harming the hostages. The US used economic sanctions against Iran and the day President Reagan was sworn into office Iran released the hostages. They did this to affect the outcome of a American election. Over the years since then, Iran has killed Americans a number times. Beirut Bombings in 1983, the Khobar Towers in 1996, the Iraq War 2003 and Proxy Attacks in 2023. Each time the US complained to the United Nations and issued sanctions. The threat of Iran getting a nuclear bomb held the world at bay for 40 plus years, until 2025 when the US with the help of Israel decided to take military action against Iran but many in America wanted to stay with diplomacy. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, many feel that the take over of the embassy should have resulted in the US declaring war on Iran but it was always easier to push any military action down the road. After 9-11 polls showed the American people wanted to take military action against Afghanistan and the same was true after Pearle Harbor. Apparently, the US is only ready to retaliate when directly attacked.

Fear

Fear is a great motivator and those who lived through the Cold War can vouch for that. For 40 years the threat of mutually assured destruction (MAD) had people building bomb shelters, kept students hiding under their desk and cause countries to spend trillions on defense. Adding to this was the fear of a nuclear accident that caused the world to turn against nuclear power. Groups like Green Peace literally ended the ear of nuclear power only to find out that today it is coming back. Next came the existential threat of climate change which forced governments to move away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. Then came lesser groups like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter (BLM). In the case of BLM, Geroge Floyd was killed by police and this led to riots. He was a man with severe health problems and a long criminal career but was not given his day in court. The result was five months of riots in 2,000 cities in the US and around the world, $2 billion in property damage, 14,000 arrest and 25 deaths. In the end some police departments changed their procedures and cut their budgets while some of the leaders of BLM absconded with funds meant to improve the situation. Changes and reactions based on emotions, like fear, often get side tracked by misinformation and lies. Objectivity gets thrown out the window as news people capitalize on issues to gain viewers. Today some fear that a king will replace our democracy and others fear that socialism will replace capitalism. In a few years these fears will be gone and replaced with new ones.

Capital gains rates

The capital gains tax was started by congress in 1921 and can be eliminated by congress. It was started when the max income tax rate was 73% and was designed to encourage investment by setting the capital gain rate at 12%. Eliminating the federal capital gains tax entirely requires an act of Congress. To fully abolish the tax, both chambers of the U.S. Congress would need to pass legislation, which the President would then have to sign into law. This would require replacing the Internal Revenue Code regarding capital assets. Polls show that 70% favor taxing long term capital gains as ordinary income and this would essentially remove the capital gains tax. Congress only needs to act.

Tax law changes

The long-term capital gains tax rate is 20% max and only requires the owner to hold the asset for one year before selling. For rich people this is one half the 40% federal income tax rate. For this reason, the rich limit their sales of appreciated assets until they die and then there is no tax. These are called unrealized gains and some suggest the law be changed so that the tax must be paid even if the asset is not sold. This would mean they could no longer escape the capital gains tax by holding the asset until they die. This would go a long way toward lowering the wealth gap. This would not be easy. To tax unrealized capital gains, Congress would need to pass new legislation drastically altering the tax code and likely amend the Constitution or win a favorable Supreme Court ruling. Currently, the U.S. taxes capital gains only when an asset is sold or traded

Wealth gap

The wealth and income gap in the US has been widening since 1980. The wealthy live off of capital while the non-wealthy live off wages. The stock market grows at 10% per year while wages increase less than 3%. The wealthy also use tax strategies that are not available to others. Amazon started in 1994 and reinvested all funds in the company for ten years before it showed a profit. Bezos started with an interest free loan from his family and went public in 1997 for $18 per share. A $1,000 investment on that day would be worth $1.8 million today. Amazon to this day pours revenue back into expanding its business and thus avoids taxes. Amazon compensates many employees with stock units and requires the employees to hold the stock and when it is sold, they get a deduction of the appreciated amount. Amazon uses R&D tax credits to reduced taxes dollar for dollar. Amazon uses accelerated depreciation to rapidly deduct the cost of capital investments. These represent tax advantages that are not available to people who work for wages. Bezos owns 925 million shares of Amazon valued at $215 billion. He uses these assets as collateral for low interest loans to start new businesses like Blue Origin. If Bezos holds onto his stock until he dies there will be no capital gains tax and if he puts the assets into a Dynasty Trust there is no estate tax so the entire amount passes tax free to his heirs. He is 62 years old and if he lives another 20 years his estate will be worth $1.45 trillion and this is why the wealth gap keeps getting wider.

Where to live

On a panel show last week the group was asked which country in the Middle East would they move to if they had to make a choice and all said, Israel. The same question could be asked what is the best country around the world to live in and most would say America. Most polls show that 80% of Americans have a positive view of America. How many of the other 20% would leave is unknown but often times people have claimed they would leave but chose not to. Over the last ten years the numbers of people around the world who want to emigrate has increased from 12% to 16% which represents about 850 million people. Of these the most desired new place to live is the US with 150 million wanting to come to America. While most Europeans would rather remain at home because of the strong social nets, regulated work life balance and universal healthcare some highly skilled professionals will move for economic advantages. This is called the brain drain and three times as many Europeans want to move the US as opposed to the number of Americans who want to move to Europe.

New start

As WW 2 came to an end, the US was the single super power but within a year the Soviet Union annexed most of Eastern Europe as Churchill declared that an Iron Curtain had descended across Europe. This was the opening salvo of what became the 45 year long Cold War. It was a battle between communism and free market capitalism, a battle between dictatorships and democracies. In order to win countries over to the side of democracy, the US announced that they would protect the oceans so all countries could conduct free trade. If one country had iron ore but short on food, they could trade with another country that had food but short in iron ore. This opened the door to worldwide trade which became known as globalization. Over the next fifty years this was the dominant economic system and early on it benefited the West but in time it helped the East and it moved one billion people out of poverty, mostly in Asia and in particular China, India and South Korea. These countries grew rapidly using child and sometimes slave labor, having no environmental laws, no worker protection laws and coal as their source of energy. They were a century behind the West but were catching up rapidly. The Cold War ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed and the European countries gained their freedom. The downside was the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs in the West and in the rust belt of America. Corporations made huge profits while the working people saw their good jobs disappear and replaced by low paying jobs with few benefits. This caused a wide gap in income and wealth distribution which continues today. The world is now in the process of deglobalization and manufacturing jobs are returning. While most of Europe is struggling with deindustrialization the US is in the process of reindustrialization. Countries are flocking to invest in the large consumer market of the US.

DOGE

Part of the recent experiment called DOGE the USAID program was dismantled and part of it transferred to the state department. USAID had grown from $16 billion in 2001 to $44 billion last year. Following the major restructuring of foreign aid, the remaining active USAID awards managed under the State Department hold approximately $8.3 billion in un-obligated funding. Out of roughly 6,200 evaluated project awards, over 5,300 were terminated, leaving about 900 active. Many of these projects were specious in nature with things like a $2 million initiative aimed at sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala. Many question just where this money really went. While DOGE ended, it sparked an interest in waste in other areas and now fraud is popping up all over.

Public assistance

There are two food assistance programs. The first is SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, and it uses EBT cards to distribute $102 billion per year to those in need. The second is TANF which distributes $37 billion in cash and $9 billion of that is spent on food. The rest is spent on childcare, job training and pre-K childcare. The TANF program money can be used for any purchase including fast foods like McDonalds. EBT purchase are limited to grocery stores which until recently included pop and sweets like candy. Certain groups like people 60 and older, people living with disability and homeless people can use EBT cards for any purchase. Today about 40% of adults are obese and a disproportionate number of those are in the low-income groups. One thing the government is trying to do is to limit what kind of food can be purchased under programs like SNAP and TANF. Currently 38 million people get SNAP and 2.8 million get TANF. Under TANF the maximum benefit is $2,600 per month or $31,000 per year. A family of four in MN with incomes under $18,000 per year qualifies for $11,200 in TANF funds. They also receive $8,000 in Earned Income Tax Credit. They are also eligible for $20,400 from SNAP. The state will also help with childcare expenses paying about one half. The family is also eligible for rent assistance which means paying 30% of their income or in this case $5,400 per year in rent, utility assistance up to $1,600 per year, school lunches and free healthcare under Minnesota Care. A typical family can earn $18,000 per year offering childcare for one child. This means no cost to the family for childcare for their two children if one spouse stays home. The second spouse can earn $18,000 by working part time at Walmart.

Iran bomb

Western countries are at a loss when it comes to negotiating with Iran. First off, Iran thinks long term like generations but the west thinks short term. The Iranian government is continuous and dictatorial while the US president is replaced every four or eight years. The Iranian strategy is based on using negotiations to stall while they complete their long-term objectives. Western countries will not attack an enemy they are negotiating with and thus talks lead to talks lead to talks while Iran continues with its plan. Many times, they have agreed to stop producing nuclear material and offered inspections while they secretly started up new production in some other location. All the Western negotiators want to bring home a good deal and they are periodically allowed to do just that. Then the negotiations continue and Iran continues along its path. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that Obama arranged with Iran is a case in point. Iran agreed to not have a bomb for ten years but meanwhile they continued their plans in secret areas. For their cooperation the sanctions were dropped, they were allowed to sell more oil and $150 billion in assets was unfrozen. This was viewed as a great accomplishment by the Wester world. Even today as the war is temporarily halted, Iran is restock piling their rockets to get ready for the next round. Iran’s nuclear program was started in 1957 and the West has been negotiating and end to the program since that time. Each new president starts with a clean slate and a plan to stop the program but to no avail. They use the threat of the bomb more effectively than they could ever use the bomb.

US economy

The US represents the great consumer market and countries around the world want to compete for their share. The US with 4% of the world’s population produces 26% of the world’s GDP. This is particularly true in countries like Japan and Germany where the population is aging. It is the young people who both produce and consume production. Japan decided some years ago that they would manufacture goods in the US to sell in the US and bring home the profits to care for the elderly. Further promoting this concept is the cost of shipping which for a standard 40-foot container has increased from $2,000 to $20,000. Germany has the added incentive of low energy cost in the US which is a third less. In addition, goods produced in the US will avoid the 15% tariff. Because of this and added to the increase in domestic production, the US industrial base is rapidly increasing, sometimes faster than the energy supply. This will put additional pressure to fast-track small nuclear reactors. The US economy is poised for expansion.

China tariffs

When China entered the WTO in 2002, they lowered their tariffs on the US from 24% in 1997 to 9% in 2005. Their overall tariff rate dropped from 15% in 2001 to under 10% by 2005. By 2010 the rate declined to 8%. During these years the US charged less than 2% tariffs on imported Chinese goods. The US trade deficit with China increased from $100 billion in 2002 to over $400 billion in 2018. With recent changes in tariffs the deficit with China fell to $200 billion in 2025 down by $130 billion from the previous year. The US has moved to buying from other Asian countries and away from China as the cost of goods from China increased due to tariffs. The overall trade deficit in the US has grown as the economy expands but with far fewer purchases from China.

Europe GDP

There were several articles in the news this week expressing dissatisfaction among US allies mostly from Europe and Canada. What are the reasons for this change of heart? For years the US has run a negative balance of trade with these countries because they charge higher tariffs than the US and this led to almost a one trillion-dollar annual deficit. The US is adjusting their tariffs to offset some of this deficit. Europe spends 1.75% of their GDP on defense while the US spends 3.75%. The US has been providing for the defense of Europe so they used the extra funds to provide social programs for their citizens, things like national healthcare. The US is now reducing spending toward Europe’s defense and Europe is asked to increase their spending up to 5% of GDP. The US was giving military equipment to Europe to send to Ukraine but now the US is selling this equipment to Europe. There are 32 countries in NATO and the US pays 20% of the cost and provides 40% of the troops. The EU is now being asked to invest more in NATO. The US with $39 trillion in national debt cannot afford these payments and our allies must begin to pay their fair share. Europe, with this help from the US, has grown lazy. They have shorter work weeks, longer vacations, more holidays and earlier retirement than Americans. The average GDP per person in Europe is $54,000 vs $94,000 in the US. The US supplied gravy train is coming to an end and they are unhappy.

Cuba

The situation in Cuba is beginning to look like a precursor to what may occur in Iran. The Cubans have lived under a communist dictator since the 1950’s and if the people try to revolt the military will kill them so they can’t do much. If it gets to the point where their children are going hungry, they may overcome their fear of death and rise up against the guns. If by some miracle they succeed the US will be on the hook for billions to try and revitalize their economy. Will the Cubans be willing to risk death for freedom. The same situation is happening in Iran. If the Iranian government is overthrown will the world come to their aide to help them rebuild.

SS today

The projections are that social security benefits will be reduced starting in 2032 unless changes are made. This same thing happened in 1983 when the fund was only weeks away from reducing benefits. President Reagan joined up with Speaker Tip O Neal to solve the problem for the next 75 years. First, they raised the SS payroll tax from 5.4% to 6.2% where it remains today. They raised the full retirement age from 65 to 67 for people who were born before 1960. They started taxing 50% of SS benefits for upper income people. They brought all federal employees and those working for non-profits under social security. Their plan only made it 50 years instead of the 75 they projected. The president and congress could get together today and come up with similar solutions.

Obamacare cost

There are 28 million uninsured Americans and this year Obamacare is losing 5 million who will most likely add to the uninsured number. Most people on Obamacare are in the Silver Plan which offers subsidies on monthly premium payments and cost sharing to help with annual deductibles. Even low-income families are faced with a maximum of $3,500 per year out of pocket. Many choose to go without insurance since they can sign up for Obamacare after they get sick. Many other uninsured just go to the emergency room for regular health problems. Most people are unaware that the average person on Obamacare pays $16,000 per year out of pocket and for a family that rises to $21,000. This is surprising to many people because all of the information about Obamacare talks about the monthly premium and rarely mentions the annual deductible. Also, most people have health insurance through their employer and their cost is relatively low.

Income gap

Free market capitalism is the most successful type of government ever created. It gives the freedom to be all you can be. Each person will excel based on their life’s experience which by definition means there will be as many outcomes as there are people. From a worldly standpoint some will be more successful than others which means you will not have equal results. Over time some will amass large fortunes while others will have very little. At some point those who have will, either by choice or by law, take steps to spread the wealth around. The US has reached this point and the time has come to reduce the gap between the haves and the have nots. The vast majority of people are in the low and lower middle-income group and they need a safety net and a leg up. Like President Clinton said, welfare should be a helping hand and not a way of life. There is a need for a way to transfer wealth and there are several ways to accomplish this. One is to change the laws that allow the rich to pass on their estate to their heirs without cost. Looking from the other side the country needs to create new high paying jobs with benefits. Using the new technology along with AI the new jobs will be more productive which leads to higher wages. As the country goes through the process of re-industrialization leading to increased productivity the stage is set to close the gap.

Tariff rates

Tariffs between Europe and the US can be seen in simple ways by picking one item like cars. Tariffs do not include the VAT which in Europe ranges from 16% to 27%. Prior to Trump Europe charged 10% tariff on US import while the US charged 2.5%. Adding the VAT meant that the US paid in Germany 29% including the 19% VAT while the US only charged 2.5% on European imports. Today the rules are quite different. The US now charges 15% tariff while Europe charges zero percent but they keep the VAT. In other words, the import tax between Europe and the US is basically reciprocal.

Border crossings

Looking back many agree that Biden/Harris loss was caused by the immigration policy. During Obama’s two terms the migrant population grew by 1.7 million and in Trump’s first term the population declined by 1.5 million. Under Biden there was a net increase of 8.5 million migrants not counting got a ways and including 425,000 with criminal convictions and 222,000 with pending criminal charges. During Biden’s first year, Fox News had a reporter on the southern border using a drone to film large caravans of migrants crossing into the country but the rest of the news media ignored the problem. Then in the spring of 2022 the governor of Texas began to send migrants to cities in the north and the press then started covering the border. At first the northern cities welcomed these migrants but in time they changed their view. As the migrants caused a shortage in apartments, overloading schools and medical facilities the locals started to question the sanctuary city policy. New York City had a change of heart. Mayor Eric Adams' stance evolved significantly from initially welcoming asylum-seekers to taking a much stricter approach, particularly focusing on deporting migrants accused of crimes and working with the federal government.

Walmart

When citizens cry out that the rich should pay more taxes that is countered with the fact that the top one percent of wage earners pay 40% of all income tax but this is misleading. The rich do pay a disproportionate amount of income tax but many rich have very little taxable income. This is because most of their income comes not from wages but from assets. The children of Sam Walton do not earn wages and thus do not pay income tax. They live off of dividends from their Walmart stock where they pay capital gains tax and pass on their assets tax free to their heirs when they die. The four children of Sam Walton own 4 billion shares of Walmart stock valued at $250 billion. The Walmart dividend is 75 cents per share or $3 billion per year to the four children. They never touch the principal and it passes tax free to their children when the die. An investor who bought Walmart stock in 1972 for $1,000 would have $11.3 million today and if they died this would pass tax free to their heirs. This is because capital gains tax only come into play when the asset is sold. At death it has a stepped-up basis and escapes income tax. They skirt the estate tax by transferring ownership to trusts. The top one percent owns $55 trillion in assets and the government collected only $32 billion in estate tax last year.

Stepped up basis

The major financial result of 50 years of globalization was the movement of wealth up the food chain. The statistics showing the inequities in wealth and income distribution overwhelmingly confirm that there is a serious problem. It is now to the point where young people are beginning to see socialism as a way to redistribute wealth. While the progressive income tax system tries to equalize things by taxing income, this will not work because the super-rich derive their income not from wages but from assets. There are a number of ways to get at wealth created by assets. One is to tax unrealized capital gains. When an asset increases in value there is no tax until it is sold. So, a rich person just holds on to the asset until they die at which time it gets a stepped-up value at the time of death. Uncle Harry bought 100,000 shares of Amazon stock in 2000 at $6 per share and he died last week with his stock worth $65 million. That stock now passes to his heirs with zero income tax and zero estate tax. It the law required that people sell appreciated stock at the end of each year, this loophole would not exist and Harry’s heirs would not be able to start the whole process over again, to pass on to their heirs.

Executions

Many people in the US oppose the death penalty and often times do so with public protest. In 2025, 47 people were executed up from 25 in 2024. Mostly going unnoticed were the 2707 executed in other countries around the world including 2,159 in Iran. This included deaths from drug offenses and acts of political dissidence. Iran not only treats women as second-class citizens but executes those men or women who disagree with government policy.

2028

Looking ahead to the 2028 presidential election several things are clear. The democrats will be unable to drag themselves to the center since all of the party’s energy is to the left. Will they be unable to disconnect from the cultural items like men in women’s sports, gender surgery on minors, gay issues, identity politics and badmouthing republicans long enough to discuss policies. They will discuss the economy but their solutions to problems will be all about taxing the rich and expanding government benefit programs. The republicans will bring up law and order, deportations, fair trade, lower taxes, secure border and energy independence. They will concentrate on creating new industries through free market innovation (AI) and thus new high paying jobs. This means increased productivity which leads to low inflation and could be well underway by election time.

The future

“It’s not your father Oldsmobile”, was a slogan used back in the 80’s to illustrate the new engineering in the auto industry. This is an apt saying for what is happening to manufacturing, as the US goes into the era of reindustrialization, as globalization comes to an end. In the past workers in manufacturing plants were assigned repetitive task as they stood on assembly lines and it was called a factory job. In the new plants robots will do these jobs and the employees will shift from manual assembly to managing advanced technology. Workers will operate, program, and maintain robotics and AI systems, analyze real-time data dashboards, oversee quality control, and solve complex, high-value technical problems. These jobs will be shared by technicians and engineers. The techies will be high school grads who will learn on the job. It will be an apprenticeship program much like unions have. More training leads to higher skills which leads to higher productivity which leads to higher wages. The US plans to double its industrial base over the next ten years and it will be a wild ride so get ready, the world is changing.

Working class

The end of WW 2 saw the beginnings of globalization. For forty years between 1955 and 1995 the democrats controlled the congress and then the republicans took over for the next 12 years until 2007 and that was the end of globalization. During those years both parties, but mostly democrats, claimed to be the party of the working man. It was during those years that the foundation of the working man crumbled as manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas. Added to that was the structural disadvantage with tariffs. The US followed in the believe that free trade was best for all and that is the case but while the trade was free it was not fair. The US had tariffs of 2 to 4% while the rest of the world taxed US imports at 5 to15%. Many of the US trading partners used child labor, had few environmental laws and used mostly coal power. On top of that the US paid more than its fair share for NATO, the UN and all of its affiliates and used its military power to protect all allies. This system expanded the income and wealth gap and those in control want things to remain the same but all that is changing. The new way will be free and fair trade, countries paying for their defense and manufacturing jobs coming back home. This will promote the working class with good jobs.

Germany today

In 2015 in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany opened her heart and her borders to a million refugees. She was praised for her compassion and the press created a saint like aura around her. These people were Muslims and that made her even more the humanitarian. Today, things look quite different. The Muslim immigrants failed to assimilate as the barriers of religion, language and culture were too great to overcome. The schools were crowded with students who could not speak the language, the healthcare system was bogged down, the price of housing escalated as demand exceeded supply and gangs formed which led to high crime numbers. Today the German government is changing direction. Germany is actively deporting migrants and has significantly increased its removal efforts as part of a nationwide crackdown on irregular migration. The government has enacted stricter legal reforms and expanded police powers to remove individuals without legal status, including convicted criminals. The same thing is happening in countries across Europe.

Win or lose

Once again America has gone off to war without a commitment to win. The politics places severe limitations on what the generals can do. It has been the same since WW 2, the last time the US went to war to win. The US is not allowed to cause any civilian losses and so things just drag on. The Iranians will without reservation put their people in harms way. One school was inadvertently bombed and it made national news for a week. The Iranians threatened to surround their power plants with civilians if the US attempted to bomb them. This is the same strategy that Hamas used against the Jews. They built miles of underground tunnels with the entrances and exits located in schools, hospitals and Mosque. When any civilian was killed, they put that on the national news and embarrassed the Jews. They were winning the war of public opinion. The Jews for a while followed the US approach but in time they went after Hamas’s fighters who stayed among the public and accepted the public condemnation. The only war that deviated from the current practice since WW 2 was when Bush 41 drove the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait and then when he stopped going after the Republican Guard in Iraq, he faced criticism. The press declared that the US did not win the war because Bush left Saddam off the hook.

MN tax

While the news about companies leaving the state has zeroed in on California, New York and Illinois, Minnesota has quietly set the ground work to join the other states. In 2023 MN passed what was called the Omnibus Bill. While that sounds all grown up and official, experience has shown that what it means is there is something in the bill that they are trying to cover up. The news about the bill covered housing, jobs, environment and public safety but what was not covered were the provisions designed to increase state income tax on multinational corporations. Instead of just taxing the income produced within the state, the new law would tax all of the company’s income both in state and out. United Healthcare which is the largest company in MN based on revenue has announced it is beginning to move some of its corporate employees to Texas and Tennessee. Without much fanfare the company moved 2,000 employees out of the state. This is seen by some business experts as just the beginning. The Minnesota 2023 omnibus tax bill included provisions that increase corporate taxes on large businesses, which includes companies like UnitedHealthcare.

Donations

In 2010 the Supreme Court issued the ruling on Citizens United which declared campaign money to be free speech and prohibited the government from placing restrictions on campaign contributions. This caused a great deal of concern by the democratic party thinking it would be a bonanza for the republicans but over time the fury died out. In the 2012 presidential election Obama spent $1.1 billion and Romney $1 billion and there was not much effect. In 2016 Clinton spent $1.2 billion vs Trump at $774 million. In 2020 Biden spent $1.06 billion and Trump $774 million. In 2024 Harris spent $1.16 billion and Trump $477 million. If the Citizens United had any effect on campaign money it seems to have helped the democrats the most. The billionaires favor republicans but the democrats make up by small donations. When it comes to small donations (under $200) Harris leads the way with $428 million which equates to 43% of all her donations. Trump received $109 million which represented 29% of his donations. About 65% of billionaires donate to republicans. While donations get a lot of news coverage the amount of money is not having the expected results. Some say this is because the main stream news outlets are being replaced by social media.

Drug prices

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 is the landmark law limiting Medicare drug costs. Key 2026 provisions include a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on Part D drugs, Medicare-negotiated prices for the first 10 selected drugs taking effect, a $35 monthly cap on insulin, and free recommended adult vaccines. Trump’s attempt to lower drug prices using Trump RX has not succeeded. Unlike other RX plans which use generic drugs this plan targeted brand names.

Contentment

There is an income number that many people feel will finally make them comfortable and is about twice what they are earning. If a man makes $40,000, he thinks that $80,000 will do the trick. Someone earning $100,000 sees the answer at $200,000 but they never really get there. Having more money is not the answer but what is the answer. Wealth is what you have minus what you want. This leads to two paths to wealth, either earn more or want less. The first means to work more and the second means to be content with what you have. This kind of thinking is foreign to young people because they are caught up in the idea that you can buy happiness. At some age about 90, the whole rat race things seems almost comical but that is a lesson that takes many years to learn. When you are content to stay around friends and take an occasional walk you can finally relax and enjoy your life and think why did it take me so long.

Credit friend or foe

Many Americans look with some alarm at the national debt that keeps rising year after year but many are also living the same way in their families. Spending keeps rising faster than income and the difference is financed through debt accumulation. During the 1950’s and 60’s households lived differently. They avoided debt like the plague. They learned from their parents; frugality based on the necessity that came out of the depression. While it was common to borrow money for a home, other things were purchased with cash. People paid for daily expenses with cash. Many saved a small amount each week to cover the cost of upcoming Christmas presents. Some used the lay away plan. If they wanted an item, they had the store lay it away for them to pick up at some later date after they had saved the money to pay cash for it. When the breadwinner got a raise a part of that was set aside in long term savings. No one ever lived on overtime money. People went grocery shopping with a list and bought only what was on the list. All meals were home cooked and nothing was ever wasted. Any leftovers were used the following days. Many clothes were home made and were kept longer by taking care of things. Kids took lunch to school and saved the paper bags for reuse. Making home repairs was common as was the one car family. Sometimes a dad would take a part time job on Saturday not so they could buy something but so they could pay extra on the mortgage. Vacations were one day holidays in town not two-week trips across the country. Houses were less than 1,000 sq ft even though families were larger. All of this began to change with the introduction of the credit card which was sold as a convenience but was in fact a successful marketing ploy. Today there are many people who pay 20 plus percent interest on credit cards and just keep falling further debt. They cannot resist the next latest thing and thing of it as free when you just put it on the card.

Raise taxes on the rich

As various cities around the country raise taxes on the rich, many rich people are moving to lower tax states. The way to tax the rich is by using the federal income tax system. Democrat Senator Hollen’s has introduced a bill that will increase taxes on the rich and lower taxes on lower income groups. His plan for single filer is an extra 5% on incomes above one million, 10% on incomes above 2 million and 12% on incomes above $5 million. This should be a starting point and taxes would increase further each year. The one restriction should be that the new tax collections be used to reduce the deficit not to install new programs. There could also be a condition that all new government spending cannot increase more than one-half percent below the inflation rate. If they just did the last point this will solve the deficit problem in the long run. Some steps must be taken to close the income gap which is large and continues to widen each year.

Reindustrialization

One of the major aspects of ending globalization is the bringing of manufacturing jobs back to America. The impetus for this is three-fold. First the recognition that national defense depends on having a secure source of materials. Second the cost of transportation has risen dramatically. Third production at home is close to the major markets meaning closer supply chains. The doubling of the industrial base over the next ten years will come from three areas. First the existing US companies operating in the US will expand production. Second, foreign companies currently operating in the US will expand and third foreign will invest additional funds in the US. The last group will occur in three stages. The first step will be preparing the factory sites. Second will be installation of equipment and third the hiring of workers and the purchasing of raw materials. In today’s fast paced world, companies have to be able to change directions quickly. With production close to home meaning shorter supply chains, change can be completed more efficiently. Imports needed for manufacturing will slowly decline as more products are made in the US.

NY City deficit

In 1975 NY City avoided bankruptcy by defaulting on its debt and having a state-supervised bailout to restructure its finances. Over the years the City has skirted financial problems by increasing taxes. Once again, the city is facing a $12 billion dollar deficit and is proposing new benefits of $4.5 billion for free childcare. The city, like many big cities finds itself in a death spiral. They increase taxes on the rich to pay for benefits for the poor. This causes rich people to leave and the tax burden falls heavier on those who remain and this leads to further tax increases. For many cities the money designated for the poor is distributed not directly to the people but through non-governmental agencies (NGO’s) where funds are siphoned off through various, sometimes, illegal means. NY City with a population of 8.5 million has a budget of $124.7 billion or $14,500 per person. Compare that to the state of Florida whose budget is $117.4 billion with a population of $23.7 million or $5,000 per person. In addition, Florida has a $3.8 billion surplus. While Florida is setting up plans to get rid of non-school property tax on personal residences, New York City is planning on raising property tax and a new 2% tax on those earning more than one million per year scheduled to bring in $4 billion. The new mayor Mamdani is following up on his campaign promise to tax the rich and thus the people are getting what they voted for. In 1951 a newspaper writer, Elmer Peterson, said that “democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse (money) from the public treasury”. Will NY City prove that Mr. Peterson was right?

Russia

When Putin came to power some 26 years ago, he said that the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century was the fall of the USSR and he set a goal to revive the past glory as he perceived it to be. His attempt failed and he now sees the futility of the Ukraine War and will not attempt to gain the upper hand by using tactical nuclear weapons. At age 73 and his influence waning a new group will take power. Their goal will also be to bring Russia back to its USSR position in the world but their approach will be much different. They will become part of the Western world economically and will begin to rebuild. By establishing an open society and conducting free and fair trading with Europe and the US they will revive their country. Europe can once again use cheap Russian natural gas and reverse their trend toward deindustrialization. The world will welcome the natural resources from Russia and will prosper. This means that NATO will become irrelevant and the EU will no longer depend on the US for safety from Russia.

Iran War

As the war in the Pacific was coming to a close, Japan wanted a negotiated settlement but Truman wanted unconditional surrender. The result was the dropping atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima causing millions of casualties to civilians. By today’s standards if Truman had agreed to a settlement some in the press would have reported that the US lost the war and Japan had won. It brings up the question of how the US should end the war in Iran. Should the lives of millions of civilians be sacrificed in order to have unconditional surrender or should a negotiated settlement be agreed to. Some will say this is apples and oranges because Japan directly attacked the US at Pearle Harbor but Iran has only indirectly attacked the US while pronouncing death to American for 47 years. While Iran would likely not directly attack the US, they might well have some proxy group sneak in a nuclear bomb to some major city and then deny any connection. The question remains, are their threats to America just talk or will they carry out some type of terror plan. Is there ever a time when a preemptive strike is warranted.

Morning after pill

While the number of abortions as held steady at around one million per year, many possible others are avoided using the morning pill. These are available to anyone any age and can be purchased on line at places like Amazon. The market size in 2024 was estimated at $3.7 billion. Generic Levonorgestrel ($11- $30) often found at Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid for $12- $25. If the average price were $20 then about 185 million pills were sold in 2024. There is no way of knowing how many pregnancies were avoided using these pills.

Rich people

There are rich people and there are rich people and it is important to differentiate between the two. Some like Warren Buffet make money by buying and selling stock or like the Walmart family members who make money from stock and hedge fund managers who make money from money. Then there are rich people like Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. They create new businesses and provide new jobs and grow the economy. All of the rich people are helping in their own way. For those who make money using money they provide capital for new investment but those who are creative open the world to new adventures. Today, many of these creative types are building data centers which will power the creativity of the future and the number of new innovations will once again create new jobs and expand the economy. These innovators are just the seeds for others. Bill Gates is estimated to have created 12,000 millionaires primarily through stock options but these people went on to grow the economy further. These "Microsoft Alumni" have driven innovation in technology, philanthropy, and venture capital, with approximately 40% of surveyed alumni working on new business ventures.

Vote

Back in the day when affirmative action was popular some states used redistricting to increase Blacks in congress. District lines were drawn around Black populations and voters elected Black candidates. The Supreme Court ended affirmative action in 1997 when it upheld a lower court decision in California and this quickly spread to other states. The recent court decision in Virginia that reversed a state redistricting plan was based to some degree on the drawing of Black areas. Redistricting has gotten out of hand in recent years with state congressional representatives not matching the states voting records. Here are two examples to illustrate the point. In California 43 out of 50 districts (83%) voted for Harris who got 58% of the vote while in Florida, Trump won 20 of 28 districts (71%) and got 56% of the vote. Redistricting has skewed the popular vote.

Home ownership

Going all the way back to the 1930’s the Home Owners Loan Corporation set up what were called residential security zones, in 142 cities marking Black and immigrant neighborhoods as risky. In the 1970’s the FHA required a 3.5% down payment on a 30-year fixed interest loan. They also followed the 28 rule which meant the principal and interest along with the real estate taxes and home owners’ insurance and PMI could not exceed 28% of the borrower’s gross income. At that time 30-year fixed mortgage were 5% so person who wanted to purchase a $55,000 home which was the average home price in 1980, would have a monthly principal and interest payment of $1020. Real estate taxes added $70, homeowner insurance another $25 and PMI at $28 for a total of $1,143. This meant you had to have an income of $4,082 per month to qualify for a loan. In 1980 only 6% of households had that kind of income. Buyers often put 20% down and purchased starter homes at lesser value than the average. The average income in 1980 was $1,750 per month which meant they only qualified for a house valued at $25,000. The 28 rule kept people from getting in over their heads. I bought a $10,000 home in 1959 with $400 down and a 4.75% rate for 30 years and my monthly payment for everything was $90. My income was $260 but I worked 60 hours a week and that brought it up to $390. Studies were conducted during the 1960’s which showed that Blacks were disproportionately left out of the home mortgage market. When a person came into the bank to apply for a loan and didn’t meet the 28% rule the loan request was denied. In time the loan officers consider these applications a waste of time and began to draw a red line around Black neighborhoods and told people over the phone not to apply based on their address. This resulted in the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 that prohibited racial discrimination in lending. While this meant that all applicants had to be accepted only a few qualified. Then in 1995 Clinton passed the Community Reinvestment Act which provided incentives for banks to offer loans to lower income people by relaxing the strict requirements. This opened the door to the American dream for many Blacks as they became eligible for home loans. When the mortgage crisis hit in 2008, Black and Hispanic communities faced significantly higher foreclosure rates, with reports suggesting up to 30% of their homes entered foreclosure, compared to 11% for white homeowners. Bank examiners would check the percent of loans given to minorities and if they were not high enough the banks were threatened with penalties.

Covid today

Now that some of the political heat about Covid has subsided, it is time for a review of some of the factors that turned out to be of little importance and in some cases not true. Getting the vaccine did not prevent getting the disease and this should have been obvious because that is the case with all vaccines. The same goes for spreading the vaccine after being vaccinated. Stay six feet apart was a rule based on no evidence of efficacy. This meant that half the students had to use home schooling because classroom size was limited. Closing schools when the risk to children was far lower than the normal flu risk saying they were protecting teachers. Children routinely expose teachers to many health hazards. While a surgical mask may be effective the paper masks used by most were not very effective. They interfered with communication and were a severe inconvenience in very young children. People were told to stay at home and were also told to go out in the fresh air Many people were banned from social media for saying things that were deemed misinformation when in fact they were true and others were allowed on social media to disseminate things that were not true. This is always the risk when the government tries to limit speech. The origin of the virus remains controversial because it has become political which means it may never be known. This is not the way science should work. Fear was used as a motivator to enforce many regulations which later proved to be unnecessary. This often happens with emotional responses.

Women of Iran

Over the past five years when the number of migrants crossing the southern border began to increase, many Americas were filled with compassion for these people who were fleeing countries where they had no human rights. These crossing have stopped but a new human rights group has appeared and deserves some attention. There are 50 million Iranian women who are living in human bondage as second-class citizens. Will the American people offer the same compassion for these women? Will there be public demonstrations to show solidarity with these women. Are they not as important as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter? Here is a quick reminder of just a few of the inequalities suffered by Iranian women. Men have an automatic, unrestricted right to divorce, while women must meet strict, difficult legal conditions to initiate divorce. Mothers retain custody of children only until age seven; thereafter, guardianship automatically transfers to the father or paternal grandfather. Girls can be legally married at 13, and younger with paternal permission. A husband can legally prevent his wife from pursuing an occupation he deems against "family values". Women are largely barred from becoming judges and holding the highest political offices. A new, harsher "hijab and chastity" law introduced in late 2024 significantly increases penalties for non-compliance, including long prison terms, travel bans, and fines In many legal proceedings, a woman's testimony is equal to only half that of a man

Two countries

With apologies to Dickens, the West is facing the Tale of Two Countries, the US and Europe. Starting in the 1960’s both embarked on an anti-nuclear path led by Greenpeace and environmental groups like the Sierra Club. This was followed up in the 1980’s by the climate change scare. The use of fear as a motivated would be the primary strategy. Next came the Green Deal where wind and solar would replace fossil fuels to save the planet from an existential threat. Unelected bureaucrats joined in the fray by creating a mountain of new regulations promoting the carbon free plan. Europe jumped out ahead of the US and can be used as an early warning signal caused by the danger of acting emotionally without a long-range plan. Europe had already been on a path different from America which gave them shorter work week, earlier retirements, longer vacations and more government benefits. They touted their national healthcare as proof of their advanced society. They halted nuclear development, increased regulations, refused fracking and went all in on wind and solar. These changes resulted in utility costs of four times higher than the US, a 20% value added tax (somewhat like a national sales tax), a GDP per person of half the US and a cut in defense spending. Today Europe is deindustrializing as their industries move to China and the US. The population was in rapid decline so they let in foreign migrants too fast and too quick and they are now undergoing a massive deportation plan. They find themselves buying natural gas from America and buying military equipment from the US to help Ukraine fight the war against Russia. The US on the other hand started the same way in the 60’s but at a slower pace. The American people were not so easily manipulated and asked questions. Recall when Ross Perot talked about the giant sucking sound of US jobs moving to Mexico. People questioned the facts around climate change and many were not convinced that wind and solar could replace fossil fuels. Before Trump ever ran for office, he opposed the sending of manufacturing jobs to China (globalization) and he recognized that America must become energy independent and that the bureaucracy had become too big to control. His mottos of drain the swamp and new green scam alerted the people to the folly of replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar. Today, the US is in the process of reindustrialization as trillions of dollars pour into America. Those who have been in control are threatened by these changes and fear their loss of power. They do not challenge the new policies but instead bring in new fears like threat to democracy or a new king. When Trump leaves office the new America with a thriving economy will begin to replace the fear.

I hate war

The date is December 1, 1941. The war in Europe has been going on for a little over two years and Hitler is winning. FDR wants the US to enter the war and save democracy as it struggles against fascism. Following the Constitution, he meets with a joint session of congress and ask for a declaration of war. The congressmen have questions. How long will it last? How much will it cost? How many will die? The president slowly lays out the war plans. He says there will be more than one million casualties including 420,000 dead. He says the cost will be $5 trillion in today’s dollars. The war will last four years. Many women will leave their children to baby sitters so they can work in the factories. There will be rationing of things like sugar, gasoline and tires. Citizens will plant garden Famous Quote: "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded... I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed... I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war s to save food for the soldiers. Then he said, take all of this information to your home people and explain to them what will happen and then after you have heard their thoughts, come back here and vote. I will be in the White House awaiting your decision. I am not going to commit all of those lives. That is your job under the constitution. In 1936 while running for reelection and Hitler was taking power in Germany, FDR gave his now famous war speech. Five years later he went to war. Woodrow Wilson campaigned on keeping the U.S. out of World War I, with the 1916 slogan "He kept us out of war" helping him win reelection. Two months after he was inaugurated the US went to war.

Intel

Most people remember the slogan, Intel inside, back in 2000 when Intel was the world leader in chips. Instead of continuing to develop new chips they rested on their laurels, a big mistake in any industry and especially in the tech world, and lost their leadership position to Nvidia. In early 2024 the company regrouped under new management in an attempt to turn things around and so far, they have been successful. They recaptured some of the Apple market that they lost and Musk is using their new chip in his, “Terafab” factory in Austin, TX. In less than a year their stock has risen from $21 to $120. As a part of their turnaround the US government purchased 433 million shares at $21 on Aug of 2025. The value of Intel is somewhat similar to Tesla in that it is mostly Blue Sky. Intel property, plant and equipment is valued at $105 billion but is market value (stock) is valued at $600 billion. Tesla’s property value (assets) is valued at $60 billion while its market value is $1.4 trillion. The stockholders have faith in the long-term success of each company but in the high-tech world, things can change overnight. It is a high risk, high return business.

The rich

Congresswoman AOC repeated the story told by Obama when he said that no individual develops a successful business on their own. They need the schools and infrastructure to help them. AOC said that billionaires did not succeed without the help of government rules and roads. This is, of course true, but most people have access to these facilities but only a few become billionaires. These people have something that most do not and it is more than roads and laws.

Iran and UN

Many Americans see the UN as out of step with common sense policies. A recent example illustrates why many feel that way. In April 2026, the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) nominated Iran to the Committee for Program and Coordination, a key body that shapes policy on human rights, women’s rights, and terrorism. The nomination was approved by consensus, without a formal vote, with support from several democracies, including Canada, France, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, the United Kingdom, Finland, Switzerland and Austria. How can they be considered champions of women’s rights when the women in Iran are treated as second class citizens? The same goes for terrorism when Iran is considered the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world.

Too far

Most Americans have limited knowledge of astronomy so when the news reports the possibility of alien visitor it seems possible. Polls show that most people would like there to be visitors from some other part of the universe but unless there are laws of physics that have not been discovered, it is not likely. A scientist will always be open to yet discovered possibilities but some things are so close to impossible that it might be considered waste of time to investigate. While radio contact from space is definitely possible, the contact with a life form is another story. The big problem is distance which most people do not comprehend. Voyager One has been traveling 49 years at 36,000 mph and is now 16 billion miles from earth. That is 320 million miles per year. At this speed it will take 75,000 years to reach the nearest star.

Gas rationing

So far, the loss of oil from the Persian Gulf has been made up by reserves but in time the shortage will affect refineries and that will cause industry shutdowns and possible rationing. The US has increased exports by 30% since the start of the war and that has reduced pressure on supplies. The world will soon see how Iran could, at any time, disrupt the economies of the world. At this point they can be challenged but if they get a nuke then they could not be forced to open the Straights. This would put the world at the mercy of a group of military extremists who do not care if they or their people die. They have already shown that they do not care about the lives of the Iranian citizens. Once they achieve this control, they can begin to dictate policy for other countries including the US. The people of the US will be unwilling to accept gas rationing and will demand the government accede to the Iranian demands. Like all irrational dictators their demands will increase over time. Americans will vote for people who will agree to Iranian demands. The push for nuclear power will accelerate around the globe as countries move away from dependence on oil and natural gas.

Iran and food

The government in Iran is headed by the Supreme Leader, Khamenei and reporting directly to him is the President Pazeshkian and the IRGC leader Vahidi. The President controls domestic policy and the IRGC represents the military. The Supreme leader is incapacitated with injuries suffered from a US attack and the military is now running the country. The IRGC has killed thousands of citizens when they protested in the streets on five different occasions over the past six years. The IRGC fully understands that if they lose control the people will rise up and come after them. There are 90 million Iranians and only 190,000 IRGC but they have the guns. There are 9 million Kurdish people living in Northern Iran and another 25 million living along the Iranian border in Turkey and Syria. The Kurds have long wanted their own state and the US could solicit help from them to fight the IRGC. This would require US logistical support meaning ground weapons and air support. This combined with internal disruptions by the CIA could make it difficult for the IRGC to maintain power. Once they are weakened the people could rise up against the government and have a better chance of success. The most likely scenario is that the country will run short on food and when the citizens see their children going hungry, they will rebel and many will be killed. Better to die fighting in the streets than starve.

Budget

Many people look back on the 1990’s, the last time the budget was balanced and ask why can’t it be done again. The answer is the peace dividend. Following the Cold War's end, the US "peace dividend" resulted in over 30% cuts to the defense budget and over 60% cuts to procurement in the 1990s, with ~80% of $81 billion in savings used to reduce the federal deficit. Many observers think that it is impossible to cut federal government spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But it can be done. And the evidence is hidden in plain sight: it’s called the 1990s. Between 1990 and 2000, federal spending fell from 21.85 percent of GDP to 18.22 percent, a drop of 3.6 percentage points. Most of the reduction was in defense spending after the Cold War ended. By the 2000’s the defense spending was back up to the cold war levels.

Europe

For those who remember the end of the cold war, the world looked forward to a peace dividend, meaning less need for defense spending. During the cold war Europe was spending 3% of its GDP on defense but since the war ended that number dropped to 1.4%. The US also experienced a peace dividend but within a few years the defense budget increased and was soon higher than it was during the cold war. Europe spent the post cold war years relying on the US for defense and they now realize that they have to start taking care of the own defense. The US, with $39 trillion in debt, can no longer afford to protect Europe. The news reports this as our allies are no longer friendly. Europe is being hit with this additional defense spending, at a time when government decisions on energy policy have caused steep rises in energy cost. On top of that they allowed too many immigrants to enter too fast and the social net cannot absorb the cost.

Closing nuke plants

When it comes to energy, it is a topsy turvy world. Using one example, that can be duplicated in many ways is the German giant chemical company BASF. This is the world’s largest chemical manufacturer. Back in the 1970’s the German Green Party was born with the sole purpose of shutting down nuclear power. It was only later that they added climate change to their agenda. The whole country embarked upon a program to replace fossil fuels with wind and solar and thus the price of electric power began to rise. With cost today at 40 cents per kwh, BASF is investing $10 billion in China where electricity cost is 9 cents per kwh. In China 60% of the electric power is produced by coal. China mines and processes the materials needed for solar panels and wind turbines, using once again, 60% coal. China is destroying its ground water and suffering from air pollution to make the solar panels that they ship to Germany. It is as though the people have forgotten that we all live on the same planet. To add insult to injury, Germany is now considering reopening its coal and nuclear plants. The original impetus to close nuclear was an emotional decision and made without evaluating the long term consequences.

Cost per kwh

The cost for electricity here is relatively inexpensive at 12 cents per kWh well below the national average of 17 cents but other charges add to the bill. Cost this month include Electric usage $53.09 Fixed charge $10.00 Interim rate charge $5.99 AGI recovery fee $.74 MN state sales tax $4.80 Metro reg sales tax hous $.17 Metro reg sales tax trans $.52 Dakota County transit $.17 This brings the total cost up to 20 cents per kWh

Fraud

One of the outcomes of the government investigation into waste, fraud and abuse known as DOGE was the release of information that led to local investigation the most notable being Nick Shirley finding fraud in MN. Since then, there have been more investigators around the country. The regular press finds investigative journalism too expensive so the door is open for young local people to fill the gap. They use leg work, a cell phone camera and social media to investigate and put their stories on YouTube. Some recent examples of fraud: Childcare and Welfare, Food programs, Medicaid and Healthcare, Housing, Autism, Hospice and the ever-present Medicare fraud.

Terror group

The emphasis placed on retrieving the 970 pounds of 60% enriched uranium from Iran is misplaced. Russia or even North Korea could replace that within a few days. It takes only 33 pounds of weapons grade uranium to achieve critical mass meaning a nuclear explosion. This could create a 250-kiloton bomb which would be ten times the power of the bombs dropped on Japan. In fact, either country could send them a completed bomb. The US would not be directly threatened because of the distance and the resulting retaliation but a terrorist group could smuggle a bomb into the US or any other country. The only way to be reasonably assured that a rogue country would not use nuclear weapons is to have a society where the people have the power. Iran will not be safe until the military is no longer in control. As of now their whole reason for existing is death to America. They appear willing to starve their people to achieve this goal.

Pay down debt

Once again California is showing the way for the rest of the country. They are about to pass a millionaire’s tax to collect $100 billion to fund healthcare, education and food assistance with no intention to use the money to pay down debt. The state has the highest bond debt at $118 billion and estimates of unfunded pension liabilities totaling $1.5 trillion. This means passing on the debt problem to the next group to take office. It is hard to imagine that the people would vote for a tax increase to pay down debt and it would take real leadership to make such a proposal.

Rich

Throughout history socialism would become popular when the gap between the wealth and the poor became too great to ignore. When the masses of people are unable to provide for their children as they would like, then they look for government to step in. The US is reaching that point and politicians like Bernie Sanders start demanding change. They look to tax the rich to help the poor. While this is standard democratic policy the pressure to act increases, as the gap widens. The young people are the first group to recognize the inequity and they are soon followed by working people who see the rich as a type of royalty.

Cobalt processing

A brief history of cobalt is similar to other minerals needed for EV’s and other products. The US needs 8,000 tons of cobalt each year and has only one mine in operation in Michigan which is set to close in four years. The 300 tons of ore that is mined each year must be sent to China or Brazil for processing. The major source of cobalt is mined in Africa, often times using children. Some of the ore is processed in Africa but most is to China for refining and processing where there are few environmental rules. The processing in both Africa and China is contaminating ground water and air often times creating toxic heavy metals that leach into the water and soil causing extensive degradation and health crises.

Iranian assets

The US has sized control over $100 billion on Iranian financial assets worldwide. Iran has always used the banking system in the UAE to finance its activities but now that they have sent missiles into the UAE, that relationship is broken. Estimates of Iranian linked assets in the UAE, including trade, real estate and corporate account are worth $20 to $50 billion. The US has let it be known that these assets will be held in escrow to be used to help the Iranian people once this war is over.

Trump and Iran

For history buffs there is certain similarity between what Harry Truman did in 1946 with Stalin and what Trump is doing with the Iranian leaders. Stalin saw Turman as a country boy who had only been VP for 80 days when he was thrust into the presidency. He saw a man with little experience on the national stage and a person that could be manipulated. He saw an American people who were tired of foreign wars that seem to go for ever and knew that political pressure would force Truman to back away from confrontation. He was wrong. Truman clearly saw the threat of communism to the free world and vowed to fight against such dictatorship. Today the American people are once again tired of war and want to get on with life but Trump sees a future danger with the dictators in Iran who will try to take control of the Middle East. He is taking the unpopular approach to end the nuclear threat from Iran to save some future president of having to deal with a more powerful Iran. The easy way would be to just ignore Iran but leadership requires taking the road not travelled. Time will tell if this was the correct decision.

Murder rate

The murder rate in the US declined from 10.7 per 100,000 population in 1991 to 7.7 in 2021. Since then, the drop has continued more precipitously to .26 today, the lowest ever recorded. There are a number of reasons for the big drop in 2024 and 2025 but one statistic stands out and that is the number of migrant deportations. In 2024 following an increase in border enforcement, 271,484 migrants were deported and 30% of those had criminal records. Between October 2024 and September 2025, 442,637 migrants were deported and 23% had criminal records. Sanctuary cities did not cooperate with ICE during these two years and police feel that the percentage of deported convicted criminals would have been higher with cooperation.

NY City

A brief lesson on how to get elected mayor can be gleaned from Mamdani’s NY City elections. He was a city councilman polling in single digits when he gave a campaign speech outlining his proposals. His plan included free buses, free childcare, five city owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on 200,000 apartments, a $30 minimum wage, a millionaire surtax and construction of 100,000 low-income houses. The estimated cost of these items is $17 billion. It turns out that the mayor does not have the authority to raise the city individual or corporate tax so his only source of new income is raising property tax. The governor has stated she would not be financing NY City programs. The city unlike the federal government cannot legally borrow money to fund operating expenses.

NYC City

A brief lesson on how to get elected mayor can be gleaned from Mamdani’s NY City elections. He was a city councilman polling in single digits when he gave a campaign speech outlining his proposals. His plan included free buses, free childcare, five city owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on 200,000 apartments, a $30 minimum wage, a millionaire surtax and construction of 100,000 low-income houses. The estimated cost of these items is $17 billion. It turns out that the mayor does not have the authority to raise the city individual or corporate tax so his only source of new income is raising property tax. The governor has stated she would not be financing NY City programs. The city unlike the federal government cannot legally borrow money to fund operating expenses.

Europe

For more than fifty years US leaders have looked longingly at Europe and their great social programs, starting with universal healthcare but the time has come to evaluate the costs. The GDP per person in Europe is $53,000 vs $85,000 in the US. With the help of various government programs, the Europeans have lost the work ethic that has made America great. Shorter work weeks, longer vacations and earlier retirement ages have offered benefits not available to US workers. They are overrun with regulations and have very little innovation. Today they find themselves unable to compete with the rest of the world. They bragged to the world about being the leaders in replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar as they shut down their coal and nuclear power plants. They refuse fracking based on environmental concerns. They freely signed the Paris Accords while the US dropped out. They opened their borders to immigrants who failed to assimilate. They accepted the protection from the US for their national defense. They failed to notice that their population was in decline and now the trend is irreversible. This has resulted in high energy cost (electricity and natural gas) costs are 3.5 times higher than in the US. When they try to raise the retirement age the people riot in the streets. They are now deporting immigrants at an accelerated rate. Their industries are relocating to China and the US. They are restarting their nuclear and coal plants. Their relationship with the US is suffering as they face additional cost of defense spending and new tariffs.

Disparate Impact

In an attempt to overcome past real or perceived discrimination the government has a policy called, “Disparate Impact”. Disparate impact occurs when a seemingly neutral policy causes a disproportionate negative harm to a certain group. Can a test be an example? Requiring a test can be a case of disparate impact discrimination if the test screens out a disproportionate number of applicants from a protected group such as race, sex or national origin. The employer’s intent is irrelevant.

Income gap

The income gap in the US is leading young people to look favorably on socialism where equality is a promise. The uneven wage growth is the result of several things including the movement of manufacturing jobs overseas and the decline of unions but one factor often overlooked is simple math. If I earn $50,000 per year and you earn $150,000 you have $100,000 more than I. If over the next 20 years we both get 3% annual raises you will be earning $271,000 and I will be earning $90,000 and that leaves a difference of $181,000. Carry this out over the past 60 years and a large income gap is expected. The same thing happens with wealth. If I have $90,000 in my savings and you have $50,000, I have $40,000 more. Let us both earn 10% and in 20 years I have $605,000 and you have $335,000 or $270,000 more than you. This is the reason for the old saying the rich getter richer and the poor get poorer. It’s all about arithmetic.

Trump policies

Trump is often accused of not being presidential and much of this stems from the fact that he is a business man first and a politician second. It started during his first term when he ignored the experts who said it would take ten years to develop a new vaccine and he started Operation Warp Speed and had a Covid vaccine in less than a year. He instituted the Abraham Accords and got four Arab countries to join forces with Israel to work out a plan for Palestine. He used tariffs as economic weapons to force other countries to work out fair import taxes using the goal of reciprocal tariffs. He pushed Europe to increase their military spending and stop relying on the US for their defense. He recognized that wind and solar cannot replace fossil fuels but nuclear can and he has revitalized the industry by reducing regulations and developing small nuclear reactors. Instead of offering subsidies to industry he has purchased stock to help them expand. He set about reducing waste and fraud by first using DOGE and then setting up a task force headed by VP Vance. He sealed the southern border with executive orders instead of waiting for congress to act. He removed the Venezuelan president from the control of China and is now helping them rebuild their country. He has withdrawn from the WHO because of their mishandling of the Covid. He has by passed the WTO by installing tariffs. He advocates for reduced funding for the UN and for NATO until the other countries pay their fair share. He moved against Iran instead of pushing the problem onto the next president which the last five presidents had done. Because of these actions the US allies are less friendly. The American taxpayer saddled with a $39 trillion debt, can no longer be the major source of finance for the rest of the world. These are major changes and that means upsetting the status quo and it has hurt his popularity.

Income gap

The income gap in the US is leading young people to look favorably on socialism where equality is a promise. The uneven wage growth is the result of several things including the movement of manufacturing jobs overseas and the decline of unions but one factor often overlooked is simple math. If I earn $50,000 per year and you earn $150,000 you have $100,000 more than I. If over the next 20 years we both get 3% annual raises you will be earning $271,000 and I will be earning $90,000 and that leaves a difference of $181,000. Carry this out over the past 60 years and a large income gap is expected. The same thing happens with wealth. If I have $90,000 in my savings and you have $50,000, I have $40,000 more. Let us both earn 10% and in 20 years I have $605,000 and you have $335,000 or $270,000 more than you. This is the reason for the old saying the rich getter richer and the poor get poorer. It’s all about arithmetic.

Power lines

The decline in the sales of EV’s has come at a fortuitous time. People are turning away from EV’s because of the lack of charging stations, the time between charges, especially in cold weather, the loss of the $7,500 subsidy and the high cost of the vehicle. This is at a time when pressure on the grid is building because of data centers, which use huge amounts of electric power. The power grid is outdated and transmission lines and transformers are operating beyond their designed lifespan. Major tech companies have signed agreements with the White House to fund their own power infrastructure to bypass grid constraints and avoid relying on public utility capacity. In the future much of the stress on the grid will be reduced as small nuclear reactors replace major power plants bringing the power closer to the use point. This removes the need for long transmission lines which can then be used primarily for homes and small businesses.

Medicaid fraud

Congress is responsible for oversight but the government is so large that much of this is placed into the hands of different agencies where the bureaucrats take on the job. The result is waste and fraud in programs, especially Medicaid and Medicare. While DOGE exposed a number of cases of waste and fraud it was unpopular because it was more of a private investigation. As a result of the problems uncovered the “Task Force to Eliminate Fraud” was formed in March of 2026 led by VP Vance. Further emphasizing the importance are recent developments in Medicaid fraud. This includes programs to feed children, low-income housing, childcare, autism treatment centers, hospice, unemployment benefits, Covid tax fraud, and foreign aide scams. For many years Medicare fraud where doctors work with criminals to steal using false claims. In many of the latest examples the officials have been compromised and made it difficult to stop fraud even after it was discovered.

SNAP rules

How the new SNAP rules under the big beautiful bill will be enforced by state. Here is how Nebraska will handle things. Under the law, enrollees must work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month, attend school at least part-time, or participate in job training. Or they must prove they qualify for certain exemptions, such as caring for a child 13 or younger or a disabled parent, or having a health condition that prevents employment. Proving employment status will require documentation, but Nebraska officials say they will allow enrollees to self-attest that they volunteer, go to school, or qualify for exemptions, such as for poor health or caring for a disabled parent. "Supporting documentation, such as medical records, will not be required," Spilinek said. That could make it easier for enrollees to get exempted under the law's "medical frailty" exception. The long list of health conditions that can be considered for the exemption was posted last week by the state and includes many types of cancers and mental health and heart conditions. SNAP legislation). The law specifically excludes disabled individuals, caregivers of young children, and pregnant individuals from these mandates.

Education

Since 1950, American public schools have experienced a massive "staffing surge," where the number of non-teaching employees has grown dramatically faster than the number of students. In 1950 the average class size was 35 and today that is 16. In 1950 there were 2.36 teachers for every non-teacher working in the schools and today it is one to one. While student enrollment has increased 100% the number of teachers has increased 243% and the number of non-teacher employees has increased by 700%. The result has been that while the cost per student in real dollars has increased the test scores have not. The cost per student has increased from $2,000 in 1950 to $20,000 today using inflation adjusted dollars. Inflation-adjusted K-12 education spending per student has increased dramatically, rising from roughly \(\$1,800\)–\(\$2,300\) in 1950 to over \(\$20,000\) by 2023. This represents a more than 300% increase in real spending per pupil, driven by lower class sizes, higher teacher salaries, and increased special education services. Special education started in 1975 and was not included in the 1950 data. The total spending on K 12 education in 2023 was $947 billion while $39 billion was spent on special education.

SSI

It is sometimes said that government benefit programs never end but that is not always the case. Prior to 1996 alcoholism was considered a disability by Social Security Income (SSI) and alcoholism was considered a disability under this program. Alcoholics living on the street were receiving $600 per month but the law required that they have a permanent address to send the checks and there must be a responsible person to receive the money. It was common for the alcoholic to use the neighborhood liquor store as this address and the owner as the responsible person. The store would keep track of the purchases during the month and when the check arrived, they would deduct the amount owed and turn over the rest to the recipient. It the limit was reached they would be cut off until next month. It served as an interest free loan of next months purchases. This had been going on for many years but was stopped in 1996. Studies showed the Social Security Administration (SSA) didn't monitor addicts properly, and only one-fifth of those required to be in treatment actually were.

SNAP

The latest government scandal is in the food stamp program. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps is administered by the Agriculture Department at a cost of $100 billion dollars per year. The USDA estimated that in 2023 about 11.7% of payments were improper so why is that still going on today and how does it happen. Application fraud which includes lying about income, household size or residency is where most problems start along with retail fraud where store owners exchange SNAP benefits for cash or nonfood items. Food stamps are traded on the street at a 50% discount. This is common among addicts to get cash to buy drugs. Some dealers will take the stamps directly. Once again Minnesota has the dubious position of leading the way in the fraud. This week, federal agents targeted 20 plus MN retailers involved in SNAP trafficking, where benefits are exchanged for cash or ineligible items. Audits indicate a lack of security left hundreds of thousands of people receiving double benefits or benefits intended for deceased individuals. This follows the scandals surrounding the “Feeding Our Future”, Child Care and Autism fraud. While this investigation is centered in MN most experts believe it is prevalent in other states. This leads many to believe that the government is too large to properly administer.

Social security private

The federal government thrift plan was started in 1986 and has been a success. There are five funds and a five percent employer match. The plan has a $25,000 per year maximum and is similar to the 401K plans in the private sector. The President today signed into law a new tax deferred savings plan for the millions of people who do not have an employer pension plan. The plan is for people who earn less than $35,000 and they can save $1,000 per year with a government match of $1,000. This could be the start of privatizing social security (SS). The worker would have his social security money which is deducted from his pay check deposited in the new savings plan. This would include the matching amount from the employer. It would start slow with anyone turning age 25 next year being eligible. The payroll deduction is 7.65% of which 6.2% is for social security. That amount includes 2.2% to cover the cost of disability and survivor benefits and the remaining 4% is for SS. This is matched by the employer and so 8% of salary can be set aside each paycheck and deposited into the new savings plan. Based on past market performance this will far exceed the current SS benefits and the employee will own the account. This means any money left over at death will pass to the heirs. This will remove the discrimination against Blacks under the current system because it is based on life expectancy and Whites live longer. This would also remove SS from the responsibility of government. If a person age 25 earning $40,000 per year gets a 3% raise each year and invests 8% of his salary that earns 10%, he will have $1.56 million in his account at age 62. If he invested this money and earned 8%, he would have $10,000 per month income for life and then pass on the $1.56 million to his heirs. Under the current SS system, he would receive $9,200 per month and have nothing to pass on. The estimate of his earning 10% on his savings during his work career is based on the 100 years average for the stock market. This would have the added advantage of putting money into the private sector to be invested in the economy. Instead of living off the interest at retirement he could purchase a life annuity for $9,400 per month and guarantee his retirement income or some combination of the two.

Iran then and now

The Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi a US backed dictator was overthrown in 1979 and a religious dictator took control. These new leaders immediately held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days while the US stood helpless for fear that the oil supply would be cut off. Thus began 47 years of rule by a theocratic dictatorship led by Ayatollah Khomeini. Citizens were controlled by the Mullahs and women’s rights were curtailed based on Sharia Law. In 1980, Iraq led by Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and started a war that lasted until 1988, costing both nations massive resources and lives which strengthened the control by the Mullahs. During the war, the US sided with Iraq and sent chemicals that could be turned into weapons along with materials to make anthrax. These were used to synthesize mustard gas, sarin, tabun and VX and all were used against the Kurds and Iranians. Years later when Bush 43 was president he went in to Iraq based on the threat of WMD but he asked the wrong question. He asked where are the WMD instead of what happened to the WMD. Iraq claimed they destroyed them but would not say where because the ground could have been tested to confirm the destruction. While US troops encountered some scattered remnants of WMD, they did not find an active or large-scale site where the weapons were destroyed. Led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran embarked upon expanding their influence in the area. They set up and financed the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the PMF in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen and various groups in Syria. The use of proxies provided Iran with “plausible deniability” and allowed them to continue their goal of destroying Israel. Iran sees Israel’s military power as a direct security challenge and a reason to develop nuclear bombs. After Khomeini’s death in 1989, the new Ayatollah Khamenei became Supreme Leader and they continued to export the revolution. Over the years Iran has attacked Americans. In 1983, 220 American servicemen were killed when an Iranian proxy blew up their Beirut barracks. President Reagan immediately pulled all US soldiers from the area and once again the US refused to confront Iran just as they did during the 1979 hostage situation. Then in 1996 several hundred US soldiers were injured when another Iranian proxy blew up the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia and true to form President Clinton did not retaliate. Iran continued down the path of disrupting the area and added Hamas to their list of proxies. In recent years a combination of events has put Iran in a weakened condition and the US and Israel combined forces to take military action. Iran lost their supply path to Hezbollah when Assad was deposed in Syria. Attacks by Israel in Palestine had weakened Hamas and the inability to supply Hezbollah with weapons allowed Israel to move into Lebanon. The Houthis were weakened when they tried to close the Red Sea and this left Iran without their proxies. The economic sanctions had put the Iran economy into a tail spin and the time was right to finally put an end to the regimes ability to cause havoc. The US was no longer dependent on Middle East oil and could finally act without fear. The question now is, will the American people be willing to put up with high gas prices to end the long running rogue nations desire to bring death to Israel and America or will they go back to the old days of just watching and waiting.