Tag: The economy

Opinion

Crazy times and bad leadership

We are living in a time where the American political system has installed a president who appears incoherent and untrustworthy. Nations that were the closest of allies a few weeks ago are now being threatened with invasion and trade wars. Unqualified people are being placed in charge of federal agencies while the demand for good governance increase. Members of the new president’s team are saying we need to suffer an economic collapse to have a better future. America is in trouble and historians are making the point that it is easier to tear things down than to build them up. Do Americans feel like a massive mistake was made in the last election? There is a lot of evidence that they do. A lot of eligible voters stayed home because they thought their vote didn’t matter. An important reform for the future would be to have national vote by mail, and a voting holiday to support high turnout elections. I think the wisdom of the people becomes apparent when more people vote.

Opinion

We are not getting ready for the future

In America we have a new president and congress, but they don’t talk about the future, they talk about the past. Scientists have told us for decades the climate is changing but we not planning to act on the information. The new republican politicians want to fight and deny science. The insurance and real estate markets won’t let republicans get away with bull jive. Check out this video for your edification.

https://youtu.be/PORbrxg-2GQ?si=6j6SeY8cjNa8zhlN

Opinion

The Hits Keep Coming

Anyone who is interested in the truth about the Trump administration can find it; those who want lies can find plenty of those too. America’s enemies must be drinking champagne and doing back flips as they watch our continued division over an ignorant clown named Trump. Some Americans hold up the corrupt clown as some sort of hero while the world sees a conman taking advantage of our many fools fueled by ignorance, racism, and ego-centrism. The January 6th commission has revealed the attempted coup that was assisted by many Republicans during and after the fact. The Trump Attorney General and his daughter both said they believed he had lost the election as did most of his professional campaign staff; will this make any difference to Republicans who want to believe the lie? Probably not. Whether a heavily armed America will wind up in a civil war is anyone’s guess. The hardest part of our current events is how quickly we have turned on each other at the behest of an obvious evil clown named Trump. The January 6th committee is just getting started; it is already too much information about an attack on our country that should have been dealt with in a bipartisan fashion already. We are a weak democracy, and it could get worse.

Opinion

Investing in Americans

President Joe Biden is working to gain support for large investments (American Family Plan and the American Jobs Plan) in the American people after years of trickle down economics failing us. The president says that taxes on corporations and the top one percent will pay for the investments without driving up national debt (remember that the one percent have become much more wealthy in the last 50 years and can afford higher tax rates). Economist like Paul Krugman say that investments in Americans will actually increase GDP and make the United States a wealthier country. The other large impact of the Biden investments will be a healthier happier citizenry with more education, healthcare access, and job skills. I believe that President Biden’s proposal are the way to go for America, and the time for them is now. Research the Biden proposals and support Democrats if you believe the time for investment in the American people is now.

Opinion

We live in exciting times

The last four years of Trump and the spillover from the hatred and malevolence that flowed from it are an ongoing threat in our lives, but there are reasons for hope. The Biden/Harris Administration and the Democrats have the opportunity to build back a better United States with the following legislative actions: 1) The COVID response will lift potentially millions of children from poverty, 2) The For the People and John Lewis Acts will strengthen our democratic systems if passed, 3) Infrastructure legislation will lead to reduced carbon emissions, safer and more accessible transportation, a more robust and resilient transmission system, lower costs for citizens and business while producing high paying jobs for Americans. 4) Raising taxes on the wealthy while maintaining lower taxes on households making less than $400,000 per year. 5) A Healthcare bill could build a system worthy of the name that will be affordable to every citizen while providing support for mental and physical health. Mental health accessibility could reduce homicides , police killings, and societal stress. The possibilities for improved living while creating a sustainable world are real reasons for hope, but so are the good paying jobs that will be created building a healthier, resilient, socially mobile, and more fair society.

Opinion

Voting Rights and Infrastructure

The Democrats have confronted COVID19 with vaccines, resources, and plans to put America back on a path to normalcy. Now the Biden Administration and Congressional democrats must confront more existential threats to the future of the United States as a republic. Republicans pursuing policies of white supremacy and voter disenfranchisement in states must be confronted by a strong voting expansion and protection measure. Currently we are nowhere near 100% participation by eligible citizens in our elections, although high turnout is a worthy goal that strengthens democracy and justice. Climate Chaos is a regular feature of life today with the Texas power grid fiasco being the latest manifestation of the danger to our civilization. An infrastructure bill that puts Americans to work strengthening our physical capacity to protect citizens and commerce from strengthening weather events is existentially important. Any failure to immediately begin development of a resilient society is to accept large-scale Climate Chaos death that will make the half-million souls lost to COVID19 look small in comparison. Joe Biden and the Democrats have to move mountains, and do it quickly, because Republicans just want to play politics with race and economics, they aren’t ready for this moment. America could not afford Trump and his wasted 4 years that damaged the country while morally bankrupting the Republicans. We are climbing out of another ditch as we did under President Obama (after the markets crashed), but this time we cannot afford to wait for, or count on, Republicans.

Opinion

Healthcare is part of national defense

The US does not have a healthcare system that is available to every citizen. The US has a healthcare marketplace that creates huge gaps of underserved people as the COVID19 pandemic has shown. We still don’t know how the pandemic developed. Was it man-made, or a typical animal to human transference? Scientist are still working to discover the origins of the pandemic and to stay ahead of variants. The United States has emerged as a weak player in handling infectious disease because of our lack of a system with equal access and protection for all citizens. An enemy could attack the US with a virus that morphs while remaining virulent. That enemy could watch the wealthy get protected through social distancing, work from home, and access to quality healthcare. The poor would be hit hard early and spread the disease which could then morph to overcome the advantages of the wealthy. Our economy and military would be rapidly overwhelmed because we have not systematically monitored and responded to threats like COVID19. America must build a first rate healthcare system that includes public health, and universal access, because the survival of the nation depends on it.

Opinion

Go big, or go home

President Biden has plenty of work to do, and so far he has done the job of restoring faith in our republic and his leadership of it. The president has been clear in stating what he wants to do and how he will go about trying to achieve bipartisan support. The Republicans want to pretend that the insurrection, and their attempts to hobble the Obama administration before wasting money on a tax cut for the rich with Trump did not happen. President Biden saw all of it and knows that he cannot waste time negotiating with people who have only bad faith towards him achieving anything for the American people. The president knows that he has to play both the long and the short game to be successful and if anyone can do it, he can. The administration’s job right now is to help those who are in jeopardy from the pandemic before moving on to climate change, racial injustice, immigration, infrastructure, and healthcare for all Americans. Many of these issues are interrelated whether Republicans realize it or not. America’s enemies will attack us where we are weak, which right now is our societal divisions and lack of a strong healthcare system. If COVID was an attack it was successful, and the next attack could be stronger and more devastating. America needs a robust healthcare system that services every citizen. The next four years will require a lot of money to be focused on strengthening our society to compete for the future.

Opinion

Feeling Hopeful

President Joe Biden is showing Americans what leadership looks like. He is talking and acting like a person of character and conviction about COVID19, climate change, racism, infrastructure, and making work pay. President Biden cannot do everything he wants without the help of Congress, but by using executive orders he is not sitting around waiting for them to act. The Biden/Harris administration is sending the signal that citizens matter by exhibiting transparency and answering the questions of the press. Our government is not supposed to solve all of our problems, but it is supposed to set the stage for the success of our efforts. With numerous challenges for America we now have adults in charge who know that leadership in government matters for the future and success of hard working citizens. When Biden talks he is optimistic and focused on our issues; not talking about himself and lying about bizarre issues like inauguration crowd size. I do not believe everything will be perfect now, but we have good reason for hope. Let’s keep paying attention and sorting out truth from fiction because the ultimate decision makers are us.