State of the Union?

Well, the white house will claim many accomplishments. Here are a few of them and what they are worth. Most are worth nothing. So ‘accomplishment’ is the wrong term to use.

1.     Tax Reform: no reform was done. A very complicated mess was made more messy; no real reform; a change of some formulas and reduction of taxes to some segments of the public; increased fees and taxes to many other segments. Real reform requires transparent process, examination, and invention.

2.     Reduction of federal regulations: by decree some regulations were eliminated because they were created by executive order; that was because the congress couldn’t make up its mind what to do so progress required the then president to take action. Regulations are not all bad; most of them protect the rest of us from bad policies and treatment by those who wield economic or political power; reduction of these regulations only harms the public.

3.     Elimination of Paris Climate Accord: as one of the globe’s largest polluters, America should be on the forefront of cleaning up the environment. Other polluter nations have been slow to respond to this call for action, China and Russia among them. However, those nations are now responding and so too should America. The Climate Accord, however, can still be practiced by Americans; it doesn’t need the force of law for us to pursue commonsense policy and practice. Many states are doing just that.

4.     Threatening to undo various trade pacts and treaties: most of these protect American workers and industries already; upsetting the trade balances will threaten more than preserve; some industries are on their way out and need to be replaced anyway, but think agricultural trade between Mexico and USA; totally screwed up by threatening to undo NAFTA. Wrong thing to do at this point in time; same for all the other trade agreements; be careful what you mess with; unintended consequences are horrendous. American farmers know this.

5.     Messing with the Middle East: delicate balances gained over the years; all still problems; no real solution available; upsetting balances in favor of Israel only increases the problems. Peace begins with Israel and must be respected by them. Others will fall into line eventually. Getting us off the ‘oil standard’ would be a great first step.

6.     Favoring Oil and Gas industries: this is the opposite of getting off the oil standard. We need to find energy sources that are non-polluting, readily available, and cost effective. Replace oil and gas as soon as possible. Do not favor oil industry; this only prolongs the pain of replacing them with something better.

7.     Women’s issues are more painful now than before the current president. We are at least discussing these issues but it will take culture shifts to repair and mend. Current misogynistic policies and temperaments do not address the problems. Get with it republicans.

8.     Education and research: both arenas represent an investment in our people to self-sustain themselves and advance the opportunities for society in general. Both move society’s goal posts forward and improve standards of living for everyone. Not investing in education and research is self-destructive. This seems to be the present policy of the white house and republican party.

There are more items to place on this list. But 8 is a good number to start with, and to end this post with. The seriousness of the nation's situation should not be understated. And its positives should not be overstated.

We are in danger of a nuclear war with North Korea and her supporters in China and Russia. Not a good thing for anyone. But also, not a reason to rapidly advance the cold war behavior by investing more in our defense systems. Avoid war; advance peace; make defense systems unnecessary.

Investing in our own people will help address the fundamental weakness of the economy – vast unemployed talents who did not remain current in their current and future career options. Another reason to expand educational resources.

I do not plan on tuning into the State of the Union address. It will be dishonest and all smoke and mirrors, anyway. Let’s spend time on addressing the real issues in a collaborative and creative manner. Perhaps we can sponsor private coffees at which to discuss the issues of the day?

January 30, 2018