About Me

In writing the "About Me" portion of this blog I thought about the purpose of the blog - namely, preventing the growth of Socialism & stopping the Death Of Democracy in the American Republic & returning her to the "liberty to abundance" stage of our history. One word descriptions of people's philosophies or purposes are quite often inadequate. I feel that I am "liberal" meaning that I am broad minded, independent, generous, hospitable, & magnanimous. Under these terms "liberal" is a perfectly good word that has been corrupted over the years to mean the person is a left-winger or as Mark Levin more accurately wrote in his book "Liberty & Tyranny" a "statist" - someone looking for government or state control of society. I am certainly not that & have dedicated the blog to fighting this. I believe that I find what I am when I consider whether or not I am a "conservative" & specifically when I ask what is it that I am trying to conserve? It is the libertarian principles that America was founded upon & originally followed. That is the Return To Excellence that this blog is named for & is all about.

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Debate Questions For The American Citizenry

In person early voting started on September 18 in Minnesota, South Dakota, Virginia, & Wyoming followed by in person early voting in five other states (New Jersey, Vermont, Missouri, Illinois, & Michigan) - all before the first presidential debate on Tuesday night. 

Another seventeen states have in person early voting starting before the second presidential debate (eight of these starting before the VP debate) & another fourteen states starting before the third presidential debate. 

Makes me wonder if early voters in these states have already made up their minds & don't need additional information like will their preferred candidate still be alive on November 3?

But the trend in early voting has increased as shown on the graphic below & can only be expected to increase further in 2020 due to concerns about the Wuhan coronavirus & Democrats preference for voting by mail - estimates are that over 50% of voting will be early voting including mail-ins. 




I have prepared the following list of questions that I hope will be asked during the debates.  They certainly are not meant to be trick or gotcha questions but rather questions that every voter should know the answers to themselves - if you don't know the answers make it your business to find out.  This can only make you better informed & America stronger.


Whether you are an early voter or plan to vote on November 3 you should also know how each candidate answers these questions.  We'd be in a lot better place if our elected representatives knew the answers to these questions & better yet if they knew we knew.  

As for me, I'd settle for us even knowing what to ask.

1.  What is the significance of the national debt now that the federal government owes more to the public than the economy produces in a year?

2.  Scott Hodge, President of the Tax Foundation, calculated that to bring every family in America to average would require the people in the top two quintiles to pay higher taxes than they currently do with people in the top quintile paying the vast majority of an additional $2.4 trillion per year in federal taxes or 74% of their income.  What is the maximum amount of a person's income anyone should ever have to pay to the federal government in income taxes?


3.  The Social Security Administration clearly tells people in bold print on page 2 of the document entitled "Your Social Security Statement" (available to everyone online & mailed yearly to people over 60 who do not have an online account) that "by 2035, the payroll taxes collected will be enough to pay only about 79 percent of scheduled benefits."  Shouldn't we be taking steps now to head off this 21% reduction in Social Security benefits & if so what are these steps?  If not, why not?

4.  It has been shown that a premium support system, unindexed to inflation designed for people younger than 55 years old, will bend the Medicare cost curve down, softening the 12% reductions in hospital benefits projected for 2024 (two years earlier than projections done before the pandemic).  In addition the cost of Parts B & D are 81% funded by general revenue & growing too fast to be sustained.  Do you support a premium support system unindexed to inflation to replace traditional Medicare?


5.  Ken Blackwell & others have proposed a "cut, cap, & balance" plan in which federal spending would be controlled so that projected borrowing is cut in half next year (not 10 years from now), spending would be capped @ 18% of GDP (it was 21% before the pandemic), & under a balanced-budget amendment the president would be required to submit a balanced budget within the foregoing guidelines that call for super congressional majorities to raise future debt limits or tax rates.  Do you support such a plan? 

6.  Do you approve of the Federal Reserve's program of inducing 2% inflation that will reduce the purchasing power of the median-income American household by $1,370 each year?  In addition the Fed's policy of near zero interest rates coupled with 2% inflation is my definition of negative real interest rates.  How do you justify this policy to savers, especially senior citizen savers, many of whom live below the median income level, & are losing their meager purchasing power every day on their life's savings?



7.  Explain the importance of the connection between economic freedom & overall freedom.

8.  Ayn Rand wrote in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal that "A system of pure, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism has never existed anywhere."  In 1996 Professor Friedman said "America has been more than fifty percent socialist for many years & we are not getting our money's worth."  Explain the importance of capitalism to America's future.  How do you see socialism fitting in with your vision of America? 

9.   Explain the difference between extinguishing civil liberties & allowing violent protests like we have had in Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Kenosha, & NYC.  Was it a hate crime for people to block the emergency entrance to a hospital so that the two police officers who were ambushed & shot in the face @ point blank range in Compton, California could not receive prompt medical attention?  The people blocking the hospital chanted "we hope they die."



10.   Do state & local stay @ home lockdown orders that have shut down or severely limited commerce & forced many businesses to close across the country violate the Constitution?

11.  What is the significance of the phrase "& subject to the jurisdiction thereof" in Section 1 of Amendment IV of the Constitution regarding so called birthright citizenship?  Didn't Ohio Senator Jacob Howard, author of the Citizenship Clause, intend the amendment to apply to freed slaves & not illegal aliens who snuck into the country to give birth thereby taking advantage of America's generosity?

12.  How important is the presidential oath that you take per Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution to you?  Please point out any responses from your opponent tonight that do not comply with the presidential oath or the Constitution.

13.  More & more the legislative & executive branches both run to the courts to provide cover for themselves by having five unelected judges provide the answer to unpopular questions.  Doesn't this just seem wrong?  What is your idea of the proper role of the courts?

 14.  What are the consequences that China should pay for manufacturing & intentionally releasing the Wuhan coronavirus to the world causing over 200,000 deaths in the U.S. so far?   

***
I thank everyone who sent in their own list of questions they would like to have asked during the debates.  I have posted the questions received on RTE - just click on comments @ the bottom of this post online to read them.  Please let me know if you think of any other questions & I will post them also.

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Your America Under Biden

Thanks to long time subscriber, contributor, commenter, all around good guy, patriot, & dear friend Economics501 for preparing the following list of Democrat policies & positions that will undo your America if implemented by Joe Biden.

Economics501 asks each voter "which of these Democrat policies do you support?"  And that is the question of the election season.  

Please let me know if you think of other items - either Nos or Yeses & I will add them to the list.

Whether Biden or Harris talk about the issues on the list below, or not, they indeed form the agenda that will be pushed by the Sanders/Warren/AOC side of the Democrat party as evidenced by the Unity Task Force Biden formed with Bernie to consolidate their effort meaning that Biden moved left.  Yes, Biden won the Democrat primary & then gave in to the runner up to move closer to his positions.

Contrast Biden's anti-American points on the list below with Trump's pre-pandemic achievements of record or near record unemployment lows for every group - whites, blacks, women, Asians, & Hispanics -  & every one of these groups experienced increased incomes before the Wuhan coronavirus hit & the state & local governments shut down the economy.   We have no reason to believe Trump cannot restore prosperity once the pandemic passes & no reason to believe that Biden can based on his 47 years of bureaucratic politically correct experience in government.  Prove this to yourself - name one tangible Biden accomplishment in those 47 years?

Trump's pre-pandemic economy was made possible by the reduction of regualtions that connect economic freedom with political freedom that Biden's supporters mistakenly take for granted.  You will lose much of your political freedom under Biden as the list below indicates what America would look like if Biden wins.

Please read the entire list below carefuly & then randomly take one out of every four items & envison what America would look like if they were implemented by a Biden administration.

No private health insurance
No police
No ICE
No borders
No bail
No freedom of speech
No freedom of religion
No school choice or vouchers to low income
No low income enterprise zones
No energy independence
No fossil fuels
No ROI on green deal
No ROI on any spending
No Capitalism
No to freeing up entrepreneurs innovation
No voter ID
No protection of unborn alive in mothers womb
No to reopening economy

Yes to releasing many criminals from jail
Yes to police stand downs
Yes to sanctuary cities and states
Yes Immediate citizenship to 20 million illegals
Yes to Full health education income benefits to Illegals
Yes to Reparations
Yes to College loan forgiveness at taxpayer expense
Yes to Much higher individual income taxes
Yes to Much higher corporate taxes
Yes to Many more business regulations
Yes to nationalizing several industries
Yes to Socialism
Yes to version of Marxism
Yes to Antifa and Marxists
Yes to wage control
Yes to destruction of property by rioters
Yes to violent rioters
Yes to autonomous summer of love zones
Yes to Federal power to zone all localities
Yes to Federal Gov limiting single family zones in suburbs
Yes to sending Covid patients to nursing homes
Yes to nationalizing energy, auto, airline, energy, pharma industries
Yes to abortions from conception to day of birth

HEY -- 4 MORE YEARS