It is a waste of ink to counter the steady stream of hate and lies carried daily against Trump by the Main Stream Media. The case for Trump can be summarized by merely listing a few of his major accomplishments, first and foremost being the remarkable economic growth under his leadership. Directly related are the record unemployment lows, most notably in the Black community. These have done far more to help these neighbors, along with everybody, than eight years of self-perpetuating welfare under the Democrats. Trump also brought back industries and jobs we had sent overseas, and these are now humming. Most recently he brokered an unprecedented peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, which put him in line for the Nobel Peace Prize.
More crucial is to imagine the U.S. under Democrat rule in 2021. If we limit ourselves to domestic issues, three lead the pack: higher taxes, Green New Deal, and socialism vs. capitalism. Imposing higher taxes is simply a misunderstanding of how best to generate government revenue. The money taken in taxes reduces capital available for investment and GDP growth. Lower growth means lower income because there is less to tax (the Laffer curve; don’t increase tax rates above the optimum). Average annual revenue during Obama’s second term was $3.08 trillion, compared with $3.37 trillion during Trump’s first three years (thebalance.com). Trump’s recent tax cuts should generate more income for government as well as for people through more jobs and pay, and further taxes that they pay.
A greater threat is the Green New Deal, advocated by Democrats who would move into power, most prominent being Kamala Harris. This goliath program would be an immense drag on every aspect of our economy, and create higher costs for everyone, including those expecting an economic new deal.
In the green part they would limit and eventually outlaw production of fossil fuels and replace them with renewable energy. Wind and earth-bound solar power are all we have to show after decades of subsidies, and they produce only 3% of our energy needs and at best 5% after more financial injections. Worse still, when it’s time to retire turbines, solar cells, and batteries in 20 years or so they would create trash in unprecedented amounts. If we are to really replace fossil fuels the entire focus must be on research to find solutions, not on hardware that doesn’t do the job. When we see them increase safe and pollution-free nuclear power, for one, we’ll know they are serious.
Democrats also blame forest fires on global warming instead of focusing on their principal cause, which is years of bad forest management. (The climate mantra is a major part of their Green New Deal and why they are rushing to outlaw fossil fuels.) We will have gone a long way toward forest fire control with prescribed burning and by returning to wise harvesting instead of sending trees up in vast wildfires. This can be done by rejecting Bill Clinton’s 30-year-old no-roads rule and revising an out-of-control Endangered Species Act. Together these moves will allow return to orderly timber harvests and further reduced fuel that otherwise feeds uncontrolled fires.
Most threatening of all is their goal of moving from capitalism toward socialism. Without an exception, every country that has tried socialism has slid into communism and ruin. Don’t think of Sweden as a counterexample, because it is capitalist, not socialist, but with more services in the public sphere than we have in our country. China is thriving, but at the expense of liberty. Everything is run by the Chinese Communist Party with no voice at all from its people. If you don’t toe the CCP line, you are sent to indoctrination camps, where millions are held and tortured — for example, the ethnic Uyghurs.
Like Elizabeth Warren, Harris wants more entitlements and would tax not only income but wealth to pay for them. This is a big move into communism, in which the government owns the means of production.
An immediately dangerous move is the Marxism advocated by the Black Lives Matter organization and Antifa. Democrat cities have encouraged their demonstrations and allowed rioting, looting and wanton property destruction.
I’m also concerned about George Soros, whose foundation has contributed to BLM. He has too much money and too much interest in changing America, and not for the better.
Herb Lindberg lives in Grass Valley.
The Link LonkOctober 24, 2020 at 04:17AM
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Herb Lindberg: Important considerations for November - The Union of Grass Valley
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