THEY’RE KILLING BIG BIRD AGAIN! Only 1% of NPR’s, and 15% of PBS’s, funding comes from Fed Govt. So what’s the problem with ending this taxpayer subsidy? They will survive just fine. Certainly, we wouldn’t want to force taxpayers to subsidize FoxNews, would we? Some say “but, it’s only a little bit. What’s the big deal?” Government has no constitutionally defined role funding media. It’s a violation of the 10A and adds even more debt. Tell NPR and PBS to get more corporate sponsors or individual donations just like other media do.
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN? Checks and Balances Make America Great. Birthright Citizenship makes America Great. Immigration makes America Great. Trade makes America Great. Trump/MAGA are abandoning American values that built this nation.
TRADE WARS. Sometimes I think that people lose sight of the fact that nations don’t trade with other nations. It’s people trading with people. It’s corporations trading with corporations. These so-called Trade Deficits are just an aggregation of who is buying more from whom. Why does that matter when each transaction benefits both the buyer and the seller? Trade deficits don’t matter from an economic point of view. You have a trade deficit with your grocery store. When Trump says Americans are getting ripped off, understand that this is a political message, not an economic one. Trade deficits don’t rip anyone off. This is just a political strategy to hang on to the MAGA base in the rust belt where manufacturing jobs have been most greatly impacted by trade. It’s entirely an Electoral College strategy.
REPLACE INCOME TAX WITH TARIFFS? Trump has been pitching this idea of ditching the federal income tax for people making less than $150,000/yr. Is this a serious economic strategy? Of course not. Because the whole point of tariffs is to lessen trade which would thus lessen tariff revenue. Plus, the numbers don’t add up. Roughly speaking, we are talking about ending federal income taxes for people in the Bottom 90% which makes up approx. 50% of total individual tax revenue, or approx. $850B/yr. The Trump tariffs are only projected to generate $200B-$500B per year. You might think, no problem, we can just increase the tariff rate to achieve $850B/yr in revenue. How do you do that when that greatly reduces imported goods that are being tariffed? It’s nonsense. It’s voter manipulation. It’s an Electoral College Strategy.
“IF WE CAN’T THINK FOR OURSELVES, if we’re unwilling to question authority, then we’re just putty in the hands of those in power.” – Carl Sagan
WHEN YOU JUST FIGURE OUT THAT Trump is a con man then everything makes sense in its own weird way. The bombastic ideas. The uneducated policies. The subtle racism. None of these policies really matter to him. It doesn’t matter if they conflict with GOP ideals or not. It doesn’t matter that they are nonsense like changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Even immigration. Do you think Trump gives a crap about illegal immigrants taking jobs or getting free govt services? Of course not. These are just tools he uses to rally his base, distract voters, and remain in power. Trump has no political principles. It’s obvious. Trump’s real agenda is something different. Note his sons were a big part of the Bitcoin show a few days ago. But he needs to remain in power as POTUS to make those goals work.
TIRE SHOP OR HOUSING? Poway NIMBYs are freaking out about the proposal to put in an 18-unit apartment building on Poway Rd in place of a tire shop. We get the usual complaints. More traffic! More stress on infrastructure! Not enough parking! Sheesh. First, a commercial property like a tire shop is going to have much more traffic going in and out during all times of the day. Employees, customers, and vendor delivery trucks are always in flux. Compare that to the traffic in and out of a neighborhood with 18 homes. We are talking about a negligible difference, and most likely a decrease. This is just more NIMBYism, more control over others, and more hating on Poway City Council. As an aside, I was shocked that they built those original apartments next to a tire shop that has very loud pneumatic tools and compressors.
JOHNNY FOR POWAY MAYOR? Some of my political “Facebook Friends” were considering what a John Riley for Mayor reality might look like. LOL. Some said I think housing prices can only be lowered by building more. Some said I would be worse than Vaus. Some said I only want housing built on Poway Rd. Well, let me set the record straight. I am not running for Mayor. There may have been a time in my life where I would have considered the possibility, but no longer. It’s much more enjoyable to discuss and comment on our community with my John Riley Project. But I will say this… I do support more housing development in Poway…. Everywhere. This includes Poway Rd, The Farm, Twin Peaks Rd, and elsewhere. I think we should also allow more multi-family housing in single-family home neighborhoods. I support ADUs. I support removing height limits on multi-family housing buildings. I stand by my rationale. 1. Property Rights. The owner of the land should be able to decide what they build on their property. 2. We have a housing crisis with sky-high prices. This impacts local families, the broader economy and the homeless. I welcome more people to Poway. 3. General Improvement. Poway Rd has been in dire need of an upgrade for a long time. Other neighborhoods can be upgraded with newer housing and dining/entertainment options. Would this campaign platform get me elected? Probably not. LOL. What do you think?
SHOULD FIVE PERCENT APPEAR TO SMALL, BE THANKFUL I DON’T TAKE IT ALL. Trump tariffs are on. Trump tariffs are off. The courts have overturned Trump tariffs. The courts have re-instated Trump tariffs. What a circus. Now Trump is raising tariffs on steel from 25% (Biden policy) to 50% (Trump policy).
If you are unsure what Trump is really doing, pay attention to what happened with the steel tariff announcement. He’s announcing the deal with all the steel workers in attendance while promising them a $5,000 bonus and no layoffs. Economically this makes no sense as it will just make steel made products more expensive throughout the economy, thus harming far more jobs than any “saved” at steel plants. So why Trump doing it? It’s politics. It’s about building strong loyalty with a powerful voting block in the swing states of the Rust Belt. It’s all about staying in power. Keep your eye on the other hand, namely “deals” his children are making around the world due to Trump’s power and popularity.
TRUMP BRAIN DRAIN. Now Trump is driving away international college students. This is yet another nonsense policy that only is floated to appeal to the MAGA base. International students, particularly those with advanced STEM degrees, should be encouraged to stay in America to make our nation greater. But instead, this Trump policy pushes this talent away to empower other nations including our rivals. It’s a brain drain idea. Plus, it’s a missed educational opportunity to teach American values to future high-impact international scientists, business people, politicians, and journalists around the world.
WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE. Senator Joni Ernst recently uttered “well, we’re all going to die” at a Town Hall event when she was challenged about Medicaid cuts that will cause some to die as a result. Clearly that was a dumb response. The challenge itself is morally unfair in the first place. It’s not much different than the “if it could save just one life, then it is worth the cost!” Using the same unfair technique Ernst could have responded that the questioner, “by not personally donating more to help, some people will die as a result.” It’s an impossible standard to meet, but it sure is an effective altruist virtue signal. It continues the flawed moral framing of the Dems as the Good Guys and the GOP as the Bad Guys. Sheesh. BTW, “we’re all going to die” makes me think of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. LOL