Showing posts with label trump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trump. Show all posts

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Political Divide

THE CHASM

I've been reading the news and Twitter a lot lately. I'm 39, so I've been around a little bit, and for the first time, I'm truly afraid we're at a political breaking point.

My focus for school was economics. I read about business, the economy, finance and government spending. For the first time, I'm afraid of an economic crisis that will make 2008 look frighteningly minor. Enough of that, we need to understand something first:

THE PROBLEM

This is my opinion, backed by sound logic and studying. It began with Ronald Reagan and “trickle down” economics. At that moment, the rich won, period. With all that extra capital, the invested and grew massive. The killer for the rest of us? Citizens United. Period.

So here we are, controlled by a minority who want to keep us down. Democrats and Republicans alike are for sale. But, we have two very fundamental yet extremely different economic views. On the right, small government, less spending, tax breaks to grow the economy and states rights. The left, a socialized democracy. Tax, with rates increasing with money, and spend. In a perfect world, a socialized, yet capitalistic society is easily the best way. Period.

How am I so convinced that, in a perfect world, the left is right? Because your money payed to a perfect government, would be used to solely protect you. Agencies for your security and safety. Money for education expenses. Smaller military budget. Free health care so you life expectancy doesn't depend on your wallet. The list goes on. Including, most importantly, money to states to help grow our nation.

I didn't say a perfect government twice, however, on accident. Because of actions over the last thirty years, our government cannot pass anything without approval from lobbies.

The consequences are simple, you won't get re-elected if you disagree with the powers that be, in many cases. Lobbyists do not need to convince them all, just enough. The result is a masterpiece created by the wealthy, where money makes money and capital is king.

Now comes the rise of social media. If your friend sends an article, it must be true. Then, the media isn't informing the nation. The real reporters are competing with a massive social media attack on our very foundation, our democracy and our safety. This had lead to:

HATE and IGNORANCE

That's the source of the problem. I'm not saying ignorance because of a lack of intelligence. It's was a subtle beginning when Obama became president. As a liberal who thinks Obama was a great leader, Check him out. The hatred from the left spilled over. Fox News and other even further left outlets bashed him daily. People who watch these, by and large bought it. However, he had over 400 accomplishments of which many affect you in a good way.

But the chasm grew. Our Congress was divided along party lines. The left and right medias begin to step up the hate. Both sides spreading misinformation, or ignorance, at a feverish pace. Politics have always been divided, but not like this.

Before, there was nightly news. Unbiased, fact based news. The paper, with op-eds for both sides, but actually news. Sources were confirmed, experts were involved and our media simply informative.

Now, with misinformation flying, no one believes the other side. New York Times, The Washington Post and other major publications began searching for clicks. There's no money without them. The right, influenced by Fox News and other right leaning media outlets, didn't trust other, leftist, elitist news. The left clinged to it. MSNBC, the Fox News for the left, fueled their hatred, constantly attacking the right. And the war grew, and grew. A clash for the ages begins:

HILLARY v TRUMP

And here we are. Trump promised the world, Hillary wasn't ready to promise that. She was pragmatic, and she was under attack, under investigation, and she represented the elite, even though her life was dedicated to the underprivileged.

Trump, however, was not a politician, he was going to end the wars, destroy ISIS, fix health care, bring back jobs, and that's just his first week. He thrived because the media had made people hate the government, because he didn't talk or act like a politician, who have let us down, time and time again. We needed someone to shake it up. And he certainly is.

On a liberal note, andI would love to be wrong, but I challenge anyone to find an Executive Order or a bill passed that has helped you. Not a coal miner, not a factory worker, but you? I've read them all, looking at each one to find one good thing, but I simply couldn't. The only good ones carry no money, therefore, worthless words.

I truly wanted to find something good. It's just not there. It's June 19th, hundreds of important government jobs are missing. He blames the media, the democrats, Mexico, China and Obama. Always someone or something to blame. And nothing has been done, not really
More an illusion of accomplishments than actual accomplishments. But please, prove me wrong. Maybe I am too blinded by bias.

He continues to blame Obama for his pathetic 8 years, but Obama came in with our country bleeding money, yet he didn't blame anyone, he went to work. Obama Care has helped millions, but it was never perfect. It needs to be fixed, not replaced. It won't get it, and it will die along with people. Actual people will actually die or go into financial ruin. The rich? They get more.

The hatred now has already turned violent, on both sides. Trump supporters being beaten over a bumper sticker. Liberals being punched at a rally, with our President egging him on. ANTIFA trying to bring a message, I think, but are only bringing and inciting violence. A right wing politician, gunned down by a liberal at a softball game. Trump attacking our media, the White House saying one thing, Trump tweeting another. And so the final step for the rich and powerful is complete:

GENERALIZATION

The media war tells us that every liberal who doesn't like Trump is a snowflake. How dare you not support our President? We lived through 8 years of Obama, Satan himself, and we still stood by him as our President.

Their selective memory, though, is encouraged by our news cycle and media attacks, but is very frustrating for the left who remember how Republicans treated Obama. He couldn't do anything right. Killing Bin Ladin, the mastermind behind 9/11 wasn't enough, so I'm not sure how he have could please you. The right, increasingly ignorant due to the misinformation war over the past decade, and the left, increasingly angry at Trump, Congress and their inaction and spite.

What I just stated is what's going on, right now. Generalization, period. Now it's right v left. If you're right, you're a nationalistic, red blooded American, Trump loving, gun loving, idiotic fool who allowed Trump to con you and believe we need to make America great again, as if we were so awesome for so long and the damn liberals ruined it. If you're left, however, you're a pussy, gun hating, socialist, America hating, tree hugging, elitist, city living, precious little snowflake. So fragile, so anti-american that we can't wait to gain back power and destroy your freedom.

The truth isn't that easy. The truth is how it's always been. Most of us lean left or right, where we can talk about politics and come to some sort of agreement. On the fringes, are the far left and right, out of sight due to online anonymity. Spewing hate and generalizing the other side.

Normal people just want to live a good life. We can agree on some things, even now. We want a government that works for us. We want good opportunities to make money. We want to be proud of our country. We want people to be kind. We want a thriving economy. We want easy access to food, clean water, shelter and the basic needs. We want justice. We want safety and security, but also privacy, an increasingly difficult task with modern technology. And we want all this and complete freedom. We want this, but we don't want to pay taxes.

We just can't agree on how to get there. What's different now is that we're blaming citizens, holding them accountable for the actions of the elected. We're also blaming citizens for believing the biased media, on both sides. Anything sound wrong about those statement? Which finally leads to:

THE END

We are going to continue to generalize. Violence breeds more violence. Government corruption continues to propagate content. A nation at war, right vs left vs the rest of the world. Economic collapse. Climate disaster. Energy crisis. We simply want too much, and the hatred grows. It's not about Trump, it's about us. But that has been long lost, lost because of corporate greed and a misinformation war. It can go several ways. Civil War, martial law, a military coup? Nothing at all and life continues as-is?

I can't see the future, but I am watching the present and study the past. There's something different brewing in America, but it's all too familiar throughout mankind's existence, whether created by a God, or through evolution. Money and power accumulate at the top. The top begins to control the masses, either by corrupting a government or simply by force. The only difference now is technology.

Unfortunately, technology never saved past empires. The masses cannot be controlled and used by the few for long. Have we reached that point. Absolutely. The masses are pissed, tired of being held down. Tired of electing people with good intentions, only to see them break down by a broken system. What happens next could become history, the legend of the greatest country to date, lost to the books and the ages.

I hope I'm wrong!

Friday, April 21, 2017

Trumponomics

Trump’s budget was outright scary. In order to pay for increasing our military spending, he wants to cut everything. As someone who wants to create jobs, he seems to forget about the massive amounts of federal employees that will lose their jibs due to the cuts.

On top of that, he argues that we have less ships than we did in the 90’s and our planes are old. I don’t even know where to start. In the 90’s, we began to decommission WWII era ships, as they had a 50 year lifespan and had outlived their purpose. A single Aircraft Carrier group could destroy most of the world’s Navy’s. Our submarines are country destroying machines. Our destroyers are just that and our carriers are not only better than any carrier on Earth, but the number of them are greater than all countries combined.

As for our planes, aside from the F-22 Raptor, and the F-35 joint strike jets that will come online soon, yes, our planes are “old”. The F-16 has been in service for decades, but is still one of the most reliable and impressive aircraft around. Not to mention that it is constantly geting upgraded. Our B-2 Spirit can destroy air defense systems and infrastructure allowing non stealth attacks, and return home without being seen. It can carry 80 conventional 500 pound bombs, or 16 2400 pound thermal nuclear bombs. That’s not even mentioning our B-52, B-1 and the B-21 which is expected to be in service by 2020.

My point, our military is just fine and the proposed cuts will hurt everyone. Our EPA is going to be gutted; even Meals on Wheels, which takes up such a small part of our GDP.

Then you have the attack on illegal immigrants and on our trade deficit. His focus on coal and manufacturing jobs is perplexing as we have moved to a service country for a reason. Those jobs are higher paying and better jobs. Who wants to make iPhones over selling and servicing them?

By deporting illegal immigrants, rather than giving them a pathway to citizenship is another head scratcher as they benefit our economy greatly. So does trade, and we have a trade deficit for a reason. We consume more than we can produce, and we benefit from trading with China and other nations. His proposed 30-40 percent tariff is a tax that we will pay for. If companies have to move back to the US, the cost of that will be paid for by us as well. None of it makes economic sense.

Trump’s plan, if approved, will destroy our economy. Things will cost to much, people will buy less, unemployment will rise leading to less purchases and so on. There is no upside to his plan and only ignorant people think everything should be made on the USA and we need more manufacturing jobs. Although with Betsy Devos, our children will probably only be able to get unskilled jobs anyways, maybe that’s his plan. The only people who will benefit from his plans and deregulations are his friends. He even said as much, saying that his friends can’t borrow money like they used too. His friends are doing fine, it’s everyone else that needs help.

Humans have traded commodities since before civilization when one clan realized that they develop one thing really well and another clan develops something else. It’s called specialization, and Trump with his nationalistic point of view can destroy that tradition. We cannot let that happen.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Trump is Great

He is great at many things. He's great at tapping into white rage (whether real or imagined), he's great at deflection, he's great at speaking for hours without saying a word and he's great at name brand recognition. Love him or hate him, his name is synonymous with luxury and success the world over. We'll never know how successful he really is, the last tax returns we know of shows a loss of 900 million dollars!

However, he is our President. It's time to start hoping he succeeds, not fails. For his failures affect us, not him. While his cabinet picks are scary and he vows to put a pro-lifer in the Supreme Court, never forget that he isn't a King, he answers to us.

Our Congress, as worthless as they might be, will be the only check on his power, but it is a major check. He will not be able to put a 35% tariff on imports without Congress. He will not be able to build a walk without Congress. While he can sign executive orders, they are limited in power. Any real changes to our laws must go through Congress with a super majority, and that is where we can make our voices heard. Call your elected officials, and call them often. They are our representatives because they represent us, not special interests and they certainly don't work for Trump.

One another note, let's also not forget to remember that Trump is also good at negotiating, a skill that is vital to the Presidency. Perhaps he can negotiate better trade deals, perhaps his ego will not allow him to fail. Perhaps he will fail (most likely), but wishing for that is wishing for your own failure.

However, his nationalistic views are very scary, as is his temperament. We rely on global trade to feed our ever growing consumer culture. Without it, the cost of goods would skyrocket. Like taxes, the costs of tariffs are passed to the consumers. This is economics 101.

Let's pretend he does pass a 35% tariff. Then what? Will companies bring back those manufacturing jobs, the call center jobs? Those jobs we lost to China, India and other nations are not jobs we want back. Ask yourself, would you rathed make an iPhone or would you rather design it, market it, sell it and service it?  Not to mention that manufacturing production in the US is at an all time high, but that's due to robotics. Never forget, though, that those robots need to be maintained, designed and built. These are the jobs that you want. So are the management and administrative jobs, but they require education, and that is where our country is struggling.

We are, and have been for years, primarily a financially centered and service country. These jobs require skills and education that so many are lacking, mostly to no fault of their own. Instead of trying to bring back horrible, low paying manufacturing jobs, we must focus on high paying skilled labor jobs. We must focus on high quality education, trade schools and making it easier to go to college. Doing so will naturally increase growth and opportunities.

We are near the natural unemployment rate with less than a quarter million people actively looking for work who can't find one. This is the lowest rate since the 70's meaning Trump has inherited a country with a strong economy, strong markets and low unemployment. Trump can easily destroy that, but my hopes are that his own ego won't allow that to happen. Of course, you have to actually read the economic reports and not think they're a comunistic plot against him, but I have to believe he will.

Instead of continuing the partisanship, we should unite, proving that we are better than they are. Peaceful protests are great, but the destruction of property and the assaulting of Trump supporters has to end. It's disgusting and it helps no one. No one should be persecuted in this country for any reason, especially just because they voted for and support someone you don't like. Grow up! You're making us all look like whiney little bitches, which most of us are not. Remember, pick up the phone and call your congressional leaders. That is by far the best approach to enacting real change. They work for us, and it is up to us to hold them to account.

Trump can attempt to silence the media, but he will fail as they are protected under the constitution that the Republicans hold so dear. He also cannot silence us, no matter how hard he tries. But so many protesters are acting like fools. This isn't good for anyone and only proves his point. It only takes a few of you to make us all look bad, and that's exactly what you are doing.

I'm a liberal. I'm afraid Trump is nowhere near qualified for office. I'm afraid of our congress. I'm afraid that he might pick up to 3 justices. But he is your President, like it or not. So start acting like an adult and deal with it like an adult would. Not through destruction, but through constant phone calls. You voice won't be heard on Facebook or Twitter, but they have to answer the phone. Inconvenience them to no end.

It is true though that so many Americans have lost everything due to globalization. The rust belt is real, and our government left them in the cold. We subsidize everything, but we couldn't help those who lost their lives due to plant closures. This has been the worst failure of the government I can think of, a government whose job it is to protect the citizens, whether it is from terrorism or economic crisis. They have dailed at the latter.

Most importantly, you can hate Trump, but denying that he is you President doesn't help. He is, and he works for us. Don't let him forget that.