Immigrants

Many countries including Canada, Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Germany and Singapore use merit-based immigration policies and the US should also. Setting up a program that gives preference to young people (under 35), who are trained in the building skills, in healthcare and technology along with speaking English, will give them the best opportunity to become self-supporting and not relying on public assistance. This approach helps close the gap in work areas where there is a current need. The US could take in 2 million immigrants a year and that would help grow the economy.

Trump hybrid

To some people Trump is turning to socialism in some ways but others call it state capitalism. Instead of just offering grants and subsidies to private companies like Intel and MP Materials, Trump is taking part of their stock as collateral for loans. The stock will be sold at a later date to recoup the loan money. Trump crafted an export control deal allowing Nvidia to sell AI chips to China on the condition that they pay the US government 15% of the revenue. Big institutional buyers, like JP Morgan and Blackstone are buying single family homes and renting them out adding to the shortage of homes and driving up prices. Trump is asking congress to stop this practice. This is another example of Trumps pragmatic approach which is neither liberal or conservative but a hybrid. These changes are some of the reasons that people say Trump is not like other presidents.

Canada

Starting back 60 years ago Canada recognized that their population was aging and they were not producing enough young people. This was similar to what was happening in many European countries in addition to China and Japan. Birthrates in Canada have declined from 1.8 in 1980 to 1.2 in 2024. In response to this Canada opened up to immigration on a large scale starting about 20 years ago. They used a merit-based system, which meant that the immigrants were better educated than the natives and bringing in about 500,000 per year to a country with a population of only 40 million, about one third of which, are retired led to problems. The new immigrants slowly, using their education, increased their income to the point where they started driving up the cost of housing to the point where the natives could no longer afford the dream of home ownership. In recent years the country has embarked on an immigration plan to lower the numbers to offset the rising prices. This puts them back in the same position of not having enough young workers to support the retirees. In the US many low skilled, young poor people came to the country and are holding up the younger population but that is not the case in Canada. Transportation into Canada means significant cost and most immigrants are in their late 30’s and early 40’s. Canada is facing significant demographic challenges, primarily an aging population and falling birth rates, leading to a heavy reliance on immigration for growth, but recent policy shifts reducing immigration have caused the first population decline in decades, signaling major economic impacts on labor, housing, and future growth. The country's fertility rate is well below replacement levels (1.25 children per woman), while the proportion of older citizens is rising, creating pressures on resources and the workforce.

Oil

When the Gulf Coast refineries were built years ago the supply of heavy oil was seen as longer lasting and the system was built to use heavy oil. The oil from Texas and North Dakota is mostly light oil so the US buys 4 million barrels a day from Alberta. The oil there is thick and called bitumen. It is expensive to extract and must be diluted to ship by pipeline the 3,000 miles to the gulf refineries. The shipping cost is about $13 per barrel. The oil from Venezuela is also bitumen but cost only $3 per barrel to ship to the Gulf Coast. Venezuela, at its best in the late 1990’s, was producing about 3.5 million barrels per day so it can compete with Alberta. When both sources are producing it give the US a bargaining position.

Cocaine

For many years terrorist groups have used drug money to fund their activities. Just looking at cocaine to illustrate the point, the process begins in Columbia. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) is a Marxist group founded in 1964. The purpose is to promote conflict, kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking. The cocaine is produced in the jungles of Columbia and shipped to Venezuela for distribution to Europe and the US. The government functions as a narco-terrorist organization that uses state power and military officials to facilitate and distribute cocaine. The generals are paid by the sales of cocaine and will not give up power without a fight. The only peaceful way to stop this process is to cut off the money from drug sales. Stopping the flow across the southern border was only a start. The flow by sea is now underway and this can reduce the shipments to Europe. Small boats transfer cocaine to islands in the Caribbean which is then moved to Europe. The US has been aware of this for years but has done little to stop the process. Columbia produces 75% of the world’s supply of cocaine. The cost of health problems and deaths in the US are well documented. In recent years fentanyl has been mixed with cocaine to increase its effect and lower its cost.

Amnesty

Amnesty International is a global group similar to the ACLU in the US. They are non-profit and lean left. Here are some reports from Google AI Amnesty International is a Nobel Prize-winning, global non-governmental organization (NGO) with millions of members, dedicated to campaigning for universal human rights, freedom, justice, and dignity for everyone, acting independently from governments, political ideologies, and religions by researching abuses, mobilizing public action, and lobbying for policy change. They focus on issues like ending torture, defending free expression, protecting refugees, and fighting discrimination, aiming to hold violators accountable and free people jailed for peaceful beliefs, as detailed on their official website. Amnesty International describes Venezuela as facing a severe, ongoing human rights crisis marked by arbitrary detentions, torture, repression of dissent, and lack of access to basic rights like food, water, and health, forcing millions to flee. They call for justice for victims, accountability for perpetrators, and protection for Venezuelan refugees, urging against forced returns and demanding international investigations into alleged crimes against humanity under Nicolás Maduro's government. Amnesty International consistently expects the U.S. to act on human rights, urging it to uphold international law, protect protestors, manage migration humanely, fund foreign aid, and address global crises, often calling on the President and Congress to align U.S. policies with human rights obligations both domestically and internationally. They specifically demand action regarding issues like mass deportations, protecting the right to protest, ensuring accountability for corporate abuses, and supporting human rights in other nations.

Maduro

The differences between left and right in the US can be seen clearly in the response to the capture of Maduro. In Miami where thousands of Venezuelans live there are celebrations whereas in New York city where thousands of Americans are protesting the capture. In 1989 the US went into Panama with at military force of 27,000 and removed Noriega from office and brought him back to the US where he was tried and convicted and remains in jail to this day. The American public reacted positively with polls showing strong support. The operation was deemed a successful, decisive action. The US objected to Noreiga’s drug trafficking and his suppression of democracy, and rigging elections.