An Observation of Our President and His Governance

In as much as our esteemed president likes to communicate in the vernacular, “telling it like it is”, please allow me to communicate with you in like manner.  

In recent news, President Donald Trump complains, along with many of his supporters, about his unfair treatment by critics to which I am compelled to respond, Absurd! He brought almost all, if not every bit, of his problems upon himself, beginning with his having run for election in the first place. The office of President of The United States of America is one of the highest and most complex managerial positions in the whole world; and Donald Trump is not qualified in any way or manner. He cannot lead—he dictates. He does not inspire and motivate people to loyally follow. He cannot manage—he does not plan and “shoots from the hip”, constantly changing his position on issues based upon his emotions at the time. His intelligence quotient notwithstanding, he lacks knowledge, reportedly managing from a data base of the news media and hearsay. Donald Trump is simply not qualified for the office of President of The United States of America. Every day he is in office is testimony to this fact, and that is just the way it is.

The threat of nuclear war notwithstanding, the greatest issue before our president today is the division of our people. Rather than unite us as a people (or even attempt such), he further divides us. Just one prime example of this was his executive order about which I have written before—his executive order to ban Muslims from entering this country from six specified nations for ninety days—to what end? What could he do in ninety days under the ban that he couldn’t do without his edict? Also, none of the nations indicated have previously caused terror problems before. What in heaven’s name did this man accomplish? Let me tell you. He divided us even further. He created havoc and even more dissension among our people. He created nothing; and wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in legal fees and arguing and bickering in the process.

The second greatest threat to our very democracy and sovereignty is our increasing dominance by the Corporatocracy and Power Elite. Corporate dominance has been going on for a long time. If this is what the people want, they should be allowed to vote on it. This is not what I want, and I don’t think this is what you want. We the people should be allowed to have a say in this matter; and to my knowledge, even our elected representatives have not had a say in the matter. I tell you, Corporations are not people. They were designed by man to serve the needs of man. They are not people, and “We” did not create them to rule over us. Donald Trump has done nothing to address this problem. Rather, he has exacerbated it.

The third greatest threat to our nation is the problem of healthcare. Healthcare costs have grown so high, they are unaffordable by an increasing segment of our society. In addition, from the beginning, they have been underfunded, contributing significantly to our national deficit. There is a simple, workable, and financially viable proven solution to the problem of healthcare with a relatively minimum of amount of complexity and confusion—Universal Single Payer, Medicare for all. Yes, we will have to pay for it. Nothing is free; but, it will serve us well and cost a lot less than what we are now paying with the present arguing, bickering, complexity, and inefficiency of what we are now doing. Incorporated in our present Medicare system, this is the fastest and easiest way for us to go. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are going nowhere.

Fourth, and very important, Social Security has been underfunded for too many years; and it is past time for our Congress to do their job and catch up. Rather than spin their wheels by continually kicking the ball down the road and/or postponing eligibility, i.e. extending age requirements (You haven’t heard, have you, of any company extending age requirements in hiring). Hear again, under the leadership of President Trump, we are going nowhere.

So, for now, I’ll close by reminding you that our country is in deep trouble. We need to go in a different direction and that direction needs to be towards serving the people of our great nation, all of them—Not Just Donald Trump and the One Percent and certainly not the Corporatocracy.

In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller

www.sageobserver.blogspot.com

Let’s Get Together

A Discussion of Healthcare

The threat of nuclear war notwithstanding, one of, if not the greatest, problem facing our nation today is our division within, the division of our people and our nation—a threat to our democracy and our very sovereignty. Yet, sad to say, our leaders refuse to do anything about it, ostensibly preferring to pursue their personal interests instead.

But let us think about this. Are we really as separated as it looks or, is this being perpetrated upon us? I submit that if we think more deeply, we will see the real truth of the matter just below the surface. I believe that the truth is found in the beginning of the second paragraph of our Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….” I believe we all want this; and, in this we are all united—we are one and all together.

There are other truths that go right along with Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, one of which is that this earth belongs to all of us. We all have a right to its resources, the fruits of our labor, and equal opportunity to the full extent of our abilities. Although we are all born equal under the eyes of God and under the law, it is patently obvious, however, that we are not born equal physically. Some are born more gifted than others, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Accordingly, those whose abilities are limited have a right to share also from the fruits of those more able and more gifted. To whom much is given, more is expected. Our separation begins here and increases in proportion to our self interests and misperceptions which we all have to one degree or another. It is in this light I view Health Care, Social Security, Unemployment, and Taxes in accordance with one’s ability to pay. Just as sloth and laziness, the unwillingness of those who are able to work, is unacceptable, so also is the concept of “survival of the fittest and let the devil take the hindmost”.

Personally, I’m an old man. For all you young people who don’t know it, I have one of the best healthcare plans in the whole world. I have Medicare which pays 80% of my medical bills and a supplemental plan which pays the other 20%.  For that, I pay an annual deductible of $150 and monthly premiums combined of approximately $250. You, too, could have just as good a plan and choose your own doctor—really. The insurance is called “single payer” and the program is already up and running—if only Congress would represent your interests instead of that of the insurance companies.

Of course, you would have to pay more. My cost is cheaper because of all the years I have already paid in, but it should be significantly cheaper for you than you pay now. Just eliminating the insurance companies from the picture should save billions of dollars (Many are talking about leaving anyway). Also, look at the monumental savings to small business and large corporations as well. Even Congress would find relief. To those who cry Socialism, I say it’s not true—just not so. It’s only single payer—the government only pays the premiums. The providers would still run the system.

A very important point that I don’t hear discussed elsewhere has to do with the administration of the system. It should and must be a stand-alone, pay as you go system apart and separate from our government operating budget just as now is Social Security. It should be paid in full at the end of each fiscal year and not affect our annual deficit or debt. The amounts businesses are now contributing to employee healthcare should be added to employee wages. To finance the program, I suggest that in this particular instance, to minimize its impact on the people, a wise government would create a non-deductible adjunct to the corporate income tax—no payroll taxes, etc. A good time to do this would be when we reform corporate income taxes.

Let’s all get together and go in the same direction. Let the entire people share in the fruits of our productivity.

This is also discussed in my blog of October 22, 2016.

 In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com.