Sunday, March 19, 2017

The Budget and Conservatism

Listening to the unveiling of the White House budget gave me some pretty extended pains and torment, but as the debate and discussion unveils itself I am finding that a slash in the belly might not be all bad.

I have real frustration about the budget premise to build up the military and abandonment of social and environmental programs. That being said the devil is in the details and I do think it is good to look at those details.

Lets not forget that this initiative is coming from the most deceitful and hateful President that ever existed, but his intentions or justifications might be the irrelevant facts in this discussion since it is congress that will craft the final budget. All the same, this focus on the opportunity to redefine government and its efficiencies can't be ignored. The basics of feeding and housing unfortunate people and protecting our clean air and water is a no brainer responsibility of our government. The Congress, the people, will not tolerate an inhumane approach to our citizens in this nation. Turning a blind eye to dirty water and air are irresponsible actions since they are of the highest priority for our survival. Reasonable regulation and economic support for governmental guidance and enforcement must remain in place.

Moving past this twisted Presidents intentions we should dive into costs and process of how we govern and spend money at all levels of government. We might just be surprised by not taking this money for granted, studying best practice ways to provide these services, that there is billions to be saved by waste and programs that just don't make real sense to a thoughtful and caring "center of the road" person.

I look forward to the debate in congress on this budget and hopefully they, along with our States representations, will have a robust discussion on best practice, a reasonable department of defense, and new ways for government to slim down and operate more efficiently. Remember, this is our money they are spending and we do need to hold them accountable.

Being a fiscal conservative myself,  I will always appreciate the questioning and viability of programs as methodology's change over time. We need keep flexibility to adapt to the change of the most cost effective delivery of government services.

Bottom line is while we are faced with incredible incompetence and crude actions within the white house, we still need to govern and should take this opportunity to evaluate our current structure and reduce wasteful spending. While one might want to just say "NO" to this administration on the budget, I would suggest we participate in the process through our Congressman and be sure what is sent to the President is a well represented and vetted document from its citizens. Stay in the Arena, Resist, and Participate.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Warped Political Reality Rules for now

In the old days when some politician would lie, be obscene, wallow in the mud, or just try to impersonate the devil during a campaign, they would show some remorse and climb back into a normal state of reality after the election. NO MORE! Now it is all about doubling down and taking what use to be political rhetoric into a kind of religion that reconstructs our moral and value makeup.

Listening to the drone of absurdities mostly from the Trump and Company but also from the press to a lesser degree, it is hard to stay optimistic on a good result. Science, Truth, Data, Facts and the basic support of America's values are important here but it seems like much of what I was taught in my life is of little value in a Donald J. Trump reality. The things and policies I had thought had real value and importance seem to be irrelevant and meaningless to the majority of Congress and the President.

When I look at the facts of Healthcare and we keep pre-existing conditions and children under their parents to age 26, we need participation from all citizens in the same pool to make it work. Simple math and statistics do not support abandonment from government subsidies and regulation without increased premiums and decreased coverage. The claims are the claims and somebody needs to pay for it. We need to fix Obama care or go to a universal coverage and it is as simple as that folks. Otherwise we are taking more than 2 steps back to higher premiums and less coverage, the government being off the hook for subsides, and of course the wealthy getting a tremendous tax break from the republicans again.

But why should I complain about the results of an election of the greatest nation on the planet right? We elected these guys and now it is time to pay the price. Maybe this Warped Political Reality will pave the way to real change in 2 and 4 years and we will again be leaders of the humans on this earth. But for now we must buckle up, resist, and stay true to the values and moral structure that we know is America. We must not let the Warped Political Reality change our core beliefs in our fellow human beings and should continue to push forward on a positive and constructive approach to our future.