Economics, Political Scheming and Sheer Ignorance

 

                  Economics, Political Scheming and Sheer Ignorance    

                                                        

         In the latest installment of Ron DeSantis’ ongoing attempts to morph into Huey Long: I recently alluded to the 200-man state security response force, answerable to him, which DeSantis wants authorization to create. He said it would be useful, “In case the National Guard were all deployed” (which has not and will not ever happen!) Keep in mind that they would be answerable, unlike the National Guard, only to the governor. We now have another Governor initiative to place his hand on the control of state functions which should function according to law, not the Governor’s dictates. The latest piece of garbage from this miserable idiot is his statement that he wants to create a 50-person state “election security” commission.

        Bear in mind that the state of Florida already has election laws and election security is a significant part of that. However, what De Santis proposes almost conveys the message that there's rampant election fraud in the state of Florida and these guys, on the state’s dime, and under his authority, are needed to protect our election security. Bear in mind that, even without such a commission, other states, especially in the South have created laws or made decisions that do things such as prohibit giving water to people standing in long lines waiting to vote. While the premise for such legislation has not been explained, it seems fairly obvious. Additionally, we have heard the rationales, in places like Georgia, for closing some polling places because they're “too far out in the country” or they're “unnecessary” all of which applies predominantly to persons of color and/or low income, many of whom cannot simply take off work to vote early or take off to vote at all.

        There have been very few valid claims of any attempted election fraud in the state of Florida. In recent charges of election fraud, or I should say illegal voting, county officials have brought such charges, not state officials. Ironically, in The Villages, where I reside, all five people charged with illegal voting were Caucasian Republicans. This looks a lot less like the solution to a problem then an attempted power grab by the governor of the state of Florida who has higher aspirations. As I have said many times before we deserve so much better than this person.

        Sometimes it is unnecessary to unmask a racist by your own efforts because they do it themselves out of their own ignorance. An example of such a lapse of judgment comes from none other than the Senate Minority Leader himself, Mitch McConnell, the senior Senator from Kentucky. Rarely does the "Freudian sheet" slip as far as this. Before a vote to move the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to the Senate floor failed Wednesday, McConnell was asked by a reporter about concerns among voters of color. Believe it or not, he then said:

        "Well, the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”  As Americans? Who the hell is he referring to? The last time I looked the United States Constitution, the 15^th Amendment erases any racial differentiation for voting. Apparently, in Mr. McConnell’s opinion, African Americans are not only children of a lesser God, but children of different citizenship status as well.

        In other news which makes one shake their head, Eric Trump, who I would characterize as the stupid one but it's a dead heat with his older brother, actually said, “When will someone fight for my dad? Apparently, Eric was out of the country on January 6th when armed supporters of his father invaded the US Capital on his behalf as Trump, Josh Hawley and others egged them on . In the context of the original question, the answer posed was that maybe his supporters have bone spurs and just can't manage the fight.

        Sometimes, even those few people of the Republican persuasion that we think may actually have a conscience and may actually have rational thought processes disappoint us as well. A case in point is Mitt Romney who, although I disagree with his sense of economics, I have always felt was an honorable man. A recent statement of his with which I take issue is not a case of moral integrity but of skewing the facts to fit his own narrative. In statement to reporters on January 16^th, Mr. Romney stated that, “Americans are 7% poorer now because of Biden inflation.” So, what's wrong with that? Well, in much the same way that blaming any president for the price of gasoline, which is a market product and subject to shortages and other market pressures, is a fool’s mission, blaming the president for the inflation which is the natural result of such shortages leading to price increases in the market economy so praised by conservatives and John Stossel who is simply a moron, indicates a very poor grasp of economic realities.

        When commodities are in short supply, those that have them charge more for them. Why? Because they can. Period. It is a simple fact of life and an economic reality described by Adam Smith, in 1776, in his classic work on economics, the Wealth of Nations. Inflation and, for that matter, the economy as a whole  is not and never has been (since Andrew Jackson) in the control of the President. If it were that simple, Mitt, there would be no recessions. In fact, this concept is a cornerstone of high school economics classes.

        What makes this statement even more misleading than just simply blaming President Biden is the fact that during the same period of time average wages in the United States have increased by 4.7% which means that income is increased and while not as greatly as inflation rates, inflation will taper off as supply chains level out, but wages will not be decreased accordingly.

Hypocrites and Liars

 

                               Hypocrites and Liars

        Once upon a time, Republicans branded themselves as the party of real, honest, hardworking Americans. A large part of this was a rather derogatory attitude towards people on unemployment who in their opinion weren't trying hard enough to get work. How times have changed.

        Not so long-ago Republicans spoke derogatorily about extended unemployment benefits at a time when the economy was struggling to get back on its feet. They sometimes even used “the S word” (Socialism) and simply called it excessive Democratic pandering to the working class. They said President Biden was “encouraging people to sit at home” rather than work because they were getting extended benefits. So what?

        So, now those same Republicans, in some “red”
states where employment is back up, are extending unemployment benefits to people who have lost (actually chosen to leave) their jobs because they refused to become vaccinated and therefore are unsafe in the workplace.

        States that terminated unemployment benefits for those who were not vaccinated are seeing little difference in the number of people coming back to work. In truth, job numbers were significantly up, and increasing for June, July, August, and September. Red states that discontinued unemployment benefits did not fare any better in getting people back to work than those that continued benefits.

        Unlike the depths of the recession when jobs were scarce, there are now significantly more job openings than people to fill them. However, rather than acting to tide over people who really need help, Republicans prefer to advance their cultish aversion to vaccinations. The Washington Post reported: “Workers who quit or are fired for cause — under which defying company policy would qualify — are generally ineligible for jobless benefits. Regardless of that policy precedent, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, and Tennessee have simply made exceptions for those who won’t submit to the multi-shot coronavirus vaccine regimens." So, after a gain of about six million jobs, employers are desperate to find workers to fill jobs, yet Republicans are subsidizing idle sponging for the irresponsibly unvaccinated.

This is simply bad policy for several reasons:

        First, MAGA practice of encouraging people not to get vaccinated puts complacent and compliant people at risk of serious illness or death. Any governor or state legislator who favors this has forfeited any claim to be “pro-life.”

        Second, forcing taxpayers to subsidize such irresponsible conduct and then adding to increased  health care costs when many wind up in the hospital flies in the face of long held alleged conservative “values” such as personal responsibility and self-sufficiency. Imagine how the Red Hat mob and their Congressional enablers would react if Democrats changed unemployment rules to allow people who quit or refused to follow company rules to get benefits.

        Third, they are sabotaging their states’ economic recoveries. Why would any start-up locate in a state that encourages employees to defy vaccine requirements — and then cost employers money by going on unemployment?

        The very idea of paying people for intentionally being laid off or fired would have made Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan’s heads explode. It is indicative of a party in which traditionally conservative values and principles such as limited government, work, and capitalism now take a back seat. If the value of work ethic is diminished and economic recovery stunted, well, too damned bad. That’s the cost of identifying with a movement in which oppositional behavior is valued above being socially responsible. In the new Republican party, simply being in opposition to sound medical and economic policy “Trumps” reason and judgement. (See what I did there?) 

 

            So much for the hypocrites, now for some liars”

Let's start with world class prevaricator, Sean Hannity, who said in an interview with the oldest Trump spawn: "If you look pre-COVID, your dad, he got us to energy independence.", Hannity told the younger Trump that during the Dec. 1 episode of "Hannity," his primetime TV show. "We didn’t import a single barrel of oil from Saudi Arabia, the Middle East."  So, what's wrong with that? Simply that the truth is that, in 2019, the United States imported half a billion barrels of oil a day from the Middle East. In the first two years of the Trump administration imports were actually closer to three quarters of a billion barrels a day, and only dipped in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic and lower US consumption. Yes, I know, Sean Hannity is a liar? Surprise, surprise.

Or there's always Tucker Carlson:

In what has been a continuing Carlson effort to diminish the legitimacy of the January 6th committee we have this statement:

“DEA agent Mark Ibrahim was forced from his job and later indicted simply because he was near the Capitol protest on Jan. 6.”  In fact (remember facts?) Ibrahim had already submitted his intent to resign from the DEA weeks before Jan. 6 and was considered a probationary employee on leave from the agency on the day in question. Ibrahim was indicted because he brought a gun with him onto Capitol grounds and then made false statements to federal agents. Carlson also said that Ibrahim did not use his DEA badge to get past guards. However, there is a photo of him doing just that, and in the process of flashing said badge, revealing the Glock he was carrying.

For Carlson’s part, this is simply one lie upon many he has forwarded in attempts to make the January sixth, 2021, insurrection seem like just a group of friends on an outing who took a wrong turn and ended up, armed and dangerous in the US Capital. As regards the loathsome Mr. Carlson, it is worth noting that, when he is fact checked, 71% of said checks are either rated “false” or “pants on fire” which is like false with double secret probation. On the other hand, PolitiFact has found absolutely zero “true” statements in the 21 Carlson diatribes they have investigated this past year.

Finally, just because it is so outrageous. I will end this with a claim from one Dr. Sherry Tenpenny who is, believe it or not, a licensed osteopathic physician who lives and works in Cleveland OH. In a statement before the Ohio State legislature, she actually said the following: “The COVID-19 vaccines make people "magnetized.” They can put a key on their forehead, it sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them, and they can stick." She is, to no surprise, a rabid anti-vaccine advocate and is the author of “Saying No to Vaccines: A Resource Guide for All Ages.” She also espouses the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism.

 Note”: I am vaccinated and boosted. Dinnerware and keys still simply refuse to adhere to my forehead.