Make the Connection…

Today, the biggest concern of most voters is inflation, but two years ago, the big issues were COVID and economic stagnation and lack of income. So… in response to those concerns, the federal government, under both Republican and Democrat Presidents, pumped billions of dollars into business and personal pockets, which gave people funds when they didn’t have work or had less work, and funneled cash to businesses who could document that they would otherwise lay off employees. But because of the damage to the supply chain caused by COVID, all that money chasing too few goods triggered inflation… and now everyone’s blaming the current administration for the inflation caused by two administrations doing what people wanted.

The United States has more firearms in private hands than all the firearms in the rest of the world in private hands. Is it any wonder that we also have the greatest number of civilian deaths from firearms?

Year after year, the United States has effectively dumbed down education by requiring teaching to the test, exerting less classroom control, and by allowing rampant grade inflation. We’ve insisted that college is THE answer, and we’ve also passed on more of the cost of college to students. Now we have twice as many young people graduating from college as there are jobs requiring college education and a massive student debt load that all too many graduates struggle (and often fail) to repay. We also have a shortage of skilled workers in fields not requiring a college education.

Still only about sixty percent of Americans are vaccinated against Covid… and we have case numbers again rising with the advent of yet another new variant.

Other countries massively subsidize new facilities to build sophisticated electronic microchips. The U.S. doesn’t. Now we don’t have any significant microchip manufacturing facilities, even though every sophisticated military weapons system requires such chips, and China leads the world in such capacity.

Too many American students don’t like and/or don’t have the educational background in hard sciences, which leads to a lack of top-notch scientific talent. At the same time, we’re turning away brilliant technical types who want to immigrate.

Today more and more wealthy Americans and their accountants have become more “creative” in calculating their taxes, but the IRS is weeks, if not months, behind in processing tax forms. Although audits of questionable tax returns are at an all-time low, and the government is running massive deficits, Congress keeps trying to cut funding to the IRS, while pushing for more tax cuts and more spending

There’s a lot more, but that’s enough to consider for now.

2 thoughts on “Make the Connection…”

  1. Postagoras says:

    You’re veering a bit close to “both-sides-ism” in this post. The very first part about inflation correctly notes that both D and R presidents were responsible for the policy.

    All the rest can pretty much be laid at the feet of the Republicans in Congress. Their persistent refusal to compromise since Gingrich have resulted in decades of last-gasp, crappy policy through omnibus bills.

    You may say that if the Democrats in Congress moved in lockstep, they’d be able to counter this tactic. But if Republican congressfolk would participate in legislating, then Congress could shoulder its responsibility as part of the government.

  2. Tom says:

    MAKE THE CONNECTION… ?

    Between increasing chaos and-

    “… now everyone’s blaming the current administration for the inflation caused by two administrations doing what people wanted.” Government by the people of the people (but not guided to the ‘national’ advantage by their elected representatives?).

    Or because of …

    “Year after year, the United States has effectively dumbed down education …” plus “Too many American students don’t like and/or don’t have the educational background in hard sciences, which leads to a lack of top-notch scientific talent. At the same time, we’re turning away brilliant technical types who want to immigrate.” The indication of a people changing from grasping for “exceptionalism” (too much like work) to one of individual sovereign authoritarianism (ruled by our AR15–style, non-assault, target game firearms).

    I’d rather go “Progressive” and dream of chaotic Utopia!

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