Tax the Rich

I regularly see, un-wealthy individuals, make statements to the effect that everyone should be taxed equally and that the progressive income tax structure is “un-American.” It’s true that the old progressive income tax structure saw the top tier paying 91% in 1963. It was dropped in 1964 to 70%. Then it was Republican Ronald Reagan who oversaw that 70% figure dropped even further to 28% by 1988.

Reagan did this without curbing spending, in fact he sharply increased spending on defense which contributed to a significant rise in the national debt. So, during the past 60 years, with the uber-wealthy paying less and less in income taxes, the national debt rose and the government was forced to begin to look at other places to save money.

Republicans went after healthcare and social programs, but never defense spending to help. Today, the government is shutdown while Republicans make their case to blame the poor for our dilemma. Democrats have largely tried to protect these safety nets for the lower classes suggesting that we raise the top tier tax rates to help cover the deficit while protecting the non-wealthy. These protections would cover Republicans, Democrats, Independants, everybody.

I will have to admit that I had a hard time justifying an income tax structure that took 91% of a person’s income. This rate did not kick in, however, until that person’s income hit $200,000 ($2M in today’s dollars). Still, such a rate would seem on the surface to be unconscionable. That is, of course, unless you realize that the uber-wealthy don’t actually subject themselves to much that is covered as “income subject to income taxes.”

While I would never hold myself out as a tax expert, it has long been accepted as fact that “tax dodges” are available to the wealthy but not for others. To try to understand how they do this I posed the question to the Google AI engine and came up with a rather detailed explanation. If you are curious, I have included that response below my writing.

Now, with the explanation of how the wealthy avoid paying their fair share, and knowing that hitting them hard with higher rates for what little they are not able to protect, I have a different attitude. I now say, “Tax the bastards.” We could then afford to feed the less fortunate among us, provide them with proper housing and healthcare, and join the rest of the civilized world.

The AI explanation of how the wealthy avoid taxes is provided below.

Yes, wealthy individuals often structure their finances to receive income or access capital in ways that legally avoid or minimize taxes, using strategies and incentives written into the U.S. Tax Code.

Key methods include:

1. The "Buy, Borrow, Die" Strategy

The primary way the ultra-rich avoid income and capital gains taxes is by not selling their appreciating assets, thus not "realizing" an income event.

• Buy Assets: They invest in assets like stocks and real estate that grow significantly in value over time.

• Borrow Against Assets: Instead of selling, they use their appreciated assets as collateral for personal loans to fund their lifestyles or new investments. Since loan proceeds are not considered income by the IRS, the cash they access is tax-free.

• Die and Pass Assets: When the individual dies, their heirs inherit the assets with a "stepped-up" cost basis, meaning the asset's value is reset to its current market value at the time of death. This legally erases any capital gains tax that would have been owed on the appreciation during the original owner's lifetime.

2. Structuring Income as Capital Gains

Wealthy business owners often take minimal or no salary and receive compensation through stock options or profit distributions, which are generally taxed at a lower long-term capital gains rate (0% to 25% for long-term gains) rather than the higher ordinary income tax rates (up to 37% for top earners).

3. Strategic Real Estate Investments

The real estate market offers numerous tax advantages:

• Depreciation: Property owners can deduct a building's cost over time through depreciation, even if the property is actually increasing in value, which can offset other taxable income.

• 1031 Exchanges: This allows an investor to defer capital gains taxes indefinitely on the sale of a property by reinvesting the proceeds into a "like-kind" property.

• Deductions: Significant expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, and maintenance costs can be deducted.

4. Charitable Donations

Donations to qualified charities and private foundations provide large, immediate tax deductions that can significantly lower a wealthy person's taxable income. Donating appreciated stock or real estate allows them to avoid capital gains tax on the asset and still receive a deduction for its full market value.

5. Converting Personal Assets to Business Expenses

The ultra-rich often place luxury items like private jets and vacation homes under a corporate structure. This allows them to deduct operational costs, maintenance, and depreciation as legitimate business expenses, even with some personal use within IRS guidelines.

6. Utilizing Trusts and Offshore Holdings

Complex trust structures can be used for estate planning and wealth preservation, helping to shield assets from gift and estate taxes when passed to heirs. Offshore accounts and holding companies can also be used to defer or reduce tax exposure in high-tax jurisdictions.

Summary

These strategies, while legal, demonstrate how the wealthy can accumulate vast fortunes and live off their wealth without generating the type of traditional "income" (like wages) that is heavily taxed for most Americans. This results in the richest Americans often paying a lower effective tax rate than average taxpayers.

Good Boy, Good Boy

Do the Chinese, Russians, Qataris, South Koreans, and other foreign governments have Trump’s number? It would seem so. He is like a large cartoon dog. You know, like Scooby Doo, Pluto, or Goofy. Just scratch him behind his ears, give him a treat, and say, “Good boy, good boy.”

South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung gave Trump an ornate crown. The Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, gave Trump a 747 “flying palace.” The former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe gave Trump a set of gold-plated golf clubs that included a gold driver valued at $250K. An eight-foot tall painting of Trump was a gift from the president of El Salvador and it went “missing” until its discovery in an electrical room at a Trump Doral hotel.

Yes, give him something shiny, preferably gold, stroke his ego, and Trump will give you what you want. Anything, just ask. As long as what you ask for doesn’t cost Trump anything, even national secrets are up for grabs.

Groceries and Affordability

The two main words in the title are new to some as they seemingly didn’t exist before they were “discovered” by Donald Trump. He declared them to be beautiful words and thus they became part of the lexicon of American life. These words were certainly unfamiliar to King Trump as it is doubtful he ever set foot in a grocery store before he needed to pose in one for a photo op. Trump even explained his newfound word to the United Arab Emirates president saying, "We have a term 'groceries.' It's an old term but it means basically what you're buying, food, it's a pretty accurate term but it's an old-fashioned sound but groceries are down, costs are down, eggs are down..."

After finding his new beautiful word “groceries” and getting the desired interested but incredulous stares from his audience, he later mused, "Likewise, an old-fashioned term that we use -- groceries. I used it on the campaign— It's such an old-fashioned term, but a beautiful term. Groceries. It sort of says 'a bag with different things in it.' Groceries went through the roof and I campaigned on that, I talked about the word groceries for a lot." Like a kid with a new toy, his new word got much attention.

Trump’s musing about “groceries” was like he had just triggered a sensory perception of something from his childhood. It would be like Marcel Proust’s novel, In Search of Time, where the taste of a madeleine cake dipped in tea triggers a powerful memory. Groceries in this moment were his Proust madeleine. Perhaps he envisioned one of his father’s servants returning from one of those “grocery places” with paper sacks filled with treats for him.

Oh, to be a “fantastic voyager” like those in the 1966 movie Fantastic Voyage who were miniaturized and traveled inside a scientist’s bloodstream. Oh, if only we could see what is happening inside that self-described big, beautiful brain of his. Words like “groceries” and “affordability” would be floating around like ghosts waiting to be discovered by their master.

Another of his discoveries is the word affordability. This too would be a foreign term for a billionaire born with a gold spoon in his mouth who eats off the finest china and defecates in a gold toilet. He recently said of his fellow Republicans, “You know, they have this new word called ‘affordability’ and they don’t talk about it enough.”

The term affordable is foreign because, to him, everything is affordable. Take his new White House ballroom. It is especially affordable when you don’t pay your contractors. Trump learned this early on in his days in New York real estate. Don’t pay and everything is affordable.

Hearing that people are complaining that things aren’t as “affordable” as he has been claiming, he tells them on November 6, “Every price is down.” He brings up the example of a Thanksgiving dinner at Walmart being less expensive while failing to point out that it is only less expensive because the dinner is smaller than the previous year and now uses generic Walmart items instead of name brands. He claims that gas prices are down to $3 a gallon now. That may be true, but gas was at $3.08 in January when he took office, hardly cause for celebration.

Don’t tell Trump, but utility costs have jumped 12% in the past year. Grocery prices have risen 3% with meat prices up 8% and coffee is up 19%. If you are a CEO billionaire whose income who has seen triple digit percentage increases, this is not a problem. If you are a full-time worker living paycheck to paycheck on wages that haven’t had a raise since 2009, problem.

Affordable is a relative term. If you and your relatives have always been wealthy, the word affordable is not in your vocabulary. Likewise, if you are poor, the term affordable has an entirely different meaning with consequences.

In a typo-ridden social media post during the recent November election Trump stated, “If affordability is you issue, VOTE REPUBLICAN! Energy costs, as and example, are plummeting - Getting close to 2 Dollar a gallon gasoline. When energy goes down, everything else follows, and it has!!!”

When all else fails, lie. As stated earlier, the national average cost of gas per gallon is $3.08. A month ago it was $3.13. A year ago at this time it was nearly $3.11. If you spend your earthbound travel time in the backseat of a limo, the price of gas is as affordable as a bag of groceries. Remember, the word groceries means, 'a bag with different things in it.' So says our "very stable genius" who claims to have aced his cognitive test for dementia.

Technology Challenges for Seniors

Even with a tech background and more skills in this area than many people my age, I still find it increasingly difficult to navigate our changing tech world. Yesterday, after a phone update “improved” things, I could no longer access the Amazon app on my phone. They wanted to verify it was me through Google.

I followed the instructions on screen and it went to my Google account where it asked me for my pin. I don’t remember ever using a Google pin. I have a password, but no 6-digit pin. I use Google for a prime password manager and it regularly fills in requests for those damned passwords from other accounts that demand them. It quite logically wouldn’t give me my Google pin.

I have a second password manager and I asked it if I had a Google pin. Nope. I did a quick lookup, and the instructions told me step by step what to do. The problem being that those instructions were written before several software changes revamped the menus. I was left to try to figure out where they moved things.

Eventually, I got to where to get a new pin I had to enter my pin. It was a Catch-22 and Groundhog Day double feature. I went round and round and kept waiting to hear, "OK, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cold out there today!"

Somehow, don’t ask me how, I managed to create a six-digit pin for Google. I was then asked if I wanted to add two step verification, I declined. Two-step is for dancing, not computers. I will use two-step verification for bank accounts but not for passwords and stuff for things like access to my Fitbit readings.

Now I can get back to my online shopping. I just hope I can remember where I parked my car.

I can only imagine what other seniors encounter in this age of lightspeed “progress” where I daily travel through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!"

Trump Provides New Tax Breaks for Lower Income Americans

While the headline topic above is just a joke (most of you would know that), what really happened will come as no surprise. Donald Trump and the Trump family have been in real estate for three generations. That same family group has recently invested heavily in the crypto market.

[insert drumroll here]

Which two industries just received hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks awarded by the Trump-controlled Treasury Department and IRS. If you just blurted out real estate and crypto, give yourself a kewpie doll. Yes, using a loophole, the Treasury has enacted unlegislated tax cuts that reward these two industries. This recent cut to the Alternative Minimum Tax (designed to keep large corporations and the uber-wealthy paying at least some tax) is in addition to the $4 trillion package of cuts signed into law in July.

Those earlier cuts allowed multinationals to avoid taxes by, among other things, claiming duplicate losses in multiple countries at once. These recent actions will contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to the federal deficit and will be in addition to the trillions of dollars from the July billionaire bonanza.

As the New York Times reported recently, “A holy grail of tax planning is figuring out a deduction that businesses can claim on their tax return — but one that they don’t report to investors, which would dent their profits, potentially hurt their stock price and thus depress compensation paid to executives.” The minimum tax also hit the crypto market who sought a special “carve out”. Trump to the rescue. As a new crypto industry participant, he has been kind to crypto.

How does any of this impact the “little guy”? To quote Tennessee Earnie Ford, “Another day older and deeper in debt.”

Convenient Christianity; Jesus 12.0

As head-scratchers go, the appeal of Donald Trump to a large segment of the Christian faith is truly puzzling. While it shouldn’t surprise me, I still find it fascinating. That there is some hypocrisy in religion is perhaps understandable, but Donald Trump? I mean if ever there was an anti-Christ, he checks all the boxes. While we can’t see horns (he has them filed daily when they attach his hair), and he keeps his pointy tail wrapped up in his Depends, the rest of his satanic persona is in full view. His brimstone scented after shave is also a clue.

First, it is my observation that there are “true believers” who follow and practice what they preach in terms of their chosen flavor of Christianity. These are mostly well intentioned folks who may be swayed by deception and false prophets.

Secondly, there are many “Convenient Christians” who only use the pretense of religious piety when it suits them. For many in this latter category, Christianity is their Trump card (pardon the association) when logic and facts are running against what they want to believe. The thing I can’t explain, however, is that there are MAGA-Trump diehards in both groups.

I am restricting my comments to Christianity here as it is the religion with which I have the most experience. I can assume other faiths will have their hypocrites as well. One of the more useful tools within the Christian arsenal is the simple test, WWJD, or What Would Jesus Do. When faced with a decision of consequence, Christians can ask that simple question to find guidance. It is here that I use the Jesus 12.0 analogy. This is like Windows 11 or Mac OS 26 as a reference to the most current version. I will assume here that there have been at least eleven previous versions of Jesus where the answer to the WWJD question would get different responses. The number assignment is figurative and has no other meaning.

If you back a Convenient Christian into an ethical corner where facts and logic, no matter how twisted, don’t support their position, you will likely hear some iteration of, “Well, I’m a Christian and that’s what I believe.” It is the end of all discussion. It is like when your mother said, “Because I said so.” It is here that Christian nationalism rears its political head as something other than a religious concept.

For Christians, to align themselves with the patently amoral Donald Trump, is to twist and tie their core beliefs into a Gordian Knot. If I had said he was immoral it would have inferred that he knowingly acts against moral principles, but Trump is amoral as he is without morals or any sense of right and wrong.

Examples of his deviancy and acceptance abound. It was that deeply evangelical Christian and widely acclaimed champion of moral virtue, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who chose to attend the New York city trial of Donald Trump the day of Stormy Daniels’ testimony. Donald Trump was before the court charged with 34 felonies related to hush money payments made to keep secret the porn star Ms. Daniels’ tryst with Trump in a Lake Tahoe hotel room. Mike Johnson told the press, “President Trump has done nothing wrong.”

Given the proximity of the hush money trial one can assume Mike Johnson was referencing that case and not the previous one where Trump was convicted of sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll. I would imagine his proclamation would fit either example of depravity.

“We love you, Jesus, and we also love our country. And we thank you that you have raised up a man, Donald J. Trump, to be a warrior for the word of God and the wisdom that comes from God"--Jack Graham, Baptist minister.

The above quote is typical of the hypocrisy of the religious Right. I would say it betrays Christian morality, but this assumes there is such a thing anymore. I’m sure they can find justification somewhere within the malleable sacred text of a $60 Trump Bible. The interpretation depends on the interpreter so, let the cherry picking begin. It’s time to ride the enthusiastic wave of Trump’s new morality to advance personal agendas and to secure power and position at any cost.

The MAGA faithful are self-proclaimed champions of moral virtue and will tell all within earshot how they despise pornography, marriage equality, and reproductive freedom. They will, however, provide all sorts of latitude to explain away the sins of their new Messiah. It would seem even pedophilia is worthy of a free pass. I would imagine that the Epstein files are being moved to an undisclosed warehouse alongside Jimmy Hoffa’s body and the Ark of the Covenant. While there has been no release of proof of active participation by the chosen one in the rape of minors, his association with and open support of individuals who have been tried and convicted of such acts, should be condemned.

That he continues to support Ghislaine Maxwell, even suggesting a full pardon, should be a “bridge too far.” What does she know that has the man out on a limb with a saw? Why would he risk even the perception of supporting a convicted pedophile? He certainly won’t be able to claim that he doesn’t know her. He has already used that one with the pardon of Changpeng Zhao, the convicted money launderer with significant Trump family business ties.

No, I will forever find conflict with the evangelical adoration of Donald Trump. The Christian brand will be forever tainted with the moral dirt cloud emanating from this Pigpen-like character. While Jesus 1.0 promoted love of fellow man, this new Messiah spews hate. He mocks the disabled. He is prejudiced against immigrants of all kind calling them animals and vermin. He will, however, grant exceptions for beautiful immigrant females or any immigrant who is wealthy and willing to “spread the wealth” in his direction. He has committed sexual assaults without remorse. He seeks revenge and retribution on his proclaimed enemies and virtually anyone who disagrees with him or gets in his way.

I, for one, like the old Jesus 1.0 and wouldn’t mind having a beer or glass of wine with him. This new Messiah that many of the Religious Right now follow, should take a walk due east from Mar a Lago. I assume he can still walk on water.

It’s Always Nazi Week

In the sitcom, Two and a Half Men, Alan tells Charlie that Jake will be spending more time living with them. When Charlie balks, Alan tells him to just give it a chance. Charlie replies, “That’s what Poland said about the Germans.” Alan then asks, “Been watching the History Channel again?” Charlie responds, “It’s Nazi week.” Alan, “It’s always Nazi week.”

I recently wrote about my confessed confusion with the evangelical religious right and the MAGA faithful’s alignment with Donald Trump given his personal history and current actions. Another conundrum for me is this group’s proclaimed support of Israel and concurrent affinity for American Nazis. I know, the enemy of my enemies is my friend, but Nazis? I can’t philosophically wrap my head around how a group can support Jews and Nazis. I seem to remember that, not long ago, there was some conflict between those groups.

Recently, avid MAGA champion Tucker Carlson, provided an extended platform for Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist commentator, Holocaust denier, and antisemitic firebrand. Not only did Fuentes underscore his usual criticism of Israel and its leaders, but Carlson also never challenged him on his praise for Adolph Hitler and his regular calls to execute “perfidious Jews.”

Another MAGA stalwart, The Heritage Foundation, after limited commentary regarding Carlson and the Fuentes interview disappeared from their website, some conjectured that the Foundation might try to break ties with him. On the contrary, Foundation president Kevin Roberts reaffirmed his support for Carlson. He argued that, while he condemns antisemitism, Carlson should not be “cancelled” for allowing an antisemite a platform. The Heritage Foundation was willing to walk the tightrope of being pro-Israel while still allowing an antisemite, holocaust denier, and pro-Hitler fanatic, a megaphone with which to promote “another view.”

This stance caused almost spontaneous projectile vomiting from the MAGA elite in Washington. Ted Cruz used the moment to condemn Roberts’ position and question why conservatives weren’t actively denouncing Fuentes. Mitch McConnell jumped on the flaming honey wagon and expressed his dissatisfaction with Roberts. Only then did Roberts break out his fiddle to attempt his rendition of the Potomac two-step with a long explanatory post on X. Carlson then joined in and expressed surprise that Roberts’ position drew such a heated reaction. Yadda, yadda, free speech, yadda, yadda.

This all comes at a time when the MAGA right was already reeling from the pro-Hitler and “gassing their opponents” remarks made in private group chats by leaders of the Young Republicans. The shift away from Reagan neoconservatism toward a more Trumpian attitude of allowing anyone into the MAGA house of mirrors who hates the left, is now complete. Apparently the MAGA red hats don’t clash with the red of the Nazi flag as long as the left is their common enemy.

Do I Have This Right?

Let me get this straight. Trump ran on a Make America Great Again slogan promising everyday Americans a better life. Not just a better life, a great one. Almost a year into his second presidency, the cost of living is still going up. He did make hundreds of thousands of jobs available by getting rid of immigrants who picked our crops, worked in our slaughterhouses, mowed our lawns, cleaned our houses, and worked at other jobs in the hospitality and food service industries.

While low-paying high-labor jobs are in abundance and going unfulfilled, high paying skilled jobs are now available to overseas workers. Trump is selling visas for skilled positions under the old H-1B visa program for $100,000. He defended the revised H-1B programs claiming Americans lacked “certain talents.” Trump got his wife, Melania through the H-1B program so she must have had “certain talents.”

So, while cutting education programs in the US, Trump is trying to attract better educated individuals from other countries. When asked by Laura Ingraham of Fox News about welcoming hundreds of thousands of Chinese students and how that was a “pro-MAGA position,” Trump replied, “I want to be able to get along with the world.” I didn’t see the interview, but I will assume that was when Ms. Ingraham’s head exploded. She will soon recover with just a little Superglue, a couple of Botox injections, and three layers of Fox News makeup. That's the same makeup that Pete Hegseth uses to look almost human.

While Americans are paying more for healthcare and groceries with stagnant wages, Trump is turning his sights to the international scene for cryptocurrency and real estate development. He approved a $20B bailout for Argentina. He is building a grand ballroom to entertain wealthy donors and foreign dignitaries. He held a Great Gatsby Halloween party with the theme “a little party never killed anybody.” Trump even dressed up disguised as a president for the event.

He is considering a 50-year mortgage program that would make “home owners” renters with mortgage companies becoming landlords. Realizing that people are unhappy, he is considering a quick-fix in the form of a $2,000 one-time bribe, I mean “tariff payment.” This would assumably offset some of the pain he’s inflicted with his rock-em-sock-em tariff program that is hurting poor people far more than the wealthy.

Trump’s approval rating among Republicans has fallen from 81% in March to the current 68% and his overall approval is down to 33%. His director of the White House National Economics Council acknowledged, “economic anxiety across the nation.” Kevin Hassett went on to say that “there is still work to do…, something that we’re going to fix, and we’re going to fix it right away.” Wow, I certainly feel better, not great mind you, but better. We’ll all have to “Wait on Great.”

Socialism; The Great Right-Wing Bogeyman

I regularly hear from my right-leaning friends about the evils of socialism. One recently quoted Ezra Taft Benson who called socialism “compulsory benevolence” and said that it has nothing to do with charity. Those on the right decry all forms of socialism as government attempting to redistribute wealth. The term socialism is an evil and bad thing.

You know, they are right (no pun intended). Socialism as a political or economic system where the state owns and controls the means of production has been tried and failed. It IS a bad thing. Where the right is wrong is when they collectively brand all manners of addressing societal needs as “socialism.” They seem to forget that capitalism does not function in a vacuum. They equate Democrats as proponents of socialism. In that, they are mistaken. I have never heard a democratic leader advocating for the government takeover of the means of production.

Democrats are guilty of bad marketing. Calling it “democratic socialism” is like calling it tasty excrement; it still contains the word socialism. What if Democrats called it democratic capitalism? That certainly sounds better and more accurately describes its roots in capitalism. The Democratic Party is, by no stretch of the truth, a socialist party; its mainstream platform is committed to the capitalist economic model that includes a strong social safety net.

That safety net includes such things as universal healthcare, affordable housing, and tuition free college. Further blurring the lines between capitalism and this strong social safety net are things like highways and infrastructure as they are essential to economic growth but are not a profit center for private enterprise.

The term “democratic capitalism” better reflects the goals of both Republicans and Democrats, maybe not the hardcore MAGA crowd, but old-guard Republicans and modern thinking conservatives. Certainly, anyone with an understanding of the need for an educated workforce, an interstate highway system, and clean drinking water sees this. Not everything in a capitalist society can be left to profit-centric ventures.

The first word in our new term, “democratic”, refers to the system of government where the people hold the power, typically through elected representatives. This form of government only fails when the people don’t hold their representatives accountable. When that happens, we see the less educated falling for the allure of authoritarianism. A strong-man government seems to be the quick fix for all that is wrong. Such lazy thinking saw the rise of Castro, Erdoğan, and Orbán. It also brought to power Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. It now embraces Trump.

Where capitalism is founded on a pure profit motive, it rebels against anything that would cut into profits. Funding education, while providing a better pool of skilled employees, is seen as a good thing but something that should be magically funded by “other people.” Trump has been cutting educational funding while expanding our reliance on foreign-educated workers through H1-B visas.

While commerce could not function without a highway system, navigable waterways, and properly managed rail and aviation systems, there is little to no profit to be seen there. No, capitalism needs a functioning government to provide for the common good.

Another hard to swallow pill for capitalists is healthcare and a social safety net. Sure, a contented, healthy, and happy workforce is desirable but nobody wants to pay for it. Such things cut into profits. The incentive here is to shift this burden back on their underpaid employees. That’s why we need “democratic capitalism” to provide a national conscience. While conservatives decry the welfare state as moochers seeking “compulsory benevolence” it is they who also don’t want a level playing field.

The answer to all of this is not trusting a sociopathic billionaire to level this playing field to share the tax burden as it should be. He is not so motivated. As a wealthy authoritarian he looks out for number one. His tariffs are a shift of the tax burden to the lower classes. Unregulated capitalism is not tolerated under democratic capitalism. Without regulation, the playing field will never be level and will always be tilted in favor of those with profit motive blinders.

Under democratic capitalism, the goal would be zero national debt and a system in which the wealthy pay their fair share. If we close the BBD* loopholes available to only the wealthy where they avoid paying taxes on their income, the social safety net could be a funded reality. Who in their right mind could be against a single-payer health insurance program that would lower costs? Who would be against the whole of American society being afforded a decent education that included college and trade schools?

*BBD refers to Buy, Borrow, Die as a tax dodge. Take compensation (i.e. income) in the form of Buying corporate stock, Borrow against that stock, and pass its value to your family when you Die. This shifts your “income” away from normal income taxes and toward much lower taxing rates.

Footnote: I coined the term “democratic capitalism” while riding my bike this morning while thinking about recent FB posts attacking all Democrats as “socialists.” After writing the above, I decided I would do a quick search for the term. Not only did an AI response come back with a definition that closely aligns with what I just wrote, Wikipedia has a full page devoted to its explanation. Perhaps I should have started there. Maybe I should have just been enjoying my “High Energy Uplifting Rock” playlist with artists like Van Halen, Heart, Aerosmith, Steppenwolf, The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Queen, AC/DC, Deep Purple, The Animals, and CCR.

Perfect Storm

 

The term “Perfect Storm” was first used to describe weather-related events where two or more conditions combined to create a much larger impact; usually with negative or catastrophic results. The term has since seen expanded usage to include other non-weather events or conditions that when combined, have calamitous outcomes.

In the United States today, and probably elsewhere, conditions have been coming together that fit our perfect storm scenario. Among these conditions are climate change, geopolitical unrest, rapid technological advancements, rising drug use, corporate greed, personal greed, and political corruption.

Facilitating this is the inborn human trait of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. This latter trait is referred to as psychological hedonism which advances the theory that all human actions are motivated by this drive. These seemingly unrelated topics can be grouped under two major areas, technology and immigration. Within these two arenas, are a collection of disparate issues that contribute to our negative outcomes.

TECHNOLOGY

Recent technological advances have enabled corporations to exploit our inborn psychological hedonism for great financial reward. Video games use these psychological principles and reward systems to create compulsive and habit-forming behavior which mimic other addictions. The World Health Organization has labeled this condition, gaming disorder. The addiction is real as it stimulates dopamine release from rewards and developers exacerbate this with game design features like never-ending online multiplayer worlds.

Within the design of these games are psychological mechanisms that use dopamine releases in response to achievements driving the user to repeat the pleasurable activity. There are so-called compulsion loops that cycle the action-reward system. Many games are designed with no established end which encourages indefinite play. The result of this hedonistic behavior is escapism where gaming serves as a means of avoiding the stress of real life which can lead to isolation, anxiety, and depression.

Studies suggest that males are more susceptible to gaming addiction just as they seem to be more prone to other addictions. Combine excessive online gaming with socioeconomic factors, anxiety, depression, academic pressure, and an inability to form in-person relationships, and you have a large sector of the younger generation isolated and living at home. This gaming induced emotional distancing is combined with the financial strains of modern society, resulting in fewer people finding IRL relationships. This also results in lower marriage rates and higher divorce rates. In America, the birth rate (1.6 children per female) has declined below the replacement rate (2.1 children per female) needed for a stable workforce. America is headed for a population shortage.

Further exacerbating addictive behavior is the expanding role played by smartphones and computers, as they become electronic intermediaries and replacements for “old school” human contact and interaction. How often have you looked around at an actual gathering of people to see so many with eyes glued to electronic devices while avoiding or missing the possibility of human interaction?

IMMIGRATION

If we combine climate change, drought, food losses, criminal drug cartels, political corruption, and economic collapse within those countries south of our borders, we find human survival instincts force many to risk a northern migration. There are 20 countries in Central and South America, 13 nations in the Caribbean, and Mexico, for a total of 34 sovereign nations. There are 670 million people living within those 34 countries. That’s a lot of potential immigrants who might want a better life or just the opportunity to continue living.

It is quite obvious that our nation of 342 million cannot accommodate whatever portion of those 670 million people who would want to live here. It is also a fact that we need to find a way to backfill or otherwise supplement our declining birth rates. We need a workable immigration system that controls the influx. We need to screen, monitor and assist new immigrants to integrate them with modern America. This means people from all walks of life, not just the wealthy or those with skills we are unable or unwilling to teach. They need us, we need them, and we need a system to make this immigration process workable. Open borders are not an answer. Armed and masked police and soldiers marching through our streets terrorizing the citizenry are not the answer. What we certainly don’t need are politicians finger pointing and using the immigration problem as political capital.

SUMMARY

There are a multitude of factors both man-made and natural that are creating our Perfect Storm. We will be dealing with our technical advances and need to find a way to use them as tools to help solve the problems they helped create. These are not partisan problems and can’t be blamed on anyone. There is plenty of blame to go around and finger-pointing never solved anything. Both political parties agree that we have an immigration problem. Ignoring the problem didn’t help and the current knee-jerk attempt to terrorize the problem into submission is to ignore the underlying cause.

The correct solution is one that manages immigration to help fill the gaps in our workforce. That solution would allow a controlled influx and provide for a proper assimilation into our nation filled with immigrants from previous migrations. The other solution is to better deal with the sociological impact of technology on our psyche. Gaming addiction needs treatment just as do other forms of addiction. In addition to “treating” the addiction problem, we need to address the other factors that drive people to seek such isolation. Affordable housing, affordable healthcare, inflation adjusted wages, and equal opportunities for education that involve access to both traditional and trades educations.

Make America Great Again

 

The title phrase was first used by Ronald Reagan in his 1980 presidential campaign, then later by Bill Clinton in 1992, and lastly by Donald Trump in his 2016 campaign. While Donald Trump claims to have “invented” the catch phrase, its origin is not that important. What is important is its meaning. It is a good political idea. It is short, vague, and open to many interpretations. The inference of the word “Again” is that there was a previous period of American history where we were once “Great” and the aspiration is to be that way again.

The open part of the question is, when was that time. The MAGA followers seem to dream of some vague utopian period in our past where prices were low, wages were high, good jobs were in abundance, and the America Dream was yours for the taking. So, while the rank and file of MAGA-dom have one idea, their new messiah is thinking of a different time. To him, the Gilded Age was his American Dream.

I’m not sure that the heads beneath those red MAGA hats were also dreaming of significant social inequity, the rapid expansion of big business, menial factory work replacing skilled craftsmanship, overcrowded cities, poor living conditions, and increased crime. During that Gilded Age political corruption was rampant. It was a period where a “spoils system” was the accepted unwritten law of the land. Winning government office was a financial windfall for the successful politician and those in his favor. This patronage system was prominent under President Andrew Jackson and for much of the 19th century.

The period saw political loyalty advancing over merit and that led to government jobs being filled without regard to experience, qualifications, or competence. This brought on corruption, inefficiency, and illegal activity. The Pendleton Act of 1883 was to have ended this policy with the creation of a merit-based civil service system where jobs were filled based on competitive exams, qualifications, and experience. This was amended by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

The Trump administration sought to weaken the Pendleton Act’s protections for federal workers during his first term “Schedule F” executive order which allowed for more workers to be subject to firings for political reasons. While Biden reversed this Schedule F order, Trump has basically used the infallability granted him by the Supreme Court. We are once again being governed by The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight. The assemblance of such an inept group of misfits requires a certain skill set that few possess. Donald Trump has used that skill with artistic flair and has created his masterpiece titled, chaos.

“They are fools dwelling in ignorance, yet imagining themselves wise and learned, go round and round in crooked ways, like the blind led by the blind.”—Katha Upanishad

In Trump’s New Gilded Age, he is the Supreme Commander of Everything Else, the Director of All Things Awesome, the Grand Poobah, The Big Cheese, Head Honcho, and the Big Kahuna. This is to be a return to a closed system of wealth acquisition. His financial achievements in private businesses, real estate, and recent cryptocurrency ventures are all part of his personal spoils system. He is riding his presidential horse toward untold riches. To him it is all a game and the one with the most toys at the end is the winner.

While Trump rode into office on the backs of the white working class, his true allegiance was to the billionaire class. Just as the first Gilded Age grew out of the Civil War, this new Gilded Age is growing out of white racial insecurity and xenophobia. The terms equal and opportunity are just a foreign to the mind of Donald Trump as are “groceries” and “affordability.” The first Gilded Age was founded on manufacturing, railroads, and oil and the second one seems to embrace tech and crypto. He hasn’t forgotten his bread and butter real estate businesses and is expanding them in the Middle East and elsewhere, often with American political capital and American intelligence as bargaining chips.

He has openly appointed David Sacks as the administration's A.I. and crypto czar. Mr. Sacks is now formulating policies to aid his Silicon Valley friends and others in the tech and cryptocurrency fields (like Trump and family). Trump's vision of this new Great Again America in one where he and his wealthy friends feel great, even if the poor MAGA peons don’t see the promised lowering of prices at the grocery story or elsewhere. Remember, one man’s American Dream is another’s American Nightmare.

Hatred; Blindfold of the Wicked

We are told to hate (fill in the blank). Politicians, desperate for a simple way to motivate voters, have found hatred to fit that bill nicely. Hate the “libs”, hate the “Republicants”, hate the “Democraps”, hate the MAGAts, hate the “illegals”… ad nauseum. If there is one thing political candidates hate, it is lethargic voters. Political apathy is the bane of the modern politician so hatred is used as a simplistic tool to stir the populous to action. It allows unscrupulous politicians to blind voters to what is really happening, keeping them engaged but distracted.

At its core, hatred simplifies a complex world. Political problems—economic inequality, immigration, crime, cultural change—are difficult, nuanced, and often rooted in long histories. Hatred offers a shortcut: instead of grappling with systemic causes, it points to an enemy. That enemy might be immigrants, ethnic minorities, political opponents, journalists, or entire nations. By turning these groups into scapegoats, politicians transform complicated challenges into emotionally charged battles of “us versus them.”

Hatred’s siblings are fear and anger, and they work together as powerful motivators. Politicians who are adept at mastering this emotional response can drive voter turnout, create intense loyalty, and demand unquestioning support. When people are afraid, they will often seek protection, and comfort can be found in the company of like-minded others. They are no longer alone. They have camaraderie. Anger then motivates action. When voters feel their personal identity, culture, or safety are at risk, other indiscretions pale. Broken promises, a little corruption here and there, or outright authoritarian behavior will be tolerated in exchange for a promise of protection.

Hatred in politics often gets codified with phrases like “taking our country back,” “foreign influence,” or “real citizens.” Voter anger now has direction and purpose. The echo chambers of social media increase the volume of hatred. It becomes the directionless pounding bass that envelopes them. They are lost in a cacophony of hatred. We are no longer discussing the actual problems of the day, but spending our time bitching and blaming others.

Politicians who use such tactics place democracy at risk. When the “other side” is identified as evil or even subhuman, any compromise or cooperation to resolve issues is viewed as an act of treason. Thoughtful legislation is sacrificed in the name of loyalty to a cause. Democratic institutions such as the courts, a free press, or independent agencies not on “our side,” are framed as enemies of the people. This hatred raises the specter of violence when dehumanizing rhetoric is normalized.

The resulting polarization creates societies where education, healthcare, infrastructure, and economies suffer. Division and hatred are the tools of lazy grifters who place their own needs above those of constituents. They use hatred to get elected and to distract when things go wrong. Criticism is dismissed as propaganda or fake news, facts become secondary to group identity, and everyone loses. Blind hatred is an intense, irrational animosity or hostility that ignores reason and understanding. It causes a person to act without objective thought. It often leads to prejudice, a refusal to see good in others, and can stem from emotions like envy, fear, or inferiority. It prevents us from seeing the good in others.

Such hatred is not created out of whole cloth and often relies on existing prejudice or distrust. Hatred is a destructive force leaving long-lasting scars. I could point to the current administration as a prime example of this topic and certainly many would find easy comparisons. This would oversimplify the problem as none of what we witness today happened in a vacuum.

The fires of hatred burn with enough fuel to destroy democracy. Hatred wins elections, silences critics, and energizes voters—but it corrodes democracy. True leaders unite; they don’t divide. Using reason over rage is a difficult position in modern times. Taking the easy road has led us to where we are today and both sides are beginning to see the absurdity. They certainly are witness to the result. Hopefully, we will all understand the folly of hatred before our democracy is destroyed.

We are due to celebrate our 250-year-old experiment in democracy next July 4th. I would rather listen to Stars and Stipes Forever than a funeral dirge. If the April 7th and November 3rd midterm elections are just lather, rinse, and repeat, I’m afraid our democracy will end up on life support. The cycle of hate must end, and we must all try to use reason over rage. In unity there is strength. Divided we fall. Hatred is not an answer.