You do you; I will do me

"For my liberal friends who are pro-choice, here is another pro-choice option. You do you; and I will do me. Choices. What a fine word to use in every context except abortion. How am I going to do me? Support Donald Trump and all his forward thinking."

Interesting story about the federal tax on Social Security (SS). As most of us know, Donald Trump thinks a huge boost he could give to our seniors on fixed income is not taxing SS. Instead of just pennies on the dollar yearly increase with a SS COLA adjustment, taking the tax off of SS would do wonders for many. The other day, I posted that only an idiot who receives SS would not be excited about this needed change. And I got some responses on that.

One or two of my more liberal friends thought that was a terrible idea. Why? It was Trump's idea. The reasoning of the liberals was that most seniors could afford paying this needless tax. Why pay it? To keep the largess of government just that - largess. It is not just they would volunteer to keep paying this tax for themselves - like true progressives, they want ALL of us to keep paying this tax. To this idea I respond with a modern day cliche' - "You do you; and I will do me". In other words, if you want to keep paying this tax - go for it. As for my wife and I, we CAN'T WAIT until this tax goes away.

Most liberals bristle at two of Trump's ideas which have great merit to the patriots and citizens. First, like just stated, no federal tax on Social Security. The second, is the "DOGE Dividend". That one really causes Democrats hackles to stand at attention. But then yesterday, an idea was floated by the administration which would eclipse the other two. This one will really drive the loony left bat poop crazy. No tax on any family making under $150k/year. That would cover just about every senior family I know. A game changer? HECK YA!

Here is something for those who think that Donald Trump is taking us over a financial cliff. He is not. His only problem is he is a very high valued thinker who comes up with great ideas long before the rest of us do. And the bed wetter's who watch the stock market hour by hour, should do themselves a favor - start looking at the long game. The market is doing just fine. Cutting the size of government, normalizing tariffs to be fairer, bringing more industry on shore, and changing our source of national income from internal to external, are MASSIVE changes to our norms. But they are necessary changes to our norms. Having a national debt of almost $40T is NOT a norm we should accept! Expensive and bloody endless wars are NOT norms we should accept! Once again, Trump is right, and the statists are wrong.

For my liberal friends who are pro-choice, here is another pro-choice option. You do you; and I will do me. Choices. What a fine word to use in every context except abortion. How am I going to do me? Support Donald Trump and all his forward thinking. Hero of the middle class. Hero of the working man. Hero of America.   

Largess - that needle in the arm thing...

"Meanwhile, the mega growth in government continues in Social Secuity, Medicare and Medicaid. How are we going to stunt the growth in these big three and growing items? No clue. But something does need to be done."     

For many years of my upbringing, I would often hear about the dangers of Big Government. Not knowing much about politics back then, I didn't give that much thought. However, as my life progressed, I started to see how the tentacles of Big Government got into our everyday life. How Independence Day started to be "Dependence Day" instead. The federal government, which was first created to be the protector of the states, slowly became the "Nanny State". That was all cool until we found out it take over $37T in debt to own it. And that is a country killer.

The saying I keep hearing recently is "when you cut the fat, the pigs squeal." Ronald Reagan wanted to get rid of much of our largess in government back in the 1980's. He did okay, but the "swamp" had already grown to Herculean proportions. Today however, it is much worse. Enter Donald Trump term one. Trump also decided it was time to drain the swamp. Again, the swamp fought back. The swamp went after Trump. Impeached him twice. Rigged the next election. Then we had Joe Biden who did nothing but pour gas on the fire. Now things were really a mess.

Here we sit, with the proverbial needle stuck in our arms. Suprise! Donald Trump got elected once again. This time he brought Elon Musk with him to help drain the swamp. Get rid of government largess. Easy job? Absolutely not! For those who are addicted to the "needle of government", getting the needle out of the arm is not going to be easy. "Leave it alone!", the clamoring masses would shout. "You are killing our kids, throwing grandma off the cliff, and making our water and skies dirty." All that sophism without one grain of truth. But who cares about the truth? This is the new narrative of the loony left. Leave our government alone!

Been people try to "get clean" after years of drug addiction, it is seldom easy. In fact, it is damn hard. But when drugs are ruining your life, taking the cure becomes very important. Usually a matter of life and death. So, it is with shaving down the size and largess of government. The size of government is not the enemy to many who are addicted. The enemy are those in the DOGE group. What once was sacrosanct, are now cuttings, laying on the floor.

Currently, the Department of Education is being whittled down. Eventually to be totally eliminated. Why? Waste of space. Waste of money. Who then, will educate our kiddos? Not the feds - they suck at it. It will be done by the states. In an ideal world, it would be done by the individual school districts. That is called decentralization. It has been proved to work much better than largess. Why? Puts the power closer to the people.

This fight to "right size" our government will take years. Trump wants the DOGE group to be done by our 250th anniversary as a country. I have doubts that will happen. This fight will go on ad nauseum. Meanwhile, the mega growth in government continues in Social Secuity, Medicare and Medicaid. How are we going to stunt the growth in these big three and growing items? Maybe first, getting rid of people who are over 150 years old. Other than that - no clue. But something does need to be done.     

As the axe man comes for the Department of Education

"It took a guy like Trump to stand up to the largess of the swamp and find driftwood for the axe man to take care off. Reagan tried getting rid of the Department of Education, and as good as he was, he did not get far. But Trump will finish the job. Make America Smart Again. That is part of MAGA - right?" 

Wait - what if Trump can't close the Department of Education without some Congressional approval? What is Trump does not get that approval? Starting last night, Trump is doing the next best thing. He has notified people who work at this waste of space, that about 50% of them will be defined as "excess" and will be laid off. That is a lot of people, and that is the first step. The layoffs started last night and will continue on through the week. This might be the playbook for other areas that Trump wants to cut, when the courts are making it difficult to do so. In reality, all Trump wants to do is return the control of education to the states.

Every time somebody in the press questions why it is important to get rid of this "most cherished" federal institution, all Trump does is quote statistics. Number 40 out or 40 in developed nations, number 1 out of 40 developed nations in money spent per pupil. Plus, every year we graduate young folks who don't know a Dit from a DUH! Many kids drop out, many are habitual truants, and many just don't care. As we go into a time where knowledge is king, the way we educate kids will allow them only to become serfs. It is disgusting and without merit.

Besides the largess of the Department of Education, who else is to blame for the flame out of our once revered education prowess? Teacher Unions. In this state, Education Minnesota. Many who work for teacher unions are loads at best. At worst, they are enemies of the state. They do NOTHING to help teach kids. They are only interested in lining their own pockets. The sooner they go away, the better off our kids will be.

I read an article this morning telling how nervous each and every person who works at the soon to be extinct Department of Education is right now. Good - they should be. This gravy train is about over. Working for the federal government, once thought to be the best "forever job" in America, is soon to be thought of otherwise. Once the axe man is done with the Department of Education, the only thing remaining will be bad memories and trillions of dollars squandered.

It took a guy like Trump to stand up to the largess of the swamp and find driftwood for the axe man to take care off. Reagan tried getting rid of the Department of Education, and as good as he was, he did not get far. But Trump will finish the job. Make America Smart Again. That is part of MAGA - right? 

 

Market built on globalism; main street built on MAGA

"In any event, whether goods are made by man or machine, it will be better to have them made on shore. But to get them back over here, might be like "pulling the needle out of the arm" for some industries. Trump knows that. That is why he is incentivizing companies by offering them zero tariffs to make stuff here."

Donald Trump's ship of state is starting to make its big turn. And it will be painful for some. Why? Our stock market is built on two things - instant gratification and globalism. Why is that? That is just the way we are. Trump has told us the Chinese are in for the long haul, and they have a long view on many things. We don't. A friend of mine, every time there is a market correction or significant downturn, will say things like, "Trump cost me a fortune the other day." Not he didn't. It did not cost you a penny, unless you sold.

An instructor I had in business school would always say this about the market - "It is like a roller coaster. Sometimes up, sometimes down. The only people who get hurt on a roller coaster are those who jump off while it is down." In other words, hold tight and don't get your undies in a wad. For reasons of national security and in order to have many more domestic jobs, it is good to onshore what has been offshore. BTW - we are getting socked with tariffs and other taxes (like VAT) when we buy or manufacture overseas. And if China and India ever stop producing many of our meds, we would be screwed, blued and tattooed (as we said in the Navy).

How long will it take to switch our economy to almost 100% onshore manufacturing? Long after Trump's term is done. But much can be done while he is still president. Will the stock market come back? Even to where it is over-valued. Maybe. However, if this correction means that the ERS will help offset the IRS, we will all develop more wealth by keeping more of what we earn. All of a sudden, we are talking about help for main street and not as much for wall street.

There is however, one fly in the ointment with manufacturing here or abroad. AI and robotics. Jobs that were to go to the American worker, might go to an American bot instead. A technologist I follow (Julia McCoy), often talks and writes about the coming work revolution. How many of our jobs in the next five years will NOT be done by humans. Millions of jobs, performed flawlessly by this army of bots, which will be made before 2030. Elon Musk alone wants to make millions of Optimus bots. Some to run his factories, others to sell to the public.

In any event, whether goods are made by man or machine, it will be better to have them made on shore. But to get them back over here, might be like "pulling the needle out of the arm" for some industries. Trump knows that. That is why he is incentivizing companies by offering them zero tariffs to make stuff here.

When will the market get better? Are we all going to be poorer? My advice - start looking at the calendar and not the clock. As was said in the TV show Kung Fu, "Patience grasshopper". Plus, as our president would say, "Things will be fine. We have the cards." And we do. 

Our DOD - how much is enough?

"'Prepare for war, but search for peace.' We can do it. We have now for quite a while. But it can be expensive. How expensive? Not as expensive as fighting a war and losing. Just a reminder on what losing looks like. Just look at Ukraine. Or Gaza. That is what losing looks like."  

The good news for all to know - we spend a lot of money every year on defense. Why? We have six services to maintain and grow. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, and our new Space Force. Wait - that is only five. We also have the Coast Guard, but that is not part of the DOD. Of these, the Navy took a hit during the Biden years. Now we are way behind the Chinese Navy. To get back up to parity, we need to go gangbusters in our shipbuilding for the next four years. Or eight years. But do we really need all these ships? All these super subs? Not unless we get involved in a shooting war with China or Russia. Then we will need every single one of them - and then some.

The Air Force is awash in high tech planes right now. Many in the 5th generation phase. Soon we will be addressing the new 6th generation fighters and bombers. Terms like Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) will become common. The robotic "Loyal wingman" planes which will fly alongside the manned NGAD planes will be common. The B-21 Raider bomber which will even make our current B-2 bomber look like yesterday's technology. Plus, we have the F-35 and F-22, which we seem to still be improving. And they are "butt-kickers"! Looking at the Air Force with clarity, I would say we have an embarrassment of riches in that service. 

The Marines are good. They don't need much, they don't use much, but they do quite a bit with what they do have. Even when the recruiting numbers were down in the other services, the Marine numbers were good. Pound for pound, the Marines are still the premier fighting force for our nation. When you want the job done quickly and completely, you call on the Leathernecks.

The Army is good. The numbers are coming up in recruitment and retention. We have built lots of armor for the Army to use. They are well positioned all over the globe and have trained well with our allies. My suggestion? Keep on keeping on. "This we will defend" is their motto, and they wear it well.

Not much to say about the Space Force, as what they do is not advertised. Their mission is evolving, and to be guardians of our space-based satellites is now more important and ever. I am glad we don't know too much about this young service as yet. That tells me they are doing some good stuff.

Bottom line? Our current DOD budget is about $850B/year. I can see that growing to $1T/year by the time Trump's term is up. Is that too much? Not if we want to fill the holes we have in the Navy. We do after all, need to defend not only our country, but also Canada. And Greenland. And parts of the EU. And the PI. And Australia. And South Korea. And so forth... 

"Prepare for war, but search for peace." We can do it. We have now for quite a while. But it can be expensive. How expensive? Not as expensive as fighting a war and losing. Just a reminder on what losing looks like. Just look at Ukraine. Or Gaza. That is what losing looks like.  

 

Time to take care of all family business...

 

"What is Trump doing right now? Taking care of all family business. Once and for all, finish the job(s). Will things get bumpy for a while? Count on it. But each of these are big items which must come to a conclusion. Why? Promises made are promises kept." 

Oh my! Our present-day Godfather (President Trump) has issued some warnings and some final warnings. If you are a member of Hamas, and are still holding innocent people as hostages, good luck making it to summer. Or maybe even spring. Trump's final warning has gone out. "Shalom Hamas - which means either hello or good-bye. You choose". Trump wants all hostages out, or as Trump put it - "I have given Isreal everything they need to finish the job". Plus, I might add, we recently positioned some B-52 assets in the area.

We have also told Iran, who is a whisker away from making at least one nuclear bomb, that we will not tolerate it. In other words, if Iran does not stand down immediately, we (and probably Israel), will stand them down. How far away is that? Probably this summer. Israel has laid Iran bare in the last series of attacks it performed on them. With the air defenses all but gone, Iran's nukes are sitting ducks for us. 

Trump has also warned friend and foe alike, that April 2nd will be "reciprocal tariff day". In other words, if any country has a tariff on us, we will return the favor. If any country wants to manufacture in the USA, there will be no tariffs. Sounds fair, even though countries like Canada and Mexico are already squealing like stuck pigs. And soon the EU will join them. Trump is waiting to hear some logic on why reciprocal is not fair. So far - only crickets.

Finally, Trump is ready to put the pedal to the metal on the Ukraine War. He wants the mineral deal signed with Zelenskyy ASAP. He is really peeved Russia, with peace maybe on the horizon, continues to blow Ukraine to bits. Not cool - not cool at all. So, Trump is going to lay some heavy sanctions on Russia until they stop the war and participate in a cease fire. Some think this is the most dangerous phase of the war. It could go either way. Slide us into WW III or finally have some deserved peace in the region. But Trump still wants to be a peacemaker, while Putin wants to maintain being the god of war.

What is Trump doing right now? Taking care of all family business. Once and for all, finish the job(s). Will things get bumpy for a while? Count on it. But each of these are big items which must come to a conclusion. Why? Promises made are promises kept. 

The Daylight Savings Solution

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care? 

From a song by Chicago

For a change, President Trump is flummoxed on what to do on this very pressing issue. Daylight savings. Most people in this country hate the "spring ahead, fall behind" nonsense we have to do twice a year. Each year, the clamoring masses have demanded that we (the USA) fix our timekeeping methods. In other words, many want DST to be scrapped, and roughly the same amount of people wants DST to be in effect all year round. Thus, it has become a 50-50 issue. Half want DST all the time; and the other half wants the government to scrap it all together. What do both sides agree on? Changing clocks twice a year is a pain in the butt.

By the way, it is not only the fact that most states still have to change their clocks twice a year, when taking a road trip, some (few) states have voted to stay on DST all year long. So, knowing what time it is in each state you travel through, can be a mystery. I am reminded by that song from Chicago, does anybody really know what time it is? Especially the first two verses:

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care? 

My response to that song, is we have to care. Otherwise, we could be an hour early or an hour late. And that my friends, is the rub.

Thinking deep thoughts about this vexing problem yesterday and knowing the President would also like to do something about this issue, I came upon a solution. It would involve a very easy Executive Order. Effective with this time change on Sunday, the United States would recognize DST year-round until 2027. In 2027, the EO could either be extended, or ended, depending on how people liked it. If it was ended, then for the next two years, there would be no state which recognized DST. At the end of those two years, the people could choose - DST or no DST. Whatever the solution, we would be DONE with changing our clocks twice a year. BRILLIANT!

Not that I would want any credit or anything, but a nice name for this EO would be the Very Angry Bird Act of 2025. Just saying...