A week and a two days ago Americans elected a new President. Well, some of them did. I cannot say that most of them did, because the majority of the popular vote was not a majority in favor of the eventual winner.
True to my word, I watched a movie ("The Silence of Mark Rothko" - highly recommended) and flipped-off the TV at 9:30pm, which I suspected would be well in advance of declaring the eventual winner. I wished to get one more good night's sleep.
Much has been said about the inaccuracy of the pre-election polls and how some of the pundits should be made to apologize for leading us down the garden path where millions of Americans woke-up on Wednesday morning to President-Elect Donald Trump.
And, so it goes. Regardless of your (and my) objections, we are now living in a world where we are forced to say "President Donald Trump." It's akin to saying Mayor McCheese. He is a cartoon version of a real President. Sadly, that is what we seem to want now. Cartoon reality.
The people have spoken. But, what did they say? They said that they have had enough of Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Clinton. They have rebelled against the status quo. They have made a statement. But, what sort of statement have they made?
In their view, they have elected "an outsider." Someone who is outside of the political mainstream, and someone who will look out for our best interests as Americans. That's what they think. The reality may turn out to be something quite different.
The reality is that they have elected an insider. He is inside corporate America and inside white America. White America elected him, and surreptitiously at that. Part of the reason the polls didn't see this happening is that millions of white Americans did not make their preference known until they got into the polling place and pushed the Trump button. That is the only poll that counts.
So, where are we now? We are in a world that has regressed to the 1950s where hatred and difference are not tolerated. The Vice President has his own views on how to deal with differences, and I'd guess it's the main reason he was chosen to be Trump's running mate. Dulled minds think alike.
Now, you should be concerned with your future - and your children's. If you are invested in our stock market, you should be in banks, and old-school construction like Caterpillar, Honeywell, big oil and coal, and anything that builds stuff our of concrete and steel - oh yeah, and defense stocks and guns, because they are always great for fear-mongering and hate. Nobody ever lost money selling fear and hate.
What will lose money? Anything progressive like technology, clean energy, and things made cheaply overseas. He wants to cut taxes to corporations and bring manufacturing jobs back to America. That means that your iPhone will wind up costing you even more, and your televisions and computers are taxed up the Wazoo because they are made cheaply overseas. Remember that $400 50-inch hi-def TV you just bought? You should hope it lasts at least 8 years because you won't be able to get one that cheaply after 2018.
And your personal income taxes? If you are middle-class or lower, don't expect that orange-haired pumpkin to help you. His tax plan is built around helping himself and his wealthy pals. He'll cut corporate income taxes, but that will trickle-down to you. Your personal income tax burden will likely increase or at the very least remain stagnant. He preaches lower taxes, but how will he pay for all of his infrastructure improvements?
His personal corporations have declared bankruptcy four times, and I suspect that his ignorance of finance will cost the American taxpayer billions (with a B) of dollars because "Tax and Spend" is the opposite of "Don't tax and Spend.". You cannot run the government the same way you run a corporation. You can't float bonds to pay for stuff and declare bankruptcy (which is what he did) with Federal funds. Government monetary policy doesn't work that way.
Combine that with the fact that most of the rest of the world thinks that we are out of our minds for electing him President. We have a bigger uphill battle than we had with G.W. Bush in selling him to the world as the "Leader of the Free World," which is another topic altogether.
Free. Are we free? Not anymore. We are being held hostage by a minority of 60% of registered voters who saw this "outsider" as the best choice to lead our country.
Where he will lead us is anyones guess. Does anyone have a guess? I'm willing to listen.
