I
continually marvel at the wealth of wisdom one can find on the Web…if one is
willing to rummage through the trash.
Like most everyone else, I am largely a product of what I ingest. And lest you wonder if I am truly as loopy as
perhaps I sometimes appear, in this post I am going to give you a sense of some
of the places and people I look to in an attempt to make sense of this crazy
world we live in. Enjoy.
First,
let us glance backwards for a moment. Although it has not played out completely and
there seems to be pretty broad consensus that while the end is nigh, no one is
quite sure what the end is…the Mueller Investigation continues. When you have closets like Trump’s, anything
they might drag out will be unsurprising.
But in hopes that the bulk of the circus is in the rear view mirror, and
for purposes of this post, I will
address it in the past tense.
I
have stated many times on this site and remain convinced that the Trump/Russia
Collusion hoax is the biggest political scandal in American history. I do not grasp the full legal implications of
treason charges; but common sense tells me that some of these Deep State crooks
had to be dancing all around the edge with a foot (or two) across the line on many occasions. What a disgrace. And once again…how insane is it that the very
thing these clowns accuse Trump of doing were being practiced by them?
Our
culture and society is in the midst of a critical national test; a test whose
result will go a long ways towards either confirming our founding principles of
accountability and fairness or abandoning those principles with a free pie for all philosophy that will
erode personal incentive, ambition, and pride.
All across our nation and in every aspect of our lives, pension plans
are on shaky financial grounds for one simple reason: Overly-generous promises
were made, and are being perpetuated,
that cannot be responsibly maintained on a fiscal basis. In rare cases, the hard decisions have been
made to adjust the plans in an effort to place them on a more secure future
foundation. The best example I can cite
for this come to Jesus pension moment
is the cessation of the old Civil Service
Retirement Plan (CSRS) in the mid-80’s for the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) plan that is now in
effect for federal employees. I
participated in both of these plans and actually retired under the auspices of
the FERS. In my opinion, Congress and
the Executive Branch did a masterful job of transitioning from a retirement
plan that was clearly unsustainable to one that while requiring more discipline
and management by the employee, was imminently fair and responsible…to both the
employees and the taxpayers who help fund the system. I remain dumbfounded why more state and city
governments have not used the FERS as a model for their future retirement
systems. When it comes to fiscally irresponsible pension systems, the old adage
is never truer…you can run, but you
cannot hide. To continue down the
road with a retirement system that cannot independently fund itself is not only
irresponsible to the people who finance it, but also to the future generations
who will rely on the security of its benefits.
The wages of doing nothing will be a cents-on-the-dollar payday for the
beneficiaries of tomorrow.
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Looking
at some of the fires burning in our faces today,
one hot topic is the question of energy.
With the resurgence of America as the world’s premier energy producer
and the climate concerns surrounding fossil fuels, there are many, many issues
swirling about energy…how much we need, what is the best way to produce it, and
what is a reasonable consumer price?
Quietly and behind the scenes, the nuclear sector of the energy industry
has picked up some momentum. We all
remember Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima; but most of us are
unaware of how truly abnormal these terrible events were. As for me, until I see a reasonable and
responsible long-term plan for dealing with nuclear waste (besides dumping it in the oceans or burying it inside our mountains),
we still need to proceed very cautiously in this area.
As
much as they would like to refine or shift the political conversation from
Socialism and all it stands for, the Democrats are establishing quite a track
record with their progressive (read that “liberal”)
governing ideals that are becoming quite the albatross around their
necks. I am waiting for some
conservative group or innovative publishing company to come up with a coffee
table book about the American socialist movement that chronicles many of the
dismal failures we have seen in the last few decades. Venezuela is not going away. In fact, look no further than to the west in
America to see where socialist and liberal principles will lead us when applied
with any degree of enthusiasm. Is this the future you want for your
children and grandchildren?
There
will be hundreds of miles of wall built on our southern border. America will pay for it. It will help to control our border traffic in
a more responsible and humane fashion.
It only makes sense. It is a
shame that the Resist Trump movement
has relegated overall Immigration Policy to its current status as political
football, but it is what it is. It is also
irresponsible for the Republican’s failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform
when they controlled Congress and the White House. And of course, the same can be said for the Democrats.
For anyone who tracks federal
expenditures, you can readily realize how absolutely farcical it is for Democrats
to protest the modest funds being requested by Trump for wall
construction. For example….
Looking
ahead, there are two issues to mention. One is evolving behind the scenes while the
other is literally sucking all of the oxygen out of the room. History may well record that the illegitimate
passage of Obamacare was a colossal blunder, the SCOTUS decision to uphold the
law was a monumental error, and the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare was a
near success/narrow failure that actually turned out just right. These comedies
of errors might very well lead us to a decent health care system in our
country. By dismantling many of the
onerous regulations and administrative burdens of Obamacare, the Trump
Administration is allowing the health care industry to reestablish a modicum of
balance between a free market and innovative approach to health care while
paying proper attention to those that are underserved by the system. Left to its own devices and more times than
not, the capitalist system in America will lead to the best solutions for our
citizens.
Speaking
of Socialists, the primary (pun intended)
question facing 2020 Democrat Presidential Wannabes is… how far to left can you possibly shift? Donald Trump presents a big fat political
target and he is certainly not scaring away potential opponents. But if the last election taught us anything
at all, it is this…you can’t beat
somebody with nobody. Democratic
Party…THIS is the best you can do?
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