COLLUSION.
What does the word really mean? I guess it really depends on who is using it. This reminds me of Harry Truman who said when describing the use of the word ‘Bureauocrat’, as it was used by Republicans when applied to Democrats. He said that it referred to any and all [Democrats that have jobs that are wanted by Republicans. The same is also true of any word that may be utilized in a descriptive situation, such as ‘collusion’.
Does this mean that after WWII, when our leaders met with the leaders of our hated enemies that we were in collusion? Does this mean that The Marshall Plan that was conceived by General George Marshall for the reconstruction of Europe, Germany included, was collusion? Give me a break. All countries meet and collude. That is what they do. Not all collusion is necessarily bad for our country. If you think some of the collusion is detrimental to our country, then be specific and give an example of why rather than hypothesize blindly with no proof of anything other than your dislike of those involved.
INTEREST RATE HIKES.
The Fed claims that our rate of inflation which as been at around 1 to 2 percent may not be high enough and therefore an increase in interest rates may be in order. Why? Don’t they realize that lower interest rates help the economy because it means that the net cost of anything that is paid for over a period of time is cheaper thereby enabling all of our manufacturers to make more houses, cars and whatever else is usually paid out over time. By raising interest rates, everything will therefore cost more. For the large companies it really makes no difference as all they have to do in order to cover the additional cost is to raise the price of their product by a few pennies or a few dollars and pass it along to the consumer. For the small companies, they usually have to absorb the additional cost thereby reducing their profits. So who really gains when interest rates are increased? The Banks.
STUDENT LOANS.
Yes. The loans should be paid back. But why charge interest? It’s bad enough that the student had to borrow in order to get a proper education, especially when in some countries a college degree is something that they may not have to pay for. If the interest charges are waived, prospectively and retrospectively, the actual loans will be much easier to handle and their repayment will make everyone happy.
TRANSGENDERS IN THE MILITARY.
At first it was “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the case of gays. But that went by the wayside. In the case of transgenders, you must ask and you must tell. There is no way to get around it. And it is expensive, unless of course the person already went under the knife before entering the military. I like to call them as I see them and in this case I think it would be a mistake to automatically disqualify any and all transgenders from serving and maybe dying for our country. It’s difficult enough to get young men and women to serve so why rule out even a small segment of our population. If it is the projected cost of providing transgender operations on demand for those embarking on a military career that is frightening some of our politicians or Generals then that particular benefit could be taken off the table, prospectively and not retroactively.
OBAMACARE OR ACA.
It will never, ever work, no matter what you call it and no matter what you do to it. The ONLY program that will work is that which is predicated on a single payor system like Medicare and which does not require the partnership of the insurance industry. Sure, it costs more but it would work. The sooner the insurance companies can be removed from the equation the better the chance of making it work. And you don’t have to re-invent the wheel to make it work. We already have Medicare. All you have to do is to include everyone after some minimal period of employment, raise the contribution rates somewhat, especially for those who earn more and factor in ages to some extent. To help make it work, the government should get after Medicare fraud which could easily amount to fifty billion per year. With the exception of those facilities that provide long term disability care and treatment, the VA could also be phased out and any veterans in need of medical care could get it from Medicare and be able to go to any doctor of their choice without the horrendous waiting periods that they are now subject to. I have no idea what this would save but in 2016 the VA spent 273 billion for a system that does not give the veterans what they need nor deserve.