Search for the Federal Positives – I Failed
It seems recently that most everything in America is doom and gloom.
We hear from our government and our media that we’re a racist country, intolerant of diversity and fairness, and that via the ‘system’ we’re deliberately oppressing people based on their race or gender or gender identity – or something. We’re told even our roads are racist.
In trying to offset all those negatives, I decided to make a list of those things considered “positive” for the country at the moment. I will admit at the outset I couldn’t think of anything positive emanating from our Federal government.
From a conservative perspective, some of the things now being tackled by some House members are positives, but the D.C. establishment will likely ensure those potential positives go no further.
In looking at the major legislation passed in the last several years, there’s the March 2021 American Rescue Plan Act spending an additional $1.9T in government checks to basically all households – totally unnecessary and highly inflationary.
The $1.2T “infrastructure” bill pushed by the President which spends less than half of its total on usual things like roads, bridges, airports, riverways, seaports, etc. The rest is going to green energy programs and projects, including additional tax credits when buying an electric vehicle. It also raises the corporate income tax to 28% from 21%. The bill was mostly spent on mitigation of climate change and implementing The Green New Deal. It also promotes “equity.”
The Inflation Reduction Act of nearly another $1T removes incentives for innovation, especially in the pharmaceutical arena and requires a minimum of 15% of all corporate income be paid to Big Brother. It creates 87,00 new IRS agents. It goes further than the infrastructure bill with additional ‘green’ tax credits and grants. And it doesn’t lower inflationary pressures, it raises them.
While there were a few other spending measures that have passed, the three indicated are the major ones this administration considers its legacy. All three bills raise taxes and add to the current insidious tax – inflation.
Limiting the exploration and development of our vast, world largest reserves of oil and gas has raised the cost of everything, and negatively impacts the middle- and lower-income households pocketbooks the hardest.
This administration has only added trillions more to our choking national debt while removing more capitalistic, economic incentives. The spending cited is all above and beyond regular budgets which already carries a huge deficit.
We’ve witnessed Washington steadily and surely – little by little – on the road to socialism – and the commensurate increased power and dependence of adults on the government. It’s the boiling the frog story.
Part of the continued War on Poverty are the financial incentives to have fathers absent from families. 2022 stats show about 11 million single parent families with children under the age of 18, nearly 80 percent were headed by a single mother. Today 1 in 4 children under the age of 18 — a total of about 13 million — are being raised without a father.
Among children living with their mother only, 38.1% lived in poverty. In contrast, only 7.5% of children in two parent families were counted as poor.
Then there’s the whole woke agenda where equity trumps equality and DEI programs promote racism.
So, for positives in government we look to our states and local jurisdictions. For those of us in Florida, and those of us in Marion County, FL most citizens are satisfied with those entities here.
But looking at ourselves as a national society, what I see is lots of depression. Too many people have divided themselves into tribes with similar states of disgruntlement. Families, that basic societal group we depend upon for love and support, are no longer important to many in government for unreasonable reasons.
The current administration’s focus on ‘equity’ makes it even less positive for the future of American Excellence.
K-12 student test scores are continuing the trend toward the appalling.
With the 4-week new unemployment claims rising to 211,000, now totaling 1.7M, our economy’s expected growth is near zero. Inflation and high interest rates are having a growing and negative impact on the country’s well-being.
Higher and higher food and energy prices are strapping our households.
Crime is on the upswing; cash bail and consequences for crimes committed are becoming less evident or ofttimes missing altogether.
Pandering to the ‘homeless’ only creates more of them.
Open borders and the welfare state are incongruent and a path to bankruptcy.
Government spending and our national debt are out of control.
Printing money is not the way to run an economy.
Cancel-culture is not tolerant.
Compromising free speech is tyrannical. Journalism appears to have mostly died somewhere along the line.
Weaponizing federal law enforcement agencies for political gain is as wrong as it gets in a democracy. (See Durham report for what happened to Trump)
In summary, I have failed in my search for the positives in our federal government.
The parents of my generation worked hard to try to ensure we were better off than they were. And they succeeded.
I unfortunately join the 70+% of people who now think the country is on the wrong track – and don’t feel my grandchildren will be better off. Quite the contrary.
So I’ve failed in my quest for the positives in our trending culture wars and the national government.
Sorry – but probably no more than I.
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Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
References:
https://singlemotherguide.com/single-mother-statistics/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Rescue_Plan_Act_of_2021
https://morningconsult.com/right-direction-wrong-track/
SPIDER Bites
This week’s trivia question is: “Call me Ishmael” is the first line from what classic novel? Answer to last week’s number of balls on the pool table to start a game of 8-ball – 16. 15 numbered balls and the cue ball.
It’s Memorial Day tomorrow, a national holiday set aside to honor those soldiers who died in all American wars. It began after the Civil War – originally called Decoration Day. Under President Nixon in 1971 it was made it a national holiday.
Here’s an excerpt from a ‘travel advisory’ issued by the national board of the NAACP last week: “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.” Politics is now everywhere as the intent is obviously anti-DeSantis, claiming his policies are undemocratic and hostile to Black Americans.
Rock ‘n’ Roll icon Tina Turner died last week. She had some great songs and in my head, I still hear What’s Love Got to Do with It.
The G7 group, consisting of the major capitalistic, democratic countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – meets annually to discuss coordinating solutions to major global issues, especially in the areas of trade, security, and economics. So why was Ukraine’s Zelensky at the meeting in Japan a week ago? And since he was there, why wasn’t Putin invited?
Florida’s economy is still very healthy. Until reading this month’s Florida Trend – a state-wide business magazine – I did not realize the economic value of commercial and recreational fishing is greater than aerospace, citrus and ranching combined. The “ocean economy” – including beachside hotels and cruise ships – is valued at $37B. A relatively new and growing sector is the development and manufacture of electric boats.
Had enough of the debt ceiling negotiations and disastrous ramifications? Our national debt became a crisis a long time ago. The President may influence but does not control past or future appropriations, so why is it so critical that office agrees to some lid on future spending? The US will not default – yet – on paying its debt despite warnings to the contrary. And its past time the Congress sobers up.
SCOTUS ruled last week against the latest wetland regulations issued by the EPA. It’s an important case and ruling because bureaucrats have been over-extending the powers granted them by the law for too long.
A recent CNN poll shows 66% of Americans indicate a 2024 presidential victory by President Biden would be a ‘disaster’ or a ‘setback’ for the country while 12% said the same about Donald Trump. Not good news for the President’s re-election.
